We are getting closer and closer, and on Sunday 29 August, the KSM Showdown will be upon us.

The Showdown is being organised by a group of young pro skiers dubbing themselves the Kneesall Massive (or KSM as they have come to be known). They decided that they wanted a competition that was more centred around having fun than around who took the podium positions, and so the Showdown was born.

Plans for the first of this annual event have been running along beautifully and we are now in a position to give you a sneak preview of some of the things you can look forward to.

The Showdown will be a slopestyle competition, and in addition to the regular features at Sheffield Ski Village, there will also be a healthy supply of rails, and the newly constructed KSM "boom box."

The judges for the event will be none other than the KSM members themselves: Andy Bennett, Tom Last, Eddie "Slavemonkey" Thelwell, Paddy Graham, Alex Murphy, and Adrian Clarke. With these guys being some of the best skiers in the UK, this leaves the field wide open.

Also, to ensure the crowd is entertained all night long, we have master MC Pat Sharples who will be calling all the tricks and handing out some spot prizes to the riders.

We do have a limited number of places for competitors so if you would like to enter, please email zack@darksummer.co.uk to pre-register. Entrance is £10 for the competition and all money goes to charity.

Talking of prizes, we have a huge pile of stuff to give away, including 5 pairs of skis, and a grand prize of a Lush Legend Longboard (http://www.lushlongboards.co.uk). As this is to be a competition with a difference, not only will there be prizes for the riders, but also some crowd prizes to give out too. The categories for these prizes will not be revealed until the day, but wearing retro ski gear or bikinis can only help your chances of winning.

We have had a lot of interest from the local snowboarders here asking if they can enter on skis, that we have decided to add a special prize category for the "Best Snowboarder on Skis," so if you think skiing is as easy as it looks now is your chance to prove it.

If you are not lucky enough to win one of the prizes, then you can get involved in the Showdown old skool charity raffle. As the proceeds from the whole event are being donated to the Edale Mountain Rescue Unit, we would like everyone to get involved in helping so dig deep and enter the raffle.

Our freestyle graffiti wall is ready, and we have a couple of amazing graffiti artists to start the ball rolling. If you would like to come and have a go at some street art on our wall then come along and help yourself.