Here's a slideshow of surfing


Every element has to have a caption. Even stuff that seems obvious. And every person has to be identified. Every piece of information also must have a source.

Shoot your own video or audio when you have time, or, find someone else's video and use it.

Remember, every element has a caption. Every one. Every single one.

Surfing in Duluth may seem like an oxymoron, but for a group of avid followers, the frigid waters of Lake Superior are as good as it gets for action sports.
"Early fall is the best time to go out while it's still warm. I suppose 50 degrees doesn't seem warm, but compared to 30 degrees it sure does," said Randy Carlson, Surfing and Stand-up Paddle Boarding instructor for the Recreation Sports and Outdoor Programs at UMD.
Carlson is no rookie to action sports. He has been coordinating whitewater instruction at UMD for 20 years.
"An extension of that is chasing down the surf waves on Lake Superior," he said. Carlson leads a group of about a dozen students in learning the basics, as well as more advanced surfing techniques. Pool training, balance drills, and core-strength workouts at the Sports and Health Center offer the fundamental skills needed for zipping up the wetsuit and hitting the waves with confidence.
So, how does one become involved is such an exciting endeavor?
"Joining our surf membership is all you need to do," Carlson said. Carlson also leads annual trips to Southern California for students who want to try warm water surfing.
"It's great to surf when it's sunny and for seven days in a row, whereas here in Duluth we have to chase the storms to find the right conditions," Carlson said.Jennifer Busman, a UMD senior, was one of the participants of this travel experience.
"It was amazing. It's such an adrenaline rush being out on the water. You just feel like you are part of the environment," Busman said.Busman started informally teaching kayaking in the RSOP at UMD her sophomore year.
"I loved it so much I became certified to teach it this past summer," she said. Lester River, Park Point, and Island Lake are hot spots for local surfing. Once the dedicated group of surfers are ready, Lake Superior is where most practice standing up on a surf or paddle board, following the wake of a ski boat.
When the snow starts to fly, many surfers transition to snow kiting.
A kite on the snow-covered lake pulls a snowboard or alpine skis.
"This is a related action sport. Some really have the adventurous spirit to pull off both sports," Carlson said. "Once the surf bites you, you are in it for the long haul."
He anticipates even more interest in the coming year for curious thrill-seekers looking for a challenging, but fun workout.

Other stuff you can add:
Here's a photo I found from someone who said I can use it

The only thing the photographer asked was that I give them credit by putting this in:

Social networking sites WANT you to use them to interact with readers. Use Facebook and Twitter to make your story the beginning of the conversation. Follow the surf scene here on Twitter and add your own memories of surfing on the big lake right here.

Or embed your Twitter posts if you want people to see live updates of things like sporting events.

Or put in a map that shows where the local surf spots are using Google maps.
Here's one. Again, always a headline and always a caption.


View Stoney Point in a larger map
The caption goes here. Nothing on a web page stands alone. If you're really creative you can use maps to tell the entire story. They can show a journey they can have photos. They can link back to your stories.

It doesn't have to be complicated.
A simple sidebar/breakout box using a timeline can be very effective:
1978: John Hatcher goes to the beach with a summer camp and tries surfing
1979: John Hatcher buys first surfboard
1980: John Hatcher starts to subscribe to Surfer magazine and uses the word "dude" in conversation for the first time
1982: John Hatcher chooses college based on how close it is to the beach
1983: John Hatcher flunks out of college, perhaps due to surfing
2006: John Hatcher rides first wave on Lake Superior

OK. It's ugly but it didn't take long to do this. Bottom line, think about the ways the resources that already exist on the Web can work for you -- and don't forget to credit the sources and make sure they are ok with you using their work.
This is only the beginning. There are polls you can give them to take. There are feeds from other news sites.
The only limit is your creativity.
Your job as a reporter is to imagine a way to do this. Your editor's job is to help you realize this.