Contests

CONduit has many contests which happen during the con. We encourage you to participate in any which interest you. If you have suggestions for improvements for these contests, or suggestions for potential future contests, please let us know.

Chocoholics Contest

Don't miss the 16th annual Chocoholics contest on Saturday, May 28! There is only one rule: it must contain chocolate. Entries are due at the ConSuite by 1:30pm unless prior arrangements have been made. You may send an e-mail to liaden at xmission dot com with any questions. Please bring at least 30 small portions of of your creation for judging along with a name card for your dish.

Can't cook? Banned from the kitchen for life? Don't worry, you can still be a judge! Come to the ConSuite at 2:30pm for the tasting and help decide the best entry. We apologize that judges will be limited to the first 30 or so to arrive for the contest due to entry limitations.

Captain Cape-On Hall Costume Contest Egg-splanations

Come on and don't be chicken...just come to CONduit and Join the Hall Costume Contest. Here are the rules on which you can roost-yer participation and strive for egg-shellance!

Egg-splanation 1: As many attendees of CONduit 21 who are so inclined are once again asked to wear one costume or a variety of costumes in the hallway throughout the event! This not only adds to the ambiance of the convention but it makes for a lot of fun for all who attend.

Egg-splanation 2: The formal Hall Costume Contest will be held on SATURDAY ONLY from 10 AM to 4:30 PM. This "formality" should not stop people from wearing costumes the other days. (see #1, above) There are those who wear the same costume all three days, this also is encouraged because it helps create exposure because the judges will be looking for the good ones they have seen.

Egg-splanation 3: Points cannot be carried from one costume to another. Since many people wear a variety of costumes during the Con, ribbons awarded Friday have caused some confusion to the judges and occasionally the attendees. To help deal with this, Egg-splanation 2 was put into place. Judges will hand out RECOGNITION RIBBONS to Friday Hall Costume wearers to acknowledge the efforts of the attendee. These Recognition Ribbons cannot be used during the final judgment but may be used as an invitation to participate in the Masquerade half time show if that is the costume they want to wear for the event. Again you are reminded of Egg-splanation #1!

Egg-splanation 4: Costumes worn as Hall Costume entries are not eligible to be used in the Masquerade. To be eligible for judging/awards during the Masquerade, attendees must remember that Masquerade costumes are NOT hall costumes and vice verse. In years past, there were several entries that had been wearing their costumes all weekend. This choice ruins the "surprise" and "wow" factors. Hall costumers will get a chance to exhibited their efforts during half time of the Masquerade event but not compete. Judges will ask if the costume is going to be used in the Masquerade, if so the judge will give him or her a recognition ribbon but not any points toward the final judgement of the hall contest.

Egg-splanation 5: The Hall Costume winner must be willing to wear their costume during the half time events of the Masquerade event. If they are not willing to do so OR if they are going to participate, with another costume, in the Masquerade itself the judges will pass out a recognition ribbon to honor the participant but no points toward the Hall Costume Contest.

Egg-splanation 6: Categories will include:

Adult (age 18 and up)
Youth (age 12 to 17)
Child (age 0 to have NOT had their 12th Birthday)
Inanimate Object which must be theme related and not part of the hall costume itself. This object may be carried by someone of any age.
The 'Secret Judge' Award.

As usual, the, so called, only "true and living Conduit" is ineligible for any award or recognition but it will be allowed to be there, in costume, as a good advertisement for what is meant by an "inanimate object". For example, if someone carries around a stuffed animal dressed as say 'Super Duper Capon', this year, that falls into this category.

Egg-splanation 7: One Point, Two Point, and Five Point ribbons will to be handed out using the following guidelines:

Five Point ribbons can only be given out for (a) appearance, (b) workmanship (is the costume store-bought, homemade, really, really good or effective, etc.) and (c) INITIAL presentation (which includes character knowledge and explanation of who or what the costume is all about, being "in character" (acting like the character), and other verbal and non-verbal cues that help the judge understand the character and purpose of the costume). Only one Five Point ribbon can be given per costume per judge during the official contest.
One Point ribbons can be given out for all of the above plus (d) self-promotion which includes additional information, behavior, etc., that shows a judge how much the participant is "into" the character and the contest. If this reason is used the judge will mark the letters SP on the ribbon and these points will be used as tie breakers and/or to determine the "best promoter" award. A judge may award up to three points for this purpose.
Two Point ribbons may be used by a secret judge for all four of the areas listed above.
Participation or Recognition ribbons will also be given to those who are not directly entering the Hall Contest or who might be too shy to go on stage during the masquerade.

Egg-splanation 8: Judges will wander the halls looking for those in costume. Participants are also encouraged to seek out the judges. I, Captain Cape-on, command the judges to once again set up a station in the main hall where a judge may be found easily. This judge will scan the hall around him or her and approach individuals wearing costumes and will also be willing to have people approach him or her to draw the judges attention to them.

Egg-splanation 9: RIBBONS MAY NOT BE SHARED. Participant's Name and/or character name and their age will be written on the back of the ribbon to prevent giving away ribbons to others thus stacking the deck. Other notes may be made on the back at the judges discretion to help the judge remember something about the costume.

Egg-splantaion 10: Judges will have an informal score sheet which will include name, age category, total points (categories a-c) with a separate column for Self-Promotion points. Ribbon holders will be asked to bring their ribbons to a final judgement area, probably near where the Masquerade will be held. The FINAL JUDGEMENT will be held Saturday May 28 at 5:30, with the place to be announced and likely, as mentioned, in the main hall near where the Masquerade will be held.

Judges will meet and total the points based on the information found in the above decrees. Only one winner will be chosen in each category. If there are no winners or note enough participants in a given category, the prize/award may not be given.

Egg-splanation 11: ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ENCOURAGED TO COME UP ON STAGE DURING THE MASQUERADE HALF TIME FESTIVITIES TO SHOW OFF THEIR EFFORTS. AWARDS WILL THEN BE PASSED OUT TO THE WINNERS IN EACH CATEGORY.

Egg-splanation 12: If you have any questions please contact <Martin by emailing caseysemporium at hotmail dot com. Include the subject line "Hall Costume Contest Questions".

So Cluck to it and have some fun!

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Fiction Contests

Submission requirements:

Entries must be the original, previously unpublished work of the author. Derivative stories set in someone else's universe, such as Star Trek, Star Wars, etc., are not eligible.
Entry Divisions
- Professional
- Amateur
- Youth (For young writers under 18 years of age. Must have the written consent of a parent or guardian to enter.)
Categories / Fees / Deadlines for entries
- Novella (15,000 - 50,000 words), $5.00 per entry, deadline April 15, 2011
- Short Story (5,000 - 15,000 words), $2.00 per entry, deadline May 1, 2011
- Flash Fiction (up to 1,500 words), $1.00 per entry, deadline May 1, 2011
Entries must be in standard manuscript format.
All entries must be accompanied by a completed entry form and the appropriate entry fee.
Electronic submissions are permitted. Most standard word processing formats are acceptable. Please note that until the entry form and fee are received, your electronic entry is not complete.
Only ONE winner per category in each division will be selected.
Cash prizes TBD.
Preliminary judging by panel.
Final judging by published author(s).
Decisions of the judges are final.
By entering the competition you grant CONduit and SFCon permission to publish your work in the annual compilation for CONduit. No monetary compensation is offered for these rights. All other rights are retained by the author.
All submissions which reach the final round of judging will be considered for publication.
Mail entries, fees and forms to: CONduit 21 Fiction Contest, Attn: Tom Carr, 1222 Lacroix Lane #150, Tooele, Utah 84074
Make checks payable to "CONduit".

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Miniature Painting Contest

Yes! We will be having a Miniatures painting contest. Entries will be accepted Friday and Saturday. Winner will be announced Sunday morning. In addition to the categories below we will have a Best of Show, Peoples' Choice, and Best Theme. This year the theme is "Caped"

If you wish to enter figures that you need for games or tournaments during the weekend, arrangements can be made at time of entry to retrieve them with proper identification. Only figures in the case at judgment time will be considered, however.

1. Limit one entry per person per category. Additional figures for exhibition only will be accepted if we have the capacity.

2. Skill levels. We reserve the right to regroup participants depending upon the number and quality of entrants.

Beginner: New to painting, may have entered into a few contests, but have won no awards.
Advanced: Won awards for painting, but no first place awards.
Expert: Have received first place award and/or best of show or best of category type awards.

2. Categories. We reserve the right to combine or split catagories based on the number of entrants.

Single figure, unmodified. Figure will be judged on the quality of painting technique. This does include proper preparation of the figure like removing flash, basecoat, and attaching the figure to a proper base neatly. Modified figures can be entered in this category but will not count appreciably toward your final score.
Single figure, modifed. In addition to the quality and skill of painting, the skill and effectiveness of figure modification will be considered. The entry must include at least a description of the modifications. "Before" photos or catalog cut outs would be most welcome.
Tiny Special. Consideration to be and category for the special problems of extremely small scale of familiars and micro scale armor.
Large Figure and/or Dragon. In gaming terms, this would be figures taking up over 2 squares of hexes. If there are enough entrants, we will split the category.
Squad (2 to 6 figures).
Army (6+ figures). You may load up any combination of figures and vehicle into an 11 x 15 x 4-3/4 inch volume. Accommodations will be made for those needing their armies for tournament play, to be set up at the time of entry.
Giant/robot/vehicle/other. If there are enough entrants we will split the category. May be combine with Large Figure and/or Dragon.

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