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Archive for the ‘Sports’ Category

As humanity has continued to evolve and adapt to the rise of new technology, so have our pastimes.  In the late twentieth century, the combination of sport and technology began to give birth to a new breed of recreation: the extreme sports.  Simple stick and ball games have changed over time with the advent of better equipment, but this new breed of sports is different in that the participants rely on specialized technology to achieve feats that the human body is ill-equipped for on its own.

Skateboarders reworked the existing technology of frictionless, high-speed travel that previously resided amongst skiers, who in turn began to notice an invasion of younger people at their resorts mounted on snowboards.  The offroad motorcycle improved steadily in the last half of the century until it was capable of tolerating extreme force, giving athletes the ability to launch their two-wheeled machines off of dirt mounds and specialized metal ramps to astounding new heights and distances.  Many offshoots and evolutions of old sports were enhanced by new technology, adventurous minds, and the idea that there was plenty of territory left to conquer in the area of recreation.

However, these sports came as somewhat of a shock to an older, more traditional population.  Young skateboarders and surfers in the 1980s carried themselves with a radical flair, both on and off their boards, evoking both excitement and outrage from the established authorities.  Snowboarders descended in droves on established ski resorts, and the patrons there reacted with disdain and sometimes outrage, regarding the new form of sport as an unwieldy and dangerous adaptation of their own.  Motocross riders watched skeptically as a segment of professional racers, disillusioned with sponsorship and professional racing politics, split off from the racing scene and began performing aerial tricks on their bikes.

The general attitude of disdain evinced by a population that grew up playing more traditional sports fueled the new breed’s rebellious spirits, until many of them broke with societal norms in their quest to shock the majority with dangerous maneuvers and equally dangerous lifestyles.  Their attitude of rebelliousness was arguably necessary to keep their lifestyle from being affected by the forces compelling them to “get back in line,” as it were.  These deviant sports were viewed by the general public as the pastime of deviant citizens, and when one is stereotyped unjustly, they may exemplify that stereotype to validate their labeler’s suspicions, and in turn be somewhat validated by that irony.

Unfortunately, the people who stereotyped extreme sports began to see all participants of these sports as deviants, when in fact the second wave of athletes had already risen.  Younger people, inspired and curious about these new sports, had begun to take up the mantle of their older, wilder counterparts.  These newer participants dreamed of professionalism, of making a living doing what they loved, as other professional athletes had in the past.  On their rise to such a level, however, they encountered roadblock after roadblock: laws making their sports actual crimes, facilities banning their new form of sport, resorts denying entrance to their kind.  Extreme sports were once considered a harmful and destructive fad, and only recently has the general public begun to grasp the merits of both the sports and athletes involved.  What was once perceived as an offensive pursuit is becoming recognized for the true spectacle it is: one of hard work, dedication, blood, sweat, and tears.

There is no doubt that these new sports can carry painful and even deadly consequences for their athletes.  “I always call extreme sports good for business,” says Dr. William Roberts, president of the American College of Sports Medicine.  “They produce injuries that generate more income for me than any other sport.” (Tresinowski et al. 1).

Injuries are a fact of life for professionals in extreme sports.  Broken bones, bruises, even paralysis or death can result from mistimed trick or faulty equipment.  Why, then, do these athletes choose to risk life and limb in order to participate?  For most, the answer is simple.  These sports provide a feeling that cannot be obtained in any other way.  Adrenaline rushes, confidence in one’s ability, even spirituality are all attainable through extreme sports.

Perhaps it was best summed up by big wave surfer Mike Parsons, in this quote from the book Being Extreme by Bill Gutman, Shawn Frederick, and John Butman:

“The ocean for me is a totally spiritual thing.  It doesn’t matter if it’s small or big surf, just being in it is the important thing.  It’s my place.  You can have all kinds of problems and worries, and the second I begin surfing, I’m completely focused on that and the rest of the world goes on hold.  It’s almost like someone going to church.  Without a doubt, the ocean is my church,” (99).

The rest of the world goes on hold for participants in extreme sports.  A skilled athlete must use every ounce of concentration, muscle memory, and attention they have to complete the maneuvers they attempt, and this allows for no distractions.  As a motocross rider myself, I can personally vouch for this “clean slate” feeling.  All of my worries, troubles and preoccupations evaporate the instant I soar off of the first jump on a motocross track.  My attention is focused entirely on the next set of obstacles; my mind makes infinite tiny decisions every second, and as I progress, its capacity to make these decisions increases.  A well trained extreme sports participant does not think; they simply react, and it is perhaps this channeling of the primal “fight or flight” instinct that can make the experience so entirely rewarding for us.

Recent studies have helped to corroborate this, as they show that extreme sports athletes have higher sensation-seeking needs than the average person.  Sensation-seekers are people who desire to experience new and/or novel sensations, or experiences that are not present in the course of everyday life (Malkin and Rabinowitz 34).  Extreme sports provide the means to feel new things and experience unique sensations.  Perhaps this is part of the reason that so many young people are drawn to them; in a life consisting mainly of school and work, in an environment where sexual urges are often repressed or discouraged, extreme sports offer young people a way to feel very alive.

These sports are also gaining athletes’ participation due to the dramatic visual effects achieved in their execution.  Risking life and limb results in spectacular displays of human beings leaping huge distances in a single bound, showing new degrees of finesse and skill, and generally performing feats that were once thought to be impossible (if they were thought of at all).  The consequential increased video coverage results in more viewers wanting to try new things.  “People are increasingly challenging themselves with activities which place their lives totally in their own hands and moving away from safer, more regulated activities,” says James Stewart, in his article “Taking the Plunge,” which appears in the Institute of Internal Affairs Public Review.

Perhaps in a society where new laws are constantly made, old laws are rarely repealed, and people follow a somewhat set course of school, college, then work, we are simply beginning to yearn for a little chaos in our lives; or perhaps it is the feeling of controlling one’s fate that results from flying through the air or sliding down a rail that is compelling more people to try these sports.  As Stewart says, “These sports have less of a competitive feel about them, in many cases the only benefits come from the warm, fuzzy feeling one gets by beating one’s previous best or just by improving one’s skills”(1).  That “warm, fuzzy feeling” is synonymous with control.  As an avid motocross rider and snowboarder myself, I know this firsthand; the feeling of being in control, even when traveling at forty miles an hour while twenty feet above solid ground, is intoxicating and has increased my confidence in all areas of life.

This feeling may best be described as one of sheer self reliance and independence. Team sports, on the other hand, involve more of a feeling of unity and cooperation. Often times, a player will have to sit out large parts of the actual contest, such as in football, baseball, and basketball.  The notorious bench has no place in any extreme sport, however.  There is no one to catch a BMX rider if he fails to clear a twenty foot dirt jump, and no one to step in for a skateboarder after he’s fallen off of a rail onto concrete.  Extreme sports athletes rely entirely on their own proficiency, dedication, and natural talent.  This can lend the athlete a very powerful sense of satisfaction; when a new goal is met or a new trick performed, the feeling of accomplishment is not divided amongst a group.  After successfully reaching a higher level of performance, the confidence and sense of achievement gained provides more than enough motivation to continue pushing the limits.

I can testify on this point personally.  Recently I participated in a large desert off-road motorcycle ride.  A newcomer joined our camp this year: a twenty year old that had ridden off-road motorcycles only briefly at age twelve.  He brought boots and a helmet, but no motorcycle; we had four bikes and only three riders in our group, so we let him try our bikes out.  The person in question rode more than anybody else that weekend.  He progressed from barely competent in the high-speed, three foot wide trails to a respectable desert rider in only a few days.  After each ride, he would reminisce excitedly at the camp fire about overcoming a new obstacle, jumping over bumps at higher speeds, and learning how to take corners quickly.  Each achievement boosted his confidence and fueled his desire to learn more.  In this way, extreme sports can be an addictively satisfying pastime.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that the rider I met in the desert had his bike taken away at a young age after his dad crashed and injured his knee on an old off-road motorcycle.  Many parents still see extreme sports as a serious threat to their children and will not allow them to participate in anything of the kind.  In an article titled “Flying High, Falling Hard” from People Magazine, a mother from Wisconsin is quoted, saying: “I don’t shelter my kids, but I’m not comfortable with sports with high injury rates.  I want them to be safe,” (Tresinowski et al. 64).  This is a perfectly logical argument; however, not very many children are perfectly logical themselves.

Forbidding a child from participating in an extreme sport can increase their desire to do so as a form of rebellion, as I witnessed in the desert recently.  That particular person was responsible.  He wore safety gear and had fourteen experienced riders to coach him and watch him, but still crashed at high speeds twice over the weekend.  Had he been a bit more reckless and a bit more motivated to rebel, he may have been more poorly equipped and could have been badly injured.  Unfortunately, this is often the case.  Young children imitating professionals they’ve seen on television without parental guidance or proper safety equipment are much more likely to sustain debilitating injuries.

A better approach is given in the same article in People by another mother, Michele Soven of Longwood, Florida.  Her son is an avid wakeboarder.  Wakeboarders are towed on specially designed boards behind boats, jumping the wake thrown up by the boat’s propeller and performing tricks.  “From the beginning, my husband and I were very involved,” says Michele.  “Every injury he got, I would find out how and why it happened, to prevent it from occurring again.” (Tresinowski et al. 66)

Her son Phillip has sustained multiple injuries, the worst of which he suffered while trying to jump onto a long, wooden rail floating in the water, an obstacle wakeboarders call a “slider.”  Phillip caught his board on the edge of the obstacle, shattered his nose, and split open his face.  It took 58 stitches and two reconstructive surgeries to repair the damage, but Michele never once thought of trying to take away Phillip’s wakeboarding privileges.  “It’s something he loves to do, so how can I forbid it?  If I did, it would be more likely that he’d do it without parental guidance,” said Michele (Tresinowski et al. 65).  This is a realistic viewpoint.  Extreme sports are definitely dangerous, but risk can be minimized with proper guidance, safety gear, and involvement from experienced athletes and parents alike.

Samah Boulis and Andreas Rehm, Orthopedic surgeons from the United Kingdom, share this viewpoint in their article Our Experience with Motocross Accidents in Children: Patterns of Injuries and Outcomes.  The article details the types of injuries common to motocross riders, and offers the opinion that the implementation of helmet and protective gear laws would substantially minimize the injuries that occur in motocross riding and racing (1).

While most if not all public motocross facilities do require riders to wear helmets, few go beyond that basic safety.  The additional stipulation that riders be required to wear protective boots, gloves, pants, jerseys, body armor, and neck braces would substantially reduce motocross related injuries.  Again, I speak from my own experience; I have never broken a bone while riding motorcycles, and have ridden one thousand hours or more-always with the proper safety gear. After many high speed and high altitude crashes, I have still never suffered anything worse than cuts and scratches.  My safety gear has been destroyed and replaced many times, saving my body in the process.

The public has begun to recognize that with such safety gear, extreme sports can be participated in with some degree of safety.  Extreme sports were once thought of as something close to a death sentence, even with gear, but that has been shown to be untrue in recent studies of sports related injuries.  The percentage of people injured in extreme sports is often the same or even smaller than the percentage of people injured in conventional sports such as football.  In a list that compiled the number of injuries based on the time spent playing or participating in a sport, the only extreme sport even close to the top of the list was snowboarding, ranked third behind boxing and football.  Skateboarding sits at twenty-second, and BMX biking at twenty-fourth (Tresinowski et al. 64). The myth that extreme sports resulted in more injuries than traditional sports has been effectively broken by professional researchers in a number of studies such as this one, and that data is trickling down to the public awareness with increasing momentum.  Parents are now becoming aware that their child is just as likely to break a bone while being tackled by a linebacker in a high school football game as they are to break one while jumping down a set of stairs on a skateboard.

Unfortunately, the average citizen’s change of perception is not always mirrored by official groups.  Signs proclaiming “No skateboarding, No bicycling, No rollerblading” are still a common sight in any city.  This is perhaps best illustrated by the outright ban on skateboarding that occurred in Philadelphia’s LOVE Park, a kind of Mecca for modern skateboarders.  Jeremy Nemeth’s paper Conflict, Exclusion, Relocation: Skateboarding and Public Space details this incident.  Policy makers in Philadelphia decided to restructure the park in time for a citywide festival, both physically and legislatively.  The legislative portion instituted an around-the-clock police patrol in and around the park to enforce a new zero-tolerance ban on skateboarding.  If any citizen was caught skateboarding, they would have to pay a three hundred dollar fine and could even be imprisoned.  Skateboarding became a crime (297).

This did not sit well with the resident skateboarders of Philadelphia, who assembled for a march on city call on October fifth, 2003.  They accomplished nothing with their mass protests, however, so instead began a campaign.  Non-profit groups formed, dedicated to regaining the right to skate in LOVE Park.  After a long stalemate with city officials, a bargain was struck; the city would build a street-style skate park for skaters to use.  While this satisfied some, many skateboarders continue to fight for their right to skate at LOVE Park.  In a newspaper poll taken in 2004, ninety-two percent of two thousand resident Philadelphians polled supported the skateboarder’s fight to return to LOVE Park (Nemeth 304).  This instance suggests that the average citizen is starting to accept extreme sports, and again illustrates that institutions are not always doing the same.

Some might argue that such laws are made due to the damage caused to public property by extreme sports.  While it is true that skateboarding and BMX riding can damage public architecture, it is not true that the athletes involved are generally careless of this fact.  Philadelphia city officials estimated that skateboarding had caused approximately sixty-thousand dollars worth of damage to LOVE Park.  Shortly thereafter, the city gave the park an eight-hundred-thousand dollar facelift (Nemeth 301). This should adequately answer the question of whether or not the city had the funds to deal with such intense use by skateboarders.  If the city could afford to spend eight-hundred-thousand dollars to update the park, they could afford sixty- thousand dollars to repair it.

However, the skateboarding community went even further to show their dedication to regaining the privilege of skating in LOVE Park.  A skateboard shoe manufacturer, DC Shoes, offered to pay one-hundred-thousand dollars each year for ten years to the city for maintenance of LOVE Park if skaters were allowed to return.  The city refused (Nemeth 303).  How is it that city officials claimed they refused skateboarders the privilege to skate based on the damage the sport caused, yet continued that refusal even after paying roughly thirteen times the estimated cost of the damage to update the park?  How can the cost of damage, at sixty-thousand dollars, when compared to one-hundred-thousand dollars a year for ten years from DC shoes, be considered a legitimate reason to continue excluding skaters from LOVE Park?  It seems that not all prejudice against extreme sports has faded with time.  Skaters continue to lobby for access to LOVE Park, and the city continues to refuse them (Nemeth 304).

Skateboarders have a similar complaint in Bronx, New York.  Street skating is nearly a crime in the Bronx, making it very difficult for skaters to progress and practice what they love to do.  “…We aren’t harming anyone, and we aren’t doing anything bad-just skateboarding,” says Chris Seise, a Bronx skateboarder (Mcdonald 1).  There is a park in the area called Mulally’s, but the park requires that a skater’s parents sign a waver before they are allowed to skate (Mcdonald 1).  This makes access difficult for the skaters whose parents do not approve of their child’s chosen sport, and may lead to more illegal street-skating by children under eighteen years old who cannot use the park.  If the city would provide a public skate park utilizing street obstacles like benches and handrails, the unnecessary commitment of city resources to the prevention of street skating could be stopped.

Another less harmful discrimination is often perpetrated by participants of “classic” or “ball” sports, such as football, baseball, and basketball.  In an issue of Sports Illustrated, a journalist asked many athletes whether they considered skateboarding to be a sport or not.  “Hell no.  It’s a recreational activity, like fishing,” said Blue Jays outfielder Jose Cruz (Albert and Mravic 28).

Other athletes showed similar scorn.  “They’re trying to make everything a sport,” said Marlins infielder Dave Berg.  “Why not grocery bagging at Albertson’s?  These days they even call putt-putt golf a sport.  That’s just trailer-trash activity.  Sure it takes skill to do these things, but is it a sport?” (Albert and Mravic 28).  It is true that many extreme sports athletes view ball-sport players similarly, and that the rivalry is far from one-sided.  It all seems to be a case of conditioning.  Whatever activity is done and watched in the household is often an activity the child will later consider a sport.  Certainly extreme sports and team sports are both valid athletic pursuits.

As the public demand for facilities in which to practice extreme sports grows, some institutions are finally responding adequately.  In the journal Parks and Recreation, Kelly Bastone cited many such instances in her article “Going to Extremes.”  Kelly writes that “Directors and managers elsewhere have also received requests to go beyond team sports and provide opportunities to skate, bike, climb, paddle, ski, and even surf…” (Bastone 60).  Some institutions have chosen not to take the “LOVE Park” route, and have risen above and beyond to provide safe, well-designed facilities for athletes.  Many cities are feeling the demand and responding aptly.

Reno, Nevada built a whitewater rafting park on the Truckee River, the town of Steamboat Springs in Colorado runs a community ski and snowboard slope called Howlsen’s Hill, and city Officials in Chattanooga granted permission to a group of rock-climbers when asked if they could begin climbing a limestone support column on one of the city’s historic bridges (Bastone 63-65).  Many cities are welcoming extreme sports athletes with open arms.  Word spreads quickly in the athletes’ world, and once a town is known as a good destination for a sport, its economy reaps the benefits as adrenaline-seeking tourists spend their money while visiting (Bastone 64).

In Kelly Bastone’s article, one city stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. Oklahoma City’s director of parks and recreation, Wendel Wisenhunt, is quoted, saying “”We were hearing that our emphasis on stick-and-ball sports just wasn’t serving everyone, particularly the younger population.”  Wisenhunt responded to the need for extreme-sports facilities in dramatic fashion; in 2005, at a cost of seven-hundred-thousand dollars, the Mat Hoffman Action Sports Park opened in Oklahoma.  Oklahoma City’s director of parks and recreation worked closely with professional BMX rider and native Oklahoman Mat Hoffman to create a facility that would allow beginners to progress safely while simultaneously challenging veteran athletes (Bastone 2).

This is approach to building facilities is by far the best, as simple logic shows. A dangerous, boring skate park is a bad investment, but not many public officials have thought to go as far as to seek out the input of professional athletes to help build the courses.  The necessity of doing so is obvious, as extreme-sports facilities are products of creativity and have no set boundaries, obstacles, demarcations, or other mandatory features.  A football field is a football field, and can be duplicated rather easily, but skate parks, motocross tracks, and other extreme-sports arenas are unique facilities, each with their own obstacles, safeguards, unique attractions, and creators.  If the city official overseeing the project acquires the help of a professional athlete to design a safe, fun, and challenging course, they are likely to see much larger attendance numbers.  The local economy again feels a pleasant surge as athletes spend money in the park’s proximity, which can transform the cost of the park’s creation into a profit, in time (Bastone 63).

Another factor that is helping win over officials is the changing perception of extreme sports participants as a type of people.  Skaters, particularly, were once associated with illegal activity such as drug use and vandalism; that association is now rapidly dissolving as kids and teens campaign for the addition of skate parks to their city and take pride in keeping the parks safe and legal once they are constructed (Weller 567).  Once looked upon as apathetic deviants, skaters are now being respected as socially active people with strong voices in their community (Weller 568).  As more and more athletes practice their sports without participating in the unsavory activities that were once associated with those sports, more non-athletes are beginning to see them as respectable public figures.

As extreme sports continue to grow in popularity, people are beginning to accept this new view of the athletes, and are realizing that extreme sports may not truly be as bad as the old stereotypes implied they were.  City officials are helping to build new parks, parents are more likely to let their children choose to ride a skateboard or motorcycle, and television networks are scrambling to provide more coverage of high-flying bikers and boarders.  While the public’s increased exposure to extreme sports still far from matches the popularity of older, more well-know sports, the stigma once attached to athletes participating in them is quickly eroding.  For the athletes in question, this acceptance has come somewhat late, but is nevertheless deeply appreciated.  No person enjoys persecution, much less so for performing difficult and skillful feats of athleticism, and extreme sports athletes are no exception.  As ESPN’s X Games grows, Mountain Dew’s Dew Tour appears on network television, and other forums for extreme sports are piped into America’s living rooms, the true athletic and mental fortitude displayed in extreme sports is beginning to be so readily observable that outdated stereotypes can no longer be applied.  More cities are giving in to the demand for skate parks and other facilities for extreme sports athletes to use, and more children than ever are idolizing motocross riders or snowboarders instead of baseball or basketball players.  The former black sheep of the sports world are slowly becoming the main attraction.

One of the most important factors to consider in planning any sports programme is facility. Despite its importance enough attention is not accorded it in our community. The negligence couple with many other factors has contributed immensely to inadequate or lack of provision and development of sports facilities in both our rural and urban communities. Other factors such as prevailing economic situation in Nigeria, religion, land  tenure system, politic, geographical location and the climate, socio-cultural background, the level of health awareness of individuals and the influence of pressure groups were examined along with facilities, suggestions were made for the development of sports facilities and precaution towards workability of the suggestions were given.

Keywords: Sports facilities problems and solutions.

Introduction

The basic consideration in the development of any sports is the availability of adequate facilities (indoor and outdoor) for use when needed. Ideally there should be provision of sufficient indoor and outdoor facilities in both our communities and schools; obviously this is not the case in Nigeria. The question now arises, how do we provide sports facilities in our communities?

To start with, we should not forget that our academic institution, voluntary organizations, clubs, industries, firms and corporations are all operating within the community. For example our institutions of learning are responsible to government and are also aiming at achieving the societal goals with the hope of meeting and satisfying the community needs and interests. Sports have a culture that relates to the culture of the societies, hence, it is a means of culture integration.

When developing sports programmes for a particular population, the community should be the real focus of decision making. The planning of such programme should therefore reflect the needs and interest of the community in line with the prospect of having facilities for the programme. Development of sports facilities can only be embarked upon after an outline of sports policy and programmes has been made. It is therefore of worth to first discuss the problems facing the development of sports facilities in Nigeria’s urban and rural communities

PROBLEM AREAS

Economic Situation

The prevailing economic situation in Nigeria has contributed a lot to the problems facing individual and every community today. The major task now is how to obtain enough money to bridge the gap between the amount and quality of needed sports facilities and the available financial support. The economy of a community has a great impact on the quantity and quality of sports facilities it can afford and develop. An economically weak community may find it difficult to provide and maintain sports facilities and equipment. In an economically viable community, sports facilities will enjoy strong economic support if such community is sports conscious.

Religion

Religion may have influence on the sports interest of a community and this will eventually reflect on the provision and development of sports facilities in such community. A few religious groups frown at certain activities such as social dancing and swimming. The latter is frowned upon because dress use in its participation expose too much of the sacred parts particularly woman. Since sports facilities need to be backed with facilities developing, facilities in such community with the bulk of the population not being interested are a waste.

Land Tenure System

The land tenure system in Nigeria most especially in the southern part has also been creating a lot of problems not only for agricultural production but also in developing sports facilities. The impact is more felt in the urban communities where there is no proper and effective town planning. Land owners sell their land without much consideration for playing or recreational spaces. All they want is money and little consideration is given to welfare of the users. The worst happening in the spaces available are either used to build residence or shops by members of the family (clan) that owns it.

Politics

Politics has a role to play in development of sports generally. This is especially true in civilian regime. The interest and priority of a political party may determine the progress of sports programme and the facilities for them. Politicians who are deeply interested in sports will definitely be interested in developing sports facilities. However, a politically motivated community programmes for development of sports facilities may suffer at a time of change in political situation if the other side in power is not interested in such a programme.

Geographical and Climate Consideration

The geographical location and the climate of a community may be influencing factors in the development of sports facilities. An area endowed with many rivers (reverine area) and plenty of water would be expected to develop sports facilities for aquatic sports due to its natural endowment.

In Nigeria for example, due to the climatic and topographic condition of Mambilla in Taraba State, the federal government has established a games village for training athletes in endurance sports for international competitions. The natural endowment of an environment would determine the activities of interest to local residents. Thus, it is better to determine the activities and interests of a community in relation to its climate and topography. This will even enable the community to conserve the available fund to develop the facilities and influence sports interest in proportion to the demography of the place (i.e. the population composition of the community). In doing this, the social class (status), races, nationalities, wealth educational backgrounds, ages and gender of the residents should be given consideration before planning sports facilities. It may be very difficult to develop sports facilities in a low socio-economic area especially in the inner city due to the likely financial constraints and some other factors such as availability of land, maintenance and sustenance of such facilities for continuity. For example, places like Bodija estates in Ibadan, Oyo state and festac in Lagos state are well planned with enough consideration for playing and recreation spaces, but contrary to the case when comparing places like Gege and Ajegunle in Oyo and Lagos States respectively.

Attitude:

The attitude of people to sports programme is a factor that can influence development of sports facilities. A community may be interested in sports programme but unwilling or unable to spend much on it if sport is not its priority. In an area with low socio-economic standard, a lot of individuals may not be able or willing to contribute financially to the development of sports facilities

Health Awareness:

The level of health awareness of the individuals in a community may determine the acceptance of ports programme and willingness to develop sports facilities. In America, a lot of people are now running physical fitness programme to keep them fit and health. A community that cherishes the health of its individuals would not mind the cost of developing sports facilities. Where a community is not aware of the relationship between physical fitness and sound health, little concern would be given to development of sports facilities.

Pressure Group:

The influence of pressure groups on a community may be utilized to develop sports facilities since they are forces to be reckoned with in the society.

All the factors discussed above can either help or mar any attempt to develop sports facilities in any community if they are not given proper consideration.

The Way Forward

How can we develop sports facilities in our community?

Sports facilities can be developed by various bodies in the community provided the goals and objective are understood.

An individual in a community can embark on developing sports facilities. A philanthropist especially sports lover may take a decision to reflect his/ her love for sports. Notable examples are late Chief Adedoyin Ogundoyin who built a stadium and organized and sponsored a football club in his home town, Chief Raheem Adejumo, the president of Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) has also made contribution in facility sports development and Chief M.K.O. Abiola who was a good example. Chief M.K.O. Abiola enthusiastic and love for sports with his contribution to sports won him the title “the pillar of sports in Africa”. People like these if well encouraged can build or contribute to building of standard facility.

In a situation where the development of sports facilities is too costly to afford by a single person, a joint effort may be sought. In this case, many sports lovers who have the means (capital ) and are willing to sponsor part or whole programmes can come together to develop sports facilities. Similarly, the individuals or philanthropists and the community may decide to levy themselves and join efforts in order to develop sports facilities. Recreation clubs are good example of this. However this should be properly coordinated by the government.

Every individual in the community always look up to government to do everything for them especially things that are meant for public consumption. Unfortunately, government can not do everything but in a situation where it can set a good example for its citizens to follow, such move may be in the right direction. What matters most is for such government to play its part and encourage individuals in the community to assist. Our government should enforce and maintain good town planning in our cities including the so called rural areas and set an example to be set by providing a model sports facilities at least for each community.

A situation where government provides sports facilities (e.g. sports stadium and centers); there is need for proper maintenance and sustenance. The  cost of maintenance may force the government to commercialese such facilities and if care is not taken the  bill may be too  much for the public to bear, eventually the public may be discouraged  and such facilities may not be put to its maximum use. Local government could help in establishing recreational parks and centre, however where hiring fees would be taken it should be very   minimal.

In the course of sports promotion, clubs and societies of various classes could be of help in the development of sports facilities. A club may decide to build its own sports centre(s) as its contribution to sports development. This is now happening in Nigeria with recognition given to professionalism in sports. The only problem with this type of contribution is that such facilities may never be open to the public for use but restricted to members only.

In the same vain there are other institutions such as corporations, industries, firms and companies that can assist greatly in the development of sports facilities. The health of employees should be the concern of any company that wants maximum workers, output. Many commercial and government institutions are now conscious of the importance of physical fitness and health programmes for their employees.

However there are guidelines for the use of sports facilities provided by these institutions. Guidelines such as specific hours of operations of the facilities, a written set of operational procedure and objectives and training for participants and so on may reduce the accessibility of these facilities to the public. In Nigeria we have many companies and corporations establishing and funding sports clubs that are making their marks at national and international competitions. Tax relief may be given to such companies or industries on the amount spend on facilities for sports.

Apart from the establishment of sports clubs, these institutions also involve themselves in the promotion of recreation programs. Many of them have staff clubs or staff recreation centers. Although their sports facilities may not be open to the general public, the fact still remains that they are contributing to the development of sports facilities in their various communities. All that need to be done is for government to establish a working alliance between them and their communities.

A joint industry and government sponsored sports programs will in no small way help in the development of sports facilities in our communities. A joint programme like this will be more viable and be less a burden for the community to maintain. This type of venture may be in form of recreation parks or centers. The local government can easily look for a co-sponsor(s) to develop sports facilities.

There may be a joint programme(s) between the community and the government to develop sports facilities. A lot could be borrowed from the ‘’ Better life for Rural women” where the community was expected to show its interest in establishing or embarking on a project before the local or state or national body could come to assist them. If through a community effort a special facility is established but uncompleted, such community may call for assistance from the government or even private individuals.

A community could even lunch an appeal fund for development of sports facilities. In a situation like this, the goals and the specific plan for the kind of sports facilities the community intends to develop must be clearly defined. This will involve many individuals, corporations, companies, associations, government and various national and international bodies as joint sponsors.

As aforementioned, the facilities available in our communities are limited in number and very few and even most of them are not open to the entire public but for special groups of people because they are owned privately. Therefore, both school and community sports facilities should be planned and used to supplement and complement each other in meeting the needs of students and community.  This demands that government should take more than passive interest in the development of sports facilities in schools. There should also be a reciprocal opportunity between schools and community for the use of the facilities. This will promote cooperation and support between the school and the community where it exists.

Both students and staff of our academic institutions should be encouraged to participate in sports either as intramural or extramural program. There have been cases where alumnus single handedly sponsor big projects in schools. If alumni of various schools are encouraged they can contribute in this regard.

If schools show enough commitment, it will bring awareness to individual member of the community to know that sporting activities are not for academic institution teams or club alone, but all member of the community. This type of awareness may spur such community into developing sports facilities in the community and the academic institutions through either individual efforts or community effort or both.

A community may go beyond the immediate local for assistance. Assistance may be sought from national and international bodies for sponsorship or co-sponsorship to develop sports facilities.

The existing sports facilities in our communities may be developed, maintained and expanded by all the bodies stated above in such communities. Local materials may be adapted or used to improvise some sports materials to reduce cost. Thus weather urban or rural the rule of adaptation should be adopted.

Government should embark upon thorough campaign and publicity for more public awareness to the importance of participation in sporting activities and the prospects it can bring to a community. This may be done through mass media, posters, seminars and clinics for both seniors and juniors staff of various work of life and the public in general  the local, state and federal levels.

Community based sports competitions within and outside localities should be frequently organized to reflect the usefulness of these facilities among various age grades, sex, institutions and clubs to be sponsored by various organizations. Such competition should be intra and extra local.

There should be organization of a community based sports programmes in our various communities. Community service organization programmes should be made used of by government for development of sports facilities. For example, Boys scouts, philanthropic club, charity organizations, religion and social associations who are voluntary association can be appealed to and encouraged to assist in the development of sports facilities. However if religion associations would be involved a distinction should be made between religion interest and sports interest.

All these suggestions would work provided the following precautions are taken:

The local climate and the geographical location of the community should be given adequate consideration while developing sports facilities. This may help in developing the natural facilities in the community.

There should be adequate provision of experts such as coaches, trainers and other technical personnel to make the best use of the available facilities and equipment in such a way that public would see and appreciate the benefits to be derived from them and the importance of having them in the community. Willing community members can be trained as coaches or recreation officials to assist in managing and training other members of the community.

There should be emphasis on formation and sustenance of maintenance culture. The facilities available should be regularly serviced and maintained by all the bodies concerned.

Due to the prevalence pf social vices in our society, adequate provision should be made for supervision, security and safety of the easily removable facilities and equipment.

Local talents should be tapped and recognized in the community and used for their individual and societal progress.

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Barclays Championship – (PGA Tour)

The Barclays Championship was held at Ridgewood Country Club, Paramus – Vijay Singh won The Barclays for a record fourth time Sunday using the following golf clubs: Cleveland HiBore XL driver and Adams a3 Boxer hybrids (16- and 19-degrees) in addition to Cleveland CG1 irons (4-PW) and CG12 wedges. Singh’s line-up of golf clubs was completed with a Never Compromise Milled Series Long putter.

Safeway Classic presented by Pepsi – (LPGA Tour)

The Safeway Classic was held at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. Cristie Kerr won the Safeway Classic on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with Helen Alfredsson and Sophie Gustafson using the following golf clubs: Ping G10 driver, Callaway Big Bertha fairway woods (15, 18 and 21-degree). Kerr also used Callaway Steelhead X-16 irons (4-PW) and Cleveland 588 wedges (54- and 60-deg). Cristie opted for a Ping G5i Craz-E putter to finish on.

The KLM Open – (European Tour)

The KLM Open was staged at Kennemer Golf & Country Club, Zandvoort – Darren Clarke hauled himself into The Ryder Cup reckoning with a superb four stroke victory over Paul McGinley with a final round of 16 under par. Clarke selected the following golf clubs to win The KLM Open: TaylorMade Burner driver and TaylorMade Burner TP fairway wood. Darren opted for a set of TaylorMade rac TP irons (3-9). Darren finished using a Yes! Golf Callie putter.

Boeing Classic – Champions Tour

Kite shot a final round score of 66, coming back from a three shot deficit behind Scott Simpson to clinch his second Boeing Classic title. Tom Kite used a TaylorMade Burner driver with 3-wood and Titleist 975F 5-wood in addition to a Titleist 503H hybrid club (21-deg) and Callaway X-Forged irons (4-PW). Kite also selected Titleist Vokey (56 and 61 degrees) wedges and putted using a Rife Long 2 Bar Hybrid Mallet putter.

Pennsylvania Classic – Nationwide Tour

The Northeast Pennsylvania Classic has been won by Scott Piercy at Elmhurst Country Club, Russia. Piercy fired a six-under 64 Sunday to come from behind and win the Classic. Kang. Scott used the following golf clubs: TaylorMade r7 425 driver and TaylorMade Burner 3- and 5-wood; in addition to using a set of Titleist 690MB irons with Titleist Vokey Spin Milled gap, sand and lob wedges – completed with the addition of a Scotty Cameron by Titleist putter.

U.S. Amateur – USGA

Danny Lee has entered golf’s record books and looks certain to becoming the next Tiger Woods after producing a historic victory at the Pineshurst Resort and Country Club whilst using the following golf clubs: TaylorMade Tour Burner driver and TaylorMade Tour Burner fairway wood (14.5-deg). Lee selected to use prototype irons from Callaway (2-PW) with Titleist Vokey (52- and 58-deg) wedges and an Odyssey prototype putter.

The Gettysburg Championship – Duramed Futures Tour

Samantha Richdale has earned her first professional win by two strokes with a finish of 1-over-par 73 whilst using a Cleveland Launcher driver and Titleist 3- and 5-woods. Richdale also selected to use a set of Miura MC-102 irons (3-PW) and TaylorMade (52- and 56-deg wedges). Samantha finished perfectly using a Titleist Scotty Cameron Newport 2 golf putter.

Golf Tournament Results from The Sports HQ – number 1 supplier of factory direct golf clubs and equipment from leading manufacturers.

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When you are ready to start you have to visit Best Betting Sports sites, which is perfectly responsible for making money on your sports bets.sites are favorable sports online. Any of the sport on which you want to bet, you will want to go close to the past performances of the teams and players as well as the conditions under which they will play in order to make a good bet. Betting on Sports is a great source of entertainment for the casual or directing gambler. Certainly sports betting can be risky business to begin with money, so don’t ever believe that any one’s strategy. Make your strategy with your own study of the sport .People who loves to watch sports often become so mentally and emotionally involved in their favorable sports that they often want to become involved with It is very important to note and understand the all betting prices are subject to some share limit. Many experts bitterly agree that the betting limits usually placed by the bookmakers may affect your arbitrage sports betting strategy. A number of the larger sports products and services have staff members that are in sales, everything from answer calls to clients for any information about different sports programs & sports stetergy. People are bets on these all Categories; * Sports Betting * Horse Racing Betting * Cricket Betting * Baseball Betting * Boxing Betting * Golf Betting * College Basketball Betting * Motor Racing * College Football Betting * NBA Betting * NHL Betting * Online Casino * Hockey Betting * Soccer Betting * Tennis Betting * Political Betting * Online Poker Betting on Sports is one of the most exciting and fastest growing activities in the world. In this field now people bets on collage sports also. People are bet on horse, dog, and many pets in other countries. The bookmakers are middle man of the betting but he earn lots. If you want to get in on your sporting action, then you consider one of the many Sports Betting Services out there. There are quite a few of them all over the internet. People are bets on these all; When you want to betting, you need to decide which kind of sport that you want to bet.. There are many options out of there. You can bet on your favorable sports & also your favorite team. Bookmakers are betting from your side. Luck is very important in sports betting. For to success with Sports Betting, you need to do your research before selecting your games.

School PE Sports Equipment.

PE the great way of learning….

school sports equipment for all levels, Physical education provides children with learning opportunities through the medium of movement and contributes to their overall development by helping them to lead complete, active and healthy lives.

Physical education is distinguished from other curricular areas by its primary focus on the body and on physical experience and is an integral part of the educational process, without which the education of the child is incomplete. Through a diverse range of experiences providing regular, challenging physical activity, the balanced and harmonious development and general well-being of the child is fostered.

Physical education meets the physical needs of the child and the need for movement experiences, challenges and play to let them learn new activities. It develops a desire for daily physical activity and encourages constructive use of free time and participation in physical activities in adult life, as this helps the stressful life that an adult has. To fulfill these needs, physical education is built on the principles of variety and diversity, not of specialisation. It provides a wide variety of movement activities appropriate to the level of development of the child while learning.

Through physical education the child can experience the happiness of physical exertion and the satisfaction of achievement while developing skills and positive attitudes that enhance self-esteem of each child. Physical education provides opportunities to develop desirable personal and social attributes, the concept of fair play, the acceptance of success and failure, and the ability to co-operate in group situations. These opportunities contribute to the understanding and promotion of a healthy life-style to all participants. Physical education, as an integral part of the total curriculum indoor & outdoor, provides vital opportunities for the physical, social, emotional and intellectual development of the children in all levels and ages.

The activities that include in the current Irish School PE curriculum:

Athletics ( Javelin, Shot Putt, Hammer Throw,)
Badminton ( Rackets, Shuttlecocks , Badminton posts & net)
Basketball ( Indoor & Outdoor Basketball, Basketball Ring & Backboards )
Football ( Footballs, football Goals & Back nets)
GAA Games ( GAA footballs, Hurling Sticks & Sliothars)
Gymnastics ( benches, Vault Box, & Spring Boards)
Netball ( Netball, Netball Ring & Bib)
Rugby ( Rugby Balls, Tag Rugby for less contact)
Table Tennis Table ( Table, Bats & Balls)
Tennis ( Rackets, Balls, Tennis Posts)
Volleyball ( Volleyballs, Volleyball Posts & Net)

If you have this in your school your only 1 step away from learning new activities…

To the same extent that attending to the health needs of the body are the foundation of a good training regimen, mental focus, concentration and visualization are the keys to success. Most people are familiar with the saying that sports is 90% mental and 10% physical. Why is it then that so many athletes fail to give attention to mental training? That 90% figure should be pretty hard to overlook yet it often is. By studying trancendant athletes and sports stars, it becomes apparent that the common edge they have over competition indeed does begin mentally.

The Theory in Action

Jerry West, the NBA Logo, had such a penchant for hitting buzzer beaters he was nicknamed ‘Mr. Clutch’. In one memorable game in which his team was trailing the Knicks with a few seconds left in an NBA Finals game, West took an inbound pass and shot from 60 feet at the buzzer. Knicks guard Walt Clyde Frazier recalls thinking: “The man’s crazy. He looks determined. He thinks it’s really going in!”. Of course, it did go in, sending the crowd reeling and the game to overtime. One time, when asked about his ability to frequently hit the big shot, West revealed the root of that confidence Frazier witnessed. West explained that he had already made those shots time after time in his mind. Jerry West, like so many other legends the such as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Phil Jackson, Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky and countless others, realized the power of visualization.

What is Visualization?

Visualization is known as guided imagery, meditation, and by many other names. A popular visualization for athletes is the mental rehearsal of sporting events while ‘intending’ a desired outcome. Amazingly, research has revealed that visualization can actually enhance performance to nearly the same extent as physical practice. A study conducted by Dr. Blaslotto at the University Of Chicago is an intriguing example.

The goal of Dr. Blaslotto‘s study was to determine the effects of visualization on sports performance. As a performance measure for this experiment, the researchers chose the free throw percentage of a group of basketball players. First, to establish a basis for the study, the current free-throw success rate of each of the subjects was tested and recorded. Three groups were then established, and the athletes were assigned to one of the groups at random. After 30 days of testing and retesting, the results were as follows:

The third group, who neither physically practiced or visualized shooting free-throws, showed no increase in percentage.

The first group which physically shot free-throws for an hour daily, collectively improved thier free-throw shooting by 24%.

The second group, which practiced daily by visualizing shooting and making free-throws, collectively improved thier free-throw shooting by a shocking 23% without having physically shot a basketball!

Another similiar study was done by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation exploring the effects of visualization on muscle strength. The results of that study also astonishingly revealed increases to muscle strength through visualization, further reinforcing the fact that mental training is actually as impactful a tool in performance enhancement as physical training.

How does Visualization work?

With each experience, a neural pathway is formed. Neural Pathways in short, are clusters of neurons in the brain that work together to create a memory or a learned behavior. Dr. Blaslotto explained, “As your brain conceives of an act, it generates impulses that prompt neurons to ‘perform’ the movement being imagined by transmitting those impulses from the brain to the muscles.” This in turn creates a habit, or neural pathway in the brain, programming your body’s actions as if you physically performed the activity….

Back when we were growing up it seemed there was only a small array of sports from which kids could choose to play. Nowadays we as parents together with our kids have a host of activities in which to participate. The question is should we allow our children to pick one sport to be really good at or should they learn the skills and rules of several activities while also exercising other muscles?

My son has been playing soccer for almost four years. He loves the sport and—me being his somewhat biased mother—he’s really good at it. He plays it for about eight months out of the year. During the other four months, however, he chooses other games to play such as basketball and flag football. We feel it’s important to ‘broaden his horizons’ if I may be so cliché and we’ve noticed that different kinds of training have enhanced his skills on the soccer field.

There appears to be some merit to this philosophy. In an article written by Tim Alan Kauppinen and featured on ConsumerHealthDigest.com there are potential risks involved with specializing in one sport at an early age. Kauppinen, aka “Coach K” has more than 20 years of experience as an athlete and coach and has worked with athletes of all ages and abilities. There are four dangers of specialization, according to Coach K.

Overuse injuries—working the body in the same way repeatedly year-round can lead to overuse injuries. Different sports utilize different parts of the body leading to better overall athletic performance. Pediatricians agree that children should participate in a variety of physical activities.

Burn out—playing one sport day in and day out for several years can lead to burn out at an early age. Taking part in other sports provides some relief from the same ol’ thing and at the same time can keep the main sport interesting, challenging and fun.
The college scholarship myth—in fact only a very small percentage of young athletes actually earn a scholarship. Contrary to popular belief, most college recruiters are looking for the best all-around athletes, says Coach K.

Not achieving your full athletic potential—by focusing on only one sport children don’t develop other skills that would benefit their performance in their primary activity. Speed, balance, mental focus, jumping, twisting are emphasized differently in other sports, thereby resulting in a better soccer player (in the case of my son) for example.

What do you think about sports specialization? Does your child focus on one sport for the majority of the year? If he or she participates in other activities, what are they? For more information on sport specialization for your child.