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 Australasian fan to travel to the
2009 Worldcon, Anticipation
in Montreal, Canada, 6th to 10th August, 2009.
Those of you who are paying attention will note that under
normal circumstances in 2009 the DUFF trip would be from North
America to Australasia. However in 2006 there were no takers for
the Australasia to North America trip, so we decided to make the 2007
year an Australasia to North America trip, which has knocked on so that
in 2009 the trip is the other way.
DUFF is entirely fan/volunteer run by the winning candidates
from the previous election.
Nominations for a DUFF delegation to travel from Australasia to
Canada are now closed.
We are delighted to announce that the nominees are:
Emma Hawkes
Nominators: AUS (Justin Ackroyd Cathy
Cupitt, Bill Wright), NA (Naomi Fisher and Patrick Molloy, Ivy
Smith)
Fannish Highlights: Concom for two WA cons. Reinvigorated the
local art show. Co-edited the first feminist SF zine in
Australia. Currently
on Australian SF Foundation. National Australian Fan Fund
delegate in 2002. Have continued NAFF fundraising. Fan guest
at Swancon 2004. Marg Hughes award for significant
contribution to WA fandom in 2005.
Interests? Art, character-based SF&F,
medieval history, slash fiction, social justice.
Previous US visits? 72 hours in Detroit
in the 1990s (!)
Qualities as a delegate? Sociability,
organisation and fundraising.
Anything else? I will bring, at my own
expense, my fifteen-month-old girl, Margaret. My sincere thanks to
Anticipation for providing child-minding facilities.
Chris Nelson
Nominators: AUS (Robin Johnson,
Grant Stone, Bruce Gillespie), NA (Robert Lichtman, Gay
Haldeman)
Born in Chicago, a twister carried me to
the magical land of Oz at the age of 10. Raised by
quokkas, I discovered fandom at early SwanCons in Perth.
Was a midwife at the birth of Susan Calvin (1982). Began
Mumblings from Munchkinland – the only West Australian
fanzine ever published in Pakistan, Tasmania, the South
Pacific or (currently) Canberra – in 1989. Organised
the first regional sf con held in Samoa (2002). I’m
fascinated by fan and pro sf history and the father of three
avid Dr Who fans. I’d love to compare Canadian, US and
Australian fandoms firsthand and make many new friends.
Previous North American con: OmniCon IV (Florida, 1983).
David Cake and Grant Watson
Nominators: AUS (Danny Oz, Sue Ann
Barber, Damien Warman), NA (Randy Byers, Colin Hinz)
David Cake! Grant Watson! Only 100 words!
Go!
David Cake! 39 years old! Fan since 1988!
Knows weird things! Never been to Canada! Natcon Business
Meeting addict! Online rights activist! Owns a theremin and
too many books!
Grant Watson! 32 years old! Fan since
1990! Five Ditmar Awards! Edits fanzines! Makes own comics!
Has never been to a convention outside Australia! Actor,
writer, playwright!
Together! Run conventions! Operate fan
clubs! Edit small press magazine! Many panels! Beer! Party!
Love SF in all media!
We promise we make more sense than this
in person, but we've only got 100 words to-
Alison Barton
Nominators: AUS (Julian Warner,
Murray McLachlan, Juliette Woods), NA (Joe Siclari,
Lloyd and Yvonne Penney)
I've been in fandom more years than I
care to recollect (but those born the year I started like to
remind me they are old enough to vote now).
I've helped run conventions, clubs and
fanzines too numerous to mention. I've attended many more.
You may remember me as the rum wielding
Aussie at Interaction in 2005 (or if you had some of the rum,
you may not.) You may have seen me in the pages of that
steadfast Aussie fanzine, Ethel the Aardvark. (If not,
subscribe now! http://msfc.sf.org.au/index.php ) I am
currently helping to raise Fandom, the Next Generation. Oh,
and helping with some little Natcon thingie.
I'm looking forward to brushing off my
French and catching up with friends old and new, to share in
some fun (and perhaps some of that rum). And I look forward to
playing host again when people come down under for a visit in
2010. I will be accompanied by my 9 mth old son, Joshua. |
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 US$5 or AUS$8 or
NZ$9 New Zealand. Anyone may contribute and
donations in excess of the voting minimum are gratefully
accepted. Checks should be made payable to Sue and Steve
Fancis (in North America) or Norman Cates (in New
Zealand/Australasia) in the administrator’s home
currency. (We realise that the whole currency thing can
be a bit difficult, so please feel free to contact us if
you wish to discuss alternate methods of payment.)
Anyone may vote who has
been active in fandom on or before January 1, 2008.
“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 May 17th, 2009.
Thanks to Jean Weber
you can shortly vote and pay online at:
http://wrevenge.com/duff2009/
You can download a PDF of the 2009 DUFF ballot form here.
Please feel free to
print off copies for distribution to conventions and
clubs.
You can post
ballots to:
(Australasia)
Norman Cates
P.O. Box 13-574
Johnsonville, Wellington
New Zealand
normanc (at) clear.net.nz
OR
(North America)
Sue & Steve
Francis
P O Box 58009
Louisville KY 40268
USA
sfsue (at) aol.com or sjf1138 (at)
aol.com
.
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!
You can download a PDF of the 2009 DUFF ballot form here.
You can download the DUFF graphic below. |
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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.
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