New Writing Contest! - Win 100$ towards a box of cards!

[Pheebs888]

Once again, we have decided to encourage our members to get writing by launching a writing contest. Up for grabs is $100 towards a box of cards on www.cardsbythebox.com.

Here are the topics you can chose from for this edition of the contest:

Greatest sporting moment in history for you – We all have that one moment we will remember for a lifetime, for some it's seeing Henderson score for Team Canada, for younger ones it's seeing Crosby score for the same team, for others, it's seeing Babe Ruth indicate he would hit a home run and for others it's seeing Arsenal go undefeated for the whole Premier League season. Tell us about that one moment you witnessed that made you a die-hard fan of your favorite sport

The problem with _______ is __________ - Go on, get it off your chest, tell us what the problem with a certain sport or a certain issue in the hobby is. Don't just moan though, be constructive and tell us how you would address the issue!

How do you value your cards? - We're on SCF because we all trade online, we bust wax get cards we do not want and swap them for cards we do want. Whenever dealing with someone else though we need to put a value on our cards to start the negotiations. How do you go about putting a value on your cards? Do you subscribe to a price guide? Do you just search eBay's previous listings? Do you just put your own value on your cards or do you just trade them for something you'd rather have without worrying so much about the financial aspect?

My greatest hobby accomplishment – We're collectors, we all have goals be it completing a set, finding that elusive white whale or getting to meet our idol. What is your biggest accomplishment in the hobby? Is it a card from your collection you're particularly proud of? Is it getting your hands on a rare game-used item? Is it meeting the player you collect and finding out that they are completely worthy of your attention?

A beginner's guide to collecting – You've been in this game for long enough, if you had to pass on your wisdom to some new collectors, what advice would you give them? What motivated your advice? Did you have a bad experience that meant you learnt the hard way?


The best of the best is __________ - Tells us who you consider to be the best player/driver in your favorite sport and why or tell us who you think is the best card manufacturer in the hobby and again, tell us why. Give us plenty of examples though, you are trying to convince us that your opinion is the right one here!

This year, the champion(s) will be: ___________ - You claim to know all about your favorite sport? Tells us who will win it all this year. Whether you are a fan of the NHL, the MLB, the NBA or the NFL, someone has got to raise the holy grail this year! Analyse the different leading contenders and tell us who YOU think will win it all. Write it like a fan or like an impartial expert, the choice is yours! But don't forget, if you're right you could have some serious bragging rights!

The influence of social networking on the hobby – Do you think it's a good thing to see Upper Deck, Panini and the others on Facebook and Twitter? Are they using this new tool to its full extent? Do you take part in the numerous giveaways? What would you do differently if you were them? Do you ask questions on there and are you satisfied with the service?

Each article will receive 250 CC (as long as it is well written and spelt checked)

To be eligible for the contest, your article MUST be at least 800 words and 1000 words to be eligible for publication in Tuff Stuff. You can enter as many articles as you want.

The winning article will be chosen by the editor in chief, the following criteria will be observed when choosing a winner:
the quality of the English
the originality
the visual support (pictures, graphics, etc…)
the coherence of the author

RULES
1. Simply write any articles about the ten topics mentioned above

2. Your article must have a minimum of 800 words

3. Grand prize winner will receive $100 toward a box on Cardsbythebox.com.

4. All qualified entries will receive 250 CC for their work (unless the article is poorly written and obviously not spell checked)

5. All submissions must be spell checked and posted as a new thread in the article submission forum: https://www.sportscardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=446 . In the thread title include your article title and the words CONTEST ENTRY.
Example: The Future of the Hobby – CONTEST ENTRY

6. The deadline to submit your article is on the 28th February 2011 at 5.00 PM EST.

7. Open to ALL members to include SCF Staff (except for the Editor-in-Chief and the site owner who can submit articles but not win the prize)

8. You can write as many articles as you wish!

ELIGIBILITY AND ARTICLE REQUIREMENTS
1. You must be a member in good standing to enter (No unexpired infractions worth 5 points or more)

2. The article must be your own original work - using something written by someone else will result in disqualification

3. The article you use must be brand new - you cannot use an article which you previously submitted for the articles site

4. Add pictures to your article - it helps getting your message across

5. If your article is 1000+ words, it could be chosen as part of our monthly submission to Tuff Stuff Sports Collector Monthly who choose one of our articles each month to publish. - This no longer applies, we have been informed today that Tuff Stuff will be closing down shortly


FURTHER DETAILS
1. Each article will be edited and posted on the SCF articles website. They will become SCF’s property.

2. The best articles received will be featured in the upcoming edition of Collectors’ Corner, SCF online magazine.

3. The best article will be chosen by the Editor-in-Chief


If you have any questions, please feel free to post them here or drop me a PM! I look forward to reading your submissions and best of luck everyone!


Entries
1. The Influence of Social Networking on the Hobby - Sweetg1
2. The NCAA and the Amateur Athlete Myth - joshuadusarmy
3. Really?!? I Had No Idea - Steak Nchop
4. The Evolution of Assessing a Card's Value - RGM81
5. How to Determine the Value of your Whale When Pulled- Scottkoz20
6. 2011 NBA Champs? - dwighthoward
7. Finding the Value - Tradinpaint
8. Old-Time Collecting - SteakNchop
9. How to Start a Sports Card Collection - SteakNchop
10. The Lunacy of the Numbered Cards- SteakNchop
11. Topps: The Card Industry Dictatorship - SteakNchop
12. The Problem with Today's Card Collecting Is... -Sweetg1
13. The Top 10 Best Baseball Position Players Ever - SteakNchop
14. Networking and Its Effect on the Hobby - puckstopper31
15. A Starting Guide to Collecting: Advice from a Veteran - Monticellocards
16. 2011 MLB Regular Season Predictions - SteakNchop
17. Can I Make Money in Sports Cards? - SteakNchop
18. A Hobby Becoming too Expensive - # 1 Broncos Fan
19. The Worst Thing About the NHL Is the Officiating - RGM81
20. This Year the Champions Will Be...The Braves! - Bulldogboy07
21. My 2011 Predictions - Andrewhoya
22. the Problem with Baseball Is that it's Too Slow - JPBaseball1322
23. Card Collecting Adventures - Wild4life
24. Everyone Dies but How Many of us Truly live? - munchiesthemonkey
25. The Best of the Best Obscure Baseball Seasons (1980 to Present)- JPBaseball1322
26. Jon Jones Future UFC Champ - Krowsnest
27. The Best of the Best Is - karnivore
28. Social Media and the Hobby, a Work in Progress -RGM81
29. The Naked Pass - RiceBondsMntna2Bonds
30. Top Ten Baseball Position Players who Played in MLB in 2010 - SteakNchop

[RGM81]

Everybody have fun with this latest contest! Some excellent topics up for discussion here!

[Pheebs888]

Yup I'm hoping to get some little gems out of you guys!

[30ranfordfan]

You'll get one from me :)

[mikesilvia]

Looks like another great contest. Good luck to the writers!

[SteakNchop]

Looks like a good contest to me. I'll be be entering for sure...

[sweetg1]

Looks good. Thanks for another great contest. Good luck everyone!

[Pheebs888]

And here is our first posted entry: The Influence of Social Networking on the Hobby

[Pheebs888]

And our second entry: The NCAA and the Amateur Athlete Myth
Will post more entries tomorrow :)

[SteakNchop]

Excuse me, but if I am not mistaken I had the second contest entry posted. As you can see, I posted mine at 10:59 and he posted his at 11:24. Not that this is very important, I just want to make sure you don't skip by my entry completely.