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Down Under Fan Fund, 2008

About DUFF

 Voting for DUFF 2008

Since 1972 the Down Under Fan Fund, a fan-supported fellowship, has encouraged closer ties between science- fiction fans in Australasia and North America through an alternating exchange of representatives. DUFF delegates attend the Worldcon or a national convention in the host country and visit fans they might otherwise never meet in person. Delegates are responsible for raising funds and administering DUFF until a new delegate from their continent is elected, and are expected to publish trip reports which can be sold to aid the fund.

This time the vote is for an American fan to travel to the
Australian Natcon, Swancon 2008 in Perth Australia, March 20th-24th 2008. 

Those of you who are paying attention will note that under normal circumstances in 2008 the DUFF trip would be from Australasia to the US. However in 2006 there were no takers for the Australasia to US trip, so we decided to make the 2007 year an Australasia to US trip, which has knocked on so that in 2008 the trip is the other way.

DUFF is entirely fan/volunteer run by the winning candidates from the previous election.

Nominations / Candidates

Nominations for the US to Australia trip are now closed. See the next column for voting details.

In 2009, the DUFF trip will be from Australasia to the US. Nominations will be opened after March 2008.

For the Australasian-US trip, each candidate must be nominated by three Australasian fans and two North American fans. Each candidate will have a written platform and promises (barring Acts of God) to travel to the 2009 NASFiC, and to serve as administrator of the fund until the next Australasian delegate is elected.

To nominate a candidate send your nomination to:

(Australasia)
Norman Cates
P.O. Box 13-574
Johnsonville, Wellington
New Zealand
normanc@clear.net.nz

OR

(North America)
Joe Siclari
661 Hanover St.
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598-5901
USA

DUFF uses the preferential balloting system to guarantee an automatic runoff and a majority win. The voter ranks the candidates in order of preference (1, 2, 3, etc.). If there is no absolute majority for one candidate after the first count of votes, first-place votes for the lowest-ranking candidate are dropped, and the second-place votes on those ballots are assigned to the candidates named. This goes on until one candidate has a majority. So it’s important to vote for second, third, etc. places, especially if you choose to write in a candidate. (The voter is not required to fill in more than their name, address and first choice.)

Ballots must be signed and accompanied by a donation of at least $5US or $6 Australian or $8 New Zealand. Anyone may contribute and donations in excess of the voting minimum are gratefully accepted. Checks should be made payable to Joe Sicliari (in North America) or Norman Cates (in New Zealand/Australasia) in the administrator’s home currency.

Anyone may vote who has been active in fandom on or before January 1, 2007. “Active in fandom” means involved in fannish pursuits such as fanzine writing or reading, convention running or attending, amateur film/video production, or club participation. Only natural persons may vote. Each voter may vote only once.

This year voting will close January 31st, 2008.


Or you can vote and pay online via Pay Pal. Please note that this is a Pay Pal account owned by a fan who will pass the money on. The actual votes are only emailed to the DUFF administrators.

You can download the ballot form here. (PDF). You would then need to post it with payment to your closest administrator.

(Australasia)
Norman Cates
P.O. Box 13-574
Johnsonville, Wellington
New Zealand
normanc@clear.net.nz

OR

(North America)
Joe Siclari
661 Hanover St.
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598-5901
USA

Mechandise

We have started a store at Cafe Press to sell DUFF merchandise. At present there is a 2008 calendar with photos from Norman's 2004 DUFF trip to the USA. Norman has received a proof, and is very pleased with the print quality. So check out the store and Support DUFF!

Downloads

You can find a half page advert for DUFF in Word format here. Feel free to use and rearrange as neccessary.

You can download the DUFF graphic below.

FAQ

Some questions and answers about DUFF lifted from, well, we just don't talk about that….

What on earth is a fan fund?

A fan fund is basically a means of promoting closer ties between fans of different countries by sponsoring trips to conventions in other countries. Money is raised by donations, voting fees, through auctions and sales of all sorts of stuff.

What do I get if I win?

Enough money to pay for a return flight to the Con venue, plus the convention will either arrange free accommodation at the convention or a billet with local fans and maybe enough for a bit more travel before or after the convention. Usually the convention will donate a free membership too.

Can I nominate with someone else?

Yes, there have been winning teams of two and even three before. This may well mean that you have to pay a lot more of the costs yourselves as the money will only stretch so far. Nominating your entire convention committee is probably a bad move.

Can I nominate a stuffed toy?

Well, yes, but we would suggest that the stuffed toy should run in conjunction with someone capable of taking on the administrator functions. Otherwise the stuffed toy will be placed in a padded bag and mailed to the convention. For a precedent, look to Renaldo the Party Sheep who was accompanied by Frances Papworth & Phil Wlodarczyk to Construction in 1998.

Why do we pay for voting

Voting is one of the ways that DUFF and other fan funds gain funds to be able to send fans to other countries.Any extra that you can give always goes directly to the fund.

What happens at the con?

Usually the fan fund winner(s) is treated like a convention guest and will be invited to take part in various panels and activities. Apart from meeting the other guests, it raises your profile and means that people you don't know will actually come up and talk to you (assuming you have remembered to shower and change your clothes). This is the whole point, to promote ties between Australian and NZ fans, and Australasian and North American fans.

What happens after?

You become the administrator and try and raise enough money so that you can run another race in two years time. It's easier than it sounds, as a lot of people are willing to buy stuff related to the fan funds. You also write a trip report, so that people know what the con was like and what fellow fans across the Tasman are like. The trip report is usually sold (another fund-raiser) and at one stage there was money being donated by a US con for any trip report that was published.

Can I Help?

Of course you can. The easy way - send money - donations are always welcome. If you want something for your money, participate in a fund raising event. This includes the election, buying a trip report or buying something at a FFANZ auction. But not just paying money. If you have items to donate to an auction, that would be cool too. You may want to host a visiting delegate or just show them around your town. Maybe lend a hand getting an auction going or helping out with an election. I'm sure you get the idea.

SFFANZ is a non-profit organisation and registered charity
designed to bring together fans of the fantastic in New Zealand

Contact us by email at: enquiries@sffanz.org.nz