> Holding your own comp

So you want to hold your own comp and don't know how to go about it? Let S.F.T.R show you the rounds.

Most importantly you have to choose a destination, this should have smooth ground and be pretty big, of-course, you will have to ask the owner of the land if you can use it, most will say yes, if they don't then you can bribe them with some cash from what you get from the competition but ususally they just say yes. To get a descent run you will need the following things:

- 2-3 Launch ramps
- 1 High Box with ledge
- 1 Low Box with ledge
- 1 Grind rail low
- 1 Grind rail bar high 1 rail slide (high or low)
- 1 Manuel Pad
- 3-6 Quarter Pipes (to get a good run off)

Also, for a bigger competition you might want to have the following:

- mini ramp
- fun box (pyramid)
- Extra's like garbage bins and milk crates as well as any other obstacle you can think of.

Now get all your friends together and build them. It'll probably cost a lot but you'll get your money back from the competition. Place them in good locations and be creative. Advertising is important and you have to make sure that lots of skaters know about it, you might also go down to your local skate shop and ask them to sponsor it, they will most definately do this because it means free advertisement for them.

Now it's time to make the pamphlets, make sure to have a striking picture, if you have a local skate shop sponsoring it put their picture at the top, this will make your comp look more professional. You have to have the following information on your pamphlets:

1) What is it (competition) and what's happening (skateboarding)?

2) The locations

3) The date and time

4) The company/s sponsoring it

5) Include a tear off section, on that section include your adress and the money needed to enter the comp, I recommend about $15.00 for a big competition or $5.00 for a small competition. Also write that anyone can enter so more people will come.

Now go and put those pamphlets in every single mailbox you can find, try to stick to your own area, schools, shops (especially skate shops because mostly professionals come there), Malls, Skatepots, Movies and anywhere else you can think of.

AND NOW, FOR THE BIG DAY!!! Set up a stand and have a person take all the late entries.

You should have a warm up section so the skaters can practice their shit. Make it about half an hour, you don't want the skaters to be tired before the competition starts! Then have the qualifying sessions starting from youngest to oldest, make these about 2 and have a judge that knows heaps about skateboarding to choose the best 10 out of each age group, the judge should know heaps abouts kateboarding like switch and stuff (not your mum). Now you have the final, pick 3 best from the finals and divide the money so the 1st gets most, 2nd gets second most and 3rd gets third most, do the maths here. Also save a bit of money for yourself (you earned it). Now the competition is over and you got one problem, heaps of ramps, well this isn't really a problem, if you had said on your pamphlet that the ramps are for sale you would have probably gotten' heaps of people coming up to you and going 'hey can I buy that for $50', you might even be so luck as to have a mini auction after the day, if however once the day has finished you still have not sold the ramps, then you can drag them in your garage or something and use them yourself.

Well that's it, you've held a big competition and made your name known throughout the town, now you can sit back and do something more exciting, like build your own spaceship or something.

EXTRA TIP - Write that the ramps are for sale on your pamphlets.