Building castles in the sand doesn't have to be an unprofitable enterprise.

Entrants in the 13th Annual Sand Castle Competition at Horseshoe Bay in Southampton could win anything from $1,000 to an iPod to tickets to some of the year's hottest events.

The competition, organised by The Department of Tourism in conjunction with the Bermuda Institute of Bermuda Architects, will be held on August 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"Lots of people love coming to watch the competition, but people should come and participate," said architect Nicky Gurret, director of The Annual Bermuda Sand Sculpture competition and member of the The Institute of Bermuda Architect. "It is free."

Just participating comes with prizes, for some.

"Anyone who participates who is 18 years old or older and finishes a sand sculpture could win a ticket to the 2008 Bermuda Music Festival," said Ms Gurret. "That is fabulous."

And there will be iPods for one lucky team.

"For this prize, you don't have to be the best, you just have to participate," she said.

For the open category, the prize will be tickets to the PGA Golf tournament.

Those people entering before August 27 could win an iPod for the whole team.

"This year the iPod is not buried underneath the sand," said Ms Gurret. "We have done that in the past with a phone.

"In American sand sculpture competitions they sometimes hide a prize on the beach somewhere."

Ms Gurret said this is the third year that the Bermuda Department of Tourism has come on board.

"They have done a lot of work with it," said Ms Gurret. " Usually, the competition is in September, but this year it is in August."

There are a number of categories including amateur, families, children, teenagers, open, company, tourists and professionals.

"The Department of Tourism is bringing down four professionals who will do workshops," said Ms Gurret. "By workshops I mean they will give you tips and techniques for building a sand sculpture."

She said sand sculpture competitions have been growing in popularity around the world.

"Over the last 20 years sand sculpture competition has developed," she said. "Now we have professionals who make a living out of it.

"The team that is coming down to Bermuda built a sand sculpture for the PGA Golf Classic. They make a total living out of it. They go to malls, events and they also do it for corporations."

The professional sand sculpting team will be making an appearance at the Harbour Night before the competition.

Dunkley's will be providing water for the event. Ms Gurret said water is not only vital for the people taking part, but also the sculptures themselves.

"When you build a sand sculpture you have to add water," she said. "This year people have less work to do because there will be a pile of sand for you.

"Before, you used to slave for the first three hours bringing the sand over and wetting it down. We've given you the sand, but it will be up to you to wet the sand down."

One of her own tips was to make a crater in the sand to put the water in.

"If you pour the water over a mountain of sand it just goes off the sides," she said. "If you create a crater then the water will sink into your sand pile. So bring a bucket and little tools for sculpting away."

Previous winning sculptures have included popular television cartoon character Homer Simpson floating in a rubber ring, a woman coming out of the water, and two children playing on the sand, among other themes.

"Some people do practice, but I don't want to make this sound like they have to," said Ms Gurret. "The year before last two teenagers won the $1,000."

Ms Gurret said the competition came about when she was on the Bermuda Architects Council many years ago.

"We decided it was a good thing to do for the community," she said. "I volunteered to lead it. We got some volunteers from the architectural community, and it has been going on since then."

For more information contact Ms Gurret at 295-4597 or Department of Tourism at 292-0023 or email: andtasticdays@bermudatourism.com.