Winners for 2008 Ski to Sea YouTube Video Contest
June 19, 2008

Want to enter the YouTube Contest?  Click Here>>>

I started participating in the Sea to Ski race in 1996. After 12 years of competing with my canoe mate Ann, 2008 saw our team, Pioneer Powerhouse, taking a year off. It was disappointing when I realized that I wouldn’t be paddling down the Nooksack once again but was heartened when the video contest was announced. My partner Ginny and I spent the weeks before the race going over maps and driving down all manner of roads searching out the best “photo ops” to catch the canoe action. Race day came with anticipation for not only the paddlers, but for us as well. Disappointment at the leg being cancelled almost got the better of me, but as we headed home, I figured there might be a story to be told after all. I went out the next day to capture some “high water” footage, and with the footage I had of race day, managed to put together a respectable short video. A fellow team member, Henry, upon hearing of my decision to go ahead with the project, reminded me of a great quote ”When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”. Cheers! Thanks a bunch for all the time and effort you put into this amazing event. You guys are world class.

Thank you, thank you! Who would have guessed that a mom with absolutely no film-making experience (Gee - could you tell???) and an eight-year-old with a vivid imagination and way too many toys could make a prize winning video. This whole thing has been a learning experience for us. We learned the hard way that Legos don't stand up very well on their own - the lightest breeze nearly sent our main character into the Nooksack and another over the railing at Squalicum Harbor. We also found out that five minutes is really a very very short period of time. Trying to condense over thirty minutes of filming into a short five minute video was hard. Many of our best shots were left on the cutting room floor - Sorry Spiderman, but your scene of catching the road biker Chewbacca in a web did not make the final cut! In spite of my stuttering and forgetting my lines - and how many times did I say "Sea to Ski" instead of "Ski to Sea"??? - and in spite of an eight-year-old's shakey filming and way too loud background music, we still managed to come up with a finished product that we hope appeals to everyone. In conclusion, we'd like to thank George Lucas for creating such great characters and to the great folks at Lego for turning little bits of plastic into hours of fun. And finally... we'd like to thank the nice folks at the Ski to Sea Headquarters for giving us the opportunity to be a part of this historic community event!

Team Seattle, Fire Station 25 would like to thank the academy and all the little people.....Just kidding. We did have a great time making this video. Station 25 "B" shift has been competing in the Ski to Sea for six years now, but this was my first time with the team as I am new to the station. I actually decided to make a video before the contest was announced, but the contest gave us a lot more drive to do it well, and quickly! More importantly, though, it brought the team together in a way that hasn't happened in the past. As you all know most team members only have a little contact with the rest of the team throughout the competition - mostly during the hand-offs. This year, however, we worked extra hard to get video footage of each other, so we spent a lot of time together. It seemed silly being the team on the mountain with a kayak on top of the car, but when the kayaker has a camera... well, it still looks silly! Another great part of this project is that our friends and family have been able to see what a great and fun competition this is, through the eyes of the competitors. This may just bring more people to Bellingham next year, perhaps more teams from the SFD. Thanks for choosing our video.

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If you want to capture scenes that the racers see, consider using a helmet cam.  Videos should be a maximum of 5 minutes in length and portray the Ski to Sea Race in the film maker’s eyes as they see the story.  Creativity and clean humor are encouraged.  This could be a mini-documentary, a music video, tell a story, it could show the challenge of the race, the triumph, the team spirit, the humor, the disappointment or the preparation.  The video could cover an individual racer, a team, one venue of the race, something obscure about the race, a dangerous spot on the river, a particular point of view or a spoof of some other major sporting event.  Videos should be edited for family viewing.  Formatting should be optimized for YouTube viewing and winning videos will be linked to the Ski to Sea web site.
 
ENTER VIDEO
To enter your video, interested parties should fill out this form (click here) to let us know they will be making a video.  to be considered as an entry, you need to post your video to YouTube by June 7  so judges can determine the winners and award prizes.  In the email include the creator’s names, ages, contact information and a short description of the video’s content.     It is important that film crews not interfere with the racers on race day but otherwise the possibilities are unlimited.  The artistic part will probably happen in the editing room but that is for the film crews to decide.

If you are planning on being a Ski to Sea racer, team supporter or even a spectator, here is your opportunity to get involved, have some fun and maybe win a prize for what you are already doing.  There is no age restriction and no limit on the number of videos you can post and no limit on the fun you can have.  We look forward to seeing what the local amateurs can do with this new idea.  By the end of June we will link the winning videos to our web site at www.SkitoSea.com so everyone can see the fun.

Pete  Coy, Race Director