FolkieDave - you make a good point that several festivals (and radio stations etc) offer song writing competitions, but I just wonder whether Dick had in mind that the EFDSS might be able to offer something a little different. I can't speak for Dick of course, but when I saw the suggestion what I visualised was a competition that could reach more people, and in a different way, to the festivals.

If there were to be a national competition it should be possible to structure a package for schools, or community organisations (or even folk clubs or regional folk bodies) that could at the same time encourage research into traditional songs and participation in other events whilst offering the competition (and it's prize(s)) as an incentive. Good publicity for the society, and a good way of making traditional music relevant to today's generation by encouraging children (and adults) to think about why the songs were sung in the past and what aspects of today's world they would like to see celebrated in the same way.

I guess it could be as big or small an undertaking as you cared to make it, and it could well be that the EFDSS is not interested in that particular area. But that does not mean that there is no merit in making the suggestion.