Yes, ageist , but looking at the list of sponsors I 'd add they support a lot of ageist visual arts events too. Non- practitioners of the arts have a very narrow imagination for what type of person might be starting their career , making important aesthetic developments , need support or benefit from promotion, and corporate sponsors like to have young attractive faces in their publicity material,

The ages of my (art)students is 18 - 70+, and only some of them are eligible for most of the competitions, prizes etc Often the older ones are more skint than the kids still getting family ££

Yours, over the hill & haggard of Herts