| Sign in: |
| Members log in here with your user name and password to access the your admin page and other special features. |
|
|
|
|
|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2003-01-22
SportsShooter.com 'Clip Contest' (officially) announced
The monthly contest begins accepting submissions on February 1, 2003.
By Grover Sanschagrin
Everybody can enter. Everybody can judge. You can't vote for yourself.
That's right – this is the 'official' announcement of the much-anticipated SportsShooter.com Monthly Clip Contest. Members can start entering their January 2003 images on February 1, 2003.
Any SportsShooter.com member in good-standing can enter up to 6 images per month in any of four categories (Sports Action, Sports Feature, News, and Feature.) The images must have been shot sometime in the previous month, and they don't need to be published.
To enter, members will simply log in to the member's area of the website, find the link to the Clip Contest area and enter their images right through their web browser.
The first two weeks of the month are the 'entry period' and the last two weeks are the 'judging period.'
Simple right?
Huh? What? You've got questions? Sigh. OK.
---
Q: "Yeah, uh, this sounds cool and stuff, but like, what's with the 'News' and 'Feature' categories? What's up with that?"
A: Yes. Those are non-sports categories. Shocked? Don't be. Most SportsShooter.com members shoot more than just sports, so why not reflect that in the contest?
---
Q: "Oh, I get it. You mean SPORTS NEWS, right?"
A: No. Although sports-related news will work just fine in this category, non-sports news will also work – as long as it is NEWS. And the 'Feature' category is specifically non-sports because we already have a 'Sports Feature' category for it.
---
Q: "What happens if someone enters their images in the wrong category?"
A: We kill them. Oh, sorry, that's not legal in most States. Actually, if someone enters an image in the wrong spot, I'd think they'd probably not win. Since this is all based on 100% member votes – I guess we'll need to see!
---
Q: "So, what happens if people vote for themselves?"
A: Not possible. We worked that into the system. Computers! Ain't they great?
---
Q: "How do you know for sure that pictures submitted were actually shot in that month?"
A: Are you saying you want to CHEAT THE SYSTEM? Sheesh. Well, we're working on an honor-code here. But the beauty of the system is that if we, for any reason, find out that someone cheated, we just delete them from the list of winners and PRESTO, the list updates and all calculations are adjusted accordingly.
---
Q: "OK, so then who are the judges?"
A: SportsShooter.com members are the judges. You vote. The system collects your votes. Then, at the end of the month, the totals are automatically calculated.
---
Q: "Are there any more detailed category explanations available?"
A: Not right now. But come February 1st, when the entry period starts, you'll see all the details, along with the official set of rules, worked right into the clip contest section.
---
Q: "When pictures are being judged, will the names be blacked out like in other paper-based clip contests?"
A: Yes. During judging mode, the names of the photographers are temporarily hidden from view, and their order is random generated. The images are all protected in a member's only area – since only members can see the images during the judging period.
---
Q: "Who can see the winners? Only members?"
A: No. Everyone can see the winners. They will be put on display in an area of the site dedicated to the clip contest. There will also be a 'Leader Board' on the front page of the site. This will contain links to the winning images and to the member pages of those who are in the lead.
---
Q: "So what's the big fancy prize?"
A: You will become the idol of millions. Isn't that enough? No? Well, at the very least, the big winner will be crowned 'SportsShooter.com Photographer of the Year'. We are working on the final details for other prizes – which is somewhat related to sponsorship of the area and stuff. Stay tuned on this one, trust me.
---
Q: "What do you mean when you say 'a member in good standing' ?"
A: A member in good standing is a person who, a) signed up, b) paid their membership payment within the first 30 days, and c) is listed as 'active' in the system.
---
Q: "How do the points work? How many points do you get for first, second, and third place? Do I get points just for entering?"
A: First place gets 30 points. Second place gets 20. Third place gets 10. You don't get any points for entering. However, if your image is calculated as 'Most Popular', you win the monthly 'Most Popular Award', which is 40 points. There's only one of those each month, and it isn't something you vote on.
---
Q: "Wait a second! What the hell is this 'Most Popular' thing? How the hell do you figure THAT out?"
A: Oh, it's easy. The most popular image is the image that the most people voted for, which doesn't mean that it is the image that wins the most points. We just keep track of all the images that people are voting on in more ways that one – and the amount of people voting on images is one of those other ways. If an image wins 'Most Popular' it is automatically pulled from its original category and the other winners move up one. The 'most popular' winner can come from any of the four categories.
---
Q: "What does this contest have to do with the annual Sports Shooter contest? Is it the same thing?"
A: The annual Sports Shooter contest is just that - an ANNUAL contest. This Clip Contest is a monthly contest. They are different. The annual contest doesn't select a 'Photographer of the Year', but the clip contest does.
---
Is that it? Any more questions? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
Good.
We're excited as hell about this new section. We think you will be too.
The fun starts on February 1.
|
|
|
Contents copyright 2023, SportsShooter.com. Do not republish without permission.
|