Winter Sports - Skiing

Winter Sports - Skiing

Skiing is a sport wherein the skiers glide over snow with the help of skis made out of wood planks or fiberglass strapped on the feet. Over the period of years have been many alterations to the original sports like the cross-country variant and downhill variant. The alterations are Alpine Skiing, Telemark Skiing, and Nordic Skiing. Skiing is also used by the military as a means of transportation and training in ski warfare.

Originally skiing was used as a means of transportation in an ice packed area. Sondre Norheim, from Norway was the father of modern skiing as he developed slalom form of skiing in the 19^th century. His ideas were later worked on and Telemark Skiing was developed in 1970s. Mathias Zdarsky from Austria invented the Alpine or downhill skiing. He developed the firmer bindings to help skiers to better anchor their feet. Some time after that, Hannes Schneider of Austria invented the Arlberg technique, according to which the body is rotated to steer the skis.

Not only there are different versions of skiing, but also there are many competitions, which are held every year for the fans of skiing. Skiing is a big part of the Winter Olympic games, too. The regions, which are ideal for skiing, are some parts of Scandinavia and Alaska. Many of the ski resorts have been constructed in these areas and some of them are specifically meant for Alpine Skiing.

The visitors have to buy warm clothing, ski, ski poles, and ski boots. After getting all dressed up, the skiers

Water Sports - Surfing

Surfing is a kind of water sports where the surfer is carried along by a breaking wave towards the shore. Apart from surfboards body boards, kneeboards, surf skis and kayaks can be also used to surf. Various sports involving surfing are sea kayaking, paddle boarding, kite surfing and windsurfing. The first two do not require waves and winds, while the other two does. Surfing has become more of a profession by turning into a multi-billion dollar industry.

Initially the sport began when people used to lie down on hard wood boards and surf in Hawaii. Lieutenant James King who wrote journals on Captain Cook and completed them after his death set the first record. The surfboards were made out of huge and heavy wood, which were difficult to maneuver. They were substituted by lighter balsa wood surfboards in 1940s and were relatively easy to maneuver by the surfer. The boards were later made out of polyurethane foam, polyester resin and fiberglass cloth with multiple layers of wooden strips. The latest technology in surfboards now is the epoxy or carbon fiber surfboard. To surf in colder regions, its advisable to wear wetsuits, boots, gloves and hood to protect from cold-water temperatures, which can sometimes lead to hypothermia. There are different styles of boards like egg or the long board style short board, fish or short and wide board with a split tail and gun with a long pointed board meant for big waves.

Tennis Legends: Martina Navratilova

Tennis Legends: Martina Navratilova

Martina Navratilova is an ex-World number 1 female Tennis Player. Born on October 18, 1956 in Czechoslovakia, she became the citizen of America in 1981.Her stepfather Miroslav Navratil was her first coach. Martina won the Czech republic national tennis championship at the age of fifteen. At the age of seventeen, she got her very first professional singles title when she played the match in Orlando, Florida. She became a professional tennis player in 1975.

In 1975’s Grand Slam singles tournaments, she was one of the finalist in both the Australian Open and French Open, but she lost in both the finals to Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Chris Evert, respectively. The same year, she even lost in the semi finals of the US Open the same year after which she made her mind to get the green card of United States. In 1978, Navratilova got her first victory in the Grand Slam singles at Wimbledon and at the same she acquired the world number 1 rank after defeating Chris Evert.  

Navratilova was a women of great power and aggression because of which she raised the level of competition. Initially she was on the heavier side and she had to struggle a lot to get into shape for tennis. In this regard Nancy Lieberman, a basketball player, helped her. She underwent severe levels of fitness and exercising which finally got her into shape. She even learned the technique to use graphite racquets, which made her one of the most dominant tennis player.

She again beat Evert in the 1981 Grand Slam singles, in Australia Open. The next year she won the French and Wimbledon Open. In 1983, she won in three out of four Grand Slam events. She had scored the best ever-professional winning percentage as a tennis player. She retaliated back by winning the French Open Grand Slam of the year 1984, which she had lost in 1983. This superb victory was called the Grand Slam by the president of the International Tennis Federation, Philippe Chatrier. From 1982-1984, she lost only six of the singles matches.

Navratilova won women’s doubles titles in all the four Grand Slams of 1984. From 1985-1987, she won six out of eleven women’s singles final Grand Slam tournaments. Steffi Graff started to play in 1987 and from the beginning she gave a tough competition to Martina Navratilova. Graff defeated her in her first Grand slam in the finals of French Open. Navratilova gained back her title by defeating Graff in the 1987 Wimbledon Open. Navratilova’s won her final Grand Slam singles in 1990. Her name was included in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the year 2000. 

The left-handed athlete was known to be the greatest tennis player, be it singles, doubles or mixed doubles. She was the second best female athlete of the twentieth century according to Steve Flink. From 1965 to 2005, she was named as the greatest female tennis player by Tennis magazine.  In her career, she won a total of thirty one Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, which is also a world record, eighteen Grand Slam singles titles, ten Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and nine Wimbledon women’s singles titles. She has won one hundred and sixty seven single tournaments and one hundred and seventy seven doubles tournaments, which is an open era record. Navratilova won seventy-four matches consecutively, which is the third longest winning streak in women’s tennis history. Along with Margaret Smith Court and Maureen Connolly Brinker, Navratilova holds the record for the maximum consecutive Grand Slam singles tournament championships.

Tennis Legends: Steffi Graf

Tennis Legends: Steffi Graf

Stefanie Maria Graf is a former World number 1 player in women’s tennis. Her performance depended mostly in her powerful forehand because of which she was nicknamed Fraulein Forehand. She even cultivated an impressive slice backhand and consistent volley. Her serve was so accurate and powerful that it travelled at the speed of 180 km per hr, which was one of the fastest serve. She not only had an amazing footwork but also her strokes were very powerful.

Graf’s first tournament as a professional was played in October 1982, Germany. In that match, she lost to Tracy Austin, who she defeated twelve years later. Although she didn’t win any titles for the next three years, her rank was steadily increasing and her skills improved rapidly. Defeating Chris Evert won her first tour title in April 1986.

When tennis was re-introduced in 1988 Olympic games after forty years, Steffi Graf took full advantage of it by winning the Olympic gold medal in the singles. The same year she won all the four Grand Slam singles titles, making her the only women tennis player to do so. This feat of hers’ was declared as the Golden Slam. She is also the only female to win all the four Grand Slams, Wimbledon Open, French Open, Australian Open and US Open, for four times each. During this period the US Open and Australian Open were played on grass unlike now where all the venues have clay court. So Graf has the credit of playing on all kinds of tennis courts. From French Open in 1987 to US Open in 1996, she played a total of thirty-six Grand Slam singles tournaments, in which she made it to the finals of twenty-nine tournaments and won twenty-one of them. 

For three hundred and seventy seven weeks Graf was ranked the Women’s Tennis Association’s Number 1 player. Any male or female tennis player could never set this record. She won a total of seven Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles. From the 1987 French Open to 1990 French Open, Graf made it to the finals of thirteen Grand Slams consecutively and won nine of the thirteen.   

A panel of judges of the Associated Press declared her as the greatest female tennis player of the twentieth century, in December 1999. Graf’s twenty-second Grand Slam title was her final one in the 1999 French Open. She retired in the same year and became the highest ranked player to retire at third position in the world.

Her father Peter Graf, who was an aspiring tennis coach, was responsible for introducing her to the world of tennis. Although her training started at the age of three, she began playing on the court from the age of four. Her father kept a close watch on her routine and lifestyle. She was always expected to practice and that was the reason why she didn’t socialize much. But this narrow focus drastically improved her performance. But later on in life, she was involved in a controversy of Graf tax scandal as she had some issues with her father. After retiring from the tennis circuit in 1999, she began dating Andre Agassi, who himself is an ex-World number 1 male tennis player. They both got married in October 2001 and Steffi gave birth to their son Jaden Gil, four days after their marriage. Their second child, a daughter, Jaz Elle, was born in October 2003.

Summer camps for children

Summer camps for children

After a long school year, children are happy and excited about our summer vacation needs. But often, the enthusiasm was short-lived as many wondered what to do really. Reply sports camps in the summer, offering fun and excitement for children and an unforgettable summer. Summer camps for children are generally not the same as walking, swimming, hockey, soccer, tennis, volleyball or something. It usually consists of a list of sports that can be played during the summer.
Children can also participate in the areas of the beach for summer fun for kids on the docks. All beach sports such as volleyball and soccer and complete. Some children like to play frisbee on the beach, and of course, last summer, the most important time for children and swimming. Some organizations are also competitions to increase the enthusiasm of the children. At the same time, training camps and fitness for children, health and sport.
Summer camps are organized for rent sports for some of the largest universities in the sport, and pop star from the first floor of the Olympic Preparation for customers. These camps are a great place for sports professionals, learn from the experience. Education provides children with the right mental attitude and good health. At the same time, these fields also improves children's abilities, and how to interact with children of different nationalities and cultures. For some of these bears to hone their skills.
In general, the fields are ready for a night for children older than 10 years. Fields will be delivered from the body of water. Activities include water sports, in particular. Fields provide food and shelter in a common

Sports in Modern Olympics

The Summer and Winter Olympic games includes a total of thirty five sports with fifty three disciplines. The Summer Olympics comprise of twenty sports with thirty-eight disciplines and the Winter Olympics consists of seven sports with fifteen disciplines. On a whole four hundred events are conducted. Each of the sport has an International Governing Body. More athletes and nations participate in the Summer Olympics.

The IOC or International Olympic Committee arranges the sports, disciplines and events in a hierarchical manner. Sports are subdivided into disciplines and disciplines are subdivided into events. The IOC after analyzing the popularity of a sport around the globe and decides whether it should be a part of the Olympics or not. To be a part of the Olympics, an event should be participated by men from fifty countries from three continents and women from thirty-five countries from three continents, at least.

Sports, which are no longer a part of today’s Olympics, are polo, golf, rugby union, tug of war, cricket, water skiing, etc. The reason for their discontinuation is lack of adequate participation, lack of interest and lack of a governing body. Tennis and archery are also some of the dropped sports, which were again a part of the Olympics in the year 1988 and 1972, respectively. Sports, which are included in the Olympics to promote the local sports of a particular region, are known as demonstration sports. Some of the demonstration sports, which are a part of the Olympics sports, are curling and baseball.

In the first modern Summer Olympic games, held in 1896, there were a total of nine sports. Now the count is twenty-eight and it has been decided that in the 2012 Summer Olympics, the count will be reduced to twenty

Soccer Legends – David Beckham

Born on May 2, 1975, David Robert Joseph Beckham is an English soccer player who plays for Real Madrid and the England National Soccer Team. He made his debut at he age of seventeen. He signed up with Manchester United and played a vital role in dominating the FA Premier League in the 1990s and 200s. He left them and signed up for Real Madrid in 2003. He was the captain of the English national team for six years, from November 2000 to July 2006.

David Beckham was born in London, England. His father, David Edward Alan Ted Beckham was a kitchen fitter and a hairdresser. Beckham’s maternal grandfather was a Jew and was greatly influenced by him, but he admitted that he doesn’t follow any faith in particular. His father was a great fan of Manchester United and his son inherited this passion. David Beckham’s talent surfaced when he won a talent search competition held by the FC Barcelona. He was a team member of the Ridgeway Rovers, a team that was coached by his father. He played for the club Tottenham Hotspur, which was also his first club. He took training from the Bradenton Preparatory Academy and Manchester United’s Youth Training Scheme.

In 1992, he played for the Manchester United’s team as a substitute. After that, he signed his very first professional contract. Beckham became a household name when he scored a marvelous goal in August 1996, against Wimbledon. His debut in World Cup was on September 1, 1996 in the England vs. Moldova match. PPA Young voted him as the Player of the Year in that year. In the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he played all the matches and in the finals his team played with France. Due to his bad performance in it, the media and

Science and Swimming

Swimming is as old as the Stone Age. Writing references can be dated back to 2000 BC and drawings were found in the cave of swimmers near Sura, Egypt. Competitions in swimming started somewhere around 1800, in Europe. Until then the breaststroke was very famous and John Arthur Trudgen started the front crawl or the trudgen in 1873. It was added as a sport in the 1896 Athens Summer Olympics, which were the first modern Olympics. Butterfly stroke was recognized in 1952, before which it was known as a variation of breaststroke.

The water within the human body has a little less density compared to that of the water outside, which forces the body to the surface. To move forward, the water around should be pushed backward and to float, the water should be pushed downward. The pushing is done by using hands as paddles and kicking with the legs. It takes less effort to swim and float in the ocean than in a swimming pool because salty water has more density than fresh water because of the salts.  

The basic principle involved in all swimming styles is that the body should be kept parallel to the surface of the water and the hands should be positioned in outward direction, inline with the head, so as to cut though the water and reduce the friction. The more the body is slanted, the more the drag. Also, by extending the hands, the average length at the water line is increased which is directly proportional to the increase in the speed. 

Problems faced by Olympic Games

Problems faced byOlympic Games

The Olympics have seen both its good and bad days during its journey from early B.C. to this day.  Some of the major issues, which caused problems, were political involvement, doping, boycotting and violence.

The most famous political involvement was by the German Nazis, in the 1936 Berlin’s Summer Olympics. They used it as a platform to spread their ideas. Until the 1952 Helsinki’s Summer Olympics, The Soviet Union didn’t participate in the Olympics and had conducted international games event of their own named Spartakiads, since 1928. Many associations made by communists didn’t participated in the Olympics and instead opted for the Spartakiads and some of the athletes belonging to these associations, who wished to participate were barred from the Olympics.

In the 1968 Summer Olympics, which was held in Mexico City, another political controversy took place involving two African Americans, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, winners of the two hundred track and field races. They performed the black power salute on the victory stand. This angered the IOC’s autocratic president Avery Brundage and he ordered the USOC to either send the two athletes back home or to withdraw the whole team of track and field. And because of this the athletes were send back home. Iran had ordered their athletes not to participate in any Olympic heat, semi finals or finals, which had participants from Israel. An Iranian judo wrestler didn’t participate in the Olympic hear because there was an Israeli wrestler participating in it, in the 2004 Olympics.

Performance enhancing drugs and doping are other major threats to the smooth running of the Olympic

Olympic Games in Ancient Greece

Olympic Games in Ancient Greece

The very first Olympic games were held in Olympia, Greece, in the year 776 BC and they were stopped in 393 AD. In the beginning, the games were conducted for participants from various cities of Ancient Greece. It was one of the important ceremonial rituals that were held at that time. The games where held in the sanctuary of Olympia and not on Mount Olympus, where Greek gods were assumed to dwell, and hence, the name Olympic was derived. Otherwise it would have been Olympian games. 

There are many stories about how the Olympic games originated. One of the stories is that Heracles, the well-known hero of that time had won a race in Olympia, after which he declared that the race would be held every four years. According to another myth, the king of Olympia, Pelops defeated Oenomaus to marry his daughter, Hippodamia. For this his former lover, Poseidon, helped him. In the beginning funeral sacrifices were offered to Pelops, but now there is no sacrifice, only offerings, at every Olympic games. While another story claims that king of Elis, Iphitos sought the help of Pythis, who was the Oracle at Delphi, to protect his kingdom from war and foreign invasion. Pythis ordered him to please the gods by holding games in honor of them. Others say that Zeus started it after he defeated Titans Cronus, the leader of a very powerful race of deities.

The sanctuary of Zeus where the first Olympic games were staged has a twelve-meter tall gold and ivory statue of Zeus, the father of all the Greek Gods. This status was one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. The only game that was held in the beginning was Stadion or Stade race. It was an ancient two hundred yard foot race, which was considered to be of great supremacy, and the winner was given great respect and large amount of money. Participants had to pass five stakes, divisions in the racetrack, and there was no time limit for the race. Who ever reached the end line first was declared as the winner. Two stade, four hundred meter long, race was started in 724 BC, in the fourteen Olympic games, and was known as the Diaulos.

Muhammad Ali – The Boxing Legend

Born on January 17, 1942, Muhammad Ali was one of the fearful boxers of his time. He has won the World Heavyweight Championship thrice and also a gold metal at the Olympics. BBC and the Sports Illustrated gave him the title of Sportsman of the Century.

His birth name was Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., named after his father who was a billboard painter by profession, and his birthplace is Louisville, Kentucky. Muhammad Ali changed his name after converting to Islam in 1975, after which he joined Nation of Islam. 

Joe E. Martin, a Louisville police officer, was his first encouragement when he caught Ali fighting over his stolen bicycle. He used to do a show named Tomorrow’s Champions, with Martin and at the same time went to Stoner’s Gym, as Stoner was a better coach. Stoner was Ali’s coach for his amateur career. Under the coaching of Stone, Ali won six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two national Golden Gloves titles, one Amateur Athletic Union national title and 1960 Olympic gold medal in light heavyweight. In his amateur career, he had hundred wins and five losses.

After the victory at the Olympics, Muhammad Ali went back to Louisville to start his professional career. His first victory in the professional career was a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker. Some of boxers who were defeated by Ali are Jim Robinson, Tony Esperti, Donnie Fleeman, George Logan, Alonzo Johnson, Lamar Clark, Willi Besmanoff, Henry Cooper and Doug Jones.

When Ali converted to Islam, he refused to respond to his surname as he was told that that was the name given by white men to his slave ancestors. His refusal to react to his name and to join the American military,

Michael Jordan: A short bio

Michael Jordan: A short bio


Michael Jeffrey Jordan is the most respected name in the world of basketball. Jordan was born on February 17, 1963, in New York, which is responsible for the National Association of Basketball NBA or the famous 1980 and 1990. Is the fourth child of his parents, James R. Jordan, Deloris Jordan's father.
Developed his interest in basketball and baseball in high school Emsley A. I Wilmington. Initially rejected because its length is not enough. Jordan grew up an hour from 6 am to 5'' '11'' '3 several months of intensive training for the basketball team to help. In 1981 he won a scholarship basketball, University of North Carolina because of its impressive records in the schools. In NCAA Championship game in 1982, the game winning jump shot, which he described as the major turning point in his career as a basketball athlete.
He began his career in 1984 by joining the NBA Chicago Bulls. I was immediately aware of the public image of himself and jumping ability. Only a month later to join him, Jordan was featured on the front page of the magazine Sports illustrated by the title of "the birth of a star." Air Jordan was nicknamed after his joy when it was known as Slam Dunk free throws. Won the NBA Defensive Player of the Tournament for the first time in 1991 and became known after that. NBA hat trick by winning three in a row from 1991-1993.
In October 1993, he temporarily retired basketball, his interest in baseball also pursue and because it lost interest in basketball by the murder of his father in the same year after year in 1995. The trick to winning the NBA championship 1196-1998. Taking a break again in 1999 and returned in 2001 to then return again, but

Baseball

Baseball


Baseball is a popular sport played in all parts of the United States. Is the national sport in the United States. The sport involves two teams of nine members. The game is usually played with the bat and ball. Can cover skin difficult to take the ball to the dam, discounts, beat with a wooden cylinder. While the other team tries to catch the ball, you should clockwise mixture of four characters as bases. The game is divided into nine parts than halved. Both teams run the ball and score in each half. When a team three outs, it's half half.
There are three versions of baseball, including the modern version, developed in the eighteenth century. There are many arguments about the game originated, how and where. According to some reports, the game is an extension of the old baseball game, and from the UK. Bringing the UK to the U.S. in the late 1700s the sport. Professional League Baseball sub-classified in the American University and the National Association of the East and the West and the core of each. In the United States, the tenth player, also known as the designated hitter to reach expected, where the average in the National League, pitchers bat.
Cincinnati Red Stockings are a professional baseball club was formed for the first time. Fever began to American citizens in the 1860s and taken to the newspapers call it a game or a national pastime national. National League was founded in 1876 and, after a few tries, American University, founded in 1901. At that time the game is played very strong in comparison with the game being played. It's like war as the dead-ball