Hey guys, y'all know I work for Ryan. Let me clear something up.
When he talks about not paying people, he is referring to like all ages contests with a 12 and under division, and giving big money to flow kids.
We have run The Boardr Open for the last few years and although we advertise it as "open" meaning pros can enter, it usually ends up as a upper to mid level am contest and we have a small prize purse for that. I think first place was $500.
The idea is to not set the expectations that 8-12 year old kids are winning significant prize money at contests. That is not sustainable to a contest series.
That being said, the prize money is all up to the sponsors. Sometimes it's there, sometimes its not.
Lately, we have also been doing a lot of "tricks for cash" events where everyone can get involved and we give out maybe $500-$1000 in ten and twenty dollar bills. That kind of thing creates excitement and a great time for everyone.
I'm always down to talk about this stuff and help understand it in any way I can. Feel free to reply here or PM me if you have some more specific questions.