The annual CoSIDA Fred Stabley, Sr. Writing Contest is open to all
current 2014-15 dues-paying members of CoSIDA. It recognizes excellence in feature writing, historical features, administrator/coach profiles and event coverage writing. Entries will be judged on overall writing style, correct use of English, inventiveness, written presentation and the ease with which the read acquires the information.
All entries are considered to be on a level playing field. Entries are not categorized by budget, athletic competition, division or size of staff. The Contest is comprised of seven categories (see below). Entries must have been written between January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014.
This year, members can submit only ONE (1) entry per category, not three as in the past.
CoSIDA District Breakdown for Writing Contest
Submission deadline: Feb. 20, 2015
All nominations are to be submitted ONLINE. Please go the link below and submit your features/articles:
http://forms.cosida.com/fswcontest.aspx
Contest changes for 2014-15: There are modifications to the award categories (seven categories) below. The biggest contest change is that only ONE (1) entry will be allowed per category per author.
In our profession, we are called upon to use our writing skills each and every day and we create tremendous stories that captivate our audience. It is a major aspect of our jobs and an aspect that we take very seriously. For all of our hard work to recognize others, we are deserving of recognition for our writing talents.
With that in mind, CoSIDA members are encouraged to submit entries for this year’s Stabley Writing Contest.
• Event Coverage
-- An entry detailing the happenings of a sporting event (game, match, tournament).
• General Feature
-- An entry detailing a group’s achievement or a non-sporting event.
• Coach/Administrator Profile & Historical Feature
-- An entry detailing the story of a coach or administrator or recalling a historical event.
• Athlete Profile
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An entry detailing the story of a student-athlete.
• Blog
- -An entry that is produced with personal opinions, activities, and experiences.
• Season Preview/Recap
-- An entry previewing or recapping a sports team’s season.
• Story With Video (cannot be from outside of office, send script if one available)
-- An entry that is accompanied by an internally-produced video. Video should help tell the story, but not be the main part of the entry.
We encourage you to submit as many stories as possible.
Please note the big change in the Writing Contest is that only ONE (1) entry will be allowed per category per author. Please nominate your best work! If you have any questions, feel free to contact:
Stabley Writing Contest Committee Chair
Wade Steinlage, William Penn
Phone: 641-673-1025
Email: STEINLAGEW@wmpenn.edu
Entry Policies
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All dues-paying members of CoSIDA are encouraged to enter the contest. Non-members of CoSIDA who work in a sports information/media relations capacity (graduate assistants, interns, student assistants and volunteers) are invited to submit stories as long as each entry is sponsored by a dues-paying member of that office.
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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.
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Entries must be sent in no later than February 20, 2015 (again, members may submit only ONE entry per category per author). Entries must have been written/published between January 1 - December 31, 2014.
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Online submissions are available at http://forms.cosida.com/fswcontest.aspx
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Entries must be in prose form. No game notes, fact sheets, etc., may be submitted.
Judging
All entries will be forwarded to a district representative, who will gather a panel of three judges. The stories will be judged by category only, with the top story in each category at the district level being forwarded to a national panel of judges. District coordinators reserve the right to re-classify an entry if it is not submitted for the proper category.
Judging will be based equally on the following criteria:
-- Flow/Organization
-- Grammar/Punctuation
-- Interesting/Original
-- Focus/Clarity of Subject
-- Video/Story Correlation (Video Category Only)
Awards
District judging will begin immediately after the submission deadline and will end in early April. National judging will then commence and is expected to conclude in mid-May. The district and national winners are slated to be announced the first of June (June 1, 2015).
Winners at the district level will be emailed a PDF certificate, while national winners will be mailed a plaque.
Questions? Please contact:
Wade Steinlage, Contest Chair
William Penn University
201 Trueblood Avenue
Oskaloosa, IA 52577
(641) 673-1025
steinlagew@wmpenn.edu
or
Tim Brennan, Vice Chair
Salisbury University
1101 Camden Ave.
Salisbury, Md. 21801
(401) 543-6016
tmbrennan@salisbury.edu
or
Ira Thor, CoSIDA Board Liaison
New Jersey City University
2039 Kennedy Boulevard
Jersey City, NJ 07305
(201) 200-3301
ithor@njcu.edu