Flint Riverfront Trials Competition - 2008?

[DaleM]

This is possibly going to happen.

Saturday I received a call from a UofM representative asking me why I quit having the trials competition in Flint and what it would take to have them again.

We had about an hour long conversation which resulted in him saying he will start working on a proposal to get funding for the competition and the required support from the city of Flint. The idea of getting $25,000 grant to have the competition is not entirely our of the question.

If this all happens, which there is great potential, there could be a trials competition in Flint Michigan in 2008 and an official jam session in 2007 (DJ's, Bikes, Skaters, good times). My vision for this is a $10,000 pro purse ($5k mod, $5k stock), and who knows what can be wrangled for the lower clases - anybody who has attended one of my comps knows nobody leaves empty handed.

Additionally, with the backing of UofM, the city of Flint, and the Mott Foundation the possibility of corporate support from vendors outside the industry goes up - the idea of having a car dealer donate a car is not entirely unrealistic.

So is anybody interested in a Flint comp in 2008?
What do you think the odds of getting some europeans to come here for a 5k purse?
Is anybody dying for a Motorama replacement in February? If so, I may plant that seed with them as well.

Here I thought I was done with trials competitions and suddenly, out of nowhere, I just may be brought back in to doing them.

Ideas?

[RyanMcVicker]

i think you should put a 100% green light on this... i think things like this are the only things that will open up companys' eyes to realize they might want to invest in this sport, hopefully making it bigger and more popular

i am 100% positive i will be there if it happens :D

[brian_E]

i'll be there.. 5k or not.. i was always pissed i missed that one bak in the day..

is it even possible to do in feb though? sometime in june would be better?

[DGrabiec]

I would definitely be there! $5000 prize or not haha....

[giventofly]

I;m game for flint, Dale! ALthough, michigan in feb. might not be a good idea, The cleveland crew would defenately be up for another trip to flint...prize money or not.

[DaleM]

i'll be there.. 5k or not.. i was always pissed i missed that one bak in the day..

is it even possible to do in feb though? sometime in june would be better?

Flint has an under utilized indoor sports arena. I would love to see Motorama replaced - as I am sure you all would.

Before anything can happen I need to have the backing of the City, the Mott Foundation, and UofM. It will be a drawn out process but I put feelers out to see if you folks are still interested in comps.

[Mike Steidley]

...Yea flint was super fun last time they had it. Kinda crazy bc there was bums hanging out watching the comp but the palce is pretty fun to ride. Dale did a good job putting it on so I would say its worth the trip for anybody thats on the fence.

[kwilson]

I've already scheduled my vacation time around it for 2008!!

[Bryan]

Oh my god yes. I will be there.

U of M backing? Amazing... I can't even get a trials club going here at the U of M.

[brian_E]

Flint has an under utilized indoor sports arena.

i thought "riverfront" meant that park that the brisa boys lived at/where the nats event was..

[DaleM]

OK, to clear up a few things.

1. I threw the competition, with help from friends, that took place at the Riverfront in Flint Michigan. Brisa sponsored the event along with Redbull, Webcyclery, Trialsin, and Magura.

2. The indoor sports arena would be a completely different event to replace the hole that was left when Motorama was cancelled. I am talking about two different events in the same city. One in February and one sometime between June-August.

3. DO NOT SCHEDULE VACATION TIME YET! Last time we had it on May 3. I think I would try to schedule for June in 2008 so more people are done with college and HS.

[DaleM]

What do you think would be required to get the europeans pros to come to a comp in America.

[felix]

What do you think would be required to get the europeans pros to come to a comp in America.
Money I would guess. And no other national/international comps on the same weekend.

[DaleM]

Where does one find a schedule of events for international comps.

I would like to work with international organizers so there is no conflict of interest or scheduling and possibly garner support from international manufacturers.

Ideally I would like to fly in an established section designer to truly make this an interesting event.

[MIKE1968]

You have to figure it costs them $1-2000 to make the treck...$5k is a great purse...but you will have to make it inticing to the top pros. Maybe get backing from koxx or monty? That would pull out top folks to ride...the US is still so far away, and a week of travel/jetlag has to be dealt with- not having the date colide with any other events in europe is a biggie...hell see if you can get it into the UCI points bracket.


I have no clue, just thinking...

[Tanner]

I'll be there for sure.

[kwilson]

"3. DO NOT SCHEDULE VACATION TIME YET! Last time we had it on May 3. I think I would try to schedule for June in 2008 so more people are done with college and HS."

What I meant to say was, I don't care when it is, I will block out from April to October, and take whatever time is necessary to make sure I'm there. I would do the same for an indoor winter event, if it's as good as what the old outdoor event was. Riverfront should be a NATS event, or a world round.

[hopsalot]

What a great event, I had a blast, Cleveland mod riders places 1-2-3- in expert. To have top riders come from Europe would you not have to expand the main riding area by hauling in stuff? As cool as the "pit" is the main area seems to get tight with all the riders in there. Best of luck with your event.

[DaleM]

I thought that was what you meant about vacaion, but just in case I had to let you know.

YES, I would have to exapnd the main riding area. I believe I would be able to block off two of the streets downtown and bring in built objects. I would also try to get Kettering University - an engineering college - to design and build some diabolical contraptions that would have movement for sections.

The pit area would be limited to Pro and Expert only.

I have a lot of ideas - like a flatland bmx comp at the pavilion after the trials comps ends - in the works but it is up to the City to get funding for the event.

[MikeTheBike]

Dale,

You will want to keep your eyes on http://www.uci.ch/trial.asp?1stlevelid=C&level2=0&level1=6 for UCI events. I can help you avoid the BIU events too, if needed.

As for getting the winter-time indoor event on the UCI or BIU schedule, that would have everything to do with money and politics. I can help you get in touch with the right people to find out more information. Email me.