Well, it has been 2 weeks since the initial post and nominations for the helping hand initiative and during that time the 11 writers who were nominated have generated dozens of high-quality posts to add to the Scorum platform. I've followed each and every one of them and wouldn't hesitate in recommending you to do the same. One of the great things about this initial contest is the rich variety of subjects covered football (both kinds), baseball, basketball, chess, poker and cricket just to name a few! While we've had some specialist posters who are able to go into great depth and provide incredible analysis on their chosen sport, we also have writers talented enough to be able to drift between sports and topics ensuring there is something for everyone to enjoy.

The results then are as follows

Winner - Austino

Coming out with a total of 45 comments Austino has posted on a huge variety of topics and often takes part in both the Moan-day and Freaky Friday contests run by @pete. It's evident that not only is he a good example of a writer who puts time and effort into his posts but he has also taken the opportunity to engage with the community and network with other users from a variety of backgrounds. You'll often see him in the Scorum telegram channels where is well liked and well respected

2nd Place - Sport-frei

The early front-runner was just hauled back in by Austino. To be fair to sport-frei, had I have counted all comments in all languages then he would have been the winner - he blogs in English and German as well as leaving the occasional comment in Japanese, I think he's just showing off ;-) The good news is that sport-frei is now a pro user! We've done such a good job in convincing him that this place is a community worth being a part of and a project that has such great potential that he has put his own cold hard cash into it! It was great to read his latest post where he talks about how much he has enjoyed his 1st month here in comparison to his experiences on Steemit, something that @tadas who narrowly missed a top 3 position concurs with. I think it's really good news that the platform is not only able to attract excellent contributors like sport-frei and tadas but also keep them!

As a pro, sport-frei will get to nominate a user this time around if he chooses to

3rd Place - Stanleyasokingz

Another very active member of the community, willing to roll his sleeves up and have a go at posting about a range of topics. Stanleyasokingz has a loyal group of followers that he is growing on a daily basis. Already at over 700SP it's likely that he will be a pro member by the end of the month!

Round 2

Nominations are now open for round 2. The same rules apply as from the first round with one small exception - You can't nominate the same person as you did in the 1st round! That user can still receive a nomination it just has to be from a different individual i.e. I can't nominate Austino but another pro-level user can.

Prize increase

The prize for this round will be increased on 2 counts

  1. The 15SCR that I won for nominating Austino will be put back into the pot for the 2nd round 
  2. During the 1st round we had 11 nominations (10 other users + me), for every nomination beyond 10 users this time around (not including myself) I will increase the prize fund by 2SCR up to a max 20 nominations 

Prize fund is 30SCR + 15SCR rolled over + max 20SCR for extra nominations

Potential total prize fund 65SCR

This round I will add a 2nd & 3rd place prizes. Prize distribution as follows

1st prize - 20SCR guaranteed

2nd prize - 5 SCR guaranteed potentially rising to 15SCR if 20+ nominations

3rd prize - 5 SCR guaranteed potentially rising to 15SCR if 20+ nominations

Nominator of the winner - 15SCR guaranteed

My Nomination for this week is nbjay

Please add your nominations in the comments below

Confirmed nominations as follows