KarateForums.com Awards 2016: Nominate Your Favorites!

[Patrick]

Hello,

Welcome to the 15th annual KarateForums.com Awards!

Through these awards, we recognize just a few of the individuals who have made outstanding contributions to KarateForums.com in the past year. Over the last 14 years, we have honored 138 different members with a nomination and 49 with an award. Both of these numbers will grow again this year.

Your participation is vital. It is the members of this community who select the nominees and vote for the winners.

What You Should Know Before Nominating

1. These awards take into consideration all community activity between October 19, 2015 and October 18, 2016. Members must be nominated based upon their activity in this period and articles nominated for Article of the Year must have been published in this span.

2. To nominate, you must have a KarateForums.com account with at least 25 posts made on or before October 18, 2016.

3. Only one member or article can be nominated for each award. In other words, you cannot nominate two members for Member of the Year. You have to pick one person. One person can be nominated for more than one award, however.

4. You cannot nominate yourself, or an article that you wrote, for any of the awards.

5. Your nominations will be kept private. We do not publicly reveal who nominated for whom.

6. Please do not attempt to artificially inflate our nomination totals in any way. This includes, but is not limited to: Trading nominations, encouraging people to nominate indiscriminately (publicly or privately), sending spam and any other behavior that could lead to results being artificially skewed. Members found to be participating in these activities will be disqualified from nomination in any category.

7. Though it is unlikely to occur, a banned member cannot be nominated.

8. Please note that you do not have to nominate in every category. You can nominate for as many or as few as you would like - please go for as many as you feel comfortable with. The more valid nominations that we receive, the better!

From these nominations, the ballot for each award will be chosen, consisting of the top 4 nominees plus ties. Through the poll system available on these forums, you will be able to vote for the winners!

Categories

Important note: all members (including Sempais and Senseis) are eligible for nomination in any category, except where otherwise noted. However, I (Patrick) am ineligible for nomination in any category.

1. Member of the Year

This award is intended to acknowledge the member who you feel best exemplifies the qualities that KarateForums.com puts a premium on. Knowledge is valuable, but most valuable is a kind and helpful nature. You don't need to be a martial arts expert to be nominated for this award - you need to be someone who is kind and who shares what they know in a productive fashion that helps others. Current staff members (Sempais, Senseis and Patrick) cannot be nominated for this award.

2. New Member of the Year

This award is the same as Member of the Year, except that this one is strictly for members that registered on or between the dates of October 19, 2015 and October 18, 2016. Eligible members must have made at least 50 posts by October 18, 2016. Current staff members (Sempais, Senseis and Patrick) cannot be nominated for this award.

3. Community Spirit Award

This award should go to a person whom you feel has a strong passion for this community. A person who is all about the home team - in this case, KarateForums.com.

4. Staff Member of the Year

This award is the same as the Member of the Year award, except that this award is for current staff members only (except Patrick). If you are unsure of who is on staff, please visit http://www.karateforums.com/staff.php for a complete listing.

5. Funniest Member of the Year

Humor is an important aspect of the forums, and this award recognizes the member who has brought a smile to your face many times.

6. Karate Contributor of the Year

This award is for your favorite contributor within the Karate forum - a member who has added substantial value in that section in the past year.

7. Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling Martial Arts Contributor of the Year

This award is for your favorite contributor within the Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling Martial Arts forum - a member who has added substantial value in that section in the past year.

8. Equipment Contributor of the Year

This award is for your favorite contributor within the Equipment forum - a member who has added substantial value in that section in the past year.

9. Health, Training and Fitness Contributor of the Year

This award is for your favorite contributor within the Health, Training and Fitness forum - a member who has added substantial value in that section in the past year.

10. Instructor Central Contributor of the Year

This award is for your favorite contributor within the Instructor Central forum - a member who has added substantial value in that section in the past year.

11. Article of the Year

This award distinguishes your favorite article that was published in the KarateForums.com Articles section on or between October 19, 2015 and October 18, 2016. Whether the article enlightened or inspired you, this is the place to recognize it. Here are the articles that are eligible for nomination, in order of publishing date:

Often Drilled and Rarely Applied! by sensei8

Running a Dojo is About More Than Martial Arts Knowledge by sensei8

Tips For a Martial Arts Parent by bushido_man96

The Perception of Online Martial Arts Training by Zaine

Are You a Leader or a Follower? by Lupin1

Using YouTube for Your Martial Arts School's Marketing by tallgeese

Concepts and Techniques by Wastelander

Meditation Through Movement by DWx

Integrity in Martial Arts School Marketing by ninjanurse

Please note: As we are closing the KarateForums.com Articles section, and all pending articles have been published, this will be the final Article of the Year award.

Ready to Nominate?

Please nominate. You will find a blank ballot at the bottom of this message that you can copy and paste.

You nominate by sending a private message to the account with the username Awards through this link: http://www.karateforums.com/privmsg.php?mode=post&u=2715 - nominations will be closed on November 2, 2016 at 9 PM ET. Please do not post your nominations publicly in this thread or elsewhere in the forums.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to private message me or reply here.

Thank you for reading and for visiting KarateForums.com. Your participation in these awards is what makes them meaningful. I can't wait to see who you choose to honor this year.

Here is a blank ballot that you can use:

1. Member of the Year:

2. New Member of the Year:

3. Community Spirit Award:

4. Staff Member of the Year:

5. Funniest Member of the Year:

6. Karate Contributor of the Year:

7. Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling Martial Arts Contributor of the Year:

8. Equipment Contributor of the Year:

9. Health, Training and Fitness Contributor of the Year:

10. Instructor Central Contributor of the Year:

11. Article of the Year:

[Patrick]

Thank you to those who have nominated thus far! If you haven't, please weigh in. It's a great way to express your appreciation for some of the great people within our community.

Thanks,

Patrick

[Patrick]

Nominations are now closed. Thank you to everyone who nominated this year! Ballots will be announced soon and, at that time, voting will begin.

Patrick