Enter to win the Bill Adams Literary Awards 2005/6
Bill Adams Literary awards 2005/6
Sponsored by Syngenta
By Laurence Gale MSc
As editor of Pitchcare I am very pleased to announce our latest initiative in promoting education and learning opportunities for our industry.
In the last twenty years we have seen some tremendous advances in sports surface technology, particularly in the advancement of machinery and its operation, renovation, construction and maintenance techniques.
The wealth of knowledge required to manage and maintain sports facilities in today's world is immense. It is one of the reasons why David Saltman set up Pitchcare.com in the first place, he felt there was a clear need to promote our industry and at the same time recognize, promote and share the skills, experiences and work of turf professionals.
It is important that we as an industry share this information; promoting education and training is an essential task to ensure the future of our industry in maintaining and sustaining quality facilities.
With that in mind we have enlisted the support of the eminent Professor Bill Adams, (former Head of Institute of Biological Sciences at University of Wales, Aberystwyth and the author of many books and technical papers) and also our sponsor, Syngenta, to provide a new and exciting competition not only for Pitchcare members but also for students currently attending colleges and universities in the UK.
Bill Adams Literary Award entrants are invited to submit a written article of between 1000-1500 words. You may enter the Awards as a Student or as a Pitchcare member.
Syngenta, kindly sponsoring the Awards, is providing some fantastic prizes.
The student who, in the opinion of the judges, produces the best article will receive a brand new Laptop Computer.
The best article submitted by a Pitchcare member will win a European weekend break for two valued at £500.
Books will also be awarded to commended college entries
Pleased to be asked by Pitchcare to endorse these literary awards, Professor Bill Adams said, "The written word is the prime resource for historical record and a most valuable means of communication. In the fields of education and science in particular written documents are especially advantageous because a reader can move at his own pace to absorb, digest and also revise information.
There are several styles of presenting written information. There is the essay or story style and of course the organisational paradigm for research papers. A style that is often omitted from college courses of a scientific or technical nature is the journalistic style, which I believe has a great deal to commend it especially for technical magazines covering broad areas of interest. There are two key aspects to this style. The first is that the title must stimulate the reader to 'read on' and secondly the articles provide interest both for the reader who just wants to get an overview of the topic and the reader who is sufficiently interested to seek out the fine detail.
I believe that Pitchcare is innovative and forward-looking in concept and we are fortunate that Syngenta has agreed to sponsor the awards.
The awards provide an important opportunity for students at colleges and Pitchcare members to compete on a national basis. The key issue is that these awards are very relevant to personal development in the turfgrass area. I hope that the colleges in particular will encourage their students to compete in this worthwhile competition".
Simon Elsworth, Business Manager - Professional Products for Syngenta Crop Protection UK said, "Syngenta is pleased to sponsor the Bill Adams Awards. We are committed to supporting the training and education of future managers working in the British turf industry. The Pitchcare competition is a great opportunity to support their professionalism in the areas of turfgrass science, technology and management and to recognise the high level of technical expertise and knowledge which is increasingly demanded for all types of turf management - golf course, sports fields and others".
More information about Syngenta can be found at www.syngenta-crop.co.uk
Competition Details.
Details of Content and Style:
The subject areas within which a topic can be chosen are broad and articles will be considered provided they fall within the scope of turfgrass science, technology or management.
There will be two awards and, for both, a journalistic style will be required. There are five key components to this literary style, and articles should comply with the guidelines given below: -
1. A title that attracts attention and stimulates interest
2. A first paragraph that summarises the essence of the complete article.
3. The main content of the article should present relevant information to justify the article being written and published.
4. Good use of images / diagrams / tables.
5. Acknowledgments and list of references to all sources of factual or other
information used in the article.
6. All entries must be submitted by the 31st March 2006, winners will be announced by the 30th April 2006.
Categories of Award:
There are two awards with eligibility for entry as follows: -
1. Students up to and including degree level.
2. Pitchcare members.
Entry in only one category is allowed.
Any student currently attending a course within a UK educational institution incorporating turfgrass science and/or management can enter the student award.
Colleges/Universities should encourage all students attending related sports turf courses to enter.
The respective college tutor(s) and Laurence Gale MSc (Pitchcare) will judge college entries initially. The winning entry from each college will receive a copy of Sports Turf & Amenity Grassland Management, and will be considered for the main award to be judged by Bill Adams, Laurence Gale and David Saltman.
Bill Adams, Laurence Gale and David Saltman will also judge the Pitchcare member's award.
All authors will be judged on their attention to following the guidelines, as well as their literary skills and subject matter. All finalists will have their work published by Pitchcare.
The judges' decision will be final.
These Awards have been designed to encourage learning and understanding of the wide and varied subject of turfgrass management.
All entries must be produced in an electronic format. The following form must be completed and submitted with all entries: -
To complete the form, fill in the required boxes and then save as a word document on your desktop. Click on the entry form link (Bill Adams Literary Awards link) to create an e-mail and then attach the saved copy of the entry form and your literary piece before sending your entry back to us.