The AB Extra: June 19

This week's AB Extra features news about a startup that aims to improve athletic equipment, a study that suggests that active video games are a good substitute for physical activity for kids and a university that is looking out for those who are texting and walking. 

University Adds Texting Lane to Stairs
Those walking and texting in the halls of the Utah Valley University Student Life & Wellness Center will now have their own lane to take on the stairs. 

The stairs are divided into three sections, one for walkers, one for runners and one for texters. 

Amy Grubbs, the director for campus recreation, said the lanes were put on the stairs partially as a joke, but also to liven up the building. 

“The stairs were just lifeless before,” Grubbs said. "Students don’t necessarily abide by it but it’s funny to watch students push their friends over in the right lane as a joke if they’re texting. Other people don’t even see it because they’re so consumed in their phones.”

According to Grubbs, the school's marketing department was responsible for making the changes, and did so after surveying the student population to gauge what areas students thought were the gloomiest. 

Startup Aims to Improve Athletic Equipment Design Using 3D Scanning
A startup called Cadlete hopes to improve the fit of athletic equipment by using 3D scanning to create custom equipment for athletes that would provide an exact fit.

According to the company's website, "Cadlete solves the ergonomic obstacles of the sports equipment market by using 3D CAD scanning technology to custom-fit everything." 

The scans of athletes will be stored on a cloud database so that they are easy and fast to retrieve. 

Check out a video from the company explaining how it works.

Comparing Active Video Gaming to Unstructured Play
A study by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville suggests that active video games can be a source of moderate or intense physical activity for children ages five to eight. 

The study compared energy expenditure during active video games to that during unstructured outdoor play. 

To measure energy expenditure, the children who participated in the study had accelerometers placed on each wrist and one was put on their hip. Over a three week period, each child engaged in one active video gaming session and one unstructured outdoor play session. Each session lasted 20 minutes. 

A significant difference between the two activities was found for the accelerometer that was placed on the participants' hips, with active video gaming having a greater percentage of moderate to vigorous intensity than unstructured outdoor play. 

"The strengths of the UT study include the use of two measurement tools considered to be very accurate at measuring activity," said Hollie Raynor, director of UT's Healthy Eating and Activity Laboratory and associate professor of nutrition. "No one else has used measures with this degree of accuracy in comparing active video gaming with outdoor play in young children. We're not saying video games should replace outdoor play, but there are better choices people can make when choosing the types of video games for their children."

Don't Park in Urban Meyer's Spot
One unlucky person learned the hard way that you just don't park in Urban Meyer's designated spot outside of Ohio State's practice facility. 

Warren Ball, one of the Buckeye's running backs, posted a photo to Twitter after he left practice the other day that showed Meyer's car blocking in another car that had evidently taken his spot in the lot. 

Looks like they learned their lesson the hard way.

What happens when you park in Coach Meyer's spot lol blocked in until he leaves pic.twitter.com/ujU6ufMvnX

— Warren Ball Jr. (@WarrenB_) June 15, 2015

A Hijab Designed to Keep Muslim Women Athletes Cool
An apparel company called Veil has designed a hijab that is made to keep women cool while they're playing sports in them. 

The headscarf is not only water-proof, but reflects heat instead of absorbing it, which keeps the temperature of the fabric seven to 10 degrees cooler than the outdoor temperature. Additionally, the scarf is laser-cut so it will not chafe against skin. 

This new headscarf comes after a growing demand for faith-compliant sportswear. Many sporting bodies have policies that prohibit hijabs from being worn during competitions. Progress is being made in adjusting these policies as FIFA recently lifted their ban on headscarves so that Muslim women were able to participate in international soccer matches.

So far, interest in Veil has been high. Their Kickstarter campaign has already raised more than six times their goal of $5,000.

Did Someone Mow a Swastika Into a Soccer Pitch in Croatia? 
The Italian and Croatian national teams were playing a soccer match in Split, Croatia on a pitch that apparently had a swastika either mowed or carved into the grass.

Italy complained to officials of UEFA, European soccer's governing body, about the symbol. It was reported that stadium workers attempted to cover the swastika during halftime of the match. 

This was not the first racist incident involving the Croatian team. The match was being played in an empty stadium after the Croatian soccer federation received sanctions from UEFA due to racist fan behavior at previous matches. The team was also fined 50,000 Euros due to these incidents.

According to the president of the Croatian soccer association Davor Suker, "It's one of our problems and we are working to fix it."

The team will likely face more punishments following this issue. 

Check out the AB Extra from past weeks:
June 12
June 5
May 29