"I'm pleased to announce the 2011 Safecastle Freedom Awards--a program in which we will provide the talented, deserving winners with some great preparedness-related prizes!" said Vic Rantala, owner of Safecastle."What we aim to do is find and recognize the best, original, web-based content of the year, related to survivalism and preparedness."
This is essentially a contest of skill. Eligible entries will include new non-fiction articles written and originally posted online at a recognized, participating blog or forum and new survival/preparedness videos originally posted this year and "sponsored" by or posted at a participating blog or forum (see below for participating websites).
Every one of our finalists will be a winner and will receive an engraved "Safecastle Freedom Award" as pictured here, signifying the noteworthy achievement of contributing materially to our country's preparedness.
The creators of the articles and videos judged to be the very best of the best will be awarded the prizes described further below.
Competition Guidelines are few, but what there are, are there for good reason:
1. Keep it clean and family-friendly.
2. Modern attention spans are short. That means, in this new media, we are looking for articles that are concise. 1500 words in a non-fiction article is the maximum length please. For the short-form video, 6 minutes is the limit. Note that shorter just may be better.
3. Submit your own original article or video to ONLY ONE of the participating blogs or forums for entry into this contest. Note your intention to enter this contest with that submission to the participating website so that there are no mistakes. If it becomes apparent that an entry was submitted to multiple websites as an original sole entry, it will be disqualified from the contest.
4. Do not plagiarize anyone else's work. The author is solely responsible for the content of his or her article or video. Plagiarization results in the forfeiture of any prizes that may be awarded as well as any potential legal ramifications.
5. Article and video submissions must be posted originally at a participating blog or forum. For videos such as those first posted to YouTube, they must appear on the sponsoring blog or forum within one week of that YouTube posting to qualify as an original creative eligible for prize consideration in this contest--and not appear somewhere else first.
6. Original article authors and video creators can enter as many different stories and videos as they wish--but again--see #3 above. To be clear--you MAY submit one creation at one participating website and another creation at another participating website--but not the same original piece at more than one site.
7. Authors and video producers retain ownership rights to their work, but they also agree that those articles and videos may be subsequently posted at Safecastle's blog, Refuge and/or on Safecastle's store site, www.prepared.pro without further renumeration.
8. Contest prizes are awarded only to residents of the continental U.S. where there are no legal constraints to such a contest awards program. Prize winners are responsible for paying any taxes that may be due as a result of their prize awards.
9. Each participating website will be fully responsible for selecting their own article and video finalists (one of each if they have suitable submissions) by Dec. 31, 2011. Then in January of 2012, a panel of expert judges assembled by Safecastle LLC will manage a playoff judging system to determine the prize winners from among the many finalists.
10. Owners, employees, and their family members of Safecastle and the participating blogs and forums are NOT eligible for participation, recognition, or prizes in this contest.
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The PRIZES are very nice! ...
September 26 note: The economic collapse and marketplace difficulties have forced Safecastle to reduce the prize package in this contest from what was previously announced.
1. First prizes in the article and video categories will be awarded a Katadyn Pocket , value $320.
2. Second prize in each of the two categories will be Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrators, value $275.
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| Excalibur Dehydrator |
3. All finalists will receive a Safecastle Freedom award trophy.
4. Sponsoring blog/forum owners for the grand and first-prize winners will receive Safecastle gift certificates worth $250 each.
More on the Judging
Participating forums and blogs will solicit original entries from their readers. It is up to those websites to use whatever method works best to determine their chosen contest finalists (one for each category--article and video). Entries must have been first posted to those websites during 2011.
In January of 2012, the various finalist entries will be submitted to Safecastle LLC. The final prize winners will be determined by selected playoff system managed by a panel of judges chosen by Safecastle. Prizes will be awarded no later than February 2012.
To Participate:
Contact the webmaster/site administrator at one of the following 15 survival-related blogs and forums to find out how to submit your work and to make sure it fits their particular perspective on things. (Note that our blog here, Refuge, is NOT posting contest entries until the finalists themselves are identified.).
Of course, do be sure to frequent these sites to marvel at the ongoing quality of preparedness-related knowledge being shared so freely:
If there are any questions about this contest, please submit a "comment" here on this blog entry and I will do my best to answer it or clarify the rules as needed.
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Get Ready ... Seriously -- www.prepared.pro
