The 2011 Surfer Poll Awards will take place December 6th at the Turtle Bay resort and the nominees for Video Awards categories have been posted. This year may be the most competitive awards yet as the quality of filmmaking continues to reach new heights.

We take a stab at dissecting the "Best Documentary" category. By definition a documentary film is a broad category of moving pictures intended to document some aspect of Reality. In this case the reality being Surfing.

The 2011 Surfer Poll Best Documentary, and the nominees are...

Splinters
Synopsis- In the 1980s an intrepid Australian pilot left behind a surfboard in the seaside village of Vanimo, Papua New Guinea. Twenty years later, surfing is not only a pillar of village life but also a means to prestige. With no access to economic or educational advancement, let alone running water and power, village life is hermetic.A spot on the Papua New Guinea national surfing team is the way to see the wider world; the only way.

Directed and Shot by Adam Pesce

GrindTV Breakdown- It's hard to imagine a surfboard changing an entire culture of a village but with Splinters director Pesce managed to illustrate the massive impact it had on Papua New Guinea. The raw emotion and passion from the people in this film truly make this documentary a must watch. The film has been successful at film festival's this season including winning "Best Documentary" at the 2011 London Surf Film Festival and the "Audience Award" at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Splinters has an above average chance of adding SURFER Poll "Best Documentary" to the list of accolades.

Chances of Winning-***(3 out of 4)


Lost and Found
Synopsis- The film begins in 2007, when Doug Walker found roughly 30,000 missing film negatives from the Surfing Magazine archive at a Pasadena swap meet. After spending 1 year organizing the collection Doug decided to reunite them with their original sources and subjects. He figured there just may be a story there. For the last 3+ years Doug has been capturing stories that if not told will be lost.

Directed by Doug Walker

GrindTV Breakdown- The movie highlights the deep connections these guys have with the lost pictures but more importantly the deep connection to surfing. Given the opportunity to sort through the lost negatives sparked memories of stories that happened 30 years ago for these photographers. If your a fan of surfing, especially a fan of the history of Surfing this is a must watch. The Film made its debut to a delighted audience at the New York Film Festival earlier this year.

Chances of Winning-**(2 out of 4)


White Wash
Synopsis- The film explores the complexity of race in America through the eyes of the ocean. Examining the history of "black consciousness" as it triumphs and evolves into the minds of black surfers, we learn the power of transcending race as a constructive phenomenon. The story is narrated by the legendary Ben Harper along with Tariq "Blackthought" Trotter of The Roots whom also originally scored the film.

Directed by Ted Woods

GrindTV Breakdown- Black culture and surfing culture are two seemingly different circles, that was until the film proves otherwise. It was a long time coming for a film to focus on the complexity of race as it exist in the sport of surfing. The film uses a different approach towards examining Surf culture rather than the typical surf film we've seen in the past. The film's debut at the New York Film Festival left a lasting impact on those lucky enough to be there for the screening.

Chances of Winning-***(3 out of 4)



Minds In The Water
Synopsis- The film follows the quest of professional surfer Dave Rastovich and his friends to protect dolphins, whales and the oceans they all share. Through Dave's journey--a five-year adventure spanning the globe from Australia to the Galapagos, Tonga, California, Alaska and Japan. We see one surfer's quest to activate his community to help protect the ocean and its inhabitants.

Directed by Justin Krumb

GrindTV Breakdown- The message of the film is two fold: The power of one individual to inspire people to take action and make a difference and if ocean minded people are to pass on a sustainable culture, then they must become responsible stewards of their coastal environment. It's difficult to walk away from this film without a deep feeling towards wanting to do your part to help in anyway possible. This film is more than deserving of the award.

Chances of Winning-***(3 out of 4)



All of these films are deserving of the award but in the end the film that leaves the biggest impact on us is SPLINTERS...

Who would you pick? Head to Surfer Magazine and let them know how you feel.

Watch the live stream at surferpoll.com beginning at 7 pm Hawaii time (9 pm PST) and will air live on Time Warner Cable west region in Southern California at approximately 10 pm to 2 am PST and replay on a future Sunday (TBD).

If you find joy in even muttering the word "December" then today is one of celebration for you. And just in case your riding posse isn't already celebrating, Nike's providing a little kick-in-the-pants inspiration to get your winter party started with the launch of The Chosen Crew Video Contest aimed specifically at snowboarders.

The contest runs from December through April 1st, when winning crew will be announced from Austria, which is where you and your entire crew could be if, between now and February 15, you can demonstrate enough style, flair, talent that brotherly (or sisterly) bond that makes any good riding crew complete via your photo and video submissions.

If you're not already familiar with the contest it works like this: You come up with a name for your crew of between 2 and 4 people and sign up at the Nike Chosen page. Once registered you have until February 15 to build your case for being Chosen.

Building your case involves loading photos and videos of your crew and getting those images "Noticed". The more creative you are in demonstrating your crew's style, ethos, and lifestyle execution, the more hype you'll generate via the Facebook likes on your Crew page. You may even get "Noticed" by the very same Nike athletes who will be doing the ultimate choosing for The Chosen.

The Chosen is a global contest, with crews from around the world competing. On February 17th winners from each participating country/region will be announced. Round Two will be to determine which of those winners makes it into the Top 3, earning a trip to Austria to compete in the finals. Round Two voting runs from February 21 to March 10.

The Chosen Session finals take place in Austria from March 26 - 30. Crews will have four days to shoot and edit a new submission that will be judged by Nike team riders like Scotty Lago and Danny Kass. The winning crew will be announced on April 1. They'll be receiving a ton of Nike garb, some cash, and the opportunity to travel more and live like the Nike pros.

Having watched the Summer Chosen unfold there are a few keys to success, none more important than to know and understand the Essentials. Use the proper pre-approved music tracks for your videos and be sure you're following all of the eligibility rules. Make sure each of your crew members is eligible.

From the Rules Page:
This Contest is open only to individuals who are eighteen (18) through twenty-nine (29) years old at the time of entry and who did not purchase any equipment for the purposes of entering this Contest. Only Snowboard Crews from the below countries can participate. What is a Crew? You and at least one (1) other person, with a maximum of up to four (4) people total, are considered a Crew. One individual alone does not qualify as a Crew. Crews and Crew members may also be referred to as entrants.

North America is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada, with the exception of Quebec.

We'll be providing more insights and tips on how to succeed and find your way to Europe.

One of the more amazing sights recently above the Swiss Alps had to be that of Yves Rossy flying in formation with two Albatross fighter aircraft while wearing his custom-built jet suit. It was yet another remarkable feat for the Swiss-born former military pilot, who joined the Albatross jets for a brief fly-over after launching from the side of a helicopter.



The suit is essentially a 120-pound jet-powered wing, strapped onto Rossy's back, with a span of six feet. It's controlled via hand-throttle and can reach speeds well in excess of 125 mph.

Rossy, 51, who is nicknamed "Jetman," bills himself as the only person in the history of aviation to fly with a jet-powered wing. He first accomplished the feat in 2006 and since has spent much of his free time refining the wing, which contains four small jet turbines.

Rossy first flew over the Swiss Alps in May of 2008. He later flew across the English Channel (from Calais, France, to Dover) and last May he he soared over the Grand Canyon. He also has performed at air shows.

The flights generally last about 10 minutes and after they're complete the pilot parachutes, with his wing, to the ground.

Reads a passage on Rossy's website: "The ultimate dream of flight -- soaring through the air, with total freedom in all three dimensions, not within a heavy and complicated machine but with only one's body and sensations -- a dream everybody had at least once in their life. JETMAN made it real."

The next step in the evolution of this project, Jetman states, is to achieve the ability to take off and land from the ground.

UPDATE: the final day of the Reef Hawaiian Pro is underway in Hawaii. Watch it live by clicking here.

If you were to compare Tuesday's action to the first week or so of this year's waiting period, it was absolutely firing. If you were to compare today to your average 6 star WQS event, the waves were fantastic. But compared to the waves seen at Haleiwa events from the past, it was incredibly underwhelming.

Not surprisingly, the Hawaiians have been decimated by the lack of juice. The only surviving warriors being the youngsters with deep bags of tricks. Ezekiel Lau, Dusty Payne, Sebastien Zietz, John John, and Kekoa Bacalso all advanced into Round Four today. Nine left out of over 30 that entered.

Carissa Moore lost. But at this point it sounds like we might get a proper swell for Sunset so that should be some chance for redemption and whatnot.

Dane lost. (But he showed up!)

The event will be wrapping up on Wednesday, with three heats left in the round of 64. The champion being crowned late in the day, with the swell expected to hold over the next 24 hours.

2nd Round of 96
Heat 9: Luke Davis (USA) 11.43pts ; Shaun Joubert (ZAF) 8.83pts ; Lincoln Taylor (AUS) 7.17pts ; Yuri Sodre (BRA) 3.67pts
Heat 10: Dion Atkinson (AUS) 13.00pts ; Adam Robertson (AUS) 11.73pts ; Jamie O'Brien (HAW) 8.80pts ; Joan Duru (FRA) 8.07pts
Heat 11: Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 14.00pts ; Torrey Meister (HAW) 10.20pts ; Dane Reynolds 8.90pts(USA) ; Billy Stairmind (NZL) 5.00pts
Heat 12: Vincent Duvignac (FRA) 10.67pts ; Romain Cloitre (FRA) 9.83pts ; TJ Barron (HAW) 8.20pts ; Dylan Graves (PRI) 6.06pts
Heat 13: Jack Freestone (AUS) 10.90pts ; Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 10.00pts ; Shaun Cansdell (AUS) 8.70pts ; Blake Thornton (AUS) 5.40pts
Heat 14: Roy Powers (HAW) 10.00pts ; Ian Gentil (HAW) 8.50pts ; Cory Lopez (USA) 7.50pts ; Carissa Moore (HAW) 5.60pts
Heat 15: Nathaniel Curran (USA) 12.00pts ; Marc Lacomare (FRA) 10.00pts ; Royden Bryson (ZAF) 7.23pts ; Perth Standlick (AUS) 3.23pts
Heat 16: Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 15.10pts ; Eric Geiselman (USA) 12.67pts ; Masatoshi Ohno (JPN) 8.73pts ; Casey Brown (HAW) 4.90pts
Clash of the Legends: RossWilliams (HAW) 14.50pts ; Shane Dorian (HAW) 14.44pts ; Rob Machado (USA) 10.26 ; Kalani Robb (HAW) 5.33pts

3rd Round of 64
Heat 1: Evan Geiselman (USA) 17.00pts ; Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 15.13pts ; Josh Kurr (AUS) 12.57 ; Kai Barger (HAW) 10.66pts
Heat 2: Hodei Collazo (EUK) 13.33pts ; Kolohe Andino (USA) 11.27pts ; Kai Otton (AUS) 8.97pts ; Heath Joske (AUS) 8.84pts
Heat 3: Adrien Toyon (REU) 12.17pts ; Kieren Perrow (AUS) 11.86pts ; Travis Logie (ZAF) 11.64pts ; Tomas Hermes (BRA) 8.94pts
Heat 4: Nat Young (USA) 12.66pts ; Maxime Huscenot (FRA) 11.63pts ; Tom Whitaker (AUS) 10.44pts ; Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.30pts
Heat 5: Glenn Hall (IRL) 12.10pts ; Daniel Ross (AUS) 10.13pts ; Stu Kennedy (AUS) 6.33pts ; Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 2.79pts
Heat 6: Sebastien Zietz (HAW) 13.23pts ; Thiago Camaro (BRA) 11.90pts ; Davey Cathels (AUS) 11.27pts ; Taylor Knox (USA) 9.00pts
Heat 7: John John Florence (HAW) 16.60pts ; Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 13.17pts ; Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 11.40pts ; Nathan Yeomans (USA)
Heat 8: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.26pts ; Leonardo Neves (BRA) 14.36pts ; Mason Ho(HAW)13.97pts ; Conner Coffin (USA) 12.20pts
Heat 9: Adriano De Souza (BRA) 13.60pts ; Adam Robertson (AUS) 12.67pts ; Luke Davis (USA) 9.87pts ; Sean Moody (HAW) 9.86pts
Heat 10: Dusty Payne (HAW) 14.90pts ; Dion Atkinson (AUS) 14.70pts ; Shaun Joubert (ZAF) 12.70pts ; Richard Christie (NZL) 5.15pts
Heat 11: Tanner Guduskas (USA) 15.27pts ; Adrian Buchen (AUS)13.44pts ; Romain Coitre (FRA) 12.10pts ; Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 9.46pts
Heat 12: Adam Melling (AUS) 10.69pts ; Brett Simpson (USA) 10.33pts ; Vincent Duvignac (FRA) 9.83pts ; Torrey Meister (HAW) 6.53pts
Heat 13: Michael Bourez (PYF) 13.34pts ; Jesse Mendes (AUS) 11.87pts ; Jack Freestone (AUS) 10.13pts ; Ian Gentil (HAW) 8.83pts

Like many dogs, Lily the Jack Russell terrier likes to chase bicycles, but those who watch the accompanying video might agree that few dogs can chase a bike quite like the amazingly fast Lily (the action begins 1:08 into the production).



Professional photographer Ross Downard used several cameras and, with the help of his wife, filmed the buildup to the action and then captures Lily keeping pace with and soaring over the same jumps as Downard as he sped down a one-mile course at Trailside Bike Park in Park City, Utah.

Downard, owner of the MtnRanks.com clothing company, said Lily, who was 8 months old during the filming and recently turned 9 months old. She has always loved to chase him as he rides, which inspired a video he says has received more than 300,000 views on one website alone.

When a story on the terrier appeared this week in the British tabloid Daily Mail, Downard wrote on his Facebook page that Lily had become world famous. But the reality of it, he said via email, is that "she just loves to chase bikes."