Every month, our members are invited to submit images and videos falling into the following categories. The competition rules and guidelines explain more about our friendly competition.
| Month | Category | Description | Bonus Challenge |
| January | Best of 2024 | Best photo from the past year | |
| February | Behavior | Ex: feeding, cleaning, mating, symbiotic, etc. | Symmetry |
| March | Shallows & Surface | Footage from upper 30 feet of water (includes over/under shots at surface); taking MAR Shallows & Surface advantage of ambient light. | Branching Pattern |
| April | New Beginnings | Focus on eggs or juveniles | Footage from 3/1/25 – 4/6/25 |
| May | Dominant Color | One color dominates the subject(s)/composition. Water color is not included in the dominant color theme. | Repeating Pattern/Texture |
| June | Humans Underwater | Humans underwater (either live or statue form). This Category celebrates World Oceans Month! | Human in Footage is SDUPS Member. (Member in footage will get an extra participation point) |
| July | Midwater | Subject is suspended mid-water – not touching surface, ground, or other structure. This category reflects that we are mid-year! | Color Red Present in Footage |
| August | Bokeh | Compose subject with shallow depth of field to create an interesting and appealing out of focus background | Creative Title (for photos, please just include title in submission Note field) |
| September | Back to School | Schools of fish or groups of other wildlife underwater | Footage local to CA |
| October | Camouflage | Capture marine life blending into the background | Subject has at least one eye clearly visible |
| November | Photoshopped | Creative editing/manipulation of footage using digital programs such as Photoshop. No restrictions. *Your entry must include your original underwater work somewhere in the composition. Anything else used must be royalty/copyright free.* | Includes footage you captured in 2025 (Please confirm in submission Note field if so) |
| December | No competition |