Monday, March 31, 2008

What Are Sports Injuries?

"Sports injuries" are injuries that happen when playing sports or exercising. Some are from accidents. Others can result from poor training practices or improper gear.

Some people get injured when they are not in proper condition. Not warming up or stretching enough before you play or exercise can also lead to injuries. The most common sports injuries are:

* Sprains and strains
* Knee injuries
* Swollen muscles
* Achilles tendon injuries
* Pain along the shin bone
* Fractures
* Dislocations.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Six Medals for Britain at Palma Regatta

Nick Dempsey and Paul Goodison added to Ben Ainslie’s earlier triumph to make it a hat trick of gold medals for Great Britain at the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma, Majorca.

Skandia Team GBR finished with a final medal tally of three golds, two silvers and one bronze. Triple Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie had already got the British team off to a flying start on Thursday, gaining an unassailable lead in the Finn class prior to sailing the final medal race on Good Friday. Athens bronze medallist Dempsey and three-times European Champion Paul Goodison then emulated Ainslie, clinching respective victories in the RS:X men’s windsurfing event and the men’s single-handed Laser class after strong performances right from the start of the regatta.

Goodison’s teammate and training partner, the 2007 European bronze medallist Nick Thompson ensured it was a British 1-2 in the Laser event, maintaining his silver medal position with a third in the medal race, with Goodison crossing in fourth.

“For me this event was almost like a test run for Beijing – this event and Hyeres – so in that sense it was important for me to do well here," said Goodison. “I’ve had a really good series which meant that I only needed to finish top five in the medal race to win overall, regardless of how the others did.”

Nick Dempsey capped off a stellar week, securing gold in the RS:X men’s event with the help of a third from the final medal race to finish 13 points ahead of nearest rival Przemyslaw Miarczynski of Poland.

“It was really important for me to do well at this event,” said the 27-year-old. “The Worlds was not a focus event for me – it was more like a winter warm-up – so this is really the first event of the season and is one of two target events before Beijing. I’ve been working really hard out here for the past six weeks, and my result just shows that the hard work is starting to pay off.”

World Champions Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson prevented a Russian 1-2 in the Yngling women’s keelboat fleet, improving their position one place in the overall standings to clinch silver thanks to a third in the final medal race, while in the 470 women’s race Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark continued their late surge in the second half of the regatta to clinch bronze, following a second place finish in the final medal race. In the 49er event, Paul Campbell-James and Mark Asquith ended the regatta in ninth place.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Play Basketball in safe

Basketball can really make you work, so compose sure you stretch and warm up before playing. Because of all of the speedy moves and jumping, it can put a lot of wear and tear on your ankles, so care for them by wearing the right pair of shoes -medium or high tops do the best job of supporting your ankles. Protect that lap by learning how to cut, stop, and land a jump safely.

Be careful not to mishandling basketball equipment. It's great if you've got the skills to put up a mean slam dunk, but hanging on the rim is unsafe and could grounds you to get hurt. Also, make sure the court and sidelines are clear of any obstacles such as additional basketballs or water bottles. If you're playing outside, make sure the baskets and sidelines are not too close to walls, fences, or bleachers and present are no holes on your court.

If you're a serious player, you may want to spend in a mouth guard to keep your teeth safe from flying elbows; knee and elbow pads so you don't get scraped up (especially if you're playing on an outdoor court); and sports glasses to care for your eyes.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points in opposition to one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m) high hoop (the goal) under organized rules. Basketball is one of the most admired and widely viewed sports in the world.

Points are scored by assassination the ball throughout the basket from above; the team with more points at the end of the game wins. The ball can be advanced on the court by active it (dribbling) or passing it between teammates. Disruptive physical contact (fouls) is not permitted and there are limits on how the ball can be handled (violations).

Through time, basketball has developed to involve general techniques of shooting, passing and dribbling, as well as players' positions, and offensive and defensive structures. Typically, the tallest members of a team will play center, the shortest member generally plays "point" while often the best ball handlers are guards. While competitive basketball is cautiously regulated, numerous variations of basketball have developed for casual play. In some countries, basketball is also a admired spectator sport.

While competitive basketball is primarily an indoor sport, played on a basketball court, less keeping pace variations have become exceedingly popular as an outdoor sport among both inner city and rural groups.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Air hockey

Air hockey requires an air-hockey table, two mallets, and a puck.

A typical air hockey table consists of a large smooth playing surface, a surrounding rail to avoid the puck and mallets from leaving the table, and slots in the rail at either end of the table that provide as goals. On the ends of the table behind and below the goals, there is generally a puck return. Additionally, tables will characteristically have some sort of machinery that produces a cushion of air on the play surface through minute holes, with the purpose of reducing friction and increasing play speed. In some tables, the machinery is eschewed in favor of a slick table surface, generally plastic, in the interest of saving money in both manufacturing and maintenance costs. Note that these tables are officially not air hockey tables since no air is involved, however, they are still generally understood to be as such due to the basic similarity of game play.

Air Hockey Mallet

Currently, the only tables that are approved for play and sanctioned by the USAA (United States Air-Table-Hockey Association) for contest play are 8-foot tables manufactured by Dynamo. Approved tables contain the Photon, Pro-Style, older Blue Top, Brown Top, Purple Top or Black Top with unpainted rails. The HotFlash 2 and other full-size commercial tables with neon lights and/or painted rails are not approved for USAA play but are still great tables on which to learn the games.

A mallet (sometimes called a goalie, striker or paddle) consists of a simple handle attached to a flat surface that will generally lie flush with the surface of the table. The most general mallets, called "high-tops", resemble small plastic sombreros, but other mallets, "flat-tops", are used with a shorter nub.

A group of five air hockey pucks

Air Hockey pucks are thin discs made of Lexan polycarbonate resin. Standard USAA-approved pucks are the yellow lexan, red lexan and the Dynamo green. In competitive play, a layer of slim white tape is placed on the face-up side.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Unicycle hockey

Unicycle hockey is alike to roller or inline hockey, however, each player must be mounted on their unicycle (with both feet on the pedals) to play at the ball. The ball is comparable weight and bounce to a "dead" tennis ball and sticks are identical to roller hockey sticks. Each team consists of four players and one goalie, and substitution is allowable at any point in the game. Two general penalties are SUB (Stick Under Bike) and SIB (Stick In Bike) and result in a free shot being awarded to the player that was fouled upon. Players must also maintain one hand on the end of the stick at all times and never allow the head of the stick to be lifted above waist height.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Roller hockey (inline)

Inline hockey is a difference of roller hockey very similar to ice hockey, from which it is derived. Inline hockey is played by two teams, consisting of four skaters and one goalie, on a dry rink separated into two halves by a center line, with one net at each end of the rink. The game is played in three 15-minute periods with a difference of the ice hockey off-side rule. Icings are also called, but are generally referred to as illegal clearing. For rink dimensions and an general idea of the rules of the game, see IIHF Inline Rules (official rules). Some leagues and competitions do not follow the IIHF regulations, in exacting USA Inline and Canada Inline.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Roller hockey

Roller Hockey is the overarching name for a roller sport that has existed long previous to inline skates were invented. Roller hockey has been played in sixty countries worldwide and so has many names worldwide. Sometimes the sport is called Quad Hockey, Hoquei em Patins, International Style Ball hockey, Rink hockey and Hardball hockey depending on the division of the world it is played. Roller Hockey was a demonstration rollersport in the 1992 Barcelona summer Olympics.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Road hockey

Another form of popular hockey is road hockey, occasionally known as street hockey. This is generally played with the same rules as ice hockey, or roller hockey, except it is on the street. Most of the time, a ball is used instead of a puck, because a puck would be too difficult to hit on an asphalt or cement surface .

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Ice hockey sticks

Ice hockey sticks are long L-shaped sticks made of wood, graphite, or composites with a blade at the bottom that can lie flat on the playing surface when the stick is held upright and can curve either way, officially, as to help a left- or right-handed player gain an advantage. Variations in curves contain its lie and its curve type. Most companies that produce sticks have sponsored players and in return, use their custom curve on publicly retailed sticks. To shoot with a left curved stick, the stick is held with the right hand at the top and the left hand partway downward the shaft. To shoot with a right curved stick, the stick is held with the left hand at the top and the right hand partway downward the shaft. Most people who are right handed shoot with a left curved stick, and most people who are left handed spurt with a right curved stick. This keeps their leading hand at the top of the stick, allowing more control. Sticks also have flex numbers, a number on the stick that can go from zero to 100. It indicates how much the stick will turn before breaking when pressed on the ice. This flexing is what enables slapshots.

There are early representations and reports of hockey-type games being played on ice in the Netherlands, and reports from Canada from the beginning of the nineteenth century, but the recent game was initially organized by students at McGill University, Montreal in 1875 who, by two years later, codified the first set of ice hockey rules and organized the first teams.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Field hockey

Field hockey is played on gravel, natural grass, sand-based or water-based artificial turfs, with a small, hard ball. The game is trendy among both males and females in many continents of the world, particularly in Europe, Asia, Australasia, and South Africa. In most countries, the game is played between single-sex sides, even though it can be played by mixed-sex sides. In the United States and Canada it is played mainly by women.

The governing body is the 116-member International Hockey Federation (FIH). Field Hockey has been take part in at each summer Olympic Games since 1908 (except 1924). Modern field hockey sticks are J-shaped and constructed of a compound of wood, glass fibre or carbon fibre (sometimes both) and have a curved hook at the playing end, a flat surface on the playing side and curved surface on the rear side.

There are 4000-year-old drawings in Egypt of a game similar to field hockey being played. While modern field hockey appeared in the mid-18th century in England, primarily in schools, it was not until the first half of the 19th century that it became resolutely established. The first club was formed in 1849 at Blackheath in south-east London. Field Hockey is the National Game of India.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Ice hockey

Ice hockey is played on a huge flat area of ice, using a three inch (76.2 mm) diameter vulcanized rubber disc called a puck. This puck is often frozen before high-level games to decrease the amount of lively and friction on the ice. The game is contested among with two teams of skaters. The game is played all over North America, Europe and in many other countries around the world to unreliable extent. It is mainly popular sport in Canada and in Finland.

The governing body is the 64-member International Ice Hockey Federation, (IIHF). Men's ice hockey has been played at the Winter Olympics since 1924, and was in the 1920 Summer Olympics and Women's ice hockey was added to the Winter Olympics in 1998. North America's National Hockey League (NHL) is the strongest professional ice hockey league, drawing top ice hockey players from in the region of the globe. The NHL rules are slightly vary from those used in Olympic ice hockey: the periods are 20 minutes long, counting downwards. There are three periods.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Hockey

Hockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams participate by trying to maneuver a ball, or a hard, round disc called a puck, into the opponent's net or goal, using a hockey stick. The dominant version of hockey in a exacting region tends to be known simply as hockey, other forms being more fully qualified.

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