Yes, yes, I know what you’re thinking... “We need another award scheme like Goudurix needs another rough spot.”

After all, a simple Google search returns results for Coaster Buzz’s Coasters’ Choice Awards, Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards, Screamscape’s Ultimate Awards and last, but not least, the Ultimate European Theme Park Awards.

So god knows there are enough ways to show your appreciation for the love of your (theme park) life, so whose bright idea was it to come up with another theme park awards, and more to the point – why?

The “who” is easy to answer. Ben Mills from Theme Park Insider was the guiding force behind the European Theme Park Critic Awards.

As for "why", Ben Mills, the ETPCA's founding member, is the most qualified to answer. "As great as it is to have continent-wide surveys such as the Ultimate European Theme Park Awards, I was still waiting for the theme park equivalent of the Oscars. It's good to hear what the general public think sometimes - and this is undoubtedly good news for the industry - but like in most parts of the entertainment industry, I wanted to hear what the critics thought. And if they weren't going to tell me... well, I'd make them, with the promise of fame and fortune! Well, maybe not fortune..."

From a personal point of view, the problem with most awards, international ones in particular, is that because of the amount of American enthusiasts, it is hard to envisage a poll without Cedar Point and Islands of Adventure clearing the board because they’re the most visited theme parks.

It could be argued, of course, that they’re the most visited because they’re the best, but nevertheless, there are a lot of parks – especially throughout Europe – that miss out on much deserved praise.

Mitch’s Coaster Poll goes a long way to address this. Each participant rates coasters head-to-head against each other, which means that it is a great way to see how European coasters weigh up against their American counterparts.

Consequently, Mitch’s Coaster Polls have earned themselves a solid reputation for being the most accurate snapshot of enthusiasts’ opinions on the internet.

Yet, despite being the cornerstone of a successful theme park, there are few awards that acknowledge all the other eccentricities of a European theme park.

The Ultimate European Theme Park Awards are in their third year, and rightfully so. The UETPAs really are the only existing awards that fairly acknowledge European rides, and have a spread of visitors broad enough to ensure that there will not be an unfair bias towards a certain park.

For Coaster Kingdom, the ETPCAs stood out for just being completely different. Awards and polls are normally quite faceless affairs, and you get no sense of the deliberation over votes.

With a panel of writers instead of the public voting, there is a certain amount of transparency to the awards, and you can clearly see – and appreciate – the voting methods used by the panellists.

Of course, you may well – and probably will – disagree with us. This is always going to be the case, though, whether you get to vote or not and whether there are six panellists or 600.

The fact is, the ETPCAs will give you the technology to read our minds – the written word. Every panellist has the task of justifying their frame of mind, and as well as reassuring you that we’re not voting on a whim, it should provide interesting reading.

And for Coaster Kingdom, that there was the hook. The ETPCAs should turn what is a logistical audit of enthusiasts’ opinions whereby you fill in the form and are then told the winners into a more mutual event, which is a pleasure for me in that I have to justify my votes and – hopefully – a pleasure for you, as you read articles from myself, and more to the point, a broad spectrum of European writers.

MS 27 February 2005.