By Michael Freedman
Online Exclusive
Last month, the top executives of the major sports leagues, sports licensing and marketing representatives and attorneys, manufacturers and retailers gathered at the second annual Sports Licensing Summit to discuss last year and ideas for the future. The event, which took place on June 18 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City, was produced by the National Sports Marketing Network.
The opening speaker was Tom Cove, the president and CEO of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), who shared statistics with regard to the state of sports licensing and overall sports participation in the USA.
Retail sales of licensed sports products (team, league logos) in 2006 reached an all-time high of $13.9 billion. Much of the growth is credited to an improved retail distribution system featuring new software that allows for better inventory management. Numbers show that the Hispanic and Asian-American markets are those showing the greatest growth and growth potential.
As for licensed-product sales, the NFL remains the unquestioned leader at $3.25 billion.
Following are Major League Baseball ($3.20 billion), college basketball and football ($3 billion), the NBA ($2.20 billion), NASCAR ($1.30 billion) and the NHL ($ 0.75 billion).
The real power of the NFL is reflected in the top fan avidity categories. In 2006, 32 million fans identified themselves as avid NFL fans with college football second at just about 23 million.
Major League Baseball comes in at 19.6 million with college basketball closing in at 15.8 million.
From there in descending order of fan interest are NASCAR (15.1 million), NBA (14.3 million), figure skating (13.1 million), extreme sports (11.4 million), boxing (10.2 million), PGA (10 million) and the NHL (6.5 million).
SGMA has also predicted the hottest growth sports for 2007 and beyond. Lacrosse is by far the fasting growing sport, increasing in interest and participation by 31 percent. Following in descending order are walking for fitness, aerobic training, soccer, yoga/pilates, running, fitness cycling, football, basketball, golf, strength conditioning and skateboarding. Interestingly enough, baseball is not listed as having any “plus” potential.
Gene Goldberg, the vice president of consumer products for the NFL, was one of the panel speakers. He indicated that “everything NFL” is up. The league has new retail partners including Target’s Tailgating Section, e-commerce is “through the roof,” and the Madden game sold 8 million units in 2006. Although the NBA, NFL and NASCAR have their own retail stores, Goldberg said the NFL “doesn’t feel the need to be in retail.” It’s nice to be No. 1.
The NBA and the NHL, unlike the NFL, are aggressively looking to expand their market share. The NBA just completed a private label deal with Wal-Mart with merchandise that would “compliment their other product lines rather than compete.”
Blake Davidson, the managing director of NASCAR products, described the excitement surrounding the opening of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte and their partnership with Sprint. He also said that NASCAR’s commitment to the infant apparel market is representative of the family approach to their sport.
Don Garber, the commissioner of Major League Soccer, continued to document the growth of the MLS and soccer in the country’s sports environment. Besides David Beckham coming to the L.A. Galaxy, the huge success in Toronto and the plans to add teams in Vancouver, Portland and San Diego, the big news was about the New York Mets plan to explore building a soccer-only stadium to house a second New York MLS team.
Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, gave the keynote address. Hockey continues to enjoy great popularity among its fans -- more than a half of NHL teams played to 90-percent capacity last season. As the growth of non-American players continues to be a factor both in competition and international marketing internationally, Bettman pointed out that one-third of NHL players are not from North America.
Digital licensing and fantasy baseball go hand in hand. And Clay Walker of Fantasy Sports Ventures described a recent court case in St. Louis that attracted considerable attention.
Baseball’s digital arm, Baseball Advanced Media (BAM), sued a company that was dispensing baseball statistics, claiming that players’ names and the stats being provided to the fantasy players were protected rights owned by the licensor, Major League Baseball and BAM. They lost, so the stats used in fantasy leagues seems safe for now.
Baltimore-based UnderArmour was represented by Bill Kraus, the senior vice president of sports marketing, on a panel discussing the challenges of retail. Kraus discussed the manner in which UnderArmour is expanding their football brand to include cleats and shoes. The effect that technology has in manufacturing better performance products and boosting sales price is being referred to in the market place as the “UnderArmour effect.”
PGA Tour Vice President of Marketing, Leo McCullagh, discussed the PGA Super Stores, opening throughout the South and Southwest, which will include more than 63,000 square feet of retail including a full-size tennis court.
Finally, every year seems to bring new phrases to the licensing/marketing world. My favorites were: “connectivity” as in “there must be a connectivity with fans;” “irrational exuberance,” as in describing Toronto’s reaction to their new MLS team; “disintermediation,” meaning to cut out the middleman and go right to the customer base; and for all digital marketing, the goal is to “generate eyeballs.”
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Intel boosts Extreme range
David Meyer ZDNet UK
Published: 17 Jul 2007
Intel has boosted its Core 2 Extreme processor lineup with new quad-core processors for desktop PCs and the first Extreme-branded laptop CPU.
The chipmaker announced on Monday that its new flagship desktop processor would be the Core 2 Extreme QX6850 ($999; £488), which is clocked at 3.0GHz and sports a 1333MHz system bus speed. The QX6850 is being pitched particularly at game developers, as the CPU can dedicate one core to physics, the second to rendering, the third to game logic and the fourth to miscellaneous tasks.
Also announced was another quad-core processor, the Core 2 Quad Q6700 ($530; £259) — clocked at 2.66GHz and with a system bus speed of 1066MHz — and several new dual-core processors boasting the new 1333MHz bus speed.
What was a first was the announcement of a mobile processor bearing Intel's Extreme branding, the Core 2 Extreme X7800 ($851; £416). Residing at the top end of Intel's notebook-oriented processor lineup, the X7800 is clocked at 2.6GHz and features an 800MHz front-side bus. This chip is aimed at "experienced enthusiasts who desire more capability" by virtue of the fact that its chip overspeed protection has been removed, thus making overclocking easier.
According to Intel, the X7800 has a 28 percent performance increase over the Core Duo T2600, which was Intel's top-end mobile processor a year ago, when dual-core processors became available for notebooks. "Laptops are the fastest-growing computing market segment, and there is increasing demand from those who crave the ultimate in video, gaming and design computing performance yet want the freedom and flexibility that a laptop brings," said Mooly Eden, Intel vice president and general manager of mobile platforms, on Monday.
Published: 17 Jul 2007
Intel has boosted its Core 2 Extreme processor lineup with new quad-core processors for desktop PCs and the first Extreme-branded laptop CPU.
The chipmaker announced on Monday that its new flagship desktop processor would be the Core 2 Extreme QX6850 ($999; £488), which is clocked at 3.0GHz and sports a 1333MHz system bus speed. The QX6850 is being pitched particularly at game developers, as the CPU can dedicate one core to physics, the second to rendering, the third to game logic and the fourth to miscellaneous tasks.
Also announced was another quad-core processor, the Core 2 Quad Q6700 ($530; £259) — clocked at 2.66GHz and with a system bus speed of 1066MHz — and several new dual-core processors boasting the new 1333MHz bus speed.
What was a first was the announcement of a mobile processor bearing Intel's Extreme branding, the Core 2 Extreme X7800 ($851; £416). Residing at the top end of Intel's notebook-oriented processor lineup, the X7800 is clocked at 2.6GHz and features an 800MHz front-side bus. This chip is aimed at "experienced enthusiasts who desire more capability" by virtue of the fact that its chip overspeed protection has been removed, thus making overclocking easier.
According to Intel, the X7800 has a 28 percent performance increase over the Core Duo T2600, which was Intel's top-end mobile processor a year ago, when dual-core processors became available for notebooks. "Laptops are the fastest-growing computing market segment, and there is increasing demand from those who crave the ultimate in video, gaming and design computing performance yet want the freedom and flexibility that a laptop brings," said Mooly Eden, Intel vice president and general manager of mobile platforms, on Monday.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Evesham Laptop Sports 8700 GT
Author
Hugo Jobling
Published
16th July 2007
While phrases like “luxurious carbon dash” and “eye-catching orange trim” may be more at home in Top Gear than on TrustedReviews, that was the first thing that came to mind upon seeing the images of Evesham’s latest notebook. Of course it must be said that, initial boy-racer impressions aside, the new Zieo NX600-HD does look rather good with in striking TR colours.
Inside things look equally promising with a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 2GB of 667MHz DDR2, a 120GB SATA hard-drive and an nVidia 8700M GT with 512MB of dedicated memory which should lend itself to a bit of gaming on-the-go. This is rounded off with Santa Rosa specified (though rarely present) Draft-N wireless. Explaining the HD suffix to the notebook's name is a full-HD capable 17in WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200 pixel) screen with an integrated 1.3 megapixel camera.
Weighing in at a hefty 3.95Kg and measuring 397mm x 284mm x 44mm, the Zieo NX600-HD is quoted as managing two hours of operation from its 8-cell battery. Finally, Evesham include a 3-year ‘Gold’ (read: parts and labour) warranty as standard.
And how much will you expect to pay for all this technology? Well the standard spec is available for £1,399 inc. VAT, but for those who want or have to go one better Evesham also offer an ’extreme’ upgrade pack costing a further £200, which gives you a 2.4GHz T7700 processor and 160GB hard-drive.
Hugo Jobling
Published
16th July 2007
While phrases like “luxurious carbon dash” and “eye-catching orange trim” may be more at home in Top Gear than on TrustedReviews, that was the first thing that came to mind upon seeing the images of Evesham’s latest notebook. Of course it must be said that, initial boy-racer impressions aside, the new Zieo NX600-HD does look rather good with in striking TR colours.
Inside things look equally promising with a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, 2GB of 667MHz DDR2, a 120GB SATA hard-drive and an nVidia 8700M GT with 512MB of dedicated memory which should lend itself to a bit of gaming on-the-go. This is rounded off with Santa Rosa specified (though rarely present) Draft-N wireless. Explaining the HD suffix to the notebook's name is a full-HD capable 17in WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200 pixel) screen with an integrated 1.3 megapixel camera.
Weighing in at a hefty 3.95Kg and measuring 397mm x 284mm x 44mm, the Zieo NX600-HD is quoted as managing two hours of operation from its 8-cell battery. Finally, Evesham include a 3-year ‘Gold’ (read: parts and labour) warranty as standard.
And how much will you expect to pay for all this technology? Well the standard spec is available for £1,399 inc. VAT, but for those who want or have to go one better Evesham also offer an ’extreme’ upgrade pack costing a further £200, which gives you a 2.4GHz T7700 processor and 160GB hard-drive.
Monday, July 16, 2007
SPORTS - Extreme offers fan bus to Saturday's Rock River playoff game
As the Bloomington Extreme head into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, Extreme fans can make the road trip to Rockford to watch the Extreme take on Rock River this Saturday.
Bloomington General Manager Jerry McBurney tells WJBC’s Steve Fast, a fan bus will leave the coliseum at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and head up for the 7:05 kickoff. McBurney says he hope the Extreme can transport its large fan base in Bloomingon up north.
Bloomington General Manager Jerry McBurney tells WJBC’s Steve Fast, a fan bus will leave the coliseum at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and head up for the 7:05 kickoff. McBurney says he hope the Extreme can transport its large fan base in Bloomingon up north.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Extreme outdoors
Orienteering, wakeboarding, climbing, bouldering and rigorous day hiking are among the extreme sports that are growing in popularity in the Ozarks.
It seems that every generation improves upon inventions and skills of the last generation. This is also true in the world of outdoor sports.
Water skiing spawned wakeboarding. Skateboarding produced wakeskating.
Hiking got notched up a level with extreme hiking and running cross-country became more of a mind game with the advent of orienteering.
Rock climbing produced a side sport — bouldering — and also moved inside, providing a training challenge to those who love the sport.
Just because the sport is labeled extreme — or Xtreme — it doesn't mean it's meant only for the young and fearless, though. Here's a look at some of the extreme sports and where you can do them in the area.
Wakeboarding
Wakeboarding is the fastest-growing surface water sport in the country. In fact, Missouri hosts the largest wakeboarding competition in the Midwest every June at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Wakeboarders rely on a boat to pull them through the water, but combine elements from water skiing, snowboarding and surfing techniques in their performance. Towlines are made of non-stretchy rope materials. Boards contain stationary non-release bindings for each foot and also have fins underneath that allow wakeboarders to jump and perform tricks. Wakeboards differ from snowboards because a wakeboard's edges are widest in the middle, whereas a snowboard's edges taper in toward the center. A wakeboard sports a concave shape, known as its rocker. Rocker designs vary, and affect the pop off the wake, landings and maneuvers.
Rich Crum, retail manager at the Ski Shack in Springfield, has been wakeboarding for 12 years. He says the Ski Shack locations near Table Rock Lake — at Kimberling City and Indian Point — offer private lessons at $50 per hour if you use your own boat, and $120 per hour for rental of one of their boats.
"We teach edging techniques that teach the rider to turn and cut. Once they get comfortable with that, we'll teach a one-wake jump, or as you're cutting outside of the wake, pop off the inside and land outside of the wake," Crum says.
"Really, the basis of doing all wakeboard tricks is being able to take your jump wake-to-wake. Once we get people comfortable with either a heel-side cut or toe-side cut or opposite, we'll start teaching them tricks."
Ski Shack also offers a demo program that allows wakeboarder wannabes to try out boards before they buy them.
Crum recommends Cow Creek, Mill Creek and Indian Point Cove for wakeboarding at Table Rock Lake.
The Summerfest Wakeboard Competition will be held July 14-15 at Lake of the Ozarks State Park Public Beach No. 1. This competition will attract several of the nation's top wakeboarding competitors.
For those who prefer to stay unattached from their boards, wakeskating on the water is gaining popularity, too.
"It's a similar design to a wakeboard but has either a foam top or grip top like a skateboard," Crum says. "You can take your kick flips, body burials or shove its out there on the lake."
Day hiking
For those who prefer dry land, there's always extreme hiking. The definition of an extreme day hike is generally that it is a grueling hike that lasts at least eight hours.
Although most extreme hikes take a traveler to an elevation of at least 4,000 feet and on a course of at least 14 miles, hikers in the Ozarks will never reach those heights. One of Missouri's most extreme hiking trails, Taum Sauk Mountain, is now mostly destroyed, thanks to this year's ice storm and a flood in December 2005. Much of the park is closed for redevelopment.
Janet Price, a naturalist at Johnson's Shut-Ins, recommends the Bell Mountain Wilderness as an alternative hike in the St. Francois Mountain area for those who like rugged terrain.
"It's a pretty good climb. It's steep, it's rugged — and similar to rhyolite rock that runs through the Shut-Ins here," Price says.
The Bell Mountain Wilderness is part of the Mark Twain National Forest and contains a portion of the Ozark Trail, which has 550 miles completed. The trail will stretch from St. Louis to Arkansas and eventually connect to the Ozark Highlands Trail.
With more than 9,000 acres of wilderness filled with granite glades, creeks, steep slopes, a vertical rise to 1,700 feet and rocks, rocks and more rocks, this area is for experienced hikers who pack in their own water. The hike is 14 miles long, and primitive camping is allowed. Groups are limited to 10 people per party.
The trail is located near Potosi.
Orienteering
So you want to be an extreme hiker in fast motion for time? Try orienteering, a running sport that necessitates using a map and a compass. Runners hoof it through the countryside using a magnetic compass to navigate through wooded terrain and visit control points on a topographic map, which is not distributed until the start of the race.
The Ozarks MultiSport Club offers orienteering races and seminars throughout the year, including fall and spring races in the woods and a winter urban orienteering race in the city.
Eric Johnson, health and fitness supervisor at the Springfield-Greene County Parks and Recreation Department, recommends attending a seminar for those wanting to learn how to orienteer.
Johnson says urban orienteering is "an easier version" of orienteering, and takes place in city limits, as opposed to in the wooded countryside.
Ozark Greenways holds an annual Mark Twain Forest Adventure Race to raise funds to build and preserve trails. The eight to 12 hour event tasks competitors in several activities, including running, canoeing, biking and orienteering. This year's race, held in May, attracted 54 teams.
Bouldering
What's an extreme outdoor activity that is like rock climbing, but done without a rope? It's bouldering, and although you can find a few boulders in Missouri, bouldering really rocks in Arkansas.
Whereas traditional rock climbing focuses on endurance, bouldering requires power and strength in short move sequences.
Called "problems," boulder routes usually range from eight to 20 feet and require the boulderer to constantly assess his moves.
"Bouldering is taking an 80-foot climb and condensing it down to 15-20 feet," says Tom Lampe, who works at Petra Rock Climbing Gym in Springfield.
One reason that bouldering appeals to extremists is that it requires few accessories. You need chalk and a chalk bag, climbing shoes, a small brush to clean crevices and surfaces of the rock, and a crash pad — a thick pad that lies on the ground near the boulder you're climbing. Lampe also recommends taking a partner with you to act as a spotter.
Lampe says the bouldering is good at Elephant Rocks State Park in Missouri, but that's it. No permits are required.
Fellow climber Matt Lyons agrees with Lampe.
"The rock here is a fragmented limestone due to our karst topography. It is flaky and dangerous. Breaking holds is very common," Lyons says.
Lampe and Lyons recommend heading to northern Arkansas to boulder.
"I would go to Northern Arkansas in the Boston Mountains or Ouachita Mountains. There you can find very solid Atoka sandstone," Lyons says. "Two hours south near Jasper, Ark., there is a great place for beginners and experienced climbers alike called Horseshoe Canyon Ranch."
Lyons recommends a book, "Horseshoe Guidebook," written by Springfield native Tom Hancock.
Rock climbing
An oldie, but goodie of the extreme sports, rock climbing looms as one of the country's most popular gutsy sports.
It is also one of the most popular sports featured in television advertisements — hawking everything from sports drinks to SUVs — and touting a lifestyle that is adventurous and free.
Lyons recommends starting indoors, called recreational rock climbing, before heading outdoors to climb rocks — aka sport rock climbing.
"It is a controlled environment in which a person can learn the climbing fundamentals," Lyons says. "(Indoors) is also a great place to train locally since we have no great rock in town."
Local climber Clay Frisbee, owner of Petra Rock Climbing Gym in Springfield, agrees with Lyons about learning the basics indoors. Frisbee has been climbing for more than 20 years.
He says Petra will not only get interested climbers ready to go, they arrange for trips to northern Arkansas for organized climbing events — usually involving a weekend and including a clean-up-the-environment event, too.
When heading outside, be sure to check for permission to climb wherever you go.
Lyons also recommends northern Arkansas for climbing — either Sam's Throne, on public land, or privately owned Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, where it costs $5 per day.
It seems that every generation improves upon inventions and skills of the last generation. This is also true in the world of outdoor sports.
Water skiing spawned wakeboarding. Skateboarding produced wakeskating.
Hiking got notched up a level with extreme hiking and running cross-country became more of a mind game with the advent of orienteering.
Rock climbing produced a side sport — bouldering — and also moved inside, providing a training challenge to those who love the sport.
Just because the sport is labeled extreme — or Xtreme — it doesn't mean it's meant only for the young and fearless, though. Here's a look at some of the extreme sports and where you can do them in the area.
Wakeboarding
Wakeboarding is the fastest-growing surface water sport in the country. In fact, Missouri hosts the largest wakeboarding competition in the Midwest every June at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Wakeboarders rely on a boat to pull them through the water, but combine elements from water skiing, snowboarding and surfing techniques in their performance. Towlines are made of non-stretchy rope materials. Boards contain stationary non-release bindings for each foot and also have fins underneath that allow wakeboarders to jump and perform tricks. Wakeboards differ from snowboards because a wakeboard's edges are widest in the middle, whereas a snowboard's edges taper in toward the center. A wakeboard sports a concave shape, known as its rocker. Rocker designs vary, and affect the pop off the wake, landings and maneuvers.
Rich Crum, retail manager at the Ski Shack in Springfield, has been wakeboarding for 12 years. He says the Ski Shack locations near Table Rock Lake — at Kimberling City and Indian Point — offer private lessons at $50 per hour if you use your own boat, and $120 per hour for rental of one of their boats.
"We teach edging techniques that teach the rider to turn and cut. Once they get comfortable with that, we'll teach a one-wake jump, or as you're cutting outside of the wake, pop off the inside and land outside of the wake," Crum says.
"Really, the basis of doing all wakeboard tricks is being able to take your jump wake-to-wake. Once we get people comfortable with either a heel-side cut or toe-side cut or opposite, we'll start teaching them tricks."
Ski Shack also offers a demo program that allows wakeboarder wannabes to try out boards before they buy them.
Crum recommends Cow Creek, Mill Creek and Indian Point Cove for wakeboarding at Table Rock Lake.
The Summerfest Wakeboard Competition will be held July 14-15 at Lake of the Ozarks State Park Public Beach No. 1. This competition will attract several of the nation's top wakeboarding competitors.
For those who prefer to stay unattached from their boards, wakeskating on the water is gaining popularity, too.
"It's a similar design to a wakeboard but has either a foam top or grip top like a skateboard," Crum says. "You can take your kick flips, body burials or shove its out there on the lake."
Day hiking
For those who prefer dry land, there's always extreme hiking. The definition of an extreme day hike is generally that it is a grueling hike that lasts at least eight hours.
Although most extreme hikes take a traveler to an elevation of at least 4,000 feet and on a course of at least 14 miles, hikers in the Ozarks will never reach those heights. One of Missouri's most extreme hiking trails, Taum Sauk Mountain, is now mostly destroyed, thanks to this year's ice storm and a flood in December 2005. Much of the park is closed for redevelopment.
Janet Price, a naturalist at Johnson's Shut-Ins, recommends the Bell Mountain Wilderness as an alternative hike in the St. Francois Mountain area for those who like rugged terrain.
"It's a pretty good climb. It's steep, it's rugged — and similar to rhyolite rock that runs through the Shut-Ins here," Price says.
The Bell Mountain Wilderness is part of the Mark Twain National Forest and contains a portion of the Ozark Trail, which has 550 miles completed. The trail will stretch from St. Louis to Arkansas and eventually connect to the Ozark Highlands Trail.
With more than 9,000 acres of wilderness filled with granite glades, creeks, steep slopes, a vertical rise to 1,700 feet and rocks, rocks and more rocks, this area is for experienced hikers who pack in their own water. The hike is 14 miles long, and primitive camping is allowed. Groups are limited to 10 people per party.
The trail is located near Potosi.
Orienteering
So you want to be an extreme hiker in fast motion for time? Try orienteering, a running sport that necessitates using a map and a compass. Runners hoof it through the countryside using a magnetic compass to navigate through wooded terrain and visit control points on a topographic map, which is not distributed until the start of the race.
The Ozarks MultiSport Club offers orienteering races and seminars throughout the year, including fall and spring races in the woods and a winter urban orienteering race in the city.
Eric Johnson, health and fitness supervisor at the Springfield-Greene County Parks and Recreation Department, recommends attending a seminar for those wanting to learn how to orienteer.
Johnson says urban orienteering is "an easier version" of orienteering, and takes place in city limits, as opposed to in the wooded countryside.
Ozark Greenways holds an annual Mark Twain Forest Adventure Race to raise funds to build and preserve trails. The eight to 12 hour event tasks competitors in several activities, including running, canoeing, biking and orienteering. This year's race, held in May, attracted 54 teams.
Bouldering
What's an extreme outdoor activity that is like rock climbing, but done without a rope? It's bouldering, and although you can find a few boulders in Missouri, bouldering really rocks in Arkansas.
Whereas traditional rock climbing focuses on endurance, bouldering requires power and strength in short move sequences.
Called "problems," boulder routes usually range from eight to 20 feet and require the boulderer to constantly assess his moves.
"Bouldering is taking an 80-foot climb and condensing it down to 15-20 feet," says Tom Lampe, who works at Petra Rock Climbing Gym in Springfield.
One reason that bouldering appeals to extremists is that it requires few accessories. You need chalk and a chalk bag, climbing shoes, a small brush to clean crevices and surfaces of the rock, and a crash pad — a thick pad that lies on the ground near the boulder you're climbing. Lampe also recommends taking a partner with you to act as a spotter.
Lampe says the bouldering is good at Elephant Rocks State Park in Missouri, but that's it. No permits are required.
Fellow climber Matt Lyons agrees with Lampe.
"The rock here is a fragmented limestone due to our karst topography. It is flaky and dangerous. Breaking holds is very common," Lyons says.
Lampe and Lyons recommend heading to northern Arkansas to boulder.
"I would go to Northern Arkansas in the Boston Mountains or Ouachita Mountains. There you can find very solid Atoka sandstone," Lyons says. "Two hours south near Jasper, Ark., there is a great place for beginners and experienced climbers alike called Horseshoe Canyon Ranch."
Lyons recommends a book, "Horseshoe Guidebook," written by Springfield native Tom Hancock.
Rock climbing
An oldie, but goodie of the extreme sports, rock climbing looms as one of the country's most popular gutsy sports.
It is also one of the most popular sports featured in television advertisements — hawking everything from sports drinks to SUVs — and touting a lifestyle that is adventurous and free.
Lyons recommends starting indoors, called recreational rock climbing, before heading outdoors to climb rocks — aka sport rock climbing.
"It is a controlled environment in which a person can learn the climbing fundamentals," Lyons says. "(Indoors) is also a great place to train locally since we have no great rock in town."
Local climber Clay Frisbee, owner of Petra Rock Climbing Gym in Springfield, agrees with Lyons about learning the basics indoors. Frisbee has been climbing for more than 20 years.
He says Petra will not only get interested climbers ready to go, they arrange for trips to northern Arkansas for organized climbing events — usually involving a weekend and including a clean-up-the-environment event, too.
When heading outside, be sure to check for permission to climb wherever you go.
Lyons also recommends northern Arkansas for climbing — either Sam's Throne, on public land, or privately owned Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, where it costs $5 per day.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Low-risk policies for high-risk holidays
Laura Howard finds the best insurance cover for those who like to mix in extreme sports with their holiday
If your idea of a fulfilling holiday does not involve a strawberry daiquiri, trashy novel and a sunbed, you may need to take another look at your travel insurance cover before setting off.
According to recent research from price comparison website moneysupermarket.com, almost half of British holidaymakers have impulsively signed up for an extreme sporting activity whilst abroad - with parasailing, white-water rafting and bungee jumping among the most popular.
But although financial services may be the last thing on your mind as you hurtle through the air at unnatural speeds, it's important to remember that the vast majority of insurers, including Marks & Spencer, the Post Office and Norwich Union exclude dangerous sports from their travel policies.
Article continues
If your idea of a fulfilling holiday does not involve a strawberry daiquiri, trashy novel and a sunbed, you may need to take another look at your travel insurance cover before setting off.
According to recent research from price comparison website moneysupermarket.com, almost half of British holidaymakers have impulsively signed up for an extreme sporting activity whilst abroad - with parasailing, white-water rafting and bungee jumping among the most popular.
But although financial services may be the last thing on your mind as you hurtle through the air at unnatural speeds, it's important to remember that the vast majority of insurers, including Marks & Spencer, the Post Office and Norwich Union exclude dangerous sports from their travel policies.
Article continues
Monday, July 2, 2007
ExtremePie.com offers Discount on Cool Sporting Gear and Accessories
ExtremePie.com, Europe's largest leading online and mail-order retailer of sports style gear is currently offts.ering a 20% off on almost all of its product.
Date Released: 06/30/2007
Blandford Forum, June 29, 2007: ExtremePie.com, Europe's largest leading online and mail-order retailer of sports style gear is currently offering a 20% off on almost all of its products. Born in 2001, ExtremePie.com has always remained the ultimate destination for all those who are passionate about buying sports gear, extremely fashionable clothing, and fresh & edgy accessories online.
What’s more that all these products are offered at cracking prices direct at the doorstep. Apart from offering unmatchable customer service, ExtremePice.com, a part of the Extreme Group and Extreme Sports Channel, offers its buyer just what they look for.
Al Gosling, CEO of the Extreme Group and founder of the Extreme Sports Channel, shares the trade secret, “It is through the vision, drive and guidance of our people that we (Extreme Brand) have grown to be the massive success it is today. We perfectly understand the style requirements of our customers who are always on the lookout for big brands and discovering next big or small thing around the globe.” Whether you surf, skate, ski, or just love the lifestyle and vibe that surrounds these sports, ExtremePie.com has got just what you’re looking for.
Mixing it up with everything from boardshorts to bikinis, jackets to beanies, this leading online supplier of fashion clothing and accessories boasts the broadest range of both global and niche brands, from Quiksilver and Vans to Addict and Zoo York. “ExtremePie.com works because we’re all passionate about what we do; our staff skate, surf, and ride, and being a part of the Extreme Group, the guys that founded the Extreme Sports Channel, we’re in good company.” quips Al Gosling with a satisfied smile.
The success of ExtremePie and Extreme Group can be largely attributed to the endeavour, vision and managing skills of Al Gosling. An entrepreneur from the very beginning, Al's first business venture included selling board shorts out of the back of his old battered red Renault 5 while studying for his exams! It is not a surprise then why a person with such burning passion for success has take n Extreme Group to this level.
Log on to www.extremepie.com to available those discounts on your favourite outfits and sporting accessories and shop till you drop!!!
Date Released: 06/30/2007
Blandford Forum, June 29, 2007: ExtremePie.com, Europe's largest leading online and mail-order retailer of sports style gear is currently offering a 20% off on almost all of its products. Born in 2001, ExtremePie.com has always remained the ultimate destination for all those who are passionate about buying sports gear, extremely fashionable clothing, and fresh & edgy accessories online.
What’s more that all these products are offered at cracking prices direct at the doorstep. Apart from offering unmatchable customer service, ExtremePice.com, a part of the Extreme Group and Extreme Sports Channel, offers its buyer just what they look for.
Al Gosling, CEO of the Extreme Group and founder of the Extreme Sports Channel, shares the trade secret, “It is through the vision, drive and guidance of our people that we (Extreme Brand) have grown to be the massive success it is today. We perfectly understand the style requirements of our customers who are always on the lookout for big brands and discovering next big or small thing around the globe.” Whether you surf, skate, ski, or just love the lifestyle and vibe that surrounds these sports, ExtremePie.com has got just what you’re looking for.
Mixing it up with everything from boardshorts to bikinis, jackets to beanies, this leading online supplier of fashion clothing and accessories boasts the broadest range of both global and niche brands, from Quiksilver and Vans to Addict and Zoo York. “ExtremePie.com works because we’re all passionate about what we do; our staff skate, surf, and ride, and being a part of the Extreme Group, the guys that founded the Extreme Sports Channel, we’re in good company.” quips Al Gosling with a satisfied smile.
The success of ExtremePie and Extreme Group can be largely attributed to the endeavour, vision and managing skills of Al Gosling. An entrepreneur from the very beginning, Al's first business venture included selling board shorts out of the back of his old battered red Renault 5 while studying for his exams! It is not a surprise then why a person with such burning passion for success has take n Extreme Group to this level.
Log on to www.extremepie.com to available those discounts on your favourite outfits and sporting accessories and shop till you drop!!!
Sunday, July 1, 2007
A trick that extreme sport brands are missing
Extreme Sports brands are failing to embrace the digital age despite a strong correlation between their potential customer base and high internet usage, according to Sportsyndicator.
Extreme sports brands currently spend most of their budgets on print advertising, even though the circulation of specialist sports magazines is stagnating.
More sports enthusiasts are turning to the web to catch up on the latest news and information relevant to their sport as well as linking up with like-minded people in the community.
Sportsyndicator says that the best selling mountain biking print magazine titles have a circulation of around 80,000 worldwide each, but by aggregating mountain biking sites it could potentially reach 1.5 million unique online visitors worldwide within 24 hours of a campaign being set up.
Extreme sports brands currently spend most of their budgets on print advertising, even though the circulation of specialist sports magazines is stagnating.
More sports enthusiasts are turning to the web to catch up on the latest news and information relevant to their sport as well as linking up with like-minded people in the community.
Sportsyndicator says that the best selling mountain biking print magazine titles have a circulation of around 80,000 worldwide each, but by aggregating mountain biking sites it could potentially reach 1.5 million unique online visitors worldwide within 24 hours of a campaign being set up.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Oman Adventure 2007
The third Oman Adventure confirms its place as a key sports-nature-adventure eventThe third Oman Adventure will take place like every year in December, from 9 to 14, and will once again be held in an entirely different region. The Sultanate of Oman is a vast and varied country that could be the setting for innumerable races in open nature between its mountain summits that rise to 3,000 metres, its 1,700 kilometres of magnificent coastline, its deserts of all kinds and its wadis dotted with oases.
The formula of the race has not changed. The basic discipline is bike and run: one bike for two. All strategies are permitted, giving bike and run its full range of possibilities in Oman Adventure. Team spirit plays an essential role in the event. The little "tricks" to gain time are decisive. Moreover, two contestants with a mountain bike can go nearly everywhere. When it is not possible, on certain sections, the 4X4 takes over to carry the bikes and the contestants set out on foot, hiking down rivers (aquarando) or overland.
Oman Adventure is a very open competition. It attracts raiders, triathletes, trailers and marathon runners who prepare for the event by working on the direction-finding bases with GPS points provided in advance. The competition, as it should be in all races in which the spirit of adventure plays an important role, is open to all. The best produce astonishing averages but the runners-up also experience a competition adapted to their level thanks to the two rankings: Extreme and Adventure.
Everyone spends each night camping out in an unspoiled natural setting in an atmosphere that contestants say is unforgettable. Loyal to their principles, the GFC organisers are pulling out all the stops to ensure that this competition is financially affordable by the greatest number of contestants.
The fee for registering a team with GFC is 700 euros and the tour operator Sinbad-Voyages has prepared a complete package including the flights, the transfers, the hotel nights, the 4X4 backup with driver, the breakfasts and the dinners. GFC also ensures that the sponsors of teams get significant media coverage thanks to the large-scale production of images, with material sent out each day to all the televisions of the world, and thanks to its solid know-how in disseminating information on all the continents. Registrations are now open.
The places will be limited this year to forty teams for reasons of logistical infrastructures. Twelve teams have signed up, so there is no time to waste. A down payment of 200 euros enables the teams to book their place in the race.
The formula of the race has not changed. The basic discipline is bike and run: one bike for two. All strategies are permitted, giving bike and run its full range of possibilities in Oman Adventure. Team spirit plays an essential role in the event. The little "tricks" to gain time are decisive. Moreover, two contestants with a mountain bike can go nearly everywhere. When it is not possible, on certain sections, the 4X4 takes over to carry the bikes and the contestants set out on foot, hiking down rivers (aquarando) or overland.
Oman Adventure is a very open competition. It attracts raiders, triathletes, trailers and marathon runners who prepare for the event by working on the direction-finding bases with GPS points provided in advance. The competition, as it should be in all races in which the spirit of adventure plays an important role, is open to all. The best produce astonishing averages but the runners-up also experience a competition adapted to their level thanks to the two rankings: Extreme and Adventure.
Everyone spends each night camping out in an unspoiled natural setting in an atmosphere that contestants say is unforgettable. Loyal to their principles, the GFC organisers are pulling out all the stops to ensure that this competition is financially affordable by the greatest number of contestants.
The fee for registering a team with GFC is 700 euros and the tour operator Sinbad-Voyages has prepared a complete package including the flights, the transfers, the hotel nights, the 4X4 backup with driver, the breakfasts and the dinners. GFC also ensures that the sponsors of teams get significant media coverage thanks to the large-scale production of images, with material sent out each day to all the televisions of the world, and thanks to its solid know-how in disseminating information on all the continents. Registrations are now open.
The places will be limited this year to forty teams for reasons of logistical infrastructures. Twelve teams have signed up, so there is no time to waste. A down payment of 200 euros enables the teams to book their place in the race.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Dale Jr. Among Special Ticket Design Finalists Chosen for Daytona 500
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mario Andretti and comedian Jeff Foxworthy are among the 10 celebrity finalists in the competition to design the 50th anniversary Daytona 500 ticket.
To commemorate the milestone of NASCAR's most prestigious race on Feb. 17, 2008, Daytona International Speedway has created “Celebrity Tickets for Charity,” asking a long list of celebrities from sports, music, movies and TV to come up with a unique design.
A blue-ribbon panel made up of members of the NASCAR community will vote and the winning design will be announced July 7 at Daytona. All original celebrity artwork will be auctioned online to benefit The Jeff Gordon Foundation. . .
Besides 2004 Daytona winner Earnhardt, 1967 winner Andretti and Foxworthy, the finalists include 2007 winner Kevin Harvick, 1961 winner Marvin Panch, extreme sports star Tony Hawk, Fox Sports broadcaster Mike Joy, CMT TV host Katie Cook and two youngsters, 7-year-old Derek Wynne entering for 2006 winner Jimmie Johnson and 17-year-old Patrick McRae, entering for team owner Rick Hendrick. (More)
The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap, 500 mile (805 km) NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. In 2008, the race will celebrate its 50th running.
The Daytona 500 is widely regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar, carrying by far the largest purse.
Championship points awarded are equal to that of any other NEXTEL Cup race. It is also NASCAR's first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. Since 1995, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500.
The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers.
To commemorate the milestone of NASCAR's most prestigious race on Feb. 17, 2008, Daytona International Speedway has created “Celebrity Tickets for Charity,” asking a long list of celebrities from sports, music, movies and TV to come up with a unique design.
A blue-ribbon panel made up of members of the NASCAR community will vote and the winning design will be announced July 7 at Daytona. All original celebrity artwork will be auctioned online to benefit The Jeff Gordon Foundation. . .
Besides 2004 Daytona winner Earnhardt, 1967 winner Andretti and Foxworthy, the finalists include 2007 winner Kevin Harvick, 1961 winner Marvin Panch, extreme sports star Tony Hawk, Fox Sports broadcaster Mike Joy, CMT TV host Katie Cook and two youngsters, 7-year-old Derek Wynne entering for 2006 winner Jimmie Johnson and 17-year-old Patrick McRae, entering for team owner Rick Hendrick. (More)
The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap, 500 mile (805 km) NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. In 2008, the race will celebrate its 50th running.
The Daytona 500 is widely regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar, carrying by far the largest purse.
Championship points awarded are equal to that of any other NEXTEL Cup race. It is also NASCAR's first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. Since 1995, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500.
The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Extreme sports hero killed
A well known paraglider who had been taking part in acrobatics exhibitions in an El Hierro paragliding festival was killed last month after plunging sideways to the ground.
Stefan Oberlander, known to his friends as Obi, died while being transferred to a Tenerife hospital as a result of multiple injuries sustained in the fall 24 hours earlier over the spectacular Valle del Golfo.
Obi, 33, was part of the six man Ozone team, a group of professional athletes who specialize in aviation and freefall stunts for public audiences. The team also includes Spain’s Feliz RodrÃguez, current world champion of para acrobatics, and four Americans. The six had participated together for five years at events around the world with a perfect safety record.
Ironically, the festival was over and the team was set to move on to Tenerife to take place in the Los Realejos Flypa event. Obi decided, however, to go for one last flight over the valley before leaving because the weather was so perfect for flying. It was a fatal decision.
Stefan Oberlander, who had represented his country on numerous occasions, was a man dedicated to sport, but not just any sport. They had to be extreme. He was the first person to successfully base jump on a bike – in other words, ride a mountain bike over the edge of a 3,000 foot high cliff, parachute down, land on the bike and ride off again without putting a foot down.
Stefan Oberlander, known to his friends as Obi, died while being transferred to a Tenerife hospital as a result of multiple injuries sustained in the fall 24 hours earlier over the spectacular Valle del Golfo.
Obi, 33, was part of the six man Ozone team, a group of professional athletes who specialize in aviation and freefall stunts for public audiences. The team also includes Spain’s Feliz RodrÃguez, current world champion of para acrobatics, and four Americans. The six had participated together for five years at events around the world with a perfect safety record.
Ironically, the festival was over and the team was set to move on to Tenerife to take place in the Los Realejos Flypa event. Obi decided, however, to go for one last flight over the valley before leaving because the weather was so perfect for flying. It was a fatal decision.
Stefan Oberlander, who had represented his country on numerous occasions, was a man dedicated to sport, but not just any sport. They had to be extreme. He was the first person to successfully base jump on a bike – in other words, ride a mountain bike over the edge of a 3,000 foot high cliff, parachute down, land on the bike and ride off again without putting a foot down.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Waynesboro gets Xtreme
Event celebrates outdoor sports
By David Royer/staff
droyer@newsleader.com
WAYNESBORO — Joshua Phillips was a little leery stepping into a shaky kayak with his father on the lazy green water of the South River on Saturday.
A few minutes later, the bright-eyed second-grader climbed up the riverbank, smiling and ready to do it again.
"It's a boys' day out," Joshua said. "My mom's at work, and I just wanted to spend some time with my dad."
Joshua was one of more than 2,000 extreme sports fans and outdoor enthusiasts expected to visit Ridgeview Park for Xtremefest '07, a sun-loving sports celebration that has gained traction since the Waynesboro Parks and Recreation Department organized the first event last year.
While people piled into canoes and kayaks from Blue Ridge Mountain Sports and Rockfish Gap Outfitters on the river, five bicycle daredevils with the Keith King BMX Stunt Show soared above spectators with no-hands vertical ramp stunts. Awestruck children formed a line for autographs from their gravity-defying heroes.
The BMX stunts were a favorite activity for 8-year-old Cheyenne Wood. She didn't try any bike tricks herself, but she did almost make it to the top of a 25-foot vertical rock-climbing wall.
"I just wanted to give it a try," Cheyenne said.
Waynesboro's location on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains creates the perfect setting for outdoor activities, and Xtremefest is the perfect fit for the city's extreme-sports crowd, said Dwayne Jones, superintendent of parks and horticulture in Waynesboro.
"It's just perfect," Jones said. "All of these activities, you can do within 10 minutes of Waynesboro."
By David Royer/staff
droyer@newsleader.com
WAYNESBORO — Joshua Phillips was a little leery stepping into a shaky kayak with his father on the lazy green water of the South River on Saturday.
A few minutes later, the bright-eyed second-grader climbed up the riverbank, smiling and ready to do it again.
"It's a boys' day out," Joshua said. "My mom's at work, and I just wanted to spend some time with my dad."
Joshua was one of more than 2,000 extreme sports fans and outdoor enthusiasts expected to visit Ridgeview Park for Xtremefest '07, a sun-loving sports celebration that has gained traction since the Waynesboro Parks and Recreation Department organized the first event last year.
While people piled into canoes and kayaks from Blue Ridge Mountain Sports and Rockfish Gap Outfitters on the river, five bicycle daredevils with the Keith King BMX Stunt Show soared above spectators with no-hands vertical ramp stunts. Awestruck children formed a line for autographs from their gravity-defying heroes.
The BMX stunts were a favorite activity for 8-year-old Cheyenne Wood. She didn't try any bike tricks herself, but she did almost make it to the top of a 25-foot vertical rock-climbing wall.
"I just wanted to give it a try," Cheyenne said.
Waynesboro's location on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains creates the perfect setting for outdoor activities, and Xtremefest is the perfect fit for the city's extreme-sports crowd, said Dwayne Jones, superintendent of parks and horticulture in Waynesboro.
"It's just perfect," Jones said. "All of these activities, you can do within 10 minutes of Waynesboro."
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Fight Night Delivers A Knockout
SPRINGDALE -- Extreme Fight Night was an extreme success, said organizers of last weekend's event in All-Star Sports Arena.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, the event was a 10," Extreme Fight Night promoter Brandon Wilson said.Extreme Fighting, similar to that shown on Spike TV, combines boxing with martial arts.
It is wildly popular in the U.S. and its television rating are soaring past those of conventional sports like the NBA and NHL.
"The event was a great success, and we are already planning more fight nights for the future," All-Star Sports Arena's Will Holt said.
The night was kicked off by a performance from Fallen, which served as a warm-up for the main events.
The event was the first of its kind in Northwest Arkansas, but won't be the last. On June 23, All-Star Sports Arena will host a professional kickboxing event where a championship title belt will be on the line.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, the event was a 10," Extreme Fight Night promoter Brandon Wilson said.Extreme Fighting, similar to that shown on Spike TV, combines boxing with martial arts.
It is wildly popular in the U.S. and its television rating are soaring past those of conventional sports like the NBA and NHL.
"The event was a great success, and we are already planning more fight nights for the future," All-Star Sports Arena's Will Holt said.
The night was kicked off by a performance from Fallen, which served as a warm-up for the main events.
The event was the first of its kind in Northwest Arkansas, but won't be the last. On June 23, All-Star Sports Arena will host a professional kickboxing event where a championship title belt will be on the line.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Locals Compete In Labuan Kayak Challenge
By Rosli Abidin Yahya
Bandar Seri Begawan - Twelve national team kayakers left for Labuan yesterday morning to compete in the "Labuan-Brunei International Extreme Kayak Challenge" and "Labuan Round Island Kayak Challenge".
They include seasoned kayakers Ariffin Hj Zainal, Hassan Hj Zainal, Awg Mahmud and Saini Hj Hamid of Brunei National KayakAssociation who have won honours in past challenges.
The canoeists said they are confident of winning honours again this year. Last year, Brunei kayakers Were second and third in the "Labuan-Brunei International Extreme Kayak Challenge" race.
"We hope to emulate the feat by winning the race too this year," said Ariffin before his departure by boat to Labuan.
The kayakers will first compete in the two-day LabuanBrunei International Extreme Kayak Challenge from tomorrow, Friday.
The race is organised by Labuan Corporation and Brunei Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and co-organised by Labuan Backpacker's Association, Labuan Canoe Association and Brunei National Kayak Association.
The kayakers will start their race at Labuan International Sea Sports Complex (LISSC) tomorrow at 7 am.
The slowest kayaker is expected to arrive at Serasa by about 3 pin on Friday, after a gruelling maximum eight hours battling the challenging seas at Brunei Bay. On reaching the Serasa Water Sports Complex in Brunei Darussalam, they will rest for the day before continuing their race on Saturday, from Serasa back to LISSC to end their race.
Designed for the highly skilled kayaker, the race will be in a double format covering a distance of 92 km.
Participants will be provided with special-ocean going kayaks by the organisers. Kayakers finishing first to tenth will win a total of RM32,000 in cash prizes, medals, certificates and trophies.
The local kayakers will also take part in the Round Island Kayak Challenge on May 6, considered as one of the longest and toughest in Malaysia, with individuals and double categories.
The course is 50km long and runs along the perimeter shoreline of Labuan Island. Organised by Labuan Corporation and Labuan TourismAction Council, the race is a real test of skills and stamina of local participants including those from BIMP-EAGA region. Last year, canoeists from Brunei, Ariffin Hj Zainal and Hassan Hj Zainal, won the double event.
Kayakers who finish first to tenth will walk home with RM11, 400 in cash prizes, medals and certificates.-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
Bandar Seri Begawan - Twelve national team kayakers left for Labuan yesterday morning to compete in the "Labuan-Brunei International Extreme Kayak Challenge" and "Labuan Round Island Kayak Challenge".
They include seasoned kayakers Ariffin Hj Zainal, Hassan Hj Zainal, Awg Mahmud and Saini Hj Hamid of Brunei National KayakAssociation who have won honours in past challenges.
The canoeists said they are confident of winning honours again this year. Last year, Brunei kayakers Were second and third in the "Labuan-Brunei International Extreme Kayak Challenge" race.
"We hope to emulate the feat by winning the race too this year," said Ariffin before his departure by boat to Labuan.
The kayakers will first compete in the two-day LabuanBrunei International Extreme Kayak Challenge from tomorrow, Friday.
The race is organised by Labuan Corporation and Brunei Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and co-organised by Labuan Backpacker's Association, Labuan Canoe Association and Brunei National Kayak Association.
The kayakers will start their race at Labuan International Sea Sports Complex (LISSC) tomorrow at 7 am.
The slowest kayaker is expected to arrive at Serasa by about 3 pin on Friday, after a gruelling maximum eight hours battling the challenging seas at Brunei Bay. On reaching the Serasa Water Sports Complex in Brunei Darussalam, they will rest for the day before continuing their race on Saturday, from Serasa back to LISSC to end their race.
Designed for the highly skilled kayaker, the race will be in a double format covering a distance of 92 km.
Participants will be provided with special-ocean going kayaks by the organisers. Kayakers finishing first to tenth will win a total of RM32,000 in cash prizes, medals, certificates and trophies.
The local kayakers will also take part in the Round Island Kayak Challenge on May 6, considered as one of the longest and toughest in Malaysia, with individuals and double categories.
The course is 50km long and runs along the perimeter shoreline of Labuan Island. Organised by Labuan Corporation and Labuan TourismAction Council, the race is a real test of skills and stamina of local participants including those from BIMP-EAGA region. Last year, canoeists from Brunei, Ariffin Hj Zainal and Hassan Hj Zainal, won the double event.
Kayakers who finish first to tenth will walk home with RM11, 400 in cash prizes, medals and certificates.-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
Thursday, May 3, 2007
The Daredevils get close to Jesus
Two wing-suit pilots have taken the term "getting closer to God" to an extreme new level.
After leaping out of a hovering helicopter, extreme sports enthusiasts Luigi Cani and Jeb Corliss pulled off an astonishing stunt that might have left onlookers on Rio de Janeiro's towering Christ the Redeemer statue believing they had seen some sort of religious apparition.
Cani and Corliss hurtled at speeds of about 150kmh towards the famous 38-metre high monument.
Footage of their stunt, which was sponsored by a sports beverage company, shows one of the daredevils shooting well in front of the statue before safely deploying his parachute.
Amazingly, the second jumper can be seen flying at break-neck speed beneath the right arm of the statue, missing it by just a few metres.
Cani, a world champion canopy pilot from Brazil, and Corliss, an experienced US BASE-jumper, who is reportedly being sued for attempting to jump from the Empire State Building, eventually landed safely in Rio.
"This was the most exhilarating flight I've ever experienced," Cani said.
"It was almost miraculous ... I truly felt a greater power was watching over me.
"I am hoping that the imagery captured during this flight will convey the sense of freedom, emotion and awareness of everything around you, especially when you only have control over certain elements in life."
Australian BASE-jumper and wing-suit adventurer Dr Glenn Singleman told smh.com.au he was very impressed by the pair's precision flying.
"Holy cow! Whoa! Wow! That's amazing," he exclaimed while watching footage of it today.
Singleman last year recorded the highest BASE-jump in history when he and his wife, Heather Swan, launched themselves in wing suits off a 6604-metre high precipice on Meru Peak in northern India.
He said that, although Cani and Corliss's stunt looked dangerous, the wing suits they were wearing would have allowed them to control their trajectory and speed.
"It seems incredibly dangerous but you have a very good idea of the angle that you are flying and you can see that he kind of pushed it deliberately.
"The suit is high performance enough that they can fly clean over [the statue] without any problems. At any time if there was a problem they could have easily got out of it."
He said the pair would have zoomed past the statue so quickly that onlookers would hardly have had time to realise that humans were flying past.
"Unless [the onlookers] knew what to look for, they just would have heard a sound. [The pair] would have gone past the statue at easily 150kmh ... It's an amazing noise, just like a huge falcon sweeping [down]."
He said he and Swan would love to do the statue jump themselves.
After leaping out of a hovering helicopter, extreme sports enthusiasts Luigi Cani and Jeb Corliss pulled off an astonishing stunt that might have left onlookers on Rio de Janeiro's towering Christ the Redeemer statue believing they had seen some sort of religious apparition.
Cani and Corliss hurtled at speeds of about 150kmh towards the famous 38-metre high monument.
Footage of their stunt, which was sponsored by a sports beverage company, shows one of the daredevils shooting well in front of the statue before safely deploying his parachute.
Amazingly, the second jumper can be seen flying at break-neck speed beneath the right arm of the statue, missing it by just a few metres.
Cani, a world champion canopy pilot from Brazil, and Corliss, an experienced US BASE-jumper, who is reportedly being sued for attempting to jump from the Empire State Building, eventually landed safely in Rio.
"This was the most exhilarating flight I've ever experienced," Cani said.
"It was almost miraculous ... I truly felt a greater power was watching over me.
"I am hoping that the imagery captured during this flight will convey the sense of freedom, emotion and awareness of everything around you, especially when you only have control over certain elements in life."
Australian BASE-jumper and wing-suit adventurer Dr Glenn Singleman told smh.com.au he was very impressed by the pair's precision flying.
"Holy cow! Whoa! Wow! That's amazing," he exclaimed while watching footage of it today.
Singleman last year recorded the highest BASE-jump in history when he and his wife, Heather Swan, launched themselves in wing suits off a 6604-metre high precipice on Meru Peak in northern India.
He said that, although Cani and Corliss's stunt looked dangerous, the wing suits they were wearing would have allowed them to control their trajectory and speed.
"It seems incredibly dangerous but you have a very good idea of the angle that you are flying and you can see that he kind of pushed it deliberately.
"The suit is high performance enough that they can fly clean over [the statue] without any problems. At any time if there was a problem they could have easily got out of it."
He said the pair would have zoomed past the statue so quickly that onlookers would hardly have had time to realise that humans were flying past.
"Unless [the onlookers] knew what to look for, they just would have heard a sound. [The pair] would have gone past the statue at easily 150kmh ... It's an amazing noise, just like a huge falcon sweeping [down]."
He said he and Swan would love to do the statue jump themselves.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Smoking Not The Only Evil
Most people have the ability to look at things and circumstances in an objective manner. Quite often, one must reach a personal conclusion that is best arrived at by taking a step back and trying to analyze the issue in question as objectively as possible. This is probably especially true of matters related to political and social issues, particularly those that tend to leave people quite emotional and, thus, irrational. The issue of banning smoking is such an emotional topic among those who oppose smoking in public places and those who enjoy their sinful vice. Arguments have been brought forth by either side, and either side has fed the public constructive arguments, but also a lot of nonsense. In Alberta, Canada, the debate about smoking bans is currently hotter than ever, with the provincial government gunning for smokers wherever it can find them. That smoking is unhealthy is beyond debate. But is smoking really the big problem that so many opponents make it out to be?
Smoking kills a lot of people around the world. Cigarette packs sold in Canada come with a statistical chart showing that tens of thousands of people in Canada die from smoking every year. Most smokers would very much like to kick the filthy habit, but only few accomplish it. They know about the health risks, yet their addiction is too strong and each time they try to stop, they soon find themselves lighting up another cigarette again. In a country like Canada, where people’s health-care costs are shouldered by the public system, i.e., the taxpayers, smoking-related health problems do not only affect the smokers themselves but all taxpayers, who end up paying the bills of smokers who require medical treatment for cancer and other conditions. The anti-smoke lobby, therefore, uses this burden on society as one of its main arguments to justify government’s encroachment on people’s personal rights. However, those same people who go after smokers conveniently ignore other, even bigger, costs to taxpayers that result from the actions of others.Canadians, in particular, enjoy sports, especially extreme sports. Year after year, people are injured while snowboarding, playing hockey or engaging in a variety of risky activities. In many, if not most, cases, these injuries are sustained as a result of reckless behaviour, with many people ending up disabled for the rest of their lives. This comes at a hefty price to the publicly funded health-care system and, thus, the taxpayer. While smokers pay more than their share for any future treatment they may require through the stiff tobacco taxes slapped on each pack of cigarettes, people who engage in extreme sports - or sports in general - do not compensate the taxpayer in the same way at all. If the same fiscal model were to be applied to the area of sports, for example, every pair of skis sold would be subject to a high “extreme sports tax”. Every motorbike sold would carry an extra tax liability of, say, 30-50% in order to defray the costs of treatment and therapy for those who injure or cripple themselves as a result of their own foolish and out-of-control behaviour.
Albertans do not only smoke in large numbers, they are also extremely crazy about cars. They will drive even the shortest distance, for example, to take the garbage to their condominium complex’s garbage dumpster that happens to be a few feet from their building. The cost of the pollution from car traffic is another area that costs taxpayers even more than the effects of smoking - both in terms of money and health. Anyone who has ever walked along 4th Avenue in downtown Calgary during rush hour, when cars are bumper-to-bumper, will know that the exhausts from those cars are a lot more harmful than the smoke wafting in his direction from the cigarette of a passer-by. In winter, in particular, the exhaust fumes hang over 4th Avenue so thick that it is almost impossible to see the cars. This all comes at a tremendous cost to people’s health and the environment. Tough measures, such as congestion charges, are required to protect people and the environment. Yet, instead of following the examples set by London and, more recently, New York, the Albertan government has decided to leave drivers and their cars alone and to target smokers by raising tobacco taxes considerably.
Both the government and the anti-smoke lobby seem to have agreed to peg their arguments on the cost factor: Smokers cost society a lot of money, so they need to be stopped. But if that is what they intend to do, they must follow through and apply the same principle to extreme sports, cars and a host of other harmful influences in people’s lives. By attacking smokers with higher taxes, the government hurts the poor and working poor the most, for smoking is a “pastime” most commonly encountered in these two social segments. At the same time, though, the better-off, with their fancy cars and penchant for dangerous and extreme sports, are spared such treatment. The only ones to be singled out as being a burden on the publicly funded health-care system are the smokers.
Arguing in this manner, as the anti-smoke lobby and Alberta’s government have done, runs the risk of undermining the commitment to universal health care in Canada. The underlying principle of Canada’s health-care system is that anyone, whether rich or poor, is covered, no questions asked. It is therefore troubling to see the government and opponents to smoking open that particular Pandora’s box by questioning certain people’s rights to coverage under the public system. A case for their side of the argument could be made if smokers had never paid any tobacco taxes, but the fact is that smokers have paid above and beyond what it costs to treat smoking-related illnesses, while other groups who engage in activities more harmful and detrimental to society have been given a free pass, without anyone questioning their right to public health care.
Cigarettes are a legal product, one that generates a lot of revenue for governments all over the world. If governments were really serious about making people quit, they would have banned cigarettes a long time ago. The fact that they have not indicates that governments take in more money from tobacco taxes than they spend on treating the sick. If the medical costs were ever to exceed tax revenues, governments would very quickly pull the plug on cigarettes and ban them outright - this, at least, would level the playing field. But the current situation is highly discriminatory against one specific group, who are treated as second or even third-class citizens. As a result, this group may eventually be excluded from public health-care services, something that is already happening now, with some doctors refusing to take on patients who smoke. So apart from this being a rights issue, the future of public health care is also at stake. One can only hope that the anti-smoke activists are aware of the consequences of their actions.
Smoking kills a lot of people around the world. Cigarette packs sold in Canada come with a statistical chart showing that tens of thousands of people in Canada die from smoking every year. Most smokers would very much like to kick the filthy habit, but only few accomplish it. They know about the health risks, yet their addiction is too strong and each time they try to stop, they soon find themselves lighting up another cigarette again. In a country like Canada, where people’s health-care costs are shouldered by the public system, i.e., the taxpayers, smoking-related health problems do not only affect the smokers themselves but all taxpayers, who end up paying the bills of smokers who require medical treatment for cancer and other conditions. The anti-smoke lobby, therefore, uses this burden on society as one of its main arguments to justify government’s encroachment on people’s personal rights. However, those same people who go after smokers conveniently ignore other, even bigger, costs to taxpayers that result from the actions of others.Canadians, in particular, enjoy sports, especially extreme sports. Year after year, people are injured while snowboarding, playing hockey or engaging in a variety of risky activities. In many, if not most, cases, these injuries are sustained as a result of reckless behaviour, with many people ending up disabled for the rest of their lives. This comes at a hefty price to the publicly funded health-care system and, thus, the taxpayer. While smokers pay more than their share for any future treatment they may require through the stiff tobacco taxes slapped on each pack of cigarettes, people who engage in extreme sports - or sports in general - do not compensate the taxpayer in the same way at all. If the same fiscal model were to be applied to the area of sports, for example, every pair of skis sold would be subject to a high “extreme sports tax”. Every motorbike sold would carry an extra tax liability of, say, 30-50% in order to defray the costs of treatment and therapy for those who injure or cripple themselves as a result of their own foolish and out-of-control behaviour.
Albertans do not only smoke in large numbers, they are also extremely crazy about cars. They will drive even the shortest distance, for example, to take the garbage to their condominium complex’s garbage dumpster that happens to be a few feet from their building. The cost of the pollution from car traffic is another area that costs taxpayers even more than the effects of smoking - both in terms of money and health. Anyone who has ever walked along 4th Avenue in downtown Calgary during rush hour, when cars are bumper-to-bumper, will know that the exhausts from those cars are a lot more harmful than the smoke wafting in his direction from the cigarette of a passer-by. In winter, in particular, the exhaust fumes hang over 4th Avenue so thick that it is almost impossible to see the cars. This all comes at a tremendous cost to people’s health and the environment. Tough measures, such as congestion charges, are required to protect people and the environment. Yet, instead of following the examples set by London and, more recently, New York, the Albertan government has decided to leave drivers and their cars alone and to target smokers by raising tobacco taxes considerably.
Both the government and the anti-smoke lobby seem to have agreed to peg their arguments on the cost factor: Smokers cost society a lot of money, so they need to be stopped. But if that is what they intend to do, they must follow through and apply the same principle to extreme sports, cars and a host of other harmful influences in people’s lives. By attacking smokers with higher taxes, the government hurts the poor and working poor the most, for smoking is a “pastime” most commonly encountered in these two social segments. At the same time, though, the better-off, with their fancy cars and penchant for dangerous and extreme sports, are spared such treatment. The only ones to be singled out as being a burden on the publicly funded health-care system are the smokers.
Arguing in this manner, as the anti-smoke lobby and Alberta’s government have done, runs the risk of undermining the commitment to universal health care in Canada. The underlying principle of Canada’s health-care system is that anyone, whether rich or poor, is covered, no questions asked. It is therefore troubling to see the government and opponents to smoking open that particular Pandora’s box by questioning certain people’s rights to coverage under the public system. A case for their side of the argument could be made if smokers had never paid any tobacco taxes, but the fact is that smokers have paid above and beyond what it costs to treat smoking-related illnesses, while other groups who engage in activities more harmful and detrimental to society have been given a free pass, without anyone questioning their right to public health care.
Cigarettes are a legal product, one that generates a lot of revenue for governments all over the world. If governments were really serious about making people quit, they would have banned cigarettes a long time ago. The fact that they have not indicates that governments take in more money from tobacco taxes than they spend on treating the sick. If the medical costs were ever to exceed tax revenues, governments would very quickly pull the plug on cigarettes and ban them outright - this, at least, would level the playing field. But the current situation is highly discriminatory against one specific group, who are treated as second or even third-class citizens. As a result, this group may eventually be excluded from public health-care services, something that is already happening now, with some doctors refusing to take on patients who smoke. So apart from this being a rights issue, the future of public health care is also at stake. One can only hope that the anti-smoke activists are aware of the consequences of their actions.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Extreme martial arts group performs at UNC
Ten years ago Steve Le and other high school friends knew they were on to something great when they decided to combine their love of martial arts with the then-growing trend of extreme sports.
From that, the Aurora boys created Team Highflyerz, which promotes a unique blend of martial-art technique with aerial acrobatics. No coach or official dojo needed, the six-member groups usually takes what members already know and adds some flair by turning each demonstration into a performance.
"We are each others' coaches," Le said. "We do it for the fun and passion of it."
The group performed for several people Saturday at the University of Northern Colorado's annual Asian Festival, which drew more than 150 through out the day."We had little less people than we were expecting," said Edward Nance, a student at UNC and one of the organizers for the event. "I think it was because of the weather.
"Organizers began wrapping up the event about an hour before it was scheduled to end because of cold weather.Team Highflyerz was the last group to perform. This was their second year at the Asian Festival and the group plans to attend again next year to show off aerial tricks.
Le said what makes their style and performance so unique is that each of the members, all of who are in their early 20's, bring with them a different form of martial art techniques."We are all very close like family," Le said. "It's just fun being together and doing what we enjoy."
All of the members in the team hold black belts and travel throughout Colorado to compete in extreme sport competitions and perform demos for various events. In 2003, the group walked away with several first place awards from a competition hosted by the Colorado Karate Association.
Want to know more? For information about team Highflyerz e-mail Steve Le at teamhighflyerz@yahoo.com.
From that, the Aurora boys created Team Highflyerz, which promotes a unique blend of martial-art technique with aerial acrobatics. No coach or official dojo needed, the six-member groups usually takes what members already know and adds some flair by turning each demonstration into a performance.
"We are each others' coaches," Le said. "We do it for the fun and passion of it."
The group performed for several people Saturday at the University of Northern Colorado's annual Asian Festival, which drew more than 150 through out the day."We had little less people than we were expecting," said Edward Nance, a student at UNC and one of the organizers for the event. "I think it was because of the weather.
"Organizers began wrapping up the event about an hour before it was scheduled to end because of cold weather.Team Highflyerz was the last group to perform. This was their second year at the Asian Festival and the group plans to attend again next year to show off aerial tricks.
Le said what makes their style and performance so unique is that each of the members, all of who are in their early 20's, bring with them a different form of martial art techniques."We are all very close like family," Le said. "It's just fun being together and doing what we enjoy."
All of the members in the team hold black belts and travel throughout Colorado to compete in extreme sport competitions and perform demos for various events. In 2003, the group walked away with several first place awards from a competition hosted by the Colorado Karate Association.
Want to know more? For information about team Highflyerz e-mail Steve Le at teamhighflyerz@yahoo.com.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Water babies given the chance to make a splash
By BCT reporter
Gone are those days when a trip to the local pool meant a few lengths of breast stroke - for Hounslow children, things have just got a lot more adventurous.
Swimming is easily one of the most popular sports for children with girls rating it as their favourite.
So Hounslow and five other west London authorities have tapped into this enthusiasm. They have teamed up with Sport England to offer children aged 10 to 14 some aquatic activities with a difference.
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Over the next year, children will have a chance to take part in one of many planned events known as Aqua Extreme, organised by the sport partnership, Pro-Active West London.
It is hoped these events will increase children's participation in water sports, open up new opportunities, and encourage them to lead more active lifestyles.
Hounslow's morning of Aqua Extreme took place at Isleworth Recreation Centre during the Easter holidays.
Under the instructor's watchful eye, 36 youngsters took turns trying out diving, mini water polo and Aquafit.
Feedback from children was really positive, with some commenting "it is great fun trying something you've never done before."
Louise Acres, CIP's Programme and Publicity Manager, said: "Aqua Extreme is all about having fun in the water. Our aim is for children to enjoy sports that they wouldn't normally get to experience and, judging by the enthusiasm I've seen, I think we certainly achieved that."
Other activities that will be offered over the next year include synchronised swimming and lifeguarding skills along with more diving and water polo opportunities during the holiday play schemes at local leisure centres, so there really will be something for everyone.
Gone are those days when a trip to the local pool meant a few lengths of breast stroke - for Hounslow children, things have just got a lot more adventurous.
Swimming is easily one of the most popular sports for children with girls rating it as their favourite.
So Hounslow and five other west London authorities have tapped into this enthusiasm. They have teamed up with Sport England to offer children aged 10 to 14 some aquatic activities with a difference.
advertisement
Over the next year, children will have a chance to take part in one of many planned events known as Aqua Extreme, organised by the sport partnership, Pro-Active West London.
It is hoped these events will increase children's participation in water sports, open up new opportunities, and encourage them to lead more active lifestyles.
Hounslow's morning of Aqua Extreme took place at Isleworth Recreation Centre during the Easter holidays.
Under the instructor's watchful eye, 36 youngsters took turns trying out diving, mini water polo and Aquafit.
Feedback from children was really positive, with some commenting "it is great fun trying something you've never done before."
Louise Acres, CIP's Programme and Publicity Manager, said: "Aqua Extreme is all about having fun in the water. Our aim is for children to enjoy sports that they wouldn't normally get to experience and, judging by the enthusiasm I've seen, I think we certainly achieved that."
Other activities that will be offered over the next year include synchronised swimming and lifeguarding skills along with more diving and water polo opportunities during the holiday play schemes at local leisure centres, so there really will be something for everyone.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
VERTICALLY CHALLENGED
Nottingham's Jamie Bestwick has found fame and fortune in America as one of the top BMX riders in the world but as James Robson discovers, his profile is not quite so high in his home town...There is little to make Jamie Bestwick stand out as he waits in one of Nottingham's numerous coffee shops.Barely meriting a second glance, customers continue to sip their drinks blissfully unaware of him.
It would hardly be the case across the other side of the Atlantic, where the 35-year-old's posters adorn the walls of thousands of fans, prepared to travel from coast to coast to watch him perform.Meanwhile he has been immortalised as an action figure and video game character.Still the customers sip their drinks.
Perhaps he'd cause more of a stir on these shores if he'd taken up the numerous requests to feature in the music videos of rock bands such as Linkin Park."All that freakin' out suits some people, but it's not for me," says Bestwick, who has been one of the top BMX riders in the world since quitting his job in aeronautical engineering in 1999 to try his luck in America.
The move certainly paid off with the Nottingham-raised rider winning major events such as the X Games and Dew Tour for action or extreme sports in that time.
Bestwick is a Vert rider, which entails performing stunts on a huge ramp and it has seen him earn major sponsorships and become a household name in the States.
He may be largely anonymous in his home country, but Google his name and there are as many as 59,000 results.Bestwick had already achieved a level of success before heading over to States, winning the World Championship while still juggling competitions with his day job.
But he finally made the decision to take it up full time in 1999, packing up his job and moving to Pennsylvania where Camp Woodward, a training facility for BMX riders, is situated.
"It was really hard," he said. "I'd not only made the decision of leaving a good job, but I had to sell the house, leave friends and family and only two weeks after I got married."I sat with my wife and we said we'd give it a year. If it didn't pan out we'd come back.
"For the first five years we were literally out in the middle of the sticks. I don't know what was going through my mind when I bought the house."It was a very quiet town, like one of these places that you see in the films where kids get lost, run into the middle of the town and end up getting murdered.
"But it was a very nice town, very quaint. Pennsylvania has got a lot of history. It's very old Colonial America. It's a beautiful place to go, the summers were fantastic and in the winter there was four feet of snow - it was like England used to be years ago. It's definitely nice, just a different way of life.
"I wouldn't necessarily have done that for a job, it was purely because I love the bike. I wanted to be the best in my sport.
"Europe has a fantastic level of riding, but at the time everyone looked at the American guys as the level to get to. They were the ones people made the fuss over."I just wanted to change that, have a guy from England, representing Europe, go out there and do incredibly well. It was a weird decision and I'd only do it for the passion of riding.
"Bestwick is ready to return now and settle down in Hucknall, but it isn't for the want of success, rather because he wants to use his profile to raise the popularity of action sports in England.Now one of the most recognisable faces in BMX, he hopes to change the public perception of sports like skateboarding and snowboarding.
Though appreciating the sexy image of extreme sports, that very name is one of his major bugbears, preferring the term action sports.
"We were labelled with the extreme tag," he said. "You see guys with tattoos and think we are just a bunch of punk kids. Certain labels get attached, but we are trying to change people's minds.
"In the past few years we've seen it taken more seriously. You can see that with snowboarding being the biggest event at the winter games."Action sports are making a move into the mainstream and it's capturing minds. There will be BMX racing at the next games and in 2012 there will be freestyle.
"With it becoming an Olympic event it's only going to get better and better.
"Bestwick wants to improve facilities in England so future riders won't be forced to make a living in the States as he was.
"There are more skate parks in England than anywhere I know," he said. "There are an unbelievable amount of places for kids to do it, but it's not highlighted enough.
"We're seeing a big shift in the popularity of the games. In the States skateboarding is one of the most popular sports along with baseball, basketball and American football.
"That should happen in England. Not everyone wants to be footballers, cricketers or rugby players."Schools have the space to provide facilities for kids who don't want to be David Beckham or Tim Henman."
It would hardly be the case across the other side of the Atlantic, where the 35-year-old's posters adorn the walls of thousands of fans, prepared to travel from coast to coast to watch him perform.Meanwhile he has been immortalised as an action figure and video game character.Still the customers sip their drinks.
Perhaps he'd cause more of a stir on these shores if he'd taken up the numerous requests to feature in the music videos of rock bands such as Linkin Park."All that freakin' out suits some people, but it's not for me," says Bestwick, who has been one of the top BMX riders in the world since quitting his job in aeronautical engineering in 1999 to try his luck in America.
The move certainly paid off with the Nottingham-raised rider winning major events such as the X Games and Dew Tour for action or extreme sports in that time.
Bestwick is a Vert rider, which entails performing stunts on a huge ramp and it has seen him earn major sponsorships and become a household name in the States.
He may be largely anonymous in his home country, but Google his name and there are as many as 59,000 results.Bestwick had already achieved a level of success before heading over to States, winning the World Championship while still juggling competitions with his day job.
But he finally made the decision to take it up full time in 1999, packing up his job and moving to Pennsylvania where Camp Woodward, a training facility for BMX riders, is situated.
"It was really hard," he said. "I'd not only made the decision of leaving a good job, but I had to sell the house, leave friends and family and only two weeks after I got married."I sat with my wife and we said we'd give it a year. If it didn't pan out we'd come back.
"For the first five years we were literally out in the middle of the sticks. I don't know what was going through my mind when I bought the house."It was a very quiet town, like one of these places that you see in the films where kids get lost, run into the middle of the town and end up getting murdered.
"But it was a very nice town, very quaint. Pennsylvania has got a lot of history. It's very old Colonial America. It's a beautiful place to go, the summers were fantastic and in the winter there was four feet of snow - it was like England used to be years ago. It's definitely nice, just a different way of life.
"I wouldn't necessarily have done that for a job, it was purely because I love the bike. I wanted to be the best in my sport.
"Europe has a fantastic level of riding, but at the time everyone looked at the American guys as the level to get to. They were the ones people made the fuss over."I just wanted to change that, have a guy from England, representing Europe, go out there and do incredibly well. It was a weird decision and I'd only do it for the passion of riding.
"Bestwick is ready to return now and settle down in Hucknall, but it isn't for the want of success, rather because he wants to use his profile to raise the popularity of action sports in England.Now one of the most recognisable faces in BMX, he hopes to change the public perception of sports like skateboarding and snowboarding.
Though appreciating the sexy image of extreme sports, that very name is one of his major bugbears, preferring the term action sports.
"We were labelled with the extreme tag," he said. "You see guys with tattoos and think we are just a bunch of punk kids. Certain labels get attached, but we are trying to change people's minds.
"In the past few years we've seen it taken more seriously. You can see that with snowboarding being the biggest event at the winter games."Action sports are making a move into the mainstream and it's capturing minds. There will be BMX racing at the next games and in 2012 there will be freestyle.
"With it becoming an Olympic event it's only going to get better and better.
"Bestwick wants to improve facilities in England so future riders won't be forced to make a living in the States as he was.
"There are more skate parks in England than anywhere I know," he said. "There are an unbelievable amount of places for kids to do it, but it's not highlighted enough.
"We're seeing a big shift in the popularity of the games. In the States skateboarding is one of the most popular sports along with baseball, basketball and American football.
"That should happen in England. Not everyone wants to be footballers, cricketers or rugby players."Schools have the space to provide facilities for kids who don't want to be David Beckham or Tim Henman."
Friday, April 20, 2007
Star skier or madman
By Arthur Stanley
IT'S the cliff jump that has shocked international skiing and sparked debate on whether extreme sports athletes have gone too far.
In arguably the most extraordinary risk-taking feat carried out for a sports action film, US extreme skier Jamie Pierre has soared off a 78m cliff in Wyoming, US – landed on his head – and lived to tell the tale.
Pierre's jump – the equivalent of stepping off a 24-storey office block – earned him a world record, strengthened his faith in God but didn't impress his wife Amee, who was at home with their baby daughter.
Pierre is on his way to Australia to promote this year's Warren Miller snowsports film, Off The Grid, which features his daredevil jump.
But he admits he has been under pressure from community groups who believe his jump has set a bad example to the thousands of youngsters who look up to extreme sports athletes.
Pierre, 34, didn't wear a helmet, lost his mouth guard in mid-air and was probably saved from injury by his unplanned head-first entry into 5m of fresh snow at the base of the cliff.
He admits such jumps are not without peril and warns young Australian skiers who watch Off The Grid not to attempt to mimic his "huck".
"Big jumps are not something recreational skiers should ever try," Pierre said.
"I have been a pro skier for 10 years and had been assessing conditions at this cliff for many years before deciding I could pull it off.
"But even then I was lucky. I didn't plan to land on my head, rather a slouch position. If I had landed on my skis from that height, the impact on my chest and face could have been disastrous."
About 35m into his jump, Pierre could not keep his skis under him and went upside down. He landed head first and was buried 2m in the snow.
A photographer rushed in and dug him free.
"I pretty much walked away from it with just a cut lip," Pierre said.
SKIER Jamie Pierre is featured in SNOW07 magazine, out in The Daily Telegraph on May 22. Off The Grid starts in Sydney and Canberra on May 31. Book through Warren Miller
IT'S the cliff jump that has shocked international skiing and sparked debate on whether extreme sports athletes have gone too far.
In arguably the most extraordinary risk-taking feat carried out for a sports action film, US extreme skier Jamie Pierre has soared off a 78m cliff in Wyoming, US – landed on his head – and lived to tell the tale.
Pierre's jump – the equivalent of stepping off a 24-storey office block – earned him a world record, strengthened his faith in God but didn't impress his wife Amee, who was at home with their baby daughter.
Pierre is on his way to Australia to promote this year's Warren Miller snowsports film, Off The Grid, which features his daredevil jump.
But he admits he has been under pressure from community groups who believe his jump has set a bad example to the thousands of youngsters who look up to extreme sports athletes.
Pierre, 34, didn't wear a helmet, lost his mouth guard in mid-air and was probably saved from injury by his unplanned head-first entry into 5m of fresh snow at the base of the cliff.
He admits such jumps are not without peril and warns young Australian skiers who watch Off The Grid not to attempt to mimic his "huck".
"Big jumps are not something recreational skiers should ever try," Pierre said.
"I have been a pro skier for 10 years and had been assessing conditions at this cliff for many years before deciding I could pull it off.
"But even then I was lucky. I didn't plan to land on my head, rather a slouch position. If I had landed on my skis from that height, the impact on my chest and face could have been disastrous."
About 35m into his jump, Pierre could not keep his skis under him and went upside down. He landed head first and was buried 2m in the snow.
A photographer rushed in and dug him free.
"I pretty much walked away from it with just a cut lip," Pierre said.
SKIER Jamie Pierre is featured in SNOW07 magazine, out in The Daily Telegraph on May 22. Off The Grid starts in Sydney and Canberra on May 31. Book through Warren Miller
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