bugshaw: (Bridget)
Bridget ([personal profile] bugshaw) wrote2008-08-26 05:41 pm

TAFF 2009 Westbound Race Nominations are Open!

Nominations are now open for the 2009 Europe-to-North America TAFF race. The winner will attend Anticipation, the Worldcon, being held on August 6-10, 2009, in Montréal, Canada. For convention details, see http://www.anticipationsf.ca/

To become a candidate for this race you must provide:

* Five nominations from known fans, three of whom must be European and two North American (nominators should send a signed nomination via postal mail OR if sending the nomination by e-mail, include a phone number for verification);
* A written platform, not to exceed 100 words;
* A £10 bond and a pledge that you will take the trip if you win.

All nominations, platforms, pledges, and bonds must arrive with an administrator (addresses below) by midnight, November 5, 2008. So long as at least two prospective candidates have satisfied these requirements by that date, distribution of ballots, in both electronic and paper form, will begin immediately thereafter.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact the administrators; if you plan to run, please alert them as soon as possible.

Bridget Bradshaw
European TAFF Administrator
103 Rustat Road
Cambridge
CB1 3QG
United Kingdom
E-mail: bugshaw@gmail.com

Chris Garcia
North American TAFF Administrator
962 West Weddell Dr. #15
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
eDress: garcia@computerhistory.org

WHAT IS TAFF? The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund was created in 1953 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular fans familiar to those on both sides of the ocean across the Atlantic.
Since that time, TAFF has regularly brought North American fans to European conventions and European fans to North American conventions.
TAFF exists solely through the support of fandom. The candidates are voted on by interested fans from all over the world, and each vote is accompanied by a donation of not less than US $3 or UK £2. These votes, and the continued generosity of fandom, are what make TAFF possible.

More information about TAFF's history, customs, and practices may be found at the unofficial site maintained by Dave Langford at http://taff.org.uk/.
timill: (Default)

[personal profile] timill 2008-08-26 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Does the Pledge require one only to attend Anticipation, or is there also a requirement to return across the Pond?

[identity profile] voidampersand.livejournal.com 2008-08-27 01:37 am (UTC)(link)
The TAFF delegate is expected to publish a trip report, and is administratively responsible for the side they were elected from, including raising funds on that side. It does not seem to require that they actually return to their side as long as they execute their duties. However, it would be easier.

If you are thinking of nominating someone else to take a one-way trip, you might want to consider the Mid Atlantic Fan Fund. MAFF has several advantages. It is cheaper, because fans only have to cover a 1/4 round trip between Europe and North America. Also, the delegate is exempt from any administrative responsibilities after their trip.

[identity profile] nmg.livejournal.com 2008-08-27 11:40 am (UTC)(link)
There would seem to be a bit of a paucity of SF cons on Ascension, however...