Nomination Guidelines

[sportsfest_mods]

Nomination Guidelines

SportsFest is an event that celebrates sports anime and manga through the creation of fanworks. All nominated fandoms will be fair game. A second nomination period will happen during Half Time.

But what counts as a sports anime or manga?
Here are the guidelines we will be using when determining whether a nominated fandom is right for this event.

The Council of Europe’s definition of “‘Sport[s]’ means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels.”

In short, sports should be:

1. Competitive


2. Physical (exceptions for mental sports like Chess and Go)


3. Skill-based

Overall, sports should not be:

1. Violent (i.e no Battle Royale type series)


2. Luck based (i.e Gambling)


3. Only about Singing (i.e Idol shows that do not fill in sports animanga tropes)

Chances are, if it qualifies in the Olympics, it will qualify for this event.


An animanga should fit the following criteria:

1. The series is listed under the "sports" genre on MyAnimeList*


2. The entire series or subseries nominated must be "sport"-related. It must be a major aspect of the series (so sports festival specials or arcs are not allowed).


3. The series has already been published or has already premiered (i.e. series that have only been announced are not eligible).


4. Competition against others must be a major theme (either as a team or individually)


5. The series is of Japanese origin. We're defining animanga as animation and comics with Japanese origin, therefore series produced in other countries (such as Check Please! and The King's Avatar) do not qualify.

*Animanga may still be eligible if this criteria isn't met—keep reading!

Evidence Posts

Let's say you want to nominate a show that isn't listed in the "sports" category on MyAnimeList, or isn't a traditional sport. If you believe the animanga title you want to nominate may be a "fringe" case or toes the line on some of the above criteria, you are encouraged to submit an optional Evidence Post by commenting under this post. An Evidence Post is an opportunity for you to justify why you think your series should count.

When writing your evidence post, please consider the following guiding questions:

1. Does this show contain elements that are typical of the sports anime genre? e.g. rivalries, training arcs, competition arcs, team spirit?
   


2. Would the characters in the show consider their activity a sport? Is it described as such? Does it have a consistent set of rules followed nationally or internationally?


3. Does the entire series or subseries you are nominating fit this genre? Has it aired and/or been published?


4. Is there a particular episode or manga chapter that you think showcases why this anime or manga should be included in the event? (If so, please let us know so we can check it out!)

Nominate a Series

To nominate a series, simply submit a response to this google form. Make sure to include contact information in case the mods have questions. Also, please include the link to your evidence post, if you made one.

Once you submit a nomination, it will appear on the nomination spreadsheet. Each nomination will be marked as Pending, Accepted, or Rejected depending on its status. If a nomination is rejected, mods will include the reason that nomination was rejected in the comment section of the spreadsheet.

Happy nominating!