November 24, 2008

Now through the end of the year, you can vote for your favorite shots from the most talented basketball photographers in the world. You’ll see game-action photos, celebration shots, behind-the-scenes images, portraits and events from the community.

Photos are separated by home team and divided into four brackets by region. Fans’ vote and the top choices will then go on to meet in a bracket-style “Photo of the Year” tournament in December.

Visit The Best WNBA Images of 2008 to cast your vote.

If you’re a soccer fan, you’ll want to take part in the on-line voting for U.S. Soccer’s “Best of” awards honoring standout performances on and off the field during the year.

Female Athlete of the Year: With the finalists announced for the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year Awards,  fans collectively decide 50 percent of the final vote, with media and U.S. Soccer officials getting the other 50 percent of the vote.

Nominees:
Shannon Boxx - Midfielder
Lori Chalupny - Midfielder
Angela Hucles - Midfielder/Forward
Carli Lloyd - Midfielder
Christie Rampone - Defender
Hope Solo - Keeper
Vote

Best Goal - WNT: Best thing in soccer? Goals, goals, goals. This award crowns the top strike by a U.S. Women’s National Team player during 2008.

Nominees:
Carli Lloyd vs. BRA - Aug. 21
Carli Lloyd vs. JPN - Aug. 9
Lori Chalupny vs. JPN - Aug. 18
Amy Rodriguez vs. BRA - July 13
Kate Markgraf vs. IRL - Sept. 20
Heather O’Reilly vs. NZL - Aug. 12
Angela Hucles vs. AUS - May 3
Becky Edwards vs. CUB - June 20
Vote

In all, the “Best of” series has handed out 54 awards out to soccer players, bars, stores and even fans in the United States over the past five years check out the list of winner’s here.

Fans can vote once a day until Dec. 8th.

November 19, 2008

For those of you whose notebooks are filled with sketches and doodles, the ninth edition of Emerica’s Design-A-Tee contest maybe the perfect chance to leverage your design skills.

To qualify, you must somehow incorporate an Emerica designed theme into your doodle.  Get the Design-A-Tee template here and get your creative juices flowing because the contest ends December 3rd.

After the contest ends, three winners will be chosen, each of whom will receive five shirts bearing their winning design, and three pairs of Emerica shoes. Note: Upon entering the contest, your artwork becomes the property of Emerica (Sole Technology, Inc.) The three winners’ designs will be produced in a future Emerica Gear (apparel) line, and the only payment is the prizes listed (that means no royalties on your fantastic design).

Here’s what Emerica wants you to avoid:  Do not submit any entries containing the words “God Bless Emerica” (despite the title of this post) or depict an American flag with Emerica Triangle logos in place of the stars. Another cliché to avoid is the Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon graphic with a Triangle logo prism.

You can also enter now for a chance to win a year’s worth of Emerica shoes! All you have to do is build your own Emerica Team profile page and post a link to it in the comments sections.

Trick out your page with a cool background and fill each section of it–News, Photos, Video–with at least five posts. The company is looking for original, creative and personal content. When the contest is over,  one winner will receive 12 free pairs of Emerica shoes. This contest ends on December 31, 2008.

Though Emerica’s is mostly a guys brand, there’s no clause that prevents you from entering, so get crackin.

Hosted by Gear Junkie, a site devoted to the outdoors, health, fitness, adventure travel, and all the gear and equipment associated with those pursuits and written by freelance journalist Stephen Regenold, the sweepstakes offers a bevy of great prizes.

Not only does the winner get to pick from a list of REI Adventures including a Mount Washington Winter Climb, Sequoia Winter Mountaineering Clinic, Yosemite Snowshoe Trip, Ice Climbing Basics in New Hampshire or a White Mountains Hut-to-Hut Snowshoe  but they’re outfitted from head to toe with new gear.

Just because one of the sponsors is LazyMan (tagline — “Earn your Lazy” ) doesn’t mean gals can’t enter (at least I don’t think that’s the case). Twenty-one years or older; deadline is Dec. 17th. Check out the Link!

“I am sure it was the best trip of my life!!  I’d like to thank all the Nikita crew, people who voted for me and my friend Aram who was patient while recording me.” – Kasia’s comment after returning from June’s trip to Iceland.

Well, the Nikita Snowboard Clip Contest is BACK!  Launching October 1st 2008, grab your gear, grab a friendly filmer, get the heck out the house and go riding.  We want to see your best compilation of clips.  Nikita judges will pick the winner from the highest rated clips on Nikita’s YouTube site and will be invited to Iceland to ride the glacier amongst other arctic adventures with the Nikita crew.  Oh yes, be ready to head to the mysterious land of lore in the luscious springtime of 2009.  You have all winter to work on this and get your clips in before the 30th March 2009 deadline.  

Here is the winning video from last season:

To enter all you have to do is:

•    Be a chick!
•    Be 18 years of age or over
•    Enter snowboard clips ONLY please – as long as there is some sort of snowboard action, the Nikita panel of judges will accept it
•    Maximum of 3 clips per person
•    Clips can be as long or short as you want as long as they don’t exceed the size limit
•    Maximum size of clips is 5 MB
•    Accept that all entries sent in will be put on Nikita’s YouTube contest site, Nikita’s Mpora and Vimeo channels
•    Send in your entries to internis@nikitaclothing.com before 30th March 2009

* * * Make sure you also include your full name, date of birth, postal address, e-mail and contact telephone number along with any other info you feel is relevant.
* * Check out last season’s entries along with the winning clips and Kasia’s trip to Iceland here – www.youtube.com/nikitacontest

September 25, 2008

Of the current crop of finalists, two are girls:

Nina Lussi from Lake Placid, New York is a 14-year-old ski jumper out of the New York Ski Education Foundation. She was highlighted by Sports Illustrated for Kids for winning the 2008 Junior National Ski Jumping Championships at Junior Olympics in Ishpeming, Michigan last March.

While she was on skis at the age of three, at eight Lussi decided she wanted to try ski jumping and it appears to have been a good choice. Now, six years after her first jump, Lussi is recognized as a top athlete in her age group.

Katharine Holmes is a 15 year old fencer from Washington, D.C. who finished the 2007-08 season ranked Number 1 in the U.S. in women’s epee in the 14-year-old and Cadet (17-and-under) divisions and third at the Olympic Trials. Katharine has maintained a near-perfect grade point average (3.97), was freshman class president, volunteers at a local retirement home, and is working on a project to clean up the Anacostia River.

Holmes’ coach says “Katharine is known for her mastery of a large number of fencing techniques that she uses to react instantly to her opponents actions during competitions. She is a smart, fierce, and focused competitor.”

This week’s top four vote getters will advance to next week’s semifinals. Voting closes at noon ET on September 29, so let your voice be heard and let’s put a girl on the cover of Sports Illustrated Kids!

September 22, 2008

Would-be contenders can create an account at www.ChallengeYourHero.com, choose one of four current woman tennis stars—Sharapova, Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Dinara Sarafina—and upload footage of their own courtside performance.

Fans can then mix videos of themselves matching up to the forehands, backhands, volleys and serves of some of the greatest women’s tennis players in the world.

Creators of the best videos, as determined by the Tour, will be eligible for a chance to win the grand prize – a trip for two to the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar.

From what we’ve seen so far on the site, there are no Spielberg’s contributing content yet - so the field looks wide open for a grand prize winner. What are you waiting for?

August 13, 2008

Harley-Davidson is searching for female filmmakers who can capture the sense of empowerment, freedom and adventure that is inherent when women get behind the handlebars of their very own Harley-Davidson® motorcycle, in a short film.

Female filmmakers are encouraged to submit a two minute film about women riders for the chance to win $5,000, a new high definition video camera, Harley-Davidson MotorClothes, and the opportunity to showcase their film at a premiere party in Los Angeles.

“This contest aims to capture the passion, self-confidence and beauty of female riders and inspire those who are thinking about riding to grab life by the handlebars and hit the open road.” 

Deadline for entries is September 30, 2008. Must be 18 years of age or older. Are you the next action film director?  Entry Info

Before casting a vote, readers are encouraged to explore past winners, memorable moments, historical photos and videos, and hilarious past SURFER Poll Skits. The site offers a behind the scenes look at the SURFER Polls over the years and a chance for SURFER readers and fans to see what actually goes down at the annual Awards show, touted as the biggest night in surfing.

In addition to voting for the top 10 male and the top five female surfers, readers may also nominate the film they deem worthy of the coveted 2008 Video of the Year. Sofia Mulanovich was the top female surfer 2005 - 2007.

Not only will casting a ballot allow SURFER readers a chance to voice their opinion, but this year one lucky voter and four friends will receive a VIP pass to the 2008 SURFER Poll Awards Show held at The Grove of Anaheim on Sept. 9. The invite-only Awards show is always a who’s who of modern day surfing stars and legends, celebrities, action sports elite and industry insiders.

For those who don’t get the lucrative invite, not all is lost as the 2008 SURFER Poll and Video Awards will be webcast live at surferpoll.com and will air on FUEL TV on October 27 in the “Meet & Brotatoes” Monday night special block at 8pm ET/PT.

Special thanks to the sponsors of the 2008 SURFER Poll and Video Awards: Suzuki Automotive, FUEL TV, Red Bull, Boost Mobile, and Toña Beer.

www.surferpoll.com