With some legwork
you can turn everyday practice sessions in the lot with your friends
into a full-scale, positive EVENT for your community. At the same
time, you'll be exposing new, more and different people to the world
of Flatland Biking. Depending on how ambitious you future promoters
are, we've put together some info that will help you plan a Flatland
contest, jam or exhibition in your hometown. Be sure to contact
us if you're for real, and we can help you get the word out, fast.
You'll need a date for your event. For now, all you
need is a ballpark time-frame -- because once you find a venue,
their availability may be limited to certain dates, etc. So concentrate
on selecting a location. While we all have our own favorite spots
to ride, they may not lend themselves well to an event. The most
important thing to keep in mind as you start planning, is that this
all has to be done by the book. You must get approval/permission.
You can't just have 50 riders and their pals converge on a location
for a full-on Flatland jam on someone else's property without their
expressed consent. There's nothing worse than spending months preparing,
only to get shutdown and forced to turn away Flatlanders (many of
whom probably spent a great deal of time and energy just getting
to the event) simply because nobody ever bothered clearing it with
the venue first.
The easiest way to find a location is to take advantage
of the numerous community resources available in your town. YMCA,
Boys Clubs of America, 4H, youth organizations, town hall, depts.
of recreation, etc, etc. Most of these organizations will be happy
to either host your event, or point you in the right direction to
a potential venue. Why? Becuase YOU will be providing something
valuable, unique, and professional for their community and their
members. You'll need to speak with someone, and the more pro you
present yourself, the more you'll find people willing to help you.
Many of these community groups will probably let you have their
facility for the day at no cost. Definitely go for that option.
To keep your expenses down, try not to pay for a venue,
unless you absolutely must. Keep poking around until you find someone
who will host your event for free. It should not be that hard, especially
if you offer to involve your 'host' in the event. For instance,
as a sponsor, or providing free advertising, or doing some sort
of 'kids day'/clinic kind of thing that will involve the community.
Something like that usually benefits everyone.
What makes for a good riding surface? Ideally, smooth
pavement without cracks, inconsistencies in the surface, slants
or dust/sand. You'll have to balance the quality of your potential
venue, against what feasible venues are available. However, the
real key here is that you are putting on an event for Flatland Biking.
That in and of itself is always welcome and appreciated by the riders
who turn-out. Flatlanders understand there are always necessary
compromises to be made. So long as you make every effort to keep
the riders your top priority, that will come through loud and clear.
To sum up, do the best you can with the surface without going crazy
over minor details - odds are any large, clean, flat area will be
fine.
Don't forget there are other things to consider venue-wise,
IN ADDITION to the riding conditions. The most important thing -
BATHROOMS. Try to have your event as close to them as possible.
Keep in mind riders and spectators will eventually get hungry too.
If you have a decent turn-out, getting through all the different
Flatlanders can take the entire day. Make sure your venue is close
to plenty of restaurants or have concessions on-site. (This can
also be a perfect way to bring in a local sponsor. Go to a food
joint and tell them you'll give them a booth/area at your upcoming
event for free, in exchange for providing discounted prices on food.
Let them know there could be a substantial local turn-out. Tell
your potential sponsor they can give out menus, gift-certificates,
whatever they want...the whole day.)
Gotta do it, ESPECIALLY if you intend on having any
spectators at your event. All it takes is one little kid who's not
paying attention to get run over by a steamroller in the practice
area and you'll be behind the 8 ball for the rest of your natural
born life (or your parents will be).
Odds are, if you're having your event at a community
center, they will INSIST that YOU provide the coverage. HOWEVER,
you may get lucky and the venue may be able to provide insurance
under their existing policy - ASK!
If you need to get your own policy, walk into any
local insurance agency, State Farm, All State, whatever - and tell
them you're putting on an event, you have a venue, their permission,
etc, etc. Tell them you'll need a policy for just the day of your
event and you want to be covered for $1 million in liability. Sounds
big, don't worry. That means you're covered up to one million dollars
in case something happens. It should cost between three and four
hundred bucks, mabye less depending on your region. It's a chunk
of change, but we'll get into fund-raising in the sponsors section
below.
Obviously, you cannot have a Flatland contest, jam
or exhibition without Flatlanders - so, you'll need to promote your
event. The more time you devote to promotion, the more riders and
spectators will turn-out. The easiest thing to do is to make up
a flyer, bring it to Kinkos and run off a bunch of copies. Take
stacks of your fliers and start hitting the streets. Where to? Community
centers, youth groups, schools, parks, etc, etc. Talk to the folks
there, and ask them if they can help you. Since this is largely
viewed as a real positive for kids, most of them will be glad to
put your flyers up on their 'activities boards,' etc. Also, be sure
to fax it to every bike shop in your tri-state area. That's easy
to do thanks to the web. In 5 minutes you can get all their phone
numbers. Next, set aside a few hours calling them up, introducing
yourself, informing them about your event - then, ask them if you
can fax them a flyer - odds are, they'll be happy to hang it up
in their shop. Some folks will even run off plenty of copies for
you and leave them on their counter. Talk about free publicity!
Notify us, we may help promote your local Flatland
event at theFlatlander.com to make sure tons of Flatlanders know
about it. We will also provide coverage -- pictures, results and
a 'competition report' of your successful Flatland event will be
considered for publication (if edited content is provided).
To be blunt, there's only two things you need sponsors
for - money and prizes. The flipside of course, sponsors need you
for only one thing - EXPOSURE. Putting on an event costs money,
even when following the most cost-effective model.
First, let's take care of the expenses our budding
promoters may have already incurred. Say in the neighborhood of
$600 - figure $400 towards insurance, and $200 towards the venue.
Problem: you don't have 600 bucks. Time to hit up some potential
sponsors. NO, that doesn't mean sending an email to one or two companies
asking for $600 so you can afford to put on your contest. It means
that you contact 600 companies and ask for whatever they'd be willing
to contribute. Put together a WELL WRITTEN letter, with a pricing
plan. Provide sponsors with several different options or 'sponsorship
packages.'
Keep in mind, you do NOT have to contact only National
BMX companies. Start by looking right in your own backyard for potential
sponsors. Bike shops, supermarkets, video game stores, restaurants,
record stores, etc, all may be looking for a way to get some advertising,
and/or willing to chip in to support a community event right in
their hometown.
If you have a real tough time generating sponsor dollars,
you do have the option of going for a heavy spectator turn-out and
charging a few bucks admission. HOWEVER, legally, that can complicate
things. Consider charging admission a last resort, unless you're
prepared to do it the correct/legal way. That may mean getting a
one-day event permit from your local commerce/county dept., but
you have to do it right to avoid any potential problems. Like having
a cop shut you down as he correctly points out that you cannot take
money at a public event without a permit or complying with county
law.
This part is really all up to you. Whether it's a
contest, jam or exhibition - make sure you speak to some of the
riders to get a general consensus of what format will work best
for them. Remember, the Flatlanders MUST COME FIRST. Without them,
you have no event. You'll need to rope off the designated riding
spot/competition area, provide a place for riders to practice, and
have somewhere to put potential spectators, etc.
Logistics:
Get to your event site early. Sweep it down and clear
it completely of all debris. If you have a music system or a P/A,
set it up and be aware of where you aim your speakers, also be sure
to have some sort of covering for the equipment if it's a hot day.
Put on your roadie hat, and set everything up for the best possible
sound quality. Take notice of the weather and/or any wind, etc.
Have a microphone at the ready to make announcements and to keep
your event moving along. Have plenty of tables, chairs, clipboards,
pens, cashboxes, change, scissors, tape, calculator, stop-watch,
and of course, without fail, DUCT TAPE. Invite your friends, family
- Flatlanders or not - to participate by welcoming riders, collecting
entry fees, handling registration, and answering rider questions.
6. USE YOUR HEAD
As the 'promoter' the one thing you have to be aware
of at all times is that YOU are responsible for this event, no matter
what. That means, present a positive image of Flatland Biking to
your community, and do your best to get them involved. If your event
is a success, they will want you to come back. If you promoted your
event in elementary schools, churches, community groups, etc., that
means you INVITED these people, and they are your guests. Do not
make them regret bringing their kids out - be smart, professional,
also thoughtful and considerate of your audience AS WELL as your
riders. For example, use discretion when blaring potentially offensive
music in front of 10 year-olds and their folks.
Be prepared for the remote possibility that something
could get out of hand. This may be a situation where some drunk
yocal wanders your way, fresh from the company picnic over on field
5. Believe me, stranger things have happened. Stay cool. At a park
like that, there are usually park rangers around, don't hesitate
to take them up on THEIR job. Try to avoid involving yourself in
anything that will cause a meltdown of all the hard work you put
towards your event. If something bad happens, whether it is your
fault or not, people only remember that there was an incident and
Flatland Biking will have left them with a bad taste in their mouth.
Just use common sense, plan for the unplanned, and your event will
be a total success.
Using the resources available in your own community
is the way to go. Take all the info in these blueprints, and try
to find a way to involve your community in some way.
-
-- hold a free Flatland clinic for local kids. Work with a community
center in your area to help coordinate the logistics. You'll find
that they will be happy to help you, if you can help their community.
-
- approach local bike shops and offer to trade an ad in your video
for some dough to help with production costs.
-
- reach out to local community centers to help publicize your
new website, by explaining to them that you're looking to bring
together and showcase LOCAL riders from within the community.
Reach out to the Flatland online community and offer to trade
links.
-
- Put in free ads for local community centers where folks can
get together and ride in a hassle-free environment. If you ask
them first, and they have no problems, I'm sure they wouldn't
mind if THEIR own rec. center became a breeding ground for positive
community activities for local youth.
There are tons of other things you will
come up with when you start taking advantage of the numerous community
resources available in your area. Keep in mind you have to make
sure that everybody wins and everybody benefits -- then everybody's
happy!
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