So I've run/cobbled together quite a few events in the past (2 outlaws, 631 series, hogtoberfest, and numerous XSS things), and one thing I've noticed is you will ALWAYS ruffle some feathers, stand on someone's toes, piss someone off, find naysayers, call it what you will.
As far as I can tell from chatting to other event organisers, and indeed anyone who's run a session bigger than 10 skaters, someone always comes away with a grumble. I'm guilty of session grumbles, but now I know what it's like organising something big and feeling the heat of a number of grumbles all at once I'm doing my best to be positive and constructive instead of rashn-frahsn-mutter-mumble. If there's an issue, it can be addressed through positive feedback and politeness rather than passive-aggressive behaviour and snide remarks. The sport [longboarding] is growing, but there's definitely a few people out there who'd do well to remember it's roots - groups of friends skating for the love of skating, people just cruising because when it comes down to it, it's fun!
Event organising is a sliding scale of difficulty, and in a way as easy as you decide to make it. Make it financially easy, and someone will grumble about cost or profit or quality/value-for-money. Make it suit everyone ever and run it well and you will have a hugely difficult event to run, but no additional stress from people grumbling. Balance it - normally grumbles happen during/after an event. Can you better deal with problems before or after? You can do a lot to improve an event by advertising it accurately as well - Advertise widely and you need a more generic advert, and you will attract people who don't realise the hill is only 130m long and only really good for hard wheels, and thus get a grumble. Advertise carefully, with more info and you'll attract the right crowd to suit your event and you'll reduce niggles significantly.
To use my own event as an example, I tried too hard to do everything in a short period of time on an outlaw hill this year, and, although the event was a success and everyone had fun, I didn't meet all the hype as the boardercross didn't go ahead, and the grom race didn't happen. The decision on the day was that placing ramps on the narrow path would lead to a lot of people being not happy/not racing (they were difficult obstacles for a majority of the turnout), and that the event would get shut down for blocking the path. Because of this, more experienced riders felt cheated out of part of the event.
The main issue I had here was I had to weigh up essentially total customer satisfaction levels at the end of the day: ramps, and 1/4 people race, with a higher risk of being busted, or everyone race, less chance of being busted, but have some of those riders complain.
Total satisfaction level puts (in general terms) everyone equal in value, so to simplify
scenario 1: 25% people @ 90% satisfaction + 75% people @50% satisfaction = 60/200 satisfaction
scenario 2: 90% people @ 90% satisfaction + 10% people @50% satisfaction = 131/200 satisfaction
This view is very utilitarian in it's application, see wikipedia for more info on it but then again I have a relatively utilitarian view towards longboarding: I try to put the what's best for longboarding first. Getting 20 odd riders who have never raced and have never ridden in big groups to go down a hill together all wearing helmets counts for a huge amount - stoking the next gen of riders and involving them in the scene in an organised and saftey conscious way outweighs the need to provide an event that can only test the skills of the top 5-10% of longboarders. Market-wise as well, there's more less experienced riders and a much bigger potential customer base. But I digress.
I believe someone said aim low, and you will lead a happy life achieving all your goals. It's true, but aiming low achieves very little in the grand scheme of things. Break boundaries, pioneer things, do more, innovate, and be nice, friendly and reasonable throughout throughout. Don't get disheartened if someone decides to get a hump about what you're doing - if you've been reasonable you have nothing to worry about.
Now go do an organise!
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Friday, 18 November 2011
Internet fame and plans
Posting regularly is definitely not my strong point - I have been distracted by all sorts of things, but what's brought me back to earth and into the realms of skating is having my good friend Gbemi interview me for AllAroundSkate. Being frank, it's a little scary being interviewed - I always worry I'll come across as a dick! On the other hand I'm honoured and chuffed that he feels that it's worth putting me on a europe-wide blog, so I hope you enjoy reading it :) .
It also reminds me of my neglect for this one! Recently my skate focus has all been about XSS - indoctrinating/stoking this year's freshers into skating more and skating lots more, getting involved and really immersing themselves in the scene. And it's been awesome. Our first session? We ran out of boards to lend. Our second session? Ran out of boards to lend. We're still thin on the ground, and it's a month and a half later! Everyone is clamouring for gloves, for boards, for sessions and for it to NOT RAIN. Its excellent, and it's only going to get better as the weather improves :)
My plans for the next month you ask???
Here's what's in store:
1) Sourcing some imperial allen bolts for the benefit of XSS, and Reskue skate store. They'll be about the same price as most shops if we can find a good supplier.
2) Prototyping some gloves, with a view to teaming up with Jamie's Puck Shop if they're successful. More news on that later, like, when I have money.
3) Getting some XSS teeshirts/hoodies done up so we all match when we attend events. If they seem popular we may extend to do some non-team teeshirts for general sale.
4)??????????
5) Profit! Well, any profit made from any of the above will be going towards future events or club gear. Now the club has so many members we are going to shred through gloves, mangle boards and wheels and probably use up our 1st aid kits at a rate of knots. Stoke the scene! YEAH
6) Start chatting to the council about running skate events. And writing the 9001 page risk assessment to go with it.
7) Breaking myself doing some traditional hard-wheel sliding
8) once broken, catch up with 4 other draft posts I've been meaning to throw into the information bucket that is the internet for about a month now.
Skate more!
timmy
It also reminds me of my neglect for this one! Recently my skate focus has all been about XSS - indoctrinating/stoking this year's freshers into skating more and skating lots more, getting involved and really immersing themselves in the scene. And it's been awesome. Our first session? We ran out of boards to lend. Our second session? Ran out of boards to lend. We're still thin on the ground, and it's a month and a half later! Everyone is clamouring for gloves, for boards, for sessions and for it to NOT RAIN. Its excellent, and it's only going to get better as the weather improves :)
My plans for the next month you ask???
Here's what's in store:
1) Sourcing some imperial allen bolts for the benefit of XSS, and Reskue skate store. They'll be about the same price as most shops if we can find a good supplier.
2) Prototyping some gloves, with a view to teaming up with Jamie's Puck Shop if they're successful. More news on that later, like, when I have money.
3) Getting some XSS teeshirts/hoodies done up so we all match when we attend events. If they seem popular we may extend to do some non-team teeshirts for general sale.
4)??????????
5) Profit! Well, any profit made from any of the above will be going towards future events or club gear. Now the club has so many members we are going to shred through gloves, mangle boards and wheels and probably use up our 1st aid kits at a rate of knots. Stoke the scene! YEAH
6) Start chatting to the council about running skate events. And writing the 9001 page risk assessment to go with it.
7) Breaking myself doing some traditional hard-wheel sliding
8) once broken, catch up with 4 other draft posts I've been meaning to throw into the information bucket that is the internet for about a month now.
Skate more!
timmy
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Hill hunting - a five-point guide to finding a race/freeride
Hill hunting - a five-point guide to your next race/freeride hill
So with everyone wanting more freerides, and with a scene in Europe and the States/Canada that are all a pile of sanctioned races ahead of us, I thought I'd share some insight as someone looking to put on events in the coming year.
Arguably the most difficult part of setting up an event is finding the perfect venue. The UK is short of these, simply due to the huge amount of effort it takes finding the perfect spot then making things happen there. So if you find yourself bored, take a few minutes out to scroll through Google Maps to scout a few new spots.
Here's what would make a good hill:
1) The hill itself.
If you've raced, you know what you want, but don't discredit slightly mellower hills: having mellow freerides is better than not having freerides, so include any slower/less steep hills as well.
Points include:
Goes without saying: Beer, warmth, food, getting there and back. It doesn't have to be too close, but it really helps! When you find a hill, just check where the nearest things are. if you're 30 miles from the nearest shop, organisers have to put a lot more effort into filling the void left by the pub, and the cost of attending tends to go up
3) Camping & parking.
Is there space for 30+ tents and a load of cars right next to the hill on suitably flat ground, ideally with trees to serve as wind breaks? Ace. If not, is there some next to the pub or within a mile? Because that's just as good! Have a look around the area - a dedicated camp site nearby (within a mile) can be useful, but they don't like rowdy skaters disturbing people in the caravans.
4) Space beside the road.
Check for lay-bys, passing places, adjacent fields or areas of land that look unused or suitable for setting up a marquee on. Freeride/Race control will need a marquee at the top and the bottom - the main rider areas will ideally be beside each of these, so more space is better. You'll need to park an ambulance somewhere, and if the event is big or near a town, spectator areas and access may be needed.
5) Document your find!
Ideal tools include Google maps, where you can build your own map with lines markers etc. There' more pointers on this example - http://g.co/maps/h9338. I tried saving multiple hills on the same map but if you have more than 2 or 3 hills it gets messy and difficult to read.
Another tool is Youspots, but generally you need to have ridden the hill to post it! Also, it's a good idea to keep your find a little quiet otherwise people may go session a hill that you've never been to and hurt themselves because the description doesnt match the actual road - ie it may be a very busy road.
If you go out to the hill in person, be very careful - you'll be riding on open roads, with blind corners. The best thing is scout them in a car - it gives a good impression of the hill and reduces the risks associated with riding new hills without spotters.
I'll add pictures soon, promise!
So with everyone wanting more freerides, and with a scene in Europe and the States/Canada that are all a pile of sanctioned races ahead of us, I thought I'd share some insight as someone looking to put on events in the coming year.
Arguably the most difficult part of setting up an event is finding the perfect venue. The UK is short of these, simply due to the huge amount of effort it takes finding the perfect spot then making things happen there. So if you find yourself bored, take a few minutes out to scroll through Google Maps to scout a few new spots.
Here's what would make a good hill:
1) The hill itself.
If you've raced, you know what you want, but don't discredit slightly mellower hills: having mellow freerides is better than not having freerides, so include any slower/less steep hills as well.
Points include:
- width,
- surface,
- length,
- shutdown zone,
- alternate route to the top - so cars can be diverted and the uplift bus can gun it round quicker between runs
- how major the road is - smaller roads are narrower and have worse surfaces but are easier to close. Difficult balance!
- are there houses or farms on the route? They'll need access during the days the road is closed. It can be done but it becomes difficult. Less = better
Goes without saying: Beer, warmth, food, getting there and back. It doesn't have to be too close, but it really helps! When you find a hill, just check where the nearest things are. if you're 30 miles from the nearest shop, organisers have to put a lot more effort into filling the void left by the pub, and the cost of attending tends to go up
3) Camping & parking.
Is there space for 30+ tents and a load of cars right next to the hill on suitably flat ground, ideally with trees to serve as wind breaks? Ace. If not, is there some next to the pub or within a mile? Because that's just as good! Have a look around the area - a dedicated camp site nearby (within a mile) can be useful, but they don't like rowdy skaters disturbing people in the caravans.
4) Space beside the road.
Check for lay-bys, passing places, adjacent fields or areas of land that look unused or suitable for setting up a marquee on. Freeride/Race control will need a marquee at the top and the bottom - the main rider areas will ideally be beside each of these, so more space is better. You'll need to park an ambulance somewhere, and if the event is big or near a town, spectator areas and access may be needed.
5) Document your find!
Ideal tools include Google maps, where you can build your own map with lines markers etc. There' more pointers on this example - http://g.co/maps/h9338. I tried saving multiple hills on the same map but if you have more than 2 or 3 hills it gets messy and difficult to read.
Another tool is Youspots, but generally you need to have ridden the hill to post it! Also, it's a good idea to keep your find a little quiet otherwise people may go session a hill that you've never been to and hurt themselves because the description doesnt match the actual road - ie it may be a very busy road.
If you go out to the hill in person, be very careful - you'll be riding on open roads, with blind corners. The best thing is scout them in a car - it gives a good impression of the hill and reduces the risks associated with riding new hills without spotters.
I'll add pictures soon, promise!
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Hogtoberfest 2011 personal debrief
Yeah I know I haven't posted full listings or done the myriad of other jobs I was meant to in the aftermath. As I've already provided public thank yous and the like, the only things left are the debrief and for want of a better word the metrics or stats of the events; most of the numbers are only of a passing interest to the multitude of skaters, but the figures that come from the event will make or break future event plans: body count, attendance, first aid, race stats/methods and opinion all go towards the next event, and as a preliminary run down here's a quick list, some of which I did right and has been confirmed, and some things I got dreadfully wrong.
1) Branding is important.
The H'fest blogger receives over 5000 hits in the 8-9 weeks leading up to the event. Thanks to people spreading the name and, I hope, the distinctive logo and info (including regular updates) the website, logo and name became known and meant people could identify the event, and will lay groundwork for next year. We had a lot of skaters we'd never seen before, more groms, more girls, more races and the biggest turnout of riders (to the organisers knowledge).
2) If you're organising, don't compete unless everything else can be handled while you're locked in a toilet with concussion. (true story)
Chatting with another organiser afterwards, she agreed that it's a good idea to have your team (see item 3) not participate. This means your helpers don't break themselves and leave you trying to wrestle the good ship skate without any assistance, which is no mean feat, or someone else steering it for you without proper direction or training. No mean feat.
3) Have a team.
I ran all of the DH runup myself, and on the days themselves found myself rushed due to general attention from everyone. The slalom crew did signups, which was fantastic, but we could have done with different people on the desk so they could run slalom rather than signup. In the lead up it'd also be useful to have people to maintain the blog, liase with sponsors etc, and on the day to have dedicated marshals, signup crew etc.
An ideal team is organiser +3 for the buildup, and that team and organiser + 3 dedicated people for the event. Additional marshals/first aiders are additional to that team of 7, but the buildup team can overlap with the on the day team, and in fact would probably make things easier at the end of the day.
4) Don't manage your own crew and the event.
Delegate leadership and make sure people know that your prime motive is running the event.The only people you, as an organiser should be directly reliant on/responsible for are your team (see item 3), and your team are reliant/responsible for you.
5) Start planning a LONG TIME in advance.
I started in earnest about 10 weeks in advance, and I could have done with an extra month to be honest. Closing hills using council forms take min 8 weeks to process (and a fee, example from Southampton city council), so add that onto the front end of the project with 2 weeks prep. 20 weeks to organise an event? Yeah. But it's not solid work. Once the groundwork is in place the event can be hyped once a week - a process you can delegate to your team.
6) Shortly after the event have a debrief and keep records of everything.
Even if it's only yourself and a mate, write lists of everythign that went well and everything that went badly, give them ratings perhaps, maybe even produce a survey so for the next event you can put energy into the bits that need work. The records are useful to get bigger sponsors for next time :)
I think that's it for now. I've probably forgotten something, and I hope this is a good read!
And now I need coffee....
1) Branding is important.
The H'fest blogger receives over 5000 hits in the 8-9 weeks leading up to the event. Thanks to people spreading the name and, I hope, the distinctive logo and info (including regular updates) the website, logo and name became known and meant people could identify the event, and will lay groundwork for next year. We had a lot of skaters we'd never seen before, more groms, more girls, more races and the biggest turnout of riders (to the organisers knowledge).2) If you're organising, don't compete unless everything else can be handled while you're locked in a toilet with concussion. (true story)
Chatting with another organiser afterwards, she agreed that it's a good idea to have your team (see item 3) not participate. This means your helpers don't break themselves and leave you trying to wrestle the good ship skate without any assistance, which is no mean feat, or someone else steering it for you without proper direction or training. No mean feat.
 |
| I said 'a' team, not THE 'A Team' |
An ideal team is organiser +3 for the buildup, and that team and organiser + 3 dedicated people for the event. Additional marshals/first aiders are additional to that team of 7, but the buildup team can overlap with the on the day team, and in fact would probably make things easier at the end of the day.
4) Don't manage your own crew and the event.
Delegate leadership and make sure people know that your prime motive is running the event.The only people you, as an organiser should be directly reliant on/responsible for are your team (see item 3), and your team are reliant/responsible for you.
5) Start planning a LONG TIME in advance.
I started in earnest about 10 weeks in advance, and I could have done with an extra month to be honest. Closing hills using council forms take min 8 weeks to process (and a fee, example from Southampton city council), so add that onto the front end of the project with 2 weeks prep. 20 weeks to organise an event? Yeah. But it's not solid work. Once the groundwork is in place the event can be hyped once a week - a process you can delegate to your team.
6) Shortly after the event have a debrief and keep records of everything.
Even if it's only yourself and a mate, write lists of everythign that went well and everything that went badly, give them ratings perhaps, maybe even produce a survey so for the next event you can put energy into the bits that need work. The records are useful to get bigger sponsors for next time :)
I think that's it for now. I've probably forgotten something, and I hope this is a good read!
And now I need coffee....
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Awesome Poem for Awesome Merchandise!
There was an event I decided to run
Downhill skateboard racing – it’s loads of fun
So I look for some prizes and find some neat stuff,
But no-one printed on them so I got in a huff!
I email and phone around some companies,
They all said no even though I said please,
So I search the internet in my grumpy rage,
And find Awesome Merchandise at the top of the page!
These cool guys had done me stuff before,
Stickers, rush order, 6 days to my door.
So I thought what the hell I’ll see what they say
I email Dan, we chat, he comes back with “okay!”
The products were ace, but my counting was bad
7 more in 4 days? The order was mad.
This time when I call I drop Charly a line,
“same artwork, same product by Friday? That’s fine!”
So in fantastic fashion like some merchandise wizard
Awesome finished on time and got them delivered.
The Event went down well and the prizes were class
Cheers Awesome Merchandise for saving my Arse!
So if there’s a lesson in my frantic print-shop search,
Forget the competition, go straight to Awesome Merch.
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Markets, merch and money.
So recently, apart form a plethora of blogs, twitters and feed from riders and sponsors (which of course is a big boost for the scene having continuous and widespread coverage filling the nettwerwebs) I'm also seeing a lot of longboard shops/businesses starting up. Not big things; it's difficult to topple the Big manufacturers who spend tons of rider time and customer money on R&D, but stuff like clothing, good quality and novel pucks and similar other things. Recently shops have POURED gear into the scene (eg Octane , Shred , and even Mindless) and it's encouraging that they can, because it means it's worth it cos there's the market out there that will respond to the stimulus.
It's no real secret I've wanted to build my own boards (a couple of failed attempts at starting something) and run a working shop, either apparel or otherwise, and even with the blog (one of which I started last year but flopped due to my then shoddy time management) I've managed to miss the boat somewhat. At least the trend for content-production (physical or digital) shows how big everything's getting in the UK. Regardless of competition I am going to be pushing to get a brand off the ground hopefully before the end of the year, partly in conjunction with XSS, but mostly to provide funds to allow bigger events. Handling the money outside the club may make things somewhat difficult from time to time in terms of relevant group affiliation, but being able to go to the council with a mad plan and only having me discredited is better than the club losing face. Hence the minimal club involvement in the Outlaw up to the point at which it was over. Painful as It would have been, I'd have taken the flak for a failure/public liability case/major complaint, and although I may have been dismissed from club roles the club would scapegoat me to remain cushty with the Uni.
Enough rambling; back to the brand.
Plans are afoot for board production locally, but there's still a market for good solid longboard culture themed apparel and goodies, and a market of skaters who are likely to pick up a t-shirt or hoody at a cheap enough price if it's going to represent the culture. As i'm still working full-time and the brand is a spare time thing (sunny skate days permitting) the margins are much smaller - Any profit is a bonus, and will end up offsetting events, and perhaps one day my attendance of them as well. £2 profit on a tee for a shop is difficult to maintain, but that's tons when you're overheads are nil and to match inflation on a batch of teeshirts is the only loss balancer versus having it in a 5% ISA. Having a safe supplier with a good rapport also makes getting club tees cheaper, although Reskue have done a pretty good job with our most recent set.
Another reason for me to start this is i'm bored of my current clothes and want custom new ones - If you ever end up buying a teeshirt off me, I'll probably wear that same design before you :)
BACK TO WORK!
 |
| Previous attempt, redshift longboards |
Enough rambling; back to the brand.
 |
| I still need branding though... |
Another reason for me to start this is i'm bored of my current clothes and want custom new ones - If you ever end up buying a teeshirt off me, I'll probably wear that same design before you :)
BACK TO WORK!
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
A proper race, fees and all.
Soton common isn't steep, and the outlaw ended up without ramps on, for better or for worse. Now to organise this as a proper race may require roughly 30-50 racers each paying £1-5, and will require a lot of my (and some other people's) time. I'm not out to make money, and any made will end up back in the scene either in retrospect (money I've already or will have already spent on events/prizes/club gear) or on future shenanigans. I realise this is not particularly enterprising of me re: personal gain, but hey, I love skating!
Here's the breakdown of a race on the common, (because the common will cost nothing to close, and we don't have to manage traffic)
1) Public liability insurance = £73 for 250 persons worth of cover
Having spoken to a nice lady at some random insurance company, the underwriters decided they could do it at a base rate. Winner! Ideally racers would cover this; more racers, less cost. Would you pay £2 to race a properly closed path with ramps and stuff?
2) Closing the hill = £50 if application successful and 8weeks
Soton council have an events team that organise and approve events. I'd have to provide them with risk assessments, parking plans, loo plans, site layout, detail of vendors etc etc.... I'd also want to put £25 aside for marshals - this would basically pay for 8 marshals to get a free drink and nosh for their efforts, but this may be offset by a catering company's fee being waived in exchange for marshal food.
3) Toilets/facilities = free if we can convince the bellemoor pub, quoted at £150 for a portapotty for the day. Being a real event means we're not allowed to just simply piss in the bushes. Sadface. Facilities refers to hiring St John's ambulance for the day. It's usually free, but there'll be a donation bucket for them people what feel charitable
4) Vendors
Having an icecream van, the art house running a veggie BBQ, and also perhaps trade (market-style or shop) stalls means that some cost can be offset against these guys taking a prime spot to take people's money. 3 groups paying £17 each for access to the event covers the event setup fee.
5) Sponsors/media
More difficult, but having groups like red bull, drench, powerade etc turning up to provide free refreshment would be cool, but obviously detracts from the sales of the icecream van. Local companies could pay money for banner space at the event, and this would offset costs perhaps more than vendor spaces. We'd also advertise - it's free if they interview you for the local paper, and most standardly attended pubs would be able to advertise with posters. Websites would be trickier, but longboard websites are a cinch to get ads on.
6) More ramps/features
Because only having three in 700m of track is a little dull. The additional kickers will become a bank (perhaps with a kink in it) and I'll have to sort out a low roller and a euro gap. 6 items should be ok, but i'm still going to encourage other crews to come up with items to put in, and perhaps help them find local sponsorship for materials. Hopefully being able to sell sponsor logo space on ramps will offset not only that ramp but my previous ramps. A mad notion may be that as it's 2 down, we could get octane sports and the start ramps and timing systems for the heats as well. Extra features!
7) A fantastic pitch (for each of the above items)
This is the bit that needs the real work: the pitch MUST include Health and Safety stuff, neat maps, press-grade information, nice graphics, logos, and full information. Emergency procedures and marshalling details would all have to be confirmed beforehand and a mad good press pack would also make my council pitch a lot easier. For anyone interested in the process, here's the event page.
8) Example costs
Portaloo case
- £73 - £50 -£25 -£150 = £298 to run the event
30 people, £2 each £60 offset, £238 loss
Bellemoor case
-73 -50 -25 = £148 to run the event
30 people, £2 each £60 offset, £88 loss
5 Sponsors at £30 each (remember that ramps will be used multiple times at many events, £30 is cheap!)
-73 -50 - 25.... +150 = £2 profit.
30 people, £2 each £60 offset, £62 profit!
9) Conclusion
I guess the final goal of the event would be to make 100% profit - we'd be looking at the equivalent of 10 sponsors in that case, or indeed 40 attendant paying a fiver to race. I've currently dropped about £220 on ramps and material (still have lots left though) And Ideally I'd like to offset that cost with money from the event, or at least not have to use any more of my own money for repairs and future upgrades to the set.
Big project for a day's skating, eh?
Until next time.
Here's the breakdown of a race on the common, (because the common will cost nothing to close, and we don't have to manage traffic)
1) Public liability insurance = £73 for 250 persons worth of cover
Having spoken to a nice lady at some random insurance company, the underwriters decided they could do it at a base rate. Winner! Ideally racers would cover this; more racers, less cost. Would you pay £2 to race a properly closed path with ramps and stuff?
2) Closing the hill = £50 if application successful and 8weeks
Soton council have an events team that organise and approve events. I'd have to provide them with risk assessments, parking plans, loo plans, site layout, detail of vendors etc etc.... I'd also want to put £25 aside for marshals - this would basically pay for 8 marshals to get a free drink and nosh for their efforts, but this may be offset by a catering company's fee being waived in exchange for marshal food.
3) Toilets/facilities = free if we can convince the bellemoor pub, quoted at £150 for a portapotty for the day. Being a real event means we're not allowed to just simply piss in the bushes. Sadface. Facilities refers to hiring St John's ambulance for the day. It's usually free, but there'll be a donation bucket for them people what feel charitable
4) Vendors
Having an icecream van, the art house running a veggie BBQ, and also perhaps trade (market-style or shop) stalls means that some cost can be offset against these guys taking a prime spot to take people's money. 3 groups paying £17 each for access to the event covers the event setup fee.
5) Sponsors/media
More difficult, but having groups like red bull, drench, powerade etc turning up to provide free refreshment would be cool, but obviously detracts from the sales of the icecream van. Local companies could pay money for banner space at the event, and this would offset costs perhaps more than vendor spaces. We'd also advertise - it's free if they interview you for the local paper, and most standardly attended pubs would be able to advertise with posters. Websites would be trickier, but longboard websites are a cinch to get ads on.
6) More ramps/features
Because only having three in 700m of track is a little dull. The additional kickers will become a bank (perhaps with a kink in it) and I'll have to sort out a low roller and a euro gap. 6 items should be ok, but i'm still going to encourage other crews to come up with items to put in, and perhaps help them find local sponsorship for materials. Hopefully being able to sell sponsor logo space on ramps will offset not only that ramp but my previous ramps. A mad notion may be that as it's 2 down, we could get octane sports and the start ramps and timing systems for the heats as well. Extra features!
7) A fantastic pitch (for each of the above items)
This is the bit that needs the real work: the pitch MUST include Health and Safety stuff, neat maps, press-grade information, nice graphics, logos, and full information. Emergency procedures and marshalling details would all have to be confirmed beforehand and a mad good press pack would also make my council pitch a lot easier. For anyone interested in the process, here's the event page.
8) Example costs
Portaloo case
- £73 - £50 -£25 -£150 = £298 to run the event
30 people, £2 each £60 offset, £238 loss
Bellemoor case
-73 -50 -25 = £148 to run the event
30 people, £2 each £60 offset, £88 loss
5 Sponsors at £30 each (remember that ramps will be used multiple times at many events, £30 is cheap!)
-73 -50 - 25.... +150 = £2 profit.
30 people, £2 each £60 offset, £62 profit!
9) Conclusion
I guess the final goal of the event would be to make 100% profit - we'd be looking at the equivalent of 10 sponsors in that case, or indeed 40 attendant paying a fiver to race. I've currently dropped about £220 on ramps and material (still have lots left though) And Ideally I'd like to offset that cost with money from the event, or at least not have to use any more of my own money for repairs and future upgrades to the set.
Big project for a day's skating, eh?
Until next time.
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Race Debrief
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| Props to Declan Dawkins for centre-marshalling and photos |
It were much fun and much Bavarian food was consumed.
Now on to Outlaw race debrief that I've wanted to post since the monday I arrived in netless Germany:
Sorry to all you groms out there who didn't get their own race - I still have the points so I may be able to work out the highest ranked grom from that, but mega thanks for turning out to watch or race - I think this was the largest turnout of any race, both in total (inc spectators) and in racers (36 or 38 signups-I forget).
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| Jon Braund distance jump |
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| Nathan's huge varial boneless |
The ramps seemed generally well received, if quite intimidating for the numerous Soton, and some Isle of Wight, groms as well as more seasoned riders looking nervous about the roller. Bournemouth however shredded them as kickers - respect due there. The narrowness of the path made it more awkward to deploy ramps while maintaining access and due to the fact the park warden turned up as soon as we arrived and gave us the standard "it's your own fault" speech, I had my concerns about disruption/complaints. Early freeride injuries from the chicane included a local getting concussion enough to need an A&E checkup (he was fine, thanks to the lid he was wearing) and some impressive scrapes added to my feeling that maybe ramps weren't the best idea for racing. In the end I stand by my decision to not have ramps in the race; we got more riders willing to compete, and we didn't piss off any authorities - I have a feeling they would not have been as kind if we'd blocked the path up.
I would have liked to have run a ramp freeride, but the attention we'd received and everything taking longer than expected put me off deploying it on the path we'd raced on.
However! The ramps are not a one-use piece of kit, and I expect to roll them out/lend them out to anyone who wants a decent race out of them. If anyone has a closable path that can be done without injury/police hassle they're here for your use! Also, as they are (kinda) modular, i'll be adding to them over time.
If people want a rerun let me know - The race can be made official - it'd take me 9 weeks from confirmation of people wanting to do it to the event day. so let me know! I've written another post for the blog outlining the event so as not to tl;dr this one. I'll post it tomorrow I guess!
Have fun!
Timmy
Sunday, 17 July 2011
A quick update
Anyone know where the anterior cruciate ligament is? Cos I know where mine is, at least on my left leg. It sits below the kneecap in the gap between it and the tibia/fibia combo. And it hurts! Currently going with rest and Ibuprofen; the latter is easy, but the rest of life won't stop for me to hobble to keep up. I exaggerate; I can walk fine, I just tend to cuss when navigating stairs. Pro tip: if it hurts rest up - I'm going to the docs at some point so he can jab it with a pen and tell me to ice it regularly and to keep off it, but also to maybe get out of heavy lifting at work ;)
In other news Ms Mary Crossland came round this evening, and with plenty of cheesy dance music and a smattering of rain we built the top roller for the kickers, so mega props for her for sticking around and I probably owe her a drink. Tomorrow will herald the finishment of that but also the construction of the euro gap, and a couple of other obstacles. I'n really enjoying making this stuff; I hope everyone else enjoys racing on it as much ;)
I'm intending to order a pile more wood from Totton timber tomorrow for arrival on tuesday, The ASDA shop for BBQ ingredients happens either wednesday or thursday, and we get the energy drink from our local Londis (lodge road, go there, the crew in there are really sound and their beer is competitively priced).
Tomorrow,tomorrow, tomorrow, being possibly the busiest monday/tomorrow since ,like, ever will include me heading down to reskue with my business hat on to chat about the race to the shop owner, and to tie XSS in closer to the shop. We've got stuff to plan, and we hope it'll drop soon :)
BEDTIME
Sleep well guys!
In other news Ms Mary Crossland came round this evening, and with plenty of cheesy dance music and a smattering of rain we built the top roller for the kickers, so mega props for her for sticking around and I probably owe her a drink. Tomorrow will herald the finishment of that but also the construction of the euro gap, and a couple of other obstacles. I'n really enjoying making this stuff; I hope everyone else enjoys racing on it as much ;)
I'm intending to order a pile more wood from Totton timber tomorrow for arrival on tuesday, The ASDA shop for BBQ ingredients happens either wednesday or thursday, and we get the energy drink from our local Londis (lodge road, go there, the crew in there are really sound and their beer is competitively priced).
Tomorrow,tomorrow, tomorrow, being possibly the busiest monday/tomorrow since ,like, ever will include me heading down to reskue with my business hat on to chat about the race to the shop owner, and to tie XSS in closer to the shop. We've got stuff to plan, and we hope it'll drop soon :)
BEDTIME
Sleep well guys!
Friday, 15 July 2011
Good luck, bad luck
So yeah, someone took my Dropspeed from outside mah hoose last night. BIG SAD FACE. Anyone in soton sees the board on the right of the picture (orange otang inheat wheels, '09 dropspeed (snake) bear grizzlys and the obvious IoW grip), ask the guy about it etc get him to at least come see me about it or tail him home or something.
Also it's raining. DOUBLE BIG SAD FACE.
The new conundrum is: what's next? What random board will I pick out to ride around on next?
Mindless creeper (or maverick?)?
Lush Lopez or Elevator?
The latest dropspeed?
A homemade boarderX / skyhook'd commuter board?
Place bets now!
Additionally, after a really nice chat to Steve from Reskue Skate Store we are looking at support for the outlaw from our local! With any luck we're talking business over lunch on Monday, and we have a few teeshirts, whatever crap is in the dusty corners of the store cupboard and some mega stencils for the ramps. Talking of ramps, progress has been slow but things are getting there. Both kickers are up and the roll for the top is going to be started (regardless of weather) approximately 10 minutes after I publish this waffle of a post. Other items will happen as the rain clears as the glue's going to take some time to dry and it's going to be a bitch working on some of the big low elements while it's raining. Ikea's stash of £1 chipboard, although heavy, will probably be well used for rib structures, while the University has some promising looking heavy machinery boxes which I may try to pilfer over the weekend.
One last bit of news, Evans cycles are currently doing Bullet helmets at mega cheap so go check 'em out here:
http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/safety-security/helmets/dh-jump-bmx-helmets
Until next time, which will probably have pictures of ramps, Have fun and stay safe.
Also it's raining. DOUBLE BIG SAD FACE. The new conundrum is: what's next? What random board will I pick out to ride around on next?
Mindless creeper (or maverick?)?
Lush Lopez or Elevator?
The latest dropspeed?
A homemade boarderX / skyhook'd commuter board?
Place bets now!
Additionally, after a really nice chat to Steve from Reskue Skate Store we are looking at support for the outlaw from our local! With any luck we're talking business over lunch on Monday, and we have a few teeshirts, whatever crap is in the dusty corners of the store cupboard and some mega stencils for the ramps. Talking of ramps, progress has been slow but things are getting there. Both kickers are up and the roll for the top is going to be started (regardless of weather) approximately 10 minutes after I publish this waffle of a post. Other items will happen as the rain clears as the glue's going to take some time to dry and it's going to be a bitch working on some of the big low elements while it's raining. Ikea's stash of £1 chipboard, although heavy, will probably be well used for rib structures, while the University has some promising looking heavy machinery boxes which I may try to pilfer over the weekend.
One last bit of news, Evans cycles are currently doing Bullet helmets at mega cheap so go check 'em out here:
http://www.evanscycles.com/categories/safety-security/helmets/dh-jump-bmx-helmets
Until next time, which will probably have pictures of ramps, Have fun and stay safe.
Friday, 8 July 2011
Timber and Ramp design
So I went and bought what I thought was a massive pile of wood - turned out Totton timber is a huuuuuuuuuge warehouse full of wood, and full of very nice people. My pile of wood was not really all that big all things considered, but the nice people were nice enough to not charge for what was technically 5 cuts, at £1.50 each. SAVING!
Currently sat in the van are a pile of 4'x4' sheets ready for rampmaking, which will occur tomorrow during the day. Normally I acquire timber (rather than 'get wood' - that's quite different) and then hack something together with the stuff I have laying about. This time is different, and I've gone to a lot more trouble to produce nice CAD designs using Sketchup, one of which is right here. The ramps in the CAD are not to the same accuracy as the final ramps, and I'venot bothered to update a lot of final design features that evolved while I was in the thinking cupboard (toilet), which I'll explainbelow beside the picture.
Kickers
The kickers either side of the big rollover are identical. They are 18" tall, and the sloped surface is 4' square. This makes the base about 3'9 long, and saves on offcuts of wood in making a standard wood size ramp face. The ramp face itself is actually two 2'x4' panels that bolt together and then bolt to the triangular sides. With some extra braces that bolt in, one full kicker will dismantle into a stack 2' wide, 4' long
and under a foot high. That means with a seat down in the back of a normal car you can fit both kickers. I'm also going to make connector blocks so you can use it as an 8'wide flat bank. The ramp faces can also be used for tabletops, platforms, whatever! Everything will become mega modular, and then i'll post some cool plans up somewhere for people to copy. Or maybe I'll make ramps for a living. Or both....
Rollers, a Kerb and the Euro Gap
Rollers will be constructed from ribs of ply or more likely mega cheap chipboard (Pro tip: 7'x2'x11mm chipboard £1 a sheet from Ikea Southampton!) with some titebond2 and some technical woodwork/prayers to hold it all together. Once again the largest part of these will be 4'x2', but with a height of around 1" for each of the two halves of the big roller for the kickers. Incidentally, this will combine with the 6" kerbs to make a big ground level rollover if one so wishes.
The Euro gap is a standard bit of interest to add into a bank/ramp. As pictured to the right, it's like a step has been cut out. This gives the challenge of clearing it going down the ramp/bank, or clearing it on the way up. Both parts of the euro gap I intend to make can be used individually as kerbs to ride off, and together allow someone to either ride over like a kerb drop or like a ramp. I'm not putting a rail in, sorry (No welding kit!).
Keep yourbananas eyes peeled for the pictures of how the construction goes over the weekend.
Peas out,
Timmy
Currently sat in the van are a pile of 4'x4' sheets ready for rampmaking, which will occur tomorrow during the day. Normally I acquire timber (rather than 'get wood' - that's quite different) and then hack something together with the stuff I have laying about. This time is different, and I've gone to a lot more trouble to produce nice CAD designs using Sketchup, one of which is right here. The ramps in the CAD are not to the same accuracy as the final ramps, and I'venot bothered to update a lot of final design features that evolved while I was in the thinking cupboard (toilet), which I'll explain
KickersThe kickers either side of the big rollover are identical. They are 18" tall, and the sloped surface is 4' square. This makes the base about 3'9 long, and saves on offcuts of wood in making a standard wood size ramp face. The ramp face itself is actually two 2'x4' panels that bolt together and then bolt to the triangular sides. With some extra braces that bolt in, one full kicker will dismantle into a stack 2' wide, 4' long
and under a foot high. That means with a seat down in the back of a normal car you can fit both kickers. I'm also going to make connector blocks so you can use it as an 8'wide flat bank. The ramp faces can also be used for tabletops, platforms, whatever! Everything will become mega modular, and then i'll post some cool plans up somewhere for people to copy. Or maybe I'll make ramps for a living. Or both....
Rollers, a Kerb and the Euro Gap
Rollers will be constructed from ribs of ply or more likely mega cheap chipboard (Pro tip: 7'x2'x11mm chipboard £1 a sheet from Ikea Southampton!) with some titebond2 and some technical woodwork/prayers to hold it all together. Once again the largest part of these will be 4'x2', but with a height of around 1" for each of the two halves of the big roller for the kickers. Incidentally, this will combine with the 6" kerbs to make a big ground level rollover if one so wishes.
Keep your
Peas out,
Timmy
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Hello!
Erm, this is like those awkward parties where you have to break the ice cos you don't know anyone. So this blog post won't be all that interesting - mostly just a bit of background that'll end up in the "About me" tab once I get round to filling the blog with content.
I'm Tim or Timmy, and have been longboarding for almost 7 years. I started on Lush Longboards, owned a huge pile of the old style Lush legends before riding a tula solidly for a whole year and a half. I subsequently got an Evo, and destroyed in in just under 12 months of continuous non-stop riding. I replaced it with a dropspeed that's now on it's way out. I currently favour Otang 75mm In Heats (Tim Peters Prize for Best All Round Wheel, 2 years running), purple and green sabre bushings and bears or randals. None of this fancy stuff...yet.
One of my favourite things about my current setup is it's versatility - on slightly worn InHeats and with flippable washers I can commute my board to and from work, loosen up to boardwalk, tighten up to race, just go out and shred on it, and do anything. It's a jack of all trades, but it's fantastic fun no matter what I ride.
I organise lots of stuff as well, go check that out in the tabs once I get round to writing it.
'Til next time,
Timmy
I'm Tim or Timmy, and have been longboarding for almost 7 years. I started on Lush Longboards, owned a huge pile of the old style Lush legends before riding a tula solidly for a whole year and a half. I subsequently got an Evo, and destroyed in in just under 12 months of continuous non-stop riding. I replaced it with a dropspeed that's now on it's way out. I currently favour Otang 75mm In Heats (Tim Peters Prize for Best All Round Wheel, 2 years running), purple and green sabre bushings and bears or randals. None of this fancy stuff...yet.
One of my favourite things about my current setup is it's versatility - on slightly worn InHeats and with flippable washers I can commute my board to and from work, loosen up to boardwalk, tighten up to race, just go out and shred on it, and do anything. It's a jack of all trades, but it's fantastic fun no matter what I ride.
I organise lots of stuff as well, go check that out in the tabs once I get round to writing it.
'Til next time,
Timmy
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