Writing Competition Closed
The first-ever Soccerlens Writing Competition is now closed. A big thanks to everyone who participated (including those who took the time out to read and comment on the entries).
We received 40 entries in total (you can read them below) - many of the entries were top-notch and it’s going to be difficult for the judges to pick an outright winner.
Here’s a recap of the process:
Each judge (list of judges below) will pick 5 best entries out of the list of 40 - articles will be judged on quality of writing, analysis (and depth of knowledge), humour and entertainment value. After each judge picks their 5 top entries, we’ll put the votes together to find the top 3.
The winners will be notified on Thursday night and the results themselves will be announced on Friday morning.
On first impressions, I’d like at least half of the submitters to guest blog again on Soccerlens, and to be honest I’d love to give everyone who contributed a shot at starting their own blog. 40 new blogs may be too big of a strain on my resources though, but regardless of who wins, I want every contributor to know that if you’re interested in starting your own football blog or already have a blog that you wish to promote further, shoot me an email with your details.
Here’s a recap of the prizes, the judges and the competition entries (have a read and make sure to comment on them):
Prizes:
For the winner:
- $100 cash.
- Free footy shirt courtesy of our sponsors Subside Sports.
- Contract offer to write on Soccerlens.
For #1 - #3 (or more):
The option of getting financial assistance in starting / promoting their own blogs as part of the network of blogs we’re running.
Judges:
- Ed Harrison - Newcastle United blog
- Marco Pantanella - mCalcio blog
- Nic - FC Barcelona blog
- Red Ranter - Manchester United blog
- V - Kickette
- Ahmed Bilal - Soccerlens
Submitted Entries:
- Why Do Americans Call It Soccer?
- The Reason Behind England’s ‘Failures’ Since 1966
- Are AC Milan finally too old?
- Where are my Cheerleaders?
- So…Will They Book Dida for Cheating?
- How a Moustache Might Save Football
- A Naan and a Leg
- Is the Champions League REALLY the best football competition in the world?
- Are Liverpool missing Pako?
- Oh No! The Big Bad Foreigner is Coming to Ruin English Football!
- Why Football is the Greatest Sport on the Planet
- The Romanian Revival: Back from the Wilderness
- Selección Española – can Spain’s elite compete with their international peers?
- Sexism in Football
- The MLS will one day get the Respect that it desires
- “Saving” American Soccer vs. Selling Brand Beckham: Yes, There Is A Conflict
- Are Chelsea preparing for the arrival of Frank Rijkaard?
- Can Money Buy You Happiness in the Premier League?
- Guiseppe Rossi Should Choose the U.S.
- England absence from Euro 2008 will be disastrous
- It’s A Fickle Old Game
- Abandon it like Beckham
- Finger Flickin’ Fun: The Brief History of Subbuteo
- A Goal or Not a Goal: Official Assisted Technology Systems
- Droyslden FC | The Romance of Non-League Football
- Shock Development: Keano’s Angry
- Football Fans : Flight Of The Headless Chicken
- There Should Be No ‘I’ In European Group Qualification
- Manchester United: Assured Ferdinand Finally Comes Of Age
- Are Premier League Footballers Good Value for Money?
- Where Is This Relationship Going?
- Kaka to Madrid, Ronaldinho to Milan, Iniesta on the left for Barcelona - A Perfect Future?
- The Heart of Football
- The Hidden Diaries of Ashley Cole
- Studies Show That Football Managers Are, Well, Insane
- Racism in the name of Science? A-Okay!
- Fifa Bungles Player of the Year Nominations Again
- National Team Monogamy
- Exploring the Rotation Myth and Liverpool’s Real Problem
- Premier League’s Biggest Transfer Flops
See you on Friday (19th Oct 07).
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Great Articles, Towards the start the writing quality was not high, but towards the end we got some good articles..
I think this was a succesful comp and looking forward to seeing it next year!
It was a great success, good job Ahmed. Looking forward to reading what the new contributor to the site has to say.
The amount of entries grew to quite a ridiculous length. I also felt like some of the better articles were a bit cliched and brought into question the ability of that writer to consistently produce work of that quality (which is pretty necessary for a blog, so I’m told).
I know you were worried that no one would enter, so you probably couldn’t have done it this time, but if you do this competition again in the future might I suggest some sort of round-based elimination? That way the judges get a better feel for the writer’s overall style and, since there will be less articles to read each round, the readers will find it easier to find the quality articles (that being said, I haven’t seen any significantly poor entries).
Some awesome articles there!
My top 3 (in no particular order)
“Oh no! the big bad foreigner is coming to ruin English Football.” Sam Adriance
“Where is this relationship going?” Henrik Hegedus
“The heart of Football” Kris Gonzalez
Quite a range too, from serious articles to the complete random all were a good read
(except for mine lol)
Thanks for hosting the competition Ahmad!
I also felt like some of the better articles were a bit cliched and brought into question the ability of that writer to consistently produce work of that quality
Good point, DB. Let’s hope the judges are as discerning as you are
40 entries isn’t bad - although hosting all of them on the blog probably got too much. If I run this again I’m sure to get more submissions, so next time I’ll have to figure out a better way to organise the entries.
[...] can read all 40 entries here - I’d like at least half of the submitters to guest blog again on Soccerlens (I’ll be [...]