Photo: ColbyOtero.com

Kitesurfing (also known as kiteboarding) predominantly takes place in the ocean. But rivers offer the added advantage of strong water currents combined with wind velocity, meaning higher speeds for the surfer. Plus there’s no added risk of being eaten by a shark.

The Hood River Sandbar in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge is a sandy kitesurfing launch. It’s one of the most practical places for river kitesurfing in the United States because of its consistently windy conditions. Because many kitesurfing schools are centered around the Gorge, it’s a perfect place for beginners.

The Hood River Kiteboarding Guide offers tips about maximizing the river kitesurfing experience in the region, and identifies dangerous or difficult areas to ride. These guidelines include:

Photo by ColbyOtero.com

- Keeping an eye upwind to make sure a loose kite isn’t headed in your direction.
- Keeping your kite low when riding downwind of other riders, and keeping it high when riding upwind of other riders.
- Steering clear of the Hood River part of the sandbar where the pros ride, unless you’re a pro too (it can be quite dangerous).
- Avoiding the marina sandbar for a launching and landing zone because it is usually crowded with families and children.
- Watching for barges coming through the channel to avoid collision.

Another great place to practice or even observe with the amazing scenic backdrop is in Squamish River, British Columbia, Canada.

But that’s the easy stuff.

If you’re looking for something challenging and uncharted, you might want to consider kiteboarding the Lachine Rapids on the St. Lawrence River. So far it appears that only Julien Fillion has been a successful rider. This is no surprise considering the river is 2.6 million gallons of water pouring over rocky terrain, shelves, and reefs.

This location is not for the inexperienced: Fillion had to pair up with Corran Addison and Yanick Larouche, fellow experienced river surfers and kiteboarders, to use a Jet Ski for towing into the waves and to have emergency assistance on standby during his first ride.

Just how dangerous are the rapids? Addison says, “The converging currents create whirlpools and thick seams that pull downward towards the river bottom 30 or 40 feet below. The bottom is littered with underwater caves, and probably shipwrecks from the late 19th century.”

While Fillion pulled off the ride with minimal damage (other than cracking his board in half), something as simple as being pulled down by the most violent wave in the rapids, Mavericks, would have tangled his lines and prevented him from resurfacing.

In his video, Fillion describes the river kitesurfing experience and why he enjoys the sport.

Julien Fillion Kitesurfing Whitewater River Rapids from kiteroam on Vimeo.

Community Connection

Interested? Learn how to get started kiteboarding.

Photo: dfornal

LeBron’s whole career has centered around playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, since 2003. When he announced his decision to leave, it was not just the fans who became upset.

Business owners in Cleveland are afraid that LeBron leaving the area means an overall decrease in revenue. After all, LeBron is directly responsible for increasing season-ticket and merchandise sales, as well as bringing more business to local restaurants, hotels and bars during game days.

The Globe and Mail have identified this concept as “athlete as industry”:

Short of running for President – something the 25-year-old can’t do for another decade – James embarked on the most complex, costly and public job hunt in the world. The hiring of one player moved billions of dollars, generated unprecedented media attention and directly impacted the livelihoods of thousands of people. For more than two years, businesses ranging from Nike to ESPN to about six different NBA teams have prepared for one man’s career decision.

Photo: david_shankbone

While visiting New York City in late June, I had noticed the city’s “C’mon LeBron” campaign displayed with huge signs and catchy ads. Mayor Bloomberg and other celebrities were also featured, in an attempt to bring LeBron to Madison Square Garden.

Even Chicago unsuccessfully campaigned to bring the athlete to their city with the hope of generating some huge profits. [Editor's note: Mostly, we're just tired of losing.]

LeBron’s influence is big. Almost as soon as he announced his decision to join the Miami Heat, the average resale value of season tickets rose to $8,250 from $3,239. It’s estimated that the team’s value has increased by approximately $40 million.

Even if LeBron is taking a pay cut on the court to join the Miami Heat, his off-court branding will make up for it with sponsorships and deals from huge companies like Nike.

So what does this mean for Cleveland? The response is divided: some people believe Cleveland has a lot more going for it than just a basketball team, but others feel James was the one-man enterprise that ran the show. Can the Cleveland Cavaliers keep the show going?

Community Connection

What do you think? Does one athlete have the ability to take down an entire economy? Discuss in the comments below.

Photo by Nike

Out of the 13 soccer players shown in the video, only three remain in the World Cup.

The Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba broke his arm pre-tournament, and while he was able to play in two games with the use of a special cast, the team was quickly put out. Italy’s Fabio Cannavaro managed to concede five goals in three games before his team was eliminated in the group stage.

France dropped their team captain, Patrice Evra, who lead the team in a “refusal to train” protest when the French Football Federation sent Nicolas Anelka home for insulting the team’s manager.

On the American side, a scandal is developing over American Landon’s apparent link to a British woman’s unborn baby.

Photo By: Ben Sutherland

The list goes on and on, with only a few people spared. Even the non-World Cup players are at risk: six-time champion Roger Federer just lost at Wimbeldon to Tomas Berdych.

You can watch the “cursed” commercial here.

Similar curses have popped up in American sports. Athletes featured on the cover of EA’s Madden NFL game are subject to injuries and other kinds of misfortune. Players affected by the jinx have included Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who injured his knee in a game versus the Tennessee Titans. Donovan McNabb of the Washington Redskins also suffered from an injury and then was accused of playing the “race-card” by Philadelphia NCAA president Jerry Mondesire.
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Sports Illustrated is accused of its own curse, affecting athletes who appear on the cover. In one instance, Washington quarterback Bob Schloredt lost a game for his team by fumbling a snap a week after being pictured receiving one on the cover. Some 913 SI covers are listed as “jinxed”.

Some people take the curse pretty seriously: Kurt Warner actually refused to appear on the cover of the issue which explored the jinxes.

At least there has been no direct correlation between curses and the cover of the Vanity Fair issue featuring the muscly World Cup athletes in their underwear. Otherwise, we’d have another reason to mourn.

Community Connection

Is this superstition ridiculous? Are we blaming poor performance on bad luck? Share your thoughts.

Photo courtesy of Long Treks on Skate Decks

Paul Kent, Aaron Enevoldsen and Adam Colton are three 20-somethings testing their physical limits in some pretty diverse landscapes. Meet Long Treks on Skate Decks, the skater team armed with longboards and backed by a small support crew.

While they’ve already skated their way around Peru and Bolivia, fighting off obstacles like hunger, dehydration, and altitude sickness, they also recently completed a 2500 km trip through Morocco.

Longboarding is like a form of modified skateboarding, appropriate for rough terrains which require a smoother ride. The guys are no novices to the sport: Enevoldsen has been longboarding for 18 months, while Kent holds the world record for the 24-hour Ultra Skate (403 km in 24 hours), and Colton is a known globally for his freestyle longboarding.

When I first saw their trailer for the South American trek, I was instantly hooked on their total enthusiasm and love for what they’re doing. You can’t help but grin at their antics.

Then there are the blog posts of sticky situations and memorable moments along the way:

After waking, we are approached by the family. They offer us breakfast but we tell them we are content with what we have. I eat my carrots and pears I purchased from the grocery store the night before. We practice acrobatics with the oldest son as the rest of the family lets out the cows from behind the solid gates. The cows are milk cows for the company Gloria, the most popular brand of dairy products (and juice) in all of Peru. We leave to skate the rest of the way to Puno, the family thinks we are once again crazy but we insist.

Those little details really shape the trip.

Even while chatting with Paul Kent via e-mail, I get the feeling that the trio are some of the most down-to-earth, honest athletes who have found a way to do what they love. We could all use more passion like theirs.

Check out their trailer of highlights from their South American journey, including navigating intensely sharp turns, interaction with the locals, and yes, even some shots of the boys on their longboards wearing only underwear.

Community Connection

Stay tuned for more footage from the guys’ journey across Morocco!

Photo by visulogik

Last week, I wrote about 16-year-old Abby Sunderland’s failure to circumnavigate the planet by sailboat, which is causing a stir online.

Opinions vary. Some people expressed relief and messages of support for Sunderland when she turned up last week after going missing in a storm. Others believe that Sunderland was too unprepared for the journey, and her parents were irresponsible.

While irresponsibility and lack of preparation may have been factors, and the Sunderland name has been further tarnished with the alleged signing of a reality television show contract, the truth is that anyone can get lost at sea.

Take Mike Collins, for example. He’s an experienced sailor who has made several ocean crossings, and yet he still nearly had a fatal accident. Collins bought a restored sailboat from a cabinetmaker in Key West and was sailing the boat back to Fort Lauderdale, when he was caught in a sudden storm.

Photo by DieselDemon

The mast cracked in half, causing Collins to break his arm and the boat to stop moving. The previous owner had apparently patched the mast with paint and caulk, which Collins describes is “not unlike wearing black socks to fix the hole in your boots.”

Last year, a boating accident killed Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith, and University of South Florida player William Bleakley. The only survivor was Nick Schuyler, another football star from the University of South Florida.

Where did they go wrong? It’s hard to pinpoint just one thing. Cooper, who owned the boat, was an experienced sailor and often took his buddies out on fishing trips. On that day there was some problems with the anchor, which caused the boat to overturn. The men were stranded in the middle of the ocean for a few days, during which time all but Schuyler succumbed to hypothermia.

A quick Google search for “experienced boater dies” will bring up dozens of results, including a number of accidents in the past few months.

A married couple, Jeffrey and Beth Easterling, were knocked overboard in the waters around San Francisco. Despite Jeffrey’s experience sailing the boat for more than 25 years, with a reputation for even conducting safety drills on deck, even they could not be prepared for every danger.

While it’s true that more years of experience generally means a better understanding of how everything works, some factors simply can’t be predicted. Most of it comes down to Mother Nature and how she throws her punches.

A freak storm sneaks up, or some gear malfunctions. We get left to your own devices. So what are we supposed to do, sit around and fear failure? Do we live a life without risks?

Community Connections

With so many people completing journeys around the globe, disaster seems bound to happen at some point. What do you think, is it all a game of chance?

Sailboat exiting Morro Bay, by mikebaird

Sunderland set off on her journey on January 23 and was doing well on her own as she navigated her way around the globe. Sailing is in her blood: Her father is a boat builder, and her brother Zac previously held the world record of being the youngest solo sailor to complete the trip at age 17.

On Thursday of this past week, Sunderland went missing in the Indian Ocean, about 2,000 miles east of Madagascar. She reported dangerous seas with swells of 30 feet, and then her engine began failing. Shortly thereafter, she lost satellite phone contact with her family and set off two GPS emergency beacons.

Sunderland’s lucky, however. It wasn’t long before authorities from the United States, Australia, and France set out on a rescue mission. She was rescued safely and in good health by a French fishing vessel soon after. The only casualty was Sunderland’s boat, Wild Eyes.

Tour by bike, by Mr. Usaji

Of course, now Sunderland has to face the flack. Matador Trips editor Carlo Alcos has already discussed the verbal punishment that 16-year-old Jessica Watson and her parents received when she set out on her global solo sailing mission. Considering Watson actually completed the mission, one can only imagine the kind of negative press Sunderland will receive.

As Sunderland reports from her blog, the media began calling her as soon as she stepped onto the fishing boat. While most people commenting on her blog expressed nothing but relief and happiness for the young lady, the occasional negative feedback slipped in:

Her parents should be criminally indicted for allowing such a stupid stunt. As a result, search and rescue personnel had to take their valuable time and resources, not to mention putting their lives at risk, to look for her. What a disgrace.

Sunderland, however, is in high spirits. She wrote:

There are plenty of things people can think of to blame for my situation; my age, the time of year and many more. The truth is, I was in a storm and you don’t sail through the Indian Ocean without getting in at least one storm. It wasn’t the time of year it was just a Southern Ocean storm. Storms are part of the deal when you set out to sail around the world.

As for age, since when does age create gigantic waves and storms?

Her greatest regret, it seems, is the loss of her dear boat.

Honestly, I’m baffled about how anybody could scorn Sunderland for her efforts, especially after witnessing her own brother and Jessica Watson successfully complete their own journeys around the world. These people are living proof that age isn’t an issue, and nobody can accurately predict the will of nature. I also don’t understand the comments about wasting rescue personnel’s time. Isn’t that their job?

In the meantime, let’s celebrate the fact that a young lady was given a second chance. The ending could have been much worse.

Community Connection

What do you think? Was Abby Sunderland’s mission irresponsible? Or was this just a case of bad luck?

Tour by bike, by Dainis Matisons

On March 31, 2010, Alan Bate set out on a round-the-world bicycling trip. He hopes to do a full loop around the globe in 99 days, but he’s got a pretty tough record to break: Julian Sayarer was the last person to set a record in 165 days.

His route kicked off in Bangkok, where he traveled through Thailand and then Malaysia and Singapore. Bate’s journey also takes him to Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada, South America, Europe and eventually right back to his starting position in Bangkok. Basically, he’s giving a whole new meaning to RTW travel.

The Rules

The rules for setting a world record, however, aren’t all black and white. The Guinness World Records have produced a set of rules for circumnavigation by bicycle, which allow competitors to gauge their success against one another.

Tour by bike, by Dainis Matisons

The rules include:

-The journey must be continuous and in one direction (east to west or west to east).

-The minimum distance should be 28,970 miles.

-Distance traveled refers to the times when the rider is jumping from one landmass to another (e.g. crossing the Atlantic Ocean). Distance ridden, obviously, is the ground that the rider has ridden. Transit time is deducted from the overall time.

-The rider must use the same bike, but repairs and replacement of broken parts are allowed.

Why He’s Doing It

Alan Bate is a huge Thailand lover, and actually set out to break the world record in honor of the king of Thailand. In doing so, Bate wants to draw some positive attention to the country he cares about so much, especially by creating a bond with the United Kingdom. In doing so, Bate feels there is a great opportunity for economic ties and tourism.

He also has a hand in various charitable organizations, like Right to Play, which encourages children to play sports for development, health, and peace. He even intends to draw some attention to the plight of Burmese refugees by the Myanmar border.

Think he can do it? On day 51, Bate reached his halfway point at 9,009 miles.

Community Connection

At Matador Network, we’ve chronicled stories of cycling in places like Vietnam and Ethiopia. Where is the most unusual place you’ve ridden a bike?

Besides a Youtube video with over 17 million views, It seems impossible to find any information on Danny MacAskill. Even his official website is a work in progress.

A 25 year old from Edinburgh, Scotland, MacAskill has been riding for 13 years and now rides professionally. He has a dog called Meg, and his favorite drink is Red Bull. That was the only dirt I could dig up on him.

Some of the tricks he can do include flairs on a tree, bunny-hop tailwhips, drops off of staircases, and riding along thin fences or railings. MacAskill claims not to train or take himself too seriously, saying he still rides his bike just for fun.

Perhaps a reason for his virtual anonymity stems from the fact he doesn’t want to be famous, and has turned down appearances on American and British talk shows and even a performance at the Scottish Cup final.

In an interview by BikeRadar.com, however, MacAskill opens up a little more. While he hopes to travel the world and create more videos, he also loves performing for children at their schools, hoping to inspire more athletes to pick up the sport. He’s a perfect role model: in his younger years, he was unruly and often found himself in trouble with the police. Now, he’s famous without even trying, simply for doing something he loves.

From the mouth of MacAskill himself: “I am not going to degrade what I am doing and act like a clown. I am not too fussed about making money. I just want to ride my bike every day and see a bit more of the world.”

Is it just me, or does his desire to stay out of the spotlight make you want to get to know him even more?

Community Connection

Tour the world’s 15 most bike-friendly cities, or fulfill your bicycling wanderlust with the great American bike trip.

Some of the World Cup’s finest.

June’s issue of Vanity Fair features some of the biggest names in the upcoming 2010 World Cup, starting with right on the cover. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba, the US’s Landon Donovan, Brazil’s Kaka and Pato, and Germany’s Michael Ballack are among the boys to bare all (or most).

Their one choice of garment? Underwear featuring their country’s flag. The publicity stunt has captured the attention of fans around the globe, because to some people, these athletes “are more than just showstoppers. They are gods.”

Naturally, when stripping down a bunch of “gods,” many of whom are rivals of one another, drama is inevitable. Ronaldo is ticked off because he’s on the cover right next to his arch enemy, Drogba.

Ronaldo is also unhappy about how he’s portrayed, and is threatening to sue the magazine. However, he has been voted as the top World Cup pin up by a Dutch gay magazine for two years in a row, so objectification shouldn’t come as such a surprise to him. Perhaps he’s annoyed about sharing the spotlight with others?

Check out the video for some highlights of the shoot.

So what exactly does Vanity Fair hope to accomplish with the June issue? Perhaps they’re trying to appeal to a wider audience, or maybe they figured it was time to drool over scantily clad men on the cover of magazines rather than women.

Whatever the case, soccer just became a lot more appealing to me.

Community Connection

What do you think of the Vanity Fair photo shoot? Shameless self-promo, all-around fun, or a surefire way to get even more people interested in the World Cup?

Jyoti Raju is a climber turned Internet phenomenon from Karnataka, India. He can climb a 100-foot fort wall in just a few seconds, all without safety gear like rope or a helmet, because he relies on “expertise and confidence” to stay safe. He says he learned his technique from watching monkeys climb.

Raju discovered his talent one day while contemplating suicide at the foot of a cliff. Instead of walking up to the top of the cliff to hurl himself off, he decided to climb up. According to Raju, he kept climbing higher and higher because he was afraid a shorter drop would not kill him on impact. When he finally reached a high enough ledge, he realized a crowd had gathered and was cheering him on to climb higher.

The video of Raju climbing at the tenth-century Chitradurga Fort shows why he’s called “The Monkey King”:

But while he’s busy being interviewed by television stations and trying to claim a spot in the Guinness World Book of Records, few people know Raju’s story. He’s raking in hundreds of thousands of page views for his videos on the Internet, but none of this means much to him. Raju is a laborer who still lives in a one-room home and does construction work to earn money. It’s only in his spare time that he’s able to practice his skill. Raju hopes to someday teach young people to climb.

Karnataka is big into climbing and has some incredibly talented athletes. Unfortunately, Raju’s skills won’t land him a spot in the state’s climbing team, as he suffers during competitive training; he came fifth in state championships. He’s also used to scaling rocks without safety gear because he cannot afford to buy any, and has not been able to adapt to the wall yet.

Community Connection

Read more about free solo climbing on Matador Sports.

A competitor jumping at Madrid’s Festibike exhibition in 2009 – Photo by DavidHT

This year’s Black Hills Fat Tire Festival is being held from May 28-31 in Rapid City. Cyclists and spectators come together for a few days of sport appreciation and lots of fun on the trails.

The races all take place on M Hill in the center of the city, and cater to different skill levels. Downhill, Super D, x-country, and Sprint hill climb are just some of the options for the participants. Then there’s the two-day ride on the Mickelson Trail, the triathlon (kayaking, running, and mountain biking), and a 10-kilometer trail run.

In other words, there are going to be some serious athletes milling around Rapid City.

There’s also a whole schedule dedicated to off-trail events. Mingle with others at a BBQ followed by a downtown pubcrawl, sell your used bike at the bike swap, and attend a film festival with sport-inspired movies.

For the family, a Hide and Seek Fun Ride and Geocache Event will be taking place on Rapid Creek. Just use the given coordinates and a GPS to locate the stickers and redeem them for prizes at the end of the event.

With last year’s event being such a success, event coordinators are expecting bigger and better prizes and an even higher participation rate. The All-Festival Pass is $65 and comes with a t-shirt.

Community Connection

If you’re looking for more bicycling fun, check out 8 Quirky Bike Rides Across the US Or test-drive the bike that lets you drink beer onboard.

Photo by Urban Mixer

Led by Jules Pretty, a researcher from the University of Essex, a team of scientists in the UK analyzed data on 1,250 people to determine how exercise influences people when it’s done in a green space such as a park or hiking area. The study found that in as little as five minutes, subjects experienced an improvement in mood and self-esteem. The results remained consistent over a longer term, although the most dramatic leap occurred at the beginning.

In one notable study, one hundred test subjects exercised on a treadmill while pleasant and unpleasant pictures of urban or rural areas. Those who viewed the rural pleasant scenes experienced an 8.7% decrease in blood pressure, while those who viewed unpleasant urban scenes actually experienced a 3.3% increase.

Photo by mikebaird

The greatest improvement in health, both physically and mentally, was found in young people and people with psychological illnesses. With such a big boost in happiness, study leaders recommend employers encourage their employees to take a break from their work every now and then to get outdoors and enjoy some fresh air.

This isn’t an entirely new concept. Charles Cook, author of Awakening to Nature, has been saying for nearly 10 years that green exercise and connecting with nature gives people an endorphin high that helps them achieve a sense of physical well-being. It can even help them sleep better.

Get Outdoors

Incorporating a little daily green space exercise into a routine is simple. For lower-impact exercise, walk to work, or ride a bike.

If you like animals, you might offer to walk neighbors’ dogs in the evenings. Even working in the garden counts as exercise.

For a more intense workout, volunteer with a group to clear hiking trails for the public or plant trees. Such rigorous activities provide lots of hands-on work, and are a good way to socialize too.

Community Connection

Need some outdoor inspiration? Try some new adventures or get the kids involved in outdoor sports.

Photo by sharpneil

A via ferrata (“iron road” – plural: “vie ferrate”) is basically a footpath built into the mountains which uses cables, bridges, and steel ladders to navigate a vertical route, thus providing a safe way to go higher that doesn’t require climbing experience.

The First Via Ferrata

Vie ferrate began in the Italian Dolomites, back around WWI. Troops battled in the Alpine regions, even using avalanches as weapons to kill thousands. To access such high battlegrounds, they constructed some of the first vie ferrate.

Nowadays, hikers use vie ferrate for recreation instead. The Italian Dolomites have many accessible mountain routes, as do other countries like Switzerland, Canada, England, and Germany. Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu has the world’s highest via ferrata, reaching an altitude of 3,800 meters.

Photo by s@b13

The Gear

One of the greatest benefits of a via ferrata is that there is little equipment required. The three main pieces of gear are a helmet to protect against falling stones, a harness, and a clipping system.

The via ferrata clipping system is made of a short rope that clips into the harness, with the other end attached to two car for clipping onto cables.

Between the harness and the carabiner is an impact-reducing device which prevents a carabiner from breaking, either by distributing the weight of a fall through a metal plate or by slowly braking with strips of webbing stitched together in such a way that the stitches progressively tear in the event of a fall.

The system can also be used to clip onto a ladder rung or cable to allow the climber to rest.

Twenty-five to thirty meters of rope are necessary for routes that involve rappels. Crampons and ice-axes are generally overkill, but are a good idea for some technical winter routes that may ice over.

Getting Started

While you don’t need to be a pro climber, some training and physical fitness is required. Sometimes rental shops will require you to go through a short orientation course before departure to ensure that you understand how to use the equipment properly.

While via ferrata technique goes beyond the scope of this article, the number-one rule of the sport is to always make sure that at least one carabiner is attached to the safety cable at all times–you should never be moving both clips at once.
Whether they’re semi-automatic or screw-down, always ensure that the carabiners are locked when closed.

Keep in mind that this isn’t a sport for those who have vertigo. While some vie ferrate are fairly horizontal, like the Gorges de Salenys, most are very vertical and often quite high.

Other Important Safety Rules

-In general, keep some distance between you and the climber in front of you, especially on steep inclines.

-Avoid knocking out rocks. When rocks are loose, move as close as possible to the person ahead of you to avoid large rocks falling before they gain much speed.

-Do not anchor yourself to the same section of a cable as someone else. Make sure there is at least one anchor point between you and the people ahead of and behind you. This will reduce the likelihood that the cable will snap in the event of a fall.

-Ensure that the two carabiners on the brake are facing in opposite directions. This way, if the carabiners’ gates graze against the rock, only one of them will be able to open.

-Check weather before heading out. Getting stuck in a thunderstorm is not a good idea when you’re climbing next to a metal cable at high altitude.

-Make sure your guide is a certified professional.

-Carry sunscreen, as well as snacks and water for the trek.

Community Connection

If you’re passionate about climbing, try your skills on these six American mountains.

Photo by Steve Snodgrass

 
Eight-year-old Ashima Shiraishi from the US has been climbing some difficult boulder problems, like Power of Silence (V10) at Hueco Tanks. She started out climbing in Central Park, and has gone on to win the Youth Bouldering Championship.
 
Then there’s Italian Tito Traversa, another eight-year-old sending V10-V11 boulders.
 
It’s not all climbing: there’s a three-year-old in Iowa named Wesley Muresan who some people are calling the “next Shaun White”. He’s already doing jumps and taking over halfpipes.
 
These kids are sure to be star athletes, and they already have thousands of fans, but how do their lives compare to those of the everyday school kid?

Photo by pocketwiley

Who decides a kid should be an athlete?

At three years old, most kids are busy still learning to read and interact with others. How does someone this age decide to be a pro snowboarder?

Encouraging children to participate in sports is great. They’ll learn to lead healthier lifestyles while avoiding obesity, and they’ll naturally be happier. Kids involved in sports are also more confident and develop a better sense of team spirit, skills that are valuable in life.

On the other hand, pushing a three-year-old to do a triathlon may actually produce the exact opposite effect of a healthy lifestyle when the kid burns out. The most successful athletes are those who have been encouraged to pursue their sport of choice just for the pure pleasure of it.

Kids in competitions

Recently, Lane Kiffin, head coach of the USC Trojans football team, offered a scholarship for 13-year-old David Sills, who he has recruited play for the Trojans in 2015.

The upside is that the kid no longer has to worry about his university career five years from now. The downside is that he has to spend those next five years under a lot of pressure and probably not living like a normal teenager, perhaps even feeling a sense of entitlement that will alienate him from his peers.

The pressure to live up to a title is hard. The kid must perform well, and he or she must meet team members’ expectations. That’s a lot of stress to deal with when you have tests to write and homework to finish, never mind the risk of “losing popularity” if you cause a team to lose.

Photo by kevitivity

Kids need to be aware of the fact that nobody is perfect, and losses are inevitable. They also need to learn how to handle defeat and be a good sport, but all this is done gradually.
 

Health implications

 
Despite child athletes starting as early as three years old, The American Academy of Pediatrics actually suggests that kids are not ready for competitive sports until they are at least six years old. This is because their bones aren’t fully developed yet, and they most likely aren’t emotionally ready.
 
The best way to get a kid active is to let him or her seek out natural passions. Wesley Muresan, for example, has learned from White’s example of being a terrific snowboarder and has therefore taken up the passion for his own pleasure. He doesn’t necessarily need to compete right now to maximize his potential as a future pro athlete.

Though I’ve got to admit, he is pretty cute.

Community Connection

What do you think? Is training kids to go pro healthy, or are we sucking the fun out of childhood?

Photo by thebeastofbodminmoor

PLAYBOATING is the art of using various whitewater features such as waves, holes, and eddylines to surf and perform tricks. Depending on the size and power of the features, playboating can look spectacular, or relatively boring to someone observing from the shore. But when you’re out in the water, playingboating–no matter what the size of the waves–feels incredible.

Playboating has surged in popularity over the last 10 years for various reasons. One is boat design. New boats allow paddlers with relatively basic skill levels to perform moves that took high levels of skill in boats designed just a few years ago.

The second reason is that traditional river running requires a higher commitment of time and resources. To run a river you have to set up a shuttle (leaving a vehicle at the bottom or a person who will pick everyone up at the takeout). Because playboating usually happens at just one or two particular features on a river, many playboaters have adopted a new kind of paddling style called “park and play,” – you just drive to a spot, walk in, and spend as much time as you like.

History

Whitewater kayakers and canoeists have been playing for as long as they’ve been running rivers. The earliest forms of playing, the old-school, was basic front and back-surfing of waves and also doing “enders” – plunging the bow or stern of a boat under a wave-hole or hydraulic, and then using the trapped buoyancy to shoot out of the water (video of ender here).

David Miller squirting, 3 Forks, Snoqualmie

Squirtboating

Back in the early 80s, two brothers from West Virginia, Jim and Jeff Snyder, along with a small crew of other slalom racers and kayakers, began pioneering a new kind of boat design–the squirt boat–which had such low volume that it enabled the paddler to tap into the river three-dimensionally instead of just using the surface currents.

This was a turning point, essentially the birth of modern kayaking. Ironically, as squirtboating itself continues to be a very small subculture of whitewater paddling, many kayakers and canoeists today have never even heard of it.

The “Planing Hull” 90s

Throughout the 90s, kayak manufactures took elements of squirtboat design and applied a new concept, the flat hull. Traditionally, kayaks and canoes had rounded hulls for stability. Departing from this tradition gave kayaks and canoes the ability to “plane” on top of waves and holes, allowing paddlers to spin, and, with low volume ends, cartwheel.

To make these moves easier, boats began to get shorter and shorter, leading to today’s modern playboat design.

Photo by dryfish

Getting Started

David Miller wrote a how-to on Getting Started Whitewater Paddling that serves as a good guide for playboating as well.

The number one rule is “safety first.” We recommend beginners start out in classes, learning basic boat / edge control and rolling.

While most playboaters paddle just for recreation’s sake, some take it more seriously. “Rodeos”, or playboating competitions, are not hard to find in the US, though many paddlers just use them as an excuse to party.

Playboating Tips

Here are a few more things to consider before jumping into a new boat, as suggested by 1997-1998 Freestyle World Champion, Ken Whiting.

Choose a Great Playboat: Take time to test out various boats to see which one works best for you.The boat should be comfortable and tight-fitting.

Always Keep the Paddle Active: Keeping the paddle in the water will prevent the boat from spinning out of control. Boats used in playboating are designed specifically for spinning and freestyling, so it’s important to have control at all times.

Have a Great Paddle: Keep a wide grip, and use a shorter paddle to keep your elbows bent at a 90-degree angle.

Be Aggressive: This one ties in with “keeping the paddle active”: playboaters cannot be timid, and it is important to maintain good posture and stay upright in the boat. Lean forward at the hips, keeping them loose to control the boat’s tilting.

It’s impossible to understand how wild the sport is without seeing it. This footage comes courtesy of Playak.

Community Connection

Skip the lesson and learn how to roll a kayak online, or try some other great water sports.

Photo by akiwitz

Tristan Miller and Darren Foss have already begun their journey around the world, during which Miller plans to test himself by running 52 marathons in just one year.

Run Like Crazy kicked off in Zurich, Switzerland on January 1, 2010. By the end of the year, Miller will have run just over 1,363 miles (2194.14 kilometers), not counting training. Foss is a newbie marathon runner who plans mostly to document the journey, but will also run in at least two marathons.

Photo by corono

Why are they doing it? Besides hoping to raise $100,000 to pledge to UNICEF, Miller says:

“How often do we sit around with our mates and wonder what it would be like to jump on a plane and do all the cool things you dream about, all the things that a friend of a friend enjoyed on his/her holiday? To do it all you’d need 4 weeks a year for the next decade to scratch the surface. If you’re a sports/rock/movie star, they pay you to be in these places and have these adventures. Well, Dazzler and I are none of those things, but we want to have those adventures too and in 2010 we’re gonna do it all!”

Their itinerary is impressive, jumping from the USA to Cyprus in one week, tearing through Europe and Africa, and then heading back to the USA a few weeks later for another race. It isn’t hard to see why they expect the trip to cost about $150,000.

Miller’s biggest fear is getting sick or injured. In an attempt to avoid nasty stomach bugs, the men intend to cook most of their own meals while on the road. Miller also has to watch his weight and muscle mass to avoid injuries like stress fractures, but he’s confident he can pull it off.

Community Connection

Set some marathon goals of your own with these 50 Walk/Bike/Run Events.

Photo by cabezadeturco

Spain has never won the World Cup. In the 49 games they’ve played in total, they have won 22 and lost 15. Their best performance was making it to the semi-final round in the 1950 tournament, where they finished fourth. Since then, Spain has never come closer than the quarters.

So why is there suddenly so much optimism about Spain’s chances in South Africa?

Only 11 teams have played in a World Cup final. Three of those teams, Czech Republic, Hungary and Sweden, will not be present in South Africa this year. This loosens up the competition considerably.

Despite their previous track record, Spain also arguably has some of the most capable, experienced players in the world, with nine of its players listed in ESPN’s Top 50 Players of the 2010 World Cup.

Goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas is notable for being a starter on the team since he was 21. Then there’s David Villa, who is second in career goals in Spanish soccer history. He’s also 11th on the Spanish Primera División top-scorer charts. Gerard Pique, a holding midfielder with the best long ball of any defender in years. With guys like these around, Spain should do just fine.

Photo by Supermac1961

The team has certainly gotten respect for winning 41 of their last 44 matches, including the Euro 2008 Soccer Championship.

The strongest argument against Spain winning is the country’s own regional rivalries, like the one between Barcelona and Real Madrid. There’s a certain degree of competition between the two cities and other regions, even off the soccer field. Put that together, and there’s suddenly a lot of added tension within.

The real question is whether Spain can work through it long enough to win the world’s most important tournament.

Photo by andreas_fischler

The name is misleading: there is no actual board involved. Instead, airboarders use an inflatable sled made of urethane and nylon to get speed while staying close to the ground.

The underside of the airboard is lined with grooves to keep it going straight. The rider controls the airboard by steering with the side handles and shifting body weight. To stop, you lean hard into a 90 degree turn, dig your boots into the ground, or bail.

Many ski resorts now offer board rentals and trails specifically designed for airboarding, with jumps and steep slopes for those who want more of a challenge. All airboaders are required to wear a helmet and participate in an introductory lesson with an instructor before hitting the trails.

As you can see in the video below, there’s big potential for epic wipeouts:

If you discover that airboarding is your thing, you can purchase your own board from the official Airboard website. Prices range from 79-399 euros.

Community Connection

If you’re looking to squeeze in some more winter fun before the season is over, check out some Montana winter festivals.

Photo by Newhaircut

When I think of croquet, I imagine elderly men ambling around a level green field, swinging rainbow-colored mallets and engaging in polite conversation with competitors. Extreme croquet is like that, but for people who take life less seriously.

While croquet-like games are thought to have been played in France about 600 years ago, the first example of extreme croquet didn’t appear until the 1920s. Newspaper editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Herbert Swope played a jazzed-up version of the game at his Long Island estate, with no boundaries and few rules.

According to mystery writer Rex Stout, who had a ball thrown at his head during a game in 1937, croquet with Swope could get rough.

“Croquet is not for sissies,” Stout said.

Photo by wharman

Today, extreme croquet usually takes place in one of three environments: woodland areas, stream beds, and railroad tracks. All fields must be irregular and at least 50 yards long, though they are often much longer.

The aim of the sport seems to be to play in the silliest fashion possible. Some players go by nicknames like Dr. Punish and Steakboy. The most amusing part of the game, is the house rules. Here are a few of the best ones:

Hit the Beer – Hitting another player’s drink will give you two extra turns. Hitting your own drink will result in “a berating from the other players for wasting precious resources i.e., beer or brain cells.”

Dogs and Children are Permitted on the Course – Regardless of distractions or interferences, the ball must be hit from wherever it lies, even if moved from its original position. The rules note that “the training of dogs/small children for this purpose is legal but frowned upon.”
 
 No Show Tunes – Singing show tunes or songs in the style of show tunes on the course will result in physical violence.

Be Quick – Anyone moving about the course with exaggerated slowness “will be tackled enroute and beaten with mallets.”
 
Balls Must Be At Least 52% Through the Wicket – Otherwise, you forfeit your turn. If a ball passes all the way through and then backwards through the wicket again it can be considered a made wicket, but the event “must be witnessed by a fair and impartial judge in a bunny suit, who will certify that their findings are without bias or malice.”

In summary, it doesn’t really matter if you can bench press 200 pounds or run a five-minute mile. If you have a sense of humor and a case of beer, you could be the next extreme croquet superstar.

Community Connection

What defines a sport, anyway?

Photo by rhurtubia

Crashed Ice is an incredibly fast race that mixes downhill skiing, hockey, and boardercross, and it all takes place on a steeply-sloped ice rink.

The sport originated in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2000 and began spreading to other European cities shortly after. In 2003, it arrived in North America, first appearing in Duluth, Minnesota, and then becoming a popular winter event in Quebec City, Canada. Over 85,000 spectators regularly show up, making the sport a fairly big deal for Quebecers.

How It’s Played

Groups of four athletes compete against each other on a course up to 500 meters long. The track is narrow, and competition is literally shoulder-to-shoulder. The downhill rink is also set with vertical drops, jumps, and rollers.

Athletes can do whatever they want–push, sprint, wrangle–anything goes. There’s only one real rule: “first to the bottom wins.”

Crashed Ice skaters, who are typically pro ice hockey players, need a pretty varied skill set. Skaters must have quick reactions, speed, the skating skills to navigate the course, and the ability to recover quickly. The whole thing has high entertainment potential for those on the outside looking in, vying to see someone face-plant into the sideboards at 70 km per hour.

Winners move on until the final race, when the victor is named.

The next Crashed Ice event will be presented by Red Bull and is going to be held in Quebec City on March 20, 2010. Still finding it difficult to wrap your head around exactly what this sport is all about? The following video should help:

Community Connection

Want to learn about more overlooked winter sports? Check out Dog-Skiing and Ice Soccer.

Photo by Nicholas T

Despite his disability, Mike Hanson is an outdoorsman. He’s hunted and fished for over 30 years and is an experienced kayaker and backpacker. He’s well aware of the dangers of hiking such a challenging trail.

Hanson has spent the last several years testing out a special GPS receiver that will guide him on his route by plotting waypoints, like campsites and sources of water, and using special text-to-speech capabilities to keep him within 10 feet of his path. He gave the system a test run on a 30-mile hike through Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

Photo by Nicholas T

Hanson will be accompanied on his hike by filmmaker Gary Steffens. Steffens plans to document the entire hike, following but not interfering with Hanson’s navigation.

Why the quest? Hanson is a huge techie, and he recognizes that technology used to assist the blind has improved drastically in his lifetime. He started out by using a device to write Braille, and has grown independent enough to live by himself, navigating with his GPS.

However, Hanson says that most of the world doesn’t recognize the blind as capable, which he believes is the reason that about 70% of visually impaired people are unemployed. With the hike, Hanson wants to prove that blind people can be independent.

Hanson will need $25,000 to complete his campaign, but has only raised $9,000 so far. He is accepting donations on his website. More information is available on his Facebook page.

Community Connection

Wondering how Hanson does it? Check out these tips for visually impaired travelers.

Photo by popejon2

-The USA’s Bode Miller won a gold medal in the Super-combined event, a jump from his 7th-place finish in the downhill portion. He’s also won a silver in Super-G and a bronze in men’s downhill.

-Two weeks after never having won a gold medal at home, Canada now has eight. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir took gold in ice dancing on Monday night, becoming the youngest and first North American couple to do so. On Wednesday Callie Humphries and Heather Moyse won gold in women’s bobsled.

-Russian ice dancers Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin offended some Aboriginal leaders with their Aboriginal-themed original dance, in which the pair wore outrageous costumes and stuck out their tongues. After the dance, the pair dropped from first place to finish with bronze.

-The Canada vs. USA men’s hockey game on Sunday evening was the most viewed sports program in Canadian television history. 21.5 million people tuned in, most of them Canadian. The result was a whole lot of heartbreak when the US won 5-3.

-After losing to the Americans, the Canadian team picked up and beat Russia for the first time in 50 years, winning 7-3 on Tuesday. Goalkeeper Ilya Bryzgalov called Russia’s loss “the end of the world.”

-Norway’s King Harald accepted a pair of the Loudmouth patterned pants worn by the Norwegian curling team. When invited to wear the pants to Norway’s match on Tuesday, the king reportedly declined.

-Scotty Lago, the American silver medalist in the halfpipe, left the Olympics early after the appearance of some “scandalous” photos that appeared to show him using his silver medal to pick up women. According to TMZ, Lago can’t talk about the event until his “blackout period” ends on March 3.

Photo by Michael Francis McCarthy

-Norwegian skiers have been dominating this week. In men’s cross-country skiing, Norway’s Petter Northug claimed gold. Another Norweigan, Marit Bjoergen, won her third gold medal of this year’s Olympics in the 4×5km cross-country relay. She also won gold in the 15km pursuit and the 1.4km sprint.

In the ski jump, 20-year-old Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer won gold with a jump of 146.5 meters.

-Bill Demong won the USA’s first-ever gold in Nordic combined on Tuesday, while teammate Johnny Spillane took silver. Austria’s Bernhard Gruber won bronze.

-The Netherlands’ Sven Kramer was disqualified in the speed skating 10,000m competition after his coach, Gerard Kemkers, told him to switch lanes. The move was illegal, and Kramer lost what he called “the best 10,000m I have ever skated.” Despite the fiasco, the skater says he’ll stay with his coach.

-Finally, an incident during the giant slalom on Thursday has created tension between American skiers Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso. After having to restart her first run because Vonn had crashed and was still on the course, Mancuso finished the giant slalom in 8th place. Disappointed by the outcome, Mancuso expressed frustration with the fact that Vonn had gotten so much attention during the Olympics. Vonn later said she was “hurt” by the comments.

Community Connection

What do you feel was the highlight of the Olympics so far?

Photo by Adrian 8_8

-The games started on a sad note with the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, a Georgian luger who died during a practice run after hitting his head on a steel support. NBC banned the graphic video of his crash after some people questioned whether it was ethical for the network to air it.

-Germany’s Tatjana Huefner won the gold for women’s singles in luge, with Australia’s Nina Reithmayer coming in second and Germany’s Natalie Geisenberger taking third.

-Maelle Ricker took gold in snowboard cross, becoming the first Canadian woman to win a gold medal in a home Olympics. Deborah Anthonioz of France won silver and Olivia Nobs of Switzerland took bronze. American Lindsey Jacobellis, who was a favorite to win gold, didn’t even make it to the final four.

Photo by Brooks Elliott

-A change in weather during the men’s biathalon caused nine-time Olympic medalist Ole Einer Bjoerndalen from Norway to fall to 17th place. France’s Vincent Jay took gold, Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen told silver, and Croatia’s Jakov Fak took bronze.

-Japan’s Aya Yasuda was disqualified from luge for being “overweight.” The additional weight of her equipment and a miscalculation caused her to be less than a pound over the limit for a luger.

-South Korean Sang-Hwa Lee won gold in women’s 500m speedskate, beating the German world record holder, Jenny Wolf. China’s Wang Beixing took bronze. Another South Korean, Tae-Bum Mo, took the gold in the men’s race, which took place on his 21st birthday.

-China dominated the pairs figure skating, with Shen Xue and Zhao Hongo taking gold, and Qing Pang and Jian Tong taking silver. Former world champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany won bronze.

-Evan Lysacek won gold in men’s figure skating, becoming the first American to do so since Brian Boitano in 1988. Russia’s Evgeni Plushenko and Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi took silver and bronze.

-Switzerland’s skiers are bringing in the gold. Ski jumper Simon Ammann took the first gold on Saturday, followed by first-time Olympian Dario Cologna, who won Monday’s freestyle cross-country race. Didier Defago won the men’s downhill race earlier the same day.

-The Canadian women’s hockey team has been shutting down opponents, with victories like 18-0 against Slovakia, 10-1 against Switzerland, and 13-1 against Sweden. Their triumph is facing criticism, with some countries saying that the Canadians should be more merciful with opponents so they don’t discourage other teams.

Photo by Brendan Lally

-The Canadian men’s hockey team also got off to a good start, beating Norway 8-0 on Tuesday.

-Latvia’s Haralds Silovs made history by competing in two different events in one day. Silovs skated in the men’s 5,000m on the long track in Richmond, then finished fourth in the short track B final at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum.

-The USA is leading in gold medals, with five. The most surprising victor was skier Lindsey Vonn, who became the first American to win gold in women’s downhill despite a shin injury that occurred just two weeks before the games. Moguls skier Hannah Kearney won in women’s freestyle , beating Canadian Jenn Heil, who won in 2006 and was expected to win again.

In the men’s events, Shani Davis took gold in the 1000m speedskate, while Seth Wescott won the men’s snowboard cross. Snowboarder Shaun White won in the halfpipe competition, but waited until his victory run to pull out his newest trick, the Double McTwist 1260.

Community Connection

Which events have caught your attention the most? What are you most looking forward to?

Photo by sciman111

Just in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics, here are some simple instructions for constructing a backyard skating rink so you too can practice your stellar crossovers, flying spins, and Mohawk turns.

1. Pick a flat, level surface for the rink. The size depends on how big you want it to be, but remember, the rink needs to be maintained.

2. Using a shovel or snow-blower, cut an outline in the snow. Clear the inside of the outline until you reach the ground, but don’t actually dig into it. Pile the snow around the edges.

3. To apply the base, remove the spray nozzle from a garden hose and spread water evenly over the rink. Use a moderate flow so the water does not affect the texture of the rink’s surface. Leave the water to freeze overnight.

4. Apply the top layer of ice in the same manner as demonstrated in step 3. When the rink has frozen, walk on the surface to see if it cracks under pressure. If it does, apply another layer of water. Keep adding layers until the surface can withstand your weight.

Photo by PMcK

More Ways to Improve Your Rink

Some people suggest using a liner or tarp instead of just clearing out a piece of ground for the ice. The liner will hold the water and help keep the surface level.

While not necessary, using boards is a fun addition if you’ll be using your rink for hockey. Rink boards help to prevent pucks from getting lost in the snow, and make flooding the rink easier.

Upkeep and Maintenance

To fill in any chips or holes caused by skates, use a hose with a spray nozzle to spray above the rink’s surface. Do not spray directly on the rink.

Another suggestion is to re-flood the rink with hot water. The water will melt any areas with bumps or indentations, making the ice easy to flatten with a metal trowel or shovel. Be sure not to walk on the rink after a light snowfall, as your footprints will freeze into the ice.

Community Connection

Do you have any tips for improving your backyard rink? Share them in the comments.

Pictures by Michael Jantzen

Still a design proposal, the North Slope Ski Hotel has 95 rooms and is powered primarily by wind and solar energy. The whole thing would be constructed with sustainable building products, including gym equipment designed to help contribute power to the hotel.

The best part? The hotel has a 400-foot-high ski slope built right into it. Not only is the design swanky, it’s functional.

An aerial view of the hotel.

Using an elevator, skiers climb to the top of the hotel and then ski or snowboard down into the landscape. The slope has a special surface that eliminates the need for snow, so guests can ride year-round.

After a long day of skiing, you can head to the hotel’s rooftop bar to check out the view.

The slope is also designed to catch rainwater and snow and store it in large containers at the building’s base. The water is then recycled and used throughout the hotel.

The eco-hotel is only one of the many environmentally friendly designs created by Jantzen, who hopes to “demonstrate how even the most luxurious places on earth can, and should be, built in an earth friendly way.”

Community Connection:

Check out these six American ski mountains you’ve never heard about for more ski inspiration.

Photo by Andrew Turner

A quick Google search for “curling sport” will lead you to dozens of resources, many of which are Canadian.

Eastern Canada is pretty big on the curling scene, especially my province of Newfoundland and Labrador. During the 2006 winter Olympics, Memorial University shut down so we could watch Brad Gushue and his team of Newfoundlanders take home Canada’s first Olympic gold in men’s curling. The first medal for Newfoundland in any sport, we’ve since named a highway after the team.

Where does curling come from?

The origins of curling are muddled, but some people believe it’s one of the world’s oldest team sports. A painting by 16th-century Flemish artist, Peter Bruegel, shows a curling-like activity being played on ice. In 1540, a Scottish notary named John McQuhin recorded a sporting challenge between a monk in Paisley Abbey and a representative of the Abbot in which a rock was thrown along ice.

The first recognized curling clubs were established in Scotland. From there, the Scots spread the sport to wherever they immigrated, particularly colder countries like Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA.

Photo by Kenneth Hynek

It wasn’t until the first Olympic Winter Games in 1924 that international curling competition took place, with Great Britain taking the gold. Now, it’s normal for athletes from around the world to play.

The Basics

Teams are made up of four people, with each player throwing two stones per turn while teammates sweep the ice with brooms to direct the stones. The goal is for the team to get more stones closer to the center target than the opposing team. Two teams compete at one time, each team alternating their shots, with players in four different positions:

Lead: Throws first, sweeps all other team members’ shots.

Second: Throws second stone, sweeps all other team members’ shots.

Vice: Throws third stone, holds the brush for the Skip, and only sweeps the Lead and Second’s stones. This role is more difficult because there are more stones already thrown.

Skip (team captain): Throws last, holds brush for all other players, tells other players when to sweep, and watches the “curl” (direction) of the stones.

The two teams’ Skips direct the play for their teams, with team members throwing two stones at a time.

To begin, the lead delivers as the Second and Vice sweep, and the Skip watches the curl. The sweepers must judge how far the stone travels, all while the Skip hollers directions. When it is the Skip’s turn, the Vice takes the Skip’s position and the Lead and Second sweep.

When all stones are thrown, points are awarded for those closest to the target.

Every game ends with the opposing teams saying “good curling” to one another, followed by a handshake.

Confusing? Yeah, a little. But I can’t think of another sport where berating teammates and yelling “Harder! Faster!” is perfectly acceptable.

Community Connection

Headed to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver? Check out these free accommodations.

Climbers are enthusiastic people. What better way to hone some climbing talent than to set up a wall right in the comfort of your home? No matter the weather conditions, it’s always a great time to climb from inside a garage!

The following video follows the construction of a wall inside somebody’s home. Apparently, designing a good wall can cost as little as $400 with the right materials. Just ensure you have the handy know-how to take on such a plan, and follow instructions closely. Having a mattress present on the floor to cushion any nasty falls isn’t such a bad idea either.

Community Connection

Prefer to take your climbing outdoors? Check out these mountains to climb for big adventure.

Photo by mike warren

Ski resorts are experiencing the heaviest influx of skiers in years, thanks to one hell of a winter season. 20,000 people and counting have torn up the slopes at Scotland’s biggest ski resort, Aviemore, four times last year’s number from around the same date.

There’s never been a better time to check out the Scotland snow scene. In fact, tourism officials say that ski accommodation bookings are up 500% in Scotland.

Ski resorts in Scotland have been suffering these past few years due to inadequate snow conditions and mild winters. Just three months ago, the Glencoe ski resort was threatening to close due to lack of business.

The site was put up for sale, and a last minute takeover allowed the resort to open in time for the New Year. Now, the slopes are so packed, skiers are having a hard time finding parking spots.

It’s not just skiing either. Sledding has become so popular that the Nevis Range resort has run out of toboggans. Enthusiasm is running so high that skiers in campers are staying out overnight in the CarnGorm’s car-park to be the first people on the slopes in the morning.

Travel can be dangerous in these snowy conditions. To keep yourself and others safe, check out Traffic Scotland.

Community Connection

Looking for more information about Scotland’s slopes? Check out Skiing in Scotland.

Photo by Omer Simkha

From January first to the 17th, 362 riders, drivers and crew on bikes, quads, cars, and trucks will cover 5,500 miles through Argentina and Chile.

Extreme? Absolutely.

Argentina and Chile are actually quite far removed from the race’s original route, from Paris to Dakar, Senegal. Its founder, Thierry Sabine, started the adventure in 1977 after getting lost in the Libyan desert on his motorbike during the Abidjan-Nice Rally. He was so inspired by everything he had seen that he wanted other adventurers to have the opportunity of experiencing the extremes along the route.

Since then, the race has been fraught with misfortune: drivers deal with desert sands, dangerous mountain passes, and determined opponents. Then there are issues like political disturbances and terrorism threats, which caused the Dakar to change its route from Africa to Argentina and Chile in 2009.

Photo by exfordy

Every year, riders, crew, or bystanders get lost or killed during the Dakar, like Mark Thatcher, the son of Margaret Thatcher who was lost for 6 days in the Sahara in 1982. He got off lucky: more than 50 deaths have been reported since the race began.

Competitors aren’t the only ones at risk. On January 2, a 28-year-old woman was killed near Rio Cuarto when German driver Mirco Schultis and his Swiss teammate Ulrich Leardi accidentally drove into a crowd of spectators. Five others were also injured.

Schultis reportedly tried to help the girl and was overcome with grief, and later withdrew from the race. Of course, since then, people have been questioning the accident: were the spectators in an area where they were not permitted, or is Schultis entirely responsible?

Regardless, the Dakar does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon. To follow the race, check out the official website.

Community Connection

Do you think tighter safety regulations need to be enforced for extreme sports events like the Dakar? Share your comments.

Photo by Alexandra Franklin

Who knew that a skateboarding park could bring so many people together? Skateistan, Afghanistan’s first co-educational skateboarding school, has created a way for the youth of Afghanistan to connect through new opportunities in personal empowerment and education, all through the sport of skateboarding.

The indoor park, decorated with logos of skating brands like Black Box Distribution and TSG which have sponsored the park’s development, invites boys and girls of all ages and from different backgrounds to participate in free skateboarding lessons. Separate rooms also serve as classrooms where kids can learn everything from basic literacy to advanced computing.

Photo by thelastminute

On the opening day of the park, 100 Afghani skaters, all of them Skateistan students, came to show off their skills. Professionals from the Netherlands, the US, and Syria came out to show their support.

One of the most progressive aspects of the skateboarding park is the participation of young girls. Despite Afghanistan being one of the poorest and most conservative countries in the world, the founders of Skateistan say that skateboarding is a novel enough sport to accept female athletes. Mahro, a 10-year-old girl, is just one star pupil who wants to be a professional skateboarder in the future.

Then there’s 11-year-old Fazila, whose parents are paid $1 a day by Skateistan so she can go to school and attend skateboarding lessons instead of selling gum on the street. The entire organization has been backed by $650,000 in donations, and the Afghan Olympic Committee donated the land, water, power, and security.

Next up: an outdoor area for the children to further hone their talents.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

How do you think we can use sports to encourage social change among our youth? Share your thoughts.

Photo by natalielucier

The Olympic Flame has been around since the ancient Olympic Games held in Olympia, Greece. Back then, a flame would be ignited by the sun and kept burning until the games were over. The Flame did not appear in modern form until the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam.

The Olympic Flame’s journey still begins in Greece, and is recognized as a symbol of peace for those nations participating in the Olympics. On the opening day of this year’s journey, the Flame was lit in Olympia, using just the sun’s light and a parabolic mirror, in accordance with ancient ritual. The Flame was then passed to Vassilis Dimitriadis, who launched the Vancouver 2010 Torch Relay.

Nowadays, things are a little more technologically advanced. Air intakes provide sufficient oxygen to the Flame so it remains burning, a dual burner system keeps the Flame from being extinguished, and blended fuels ensure brightness even in the most extreme Canadian weather conditions.

Photo by eponymous anon

I knew very little about the predetermined route of the Olympic Flame, but I did know that my province, Newfoundland was its first Canadian destination.

Following some news sources, I learned the Olympic Flame was being exchanged between torchbearers in a dory, a traditional Newfoundland fishing boat, at the mouth of Petty Harbour. I assumed the celebrations were over.

However, when I left the office at the of the day, I emerged onto Water Street in downtown St. John’s to find people lined up along both sides of the road. I found myself standing among the masses, completely unaware of what was going on.

When the torch and its procession of Olympic hysteria finally turned around the corner, the crowd erupted. People sang, clapped their hands, and shouted. A man ran by, shoving two Olympic flags into my hands. Kids ran beside the Flame, reaching out to become a part of history. I started grinning, waving my flags lamely, completely caught up in the moment and united with my peers.

The Greeks must be proud to realize their ancient history is still creating international unity. As IOC president Jacques Rogge said in his speech at the lighting of the Flame, this tradition is here to stay.

“The longest national Olympic Torch Relay in history will create a spirit of global community and world citizenship. It will inspire new hopes, new dreams, particularly among the younger generation, to take part in the Games. It will invite Canadians and visitors from around the world to gather and celebrate the Games with glowing hearts.”

COMMUNITY CONNECTION:

Are you attending the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver? Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to.

Photo courtesy of Podknox

At just 36 years old, Umaga succumbed to a heart attack. Being a world famous performer with an active lifestyle, most people probably wouldn’t question Umaga’s health despite his weight of 350 pounds.

However, new research comparing signs of metabolic syndrome among professional athletes shows that they may encounter future health problems due to their lifestyles. This is particularly true for baseball and football players, especially football linemen.

The study determined that football players are twice as likely to die before the age of 50 as baseball players. Football players have higher fasting glucose levels, higher BMI, and larger waist-to-height ratios in comparison to baseball players. The issue is not likely to disappear anytime soon: up and coming athletes are increasingly overweight and “classified with severe obesity.”

Photo courtesy of Podknox

At the other end of the spectrum, wrestlers and other athletes who participate in “weight sensitive” sports often practice unsafe measures to reduce their weight, especially adolescents who risk death by dehydrating and starving themselves. Fortunately, modern practices are more enforced to monitor the progress of cutting weight and insure that it is done safely and moderately.

It is also worthwhile to note that Umaga, along with 10 other wrestlers, were suspended from the WWE in 2007 for steroid usage, which has long-term health effects even after the steroids are no longer used.

Evidently, the competitive nature of sports has overshadowed perhaps the most important reason we sweat, work hard, and hone our athletic ability — our health. When athletes alter their bodies in an unhealthy manner or use drugs to boost their strength, they are robbing themselves and others of the possibility to explore their full potential. Sadly, we learn this the hard way with losses like that of Umaga.

Community Connection

What’s your stance on the issue of cutting or gaining weight to meet athletic requirements? Share your thoughts.

Jake Scrace, 25, and Lewis Crathern, 24, had been planning the Worthing Pier jump for three years. Finally, 40 mph winds and ideal weather conditions provided the perfect opportunity for these guys to catch some major air.

Scrace was the first to attempt the jump, and Crathern followed shortly after. The two athletes say the feat was terrifying: “To go for something you know no one has ever done before, you just don’t know what the outcome is going to be.”

Terrifying doesn’t do the video justice. Watch these two fly over the pier with the apparent ease of flying acrobats. Their next goal? Kiteboarding from Worthing, England, to France.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

If you’re an inexperienced kiteboarder, never try a stunt like this. For more kiteboarding resources, check out some beginners videos from Progression, or read up on how to get started.

You might be as surprised as I was to learn that ice sailing (also known as ice yachting) has been around for almost 300 years. Iceboats were traditionally built as adaptations of sailboats but with blades and runners and were used for transportation and racing. Sailors attached a wooden plank to the front of the vessel with a fixed runner at both ends, as well as a steering runner in the back.

Since then, iceboats have taken on a more modern appearance. Starting in the 1930s, the boats started getting smaller and quicker, and many adapted enclosed cockpits. The “Skeeter” and “DN” models are still used today. While ice sailing has become largely a hobby, competitive ice-sailing is still very popular in Canada and the U.S., including New England and the Great Lakes.

The following video, found on The Outside Blog, follows some sailors and their homemade ice boats on Bellport Bay in Long Island, New York.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Have you tried ice sailing? Give us some feedback.

Photo by jrseles

Photo by tedlington

Currently there are 17 groups totaling 420 baboons living in Cape Town’s outskirts. Lately, the increasingly bold baboons have been venturing into the city and raiding vehicles, easily opening car doors or swinging through windows to grab snacks.

Because tourists can’t seem to fight the temptation to feed the primates, baboons have learned to associate cars with food. The tourist boom expected to arrive with the 2010 World Cup will offer a whole new feeding ground for these animals.

Baboon dangers

Baboons can be aggressive, and it’s important not to encourage their behavior by offering them food. Some tour operators have been deliberately baiting the baboons, forcing the City of Cape Town to punish the practice with fines and possible prison sentences of up to six months.

The penalties may seem drastic, but residents of Cape Town are worried the animals will become more of a nuisance within the following months. The Baboon Files also points out that aggressive baboons already have to be shot be authorities.

Photo by Chi King

Don’t feed the animals!

If you’re taking a trip to Cape Town for the World Cup, remember to steer clear of the baboons. Here are some tips from The Baboon Files for avoiding primate problems:

-Close the windows and doors of your vehicle while on the road.

-Do not leave the vehicle to take photos of the baboons, as they may sneak into your car while your back is turned.

-Baboons are not easily frightened by people. Do not stand in the open while carrying food, as baboons will snatch anything from your hands.

-While hiking or walking around, hide all food until safely inside a building or vehicle. Even carrying the food in a plastic bag will prove too tempting for a hungry critter.

Community Connection

Do you have any tips for dealing with baboon encounters? Share your story.

Although SUP surfing has been around since the 60s, only recently has it become a popular sport. Stand-up builds on balance skills and technique to allow surfers to catch waves early while using a paddle to manipulate turns.

Today, SUP surfers come to competitions likeHennessey’s International Championships and the annual Quiksilver Ku Ikaika Challenge sponsored by C4 Waterman to compete and show off their skills.

Then there are bold characters like Garett McNamara, the award-winning surfer who was the the first person to surf the giant waves created by calving glaciers in Alaska. He’s now taking stand-up paddle to new extremes by attempting hurricane swells. Beginners, we suggest starting elsewhere.

Community Connection

Learn more about the sport in Stand-Up Paddling: A brief History of C4 Waterman.

Photo by mariachily.

This year’s festival took place in Yangshuo, China, from November 13-15. In recent years, Yangshuo’s popularity has skyrocketed, attracting bikers and rock climbers with its stunning landscape. With all the tourism traffic, locals want to ensure their home remains attractive and unspoiled.

According to the festival’s website, the event’s goals are noble.

“The twin goals of the Yangshuo Climbing Festival are to promote a sense of community among climbers throughout China in a fun, friendly, and casual atmosphere and to support the sustainable development of rock climbing in the Yangshuo area. The Festival organizers will donate the money raised via Festival entry fees to local Yangshuo development projects in an effort to encourage a long-term collaborative partnership between climbers and the local community.”

Greenliving Blog reports that festival attendees are hooked up with rental bikes in an effort to reduce the use of motor vehicles, and local traders are encouraged to sell food and drink to the climbers.

Reducing your climbing footprint

Rock climbing can have surprising negative environmental consequences. While some people seek out new climbing challenges, others flock to densely populated areas, which results in overcrowded parking lots, litter, damaged trails, and destroyed vegetation.

Photo by iwona_kellie

The following are a few tips offered by Leave No Trace Climbing for practicing sustainable climbing:

Be prepared. Make sure your equipment is in top shape, find a climb that meets your skill level, find out if the area requires permits and special practices, and carpool.

Cut the waste. Reduce the use of chalk, remove overused gear when leaving the site, and do not relieve yourself on grass near the climb.

Don’t mess with the route. Use removable protection whenever possible, check with local managers before placing any bolts, and avoid areas on the rock surface that require lots of cleaning. Don’t try to force a new route.

Know the surface that you’re climbing. Avoid areas prone to erosion, use quick draws when possible, and use established trails. Don’t wrap rope around trees, as it may destroy the bark.

Respect your neighbors. Don’t disturb the homes of animals that nest in the cliff face. Also, respect your fellow climbers by choosing less popular times to climb, reducing noise while waiting to climb, and stepping back to give other climbers the space they need.

Community Connection

Get some tips on how to become a better rock climber. If you’d rather live climbing adventures vicariously, check out our photo essay on trekking El Calafate glacier.

Photo above by andrusdevelopment.

At 7 p.m. on November 18, the Ski Club of Great Britain and Henry’s Avalanche Talk are hosting a live, online information session for eco-travelers and mountain dwellers. HAT is a team of experienced ski-professionals, while the Ski Club of Great Britain is a non-profit organization with goals of making snow sports less expensive and more available to all ski and snowboard enthusiasts.

The webinar is especially useful for off-piste skiers and snowboarders, and deals with issues like avoiding avalanche danger. For those who are unfamiliar with the sport, off-piste skiing/snowboarding takes place on snow that has not already been compacted by other skiers and snowboarders. In unfamiliar territory, the risks are very real.

Photo by kentgoldman

The Off Piste Ski Guide recommends first-timers take a guide along for the ride and never ski or snowboard alone. Other general tips include: checking the weather forecast beforehand, checking for avalanche warnings, bringing collapsible shovels, bringing a transceiver in addition to a cell phone, and staying aware of surroundings and conditions..

Hosted by HAT’s Henry Schniewind, the online discussion will offer more in-depth information regarding skiing and snowboarding safety, while allowing the opportunity for viewers to ask questions and speak with Schniewind himself.

The webinar costs £7, and registrants can view the discussion online for seven days after the talk takes place. To register, wander over to HAT’s Live Webinar page.

Community Connection

Get some tips on how to survive an avalanche from Traveler’s Notebook.