|
Adaptive Sports And Recreation Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
| << December01, 2004 - December 1, 2004, Issue 5 |
January11, 2005 - January 12, 2004 >> |
|
================================================= Adaptive Sports & Recreation December 29, 2004 Vol. 1, Issue 6 ================================================= Stephen Michael Kerr, Publisher To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: 41809-subscribe@zinester.com Copyright 2004, Stephen Michael Kerr. ================================================= Privacy Policy ================================================= Your privacy is very important to me. Your e-mail address will never be sold, shared, or distributed with anyone. You may forward copies of this newsletter to friends and family, and encourage them to subscribe. If you feel you have received this ezine in error, you may unsubscribe at any time; information on how to unsubscribe is at the bottom of this message. ================================================= In This Issue ================================================= - From The Publisher - Spotlight: The Sport of Goalball by Stephen Michael Kerr - Profile: Blind Bowler Lets Pins Fall Where They May by Mike Spencer - In The News - Keeping Fit: How To Shop For a Treadmill by Paul Reeve - On Deck - Contact Information ================================================= From The Publisher ================================================= Welcome to Adaptive Sports & Recreation, the free ezine delivered to your inbox every other Wednesday. You'll read fascinating articles about baseball for the blind, wheelchair hockey, and other unique sports. There's even a health and fitness section that anyone, disabled or not, will enjoy. Your feedback is always welcome. Please e-mail me at: stevekerr@ev1.net ********** The holiday sickness really got me and my family this season. My wife and I both battled bad cases of viral bronchitis for almost a month. I still had to plow my way through a busy schedule at my job at the radio station, and take care of all the social obligations that come with the holidays, so needless to say, it has been a very interesting time around our house. Despite this, we managed to get well enough to enjoy Christmas. We had a nice time with both our families, spending time with my wife's family on Christmas Eve, and mine on Christmas Day. I hope you were able to have a pleasant holiday without all the sickness that seems to have affected almost everyone I've come in contact with. Now, it's time to ring in another New Year. It should be a quiet one for me. Both my kids will be gone on separate trips, so my wife and I plan to have a quiet New Year, just the two of us. May the New Year bring you much peace and happiness, and I'll talk to you next year. ------------------------------------------------- Stephen Michael Kerr is the publisher of Adaptive Sports & Recreation, as well as a radio broadcaster and freelance writer in Austin, Texas. Blind since birth, Stephen has written various articles and given numerous speeches on disability awareness. ------------------------------------------------- ================================================= Feature Ad ================================================= *************************** Need to raise your healthy I.Q.? New Body News is for you! Inside the New Body News and Wellness Letter, you'll find: Motivation; the latest trends in personal growth and inspiration. Interaction; freedom of speech to express your healthy opinion. And more! Enroll now and build a better you. http://www.new-body-news.com ================================================= Spotlight ================================================= The Sport of Goalball by Stephen Michael Kerr How would you like to have a three-pound ball the size of a basketball fired at you at 50, 60 miles an hour, and you have to hurl your body in a diving attempt to stop it while blindfolded? This isn't some fraternity initiation prank. It's a real sport played by blind and visually impaired athletes all over the world. The game is called Goalball, and it's not for the fainthearted. In a recent article from the Herald Palladium (Michigan) newspaper, Nikki Buck of the U.S. National Goalball Team described the sport as "kind of like dodge ball but in reverse." In 1946, Hanz Lorenzen of Austria and Sepp Reindle of Germany invented Goalball as a way to help rehabilitate veterans blinded during World War II. The game was first introduced to the worlde at the 1976 Paralympics in Toronto, and has been a Paralympic sport ever since. The game is played with three players a side facing each other across a court nine meters wide and 18 meters long. A heavy string taped to each end of the court marks the area, or zone, the players can use to orient themselves to the court. They do this by feeling the string with their hands or feet. Each zone has three orientation lines that each player can use to make sure they are lined up properly. A basketball-size ball with bells inside is used so players can hear it when it's thrown. The object of the game is to throw the ball in such a way that it rolls over the opposing team's goal line. Don't let the word "roll" fool you; players can put amazing speeds of 50 miles an hour or more on their throws. The defensive players listen for the ball, and attempt to block it with their bodies by diving on the floor. Once the ball is stopped, that team takes control of the ball and may attempt a throw of their own. The main defensive player on a team is the center. He or she is the main defensive player, and is responsible for defending a majority of the court. The center is placed in the middle of the court in front of the player's zone, and is flanked by two other players who play the wing positions. The primary job of the wings is to provide scoring. The center usually stops the ball, and passes it to one of the wings for a throw. A team also has three other players who can be used a substitutes during the game. All players, regardless of their degree of vision, must wear eyeshades, or blindfolds, while in the game. A Goalball game is played in two 10-minute halves, with a three-minute intermission between halves. Should there be a tie at the end of regulation, the two teams play two additional three-minute overtime periods, and the first team to score is the winner. Over the years, Goalball has become one of the most popular sports for the blind. Various tournaments and championships are held each year around the world. In the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games this past September, Denmark defeated Sweden to capture the men's gold medal, while the U.S. took the bronze. In the women's division, Canada captured the gold by beating the U.S., while Japan won the bronze. If you'd like more information on Goalball, visit the International Blind Sports Federation website at: http://www.ibsa.es You can also check out the site of the United States Association of Blind Athletes: www.usaba.org ** If you have an idea for a spotlight on a particular adaptive sport or organization, send it to: stevekerr@ev1.net with "Spotlight" in the subject line. ================================================= Profile ================================================= Blind bowler lets pins fall where they may By Mike Spencer ?© 2004 Bay City Times. Used with permission Tony Gray and Ray Lesniak often tell their Hagen Ford bowling teammate to "Come on, Clem, sit down," but they really believe he should stand up and take a bow. Their longtime teammate, Clem Nowak, who became visually impaired two years ago, continues to anchor their three-man squad in the Alert Lanes Senior League on Tuesday mornings. And the 75-year-old Nowak does it with strikes and picking up spares and a 180-plus average, even though he can see little of what he is doing. "It's like Clem's ball has eyes," said Gray. "It just goes right where you want it to. "And when he gets a strike, we just tell him to sit down and he knows he's got them all." "That one was a good sound," Nowak said coming back to the round table where his teammates sit in wonder while waiting for their turn to throw. "Sound has a lot to do with it, but you can be fooled. I can also tell by people's voices." Nowak, who averaged over 200 pins per game before macular degeneration took his eyesight two years ago, slipped a couple of pins under last year in his first season in the dark. But it hasn't hurt his spirit. "I can't make out anything five feet away. I can't drive and I can't read, but I can bowl," said Nowak, who can relate to the enlarged X on the lane monitor indicating a strike. "And I'm having fun. If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here." Nowak bowls in two senior leagues with the same guys and a Sunday adult/youth league with Joshua Gillard, his grandson. He relies on six decades of bowling experience to know where to line up for his shot and he counts on the voices of teammates to tell him pin location if he misses any. "Whoever is closest will usually tell me what pins are left," said Nowak. "And I know they aren't going to give me a bum steer because they want the pins just as much as I do." Nowak also throws a Storm ball that has a big orange spot on it so he can readily pick it up out of the ball return. "I try to set up on the same spot right at the end," said Nowak, a big right-hander with a heart even larger. "The key is hitting the head pin and getting the spares. "If I can do that, I'll do well." "Clem is amazing. I don't know how he does it," said Jerry Buda, Alert Senior league secretary. Charlie Davis, a youth coach just like Nowak and one of the top senior bowlers in town, agrees. "As we get older, we have aches and pains and what have you. And a lot of times, we give up what we enjoy doing because we can't compete at the top anymore," said Davis. "It's an all-or-nothing attitude. "I have a lot of respect for Clem. He has a very legitimate reason for giving up. But he's out there and he's enjoying the chance to get a little exercise, getting out with friends and having fun. And he's doing the best he can." Nowak's teammates are glad he's stuck around. Going into this week's play, the Hagen Ford squad was the second best behind Bay Lanes. "We were worried that Clem was going to give it up," said Lesniak, who picks up his partner when it's time to bowl. "But he loves to bowl. He didn't take any time off and we're glad he's still with us." Prior to two unsuccessful surgeries that left his eyes scarred, Nowak had six award scores, including two 300s. His best series was a 759. Nowak, who started bowling at 15 at Pulaski Hall, may never see a 205 average again. But it won't be from lack of trying. "I've known Clem for a lot of years," said Mel Beyett, Alert Lanes owner who also competes in the Senior League. "He's a great guy. I don't think he'll ever quit, even if they had to put a rail up there for him. "He's that kind of a guy. He just loves bowling." And the guys around him. ** Have an idea for a profile? Just send an e-mail to: stevekerr@ev1.net with "Profile" in the subject line. ================================================= In The News ================================================= On 20 December, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced that the Wheelchair Tennis World Champions are David Hall (AUS) and Esther Vergeer (NED). Hall finishes as ITF World Champion for the sixth time, having also held the title in 1995, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003. Hall won ten singles and five doubles titles in 2004 and won the silver medal in singles at the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games, and the bronze medal in doubles. Vergeer finishes the year 2004 as the ITF World Champion for the fifth consecutive year and was undefeated in 2004 in both singles and doubles, winning a gold medal in singles and in doubles at the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Tennis Event. The ITF??™s selection of the ITF World Champions is based on an objective system that considers not only performance on the respective tours and at the season-ending events, but also gives weight to performances in the Paralympic Games. The able-bodied men??™s and women??™s ITF World Champions for 2004 are Roger Federer (SUI) and Anastasia Myskina (RUS). ITF President Francesco Bitti stated: ???This has been an extraordinary year of tennis due, in no small part, to these outstanding individuals. The ITF is proud to name them ITF World Champions for 2004.??? The ITF World Champions will receive their awards at the annual ITF World Champions Dinner on 31 May in Paris, France. ** If you know of an adaptive sports event for this section, send it to: stevekerr@ev1.net and put "News" in the subject line. ================================================= Feature Ad ================================================= Please rate this Ezine at the Cumuli Ezine Finder http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/vote.html?pub_code=sporec AOL Users Click Here ================================================= Keeping Fit ================================================= How to shop for a Treadmill by: Paul Reeve Treadmills have become the hottest home exercise choice. According to the National Sporting Goods Association, treadmill sales have exceeded those of all other home exercise equipment. It's easy to understand why. Next to good shoes, a treadmill may be a runner's best friend. Practically anything your training demands--hills, intervals, tempo, long distance--you can do on a treadmill. And you can log those miles while watching Seinfeld or keeping an eye on your kids, without worrying about heat, cold, wind, ice, cars, darkness, potholes, mean dogs or scary people. Excited? Good. Now let's take your treadmill education another step and go treadmill shopping. Before we set out, though, a word of caution: Treadmills are expensive, and they're complex. A bad buying decision could leave you with one more inactive exercise hulk languishing in that musty corner of your basement. So tread carefully as we steer through the maze of buying a 'mill. First off, remember as with most things you get what you pay for. A $1,000 treadmill may serve you well, but a $3,000 machine is likely to perform better for a longer time. The following are some more specifics to absorb before you buy. How long should a home treadmill last? Retailers tell us the range is seven to 12 years, with 10 years about average. Of course, with proper care, some treadmills far exceed the average. With neglect, even the expensive ones die young. Dust is the primary early killer of treadmills, Once a week, take a dry cloth and wipe up any dust between the belt and deck. Also keep the floor around your treadmill clean and free of dust. What about the warranty? Generally, the longer the warranty, the higher the treadmill's quality--and price. Ideally you should look for a warranty of three years for parts and one year for labor, with dealer-provided in-home service for the first year. Most problems, if they occur at all, will crop up in the first 90 days. Mostly it will be relatively minor stuff, such as adjustment or replacement of a component. What's the difference between a "home" treadmill and a "club" model? Manufacturers often separate treadmills into two categories: "home" or "residential," and "club" or "commercial." Good home treadmills are essentially smaller versions of club treadmills. The high-end home treadmill can easily withstand regular daily use and features extensive programming options, often more than are found in the club treadmills. Club treadmills come with a superior warranty and a bigger motor that can take round-the-clock beatings. They also carry significantly higher price tags. What do horsepower ratings mean? Horsepower (h.p.) is a measure of motor power, and runners will want a 1.5 h.p. or higher "continuous duty" rating for their home treadmill, say most retailers. While higher ratings (2.0 h.p. or higher are common) do indicate a more powerful treadmill, your overall aim should be a machine that efficiently integrates the workings of the motor, belt and deck to give you a steady ride, which some 1.5 h.p. treadmills accomplish. Continuous duty means that the treadmill will run at its listed h.p. rating with a significant workload over extended periods of time--an important consideration.Be wary of manufacturers who list "peak-performance" h.p. ratings. It sounds impressive, but all peak performance indicates is a motor's maximum power, not its sustained output. What's the best belt size? To handle the long stride and natural side-to-side movement of runners, treadmill belts are expanding in width and length. Twenty-inch-wide belts are becoming common, and no belt should be narrower than 17 or 18 inches. The length of the running area should be at least 50 inches, with 55 to 60 inches preferable for taller runners. How important is the construction of the deck? Often overlooked by consumers (perhaps because it's hidden beneath the belt) is the treadmill's deck, or bed. Better-quality decks are usually made of thin layers of laminated wood, coated with lubricants to minimize friction between the belt and deck, which in turn reduces strain on the motor. The smoother the deck coating, the less friction between the belt and deck. Deck construction, more than the belt, influences how smooth or hard your treadmill feels to run on and how well it absorbs shock. You want a surface that gives a bit but doesn't bounce. Better decks are reversible, meaning they can be turned over--thereby (in theory, at least) doubling the life of the deck. Some decks require owner maintenance without which they may succumb in a year. Proper care, however, can extend a deck's life for the lifetime of the treadmill. AC or DC? Direct-current-driven (DC) motors power most home treadmills. DC motors start slowly, provide a more consistent response to speed, incline and weight demands, and tend to run quieter than alternating-current (AC) motors. With DC, you're dealing with fewer internal parts, which may cut down on repairs. AC motors, which tend to be found in club treadmills, start the belt at a faster speed. But you should be safe plugging either an AC or a DC motor into your wall outlet at home. Pricing A good home treadmill can cost up to $5,000 and will likely be the most expensive piece of exercise equipment you'll ever buy. Why so much money to run in place? To answer this, we contacted Cybex International, manufacturer of the high-end Trotter line. Companies that make the best treadmills install the highest grade of parts and components available, including expensive motors, safety and comfort features and long-lasting decks. Your treadmill's components have to be able to withstand a terrific beating--more than 1,000 footstrikes per mile of running. With the price of a high-end treadmill, you should get a machine that is absolutely durable, with a longer, more complete warranty that reflects its superior quality. If you're in the market to seriously educate yourself about treadmills, visit http://www.treadmilladviser.com where you can obtain more detailed information. About The Author Paul Reeve is a Personal Trainer responsible for training individuals one-on-one and assisting them in achieving their health and fitness goals and providing them with guidance, support and motivation. Presenter and lecturer for Fitness Professionals, Sports Organizations, Sport Coaches, Corporate and Community Organizations. Webmaster for www.treadmilladviser.com - providing informed advice on exercise treadmills. ================================================= On Deck ================================================= Here's a peek at what's coming up in the next issue. ** Archery is not a sport you would think a blind person would compete in. But there is an organization in Britain that is teaching the blind how to use a bow and arrow. Read about it in the next "Spotlight". ** Kevin Hansen overcame a broken neck to compete in wheelchair road racing, and is involved in an organization that promotes wheelchair sports. Read his story in the next "Profile". ** You want to be healthier, but you're not into running marathons or doing aerobics? Why not walk? It's one of the best ways to increase your health, says Patricia Wagner. Read her column in our next "Keeping Fit". ================================================= Contact Information ================================================= Stephen Michael Kerr, Publisher stevekerr@ev1.net 1218 Hughmont Dr. Pflugerville, Tx 78660 Subscriptions to this ezine are free. To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: 41809-subscribe@zinester.com To unsubscribe, send a blank e-mail to: 41809-unsubscribe@zinester.com ================================================= Disclaimer ================================================= Although we believe our advertisers to be honest in their business practices, we cannot be held responsible for the products or services they offer. Please make sure to check out all offers before you buy. |
|
| << December01, 2004 - December 1, 2004, Issue 5 |
January11, 2005 - January 12, 2004 >> |
|
Adaptive Sports And Recreation Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
|
Archives powered by Zinester's Mailing List Service
Details on Adaptive Sports And Recreation |
Browse for more newsletters at Zinester's Ezine Directory
Managed by Zinester's Mailing List Management |