‘Sports’ Archives
Yankee Ingenuity
Yankee Ingenuity If there is any characteristic that is typically American, it is “Yankee ingenuity.” No group of individuals is more reflective of this characteristic than American farmers, who are the most avid participants in pulling. Farmers, a self-employed lot, have always had by virtue of necessity to “do it themselves.”Why [...]
The Japanese Sword
The Japanese Sword Iaido is practiced with the Japanese sword. This weapon has, for hundreds of years, been considered both a weapon and a work of art. The first swords in Japan were straight double- and single- edged weapons called ken, likely created on the Asian mainland. Around 700 A.D. a native form called the tachi was created which was [...]
Football in Australia
Football in Australia Its rules are the oldest among any form of football in the world. Its field is the biggest. Its teams are the largest. And its traditions may be the most colorful. Affectionately known as Footy, Australian Rules Football dates to the 1850s, when English and Irish colonists working in the gold mines of the Australian [...]
Safaris
Safaris Asafari is a leisure or recreational activity that involves all forms of sport hunting combined with travel and lasting more than a day. No doubt the many movies and novels involving safaris taking place at the end of the 19th century and through the first quarter of the 20th century helped create today’s popular image. Some safaris [...]
Sports Science and Technology
Sports Science and Technology The discipline of sports science in medicine and technology is a combination of biomechanics, kinesiology, and anatomy. Within these parts, sports science dates back to Aristotle and Archimedes, when sport was an integral part of Roman and Greek life and inspired a fascination with the mechanics of the human body. [...]
Australian Open
Australian Open Australian Open, prestigious tennis tournament held each year in Melbourne, Australia. The Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the United States Open make up the sport’s so-called grand slam events. Any player who captures all four events in one year is said to have won “the grand slam.” The Australian Open [...]
Athletes Choking
Athletes Choking Why do athletes “choke” in pressure situations? Choking is a popular term for performing poorly in stressful situations due to a lack of mental skill. Basically, choking occurs when attention is focused on the wrong things. Athletes choke because they lose control of their thought processes and their minds do not allow [...]
Powerlifting and Drugs
Powerlifting and Drugs Use of performance-enhancement drugs, including steroids, has been a controversial issue within competitive powerlifting. The powerlifting world has primarily two types of governing bodies that are philosophically opposite concerning drug usage and drug testing. Drug-free organizations have been formed in an attempt to [...]
Amateur Athletic Union of the United States
Amateur Athletic Union of the United States Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (AAU), national nonprofit organization founded in 1888 and comprising 58 associations and thousands of volunteers interested in fostering amateur sports and physical fitness. The AAU defines an amateur athlete as “one who engages in sport for pleasure . . [...]
Race Across America
Race Across America The Race Across America (RAAM) is a grueling annual bicycle marathon from California to the East Coast. The race was founded in 1982 to bring greater recognition to ultramarathon cycling, a sport that pushes human limits. During the race, the participants cycle almost continuously, taking only very short rest breaks. In [...]
