2010 BOTG POSTPONED UNTIL AUGUST 6th and 7th

tonyb · Sat Mar 20, 10 7:00 pm **2010 BOTG POSTPONED UNTIL AUGUST 6th and 7th**

LATE BREAKING NEWS:

Due to the questionable wind forecast for this weekend and cold weather we have decided to delay the Bridge of The Gods Kite Festival until August 6th and 7th.

No Competition this weekend. If you have travelled from out of town for this event and will not be able to return in August please contact me.

Sorry for the change but this summer has gotten off to a very rough start.

Tony
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For those that missed the 2010 Events post I put up last month we are currently at 3 DAYS!!! Shocked

until this years Bridge of The Gods Kiteboarding Festival. That's right, June 18th and 19th, 2010 are the days for this year's event. Time to start getting in shape and making plans!

BOTG has been organized the last couple of years by Steve Fisher, Gary Reed, and Dave Smith. As some of you may have heard Steve Fisher is fighting with cancer and does not have the time or energy to take the lead in setting up BOTG this year so he has asked me to try to fill his shoes. I have a ways to go to get up to speed and many people still to talk to regarding the event but hopefully with Steve's guidance and Gary and Dave's experience I wont hose it up too bad.

Having said that there are some changes in the works that I want to share with the community.

First up is Event Sponsorship:

For many years Slingshot has been heavily involved in sponsoring the event, and while they have done an outstanding job taking care of all of us,

, and with the difficult economy everyone is struggling with, it is not fair for them to shoulder the majority of the costs for sponsoring the event, advertising, personnel, coordination, insurance, etc... For this year's event Slingshot will not be the headline sponsor as my goal is to solicit more equal participation from each of the big vendors who have a presence in the Gorge. I'd rather get $500 from 6 sponsors and one person from each of them on event day than ask Slingshot to cough up $3,000 and tie up 6 of their folks.

We have been getting AWESOME response on sponsorship! I really appreciate everything the shops, schools, magazines, and manufacturers are doing for us. We'll be posting up the prize pool late next weekend.

Next, competition format:

The last couple of years there have been questions and comments about past winners and sponsored riders competing in the event. Considering that BOTG has always been billed as an Amateur event here's what we've decided:

Friday, June 18th: Past BOTG Winners (1st Place in any previous BOTG category except Juniors) and Semi-Pro Team Riders (mens & womens)– Judged comp and trophy’s, Walking Man Growlers but no cash or gear prizes. I'd love to see Joe Ruscito, Alex Fox, Reed Brady, Ben Wilson, and all of the other past winners show up for this and put on an awesome show for the crowd.
Saturday June 19th: Amateur Comp: Juniors, Mens, Womens, Masters: open to anyone who hasn't taken 1st place in a previous BOTG category (juniors excepted - they can move up to Mens) - Cash, trophy's, trip, gear
SUP Relay Race open to all, thinking maybe a brand v brand team event for bragging rights (this will depend on the crowd and the temperature!)
Photo Contest
Video Contest

The BBQ/Campout/Band/ Drunk

thing is being coordinated by Melokitegirl to happen at the Fairgrounds Saturday night. Go here for more info: http://www.nwkite.com/forums/post-123195.html#123195

The Stevenson Eagles will be hosting a Beer Garden featuring Walking Man and Kona Beer. Justin and Britney will be here with their Big Papas grill. We'll have beverages and other snacks available.

As mentioned in another thread Eclipse Films will filming on site.

Prizes! Prizes! we got your Prizes!!! BOTG is looking GREAT!

Men's First Place: Vela/Dare2Fly - 7 Night Vacation for 2 at the Agualina Kite Resort in Cabarete! This place is awesome. We've been there two times and loved it.

Current gear pool to distribute:

2 kites, 3 boards, 2 harnesses, impact vest, travel bag, board bag, SeaSpecs, sweatshirts, T-shirts, hats, gift certificates, lessons, and enough stickers to completely cover a full size van!

Prize info is changing daily as stuff arrives at the house and we know exactly what we have on hand. Haven't figured out the distribution yet but it will be pretty sweet.

And then there's the entry fee pool to distribute:

Hypothetical calculations based on 50 people signing up. The percentages wont change but the final dollar amount will be based on the total number of entries.

Quantity Price Each Purse
Entries 50 $50.00* $2,500.00

Distribution
M1 20% $500.00
M2 15% $375.00
M3 6% $150.00
W1 15% $375.00
W2 10% $250.00
W3 6% $150.00
OG1 8% $200.00
OG2 6% $150.00
OG3 4% $100.00
J1 5% $125.00
J2 3% $75.00
J3 2% $50.00
100% $2,500.00

See the complete list of sponsors at www.botgkitefest.com

Hope to see everyone in Stevenson this weekend. The fun starts Friday afternoon.

* Entry fee is $60 for non-CGKA members, $50 for CGKA members

Thanks for reading through all that and I appreciate any constructive criticism or suggestions for helping keep this one of the funnest, most awesome events in the country.

Tony

ps: I'd really appreciate it if someone could put a post on PSKite, kiteboardbc, and any of the other West Coast forums for me and link it back to here.

Pepi · Sat Mar 20, 10 7:25 pm

Terrific news Tony! Thank you for all of your help and enthusiasm to take on this event. I especially like your intention of bringing back some of the original amateur rules of the event in regards to past winners either moving up or coming back as judges (this was a true amateur aspect of the original BOG).

The CGKA is looking forward to meeting up with you to discuss where they can help out with the event. I cannot speak for the BOD on this, but if you could attend the next meeting, or make arrangements to meet with some BOD representatives to discuss your needs then that can get the ball rolling best.

I'll PM you about shop sponsorship questions.

Thanks again for your enthusiasm and effort in keeping this event alive. I know you'll make Steve and the rest of us proud that your the man in charge.
Pepi

j · Since 08 Nov 2006 94 Posts Seattle

posted up on PSKite.

Sounds like the masters catagory will be wide open this year following the years of dominance by the Seattle contingent, Sibborn and Gator.

pdxmonkeyboy · Mon Mar 22, 10 2:15 pm

Nice work Tony!! how old do you have to be to qualify as a master? Please say 38 Smile

blancoh2o · Since 15 Mar 2005 1154 Posts Oregon Phishy

Masters has been 40+ since the inception of the event. Tony is in charge now. I know he is trying his hardest to get the most fair competition and most particiaption possible. The problem is we can pnly run as many heats through as wind will allow. We have have a lot of success in the past getting the Men's heats in during the peak wind and the junior's during the lighter wind etc.

I appreceiate all of your input. Please keep in mind there are a lot of factors involved in making decisions. Tony is taking this event on with a lot of entusuasiam, so please be supportive. I intend to be there to help too. I wish I could do more, but my health has to take first priority right now.

Moto · Since 03 Sep 2006 2698 Posts Still a gojo pimp! Moto Mouth

Hey, last year some stuff went missing Evil or Very Mad

I rolled by Stevenson after it was all said and done and saw a bunch of gear laying out. I assumed someone was taking care of it. Then the next day I see posts saying the stuff was never returned.

I have witnessed people (non-kiters) trolling the stevenson launch - looking for left over stuff.

When we are organizing this event - could someone consider what we are going to do with the leftovers? I don't want to reward trollers Mad

melokitegirl · Since 28 Oct 2008 396 Posts Where the wind blows Obsessed

I'm going to be camped out there for the whole event and will be helping with the camping reservations & pancake breakfast ( I made the "thin" pancakes last year). Since I am not competing, I will keep an eye out for gear that's been left around - maybe we can even have an area near my rig to bring it to - like a lost & found tent.

I would like to help cooridinate the BBQ on Saturday night. I'm thinking salmon, burgers & pot lock stuff. The BBQ's that I have been to at Pepi's house were impressive. Everyone seemd to be really generous with bringing meat & yummy sides. Do any of you know of someone who can get salmon at a good price? Or are any of you hording in your freezer and want to donate? I can prepare it & grill it.

Music entertainment: my two cents for what it's worth...I've been to these events with you all and most people tend to meander away from the band stage and over to the fire where someone breaks out a drum. Just wondering if there is some musical talent in the group and can bring their instrument. Maybe some more drums & guitar stuff around a campfire instead of a band on stage? We can sing campfire songs - koom bay ya! Just kidding!

Let me know what you think...

Melissa

waterhound · Since 15 Apr 2010 3 Posts Kook

Good luck all for a fantastic event and looking forward to doing a write up on waterhound.com. I will make sure to promote the event to the locals down here in San Francisco. I posted the event on my calendar and will put a plug in my newsletter too.

David Wells
editor@waterhound.com

mojo1time · Since 28 Jul 2005 186 Posts Stoked

Tony,
I just posted your info into the Bay Area site. I will see how it can be an announcement instead of a topic. However, it is here now....

Thanks,
Lance Larivee

AKA Mojo1time

tonyb · Mon May 03, 10 11:40 am

Thanks Lance, appreciate you spreading the word.

Tony

arehn · Since 24 Mar 2008 166 Posts Hood River, OR Stoked

do you guys have any details on the photo comp?

tonyb · Thu Jun 10, 10 5:13 pm

No details yet on the photo contest. I'll try to get some information posted up by this weekend.

Tony

tonyb · Sat Jun 12, 10 6:15 pm

Photo contest details posted here: http://www.nwkite.com/forums/t-17932.html

Tony

kochease · Since 03 Jul 2008 760 Posts In Ft. Stevens, OR Opinionated

So there is a BBQ Sat night but what is going on for Friday Night? BBQ or After party anywhere?? I unfortanutely have prior arrangments Sat night and will miss the fun Sad

Anyone know about Fri night?

tonyb · Thu Jun 17, 10 10:08 am

Thursday June 17th:

Due to bad weather BOTG has been postponed until August 6th and 7th.

Prize pool will only get bigger and you'll have more time to work on your riding. Thanks for understanding.

Tony

Pepi · Thu Jun 17, 10 10:37 am

Thanks for making the hard call Tony.
Cold weather and funky front pushing in over the Gorge = cold and unpredictable weather in Stevenson.

I am sure that I can speak for everyone here on the forum, that we support your decision 100% and we'll all work together to make the new BOTG date a great success.
Since there are no other kite events in August, this should be a good thing for the kite community to have a kite event/party/campout in August to attend.

Thanks again for all your hard work Tony!

Pepi and the 2nd Wind Crew

NateDogg · Thu Jun 17, 10 4:55 pm **Good call**

Tough call Tony, but definitely the right decision. Forecast looks shitey and I think we'd all rather have the BOTG run under blue skies and 20 knot winds. Definitely looking forward to it when it goes down! Should be banger this year