After the success of our photo contest in October last year we are pleased to announce an article/story contest next! Submissions may be made to media@coloradosar.org and the deadline is February 15, 2022. Please read the guidelines carefully before submitting.
Submission categories:
- Favorite mission story/ most memorable mission story
- 1st place $100
- 2nd place $30
- 3rd place $20
- Articles meant for public education (teach the public something)
- 1st place $100
- 2nd place $30
- 3rd place $20
- Articles meant for member technical education (teach the members something)
- 1st place $100
- 2nd place $30
- 3rd place $20
- Articles from members of the public or non-SAR agencies
- 1st place $100
- 2nd place $30
- 3rd place $20
- The winners will be chosen by the media and IT committees. They will solicit appropriate subject matter expert input from board members and committee members depending on the topic, especially for technical articles.
- If only one article is submitted in any category and that article meets the criteria for submission, that submission will automatically win first prize and be published to the blog.
- All articles and story submissions may be edited as necessary and posted to the blog at the discretion of the media and IT committee’s review.
- The winning articles will be announced on the blog, on social media and by email to the membership email group.
General Entry Criteria
- There are no length restrictions on entries, but your article or story should be an appropriate length to maintain audience interest. A good range to shoot for would be between 1000 and 2000 words, but longer articles will be considered.
- Photos and illustrations are encouraged to maintain interest and help visually convey aspects of the written entry.
- Any active member of any CSAR member team may submit for the mission story, public education article, or technical article.
- The article or essay must be original work by the submitting team member, and must not have been previously published in a commercial publication without written permission from that publication that it is authorized to use for this contest.
- CSAR reserves the right to copyedit all entries for the purpose of publication on the CSAR blog. CSAR reserves the right to publish all entries on the CSAR blog, regardless of whether they win an award.
- Contest entrants may request editing assistance from CSAR’s media committee prior to entering the competition if the article is submitted before February 1st.
Specific Category Judging Criteria
Favorite mission story/ most memorable mission story:
Judging criteria include the story’s ability to make the reader “see” the mission in vivid detail, the ability of the mission itself to spark audience interest, and/or the usefulness of lessons learned for other SAR members.
While the event itself can have happened at any point in Colorado’s EMS history, the story/article must have been written relatively recently.
Articles meant for public education (teach the public something)
Articles will be judged on their ability to introduce new topics, or bring a fresh perspective on old topics, in backcountry recreational safety; and/or to explain technical subjects in clear, layperson terminology.
Articles meant for member technical education (teach the members something)
An appropriate subject matter expert from a CSAR committee will judge the technical accuracy and general usefulness of the information presented. For example, an article written about new radio technology will be judged by the radio committee chair.
Articles from members of the public or non-SAR agencies
This category is for anything related to backcountry search and rescue written by someone who is not a member of a CSAR member team. It might include, but is not limited to, stories from rescue subjects about their experience of being rescued; technical or educational articles about BSAR from other EMS organizations; or stories about mutual aid response from other EMS organizations. Anything is fair game as long as it relates to backcountry search and rescue.
Questions? Email media@coloradosar.og