NEPA 8 Page Competition

The NEPA 8 Page Competition.

The purpose of this competition is to encourage society members that have not previously participated in Federation level competitions to enter in the future.

The idea is to have no hard and fast rules for this competition but there are a number of guidelines that it may be useful to follow.

1). An entry should tell a “story” and so in the majority of situations it will not be possible to take the 8 sheets straight from your collection. Entries are usually written up specially for that competition.

2). Page 1. This is a very important page - it has a number of things to do.

a). It begins the story with a brief outline of what follows - giving the judges a general idea of the story.

b). It may have a map, a postcard, a philatelic item or something else that will contribute to the story in some way. In many classes you cannot use pictures, postcards or other non-philatelic material but you can usually get away with it on page 1.

c). It should list any references that need to be included.

REMEMBER the judges will look at this page - probably more carefully than the other pages!

3). Pages 2-7. These pages are the meat in the sandwich and they tell the story.

a). use the best possible material to do this job. However there is no point including a superb item if it does not make its point in the story. Judges will notice things like this.

b). Do not overcrowd the pages.

c). Do not make the pages look sparse.

d). Do draw the judge’s attention to special items - you could use different coloured ink; a cover might be backed by a brighter coloured card; Judges don’t know everything so tell them things you think that they should know about your entry.

e). You don’t need the title on every page - carefully selected sub-headings will lead the judges through the story.

4). Page 8, This finishes your story. Make sure that the story ends properly. Make sure that your entry does tell the story you say it is going to, e.g. if your entry is France 1860 - 1900 it’s no good ending with an issue after 1900.

When you think that you have finished your 8 pages

a). Make sure that you have your references on p.1 e.g. Stanley Gibbons GB Part 1

b). Lay the 8 sheets out as the judges will look at them (probably 4 sheets across and 2 down) Put sheet numbers on the back so that the sheets are laid out in the order that you want them.

c). Cheque Ure spelig - perhaps get someone else to check as they may notice things you have missed such as grammatical errors and typographical errors.

Don’t forget -you can ask people to help you!

Have a go and good luck

NEPA Competitions Secretary