Photo by Engin Akyurt:
Do you love a good competition with an award? Well, you can enter into hundreds of competitions online and offline without engaging in sports. Below are four of the most common non-sports competitions.
Writing Contests
Are you a writer? There are several contests where you can submit your work for review and win a prize. You can do essays, TV pilots, novels, film scripts, novellas, short stories, and poems among others. The thought of being in a writing contest can terrify some writers. Some do not even know where to start and what they get for allowing people to judge their work. The contests are laidback and offer an interesting way to get your writing out there. A writing contest can offer you publication, practice, and you can earn a prize. You can walk home with prize money, recognition, and a publication deal. There might be an admission fee, but what you need to keep an eye on are the rules of the contest and the first publishing right before you get into the contest. One of the most popular contests is the Young Lions Fiction Award.
Academic Contests
Students and scholars can benefit from academic contests. You can demonstrate your skills in an academic contest. For students, an academic contest boosts your application, especially when you are not good at sports. You or your team may not win an award, but entering a competition is an easy way to show colleges that you are good at team playing.
The most popular competitions are Academic Decathlon, MIT Inspire, National Economics Challenge, and National History Day Competition among others. Although these competitions do not require your physical muscles, you have to be smart to win any award here. They test critical thinking, knowledge of history and geography and other subjects, diplomacy, language and speech, and many more. You can get into online competitions so that you never have to travel.
Art and Music Contests
Art and music contests offer an easy way for you to gain exposure. If you have created amazing art or composed great songs, but you struggle to get exposure, an art contest can be a great place to start. Even if you never win an award, you will have gained publicity as an artist. You could potentially win prize money and kickstart your music and art career. You can get into local competitions or world-renowned contests.
You can get into painting contests, digital art contests, illustration contests, drawing contests, general art contests, and singing contests. Before you enter any contest, you need to ensure you hone your skills to international quality. You have to show your best works and then stick to one style of art and one medium. You have to understand what the market wants.
For art, ensure you use high-resolution images and provide all the details needed for your work. For music contests, practice in front of a mirror or get family members to judge you before the day of the competition. You might be one of the people who win custom awards. Even if you do not win, you will gain experience and exposure.
Photography and Videography Contests
Are you good with the camera? If you want prestige and recognition in the world of photography, a photography contest is one way to get your work out there. Your work can be the best and can help you in your career growth. Whether you are a professional or an amateur, you can showcase your skill and grow your exposure. It is challenging to build up a network of people who trust you if no one knows you.
If you are in the niche or genres of documentary photography and conceptual photography, a contest will help you get people to subscribe to your work. Even established photographers can benefit from these contests and pad their CVs. You could have your work featured in popular magazines and interact with several other photographers for a network that can help you grow your work.
There are many other contests you can get into. You may have to be the best in what you do to get an award. Although you still benefit even without an award, people will get more exposure and more prize money when they end up at the top.
