Rock Island, TN – World Kayak is enlisting the videomaking talents of all manner of boaters from raw beginners to weekend warriors to hardcore whitewater addicts in an unprecedented effort to create the world’s largest video journal of paddlesports.
According to World Kayak chief, web guru, and kayaking evangelist James McBeath, World Kayak’s video outreach project is designed to be another fun way to build interest and enthusiasm in kayaking and get more people paddling.
The contest series starts with an improbable, yet seasonally appropriate, theme: hometown pool sessions. Boaters are encouraged to showcase their town and their friends through short videos of pool sessions. According to community video contest rules, submissions can be funny, serious, instructional, adventurous, murder mysteries, a documentary on nose plugs, Shakespearean sonnet or rock show – anything that’s entertaining.
One lucky winner will win a box of swag with a list of goodies that reads like the 12 Days of Christmas including sunglasses and hats from Smith, Jackson Kayak t-shirts and instructional videos, Mion footwear, magazine subscriptions, and a custom blogspot for the winner’s community at worldkayakblogs.com.
Winners will be selected via a panel of carefully selected judges who will be looking for videos that show community, show active lifestyle, show fun-loving individuals and some moves. “The overall WOW factor is what we’re looking for, but the community spirit has to be there,” McBeath said.
To enter, go to http://www.worldkayakblogs.com. Deadline for entries to the pool session video competition is Feb. 1. All entries must be the right format for posting to YouTube.com or a similar video service. Boaters will be asked to provide the video/s URL/web address or the YouTube or other video hosting service embed code. World Kayak members can post to their own, easy-to-start-and-use blog at WorldKayakblogs.com.
Amateur videographers are also encouraged to start preparing for the “Your Favorite River” video competition that will launch next.