Hello everyone, I am Erin Underwood, the current DUFF delegate. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. It is my honor to work to connect U.S., Australian, and New Zealand fans in-person and virtual during my term in this role.
Last year, as the newly appointed DUFF delegate, I was slated to travel to New Zealand to represent the U.S. at ConZealand, the 2020 Worlcon. For obvious reasons, this didn’t happen due to Covid 19 and the pandemic, which basically shut down the world for travel and large gatherings.
As the world begins to open up again and as people tentatively resume getting on planes to attend conventions and other in-person gatherings, it’s time to take a look at what the future holds for DUFF and for me as the DUFF delegate.
The current DUFF delegate plan will be for me to travel to the Australia/New Zealand region and to represent U.S. fandom in 2022. My hope is that by then, we will see fan conventions reopen in this region since there are still lingering travel restrictions and uncertainty about when large in-person gatherings will be permitted and how soon the local conventions in New Zealand and Australia will get going again. Since my trip to Australia/New Zealand is being pushed off until at least 2022, the next DUFF race will most likely happen in 2023. I will keep everyone updated on how this timing works out as the pandemic recedes and convention details unfold.
In the meantime, I don’t see any reason not to pull together some fun virtual activities meant to stimulate communications and connections within the DUFF community. So, be sure to keep an eye on the DUFF blog and to follow DUFF in social media.
- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DownDuff
- Friend us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/354816641696/
- Visit the Blog/Website: https://downunderfanfund.wordpress.com/
If you have any questions, please be sure to let me know.
DUFF, the Down Under Fan Fund 