Spring has sprung, at least in some parts of the country, which means the deadline for the 2002-03 CoSIDA Fred W. Stabley Writing Contest can’t be far behind. Now that the contest is back on its regular spring rotation, CoSIDA members are encouraged to submit entries for the 2002-03 academic year. Anyone who is interested in submitting entries from this past year must have those items to their district coordinator (see contest guidelines, coordinator list and entry form later in this story) no later than Apr. 11, 2003. As always, once the local judging for each district is complete, the winning stories from each district will be sent on to a distinguished panel of judges to determine national winners and “Story of the Year.” The beauty of the writing contest is that everyone competes on a level playing field. It doesn’t really matter if you use a computer, an old Smith Corona or a dull pencil, the talent of the writing will shine through. I encourage you to enter as many stories as you can. Peruse the guidelines below and determine where your entries might best fit in. Feel free to direct questions to any member of the committee. CoSIDA Fred W. Stabley Sr. Writing Contest Guidelines The CoSIDA Fred W. Stabley Sr. Writing Contest is open to all members of CoSIDA and is the only contest sponsored by CoSIDA that does not discriminate because of budget, athletic competition level or size of staff. All entries are considered to be on a level playing field. The Contest The contest is comprised of six categories (athlete feature, general feature, coach/administrator profile, historical feature, event coverage and opinion/editorial). Members may enter up to THREE stories per category. Entries 1. All dues-paying members of CoSIDA are encouraged to enter the contest. Non-members of CoSIDA who work in a sports information capacity (graduate assistants, interns and student assistants) are invited to submit stories as long as the entries are sponsored by a dues-paying member of that office. 2. Entries must come from a campus publicity office, a conference office or a sports governing body that deals directly with college athletics. The stories must have been generated through the normal daily role of the office. 3. Entries must be postmarked no later than Apr. 11, 2003. (Again, members may submit up to THREE stories per category) 4. An original version of the article, from the actual publication, must be submitted, along with THREE photocopies of the story. The contest name must appear on the outside of the envelope. Raw manuscript (on campus letterhead) or internet version of article is acceptable as long as the piece appeared exactly that way in print. 5. Entries must be in prose form. No game notes, fact sheets, etc., may be submitted. 6. A copy of the entry form must be stapled to your original story, but not to the photocopies. 7. Entries will be judged on writing style, correct use of English, inventiveness, appearance, written presentation and the ease with which the reader acquires the information. Typographical errors do count against stories in the overall judging. 8. Entries accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope will receive copies of the evaluation forms turned in by the district judges. The envelopes must be stapled to the original version of your story, not the photocopies. Judging All entries shall be forwarded to a district representative, who will gather a panel of three judges. The stories will be judged by category only, with certificates awarded based on the number of entries in each category (one certificate for categories with one to five entries, two certificates for categories with six to 10 entries, and three certificates for categories with 11 or more entries). The top story in each category at the district level will be forwarded to a national panel of judges, who will select the top three stories in each category. The winning entry in each category at the national level will then move into a “National Story of the Year” contest, where the top three selections will receive certificates. District judging coordinators reserve the right to re-classify an entry if it is not submitted for the proper category. Coordinators may also request additional writing samples from an entrant. The committee requests that entries be mailed to the district coordinators, or sent by overnight express. To meet deadlines, and if absolutely necessary, faxes or pdf versions of the entries will be accepted, but they must be accompanied by an entry form and an original must be mailed as soon as possible afterward (winning entries received via FAX or e-mail will not be forwarded to the national judging panel if the district coordinator does not have an original in his/her possession at the conclusion of the district judging phase). Writing Contest Entry Blank The entry form is attached to this posting. Be sure to use one entry blank per story, and remember to staple it to your original story only, not to the photocopies. Any questions, contact your district coordinator, or: Writing Contest Chair Mike Albright Office of Media Relations U.S. Military Academy 639 Howard Road West Point, NY 10996 (845) 938-6871 Michael.Albright@usma.edu Where to Send Entries District 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick) Jeremy Hartigan Schoellkopf Fieldhouse Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853-6501 (607) 255-9788 jh295@cornell.edu District 2 (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia) Stephanie Mociun University of Maryland 2725 Comcast Center, Terrapin Trail P.O. Box 295 College Park, MD 20904 (301) 314-7063 smociun@wam.emd.edu District 3 (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia) Joey Warren Augusta State University 2500 Walton Way Augusta, GA 30904 (706) 731-7925 jwarren3@aug.edu District 4 (Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee) Heidi Johnson University of Florida P.O. Box 14485 Gainesville, FL 32604-2485 (352) 375-4683 (ext. 6128) heidij@gators.uaa.ufl.edu District 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Manitoba and Ontario) Tom Schott Purdue University Room 15 Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN 47907-1790 (765) 494-3145 tschott@purdue.edu District 6 (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) Lance Fleming Abilene Christian University Box 27795 Abilene, TX 79699-7795 (915) 674-2693 flemingl@acu.edu District 7 (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Alberta and Saskatchewan) Jason Kaufman Western Illinois University Western Hall 213 Macomb, IL 61455 (309) 298-1133 jp-kaufman@wiu.edu District 8 (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, British Columbia and Yukon) Phil Caskey West Virginia University P.O. Box 877 Morgantown, WV 26507-0877 (304) 293-2821 Phil.Caskey@mail.wvu.edu