The History Of Sport Tourism

The History Of Sport Tourism This essay will examine the anticipated impact of sports tourism on the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. The essay will ask who and what defines a sport tourist, in addition, the impact a sports tourist can have on Glasgow and Scotland both positively and negatively. The final section of the essay will consider the overall impact of the games in terms of sports development and health in Scotland. On the 9th of November 2007, the Commonwealth Games Federation announced that Glasgow would host the games in 2014. Cited from (Glasgow wins race for 2014 Games, 2007) This would change the landscape of sport in Scotland and tourism. Glasgows City Council Leader stated: Its about making sure there is a lasting legacy. (Purcell, 2007). This was the culmination of three years of hard work for the city of Glasgow and Scotland. The bid would capture the imagination of both the public and the media; this was due to importance and legacy that the commonwealth could bring to Scotland through redevelopment, selling our culture and products around the world and also the increase of tourists (Glasgow Games 2014, 2008). Tourism is a wide spanning theorem split into many categories, the international Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defines tourism as particular activities, selected by choice and undertaken outside the home environment. Tourism may or may not involve overnight stays away from home (Standeven and De Knop, 1999). To understand tourism there are many factors that are involved when one is defining a tourist. A tourist is generally split into two categories: business and recreational (i.e. on holiday) and are categorised within Domestic or International tourism (Standeven and De Knop, 1999). An International tourist is a visitor who travels to a country other than that in which he/she has his/her usual residence for at least one night but not more than one year, and whose main purpose of visit is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the country visited. While a domestic Tourist is a visitor residing in a country, who travels to place within the country, but outside his/her usual environment, for at least one night but no more than six months, and whose purpose of the visit is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from with the place visited. (Ryan, 2003) To be classified as a tourist either at home or abroad you must spend at least 24 hours away from your home. Business tourists are tourists that travel through work commitment and are inhibited by their employment and a holiday tourist is the reverse were the tourist has the freedom to choose where to travel and the duration. Both types of tourists apply to specific forms of tourism including Sport. Cited from (Standeven and De Knop, 1999) Like tourism itself, Sport Tourism can be considered a wide and spanning theorem split into many categories. Within sport tourism, sport is given broad term including physical activity aspects such as running and walking. While participation is not key for a sport tourist as they can be an active participant or a passive spectator, it is the active aspect that is the polarizer for the tourism. (Kurtzman, 2005) and cited from (Hinch and Higham, 2004) The passive spectators are associated with business tourism were cooperate events around sports are used to generate money for their business and sport facilities have excellent cooperate services. Were an Active sport tourist is in general associated with holiday tourism were the tourist seeks a specific sport to participate in while on holiday or were a number of sports are on offer in a particular resort. Both sets of tourists add great financial benefits to the economy of the country visited, the next section of the essay will focus on these financial and economic benefits towards the 2014 Glasgow games both positively and negatively For a host city a major event organised correctly will be economically beneficial, this has not always been the case. Previous major events such as the Olympics have had a past of being a financial burden on host cities and organisers. In 1976 the Montreal games lost an astonishing  £692 million and the city has just finished off paying the debts. This led to the birth of cooperate games were private investment and sponsorship turned hosting major events into both profitable and viable. The 2014 games will require an investment of  £288 million 80% which will paid by the Scottish government and the Glasgow City Council and the final 20% will be acquired through corporate sponsors and investment. (Knight, 2007) The investors will be hoping on a successful games both sporting and economically, to try and insure a return on their investment. Through marketing not just games but Scotland as a whole the investors can profit. The Glasgow business guide estimates the Games have the potential to boost Scotlands international profile by almost 50%. One way to market Scotland is through tourism. Cited from (Purcell) The Glasgow games are held in the East end of Glasgow and this part of the city will go under massive regeneration to be ready for the Games. Not only top sporting venues are been put in place, an additional thousand houses are been built around this area attracting more people to live and work and invest and contribute to economic regeneration. (Purcell) The investment into Glasgow will be looked upon positively put increased tourism can have both a positive and negative effect on the city and the economy. One positive aspect will be the increase of business tourist coming to the Games. Business tourism is worth almost  £1b a year to the Scottish economy. Through increased awareness around the games, Scotland can promote itself as a world class venue to hold conferences and meetings. As well these tourists can create new businesses in the country or expand existing ones due to the experience, there is also opportunity to allow Scotland to network and develop new opportunities, which would contribute to an economic return on the games. Cited from (Glasgow 2014 Delivering a Lasting Legacy for Scotland, 2008) Not just foreign business tourists will be targeted as local enterprises will be targeted and helped by the commonwealth movement. Under Visit Scotlands legacy for 2014 games working with Scottish enterprise, event Scotland and the executive it is stated that local business can capitalise on the games and will make themselves and Scotland wealthier. To develop a mechanism to ensure that Scottish businesses have the greatest possible opportunity to win contracts to supply products and services related to major events and this would therefore create a lasting business and economic legacy for Scotland up to 2014 and beyond. (Glasgow 2014 Delivering a Lasting Legacy for Scotland, 2008) Through this legacy these business can grow and prosper in a global environment by displaying themselves around this major event. Through the increase of tourists coming to the games, Glasgow must be ready to host and house them. An increase in all types of hotels will be needed. Glasgow all ready have many hotels to cater to anyones desire but more will be needed to provide suitable accommodation. New hotels and updated ones are planned, including Glasgows first six star hotel in Argyle Street, the international hotel will cost  £125 million and will also have apartments included as well. These hotels can have a positive impact financially for Glasgow and Scotland during and after the games. This will give the opportunity to hold more tourists at one time in the city and have a higher clientele that will spend more money while staying. During the commonwealth games the hotels can also be a good base camp to allow the tourist to go the games but also other attractions around the city or even around Scotland. (Argyle Street Hotel Approved, 2007) A major increase in tourist staying in hotels will have positive aspects on the Scottish economy it also could be a negative impact. This is due to the hotel chains not being Scottish and the profits made by them will go to the country of origin rather than Scotland. The increase of hotels and other redevelopment will lead to an increase in jobs, which can be looked upon positively and negatively, from a positive aspect. The current economic climate of the recession is increasing unemployment and any boost from either extra staff or new facilities employing new staff will be vital to the future of Scotlands economic growth. An initiative of the legacy of 2014 games is to reduce economic inactivity caused by underemployment of the workforce in Glasgow (Glasgow 2014, 2008) This will ensure that the recruitment will be targeted for the local population before and during the commonwealth games, this will allow them to be trained in new skills and give the inactive unemployed new found confidence and inspiration to work. Cited from (Glasgow 2014, 2008) Scotland is a host during these games and visitors will expect a professional welcome, recruiting from the unemployed could be deemed of having a negative effect and also increase of jobs in hospitality sector could also have a negative economic impact. Recruiting the unemployed could be a negative impact due to the Colloquialisms used in the Scottish language, especially in Glasgow were it could be said they have their own language of Glaswegian. Visitors will be expecting not only proper English but also formal etiquette will be used, a hotel such as the Hilton train staff to be five star as well as their hotels and the new staff will have to live up to these expectations which could lead to jobs intended for the unemployed going trained foreign staff, as companies will look for a multi-cultural employee. Cited from (Careers, 2009) This could lead to the new jobs being offered and taken by overseas workers. Not just from E.U countries but employees from Africa, Asia and the Americas. This could have a number of negative factors, first the inactive unemployed will not be able to become fulfilled with new skills and sense of being and contribute to the Scottish economy. The wages will be going to foreign worker who could take the money earned back to their own country and have little effect economically while living in Scotland. Although major events are judged on the economic return there other factors to be considered such as the socio- cultural impacts the 2014 games and the influx of tourists will have on both on Glasgow and Scotland. There will be many social cultural impacts on both Scotland and the tourist. Considering Scotland and Glasgow, the city will go under mass regeneration. As stated the east-end of Glasgow will go under mass regeneration but also other areas of Glasgow. This will have both social and cultural impacts on these areas, socially with better housing and infrastructure could lead to a better way of living. The athlete village, National Indoor Sports Arena and the velodrome will be situated in Dalmarnock, a derelict part of Glasgow associated with crime, poor health and unemployment and new housing will be build in the east-end of Glasgow. Cited from (2014 east end regeneration game, 2007) According to the 2014 games legacy the regeneration will be a transformation of the East End of Glasgow, creating a sustainable, vibrant new community. (Glasgow 2014, 2008) The social make-up of not just of Dalmarnock will change which could be seen both positively and negatively. The positive impacts could be that the regeneration helps tackle the social problems around the east-end and which would also encourage tourist to visit the area during and beyond the games. Sport stadia and other constructions become tourist attractions and bring into generally urban tourists who not otherwise be there. (Standeven and De Knop, 1999) The velodrome and the National Indoor Sports Arena could have tourists and specific sport tourists being attracted to the east-end to visit these buildings or participate after the games, either returning back to the area or visiting due to the feedback given from tourists returning to their own country. A steady arrival of tourist each year would encourage local business to grow and expand and network with other countries to bring in products and trade, these tourists could become residents of Scotland and become employed in the east-end and contribute socially and culturally to the area. Although regeneration will improve living and facilities of the east-end and Dalmarnock in particularly, it could be seen as a negative impact for the people living in this area currently. The project known the Clyde gateway project is taking ownership of the regeneration and is behind the new housing, to allow the new projects to take place the residents of Dalmarnock will be moved to other parts of the city. This will have a negative social effect on the people as they are being moved from their community and friends and family, for two weeks of games. Although most of the feedback from the community has been positive there has been opposite view expressed. Margaret Jaconelli is one is opposed to the games and the redevelopment living 32 years in Dalmarnock and is the only person living in one of the flats I want to stay in my own house as long as possible. Margaret also feels a sense of loss, It was actually a cracking wee community. (Forrest, 2009) The resentment comes from the f eeling that the redevelopment will not benefit the local people as there are being shifted to another community, so a new one can be put in place. This is represented in the new housing which only a few will be council owned and be given back to the previous residents, this could be a form of social cleansing, were the poorer class is moved to make way to a richer group of people. Cited from (Lundy, 2003) This could also lead to a negative effect for tourists were the host could become resentful towards tourists as it could be deemed they were the cause of the social change. (Doxey, 1975 p209 Green book) developed a model called Doxeys Irridex to measure the relationship between tourism growth and community stress. Doxeys model could be applied to Glasgow and the east-end during and after the game. His first stage of the model is Euphoria, which Glasgow will feel before and during the Games, welcoming the tourists to stay and enjoy, the next of Apathy will happen after the games were if tourists return to Glasgow on a regular basis they will be taken for granted and local bossiness will expect the same number of tourists ever year, the third and fourth stages of Annoyance and Antagonism could apply to local people who are opposed to the games and the redevelopment, they could be openly aggressive and unfriendly towards tourists during and after the games. Cited from (Standeven and De Knop, 1999) The increase of tourism will have a social impact on the east-end and Scotland but also culturally, Scotland has a proud and unique culture and it is key that Scotland can show of their culture and heritage to the world during the games. The games legacy plans to ensure that as many Scottish products and services are used in the Games as possible. (Glasgow 2014, 2008) This will give the tourist an idea of the Scottish produce such as food and drink, rather than sampling global brands which are widely available and show the quality of the products and interest them to invest or buy more. To display the arts the Games will work closely with Scottish Arts Council to help showcase our festivals, artists and creative industries, such as computer games and music. (Glasgow 2014, 2008) This will help the Games be a more whole experience for the tourist who can be excited by both the sport and the culture at hand. Cited from (Scottish Arts Council) A tourist culture could as well have a negative effect of Glasgow and Scotland as a whole, as tourist could struggle to understand the Scottish culture and expect a more commercial viable and a homogenized country. This could lead the Scottish culture being diluted and forgotten, to make way for the same shops, food, cars, art etc as any other country leaving it with no identity or soul. It could be said homogenization has already happened in Scotland with major chains such as Hilton or Starbucks being every major city and each laid out the same. Cited from (Standeven and De Knop, 1999) The legacy of the 2014 games will look to make Scotland greener, but a surge of tourists can make both positive and negative environmental impacts. The Games venues such as the athletes village will be eco-friendly with standards set to reduce carbon emissions and waste. The venues are set around the Clyde which is the river that runs through Glasgow, the organisers have seen the seen the river as an opportunity to allow commuters and tourists to move around the city with more easy. One project is to permit the Clyde to have a high speed ferry service, from the centre of Glasgow to Dunoon and then to Greenock. Another service which has been run since 2007 is Britains first seaplane airline which a service from the centre of Glasgow to Oban. Cited from (Clydefast Ferries, 2008) These services can be seen both positively and negatively impacting the environment of the Clyde; the services will allow more tourists to enter Glasgow daily and stay out with the city entering only when they choose, this can a positive effect on the environment as tourist are using greener and alternative forms of transport rather the car. (Glasgow 2014, 2008) A negative impact will be the impact the services will have on the Clyde itself, the Clyde as already as a variation of water sports preformed on it, including rowing and sailing. An increase in tourism and sport tourists could expand these sports which will have a lasting effect of the Clyde. All forms of water sports can have a harmful influence (Standeven and De Knop, 1999) these can include bank vegetation being damaged, fish and birds being troubled, also local residents could have divergence with the increase of sports and the new services due to noise pollution. Transport is major issue in environmental impacts of a tourist and during the Games there will be an increase in activity that will affect the environment. New transport links are being built for 2014, including the completion of the M74 which will join to the M8 motorway west of the Kingston Bridge. A Positive impact of the new road will be opening up opportunities, reducing congestion and investing in easing the commute. (M74 Completion, 2008)Opportunities include a development of Scotlands economy by improving transport links and creating new jobs. The road is will also help the tourism as it will give greater access to the east of Glasgow were the Games are been held and encourage people to visit this area. Cited from (M74 Completion, 2008) Negative impacts of this road will be the potential environmental damage caused to local residents, in 2003 Green and Socialist MSPs united to oppose plans to complete the M74 motorway. They argued that the road would to reduce traffic and could increase it, health impacts of pollution on children and adults and the money spent did not justify the cause. In Glasgow particularly, where nearly 60% of households dont have access to a car, it is an obscenity that half a billion is going to be spent on a slice of motorway five miles long thats  £100m a mile, (Parties unite to fight M74 plans, 2003) The tourist will make a significant impact on Glasgow during and after the games and also the legacy of the games can assist the people of Glasgow and Scotland to become healthier and introduce them to sport, the Games will allow Scotland to improve their sport development and help achieve goals set by the government and the Sportscotland. Sportscotland is the national agency for sport in Scotland, and their mission is to encourage everyone in Scotland to discover and develop their own sporting experience, helping to increase participation and improve performances in Scottish sport. (We are the national agency for sport in Scotland. 2009) To achieve this Sportscotland issued a national strategy for sport, Reaching Higher; the two outcomes of Reaching Higher are increasing participation in sport and improving performance. Through the legacy of the Games Sportscotland can help to achieve these two national outcomes, an increase in sport infrastructure throughout Scotland by networking and engaging with national governing bodies, local authorities and Sportscotland will allow authorities to welcome an increased interest in sports participation. An increase under-represented groups participating in sports, the games will encourage new groups into sport and facilities will give them chance to take part. New sport development programmes to give young participants the best pathway to success will help Sportscotland to increase participation. Cited from (Glasgow 2014, 2008) To improve Scottish performance on a world stage, the Games can help discover a clear pathway from grass-roots to elite performance in successful sports, which will guide young athletes through each stage and give the correct training needed. Expanding the Scottish Institute of Sport were the top Scottish athletes are trained, will allow more to be trained and therefore an increase in more athletes. The can help to increase medals and overall performance of Scottish athletes at major events, investment into sport will give better training facilities, coaches and equipment. Cited from (Glasgow 2014, 2008) The Games will help Sportscotlands to achieve the outcomes, the Games can also revolutionise Scottish heath, Scotland has one of the worst records of health in Europe with the highest number heart problems and strokes and has the shortest life expectancy. Cited from (Bridgland, 2000) and (Scotland is worst small country, 2007) In 2003 the Physical activity strategy was launched Lets Make Scotland More Active, with their key goal of the strategy is 50% of all adults aged over 16 to achieve 30 minutes of physical activity each day and 80% of all children aged 16 to be achieving over an hour of physical activity each day by 2022. Cited from (Physical activity strategy, 2003) Physical activity can exclude sports and can include running or walking and the Games can be a vehicle to inspire people to be more physically active. Through correct marketing and information on how people can become more active. The Games will have legacy on the children, obesity among children is a growing health concern in Scotland, the games will give courage to children to try sport and be physically active, also campaigning for a healthier lifestyle including food, alcohol and drug advice. Cited from (Glasgow 2014, 2008) To conclude the essay said it would examine the anticipated impact of sport tourism on the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. The essay has answered this question by stating a number of potential impacts a tourist can bring to Glasgow and the impact the Games will have on Glasgow. The sections of the essay asked who and what a tourist and sport tourist are and a brief on the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. This section was answered fully giving a number of academic references to define a tourist, the main section of the essay was to consider the overall impact both positively and negatively of the Games in terms of economically, socio-culturally and environmentally. Using both academic text and physical sources the essay was able to give numerous examples in each section. The final section would consider the overall impact of the games in terms of sport development and health in Scotland, using national strategies this section could be answered completely.

Swimming: Summer Olympic Games and Swimmers

The sport of swimming has been recorded since prehistoric times; the earliest recording of swimming dates back to Stone Age paintings from around 7,000 years ago. Written references date from 2000 BC. Some of the earliest references to swimming include the Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Bible, Beowulf, Quran and other sagas. In 1778, Nikolaus Wynmann, a German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book, The Swimmer or A Dialogue on the Art of Swimming (Der Schwimmer oder ein Zweigesprà ¤ch à ¼ber die Schwimmkunst).Competitive swimming as we know it today started in the United States started around 1800, mostly using breaststroke. Many Americans often used swimming competitions to settle differences in the frontier, such as property rights. In 1873, John Arthur Trudgen introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native Americans. Due to a British dislike of splashing, Trudgen employed a scissor kick instead of the front crawl's flutter kick. Swimming was part of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens.In 1902 Richmond Cavill introduced the front crawl to the Western world. In 1908, the world swimming association, Fà ©dà ©ration Internationale de Natation (FINA), was formed. Butterfly was developed in the 1930s and was at first a variant of breaststroke, until it was accepted as a separate style in 1952. [edit]Competition Competitive swimming became popular in the nineteenth century. The goal of competitive swimming is to constantly improve upon one's time(s), or to beat the competitors in any given event.However, some professional swimmers who do not hold a national or world ranking are considered the best in regard to their technical skills. Typically, an athlete goes through a cycle of training in which the body is overloaded with work in the beginning and middle segments of the cycle, and then the workload is decreased in the final stage as the swimmer approaches the competitio n in which he or she is to compete in. This final stage is often referred to as â€Å"shave and taper†; the swimmer tapering down his or her workload to be able to perform at their optimal level.At the very end of this stage, before competition, the swimmer shaves off all exposed hair for the sake of reducing drag and having a sleeker and more hydrodynamic feel in the water. [1] World record holder and Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps in the 400 IM. Swimming is an event at the Summer Olympic Games, where male and female athletes compete in 16 of the recognized events each. Olympic events are held in a 50-meter pool, called a long course pool. There are forty officially recognized individual swimming events in the pool; however the International Olympic Committee only recognizes 32 of them.The international governing body for competitive swimming is the Fà ©dà ©ration Internationale de Natation (â€Å"International Swimming Federation†), better known as FINA. [edi t]Open water In open water swimming, where the events are swum in a body of open water (lake or sea), there are also 5 km, 10 km and 25 km events for men and women. However, only the 10 km event is included in the Olympic schedule, again for both men and women. Open-water competitions are typically separate to other swimming competitions with the exception of the World Championships and the Olympics. [edit]Swim stylesIn competitive swimming, four major styles have been established. These have been relatively stable over the last 30–40 years with minor improvements. The four main strokes in swimming are: Freestyle(free) Breaststroke(breast) Backstroke(back) Butterfly(fly) Events in competition could have only one of these styles or they could contain all four. The individual medley is an event that where swimmers start the race with butterfly, then move to backstroke, breastroke, and then freestyle. [2] There are two possible distances of this event, both swum in each of the t wo competition pools.In the short course pool, there are 200-yard and 400-yard individual medleys and in the long course pool, there are 200-meter and 400-meter individual medleys. For younger swimmers involved in club swimming, there is also a 100-yard individual medley option in the short course pool, but this event is not often competed by swimmers over the age of 14. [edit]Dolphin kick In the past two decades, the most drastic change in swimming has been the addition of the underwater dolphin kick. This is used to maximize the speed at the start and after the turns.The first successful use of it was by David Berkoff at the 1988 Olympics, where he swam most of the 100 m backstroke race underwater and broke the world record on the distance during the preliminaries. Another swimmer to use the technique was Denis Pankratov at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where he completed almost half of the 100 m butterfly underwater to win the gold medal. In the past few years,[when? ] American c ompetitive swimmers have shown the most use of the underwater dolphin kick to gain advantage, most notably Olympic and World medal winners Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.While the dolphin kick is mostly seen in middle-distance freestyle events and in all distances of backstroke and butterfly, it is not usually used to the same effect in freestyle sprinting. That changed with the addition of the so-called sharkskin suits around the European Short Course Championships in Rijeka, Croatia in December 2008. There, Amaury Leveaux set new world records of 44. 94 seconds in the 100 m freestyle, 20. 48 seconds in the 50 m freestyle and 22. 18 in the 50 m butterfly. Unlike the rest of the competitors in these events, he spent at least half of each race submerged using the dolphin kick. 3] While underwater dolphin kicking is allowed in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly, its use is not permitted in the same way in the breaststroke. In 2005, a new rule was formed stating that an optional downw ard dolphin kick may be used off the start and each turn, and it must occur during the breaststroke pullout. Any other dolphin kick will result in disqualification. New rules were established to curtail excessive use of underwater dolphin kicks in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly.Currently, performing the dolphin kick past 15 meters results in a disqualification. [edit]Competition pools Most swimming sport events are held in special competition swimming pools, which are either long course pools such as those used in the Olympic Games (50 m) or short course pools such as those used in the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 yards or 25 m but generally 25m). Competition pools have starting blocks from which the competitor can dive in, and possibly also touch-sensitive pads to electronically record the swimming time of each competitor. edit]Seasons Club swimming in the US has two major seasons. During the short-course season, swimmers swim in 25-yard pools. This season lasts from September to the end of March. The long-course season takes place in 50-meter pools and lasts from April to the end of August. The longer freestyle events vary in lengths in each season. In the short course season, the 500 yard, 1000 yard, and 1650-yard freestyle events are swum, while during the long course season the 400 meter, 800 meter, and 1500-meter freestyle events are swum instead.However, this difference in distance holds true for all meter pools, i. e. short course meter pools also swim the 400 meter, 800 meter, and 1500 meter freestyle events instead of their yard counterparts. Training in both short course and long course has become more of an American Standard. Internationally, long course meters is the standard, as seen in the Olympics. This standard of two separate seasons in America may be because it is so much easier for new swimmers to learn to compete in a smaller pool during the short course season.Smaller pools allow for shorter distance races, so for example in short course season if a younger swimmer wanted to compete in a stroke they had just learned, a 25 yard 8 years old and under race is available to them, opposed to the long course season when they would need to be able to swim at least 50 meters of that new stroke in order to compete. [edit]Officials There are several types of officials,[4] which are needed to manage the competition. [5] Referee: The referee has full control and authority over all officials.The referee will enforce all rules and decisions of FINA and shall decide all questions relating to the actual conduct of the meet, and event or the competition, the final settlement of which is not otherwise covered by the rules. The referee takes overall responsibility for running the race and makes the final decisions as to who wins the competition. Referees call swimmers to the blocks with short blasts of his or her whistle. This is the signal for the swimmers to stand next to their blocks. Starters call missing swimmers if necessary.Then the referee will blow a long whistle that will tell the swimmers to step on the block. For backstroke otherwise known as backcrawl events, the long whistle is the signal for the swimmers to step in the water. The referee will then blow another long whistle, signaling the swimmers to grab the gutter or the provided block handle (for backstoke/backcrawl events only). The referee will then hand over control to the starter. Starter: The starter has full control of the swimmers from the time the referee turns the swimmers over to him/her until the race commences.A starter sends the swimmers off the blocks and may call a false start if a swimmer leaves the block before the starter sends them. Clerk of course: The clerk of course assembles swimmers prior to each event, and is responsible for organizing (â€Å"seeding†) swimmers into heats based on their times. Heats are generally seeded from slowest to fastest, where swimmers with no previous time for an event are ass umed to be the slowest. Timekeepers: There are three timekeepers for each lane. Each timekeeper takes the time of the swimmers in the lane assigned to him/her.Unless a video backup system is used, it may be necessary to use the full complement of timekeepers even when automatic officiating equipment is used. A chief timekeeper assigns the seating positions for all timekeepers and the lanes for which they are responsible. The chief timekeeper collects from the timekeepers in each lane a card showing the times recorded and, if necessary, inspect their watches. One timer will be timing with a stopwatch, another recording it down, and one making sure everything is valid.Inspectors of turns: One inspector of turns is assigned to each lane at each end of the pool. Each inspector of turns ensures that swimmers comply with the relevant rules for turning as well as the relevant rules for start and finish of the race. Inspectors of turns shall report any violation on disqualification reports detailing the event, lane number, and the infringement delivered to the chief inspector of turns who will immediately convey the report to the referee. Judges of Stroke: Judges of stroke are located on each side of the pool.They ensure that the rules related to the style of swimming designated for the event are being observed, and observe the turns and the finishes to assist the inspectors of turns. Finish judges Finish judges determine the order of finish and make sure the swimmers finish in accordance with the rules (two hands simultaneously for breaststroke and butterfly, on the back for backstroke, etc. ) If an official catches a swimmer breaking a rule concerning the stroke he or she is swimming, that swimmer is said to be disqualified (commonly referred to as a â€Å"DQ†) and the swim is not considered valid.The referee can disqualify any swimmer for any violation of the rules that he personally observes. The referee may also disqualify any swimmer for any violation rep orted to him by other authorised officials. All disqualifications are subject to the decision of the referee. [edit]Swimwear Main articles: Competitive swimwear and Swimsuit Giovanni Franceschi in Rome, 1983 Swimsuit The suit covers the skin for modesty. Competitive swimwear seeks to improve upon bare human skin for a speed advantage.For extra speed, a swimmer wears a body suit, which has rubber or plastic bumps that break up the water close to the body and provides a small amount of thrust—just barely enough to help a swimmer swim faster. However, competitive swimming rules may limit the type of suit a swimmer can wear. Swim cap A swim cap (a. k. a. cap) keeps the swimmer's hair out of the way to reduce drag. Caps may be made of latex, silicone, spandex or lycra. Goggles Goggles keep water and chlorine out of swimmers' eyes. Goggles may be tinted to counteract glare at outdoor pools.Prescription goggles may be used by swimmers who wear corrective lenses. Swim Fins Rubber fin s are used to help kick faster. They also improve technique by keeping the feet in the proper position while kicking. Drag suit Swimmers use drag suits to make weight to pull them back, to increase resistance. Paddles Swimmers use these plastic devices to build arm and shoulder strength and refine pulling technique. Hand paddles attach to the hand with rubber tubing or elastic material. They come in many different shapes and sizes.Kickboard A kickboard is a foam board that swimmers use to support the weight of the pper body while they focus on kicking; helps build leg muscles. Pull buoy Often used at the same time as hand paddles, pull buoys support swimmers' legs (and prevents them from kicking) while they focus on pulling. Pull buoys are made of foam so they float in the water. Swimmers hold them in between the thighs. Ankle bands Improving balance will minimize the need for this kick to provide an upward, instead of a forward vector, and in some cases completely corrects the kick . Using an ankle band will have the immediate effect of turning off your kick, which then forces you to make efforts to correct your balance.If you are successful in discovering these, then the ankle band has done part of its job. [6] Snorkel A snorkel is a plastic device that helps swimmers breathe while swimming. This piece of equipment helps the swimmer practice keeping his or her head in one position. [edit]Regular practice and competition swimwear [edit]Men Men's most used practice swimwear include briefs and jammers. Males generally swim barechested. There has been much controversy after the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, when many Olympic swimmers broke records an unprecedented number of times using revolutionary swimsuits.To highlight the issue, note that it is rare to break world records, but in 2008, 70 world records were broken in one year, and 66 Olympic records were broken in one Olympic Games (there were races in Beijing where the first five finishers were swimming fas ter than the old world record). Despite many of his records having been won in these suits, Michael Phelps stated that he might boycott the competition after his record was beaten by another swimmer with a more advanced suit. As of New Year's Day 2010, men are only allowed to wear suits from the waist to above the knees. 7]They are also only permitted to wear one piece of swimwear; they cannot wear speedos underneath jammers. This rule was enacted after the controversy in the Beijing Olympics and Rome World Championships. [edit]Women Paralympic swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Women wear one-piece suits with different backs for competition, though there are two-piece suits that can be worn to compete as well. Backs vary mainly in strap thickness and geometric design. Most common styles include: racerback, axel back, corset, diamondback, and butterfly-back/Fly-Back.There are also different style lengths: three-quarter length (reaches the knees), regular length (shoulders to h ips), and bikini style (two-piece). Also as of New Year's 2010, in competition, women are only allowed to wear suits that do not go past the knees or shoulders. [edit]Use of drag Drag suits, used by women, are used for increasing the resistance against the swimmer in order to help adjust the swimmer to drag. This way, when swimmers switch back to normal practice suits they swim faster as a result of feeling less resistance.They are not worn during competitions. Drag shorts, mainly used by men, like drag suits are worn in training and are also used to increase drag so that when taken off in racing it feels easier and the swimmer feels less resistance. Other forms of drag wear include nylons, old suits, and T-shirts; the point is to increase friction in the water to build strength during training, and increase speed once drag items are removed for competition. Swimmers also shave areas of exposed skin before end-of-season competitions to reduce friction in the water.It is especially c ommon for women to stop the traditional removal of leg hair at least a month before end-of-season competitions. This can be viewed as an additional form of drag because drag is most importantly about mental training and how one feels in the water. Freshly shaven skin feels much smoother and less resistant in comparison when in the water. The presence of leg and arm hair will make very little difference physically in a swimmer’s overall performance, but mentally it has been known to have a very large effect.The mental aspect of wearing drag is critical because the goal is to feel your best in the water on race day. Drag makes a swimmer feel slower and more resistant during training with the added friction. Then on the day of the competition, a shaven swimmer wearing only a fast competition suit will feel a drastic and noticeable improvement in how fast and smooth they feel in the water. As in every other sport, mental training is just as important as physical training. [edit]C ollegiate Swimming Young swimmers compete on club teams and may wish to continue their careers through college.Recruiting for collegiate swimming often starts on July 1 following the athlete's junior year of high school. That date marks the day that college coaches can contact athletes via phone to discuss possibly swimming for their team. College swimmers compete starting in the fall until their conference meet in the early spring. From there, the swimmers with the fastest times in each event will be invited to compete in the NCAA championships after the regular season is over. All college meets are competed in short course pools. [edit]Open-water swimming Main article: Open water swimmingOpen water swimming is swimming outside of a regular pool, usually in a lake, or sometimes ocean. Popularity of the sport has grown in recent years, particularly since the 10 km open water event was added as an Olympic event in 2005, contested for the first time in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijin g. New recent technology has developed much faster swimsuits. Full body suits have been banned, but swimmers at the very top levels still wear suits that have been lasered together because stitching creates drag. The downfall of these suits: they are sometimes uncomfortable and tight. [edit]Changes to the sportSwimming times have dropped over the years due to better training techniques and to new developments. The first four Olympics competitions were not held in pools, but in open water (1896 – The Mediterranean, 1900 – The Seine River, 1904 – an artificial lake, 1906 – The Mediterranean). The 1904 Olympics' freestyle race was the only one ever measured at 100 yards, instead of the usual 100 meters. A 100-meter pool was built for the 1908 Olympics and sat in the center of the main stadium's track and field oval. The 1912 Olympics, held in the Stockholm harbor, marked the beginning of electronic timing. clarification needed] Male swimmers wore full-body s uits until the 1940s, which caused more drag in the water than their modern swimwear counterparts did.Competition suits now include engineered fabric and designs to reduce swimmers' drag in the water and prevent athlete fatigue. In addition, over the years, pool designs have lessened the drag. Some design considerations allow for the reduction of swimming resistance, making the pool faster. Namely, proper pool depth, elimination of currents, increased lane width, energy absorbing racing lane lines and gutters, and the use of other innovative hydraulic, acoustic, and illumination designs.

The Internet And Its Effect On Our Lives Essay - 2219 Words

The world is changing. Well, at least online it is. The internet is ever-changing and improving human’s lives subtly everyday. Things such as virtual reality or Google glass derive from what the internet has on it today. In no other age could someone have a thought-provoking question and have it answered with the little pocket assistant globally known as a smartphone, which uses the internet to the full extent due to technology today. However, smartphones themselves inspired how the internet is changing. It is due to the app stores that popularized apps that ran on smartphones and the format of these apps inspired website developers. Due to this inspiration, something was created that many already popular websites might pick up, the new idea of web applications. 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The British Soldier As A Drunken Brute - 1648 Words

The beginning of the nineteenth century found the British army already engaged for the last seven years in a war with the French. This war to oppose Napoleon would last until 1815, by which time the British would be victorious. This triumphant British army, although successful throughout their campaign with the French, was not openly considered a humble and advantageous force for society. In fact, the common stereotype and popular image of the British soldier was negative, as the Duke of Wellington stated the soldiers were â€Å"the scum of the earth† who have â€Å"all enlisted to drink†.1 For the majority of the soldiers, this label was given inappropriately and carelessly. The Autobiography of Sergeant William Lawrence, a British soldier who fought in the Peninsula and Waterloo Campaigns during his fourteen-year military career, offers an insight into the lives of the labelled soldiers and interpretation of whether this label can be deemed accurate. The idea of the British soldier as a drunken brute is inaccurate. The men who enlisted to fight against Napoleon were more often than not forced to do so out of economic necessity. â€Å"Soldiers’ delinquencies seemed to many contemporaries to be the unavoidable result of the type of men who enlisted.†2 The British army was made from voluntary enlistment, and this was thought to have produced a body of army that was inferior in both character and discipline to the past British armies. For the volunteers, the promise of regular food andShow MoreRelatedWho Goes with Fergus11452 Words   |  46 PagesFor example, in this poem Yeats says I am content to follow to its source every event in action or in though; measure the lot; forgive myself the lot! Byzantium At night in the city of Byzantium, â€Å"The unpurged images of day recede.† The drunken soldiers of the Emperor are asleep, and the song of night-walkers fades after the great cathedral gong. The â€Å"starlit† or â€Å"moonlit dome,† the speaker says, disdains all that is human—†All mere complexities, / The fury and the mire of human veins.† TheRead MoreShort Summary of the Great Gatsby11203 Words   |  45 Pagesbecame an incurable alcoholic. In 1937, however, he managed to acquire work as a scriptwriter in Hollywood. There, he met and fell in love with Sheilah Graham, a famous Hollywood gossip columnist. For the rest of his life, though he frequently had drunken spells in which he became bitter and violent, Fitzgerald lived quietly with her. Occasionally he went east to visit Zelda or his daughter Frances, who entered Vassar College in 1938. In October 1939 Fitzgerald began a novel about Hollywood entitled