Strollerderby : athletic

Study Finds Girls "Prefer Chatting" to Being Physically Active

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:00:00 GMT

New research has found that women of all ages are less active than men. Observing schoolchildren at play, researchers have concluded that girls would rather socialize than play sports.

While I don't doubt the study’s findings that men are more physically active than women, I have some reservations about the explanation that girls simply like to sit around chatting, while boys like to run around and get dirty.

Until I graduated high school, I considered myself the least athletic person I knew. It was a big joke among my friends that any activity requiring physical exertion was off bounds for me. But once I realized that being active did not have to mean doing Indian sprints at Varsity field hockey practice, I became very athletic. I now bike everywhere, do yoga, dance, hike, surf, and run.

I certainly didn’t shun sports because I “prefer to chat.” But a casual observer could easily have drawn this conclusion from watching me on the sidelines during gym class, laughing with a girlfriend instead of trying to get in on the athletic action. The truth is, I was too intimidated to participate in traditional team sports, since I seem to have inherited a gene which makes me physically incapable of throwing and catching a ball. Even the sports that I did enjoy—gymnastics and track—were unappealing to me because I had no interest in competing. I just wanted to move around and have fun.

Perhaps it’s not girls’ natural inclinations that make them less active than their male counterparts, but rather the way sports are taught in school.

Photo: The Telegraph

A Genetic Test That Predicts Kids' Athletic Futures

JeanneSager — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:32:00 GMT

Think your toddler has the foot to bend it like Beckham one day? What if the only thing standing between you and knowing if they'd one day be kicking balls in the big leagues was $149? Oh yeah, and a cheek swab which should be bagged and sent out to a lab in Colorado for testing.

The Boulder-based Atlas Sports Genetics is touting a new test which they say can help pinpoint a child's natural athletic future. For that $149, you'll get a report telling you whether your kid is designed for speed or endurance.

It all sounds a bit West German, Soviet bloc to me, but Atlas owner Kevin Reilly says his test will actually help protect kids with an overzealous parent from being pushed into a sport they simply weren't made to play. The tests are built off of the 2003 study which linked the gene ACTN3 to athletic ability. The study found that the R variant of the gene directs the body to produce a protein used in developing the type of muscle mass needed for power and speed. By contrast, the X variant of the gene was found to be more prevalent in the elite endurance Olympians studied.

Atlas' test breaks down the ACTN3 gene from the swabs and looks for either R or X variants, then reports back to parents. They test kids ages one through eight, with the hopes of giving parents a chance to properly foster a kid's natural abilities from a young age (although, to give him credit, Reilly advises against heavily pushing children into competitive sports until at least eight years old . . . to avoid burnout).

Besides the fact that many scientists have said ACTN3 studies are still in their infancy, and a more in-depth look at the genetic make-up of athletes is in order, I'm skeptical. So a kid may have an R variant of a gene (the one supposedly pointing to power sports); what if he doesn't like football? Won't this promote more overzealous parents rather than limit them?

My husband is a big soccer fan, so he loves kicking the ball around with our three year old. For a tot, she's got a great handle on the ball. But does that mean we should cut out all requests for tee-ball, softball, even a bid to run cross country? Whatever happened to letting our kids play sports because they enjoy them, because they'll gain discipline, learn sportsmanship, get their butts off the couch? Last time I checked, it really is just a game.

Growing up in a small town where the fight for passing the school budget was to ensure we'd still have a football program every year - so boys would have a chance to get noticed by a college scout - I've got to tell you, excellent athletes are few and far between. The best athletes may not be the girls who score every goal or the quarterbacks who lead their teams to the state championships. The kids who are told constantly that they're destined for great things are often ball hogs and prima donnas.

But the kids who discover talent on their own . . . they're the kids who play just for the love of the game.

Image/Source: The New York Times

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Nastia Liukin's mom watches from the stands (video)

Brett Singer — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Apparently Nastia Liukin's mother, Anna Kotchneva Liukin, has a hard time watching her gold-medal winning daughter compete. According to the NBC commentators, she spent some of the recent Beijing events shopping. This time, though, she stuck it out, but not without some difficulty. They didn't mention it, but I don't think she knows the guy she's sitting next to, despite the fact that she almost ends up in his lap.

My kids aren't terribly athletic (at least not yet) so I don't know what it's like to see your offspring in an intense competition, and the Olympics are as big as it gets for gymnasts. Anna knows from being on that big stage: she was a champion gymnast herself. Not sure if that makes it harder or easier to see your kid out there; judging from this video, I'd say it must be pretty tough.

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IOC orders investigation of Chinese Gymnast's age

Brett Singer — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:54:00 GMT

He Kexin won a gold medal in the uneven bars and also contributed to the Chinese beating out the U.S. in the team gymnastics event. She looks really really young, and there have been questions about her age for awhile now. The IOC has begun to formally investigate whether or not, "Chinese authorities covered up the true age of their gold-medal winning gymnastics star because she was too young to compete," because of, "'discrepancies' that have come to light about the age of He Kexin." You kind of have to wonder what took them so long, but apparently someone, described as an "American hacker" by the U.K.-based Times Online, has uncovered documents that offer proof that Kexin is too young.

Watching the games, the judging also seemed biased, although that's more subjective. Still, I'm pretty sure I saw a member of the Chinese team fall in one event and not get any deduction, whereas an American who had a similar fall lost points. Béla Károlyi told Bob Costas that, "The lack of competence of certain judges is obvious," and it was tough to disagree.

Károlyi's wife Marta has attacked the age issue the way her gymnasts attacked their events, and while I think she went a little overboard, I agree that the whole thing is very suspicious.

Would the Chinese government lie about an athlete's age in order to gain a competitive advantage? And if so, what happens? The medals get stripped, but should they be banned from the Olympics for a time after that?

So – how old do you think she looks? 14? 16? Do I hear 12?

Source/image: TimesOnline

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Brett Singer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:00:00 GMT

When Béla Károlyi isn't training world-class gymnasts or telling Bob Costas that, "The lack of competence of certain judges [in this year's Olympic Games] is obvious," he likes to go…hunting.

When I googled Károlyi in an attempt to get the spelling of his name correct, this page was the fourth result. After seeing him comment, often mercilessly, on the various Olympic gymnastic events, I'm going to say that I'm not exactly shocked that one of his leisure activities is hunting big game.

I'm not going to say anything else about this, since, you know, I don't want to get shot.

Images/Source: bigbexotics.com

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Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Brett Singer — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Australian crewman won a gold medal in men's pairs rowing. For inspiration, he kept a photo of his kids tucked away in his shorts:

So he's a gold-medal winning dad, and has been keeping a blog at drewginn.blogspot.com.

It seems like there are more parents competing at the games this year, but it's possible that there always were and I just never noticed. One of those, "now that I have children I see parents everywhere" kind of things.

My wife asked me if I would keep a picture of the kids with me if I were competing in the Olympics. The fact that she would compare me to an Olympic athlete is one of the many reasons why I love her.

image: nbcolympics.com

source: abc.net.au

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Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Brett Singer — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:00:00 GMT

While we wonder whether or not the Chinese gymnasts are the age the government says they are, there's some other stuff happening over in China.

First up, British protesters were arrested for unfurling a "Free Tibet" banner (video below):

Second, and perhaps more disturbing, is this video of a British journalist being detained for covering said protest (video below):

But hey, what about that Michael Phelps? He won another medal, right?

Source/image: Daily Telegraph

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Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Brett Singer — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:30:00 GMT

The Daily Telegraph is reporting that there was even more fakin' goin' on at the 2008 Olympics' opening ceremony.

Although the official opening ceremony guide said, according to the Telegraph, that "Fifty-six children from 56 Chinese ethnic groups cluster around the Chinese national flag, representing the 56 ethnic groups." But the children were, "in fact all from the same [ethnic group], the majority Han Chinese race." According to the Telegraph, "The official guide to the opening ceremony said that the children did not just represent but 'came from' China's ethnic groups."

One thing that is interesting is the response, which is similar to the one expressed after the opening ceremony's Milli Vanilli moment. "I assume they think the kids were very natural looking and nice," Yuan Zhifeng, deputy director of the Galaxy Children's Art Troupe said.

Basically, as long as things look OK, they are. For more, read (and see) this.

source/image: Daily Telegraph

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Shawn Johnson more mature than her coach

Brett Singer — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Maybe the U.S. Gymnastics team coach Márta Károlyi could take a lesson on how to lose gracefully from the gymnasts themselves.

After the U.S. won the silver (or lost the gold, depending on who you ask) Márta had a few things to say: Asked about the controversy over the ages of several Chinese gymnasts, including bars standout He Kexin, Karolyi stressed that while she had "no proof" that the competitors in question had not yet turned 16, she had noticed that "one little girl has a missing tooth". A baby tooth, presumably. "Certain countries go by the rules," Karolyi continued, "and certain countries may not." She also accused the judges of "psychological warfare" because of the time it took for the scores to be posted.

So how did the ladies on her team respond?

Pretty damn well, actually.

Shawn Johnson, the 16-year-old world champion, was more…well, mature about the whole thing. "In the end, we’re more than happy and proud to represent the USA wearing silver around our necks," Johnson said. "We respect the Chinese for what they’ve done. They had a great meet and brought their game."

Also: "We are proud of each other no matter what we do, we are still a family no matter what."

Did I mention she was 16?

Here's a video promo Shawn shot before the games. In it, she says that gymnastics is about falling, and getting back up, no matter what. Sounds like a good lesson for her coach.

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Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Brett Singer — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:22:00 GMT

So. Like much of the world, I'm watching the Olympics. Women's Beach Volleyball is on. The wife refers to this event somewhat derisively. At first, I think that this is because of the fact that, you know, it's beach volleyball. How is this an Olympic event?

Then, a couple of days later, I catch a glimpse of the Men's Volleyball. Which is played indoors. By a team of more than two players. Fully clothed.

Suddenly, I get it. She's not saying that the women aren't athletes, or that it isn't a sport. It's that the women play on sand, barefoot, in bikinis. The men play in a gym. In clothes. Did I mention that?

Women's Beach Volleyball – the name itself is somewhat silly, since there is no Women's Indoor Volleyball, or Women-Standing-On-Hot-Coals Volleyball (CORRECTION: there is indoor women's volleyball, but they wear hot pants, so, y'know...) – is played by women in bikinis. Athletic looking bikinis, yes. But still bikinis.

After winning a point against the Belgian team, a song comes over the sound system. Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."

OK.

UPDATE: The Table Tennis Federation actually asked the female players to wear more revealing outfits.

image: latimes.com