Sunday, 4 October 2015
Tuesday, 1 September 2015
This Sporting Life
Changes in sport & leisure activities
Fridays in Abu Dhabi 20 years ago were very different to today. There were no shopping malls and most shops, if they opened at all, did so late afternoon or early evening. Sundays in England in the 1950s, when I was a boy, were similarly quiet. Public transport operated much reduced services. Few children played outside. All shops were closed, apart from newsagents in the morning. The only sporting event I can recall on a Sunday was the annual Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe horse race in Paris. Nowadays, Fridays in A.D. & Sundays in the UK are big shopping and sporting days.
History & social conditions play a big part in how much sport & leisure feature in everyday life. I was born in 1949 & postwar austerity & rationing were features of my early childhood. Sports like football, cricket & horse-racing attracted enormous crowds in the postwar years. People longed to return to peacetime activities after the horrors and hardships of the Second World War and sports stadiums were not all-seater, as most are today, so thousands packed into football stadiums in particular. But for most people sport was a spectator rather than a participatory activity in the immediate postwar period. Whereas nowadays millions of people worldwide follow sports on TV, back then in Britain sports coverage on TV was very limited: the FA Cup Final, the annual All-England Tennis Championship at Wimbledon, the Varsity Boat Race, the 5-nation Rugby Union championship, the Rugby League Cup Final, the Open Golf Championship, test cricket matches (in 5-day tests Sunday was a rest day) and major races like the Derby & the Grand National were highlights. In the 1950s if you wanted to watch a lot of sport you had to physically attend sporting events.
Go back 40 years to the birth of the UAE: the new nation lacked infrastructure & there was a dearth of sporting & leisure facilities. Look at the Club as it was in 1962 (see the blog post The Club Abu Dhabi) and as it is now. In 1962 there were virtually no facilities and the Club existed mainly as a meeting place, a watering hole. Now it has an extensive beach, 2 pools, 4 tennis courts, 2 squash courts, a badminton hall, an outdoor general-purpose court, a diving section, a large sailing section and a well-equipped fitness centre, including gym, saunas and steam rooms. There is also a well-stocked library as well as numerous classes for dancing, aerobics, music, basket-weaving, jewelry-making, drama, language learning and so on. It now has over 4,000 members from over 80 countries. The number of food & beverage outlets, indeed the whole range of facilities, has greatly expanded since I first joined in 1992.
150 years ago, the development of railways in Britain, Europe & the USA for the first time provided fast, cheap transport for working people, many of whom could do things like visit the seaside for the first time. Henry Ford’s method of mass production of motor cars, widely copied at home and abroad, greatly cacelerated this process in the early 20th century. Many people began to take up leisure & sporting activities which were previously very limited. Indeed the concept of leisure was, for working people, born at this time. Better working conditions, brought about by mines & factories acts, and other social legislation, meant people were fitter & better able to enjoy greater leisure time.
Nowadays leisure & sports are big business worldwide with a growing number of people seeking careers in them. Just look at all the sports & social clubs here in A.D. and the number of staff and professional coaches who man them.
On a personal note, I never flew until my mid-20s and my first jet plane journey was at the age of 30. Now I have young students who have travelled extensively in Europe, Asia, the Far East & Australasia. Even 20 years ago, few of my then students would have travelled beyond the Gulf region.
Of course, increased leisure time does not necessarily mean a more active lifestyle. Previous generations in this region were active as pearl divers, farmers, and so on, and even ordinary travel was more physical for everyone, whether by camel, horse or on foot. Nowadays most Emiratis have sedentary jobs, comfortable cars and engage in many non-physical activities such as watching TV, playing computer games etc. This has led to high rates of obesity, diabetes and other related problems. Increased leisure offers great opportunities for leading a fit & healthy life. Encouraging more people to do so is one of the challenges of modern life.
A personal reflection
Fridays in Abu Dhabi 20 years ago were very different to today. There were no shopping malls and most shops, if they opened at all, did so late afternoon or early evening. Sundays in England in the 1950s, when I was a boy, were similarly quiet. Public transport operated much reduced services. Few children played outside. All shops were closed, apart from newsagents in the morning. The only sporting event I can recall on a Sunday was the annual Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe horse race in Paris. Nowadays, Fridays in A.D. & Sundays in the UK are big shopping and sporting days.
History & social conditions play a big part in how much sport & leisure feature in everyday life. I was born in 1949 & postwar austerity & rationing were features of my early childhood. Sports like football, cricket & horse-racing attracted enormous crowds in the postwar years. People longed to return to peacetime activities after the horrors and hardships of the Second World War and sports stadiums were not all-seater, as most are today, so thousands packed into football stadiums in particular. But for most people sport was a spectator rather than a participatory activity in the immediate postwar period. Whereas nowadays millions of people worldwide follow sports on TV, back then in Britain sports coverage on TV was very limited: the FA Cup Final, the annual All-England Tennis Championship at Wimbledon, the Varsity Boat Race, the 5-nation Rugby Union championship, the Rugby League Cup Final, the Open Golf Championship, test cricket matches (in 5-day tests Sunday was a rest day) and major races like the Derby & the Grand National were highlights. In the 1950s if you wanted to watch a lot of sport you had to physically attend sporting events.
Go back 40 years to the birth of the UAE: the new nation lacked infrastructure & there was a dearth of sporting & leisure facilities. Look at the Club as it was in 1962 (see the blog post The Club Abu Dhabi) and as it is now. In 1962 there were virtually no facilities and the Club existed mainly as a meeting place, a watering hole. Now it has an extensive beach, 2 pools, 4 tennis courts, 2 squash courts, a badminton hall, an outdoor general-purpose court, a diving section, a large sailing section and a well-equipped fitness centre, including gym, saunas and steam rooms. There is also a well-stocked library as well as numerous classes for dancing, aerobics, music, basket-weaving, jewelry-making, drama, language learning and so on. It now has over 4,000 members from over 80 countries. The number of food & beverage outlets, indeed the whole range of facilities, has greatly expanded since I first joined in 1992.
150 years ago, the development of railways in Britain, Europe & the USA for the first time provided fast, cheap transport for working people, many of whom could do things like visit the seaside for the first time. Henry Ford’s method of mass production of motor cars, widely copied at home and abroad, greatly cacelerated this process in the early 20th century. Many people began to take up leisure & sporting activities which were previously very limited. Indeed the concept of leisure was, for working people, born at this time. Better working conditions, brought about by mines & factories acts, and other social legislation, meant people were fitter & better able to enjoy greater leisure time.
Nowadays leisure & sports are big business worldwide with a growing number of people seeking careers in them. Just look at all the sports & social clubs here in A.D. and the number of staff and professional coaches who man them.
On a personal note, I never flew until my mid-20s and my first jet plane journey was at the age of 30. Now I have young students who have travelled extensively in Europe, Asia, the Far East & Australasia. Even 20 years ago, few of my then students would have travelled beyond the Gulf region.
Of course, increased leisure time does not necessarily mean a more active lifestyle. Previous generations in this region were active as pearl divers, farmers, and so on, and even ordinary travel was more physical for everyone, whether by camel, horse or on foot. Nowadays most Emiratis have sedentary jobs, comfortable cars and engage in many non-physical activities such as watching TV, playing computer games etc. This has led to high rates of obesity, diabetes and other related problems. Increased leisure offers great opportunities for leading a fit & healthy life. Encouraging more people to do so is one of the challenges of modern life.
Monday, 31 August 2015
Diet & Sport
Body weight in sport
Mark Webber, a fraction over 6 feet, or 1.8m, and 75kg, warns that the ideal driver weight is now between 60 and 65kg because every 5 kg of extra weight means a loss of 0.2 seconds a lap – a huge drag in F1 terms, in which lap times are measured in fractions.
In rugby union, the mission is to bulk up, with even the shortest of forwards built like tanks. Tom Youngs, the England hooker, is short enough to be a racing driver but almost twice the weight, 102kg.
Sir Bradley Wiggins, Britain’s Olympic champion cyclist, has to carry his own weight on his bike, though, and is an incredible beanpole of a sportsman at less than 11 stone, 70kg, even though he is over 6 feet, 1.8m.
There are no suggestions that eating disorders are rife in F1, although David Coulthard, one of the tallest drivers during his time in the sport, said that he was bulimic as a teenager headed for F1 and the McLaren team, regularly vomiting his food to keep his weight to a minimum.
Button says he struggles to make the weight for his McLaren car. He is a seriously competitive triathlete, weighs in at 70kg and has only 6% body fat. This makes him one of the leanest athletes in sport but he too is 6 feet, 3 inches, 1.9m, taller than Sebastian Vettel, the jockey-sized world champion, who weighs in at just 64kg. Button says he couldn’t be any heavier so he fasts. He eats limited amounts of food and it is always high in protein and no carbohydrates. If he doesn’t do this, he says, it’s the end of his career.
Jenson Button has confessed that he effectively starves himself as F1 hurtles into an era of jockey-sized drivers. Eating disorders are rife in the world of horse racing, where jockeys drive down their weight to guarantee rides on the best horses. Frankie Dettori, one of the tiniest sportsmen at just 54.8kg, has admitted taking diuretic drugs in his quest to meet the riding weights demanded by racehorse owners.
Now, in F1, drivers are shaving ounces off already lean frames because teams are deciding not to hire drivers whose extra pounds could be a critical factor in finding speed. The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, the F1 drivers’ union, is so concerned that it is demanding that regulation minimum weights are raised next season to give themselves some belt room.Mark Webber, a fraction over 6 feet, or 1.8m, and 75kg, warns that the ideal driver weight is now between 60 and 65kg because every 5 kg of extra weight means a loss of 0.2 seconds a lap – a huge drag in F1 terms, in which lap times are measured in fractions.
In rugby union, the mission is to bulk up, with even the shortest of forwards built like tanks. Tom Youngs, the England hooker, is short enough to be a racing driver but almost twice the weight, 102kg.
Sir Bradley Wiggins, Britain’s Olympic champion cyclist, has to carry his own weight on his bike, though, and is an incredible beanpole of a sportsman at less than 11 stone, 70kg, even though he is over 6 feet, 1.8m.
There are no suggestions that eating disorders are rife in F1, although David Coulthard, one of the tallest drivers during his time in the sport, said that he was bulimic as a teenager headed for F1 and the McLaren team, regularly vomiting his food to keep his weight to a minimum.
Button says he struggles to make the weight for his McLaren car. He is a seriously competitive triathlete, weighs in at 70kg and has only 6% body fat. This makes him one of the leanest athletes in sport but he too is 6 feet, 3 inches, 1.9m, taller than Sebastian Vettel, the jockey-sized world champion, who weighs in at just 64kg. Button says he couldn’t be any heavier so he fasts. He eats limited amounts of food and it is always high in protein and no carbohydrates. If he doesn’t do this, he says, it’s the end of his career.
How to be a successful leader
IOC MOOC
Have you been paying attention?
Take the learning check to test your knowledge and complete the course
Grading method: Highest grade
Summary of your previous attempts
| Attempt | State | Marks / 6.00 | Grade / 10.00 | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FinishedSubmitted Monday, 18 May 2015, 5:09 AM | 6.00 | 10.00 | Review |
Highest grade: 10.00 / 10.00.
Wednesday, 26 August 2015
World Cup & Summer Olympics
FIFA World Cup
The World Cup was first held in 1930 in Uruguay, which won it.
Only 8 countries have ever won the Cup.
Brazil has won the World Cup 5 times, Italy 4, Germany 4, Argentina & Uruguay 2 each, England, France & Spain 1 each.
The only player so far to have scored a hat-trick in the final match is Sir Geoff Hurst, for England, in 1966.
The Summer Olympics
The United States has hosted four Summer Olympic Games, more than any other nation. The United Kingdom hosted the 2012 Olympic games, its third Summer Olympic Games, in its capital London, making London the first city to host the Summer Olympic Games three times. Australia, France, Germany and Greece have all hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice. Other countries that have hosted the Summer Olympics are Belgium, China, Canada, Finland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, the Soviet Union and Sweden. In 2016, Rio de Janeiro will host the first Summer Games in South America. Three cities have hosted two Summer Olympic Games: Los Angeles, Paris and Athens. Stockholm, Sweden, has hosted events at two Summer Olympic Games, having hosted the games in 1912 and the equestrian events at the 1956 Summer Olympics—which they are usually listed as jointly hosting. Events at the summer Olympics have also been held in Hong Kong and the Netherlands, with the equestrian events at the 2008 Summer Olympics being held in Sha Tin and Kwu Tung, Hong Kong and two sailing races at the 1920 Summer Olympics being held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Only 8 countries have ever won the Cup.
Brazil has won the World Cup 5 times, Italy 4, Germany 4, Argentina & Uruguay 2 each, England, France & Spain 1 each.
The only player so far to have scored a hat-trick in the final match is Sir Geoff Hurst, for England, in 1966.
The Summer Olympics
The United States has hosted four Summer Olympic Games, more than any other nation. The United Kingdom hosted the 2012 Olympic games, its third Summer Olympic Games, in its capital London, making London the first city to host the Summer Olympic Games three times. Australia, France, Germany and Greece have all hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice. Other countries that have hosted the Summer Olympics are Belgium, China, Canada, Finland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, the Soviet Union and Sweden. In 2016, Rio de Janeiro will host the first Summer Games in South America. Three cities have hosted two Summer Olympic Games: Los Angeles, Paris and Athens. Stockholm, Sweden, has hosted events at two Summer Olympic Games, having hosted the games in 1912 and the equestrian events at the 1956 Summer Olympics—which they are usually listed as jointly hosting. Events at the summer Olympics have also been held in Hong Kong and the Netherlands, with the equestrian events at the 2008 Summer Olympics being held in Sha Tin and Kwu Tung, Hong Kong and two sailing races at the 1920 Summer Olympics being held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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