Saturday, September 29, 2012
Blog: An Impressive Opening to the Technogym Wellness Village
Cesena, Italy, probably does not see this often. The roundabouts and country roads around the medium-sized city of 97,000 were brought to a crawl as scores of buses and vans inched toward the entrance to Technogym's new Wellness Village, located hard between low walls of the old city and the autostrade. The expansive campus, which houses the company's factory, offices, and workout and spa facilities, is staffed by 1,000 of Technogym's 2,200 worldwide employees, most of whom appear to be here as well, working out on climbers and ellipticals on the massive building's balconies, playing pickup games on the outdoor basketball court, striding by in groups of Nordic walkers, and holding an impromptu-seeming clinic including medicine balls and various other tools of the trade. None of it is impromptu, of course — it is all being done for our benefit, filmed, live-streamed…when our charming tour guide, Rachele Schiavinato, says that the event is taking place because "We are proud of what we have achieved, especially in this economy," it is easy to believe.
Inside, the company's clients, members of the world consumer and trade press, and scores of politicians and dignitaries wearing green, white and red sashes pass by rows of black-clad waiters who have emerged from the campus kitchens bearing trays of food and healthy drinks. Employees are given two hours for lunch, Rachele says, so they can enjoy three healthy lunch choices (vegan, vegetarian and Mediterranean, which one imagines includes absolutely everything excluded by the first two) and still have time for a workout and shower. The facility itself is most impressive, designed by Antonio Citterio, an architect known for his fine furniture (it shows), and at the moment we're sitting in front of a stage constructed for the event in a portion of the production facility. Behind the yellow curtains, pieces of equipment sit, partially fabricated, while stacks of boxed products await shipping. Outside, helicopters hover: The country's president, Giorgio Napolitano, is on site, along with its Minister of Health and its Minister of Sports and Tourism (among other ministers), and following an opening ceremony, more tours and speeches, Bill Clinton is giving the keynote to the 20th Annual Wellness Congress at 4:30. As I said, Cesena doesn't see this often.
The ceremony is in Italian (at the moment we're watching a narrated, piped-in video of the arrival of the Italian dignitaries, filmed only minutes ago), but the day's messages are easy to understand even before being brought our headsets for simultaneous interpretation. The company's pride is on full display and, apparently, no expense has been spared.
Cesena's mayor, Paolo Lucchi, speaks.
Technogym is live-streaming the day's events here.
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Friday, September 28, 2012
Life Fitness Opens Software Platform to Developers
For the nearly three-quarters of exercisers who utilize some type of technology during their workout, Life Fitness is offering more freedom to control and customize their workouts on its equipment. Last week the company released LFopen, the fitness equipment industry’s first open application programming interface, which allows developers to create applications for exercisers and facility operators that interact with Life Fitness equipment.
"Opening our API enables us to keep doing what we do best — developing first-class exercise equipment — while unleashing new, creative minds to come up with fresh ways to engage and motivate exercisers,” said Life Fitness president Chris Clawson in a statement on the company’s website. “The Life Fitness open platform products will enable developers and our customers to create fitness solutions specific to their exercisers and will allow for endless possibilities."
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Blog: The Derby Is a Real ‘Roll-Play’ Opportunity
There’s hardly a sport I won't at least try, and my epically mediocre abilities don't often hold me back. But a few months ago, something did hold me back: a blown ACL. And when it happened, it was the only thing standing between me and one seriously cool fitness opportunity. I'm still kind of resentful about this.
Our local roller derby group, the Charm City Roller Girls, was wrapping up its regular season and was getting ready to hold tryouts for the next one. They were offering what I consider one of the greatest programs I've seen in a long time: Charm School, a 10-week roller derby boot camp. It covered skating basics, fitness, league rules and more. The full session cost $100 per participant, and successful participants could score an invitation to join the CCRG.
If you've never actually watched roller derby, I can tell you this much. It's fast, it's rough and it really doesn't take any prisoners. It's a fun spectator sport and I imagine it's just as fun to participate in. The rules are available on the website of the national governing body, the Women's Flat Track Derby Association.
WFTDA has 150 full member leagues and 87 apprentice leagues. Each league may offer multiple teams that compete, or bout, with one another. One interesting thing to note is that members of teams (which have names like Smashinistas and Female Trouble) skate under assumed names like Winnie The Shrew and Colleene Oscopy.
I was all kinds of ready to try this. I even had the perfect skater name picked out: Hot Flash. (It’s an age thing.) Unfortunately, my knee had other plans, and Hot Flash turned into Ice Pack.
But I still got to attend an informational session for the group, and I was impressed by the large number of women who showed up. Women of all ages, from college students, all the way up to professionals in suits carrying briefcases, and 30-somethings pushing babies in strollers. Women of all shapes, from those who looked like they worked out every day to those who, well, didn't.
Some brought their own skates. Some were willing to use the skates provided by the rink (the Roller Girls referred to these as the Mental Rentals). Many were astonished it was the old-fashioned quad skates, and not the inline type, that were used. All seemed excited and happy about the prospect of being in roller derby.
"I just want to try," said one woman. "I haven't skated since I had a party at the roller rink when I was 10. If I don't make it, well, I'll still be in better shape than I am now, and it'll be something to talk about."
These were women who were drawn in by a sport ideal for those who like to color outside of the lines. Admittedly, not everyone wants to do something where helmets, pads and a bite block are required, and where useful skills include the ability to knock someone down and then leap over their prone body. Something else slightly off-putting: Online retailers sell beginner-specific safety equipment, and these are known in the trade as “fresh meat” packages.
Both the CCRG website, as well as those for other leagues, recommend lots of rink time, and lots of cross-training for beginners. Some offer recommendations for gym routines, and some are advocates of outdoor exercise. But all are in favor of a well-balanced fitness plan, since tryouts include tests of endurance, speed and more.
Unfortunately, it wasn't long after learning all this that my roller derby potential came to a screeching stop, and my post-op life started. But I looked on the CCRG site the other day, and my eyes went straight to the photo of one of the skaters. Despite the fact that she was baring her teeth, I recognized her. She has a new name now. Not as awesome as Hot Flash, but still cool. And I'm betting that these days, she skates a lot more aggressively than she did at her 10th birthday party.
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Thursday, September 27, 2012
Some Sioux Imagery Spared in New NCAA Agreement
Sports venues used by the University of North Dakota will be allowed to retain some Fighting Sioux imagery and still host NCAA postseason events, according to a new settlement announced Wednesday.
Though the school has decided to replace its long-standing nickname, thousands of Native American warrior logos appearing in brass medallions on seats and — most noticeably — in a 10-foot lobby floor design within Ralph Englestad Arena, home of the UND hockey programs, will not have to be removed as was originally mandated by a 2007 agreement between the school and the NCAA. However, six “Home of the Fighting Sioux” references must go, as does carpeting bearing the Indian-head imagery once the carpeting wears out.
The agreement applies to both Ralph Englestad Arena and its adjacent Betty Englestad Sioux Center, where basketball and volleyball are played. An Associated Press report did not make it clear if the latter venue’s name will be changed. A display will be added to the sports complex depicting the Sioux Nation’s history and contributions to North Dakota.
“I’m very pleased that the NCAA was willing to show flexibility in its policy,” said North Dakota attorney general Wayne Stenehjem, according to the AP. An NCAA statement reads, “The agreement by Ralph Engelstad Arena to reduce the nickname and Native American mascot imagery, and to place the imagery in an historic context, is consistent with the NCAA policy for the University of North Dakota to host NCAA championship events at that site.”
The agreement seemingly settles seven years of debate that included lawsuits, legislation and a statewide vote regarding the Fighting Sioux moniker. While the NCAA was willing to grant reprieve to some of the original 19 member schools identified in 2005 as having “hostile and abusive” mascots if they had the endorsement of their namesake tribes, North Dakota’s Spirit Lake Sioux and Standing Rock Sioux tribes remained split on the subject. That said, the AP notes that the State Legislature has determined that a new nickname cannot be chosen for three years.
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Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Pop Warner Team Accused of Saints-Style Bounties
The New Orleans Saints got all the headlines, but a Pop Warner team in Tustin, Calif., reportedly was offering cash to 10- and 11-year-olds for knocking opponents out of the game four months before the "Bountygate" scandal broke. According to a lengthy piece in The Orange County Register:
Tustin Red Cobras head coach Darren Crawford and assistant coach Richard Bowman, whose powerhouse squad went undefeated during the 2011 regular season, told their team to target specific players on the youth football teams from Yorba Linda, Santa Margarita and San Bernardino, said then-assistant coach John Zanelli and three players interviewed by the Register. …
One of the targeted players, an 11-year-old running back from the Santa Margarita Stallions, suffered a concussion after he was hit by a Red Cobras player in the Pop Warner Orange Bowl last November. The player who delivered the hit was paid by Crawford after the game, Zanelli said.
Although other coaches and league officials — including Tustin league president Pat Galentine, who was an assistant coach for the Red Cobras in 2011 — denied to reporters Keith Sharon and Frank Mickadeit that a bounty program was in place, Crawford admits he did tell his players to target opponents but never offered any type of payment in return for a big hit or causing an injury.
Sharon and Mickadeit then write:
However, the parent of one of the Red Cobras players said money was paid to his son after the playoff game against Yorba Linda.
"My son said he had won the prize," said the father, whose name is not being used to protect the identity of his son. "He had a good, clean hit. The kids voted his play as the play of the game. He showed me one $20 bill. He said the coaches, plural, gave it to him."
That parent said he had told Galentine about his son receiving money in a phone call Friday morning. But when reached by the Register, Galentine said he was having difficulty with his phone and didn't hear what the parent said.
Officials from the Orange Empire Conference, which oversees Pop Warner football in the Tustin region of California, investigated the allegations by interviewing coaches, parents and players from the Red Cobras and decided not to dole out punishments or sanctions, the Register reports. Officials at Pop Warner's national office in Langhorne, Penn., said they are aware of the Tustin allegations but that it was the OEC's responsibility to determine any wrongdoing. Nevertheless, Josh Pruce, Pop Warner's national director of scholastics and media relations, expressed concern about the allegations. "There shouldn't be that issue in Pop Warner football," Pruce said. "There is no place for it. The kids are out there to learn football. There is no place for a bounty system."
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Survivor of Health Club Shootings Settles Lawsuit
One of the nine women who survived the August 2009 shooting melee at a Pittsburgh-area LA Fitness club has settled her lawsuit against the estate of the gunman, who committed suicide on the night of the shootings, and the LA Fitness chain.
Comments from either the attorney for 25-year-old Heather Sherba or the club chain have not been forthcoming since the Aug. 29 settlement was first publicized in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review yesterday, and are unlikely to come anytime soon. The nine survivors and the estates of the three murdered women filed lawsuits against the estate of 48-year-old George Sodini, who entered an 8 p.m. Latin Impact aerobics class, turned out the lights and began firing one (and eventually two) of four pistols he brought to the class in a black duffle bag. It was revealed in the course of the Allegheny County Police Department’s investigation that Soldini had entered the club three times using his swipe card on the day of the shootings, and during an earlier visit to the club inquired how to turn off the lights in the aerobics room.
It was reported in 2010 that Soldini in 2007 named the University of Pittsburgh as sole beneficiary of his estate, which including the sale of his house was estimated at around $225,000.
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Latest Grad Gap Report: Black Football Players Lagging
Black major college football players are graduating at rates significantly lower than their white peers and lower than male full-time college students in general, according to the 2012 Adjusted Graduation Gap Report: NCAA Division I Football, released today by the College Sport Research Institute.
The racial breakdown, the first in the AGG Report’s three-year history, indicates that the graduation percentage for black football players competing at college football’s highest level is 24 points lower than the percentage for male full-time students in general. That gap is three times as large as the AGG of white FBS football players. The AGG for black FCS players, meanwhile, is twice as large as that of their white football-playing peers.
The calculated AGGs range from a positive 10 for black players and a positive seven for white players in the FCS Southwestern Athletic Conference (meaning football players of both races are graduating at rates higher than their male full-time cohorts) to a negative 34 for black players and a negative 17 for white players in the FBS Pac-12 Conference.
The three-year FCS AGG is a negative nine, while the three-year FBS AGG is a negative 19. The 2012 mean FBS AGG of negative 17 is the lowest in the three years, down from last year’s high of negative 20.
While showing some improvement, this year’s numbers nonetheless reinforce what CSRI director and AGG Report coauthor Richard Southall has been witnessing all along. “We now have three years of data that show NCAA D-I football players — especially FBS players — do not graduate at rates comparable to full-time male college students at most NCAA Division I universities,” Southall says.
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Community Parks Revitalization Act Introduced in Senate
Numerous studies conducted in recent years have shown that proximity to parks or open green spaces plays an important role in improving health and decreasing obesity rates, and a U.S. Senate bill introduced last week aims to increase opportunities for the nearly 80 percent of the population living in urban areas to access such resources. The Community Parks Revitalization Act, introduced by Senators Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Kirstin Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), would create a competitive grant program for parks and recreation departments in urban areas, providing them with funding to create new green spaces and revitalize existing spaces and facilities.
“Parks and recreation are absolutely essential for the economic and environmental vitality as well as physical wellness of urban communities throughout this country,” said Barbara Tulipane, president and CEO of the National Recreation and Park Association, which has been and continues to be instrumental in shaping and advancing the bill. “The CPR Act is a critical piece of legislation that recognizes this and we commend Sens. Hagan, Kerry and Gillibrand on their efforts to introduce the bill.”
The Senate bill is a companion to a House bill introduced last year, though it differs in its emphasis on “innovation and recreation program grants” aimed at increasing opportunities for at-risk youth and military veterans and families. The CPR Act still needs to be passed by both the Senate and the House.
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Monday, September 24, 2012
Religious Banners Allowed at Football Games — For Now
The Freedom From Religion Foundation shows no signs of backing off its efforts to eliminate pregame prayers and other symbols of faith from high school sports. After cracking down on school districts in Georgia and Mississippi for what it calls First Amendment violations, the Madison, Wis.-based church-and-state watchdog forced the Kountze Independent School District in southeast Texas to ban the use of red-and-white banners featuring Bible verses through which members of the Kountze High School football team charge when taking the field. The FFRF contacted the district after at least one resident complained about the use of the Bible verses, which change from week to week.
But late last week, a judge issued a temporary restraining order that bars implementation of the ban and allows the school to temporarily continue the tradition. A hearing is slated for Oct. 4, during which both sides in the issue will make their arguments, according to the Associated Press.
Superintendent Kevin Weldon, when asked by parents to justify his decision to ban the signs, cites the 2000 Supreme Court case Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, in which the nation's highest court ruled that student-initiated prayer at football games was unconstitutional. "It is not a personal opinion of mine," Weldon told KHOU-TV. "My personal convictions are that I am a Christian. ... But I'm also a state employee and Kountze ISD representative. And I was advised that such a practice would be in direct violation of United States Supreme Court decisions."
In Kountze, a small town of approximately 2,150 people, faith and football are intertwined. So it's little surprise that residents are fighting back, decorating their vehicle windows with Bible verses to protest the decision. And dozens of students gathered at a home in town last week to paint new
banners and placards to display at middle school and varsity games, according to KHOE. "I'm actually thankful for [the controversy], because if someone hadn't complained, or if there hadn't been any opposition, we wouldn't have this chance to spread God's word in this big of a way," cheerleader Ashton Jennings told reporter Kevin Reece.
Additionally, a Facebook group, "Support Kountze Kids Faith," had more than 43,350 members as of Monday afternoon. The group is closed — meaning that potential members must submit a request to join — and the following statement is included in the group's description: "PLEASE understand this group was created to show support for these wonderful kids, and it is NOT for religious debates, theological conundrums, or bickering in any way. Be respectful. The only reason to be, and post here, is to show support for these kids!"
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Blog: Be the Team Trials Host with the Most
You never do know what you're going to find on a national governing body's website.
I was searching for some information on a specific sport the other day, and I stumbled across a note on the website, stating the NGB was looking for a host for their 2013 USA Team trials. Downloads were available, as was a source who could answer questions.
Now if this isn't a great opportunity for the right facility, I don't know what is. Really: hosting a USA team trial. That's a very big, very fancy feather in any city's cap. We're talking about sports and mainstream media coverage, nationally ranked athletes, the whole package. And the best part is this: What they’re looking for is not something esoteric or hard to come by. What they’re looking for is some really great indoor facilities with the right dimensions and furnishings, HVAC, support personnel and amenities. What's not to like? There isn't even a bid fee.
What amazed me was that the only place I'd seen this notice was on the website of the governing body. And maybe that's understandable. An NGB, particularly in an Olympics year, has a lot to do. Prospecting for a location wasn't as big a priority compared to all the work that would go into watching a national team compete in London. But that in no way made it less important, or less noteworthy — or no less of an opportunity for those who might want to bid.
The axiom may be "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door," but it doesn't hold true in the sports industry. So here's my charge to facility owners and managers: Market the heck out of your mousetrap. Check out the websites of NGBs, event owners and others. See who's looking. Advertise your facilities in the trade magazines, get quoted in articles, and make yourself known.
After all, you never do know who is looking for a place to host their next big party.
P.S. Interested in this particular team trial? You can go to this site and find all the information you need.
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Monday, September 17, 2012
Study: AEDs, Trained Staff Can Aid Marathoners' Survival
New research published in the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine provides marathon medical directors with this race strategy: Train your staff and have an automated external defibrillator handy in the event runners experience sudden cardiac arrest.
The survey, which appears in the October issue of Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise® (Vol. 44, No. 10, pages 1843-1845), asked 88 medical directors about the number of incidents, treatments and outcomes they had witnessed during their marathons. Their responses indicate that most SCA episodes occur near the end of races, and that the victim’s survival hinges on the availability of early responders and an AED.
“Emergency planning with availability of AEDs throughout the race course is recommended, and if resources are limited, focus should be placed in the last four miles of the race, where the majority of sudden cardiac arrests occur,” said David Webner, physician and the study’s primary researcher, in an ASCM press release. “It is also important for all runners to establish a relationship with a primary care or sports medicine physician prior to marathon participation.”
ASCM considers the odds of suffering cardiac arrest during a marathon as “very low” — about one in 57,000 — but the biggest events are beginning to draw numbers in that statistical neighborhood. Last year, a world record 46,795 runners finished the New York City Marathon (this year’s event is scheduled for Nov. 4). Fatal episodes can occur regardless of race size and distance, however, with runner deaths marring events in Chicago, Detroit and Tulsa, Okla., in recent years.
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Thursday, September 13, 2012
SGMA to Rebrand, Broaden Industry Focus
The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products industry, is rebranding itself as the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.
The change comes after a two-year strategic review and planning process during which SGMA refined its mission statement, core services and communications platform to “focus on promoting sports and fitness participation and industry vitality,” according to an association press release.
“While we continue to embrace, celebrate and support the many companies who continue to manufacture their own products, our general membership — including many of those manufacturers — has indicated that there is a need to move beyond the traditional label of a ‘manufacturers’ association,” says SGMA president and CEO Tom Cove.
To that end, several new association initiatives are planned, including:
• Innovative Thought Leadership programs led by the 2013 SFIA Industry Leaders Summit, scheduled for September 25-26, 2013
• A national campaign to grow sport and fitness participation: PHIT America
• A new “member friendly’” website: www.SFIA.org
• A comprehensive SFIA Supplier Directory
• A groundbreaking new “Grassroots Sports Participation in America” research report
• Content enhancements and design updates to our weekly e-newsletter, InBrief
• Major upgrades to our Product Testing member benefit
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Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Presidential Physical Fitness Test to Be Replaced in 2014
School-based fitness programs will enter a new era in 2014, when a new assessment called the Presidential Youth Fitness Program replaces the 24-year-old Physical Fitness Test. A partnership between the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition;
the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and
Dance; the Amateur Athletic Union; The Cooper Institute; and the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Presidential Youth
Fitness Program will emphasize health over performance and will use FITNESSGRAM®
— a Cooper Institute program that promotes lifelong physical activity
via a variety of health-related physical fitness tests that assess
aerobic capacity, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and
body composition.
According to AAHPERD, the major goals of the
Presidential Youth Fitness Program will be to help students understand
their fitness data analysis and improve and/or maintain their physical
well-being; to develop cognitive concepts about fitness assessment and
interpretation of results; and to monitor and reinforce student learning
and achievement in reaching personal fitness goals. Professional
development opportunities and education materials to help P.E. teachers
safely and effectively implement the program will be available, and
efforts will be made to help parents better understand the benefits of
physical activity for their children.
"We want every physical
education teacher in this country to help children and their parents to
understand the health-related fitness outcomes and to assist in the
development of individual fitness plans," Paul Roetert, AAHPERD's CEO,
said in a statement. "To keep fitness in a positive mode, children's individual fitness scores will not be used as a criteria for grading in physical education class
and will be confidential between the teacher, student and parent.
Through the new Presidential Youth Fitness Program, physical education
teachers will have access to the necessary tools they need to help
children develop healthy lifestyles that will optimize their health and
educational experience beyond the school years."
Among its first
contributions to the new program, AAHPERD will coordinate a free
"Presidential Youth Fitness Program 101: Understanding the Basics"
webinar on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 1 p.m. (EST). It will be followed by
more free monthly webinars about different aspects of the program. All
webinars will be archived. To register, and to see a schedule of all webinars, click here.
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FAMU Denies Responsibility for Hazing Death
Florida A&M University has asked a judge to drop the wrongful death suit filed by the parents of Robert Champion, the drum major who died in a hazing incident last November. The university asserts that Champion was responsible for his own involvement in the events, having signed a "Hazing and Harassment Agreement" with the school saying he would not participate in such activities. Moreover, he was aware of the potential dangers of hazing rituals, had witnessed others go through the experience, and had the opportunity to opt out. The documents go so far as to allege Champion himself was guilty of criminal activity for his participation.
According to the court documents filed by FAMU, "It is undisputed that Mr. Champion knew that existence of the danger (hazing) of which Plaintiff now complains, he realized and appreciated the possibility of injuries as a result of such danger, and notwithstanding the opportunity to avoid the danger simply by not showing up at the designated place and time, he deliberately exposed himself to the danger," the motion said.
Still, the family argues, despite asking students to sign a pledge, the university was aware of the continuing hazing culture and should have taken steps to end it, ignoring a recommendation to suspend the band three days before Champion’s death occurred.
"The Champion family is shocked at the defense FAMU has chosen in the brutal hazing death of Robert Champion," the family’s attorney said. "We simply cannot ignore the audacity of an institution that blames students for their own deaths, yet for decades ignored the hazing epidemic occurring within its own walls."
The outcome of the civil case will likely set a precedent in determining to what extent a school is responsible for overseeing the actions and safety of its students, or whether students, as adults, should be held responsible for their own decisions.
"Respectfully, as a 26-year-old adult and leader in FAMU's band, Mr. Champion should have refused to participate in the planned hazing event and reported it to law enforcement or University administrators,” the court documents say. “Under these circumstances, Florida's taxpayers should not be held financially liable to Mr. Champion's Estate for the ultimate result of his own imprudent, avoidable and tragic decision and death."
Meanwhile, the university is taking further steps to quell the ongoing hazing culture at FAMU, including launching a website, StopHazingatFAMU.com, creating a panel to investigate allegations of hazing, and creating two new jobs to oversee compliance and hazing issues.
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Blog: Two Prescriptions for Healthy Living
This time of year, the Halloween decorations go up, the diets come to a screeching halt and the attendance in fitness programs takes a nosedive. Apparently, the idea that swimsuit season is behind us and the holidays are lurking, combined with cooler weather, is a real mood wrecker when it comes to exercise. In fact, a lot of people won't really get interested again until around New Year's, when the resolutions kick in.
It may not be the same everywhere, but it's a notoriously quiet time in our gym. So when I saw advertisements for two programs designed to turn people on to the benefits of healthy living, I was intrigued.
Normally, I only get enthused about fun and novel gym promotions, the kind that result in T-shirts and goofy prizes, but these were more serious. Both were physician referral-based programs, meaning they started with a doctor's written recommendation to a patient. Actually, that in itself is great because physician referral programs were listed as one of the top emerging trends in health and fitness programs for 2012, according to a survey done by the American College of Sports Medicine.
Both programs were unique to our organization, but could be tailored to any facility. One program, Fit Beginnings, is a 60-day referral program designed to help individuals successfully integrate regular exercise into their lifestyle. It includes twice-weekly small group meetings, 30 minutes long, with fitness professionals from the gym who help individuals develop physical activity programs. The fitness professionals provide an introduction to the gym's facilities and classes, and can give an overview as to which are suitable for those who might be recovering from an injury, having joint problems, or just hitting the gym for the first time. In addition, the program offers a 30-minute personal consultation with a nutrition consultant. For the program's duration, it also includes full access to all programs and services in our gym and the other facilities in the same corporate network.
The plan would certainly appeal to the budget-conscious consumer. It's $1 per day, and if individuals attend at least 14 of the 16 sessions with their fitness professional, they can apply the full $60 toward an annual membership. The $60 program fee is also tax deductible and reimbursable through health flex-spending plans.
A second plan, Optimal Health, is more complex and as a consequence, more expensive. It starts with a physician's referral, but specifically targets individuals more than 20 pounds overweight who have a history of unsuccessful dieting and weight-related problems like diabetes, heart problems or joint pain. It is longer (eight weeks), incorporates more professional assistance including personal training sessions, and has optional post-program maintenance meetings.
In both programs, it's easy for people to get their doctors to refer them; there is a downloadable referral form for individuals and physicians to use. There's also a hotline so that interested individuals can get the answers they need.
I've seen similar programs advertised in brochures and posters at physical therapy offices, college wellness centers, even senior centers. It seems like a great way to bring new people in the door, and turn them on to a healthy lifestyle. And if it works during the slow season, just think about what it might be able to accomplish after New Year's, or before bathing suit season.
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Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Chicago Teachers Strike: Games Won't Go On, Practices Might
Monday's decision by Chicago public school teachers to strike not only affects 350,000 students but an estimated 11,000 student-athletes who participate in fall sports. And following the Illinois High School Association's refusal Monday afternoon to waive bylaws and policies related to strikes that would have allowed games to be played — granting such a request extended beyond their authority, IHSA officials said — the decision of whether teams can even practice is now in the hands of local school boards.
"While IHSA By-law 2.140 prohibits schools that are on strike from participating in interscholastic contests, it does establish conditions under which school boards can approve practice sessions for a school that is on strike, should those local school boards wish to do so," IHSA executive director Marty Hickman said in a statement.
That option might be exercised at some schools, according to Chicago Public High School League director of sports administration Calvin Davis. “We will give consideration in cases where certified coaches are present and all participating student-athletes have parent permission and medical clearance,” Davis wrote in a text message to the Chicago Sun-Times. “Safety is paramount and location is important as well.”
Football programs would suffer the most if the strike is protracted, according to Michael Ciric, writing for ChicagoNow.com. "Teams must play a nine-game schedule to be included in the seeding for the IHSA State Playoffs," he said in a post this morning. "Football, unlike other high school sports, do[es] not have an 'automatic entry' into the state playoffs. And given the fact that a 5-4 won-lost record generally puts a team onto the 'playoff bubble list,' it is imperative they not miss playing their scheduled games."
There are considerations beyond win-loss records, too. "A lot of guys are still planning on meeting at different places and practicing," Jason Richardson, football coach at Julian High — and a CPS student-athlete the last time Chicago teachers went on strike, in 1987 — told the Chicago Tribune. "Football teams have to stay active. You just don't want to put them in the streets. What will happen is you will lose your team. Especially in the Public League, it is tough enough getting 40 or 50 kids in your program. If you just let them loose and tell them you don't know when you're coming back, you're going to lose them. Even in the offseason, I try to make sure my guys stay around for a while so they're not out there with the after-school crowd, where a lot of stuff happens. We get them in weight room, talk and have study hall so they don't get caught up in the element."
Even though CPS will open 144 schools for half-days, there still will be plenty of idle time to fill, which worries coaches who also are teachers and might not want to cross the picket line. "I don't think other teachers will consider it crossing the picket line if it's done away from school," King High School coach Lonnie Williams told the Tribune.
But Bob Geiger, a teacher and girls' cross country coach at Whitney Young High School told Sun-Times reporter Mike Clark that he isn't taking chances. “Any union member that coaches a [Public League] team is a scab,” said Geiger, who distributed workout plans for the entire season to his upperclassmen runners, in the event of a strike. “I told them, ‘You guys organize practice. You guys have learned everything you need to know, pass that knowledge on.’ ”
A decade ago, a teachers' strike in Billings, Mont., shut down high school sports for two weeks. David Williams, then the executive director of activities for the district, told AB that "it was the most difficult time of my professional life. We pride ourselves on creating a positive atmosphere for kids, and then we had this conflict between adults that ended up hurting kids and taking those positive activities away from them. As an athletic director, you don't have any control over it. It's really painful."
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10:16 AM
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Monday, September 10, 2012
Update: High School Video Boards Just Got Bigger
As the saying goes, things really are bigger in Texas. In its August issue, Athletic Business reported on high schools in Minnesota, Tennessee and Wisconsin that are among the first in their states to erect large video boards that rely heavily on sponsorship revenue. Then came word late last month out of Carthage, Texas — a small city of fewer than 7,000 residents located on the Louisiana border — of what Carthage ISD athletic director Scott Surratt calls "the biggest screen in the world in high schools."
Measuring 44 feet wide by 26 feet tall — that's 1,200 square feet, the size of a small house! — the high-resolution, full-color LED video display screen weighs 10,000 pounds and is part of a new scoreboard, manufactured and installed by Nevco, that stands 50 feet tall and spans 58 feet from end to end. The unit cost $750,000, and ISD voters approved the expenditure by a 68.6 percent margin in a recent bond election, according to the Longview News-Journal. Carthage's Bulldog Booster Club has already sold more than $35,000 in annual video advertising and sponsorships.
The new screen, which debuted at Bulldog Stadium during Carthage's home opener on Aug. 31, can show live-action video, instant replays, live crowd shots, crowd-energizing graphics and animations, and advertisements. It utilizes four cameras and commemorates Carthage High's three consecutive state football championships between 2008 and 2010. According to the News-Journal, students in the school's acclaimed broadcast journalism program will be among the eight people operating the new scoreboard, which is supported by a base buried 23 feet below the football field's surface.
Nevco
"It's something we can say we have that nobody else does," Shannon Baldree, a 35-year-old Carthage teacher who wears football-shaped earrings told The Wall Street Journal. "It's a point of pride." Added Nevco salesman Wes Wood, "I can guarantee there's someone out there that is saying, 'We can't let Carthage have the biggest [video board] in the nation.' "
By November, Houston's Toyota Center (located approximately 200 miles southwest of Carthage) will have what the NBA's Houston Rockets call the largest indoor center-hung scoreboard in the United States, offering patrons an unprecedented view of the action at Rockets home games and the 2013 NBA All-Star Game. "The video board at Cowboys Stadium is obviously larger ... but the roof at that facility opens so we guess it doesn't count," wrote Houston Press blogger Richard Connelly.
According to Rockets.com, the new board is the literal centerpiece of a sweeping arena-wide improvements project that also includes the installation of new HD flat-panel screens in concourses. The Panasonic board is expected to be operational in time for the Rockets' regular-season home opener against the Portland Trailblazers on Nov. 3. It will provide a video image that is more than 600 percent larger than the previous scoreboard that had been used since the building opened in 2003.
Rockets.com
The new unit will contain four large screens; two rectangular-shaped displays measuring approximately 25 feet high by 58 feet wide will face the east and west seating areas, and a pair of 25-foot-square screens will face the north and south ends of the bowl. Plans also include the installation of ancillary boards in each of the four corners of the upper concourse that will be used to display additional statistics during Rockets games and other sporting events.
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3:19 PM
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Blog: Football Players, Hockey Fans Draw Comical Line in the Sand
The National Football League’s refs have been locked out, and barring a change of heart by National Hockey League team owners, the NHL’s players will be locked out Sunday — and the affected parties have had enough. Yesterday, the NFL Players Association sent a letter to the league demanding the return of the locked-out officials, citing player safety as a primary concern, while a fan in Toronto launched a petition on Change.org demanding the NHL allow the upcoming NHL season to begin on time.
The results have been immediate and startling. Hours ago, Gary Bettman said NHL owners had backed off of their own demands that players take a smaller share of league television revenue, while NFL owners admitted that the league had plenty of money with which to pay their refs a wage more in line with their value to the league. “We’re really sorry,” Roger Goodell said, wiping away a tear. “We’ll never go down this road again.”
Actually, the NFL responded that the NFLPA can send a medical officer to meet with replacement refs, and the NHL has not even bothered officially laughing out loud at the fans’ idiotic belief that their wishes count.
You know what? I have some demands of my own, including a lasting peace in the Middle East and a complete overhaul of the USA’s system of elections. Sign my petitions.
There — that was easy.
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Posted At
10:59 AM
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LSU to Receive Annual Financial Support from Athletics
The Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Friday to approve a pipeline of financial support between athletics and academics that is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation.
Schools’ athletic departments — including LSU’s — have kicked in to general campus coffers during times of budgetary crisis, but the new LSU arrangement to transfer $36 million from athletics to the university at large over five years is unprecedented.
According to The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, the LSU Athletics Fund Transfer Policy not only pledges $7.2 million from athletics annually to support the university’s academic, research and community service missions, it establishes an additional revenue-sharing plan based on just how profitable the athletic department is. The LSU athletics website reports that the first $3 million of any surplus is earmarked for athletics reserve accounts, but 25 percent of surplus falling between $3 million and $5 million will be transferred to the university. Any surplus exceeding $5 million will be split evenly.
The policy does not affect the established 50-50 split of tradmark licensing revenue. The athletic department will also continue to pay all utlities and athletic scholarships, which alone amount to nearly $10 million annually.
“This proposal is a win-win for both the university and the athletic department,” LSU athletic director Joe Alleva told the Board of Supervisors during a presentation before Friday's vote. “I think it will put LSU in a position of envy among all the universities in the country.”
Student members of The Daily Reveille editorial board, meanwhile, termed the policy “embarrassing.” “It’s time for Louisiana to demand that higher education is prioritized, for the sake of the University’s academic reputation and for the sake of other higher educational institutions in the state that don’t have athletics departments that regularly bring in millions of dollars,” the board wrote, adding, “A bailout from LSU Athletics is kind, but it’s not a long-term solution to the University and the state’s lack of financial security.”
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10:18 AM
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Friday, September 07, 2012
Prep Football Players Booted for Hiring Prostitutes
Five football players from DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., have been kicked off the team after reportedly hiring three prostitutes. The incident occurred early last Saturday morning after Friday night's game against Hillside (N.C.) High. Two of the players have withdrawn from school, two more are facing expulsion and one had a disciplinary hearing scheduled this morning.
According to media reports, the players — whose names have been withheld — used an online North Carolina call service and engaged in sexual intercourse with three prostitutes at the team hotel early Saturday (most likely around 5 a.m.). None of them were starters on the team.
“I’m not able to” comment, DeMatha's second-year head coach Elijah Brooks told The Washington Post. “There are still kids that have to go through the disciplinary hearing. I just can’t comment.”
Principal Dan McMahon couldn't say much, either, telling NBCWashington.com, “I can’t legally or morally talk about discipline of any students. If people break team rules, there are team sanctions, and if people break school rules, there are school sanctions.”
The Post reports that bed checks were done at 1:30 a.m. Saturday, and a final hallway check was conducted at 4 a.m. DeMatha had 18 adults supervising the trip, according to one source.
DeMatha — an all-boys school with the tagline "Gentlemen and Scholars" on its website — has a rich football history with many alums in the NFL, and it is not uncommon for the Stags to play out-of-state games.
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9:43 AM
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Wednesday, September 05, 2012
More Hazing Allegations at FAMU
The school year is off to a bad start at Florida A&M University. Ten months after the suspension of the entire marching band following the death of drum major Robert Champion in a hazing incident, the school’s dance club has been suspended indefinitely after a Labor Day weekend hazing incident.
The allegations, brought to light via an email from one of the girls’ parents to university officials, involve alcohol consumption and running up hills. University officials are investigating the incident and have not released any more details.
“It does appear that this is a group that is not getting the message,” interim president Larry Robinson said in a press release. “We want to help bring home the point that we are very serious that there is nothing about this that is necessary to be part of an organization at Florida A&M.”
In the wake of last November’s tragic incident, for which 12 band members are facing felony charges, the university has taken steps to eradicate the hazing culture. “The University takes very seriously any allegation of hazing and has moved quickly to shut the organization down pending the outcome of an investigation,” Robinson said. “We have zero tolerance for hazing. It’s deplorable and will not be tolerated. It is unconscionable that a student organization would participate in any hazing activity considering what has transpired in the past year.”
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9:21 AM
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Blog: Drop in Boys' Participation: A Blip, or Cause for Concern?
This summer, for the first time ever, there were more female athletes in the U.S. Olympic delegation than there were male athletes. That caused a ripple of geeky excitement among the sports statistics nerd population. We wondered whether it was a fluke, or whether it was actually a trend we'd see reflected anywhere else.
Well, as it turns out, we didn't have to wait very long, and we didn't have to look very far; in fact, we only had to wait a few weeks, and look to our local high schools. The National Federation of State High School Associations just released its annual Sports Participation Survey, which as it has every year for more than two decades, shows more kids playing sports than the previous year. But there’s a twist to the 2011-12 academic year’s all-time high of 7,692,520 participants — the gain is attributable to a significant increase among girls’ participation (an additional 33,984) that more than made up for a 9,419-participant drop in the boys’ figures.
The number of boys participating in high school sports (4,484,987) still leads the number of girls (3,207,533), but the number of girls has been on the rise for 23 years straight. Seven of the top 10 boys' sports registered drops in participation, with 11-player football, outdoor track and field, basketball, wrestling, tennis, golf, and swimming and diving all down from last year. Only three sports in that top 10 (baseball, soccer and cross country) showed increases. The girls' sports grew across the board. If you want the full survey, it's available as a free download from the NFHS website; in fact, NFHS has interactive participation data if you want to compare sports year by year, state by state, whatever.
What interests me is the reason for the fluctuating numbers. Certainly, we have all kinds of possible hooks on which to hang the increased female participation: more great female athletes as role models, an increase in interest in staying fit and healthy, more girls interested in getting into sports in order to chase college athletic scholarships, even an increase in interest in specific sports that are suddenly drawing in girls (lacrosse and wrestling, for example, both made gains among girls last year).
Identifying a compelling reason for the downturn in boys' participation is more of a guessing game, even among those in the sports industry. The suggestions are all over the map — peer pressure (could some boys think it's uncool to show enthusiasm for a school activity?), competing activities (are more boys involved in travel teams or other programs that would conflict with the school athletic schedule?), economics (are more boys seeking part-time jobs during the school year than girls, and is this preventing them from participating?) and competition from other sedentary activities (are TV shows and electronic games marketed more effectively toward adolescent boys than girls?). The hypotheses abound.
What's your theory on the decline? Do you think it's a fluke? Something temporary? Or is it something we need to address?
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8:36 AM
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Tuesday, September 04, 2012
New High School Turf Dubbed 'The Black Hole'
In the past five years, we've seen blue turf and red turf installed at high school stadiums — and don't forget about the new candy cane turf at the University of Lindenwood-Belleville. Now, West Salem (Ore.) High School has added to the rainbow of turf colors with what is thought to be the only outdoor black football field in the country — although the Indoor Football League's Nebraska Danger plays on a black field, too. And, following the West Salem field's Friday night debut, it reportedly already has a nickname: "The Black Hole."
According to Salem's Statesman Journal, a group that included West Salem principal Ed John and football coach Shawn Stanley spearheaded a fundraising drive that generated $437,000 — including donations from four major local sponsors whose logos are sewn into the home sideline of the field — to replace the school's worn-out 10-year-old green FieldTurf with black FieldTurf. But because the Montreal-based manufacturer offered a discount if West Salem opted for a nontraditional color, the total price tag was closer to $300,000.
Photo courtesy of FieldTurf
“I think it’s cool that we have a field that’s uniquely different,” Stanley told the paper. “The goal was ... to have something that is safe for our team and safe for our opponents and the community. For me, the best part is I don’t have to worry about the kids getting hurt falling on the field.”
But won't surface temperatures on black turf be greater than on green? Yes, but not significantly, according to a "Synthetic Turf Heat Evaluation" published in January by Penn State's Center for Sports Surface Research. That study involved 11 synthetic turf system samples placed under a 250-watt infrared heat lamp for three hours, as well as outdoor evaluations. While green fibers under the lamp reached temperatures between 158.9 degrees and 167.3 degrees Fahrenheit (depending on the type and color of infill), black turf with black rubber infill reached 169.2 degrees — the same as silver-colored turf. White (170.4 degrees) and gold (171.1 degrees) fibers tested even hotter.
When tested outdoors on a clear and sunny Pennsylvania day in June 2011, when the average air temperature between noon and 3 p.m. was 76 degrees Fahrenheit, higher temperatures were recorded for gold (173.4 degrees) and silver (169.1 degrees) turf systems, with the third warmest being the black turf system at 167.3 degrees. The white turf system was among the coolest in outdoors testing at 155.3 degrees.
"The color of the fiber doesn't seem to matter much, especially when combined with infill," Andrew McNitt, a professor of soil science and the director of the Sports Surface Research Center, told AB on Tuesday. "It is the polyethylene itself — mostly independent of color."
"I believe those findings are accurate," says Darren Gill, vice president of global marketing for FieldTurf, which provided most of the fibers that were evaluated.
The only on-field colors at West Salem's new field that aren't black or white are the sewn-in lines for soccer and lacrosse, the green "Titan" script in the end zones and the "WS" at the 50-yard line.
Photo courtesy of FieldTurf
The home team will wear new green jerseys with black pants in order to avoid complaints from opponents. “It’s kind of, I guess, a preemptive strike by me,” Stanley said. “I want to win because we’re better, not because you can’t see us.” (Last year, Boise State made headlines when the Broncos were allowed to join the Mountain West Conference on the condition that they not wear blue jerseys with blue pants while playing on their home field — which, of course, is blue.)
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4:27 PM
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