Speedballer

I posted this response on a local board during a thread of am vs pro...thought i would post it here and see the response I get. I dont expect it to be favorable. anyway...


I think there is too little classification in Stunting right now, and it is hurting the validity of the stunt scene and it's riders and competitors.

I mean.... a guy wins ??? at a small competition and now he is a pro.
and a guy doing circles at a large competition doesnt place, so he is amatuer.

Motorcycles is motorcycles, so I am am gonna use a racing example.
Ya got streetriders...then Amateurs...then Experts....then Pro's.

And all competitors are classified/LICENSED!

Streetriders:
ride the backroads and do track-days.
No $$$.

Amatuers:
Racing amatuer class anywhere from 1-year to more depending on their finishes.
Lotsa(!) $$$$ can be made winning amatuer events.
Amatuers usually have sponsors.

Experts:
Did well in amatuer, evaluated, and graduated to expert at end of season.
Again, $$$ to be made in expert but much tougher to win it. Absolute blood-bath up front.
Experts always have sponsors.

Pro (professional):
Pretty much means you are winning races on SpeedVision and are under contract by a Cycle Manufacturer or Large ($$$$$$) Team.
Nicky Hayden is a Pro.
BIG $$$ and contracts.
Sponsors pay BIG $$$ for a sticker on the bike.

I know no one wants to hear this, but I think (all) stunters are throwing the term 'pro' around way too loosly.

imho, it would be better to have more classifications and stricter guidlines. As stunting comps get more popular/larger, and stunt-orgs get more uniformed...there has got to be guidlines.
There has to be sanctioning bodies with a stringent licensing system.

Making money = pro?
I know tons of cats that made mad $$$ in amatuer and they sure aint no pro. Same w/ expert class.

If making money made you a pro, then I was a pro when I was racing amateur...and I sure aint no pro...nor or ever will be. I was an amatuer making $$$...then an expert (and didnt make a dime in expert).

Winning an amatuer comp makes you pro?
you can win tons of amatuer races and your still an amatuer. You are evaluated at end-of-season to see if you graduate to expert.

I think more classes that are licensed by a sanctioning body and evaluation/graduation is what is going to have to happen to unify the stunt-comp scene and help it grow.
Maybe following the race-class system to some degree.
Street-Stunter...then getting an Amatuer LICENSE...graduating to an expert LICENSE... then graduating to proffessional LICENSE.

Like I said, I aint trying to bust on anyone's accomplishments...but when you have such a narrow and loose classification (either am or pro) you are lumping people into one of two catagories and that really detracts from people's stunt-level.
I mean, Dan Jackson is lumped into the same catagory as the guy who gets best-??? at a small comp???
Just doesnt make sense to me, and really creates too much vagness in the word 'pro'.

IMHO..more classifications, evauations, and stricter guidlines for advancement would make the sport much stronger. I am NOT trying to take away from anyones riding abilities, ar detract from anyones accomplishments...I am just looking at the stunt-sport as a whole and thinking of all the am vs pro debates I have seen on the stunt-boards.

Flame away!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I aint no real stunter, but this is still my opinion.

bill parr

no flaming...its a well thought out post and i agree with you. basicly most comps. are doing away with the amature class and throwing us all together. so a guy like me has absolutly no chance. wich i think in the long run is only going to hurt the number of competitors you see.

longrider

No flaming here either you make very good points but I just cant see how to do it. The pro level could be handled if we could get a single organization such as the XSBA to run all the pro events but I dont see how to handle the amatuer/expert end. The biggest issue is the small number of riders - 99% of stunters at least here in CO would fall into your 'streetriders' category, just out for fun. Again here in CO there are only 3 or 4 riders I would put in the 'expert' category and maybe 10 or 12 that would be in the 'amatuer' category. By comparison the local roadracing club has over 200 members and there are thousands of canyon riders.

Another issue is while winning a race is clear cut - you crossed the line first, stunting is a judged competition which throws in a bunch of variables. Just look at what happened at the FMX comp at the X games last year. This makes advancement a lot harder to decide.

Just a few things to think about....

Kyle_PBZ

Good post man, maybe some day it will work up to being that legit and organized. We can only hope!!!

KF_Chris

new to the stunt scene myself (just got back from south italy) but I agree with the classification system, or at least a basic organization for the competitions

Kaotic

well thought out post.. one day we'll all be classified :D , but yeah the term pro is tossed around to easily heh

Speedballer

Thanks for the responses fellas! I really thought I was gonna get lit-da-***-up!

I don't have any answers, but I just thought my post could be some food for thought. I am just a street-stunter, and not a very good one...but I love the sport and really want to see it grow.

Thanks again for not beating on me

Robbie

nah....ur just telling the truth...
im sure they'll figure it out someday...
there should be 2 classes tho...

Lb3

no doubt. I have thought about the exact same thing many times. Stunting just isnt big enough or popular enough yet to break it down like that. If it blows up in the future I'd even like to see it get broken down even further with classes. Like super stock (stock or close to stock gears, no handbrakes, 25-28 psi in tires, etc) and super sport (hook the **** up) classes. If it got to the point where it was big enough to do that, then the spectators would know what was up when watching events (this is for all you hb haters out there).

Dax

It's a very good post. I agree.

DoodleF4i

amature...pro...we all do it for the chicks

Ecentrik

uhhh... and I think you based this in "roadracing" type also. i mean you could make another stats sheet for stunting only.
my pro would be long endos. or something that takes alot of skill and HUGE NUTZ .

Speedballer

Are you saying drifting front & rear tires at triple-digits don't require the same nutz as stunting? I think they both require some nut.

MikeM

Good points, definitely. 4 classes is way too many though, it would take way too much time at comps. I think it should be only 2 classes (if not just 1) and only the Pro class has payouts. As it is, the pro payouts arent very big, so having 3 other classes dip ioto the fund will drain the pro payouts down to nothing.

bruno_z

good post, but this has been said like 10 times already - there should be 2 classes and that's it! Pro's get paid $$$ and amateurs win some cheaper awards like fearings, cage, 12 bar etc. Here in europe there's no real classes, it's simple - no one will tell you that you are amateur or pro, no one gives a damn who you are - if you wan't money compete, but you have to know you compete against best riders in europe...

Bill McMahon

amatuer= you do this for fun and have something else going that pays the bills, regardless of what you make from riding

pro=riding pays your bills and that's all you're doing for a living, ala starboyz or the streetfighterz

T-Dubby

well said CBO.. I'm the same I'm not good but it's an addiction and I do it for the fun and the excitement.