Pinkbike Writing Contest Due Tomorow- $8000+ in Prizing

 Video contests are common. At least this is different.

 That is definitely the most amazing prize package I've ever seen

 aaand... what if someone would write more than 1200 words?

 We're creating constraints to the contests, not looking for a thesis on this one, but rather if you can tell a good story in a set amount of words.

 if only age limits did not exist

 brule, yeah, I agree 1200 no more

 I haven't paid one bit in English but im still trying

 @despar66 aren't you like, 45?

 yea too bad im 16 because id love to try. I wish there was a contest to win a full suspension bike it would be awesome

 too bad theres an age limit. I love to write

 do you have to turn up to the race if you won cause i probaly wont be able to get there.

 the $8000 in prizes is worth more then ur flight plus $500 towards ur trip from pink bike
travelling shouldn't be an issue unless u have got something on

 wtf must be 19 to enter?
thats bs.

whats the difference between 18 and 19??
im an adult why cant i enter..

 @jk-mrdck420 - My guess is that it has something to do with the drinking age being 19 up in B.C.

 Isnt the drinking age in BC 18? In Quebec it is hehehe

 No it's 19 here in BC.

Would totally enter if I owned a trail bike... somehow I don't think my totem and 729 equipped mini-DH bike would be that much fun on these trails. Neither would the flyweight singlespeed street bike with slicks.

 @gab930

i wish it was

 oooh..do you need a maxipad?

 and he is english!

 It's spelled "Führer" not "furure".

 Oh, come on cyfa89... it's KIND of funny

 yeah haha
just didnt fit in with his is all

 It's not for youth because of the race's insurance policy I believe, not singling them out.

Good luck to all entrants!

 Well if your a rider and student, this came at a bad time. Papers due Wednesday, and exams are coming up in the next couple weeks.

 its not twitter dude @brule doesn't notify him

 Sean that is a great idea and one that we may explore after we see how folks chalk up this time around.

 Actually that's a great idea Sean. I'd help with that brule

 One of the hopeful outcomes from this contest is that we find possible journalists that can also contribute in the future. Possibly on a regular basis.

 Sean, I'm in the US also, but all you got to do is clear the calendar, and commit to the drive. You can make it to any event you want, as long as you have no other obligations in life other than yourself

 Try being in NZ...

I'd do this if I had a way of getting to Canada. I'm doing Journalism at Uni so would be perfect but aarghhhhh its soooo far away.

 It's a bit biased because the subject of the contest is a race in British Columbia. How are you supposed to cover a race if you're not there?

 I hear ya guys. A few reasons to enter. A flight from Russia might cost $1500? PB will cover $500, so for $1000 you have a 2 week vacation/epic ride and $5000 in bike parts. Also regardless win/lose, we will have all good entries on file for possible paid journalism gigs in the future. Hey there is something we want covered in NZ, no need to fly someone there, let's get XXX.

 Shred - given the quality of your video and your ability to write I would be a strong backer of you covering NZ events if that opportunity ever came to pass

 I don't think it's very biased. I live in Georgia, and with this prize package and the $500 of travel costs I would be more than happy to cover the rest (or get another sponsor to).

 You can drive to Canada. Try driving to Canada from New Zealand or someplace like Sudan.

It's biased by location, but that being the point of the whole thing, there's no way to eliminate that bias.

 I'm hoping to see our "elders" sharpen their finger tips too here!

 added 1 entry per person

 Prize not prove.

 Can your granddad ride for 5-8 hours for 7 straight days of singletrack? If so, good for him. Thats the one thing thats kept me from applying, don't know if I legitimately have the endurance to go that hard for that long. I was reading about peoples training for it and they said they were doing 24 hour races in preparation for it. Not my normal style of riding.

 Whilst writing the story I asked him how long he had been cycling he text back and said"Hi Jack,
I got my first bike when I was. 9 and first joined a cycling club at 14 so I suppose I've been riding a bike for 60 years and seriously cycling for 55 years.
At an average of around 4500 miles a year thats around a quarter of a million miles (250000)
I guess that could be the reason my legs were aching on Radnor bank"

 On the topic of endurance for this event, that's the one thing that I'm worried about. I can probably complete the "challenge" level ride with ease at my current fitness level, but if I'm going to do it I want to do the "Epic." Pretty sure I can train up to that level in the couple of months between now and then. I might not be fit enough to win it, but I should (hopefully) be fit enough to finish!

 Don't quite get what your getting at.

 This would be nice.

 Congrats Connor

 This seemed to grate a little with me too. What would be so wrong with "prizes"?

 No need to be so Anglocentric, what's wrong with 'prizing'?

 It's just messy, unnecessary and wrong. I can cope with americanisms mostly - living across a large ocean for 300 years or whatever is bound to bring up a few differences in language, but why invent a new word when theres a perfectly good, shorter version already there. Similar to the american word "burglarize" which means the same as "burgle" but some language butcher decided it needed suffixing, and somehow it stuck...

Maybe I'm just a purist? Who knows, but as mikezero said, it's a writing competition, makes this seem a touch ironic.

 Well for a person in England your pedanticism would be well placed, however you might as well say that the French are wrong to say "Voila"...Any language constantly evolves and changes over time or space...go back a few centuries and your beloved English would be totally different, language is never static

For some reason you seem to think that the language you are familiar with is 'the' right one. I would imagine that if you were born in Canada you'd probably think that 'prizing' was 'the' right word and 'prizes' was absurd...

Prizing fits the way Canadian's use language and the overall structure of their discourse.

 That's true, language changes over time and I don't have a problem with that. New words become absorbed when more people begin to use them than object to them/simply dont use them, likewise words die out when they cease to be used.

I wouldn't say "prizing" (used in this context) was a part of english - British, Canadian, US or otherwise - just yet (I had a quick google and no dictionary results brought up that meaning, in fact this page was among the first results, make of that what you will), and I guess I'm among those that would rather it stayed that way. If enough other people use it it will be absorbed into the language, but I cant see the point when as I said, its just unnecessary lengthening of a word. As yet though, it is very definitely not a "real" word - other than the present-continuous tense of the verb "to prize" meaning to treasure something.

I don't think voila is a fair comparison either, thats just a shortening of "look there" in french, and is an entirely natural and sensible change. Unlike here, which just seems clumsy and inelegant.

Having said that, your argument is valid - I just think that this word tends more towards "wrong" than "natural change". But thats only my opinion.

 Three examples should suffice:
http://www.wfnfishingtown.com/prizing.php

http://greasyguide.com/322/win-a-sny-invitational-prize-pack/

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/gametprizes09.htm

You are subjectively judging it from an Englishman's perspective, they don't tell you your words are clumsy, or inelegant. I happen to think it's a fantastic, edgy and exciting new word, but my opinion is irrelevant. The forces of linguistic evolution will be the only the judge that matters.

I guess they like it, so who are you to judge. Good luck with your entry.

 "The forces of linguistic evolution will be the only the judge that matters."

I'll agree to that much, I don't like it in this instance but thats how language works - who hasn't been told off by a grandparent for "unacceptable" grammar etc.

Oh, and I wasnt planing on entering, I write enough essays for uni, any spare time I'd rather ride my bike than write about it. Good luck to you too if youre going for it, I still disagree with you here but at least you seem to know what you're talking about and can string a sentence together.

 I'd enter this competition but my spelling is atroshius.

 Soon - it just ended on Friday night - now we have a lot of reading to do, so soon is the best we can offer.

 Fair enough. Thanks Ty!

 Soon is better than never.

 But the question is, how do you define soon?

 I'm redefining it everyday.

 How is the judging coming along, looking forward to hearing who the winner is.

 Down to our final 4 essays from well over a hundred essays.

 How is the essay judging going?

 To show the kids on Pinkbike that doing well in school will get them further in life than trying out for that Monster Energy sponsorship deal

 Down to our final 4 essays from well over a hundred essays.

 real

 I don't really understand your point... Why would someone under 19 winning be a 'punk ass rich kid' whereas someone over 19 magically really deserving? And what would someone over 19 do other than 'just writing an essay?' They would obviously have had to put a lot of work into it to win anyway.

I mean, I don't know who you ride with, but the guys I know (I'm 15) have to work for their gear too, its not just bought by their parents...

And what would someone over 19 do other than 'just writing an essay?' They would obviously have had to put a lot of work into it to win anyway.

 The idea is the Epic, but it'll come down to the day I suppose, write up a story and give it a go.

 It's what they suggest. Trust me in that you'll only want a XC rig for a any long term race. Although it's not unheard of to run longer travel all mountain bikes at say... 24 hour races.