Chapter 1

Dear prospective sponsor,

Enclosed please find the “Sponsor” information packet for our 7th annual Spring Break Adoption Fundraiser Social, commonly referred to as the “Panama City Sorority Slutathon”. For the fourth year in a row we will be at the Wonderworks Laser-Tag Arena at 9910 Front Beach Road in Panama City Beach so there will be plenty of parking outside and secure space inside for the contestants, the course, and the spectators.

Please take care to keep these materials secure as any contestant who knows the course will have an advantage over the other contestants. Also, it is possible that some first-time contestants would be dismayed at the new stages we have introduced this year and bow out before they start. We’d hate to miss those new faces.

For these reasons and others, we ask that you not allow your prospective contestant to see these materials. The attachment is the official course description with the verbage that the referees will use to direct the contestants. You are allowed to summarize the course by saying simply that it consists of 20 stages and 66 steps, and any contestant who completes the course will earn at least $950 with the likelihood of significantly more depending upon choices she makes during the contest.

Many contestants will be content to simply complete the course, earning $1000 or more. Of course, many contestants will also be competing for speed, trying to place in the top ten finalists and earn the prizes associated with those places as well.

Prizes:

1st-3rd prizes are a week in Cancun with various cash prizes depending upon the entry purse. 4th-10th are a week on a Caribbean cruise ship with cash prizes again depending. Completion of each step also earns a direct cash award which is halved if the contestant does not finish the entire course.

Several of the stages have options. If the contestant stays to complete as many options as possible, she earns more prize money. However, if she moves on to the next stage as soon as possible, she will finish faster and earn more of a speed bonus. This will have to be a decision made by the contestant at each stage, which way to compete.

All contestants who complete the course will be listed in order of completion time, with an additional $5 speed bonus paid to her for each contestant she beat. The slowest will earn no speed bonus, and the second-slowest will earn $5 for finishing faster than the slowest. If there are 200 finishers, the contestant with the fastest time did better than 199 others and will get a $995 speed bonus. Contestants who drop out for any reason before completing the course are neither eligible for this bonus nor counted among the finishers.

We are aware that there is a strong random element in how long each stage takes since many of them depend upon audience participation and there is no way to predict that. Certainly, there is a benefit to going early instead of late, as the audience will be quicker in the morning. Later in the day, as they get tired, they will be slower to assist the contestants. Note that we assign contestant starting positions by the order in which they registered. Thus, contestants who submit their entry fees early have a strong advantage over those who enter at the last minute.

Entry fees:

Contestant tickets are $500, spectator tickets are $100. Sponsor tickets are included in the contestant entry fee. Sponsor tickets are not available for sale except in the sense that many Sponsors pay for their contestant to enter.

The high cost of entering is partly to pay the prize purse, but mostly to encourage the contestant to stay in the contest. The entry fees are used to pay the prizes so they are non-refundable. A contestant who withdraws will lose that fee, while she will get a minimum of double that back in prizes as long as she completes the course. The prize purse is largely paid for from the spectator tickets.

Each Contestant will be mailed both a ‘Contestant’ and a ‘Sponsor’ ticket. When the contestant checks in the day before the contest begins, she will receive several items. The first is a pink “PCSS7 Contestant” tee-shirt in her size. The second is a combination flu shot with broad-spectrum antibiotic.

Each Sponsor will be given a red “PCSS7 Sponsor” tee-shirt in his size, plus access to a locker you can use for clothes, purses, etc. If you go looking for me during the contest, I won’t be wearing the suit that the president of a large foundation should be wearing. Since I sponsor a young lady from a local community college each year I’ll be in the stands, cheering the girls on in my red ‘Sponsor’ shirt.

Contestants:

Must wear a shirt or blouse of any style, skirt of any length, comfortable shoes, and appropriate underwear. This is not an option; it is required dress for the contest. Any contestant not meeting this dress code will be refused entry to the contestant waiting room, forfeiting her entry fee.

The contestant is not required to bring a sponsor, but it is strongly recommended. The course will be easier to complete if the contestant has a male ‘sponsor’ available to help at various stages. If a contestant does not have a sponsor, she will be directed to choose one from the spectators before beginning the contest. Once selected, the chosen spectator must agree to all duties before being accepted.

The course is timed. Each contestant will be given a stopwatch on a lanyard around her neck. Only the referees are allowed to touch the stopwatch. The Stage 0 referee will start the contestant’s clock as he opens the door to Stage 1, and unless there are forced delays the clock will continue running until the Stage 20 referee stops it again at the end of the course and announces her time.

With two exceptions, any contestant can drop out at the beginning or end of any step. The first exception is Step 41: Any contestant who starts Step 40 can withdraw at any time, but she MUST complete at least the same amount of Step 41 before leaving.

If a contestant withdraws from the course, she will be immediately taken to Stage 20. Stage 20 is the other exception: All contestants who entered the starting door will complete each step in Stage 20, regardless of where they dropped out, earning an absolute minimum of $50 even if she chickens out as soon as she enters the first door, before starting the very first step.

As additional incentive to keep going, there are stages designated as ‘penalty-points’ for dropping out, with the most severe penalties early on and becoming less severe as the contest continues. If any contestant withdraws before those points, she is liable for the penalties that apply for her position in the course.