Has the new competition replaced Best Kept? If so, why?
Yes it has. The idea was to bring the competition that the WRCC runs into line with the rest of the work we undertake to enable the development of sustainable, self-reliant rural communities across Warwickshire.
Why does the WRCC run competitions?
The purpose of the competition is threefold:
- to highlight the difficulties faced by rural communities across the county and to celebrate their success in overcoming them
- to facilitate the sharing of best practice between rural communities
- to provide financial support for community projects (through fund-raising and prize-giving) to encourage them to build on their success.
Why should we enter?
Last year entrants described entering the competition as a very positive experience, which made them realise how much there is going on in their community. It also brought people together and gave them a focus.
There are hundreds of pounds to be won and our aim is to make you feel good about the place where you live.
How do we enter the Best Village competition?
Just tell us about what is going on in your village and send in photos, leaflets, books, DVDs etc. to give us a fuller picture.
There are six categories to choose from
- Community Projects
- Community Buildings
- Communication
- Community Heroes (or businesses that go the extra mile to benefit the community)
- Environment
- History & Heritage
and there is a separate entry form for each one.
A village can enter as many categories as it wishes, as many times as it wishes and entry is free. You will be judged against other village of a similar size, to make it as fair as possible.
Is any help available?
A full set of competition guidelines is sent out with every entry form and is also available on this website.
If you have any question that is not covered there, you are welcome to contact the Competitions Organiser, Ariadne Uslu (Contact us)
Are there any restrictions?
The competition is open to any village with 5,000 or less inhabitants. The projects entered must have been completed or have reached a stage at which they can be judged between 1st June in the previous year and 31st May in the current year.
When is the closing date?
31st May.
What happens next?
You will be sent a poster to display to let everyone know that you have entered the competition.
In June or July a group of volunteers will get together to judge all the competition entries on one day.
As soon as judging has taken place, you will be notified and invited to attend the Awards Ceremony. You may also be asked to do a display of the projects that you entered in the competition.
How is the competition judged?
Two judges consider each entry. Each judge allocates marks out of 20 for each of the following:
- consultation
- level of community involvement
- funding
- sustainability
- benefit to the community
and a mark out ot 50 for overall impression, giving a maximum score of 150 marks per judge.
The marks given by individual judges are then added together and moderated to give an average mark out of 150 for each entry in each category.
These scores are used to identify the best villages in each category.
In order to ascertain how well each village does overall in the fairest way possible, the total number of marks a village scores is then divided by the number of categories that the village enters, in order to give an average score. This average score is then used to identify third place, second place and best village overall.
How are the prizes allocated?
The system has been designed to make it possible for villages to accumulate prize money if they win more than one prize.