Where are all the paddle lovers out there??
A few weeks ago I ran a “Paddle Lovers of the World” competition on the FatPaddler.com Facebook Page. The rules were simple – tell me in 25 words or less why you want to win, tag yourself on the FP World Map, include your location, and make me laugh!
The competition is now closed and I wanted to share a few stats with you. Number of comments on the FP Map of the World – 141. Countries the entries came from – 7. Number of individuals who entered – 29. In terms of the most active country for entries, here’s the graph.
Entries by country - easily taken out by the paddle-mad Canadians!
The Facebook commentary went from funny entries to epic poems and finally degraded into promises of nudity, latex body-painting, threats to puppies, threats to Fat Paddlers and finally a Declaration of War between Canada and the USA!
There were a lot of entries that went over the 25 word limit, and these I had to cut out of the competition straight away (despite how good they were). Australia decided to largely ignore the rules (we did start out as a penal colony after all!) and instead entered with a series of limericks and heroic poems. In fact these were pretty bloody good, especially from the Hanley husband & wife team from southern NSW. The poems were so good that despite being ruled out, I decided to publish them here (enjoy).
One day whilst browsing and surfing the net,
I found the fat paddler as it was a sure bet,
A big man like me in search of a boat,
with a similar size I hope it does float,
Following his adventures on his blog,
giving inspiration to me without… being a flog,
I am deserving of the prize I deserve to win,
because much like you I am almost thin,
Again thanks for the adventures huckleberry Tim (Sydney Australia).
Ps I know it’s more than 25 words but hey… I was on a ROLL
- Timothy Raheb (Australia)
There was a Fat Padler named Sean
From the HCC Race he was torn
He says he’ll be back
for yet another crack
Maybe next year’s shirts will be fawn.
- Wayne Hanley
On Macquarie Park we all descend,
Charity …funds on us depend.
Join the que, sign the forms,
Pay no heed to impending storms.
Lined up for the start, see lightning flicker,
No worries mate, we’ll just paddle quicker.
The race begins, so does the rain,
Push on through the night, ignore the pain.
Waves in the darkness, wind in your face,
Checkpoint approaching, pick up the pace.
Why keep paddling FP you implore?
There’s SAUSAGES waiting. Need I say More?
- Mel Hanley
Fantastic stuff! But with those out of the running, I had to judge the remaining entries for a winner and found the task pretty hard, so I enlisted the services of my household’s Minister for War and Finance to give her advice. Over a chocolate and a cup of tea we debated the merits, and came up with the following winners:
GRAND PRIZE WINNER – Jim Walton (Bradford, Canada)
“I want the FP t-shirt so I can have a bib when I eat my favorite FP meal… SAUSAGES!!”
This entry was simple but true to the ethos of Fat Paddler. Simple, yet beautiful. Simple, yet honest. Simple, yet…. hmmm, sausages!!! Congrats to you Jim, drop me an email and we’ll sort out your Grand Prize – Team Fat Paddler HCC10 tshirt, kayak stickers, “Crossing the Ditch” book, and Badger Paddle Sock.
SECOND PRIZE WINNER – C Medina (Portland, USA)
“I’m nekkid and need a shirt. The end.”
This comment started the slide into sleaze, with more women following Medina’s lead by jumping in and stating that they too were naked, wet, cold, in the snow, painted in latex and so on. Frankly it disgusted me. Yet, so compelling. And as we say in marketing circles = “sex sells”. Medina started it all and wins the second prize – Team Fat Paddler HCC10 tshirt, Fat Paddler kayak stickers and a Badger Paddle Sock – drop me an email to claim your prize.
Prize Packs - a few goodies for the paddlers out there!
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE – BONUS CONSOLATION PRIZES!
I really was uber impressed with the quality of the entries, and have decided to issue SEVEN consolation prizes to the following people:
1. Tracy Seffers (Charles Town, USA) – first entry in, and the first person to comment on the orientation of the map.
2. Daren Parfitt (Blaina, Sth Wales, UK) – for having a Mo in Movember, and for the awesome statement “This face that tshirt,WINNER”
3. Andy Bilham (Lanner, Cornwall, UK) – For needing conversation starters in the cold wet land of Old Blighty.
4. Mike Ormbsy (near Toronto, Canada) – for claiming a Fat Paddler tshirt would make him sexier! (Yeah babee!!)
5. Chris Johnston (Thunder Bay, Canada) – for wanting an FP tshirt to cover her “ass ets” – haha!
6. Lee Gilbert (Petawawa, Canada) – because I really don’t want you skinning puppies to cover your SOT!
7. Mel Hanley (St Georges Basin, Australia) – for your epic Heroic Verse (shown above).
For each of you I’m going to have a Team Fat Paddler tshirt made up and sent out to you – that’s right, you’ll each be getting a TFP tshirt for your efforts! Drop me an email asap with your details and preferred tshirt sizing and I’ll place the order once I receive all your details.
To all nine winners – a big congrats and please send me a photo of you in your tshirt wherever you are in the world!!
That’s it paddlers. A huge thanks to everyone who got involved, I hope you enjoyed it and made a few new Facebook friends along the way. Cheers! FP
Tags: Competition, Team Fat Paddler, tshirts
Where are all the paddle lovers out there??
If there’s one thing that stands out for me in my beloved sport of paddling, is that there are people from different countries & cultures all over the world sharing a passion for dipping a paddle in the water. So this is my way of seeing where you all come from, and sharing some Fat Paddler love and stuff with you. So, onto the details of the competition!
Firstly, get yourself to the FP Map of the World on the FatPaddler.com page on Facebook (yep, all entries via Facebook for this one – apologies to the non-Facebookers!).
1. Tag yourself on the FP Map of the World wherever you live
2. In the comments, tell me in 25 words or less why you want to win
3. Include your home town and country in brackets after your 25 word entry
The answers that make me laugh the most win one of two prizes mailed to you wherever you are on the planet!
1st Prize – A copy of the book “Crossing the Ditch”, about the first kayak crossing from Australia to New Zealand, signed by both the paddlers. A Team Fat Paddler tshirt (and first choice of size – L or XXL), a Paddle Sock from Badger Paddles. And a couple of FatPaddler.com boat/car stickers.
2nd Prize – A Team Fat Paddler tshirt (whichever size remains!), a Paddle Sock from Badger Paddles, and a couple of FatPaddler.com boat/car stickers.
Prize Packs - a few goodies for the paddlers out there!
Entries close November 13 2010, with winners announced on Nov 16 2010. And don’t forget to share this competition with your friends – I’d love to see thousands of names tagged on the paddler map!! Cheers – FP
Tags: Competition
Fat Paddler in Greenland. That's right, GREENLAND! (Image Credit: Chris Paton)
With 2009 drawing to a close I thought it time to run one last competition. The last competition is – “Where’s the Fat Paddler?“. To enter, follow the following steps:
1. Get hold of a Fat Paddler logo. I can be a tshirt, a sticker, a beer cooler, something from Fat Paddler’s Zazzle Store, or simply print and cut out the logo I’ve prepared for you HERE.
2. Take a photo of the Fat Paddler logo – be it in an exotic location, creatively placed somewhere it shouldn’t, or anything that you think looks good.
3. Upload your picture to the Fan Photos section of the Fat Paddler Facebook Page.
4. Write a brief description with the photo of where or what the photo is. That’s it!
Entries close on Sunday 20 December (where-ever you are!) to give me time to collate and judge the two best photos to put up on FatPaddler.com.
Now for the important bit – the Prize Pack! For this competition there will be two prize packs for the two best photos. Each prize pack will consist of:
1. A copy of the book “Crossing the Ditch” personally signed by its author James Castrission and his paddling partner Justin Jones. This book is about the first ever crossing of the Tasman Sea (between Australia and New Zealand) by kayak, and if you like how the Fat Paddler writes, then you will love this incredible story.
2. 2x Vinyl Fat Paddler stickers (1x white, 1x black)
3. An exclusive Fat Paddler beer cooler.
So there it is, can’t wait to see what you come up with! And just to give you a taste of the book “Crossing the Ditch”, enjoy the preview to the documentary they made whilst on their incredible paddle. Cheers – FP
Tags: Competition, Crossing the Ditch, Where's the Fat Paddler
