Every edition of Wild, we offer our readers the chance to go in the draw to win some great outdoor gear, including walking poles, cooking stoves and backpacks.
In the past, there have even been trips and tents up for grabs.
Entering couldn’t be simpler — you just email us with a photo, a letter or a tip and select a winner from there. Even better, all published entries currently win a pair of socks from Wilderness Wear, so there’s no reason not to enter, right?
Of course, we put some stipulations around what we will and won’t publish. For example, our Wild Shot photos must be ‘adventure’ shots, and therefore should include a person in a wilderness landscape (even better if it’s in Australia). No, we won’t publish your miscellaneous landscape or wildlife shots in this section.
These competitions are currently being reviewed and may change in the coming editions, but essentially all require an active element of participation from the entrant.
Despite how easy it is to enter these competitions, from month to month we may receive only a few entries, and part of the reason why has been highlighted by our recent reader survey.
In this survey, we ask our respondents to write in 25 words or less how they would describe Wild and how they would like it to be in the future. Again, not a huge deal, yet some people have pointed out that having to write something in order to go in the draw for a prize is a lot of work with slim chance of reward.
We don’t disagree. Wild‘s new publisher, Roland Handel doesn’t like the practice either.
“I dislike having to write or submit something in these competitions because I feel there’s always someone who will come up with something funnier or better than my own attempt,” he said on the matter. “Unfortunately, it’s much harder to offer a prize draw that’s purely based on chance.”
As explained in this article, there’s a significant difference between a ‘Game of Skill’ and a ‘Game of Chance’ in the eyes of the law, with games of chance requiring individual permits for each competition in many States.
To avoid this cost of business that would otherwise prevent us from offering prizes to our readership, we offer a number of simple games of skill in the hope of deepening the engagement we have with you. However, rest assured you shouldn’t feel that your chances of winning are by any means slim.
“We’re not necessarily looking for the best, wittiest or otherwise incredible submissions,” Handel said. “There are times when simply writing something unique or just a little left of centre is enough to catch our eye.”
Responses to the survey don’t have to be well written either, as they aren’t published without permission. So don’t hesitate. Get involved.
If you’d like to enter a tip, letter or Wild Shot photo entry, don’t hesitate to email us at contact@wild.com.au. If you’ve not yet completed our survey (even if you’re just an occasional visitor to our website), you can fill it out here.