The Bradford Cup – Nominations Wanted

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

The Bradford Cup is awarded to the author of the best article or series in Model Engineer during the previous year. Because of the change of title and range of content, articles appearing in Model Engineer in issues 4734 12 January 2024 to 4761, 24 January 2025 are eligible for this year’s competition. Next year the competition will cover a full year of Model Engineer & Workshop. Graham Astbury recounts the story of the cup:

At Bradford MES, we were always short of copy for the Bradford MES Monthly Bulletin as members always seem to hide their lights under their bushels. In an attempt to encourage people to write articles for the Monthly Bulletin, the Committee thought that some award for the best contribution to the Bulletin might be a good idea. I suggested to the Committee that it might bring some publicity to Bradford MES (one of the oldest clubs in the country) if we were to widen the scope and there were to be an award each year for the best article appearing in ‘Model Engineer’.  Martin Evans agreed to do this as he hoped it might encourage people to write articles for ME.  Hence the name of the trophy and why it is in Model Engineer. The cup was donated by Bradford MES to the Society for Model and Experimental Engineers, SMEE, and latterly has been presented at the Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition.

The competition first ran in 2022 and was won by Mike Tilby for his series on steam turbines. Subsequent winners have been Steve Goodbody and Ron Fitzgerald.

Entry to the Bradford Cup is by nomination by a third party only, you cannot nominate yourself. To make a nomination, please send the name of the author and the article in question to meweditor@mortons.co.uk by 25 July 2025.

 

 

Full rules will be in the next post.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Bradford Cup Entry Rules and Conditions

1.           Nominations from readers shall be invited in Model Engineer & Workshop magazine in the July issue.

2.           Nominations shall close on the 28 July.

3.           Nominations should be sent to the editor of ME&W stating: That it is a nomination for the ‘Bradford Cup’; The author’s name; The title of the article; The issue number in which it starts; The name, postal address and email address (if applicable) of the person nominating the article.

4.           All nominations must not have been entered into the competition before.

5.           Any reader of ME&W may submit only one nomination which must not be their own work.

6.           The article must have appeared in issues 4734 to 4761 and may be a single article in a single issue; a single article published over more than one issue; or a series running in several parts which may run into or from another year.

7.           All entries must have been nominated by at least three people to be eligible. When nominations close, the editor of ME&W will list all the articles in order of numbers of nominations.

The six articles with the greatest number of nominations will be deemed to be the entries to be selected for the judging. If there are fewer than six entries for the Trophy, then the editor may select, at his or her sole discretion, additional articles to make the nominations up to six.

8.           If the editor of ME&W suspects that any unfair or undue influence has been brought in to attempt to influence the selection of entries, then that entry may be disqualified. The editor’s decision will be final on this matter.

9.           The editor may reject any entry if it fails to meet adequately any of the criteria for inclusion on the shortlist. These will be that: the article is well written; it demonstrates some original thinking or design; it reports experimental work undertaken by the author; it is well-researched; or describes something of interest to model engineers not published in the model engineering press before.

10.        Articles which are a simple narrative of building someone else’s design will not be eligible, unless the building involves a novel technique or process

11.        Prior to publication of the list of entries available for voting, each author will be contacted to confirm that they are willing for their article to be entered into the competition. They may withdraw their consent at this time should they wish to do so. If this occurs, the editor of the Model Engineer shall select the next article in the list or may substitute another article of his or her own choice.

12.        The entries for the competition will be listed in no particular order in ME&W in sufficient time for readers to vote. and the date for the latest submission of votes will be published also. Votes cast after this date will not be counted.

13.        Voting shall be by an on-line vote by forum members on the Model Engineer website (www. model-engineer.co.uk). Readers who join the forum specifically in order to vote will be allowed to do so. Voting will be strictly one vote per person. Any reader of Model Engineer who does not have on-line access will be allowed to vote by writing to the editor of the Model Engineer clearly stating that it is a vote for the Bradford Cup and shall name the selected entry and the author.

14.        In the event that the editor considers that invalid votes have been cast, or that an attempt has been made to unduly influence the result of the vote, any questionable votes will be disregarded and those entries may be disqualified

15.        The winner from the six shortlisted authors will be announced ate the Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition, or other time or venue as decided. The trophy will be presented by a member of the Society of Model and Experimental Engineers.

16.        The trophy will remain the property of the Society of Model and Experimental Engineers. The winner will take responsibility for ensuring safekeeping of the trophy until the next exhibition. The trophy must be returned in good condition, in the supplied packaging, in good time for awarding to the winner of the subsequent competition. However, an A4 certificate of the award will be presented to the winning author for their retention.

17.        The winner may arrange for their name and the year of the award to be professionally engraved on the base of the Trophy at their own cost.

18.        No alternative prizes, cash payments or awards will be made. In all matters relating to the competition, decisions made by the editor are final.

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