How is score calculated in competitions?

The following is based on this article, which discusses some of the factors that will help achieve higher scores in THPS competitions, as well as my own experiences playing the game and placing in competitions:

• Don't Bail: This is probably the most important factor. Bailing incurs a significant score penalty and wastes time. The article suggests that its worth just restarting if you bail early in the first session since the penalty is so steep, and I'd agree anecdotally based on my own experience. The first run in particular is key since it sets you up with a higher score to average from in the later runs, so if you find yourself bailing in the first run its probably better to just restart.

• Mix it Up: Use a variety of tricks (flips, grabs, grinds, manuals, etc). Using the special tricks will help boost your score, but I've found in my own experience variety is just as (if not more) important.

• Use Gaps: Try to learn where the special gaps are in each map. Judges seem to be impressed by using these special gaps and they will also help to boost your score. You can use the View Gaps function in the Game Options menu to try and find the special gaps, which you can then incorporate into your routes around the map. Speaking of routes...

• Know the Map: Try to deliberately use a good chunk of the map. I admittedly don't know if this is truly the case, but it seems when I use more of the map my scores are higher. I try to plan some rough routes out in advance that will touch on the points above - find a route that will allow you to chain different types of moves (grinds, manuals, flips, wall-plants, etc) while using some of the different gaps.