The first ever Great Canadian Appathon (GCA), presented by the National Post and XMG Studio, is an event where college and university students create a mobile game for Windows Phone 7 and compete to win one of several cash prizes, including a $25,000 grand prize, a $10,000 second prize, and ten $1,000 cash prizes.

If you’ve NEVER made a Windows Phone 7 game before, you might be pleasantly surprised to find out that you may already know how. Developers for Windows Phone 7 can use Silverlight, XNA Framework, and .NET compact framework to create their apps. So, if you’ve ever created a game using any of these technologies, then you’ve essentially made a Windows Phone 7 app. See http://silverlight.sys-con.com/node/1344487 for an example of how to write a simple “Hello World” app for Windows Phone 7.

The GCA takes place over the weekend of March 11, so you still have time to brush up on your coding and game development skills. Also, it is completely FREE to register! So, considering the fact that there’s a boatload of prizes to be won, it should be perfectly clear that this is THE game-making competition to enter.

Additionally, if you sign up for the GCA before 12 noon on Friday, March 4, you will be entered in a draw to win an Xbox Kinnect. Making games with the chance to win amazing prizes makes this event something to certainly check out. Go to the GCA’s website at http://www.greatcanadianappathon.com to get more information about this great event.