Friday, January 12, 2007

The way to run a competition

Last month, I called for boycotting a composition competition in Cincinnati (read about it here and here). I received an announcement last week for another competition, in Oldenburg, Germany, that seems to do things right:
  • There is no entry fee. (So that the prize money is not being raised by raiding the pockets of the competitors).
  • The competition has a clear theme (In this case having to do directly or indirectly with the life and work of Carl von Ossietsky, the pacifist and journalist awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while imprisoned by the Nazis).
  • The jury membership is listed in full.
In addition, this competition has:
  • No age limit. (Which was not a critique point on the Cincinnati competition).
  • Well-defined parameters for the forces required, including duration and degree of difficulty. (Again, not a problem in Cincinnati).
See, it's not so difficult to get it right!

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