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8 Tips To Building Your Dream Body
Just like routines, this document is not intended to be a "one size fits all." Take from it what you will, but please remember that what is most important is your health and well being. In that light, consider the following list: 1. Before...
A wave from the Tour
IT takes hours of map reading and meticulous attention to detail to ensure a successful Tour de France, and that’s just the spectators. I had prepared and planned out a route that would land me close to the end of stage 11 of the Tour, a 164km trip...
How Will He Run Today?
A Horse's past performaces are the main cirteria that a handicapper looks at when deciding on his bets. Considering other aspects of the horse and race, the handicapper can not just rely on past performances and "Speed Figures." Countless factors...
Proprioceptive Training: A key to sports success
Let's talk a little bit about proprioception for a minute. That's a $3 SAT word that means your body's ability to react properly to external forces. For example: if you ride bulls for fun, you must have the ability to react to gravity and...
The Nitty Gritty to Soccer Safety
By Rebecca Blain of http://www.everything-soccer.com As soccer is one of the most well loved sports on Earth, many children and adults are lured into participating in playing on a daily basis. Due to this wide spread popularity, soccer injuries...
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Sports Provide a Welcome Outlet for the Disabled
In years past, a serious physical disability meant unemployment,
isolation, and inactivity for many thousands of people.
No longer. While the Americans with Disabilities Act has opened
up the workplace and public facilities to people with
disabilities, many organizations around the country have sprung
up, offering access to sports programs both for wheelchair-bound
individuals and amputees with artificial prosthetic devices.
Disabled people are experiencing the joy of participating in
Alpine and cross-country skiing, all kinds of water sports from
swimming to sailing to scuba diving, and even more extreme
sports such as mountain climbing and sky diving.
The importance of both competitive and recreational sports for
individuals with disabilities can't be overestimated.
Particularly for formerly able-bodied people who find themselves
disabled, sports can serve as a tremendous motivation in the
rehabilitation process and can help alleviate the depression,
confusion, and loss of self-esteem that often accompanies a
debilitating injury. For those born with a serious disability,
sports can serve as an important way of connecting to the
"abled" world.
Competitive sports for the disabled are experiencing phenomenal
success. The world-wide organization now known as the Paralympic
Games was founded in Rome, Italy, in 1960, inspired by a 1948
competition organized in England for disabled World War II
veterans. According to the Paralympic Games website,
participating athletes compete in a variety of sports based on
one of six disability-based classifications: amputee, cerebral
palsy, spinal cord injuries, visual impairment, intellectual
disability, and a general group including individual
disabilities which do not fit into one of
the other five
categories.
Both summer and winter sports competitions give disabled
athletes the change to compete in a variety of sports; the list
of summer sports includes 21 different competitive sports,
ranging from archery and cycling to equestrian, powerlifting and
judo. Five competitions designed specifically for
wheelchair-bound athletes include basketball, dancing, fencing,
rugby, and tennis. The list of winter sports is smaller, but no
less challenging: athletes can compete in either Alpine or
Nordic skiing, ice sledge hockey, and wheelchair curling.
Children with physical disabilities have special challenges;
they're dealing with sometimes substantial limitations at the
same time that they are meeting all the other demands of
becoming competent, balanced, emotionally and mentally healthy
human beings. The National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD)
offers opportunities for children to take part in a wide range
of sports activities, from skiing, ski racing, snowboarding and
snowshoeing in the winter to rafting, horseback riding, and
in-line skating in the summer.
The Paralympics and NSCD are only two of many organizations
founded to involve disabled individuals in sports. It's evident,
from the success and increasing popularity of these
organizations, that both adults and children with disabilities
benefit greatly from participating in adaptive sports
activities, and that the benefit extends to all aspects of their
lives.
About the author:
Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern
New Hampshire and frequently contributes to Tips and
Topics. She may be reached at amfredenburg@yahoo.com.
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