Rob's Blog

Do It Yourself Sporting Tours

August 7th, 2009 · Cricket, Spectators, Sport

It is becoming popular for sporting fans to get together and fly around the world to support their team. Why pay so much when you can do it yourself for much cheaper? There is a big market for these tour groups and people pay way too much for the privilege.

People pay thousands of dollars to join a cricket tour of India, where you can get by on as little as $10 a day. However, I admit that you do get plenty of extras from joining such a group, for example meeting some of the sports stars, getting priority entry, and having good seats organised/guaranteed. You also don’t have to buy your own travel tickets and organise hotels.

It is fun either way you go, but if you want to save money and make it an adventure, then do it yourself. I may even come along and do the self-guided tour with you! Careful, if you get too many of our mates together it will become one of those tours you are trying to avoid!

Related Pages: About Cricket

Comments Off on Do It Yourself Sporting ToursTags: Cricket·events·india·Spectators·tours·travel

Starting the Wave

July 22nd, 2009 · Spectators

Is the Mexican Wave really from Mexico? I did some searching. Its origins are disputed but may be traced across different sports in three North American countries.

It’s said that it was created by chance at a National Hockey League game in Canada in 1980, and was introduced to a wider audience at a major league baseball game in the US in 1981. It gained international notice at a FIFA World Cup game in Mexico in 1986 – hence its name.

The largest recorded Mexican wave occurred at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 where 110,000 people did a Mexican wave, with two simultaneous opposite direction waves racing around the stadium.

Now some officials in Australia have banned the wave at certain sporting events, citing the danger of thrown objects to spectators. It is not a popular decision and difficult thing to stop, and like the wave itself, once it starts it just keeps going.

Comments Off on Starting the WaveTags:

Longest Golf Course Across Australian Outback

July 19th, 2009 · Golf

The world’s longest golf course is currently being built in the middle of the Australia’s Outback. The course will stretch along 1365km. However, you will not have to hit a ball that far, as there are some big hikes between holes. The course, called ‘Nullarbor Links’, comprises 18 holes located between Ceduna in South Australia and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. Each hole is composed of an artificial grass tee and green, separated by a rugged outback fairway. The unique course is predicted to be a hit with tourists from far and wide, with a chance to experience “the real Australia”.

Related Pages: golf

Comments Off on Longest Golf Course Across Australian OutbackTags:

Cricket Referrals – the umpire is not always right

June 19th, 2009 · Cricket, Technology, Umpires & Referees

Cricket has joined some other sports to now have at Test level an umpire referral system. It was first trialed in 2008 (in a Test series between Sri Lanka and India). Unlike in tennis where the challenge and referral decision is clear cut using hawke-eye technology, the cricket referral is adjudicated by another umpire and is open to further errors. The actual way it works may change and develop, but when it was first brought in this is how it worked.

Players are allowed to challenge decisions made by the on-field umpires and have them referred to the TV official. For each innings of the Test, each team can challenge any decisions, though they will be limited to three unsuccessful challenges per innings. Only the batsman on the receiving end of the umpire’s original decision or the captain of the fielding side can appeal by making a “T” sign with both forearms at shoulder height. The third umpire uses the technology of the hot spot and slow motion replays at different angles to gain information and make decisions.

It all sounds great for the players and viewers at home, but the pressure is on the umpires. In reality, the process takes too long and can distract from the game. When there are challenges left near the end of an innings, players tend to make frivolous challenges on the off chance of getting a decision overturned. So there are still problems that need to be ironed out, but a great step forward for cricket.

Related Pages: About Cricket, Technology in Sports

Comments Off on Cricket Referrals – the umpire is not always rightTags: Cricket·Technology·umpires

Should Soccer use a video referee?

June 17th, 2009 · Football (Soccer), Technology, Umpires & Referees

One sport that has so far resisted the use of high-tech assistance is soccer (football). It is about time they got with the 20th century. They can’t avoid the power of the people and the power of the TV replays to upgrade their sports.

There are multiple ways that technology could help the refs. How about replays being used to adjudicate off-side decisions, whether a ball passes over the goal line, and to clarify penalty decisions? An off-field referee could communicate with the umpires on the field using wireless technology.

→ 3 CommentsTags:

The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live

May 24th, 2009 · Major Events, Spectators, Sport

A new book by Robert Tuchman, who works in Sports promotion and management, is called, The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live: An Insider’s Guide to Creating the Sports Experience of a Lifetime. Tuchman used live appeal as the main criterion for his selection. There is a US bias, which is not surprising considering that many Americans think that they are the center of the sporting universe (which is true in some sports).

I don’t doubt his top four but am not sure that the UNC vs. Duke Basketball Game at Cameron Indoor Stadium deserves top 10 status. I have not seen such a game, so maybe I am not qualified to comment. I have ticked off two of the ten, still quite a way to go. Check out the complete list of 100, and my list.

Here are the top-10 events you must see, according to Robert Tuchman. What do you think?

1. The Golf Masters
2. FIFA World Cup
3. Super Bowl
4. Summer Olympics
5. Army vs. Navy Football Game
6. New York City Marathon
7. World Series Baseball
8. Winter Olympics
9. Red Sox vs. Yankees at Yankee Stadium
10. UNC vs. Duke Basketball Game at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Comments Off on The 100 Sporting Events You Must See LiveTags: events

Make Your Own Beep Test

May 14th, 2009 · Fitness Testing, Technology

In the past you had the option of just playing the beep test on your cd player or mp3 player. There is now a computer software program which enables you to run the test right on your PC or Laptop, with a visual display, and record results directly onto your computer in real time. The Beep Test application provides real-time on-screen display of stage numbers, distance covered and VO2max. There are many additional useful features for a team — player buttons provide one click recording of results and team/season fitness results charts — making the fitness test easy to organize and carry out.

But that is not all – as well as running the standard Beep Test, the software allows the user to design their own test using a few simple commands in a script file. This can be useful for creating intermittent recovery type fitness tests (such as the yo-yo test) or combining an activity with fitness testing or conditioning. With the simple commands of Start, Run, Rest and Repeat, all types of beep type tests can be replicated. For added flexibility the lap distance and running speeds can also be adjusted for different sports and has even been adapted for swimming.

For more info see this page about the Team Beep Test Software.

Comments Off on Make Your Own Beep TestTags: beep test·software·Technology

Unfair Advantage for Swimmers

February 27th, 2009 · Swimming

The controversial high-tech swimming suits have been in the sporting news since the Beijing Olympic Games, and have undoubtedly aided swimmers to achieve 108 world records since the Speedo LZR Racer was introduced in February 2008. Athletes have always looked for any advantage over their competition, usually within the rules. The current rules enable athletes to wear these suits, which make them more streamlined, reducing resistance in the water. Although it is within the rules to wear these suits, is it really any different from doping, which also artificially assists the performance of athletes?

If not all athletes can afford a suit, those who can’t are disadvantaged. But so are those athletes who cannot afford to have their coach or access to quality pool facilities or gym training equipment By making money one of the prerequisites for success in swimming, it becomes an elite sport that is only available for the elite, and I am sure that world swimming body would not be happy with that. The suits are currently banned, at least in Australia, for all junior competitions. FINA is currently meeting to decide what to do about it, and let’s hope they ban it completely. When athletes compete against each other, we want to know who is the best swimmer, not who can afford to be.

UPDATE:

FINA decided on these regulations to be in place from the World Championships in 2009: (1) Suit no more than 1 mm thick (2) suits not to extend past the shoulders or ankles (3) no tailored suits (4) no more than one suit at a time.

Related Pages:

Comments Off on Unfair Advantage for SwimmersTags:

A New Drug

October 3rd, 2008 · Olympic Games, Sports Medicine

When any athlete beats their opposition by a large margin at the international level, there are always suspicions that an artificial aid has been used.

I have always thought that when something is too good to be true, it often is. At the Olympic Games, there were two athletes that dominated the opposition and surprised many: Bolt and Phelps. Why have the questions not been asked?

As in many of these cases, time will tell, and then people may be saying ‘why did we not see it? It was right in front of my eyes”.

Related Pages: Doping in Sports, Michael Phelps Profile,

Comments Off on A New DrugTags:

Radio vrs TV Olympic Coverage

October 2nd, 2008 · Olympic Games, Spectators

By all accounts the TV coverage of the Olympic Games in Australia by Channel 7 was disappointing. The TV coverage is not made for the sports fan. They spent too long interviewing the families of athletes, delving into the stories behind the stories, and about China and Beijing.

What the sports fan wants is an educated commentary of whole events, without breaks at crucial points in the events. The alternative on Australia TV was SBS, which was better as it showed continuous coverage of some events, but the mainstream sports were not given to them to show.

Brian Ledbetter of the US Olympic sailing team poses during the XXIV Olympic Games.

What we did hear on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) radio coverage was excellent. I wonder why they cannot take lessons from the radio for the TV coverage. The radio is able to convey the excitement of events as they are happening, cross from one event to the other when they are on at the same time, and be thoroughly entertaining.

Comments Off on Radio vrs TV Olympic CoverageTags:

Advertisement Disclosure: