In 1977 Dana Carvey won and in 1987 Rob Schneider was a finalist. The San Francisco International Comedy Competition has provided a stage for future successful comedians to test their skills since 1976.

Five comedians will battle it out Thursday evening at the competition finals in the University Union Ballroom. The event is free to attend.

Semifinalists include comedians Shanti Charan, Sal Calanni, Shawn Felipe, A.J. Finney, John Hastings, Sean Kent, Alex Koll, Jimmy Ouyang, Kevin Shea and Derek Sheen. Jim Short won the competition in 2004 and has come back to host this year’s events.

“We are presenting an extremely talented bunch this year,” said co-producer Jonathan Fox. “Very congenial too, no complaints about not getting an encore point or having to drive from place to place, as is sometimes the case.”

This year’s competition began with 30 contestants performing at clubs, bars, restaurants and colleges in cities around northern California and Oregon.

In the finals, five comedians will each perform a 12- to 15-minute set for the crowd and a panel of judges in four different venues – Sacramento State, Cache Creek Casino, The Marsh Berkley Arts Center and the Victoria Theatre.

“Judges score each contestant from 1 to 10 in seven categories: audience response, audience rapport, delivery, material, stage presence, technique and their own subjective gut feeling,” Fox said. “Additionally, an encore point may or may not be awarded based on the audience applauding heartily for 10 seconds at the end of an act’s set.”

The crowds on college campuses are always different from other venues, Robinson said.

“The main thing I notice is that university audiences are so incredibly enthusiastic,” Robinson said. “Mention your hometown and they’ll cheer for it; say you’re in favor of legalizing marijuana and you’ll get an ovation.”

The competition continued to draw larger crowds as time went on, while also offering more money for the winner. This year, the victor will receive $5,000.

UNIQUE volunteer Liliana Martinez said the comics will surprise attendees with how misleading appearances are and the funniest jokes come from the comics people least expect.

“I have been volunteering for two years and the competition has been coming to Sac State every year since I started,” Martinez said. “Last year there was an older comic and he actually ended up winning. It’s really interesting discovering comics you might want to start following.”

This year there were four Canadian contestants as well as a Persian immigrant who now lives in Austin, Texas. In the past, the contest has had participants from Australia, England and Holland. Fox said “international” in the name is mainly a little bit of a joke.

“The field is a bit more ethnic this year,” Fox said. ” There is a Persian immigrant who lives in Austin advocating cultural understanding, an Indian-American who talked about her mom’s constant watchfulness and a Thai-American from Honolulu who talked about his mother’s criticisms.”

The San Francisco International Comedy Competition is Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the University Union Ballroom. Admission is free.

Benjamin Dewey can be reached at [email protected].