Panthers’ Poetry Project

The Jason Taylor Foundation’s Omari Hardwick bluapple Poetry Network, in partnership with the NHL’s Florida Panthers Hockey Club, announces the 2025-2026 Panthers’ Poetry Project Contest. The contest window is September 26, 2025 to December 12, 2025.

If you wish for your class or school to participate, please email the Programs Coordinator, Christopher Simpson, at christopher@jasontaylorfoundation.com 

Our goal is to promote school-wide interest in creative writing and literacy through poetry. Students will be given a writing prompt to produce a piece of poetry, in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience. The targeted audience is students in grades 6-8.

Program Description

1. An exciting pep rally kick-off tour, consisting of representatives from the Panthers and from bluapple Poetry, will take place at a select number of schools (determined on a first-come, first-served basis) to introduce the writing prompt, present the contest rules and prizes, and to get students excited about spoken word poetry. In-school pep rally visits will take place only between September 26^th and November 21^st.
2. After the pep rally, educators will take the writing prompt back to the classroom to facilitate writing workshops, using curriculum provided by bluapple Poetry, during which students will be led through the writing and development of their original poems.

Rules & Guidelines

1. All poems must incorporate this year’s theme: The Way of the Hunt: a poem about what it takes to go after your goals
2. Poems MUST be AT LEAST one (1) minute long when read aloud, but no longer than three (3) minutes.
3. Poems MUST NOT include homophobic, racist, xenophobic, or otherwise derogatory language.
4. Poems MUST NOT include profane language.
5. Contestants ARE NOT allowed to use any AI platform, such as Chat GPT, Google AI, H20, or any other similar technology, to generate their poems. If, through investigation, it is discovered that a participant has used AI to generate their poem, they will be disqualified. This rule ensures that the competition remains fair and encourages participants to showcase their own creativity and writing capability.
6. Each participating school will form a committee to evaluate all poems, selecting the top three (3) poems from each grade and submitting them HERE no later than December 12, 2025. The top poems from each school will be judged by a committee consisting of representatives from Broward County Public Schools, bluapple Poetry Network, and the Florida Panthers.
7. The evaluation committee will select:
   1. the TWO (2) top poems from each grade at each school
   2. the ONE (1) overall top poem from each school
   3. the THREE (3) top poems among all submissions
   4. the ONE (1) overall winning poem
8. Schools will be notified of their winners within 6 weeks of the deadline.
9. One overall winner will be selected.

Prizes/Rewards (courtesy of the Florida Panthers and the Jason Taylor Foundation):

1. The school with the highest percentage of participation in each district will receive a $500 donation.
2. The educator with the overall winning poem will receive an additional $500 donation for their classroom.
3. The top TWO (2) poems from each school, in each grade level (6-8), will be awarded with a certificate of achievement, a Panthers’ Poetry Project t-shirt, and a special surprise sponsored by the Florida Panthers.
4. The top poem from each school will receive a framed Panthers’ Poetry Project certificate, a Panthers’ Poetry Project t-shirt, and a special surprise sponsored by the Florida Panthers.
5. The overall winning poet will be awarded FOUR (4) tickets AND a Zamboni ride at a mutually agreed upon regular season Florida Panthers’ game, along with Panthers Merch and a special surprise sponsored by the Florida Panthers. PLUS, the winner will have the opportunity to perform his or her poem at the Louder Than a Bomb Dynamite Slam on April 4^th, 2026.