All Girl Skate Jam@Vans Warped Tour 2011

The All Girl Skate Jam is back on the Vans Warped Tour Friday August 10th at Home Depot Center in Carson (Greater LA) from 11 am – 1:30 pm

The All Girl Skate Jam Invitational includes the top 10 Professional skater girls Leticia Bufoni, Elaina Sosco, Jessica Florencio, Allysha Bergado, Melissa Spillman, Olivia Rhodes, AmeeJay Papelera, Amelia Brodka, Julie Kindstrand. World Record holder from Summer X Games 2010 grom Annika Vrklan and sister Klara will demo to inspire young girls too. Pro legend skateboarders Laura Thornhill, Cindy Whitehead, Tony Jetton, and Gold medal Summer X Games skateboarder and Olympian snowboarder Cara-Beth Burnside will judge. Holly Lyons and Steve Badillo will be tandem MC’s. Live performances from DJ Lisa D’Amato, UK artist Sibley and all-girls band Spare Parts for Broken Hearts.

The All Girl Skate Jam (AGSJ) motto is “all girls, all ages, all abilities”. Prizes will be given to the girls thanks to Girlz Garage, Keep-a-Breast, Daisy Rock, Vans, Stilla Cosmetics, Hoopla, Vans Warped Tour, All Girl Skate Jam Clothing, Rockstar Bearings, Protec, Termite, Garage Board Shop, Sol Retreat, and more!

Often imitated but never duplicated the magic of the AGSJ is looking forward to another great event! The festival atmosphere of the Vans Warped Tour combines punk music with skateboarding all in one arena.

All Girl Skate Jam began in 1997 when founder Patty Segovia held the first professional all girls skateboarding event in San Diego. Since then Segovia – soul skater, action sports photographer and author has gone on to hold events from Hawaii to Spain. Follow AGSJ to Las Vegas for the S.L.A.T.E. at Magic tradeshow August 22nd – 24th with the skater girls showcasing All Girl Skate Jam clothing line at the 4,000 sq. ft. indoor skate course.

For additional information log on to www.allgirlskatejam.com
Patty Segovia
323.973.8378
All Girl Skate Jam
www.allgirlskatejam.com

Media Contact
Vanessa Comar
310.597.0900
media@leveragestyle.com

Kick4Humanity is just days away!

The 2011 Kick4Humanity is just days away. Come check out all the teams on May 21st at San Juan Capistrano Sports Park. We are excited for this years event and stoked to have an amazing group of sponsors.

XAVIER & KEV | PULL-IN SIGNATURE UNDWEAR OUT NOW

Hey guys! Our friends Xavier Bertoni and Kevin Rolland have a co-branded Pull-In Signature underwear that’s out. These guys have 5 gold medals between the two of them! Most recently Kevin Rolland won the Super Pipe Gold at both Winter X, and Winter X Europe.
Grab yourself a pair at http://xavierbertoni.com/store use promo code Xav&Kev for free delivery till April 5th!

2011 Kick4Humanity

We are stoked to announce the 2nd Annual Kick4Humanity Soccer Tournament, which is only 2 months away, will be held in San Juan Capistrano on May 21st, 2011! This event will bring the surfing indusrty together to raise money for SurfAid, while having fun. 4 teams have already signed on for this year’s event!

Manhattan Beach, Ca – (March, 2011) - We’re back…The 2nd Annual Kick4Humanity soccer tournament will be held at San Juan Capistrano Sports Complex on Saturday, May 21, 2011. This charity event brings the surf industry together to battle it out on the soccer field in support of a great cause – SurfAid International. It’s an awesome opportunity for people from the surf industry to get together, spend a fun day in the sun and raise much needed funds for SurfAid International.

Last year’s tournament featured teams such as RVCA, Jedidiah, Endemic, Volcom, Firewire Surfboards, SurfShot, SURFER Magazine, Transworld Business, So Cal SK8 & Surf and Laguna Surf & Sport, & Primo.

“We are excited to have the support of the surf community at our Kick4Humanity event again in 2011. Each team represents supporters who are essential to achieving our humanitarian work in the Mentawai Islands.” – Randal Schober, Executive Director, SurfAid International USA.

“As part of our annual community program we wanted surf companies to involve their employees in a worthy cause, while having fun. We wanted to put on an event that raised funds and awareness for SurfAid International in a fun way. We are very excited for this year’s tournament!” – Monica Staniec, VP of Marketing, iMa

We want to give a special thanks to the supporters and sponsors that have come on board already for this year: H2O Audio, Toms Shoes, PopChips, Barefoot Wines, Seshday.com, Sex Wax, Function Drinks and La Casa Del Camino Hotel.

Kick4Humanity will sell out, so don’t miss you chance to participate, sponsor, donate or volunteer. Learn more at www.doit4humanity.org/kick and register here!

2nd ANNUAL KICK4HUMANITY IS ON!

Planning & Managing an Event

An event can be referred to as many things, for instance a competition, a ceremony, a festival, a party, a demo, etc. In our industry we see a combination of these.

Creating and operating an event, regardless of whether it is grassroots or large scale, is a juggling act. Many issues that you may deal with often can happen in the beginning. One of the first rules of event planning & management is to figure out why you are doing the event. When planning any event you must ask yourself a series of questions to determine if its something that people would want to come to. Listen to what people want, differentiate your event and stop doing exactly whatever everybody else is doing!!

A few things when creating an event you must take into consideration and I have broken down some of the main elements in that process:

First you conceptualize the event (define it) – what is the name of the event, what is your target audience, what’s the mission, where should you have it, when will the event be held, etc. When developing an event make sure you know why and for whom you are creating it. In this stage you will also need to define your sources of revenues (ticket sales, sponsorship, food & beverage, merchandise, etc) – because ultimately you want and need to make money.

After you create/define the event you must then budget it. You will need to be very detailed in order to accurately budget. This is very important, because you may find yourself out of business before you even get started. I would like to point out that even though the cash flow plays an important role, it is also important from a non-financial standpoint that the event becomes an annual event.

Finding a location is a critical part of the process. When selecting a site you need to do research to make sure the location you have chosen is the best for your event. Knowing the local marketplace and the community will only help guide you and in my opinion you should become part of that local scene.

Once the location is selected, comes the most challenging part, in my opinion of the event planning process – finding your sponsors. In most cases the sponsorship support is the very lively-hood and it can be very discouraging at times. I have learned not to take anything personally, because in the long run you are far more productive when staying focused and not letting the intimidation get to you. Finding sponsors is a sales process that is typically a lengthy one.

Once you have done all of the above and more, you will then have to promote it, produce it and basically MAKE-IT- HAPPEN! Many other things will come up along the way and issues will always arrive – that is the nature of events. My advice is to always stay calm and in any instance prepare to have some sort of contingency plan. Creating a list of issues that may happen in the pre-event planning process will help you be better prepared when something does occur.

In the end you must hire & staff the best team possible to make sure that everything is intact and you are ready to go. Essentially no event can run by itself and without the help of a great staff that is motivated to go the extra mile you may run into more problems than necessary. Keep your staff happy and focused on their priorities and this will only help you in producing a successful event.

-MS

IASC Skateboarding Summit 2010

I attended the 3rd Annual IASC Skateboarding Industry Summit 2010 at Woodward West in Tehachapi, Calif. There were about 100 people from the skateboard industry there, and the focus was on skateboarding’s global theme and the current state of the industry. Oh yeah and I almost forgot…having a good time.

Over the 3 days, The IASC discussions were great and the theme stayed consistent…Skateboarding needs to stay in hands of the people who are passionate about it. The industry needs to work together to make sure the soul, spirit and culture of skateboarding is never forgotten.

George Powell, CEO of Skate One Corp,. reiterated this point and how important it is for us as an industry to work together to keep pushing skateboarding in a positive direction.

Another take away from the conference was the panel discussion with the retailers, who spoke about the issues that they face in this current economy. It’s important for the brands to engage themselves when promotions are happening and consistency is key.

Overall, it was evident in most if not in all of the discussions…the industry needs to work together to keep skateboarding in the hands of the right people to keep the authenticity of the culture intact.

Good times were had by all and I was able to show off my killer bowling skillz (124). BTW have you ever heard of a hot shot? Well, I think Josh from Malakye said it best after having one…”Once it touches the lips, it’s so good”.

About IASC:
The International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC), www.skateboardiasc.org, is a nonprofit organization that represents the United Voice of the skateboard industry. Driven by skate industry leaders, IASC goals include; Promoting skateboarding, Increasing participation, Education, and Saving members money.

-MS

1st Annual Kick4Humanity was a success

This past Saturday iMa & SurfAid put on the 1st Annual SurfAid International Kick4Humanity soccer tournament, a charity event where the surf industry came together to battle it out on the soccer field. The event was an awesome opportunity for people from the surf industry to interact, spend a fun day in the sun and most importantly raise funds for charity. A total of $4,300 was raised for SurfAid in Kick4Humanity’s inaugural year.

The Surfshot team edged out Laguna Surf & Sport 2-0 in the final, becoming this year’s champion. Firewire Surfboards finished in 3rd place to round out the top three. RVCA was our top fundraising team and won the best spirit award, while the best effort award went to SurfAid’s own Javier Guerrero.

“It means a lot for SurfAid International to see such amazing support from the action sport community at an event like Kick4Humanity. SurfAid’s programs are designed around communities coming together to increase their health and well-being and bring positive change. Although very far from the SurfAid’s programs held in isolated areas off the coast of western Sumatra in Indonesia, and in support of what happened on Saturday in San Juan Capistrano for as people gathered to support a great cause through the joy of soccer.” – Javier Guerrero, Director, SurfAid International USA

“As part of our annual community program we wanted surf companies to involve their employees in a worthy cause, while having fun. The 1st annual Kick4Humanity tournament proved to be a successful and fun way to raise funds for SurfAid and we hope to see more teams involved next year”. – Monica Staniec, VP of Marketing, iMa

This event could not have happened without the support of the surf industry & the teams that participated. Teams that battled it out this year were RVCA, Surfshot, Surfer Mag, Jedidiah, SurfAid, Firewire Surfboards, Volcom, Laguna Surf and Sport, Soc Cal Skate & Surf, Transworld Biz, & Endemic. Hope to see you all again next year!

We also want to give a special thanks to all our supporters and sponsors: GoPro, New Era, EarthPack, Bo Bridges, Guayaki, Optimal Nutrition, Primo Beer, Sambazon, Pull-In, PopChips, Archie’s Ice Cream, FUEL TV, Shaka Laka, Hint Water, Sex Wax, Function Drinks, Barefoot, C-Siren Spa, La Casa Camino Hotel, The Roof Top Bar, Reef, & Togo Beach.

Results:
1st Place: Surfshot
Prize: Go Pro Camera, Barefoot Champagne & Primo Beer

2nd Place: Laguna Surf and Sport
Prize: LA Galaxy Tickets, Barefoot Champagne & Primo Beer

3rd Place: Firewire Surfboards
Prize: Pull-In Underwear, Barefoot Champagne & Primo Beer

Most Raised Funds & Best Spirit Awards: RVCA
Prize: Painting by Bo Bridges

Best Effort: Javier Guerrero from SurfAid International
Prize: C-Siren Spa Certificate & Guayaki energy shots

About SurfAid International:
The mission of SurfAid International, a non-profit humanitarian organization, is to improve the health, well-being and self-reliance of people living in isolated regions connected to us through surfing.

Show Your Support! Kick4Humanity is on!

To donate please go to: Kick4Humanity Donations

SurfAid’s Kick4Humanity Tournament – 1/23/10

iMa is putting on the much-anticipated SurfAid International Kick4Humnaity Soccer Tournament in San Clemente on January 23rd, 2010. Brands involved in the surfing industry will battle it out at San Gorgonio Park to help raise funds for SurfAid. It’s going to be a day filled with food, drinks, prizes and good times.

This Year’s Tournament will feature teams such as SurfAid, Jedidiah, RVCA, Endemic, Volcom, Firewire Surfboards, L*SPACE, Surfshot, Chas Surfboards, Transworld Biz, So Cal SK8 & Surf, Laguna Surf & Sport & more to come. If you would like to become part of the “family” and make a donation, we have a page set up that gives you an easy access to donate to your favorite team and help SurfAid International help people in need.

Click HERE to make a donation.

We like to thank all of our supporters, donors and companies that have made this event happen.

I also like to give a special thanks to the members of WIAS, who have volunteered their time to help out with the tournament.

Don’t hesitate to come by and check out the tournament! To keep the festivities going, please join us at the OC Tavern after the event.

For more information on the Kick4Humanity Tournament, please contact: Monica@imaginemarketingagency.com