Action Sports added to Vimeo Awards

"From snowboarding to BMX to wingsuit jumpers, action sports have always been a big part of the Vimeo community," said Jeremy Boxer, Director of the Festival + Awards. "Over the past 18 months, we have seen an exponential growth of these types of videos across the web, especially with the evolution of the HDSLR cameras and more durable equipment such as the wearable GoPRO or Contour cameras."

But don't think your super slow-mo'd down-flat-down to pole jam is enough to sweep this podium. "We are looking for well-crafted videos that elevate the given sport through creative cinematography, editing and storytelling. These videos have to appeal to a wider audience than the action sports enthusiast," said Boxer.

The Vimeo folks have suggested you watch the Knife Show video embedded below for an example of a creatvie action sports video.

Last year's Motion Graphics category winner, Onur Senturk, was fresh out of school when he entered and, after winning, Paramount asked him to create Mo-GFX for "Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon." If that's not enough to inspire you, get this: One of the judges for the action category is none other than Bones Brigade legend Stacy Peralta. The full majority panel of heavy-hitter judges will be announced in January.

"The most mind-melting action sports videos have exploded online captivating audiences around the world," said Boxer. "We wanted to celebrate these adrenaline-fueled videos that have caused [a] meteoric rise of this new art form... Filmmakers today versus [those] in years past have an awesome opportunity. Equipment and the tools to make great videos have dropped in price and increased in quality giving everyone with even a smartphone the ability to shoot in HD. We believe that the most important thing that separates the best work is the idea, not the tools that it took to execute the video. We want to celebrate the creative spirit ... not who spent the most amount of money."

There are a few other caveats: No "trick" videos. (Think "film school" not "sponsor me video".) For a video to be submitted, it needs to have premiered online, anywhere across the web, in the past 18 months. Max. length: 10 minutes. Submissions may not be excerpts from longer films, i.e. no teasers. Check the Vimeo awards site for complete rules and guidelines. Submissions open today.