NEWSLETTER – March 14, 2011

Third Annual Writing and Photography Awards

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada is pleased to announce its third annual Writing and Photography Awards

The Awards will be open to all paid-up GJAC members of the current year. Regular members and Associate members who freelance for legitimate publications or websites are eligible.

Deadline for submissions: April 15, 2011.
Winners will be announced during the RBC Canadian Open in July in Vancouver

The Categories are:

• NEWSPAPER – News, Feature, Profile
  
• NEWSPAPER – Editorial
  
• MAGAZINE – News, Feature, Profile
  
• MAGAZINE – Editorial
  
• WEB – News, Feature, Profile
  
• WEB – Editorial, Blog
  
• TRAVEL – Destination, Golf Resort
  
• PHOTO – Landscape
  
• PHOTO – Action or General Image

All submissions must reflect editorial year 2010 from January 1 to December 31. Any concerns, criticism, problems or otherwise shall be directed to the GJAC board and not to the administrator of the awards. Failure to do so can result in expulsion from the contest.

Rules and Regulations (Writing Submissions)

• Four copies of each entry (1 master copy and 3 judges' copies) must be sent to Grant Fraser, secretary/treasurer GJAC, Glen Abbey Golf Club, 1333 Dorval Drive, Oakville, Ontario, L6J, 4Z3. Grant is not a judge nor is he the contest administrator.
  
• Entries must be postmarked on or before the deadline date.
  
• The master copy of each entry must have the GJAC member's name, contest category, media member's byline, publication name and date of publication (month of magazine is fine).
  
• Three additional copies should have the byline BLACKED OUT as well as any references to the publication. Photo, graphics and sidebars do not have to be removed. All multi-page submissions must be secured with a staple in the upper left hand corner.
  
• Members can ONLY submit a total of three pieces of work for the contest and cannot submit more than one submission for individual categories (in other words you can't put in three Magazine profiles but you can put in one each of the Magazine categories (news, feature, profile).

Rules and Regulations (Photography Submissions)

• All entries must be submitted on a CD or a hard copy and mailed to Grant Fraser at the above address. Remember you must send three copies. That's three CD's or three hard copies of each picture.
• Photo entries sent to the judges will not be altered in any way, nor will they be returned.
  
• Only 1 entry per category.

Photo Categories:

1. General Image or Action Shot
2. Golf landscape

Each submitted photo MUST be accompanied by a brief description of the following:

1. What the photo is of.
   
2. Publication or website where the photo appeared.
   
3. Approximately when the photo was taken.

All submitted photos are required to have been published during 2010.

RBC Canadian Open Trip

GJAC Tournament Director Robert Thompson and board member Hal Quinn have been busy trying to arrange a trip for members leading up to the Canadian Open. Current plans include stops at Doug Carrick's new Ridge Course at Predator Ridge; Richard Zokol's Sagebrush and Tobiano. British Columbia tourism, in conjunction with local tourism agencies, are offering to cover the cost of accommodations and transportation between the courses. Current plans have this trip starting on July 16 and finishing in Vancouver on July 18, with the expectation that members would fly into Kelowna by the morning of July 16 (there's a Toronto flight that arrives at 11 am).

The trip is an excellent opportunity for members to see these three award-winning courses before arriving back in Vancouver for the Canadian Open and GJAC Writing Awards, which will be held at Marine Drive on Tuesday July 19.

We'd like to get a sense of how many members are interested in this trip as soon as is possible. It is possible air fare will be covered, but it hasn't been confirmed as of this point. Please send a note to Hal Quinn at halquinn@shaw.ca or Robert Thompson at robertthompson8@sympatico.ca if you are interested. We're trying to get a sense of numbers – but this is not a confirmation of your attendance.

Why do you need to renew your membership in the Golf Journalists Association of Canada? It's a fair question. Here's just a brief recap of what the GJAC has done with your money.

• We sponsored six schools as part of the Golf in Schools program organized by the RCGA and provincial golf associations.
  
• We gave a $1,000 bursary to two young Canadian golf professionals, Richard Scott and Stephanie Sherlock.
  
• We announced and awarded our first Dick Grimm award for outstanding lifetime contributions to Canadian golf.
  
• We held our second GJAC writing awards contest and announced the winners at a dinner and golf outing at Weston Golf and Country Club during the RBC Canadian Open.
  
• We updated our website with new features including links to websites of many Canadian golfers both pros and amateurs.

Having done all that we still need you to renew your membership. We've even made it easier for you. This year you can pay by PAYPAL by going to the following link www.gjac.ca/payment.html. This year's membership cards will be sent out soon.

If you have any questions, contact Grant Fraser at gfraser@golf-management.org or (905) 844-7666.

Congratulations...

Congratulations to GJAC director Scott Pritchard on his new job. Scott, who had been the Associate Director of the Ontario Professional Golfers Association since 2007, is now the Canadian Tour's Director of Business Development and Communications. He will remain a director of the GJAC.

Canadian Rockies Golf Consortia

One of our new associate members is Janeen Driscoll of Buffalo Communications. Janeen would like to extend an offer to our media members to visit the Canadian Rockies this year. Here's a note from her: The Canadian Rockies Golf Consortia cordially invites members of the GJAC to visit Alberta and experience any of its seven golf courses from May until October. Complimentary rounds for members wishing to review properties are offered, based on availability, as members travel through the destination for the Canadian Open or other summer travel.

The destination is celebrating 100 Years of Golf in Banff and the 85th Anniversary of Canmore Golf & Curling Club in 2011, among its many activities and summer events that will draw golfers to the West. A few reasons to visit:

• The Fairmont Banff Springs will kick off its celebration by offering any golfer usage of hickory clubs on its Tunnel 9 course through the month of May, and will honor the anniversary with a July 13 community celebration. Limited media spots are available on the Stanley Thompson 18 at the event.
  
• Canmore Golf & Curling Club will celebrate its 85th season by unveiling upgrades made to the course through the off season. Those changes include the addition of a new par-3 second hole and refurbishment of its tee boxes that are worth seeing this year.
  
• Kananaskis Country has just opened its 2011 tee sheet, with greens fees at $98 through the season. The Robert Trent Jones' acclaimed layouts at Mt. Kidd and Mt. Lorette were named to SCOREGolf's Top 5 Public Courses in Canada listing last year.
  
• The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, #1 Golf Resort in Canada and home of CPGA Club Professional of the Year Alan Carter, will start its first golf season with its new spa, which opened in November with golf-centric spa services included on its menu.
  
• Stewart Creek Golf Course will offer its spring tune-up this June, including four 1.5 hour clinics and social directly following each one, for $165/person for the series.
  
• Silvertip Golf Resort, home course of PGA Professional Stephen Ames, offers a variety of instructional packages through its Golf Academy. Head Pro Travis Mann joined the team last year and anticipates a strong 2011 for Silvertip.

Accommodations are available; transportation costs are the responsibility of the individual. To request a visit the destination this summer or for more information on any of the above activities, please contact Janeen Driscoll of Buffalo Communications, at jdriscoll@buffalocommunications.com, or via phone at 910-690-9711.