Exciting news today to start the week from the boss, Martti Kuoppa tells all right here:
“All things I do, I always try to view them with an open mind for progression. That was also the case when I felt it was time to renew the Master Of Creativity online video competition concept which I have been running successfully for many years.
It all started back in 2009 when I launched my first online video competition, Ground Tactics. Many of the Flatlanders still remember the impact what Moto Sasaki did with his groundbreaking 3-minutes combo for the final round of Ground Tactics:
moto sasaki ground tactics final from moto sasaki on Vimeo.
This line (among many other great runs in Ground Tactics) made me feel that there is definitely a place for online competitions in the BMX community.
Then I needed to focus on other aspects of my life and I was unable to organize Ground Tactics again. It took me a few years until I came up with an idea for Master Of Creativity. The idea was born back in 2015 when I joined Instagram and the app did not allow users to post videos any longer than 30 seconds. I felt that we needed to adapt to this modern way of social media and use shorter videos for online competition. Master Of Creativity worked very well. A lot of riders supported me and joined the competition year after year. Last year I had almost 100 riders signing up for it and the level of riding was insane, like every year since I started the Master Of Creativity (click the logo below to see John Yull´s epic entry to 2017 MOC):
Now, after 5 years of running Master Of Creativity, it is time to move forward and refresh the online video competition concept completely to make things more exciting.
Without further explanation, Ultimate Flatland League is here to combine Ground Tactics, Master Of Creativity and MK Format live battles.
Round 1 (Qualification) will be traditional Ground Tactics full run (non-edited).
Round 2 (Semi Final) is Master Of Creativity best trick/best combo round.
Round 3 (Final) is a MK Format live battle.
Ultimate Flatland League combines 3 elements together which are all important parts of competing in Flatland:
1. Build a run of your dreams.
2. Pull a new trick that really pushes your personal limits.
3. How good are you able to perform your full run with a contest pressure on.
There are following categories to choose to compete in:
Amateur Women/Men
Pro Women/Men
Top 3 prizes. I am currently at a stage to find more prize money for the Pro Women and Pro Men. So far my own brand, MK Format is putting money on the table and I am super excited to announce that Kunstform BMX store is also joining in as a sponsor to add up in the prize money count and also gift cards for the amateurs! So the prize money is guaranteed already but to tell you details how much, I need a bit more time to chase down those dollars out there. But don´t worry, I will make it happen and it will be okay.
If you want your brand or you know somebody who is looking into supporting this type of event, feel free to let me know!
It is not easy to find money for Flatland events. For that reason I opened an apparel store inside the Ultimate Flatland League website where riders can show their support for video riding culture. Every order will support the prize money growth, judges fees and other costs running this online competition. All orders are highly appreciated and needed to give these highly talented riders out there an opportunity to earn some income with all the hard work they are putting into Flatland.
And by the way, I am not going to be judging this competition. The judges are: Effraim Catlow, Sebastian Grubinger and York Uno. Now, go check out the site and register yourself for the competition, buy some apparel and have a great day!
Thank you very much!
– Martti Kuoppa