Archive for January, 2010
What is Ski Jumping?
Ski jumping is a sport where the athlete skis down an “inrun” with a take-off ramp, which is the jump, trying to travel as far as possible. The skier is measured based on length and style. The skis used are quite wide and long. (260 to 275 centrimetres).
Ski Jumping Olympic Event History
Ski jumping is one of the first ski competition events. Norway held winter celebration events that included ski jumping competitions starting as early as the 1870s and ski jumping was included in the first Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix in 1924.Since the sport started in Norway, it’s no surprise that the Norwegians won every gold medal and five bronze medals in the Olympic Winter Games from 1924 to 1952.The large hill competition was introduced at the Innsbruck 1964 Winter Games.
The Evolution of the V-style Position
With the great desire to jump further, in 1985 V-style was innovated, where the skier holds his skis in a V-shaped position (instead of parallel) while in the air. The Swedish ski jumper, Jan Boklov, created this style; albeit, it was not favourable accepted at first. Most other skiers laughed at Boklov and he was penalized for his eccentric style. It seems that Boklov was miles ahead of his time, as a closer investigation proved that the V-style produced 28 per cent more lift.
How Ski Jumping Works?
The skier skis down a long ramp, known as the in-run, and then launches off into the air at speeds of up to 95 kilometres per hour. A very well-timed takeoff is determined by the athlete’s technique. After the takeoff, flight takes place and then landing. If the skier lands beyond the K point, it is considered dangerous and points are lost based on how far beyond this point the skier landed.The scoring is based not just on the length, but also the style of the jump.
- The length score is calculated from the K point. A jump up to the K point is awarded 60 points. Each metre beyond in multiplied by 1.2 for the large ramp and x2 for the normal ramp.
- The style score is determined by 5 judges awarding a score out of 20. The highest and lowest scores are ignored and the middle three are added together. Points from the jumps are used as time advantages for the cross country race.
Types of Ski Jumping Events in the Olympics
- Individual Normal Hill Event: Beginning before the day of the competition, the normal hill individual event starts with a qualification jump. The 15 best ski jumpers from the World Cup are pre-selected and are not required to participate in the qualification event. All other skiers must be in the top 35 to qualify. On the day of the event, there are two sets of jumps. The first set has 50 skiers (15 pre-qualified and 35 qualified) and the best 35 from this set will go to the final round. The second set starts with the lower performing athletes starting first and the top ski jumpers for the end.
- Individual Large Hill Event: With the exception of the event being on the large hill, this event follows the same format as the normal hill individual event.
- Team Large Hill Event: In this event, a team is made up of four members and there are two competition sets. In the first set, one team member from each team jumps. Then, the second team member from each team jumps. Then the third, followed by the fourth. In the second set, only the top eight teams from the first set compete. As in the individual events, the lower performing skiers start and the best skiers go last. The team with the best total score over all eight jumps wins.
Ski Jumping in the 2010 Whistler Olympics
The ski jumping event is scheduled to be in the 2010 Winter Olympics starting February 12th to 22th, 2010. The competition will be held in the brand new Whistler Olympic Park in Callaghan Valley located 18 kilometres southwest of Whistler on the Sea to Sky highway.
Large lorries strung across the canal banks promoting sponsors, beer tents, RVs and millions of pounds worth of 
powerboats set the scene. Music was pumped into the air with engine fumes, anxiety and adrenalin to once again create that unique Diamond Race atmosphere.Former world champion and eighties legend Danny Bertels was there promoting his balloon flights and faces new and old from throughout Europe merged here to get ready for Europe’s major event of 1998.With four races on the cards, Sunday 31 May was about to be busy, providing ten thousand spectators with first class value for money. Around six thousand paid their £5 each while a further four thousand were blessed with free entry.There was a degree of disappointment when Steve Robertson didn’t arrive after the earlier announcement that he’d be taking the 12,000 mile trip to race, but fellow countryman Jason Martin was there to fly the Aussie flag.
All eyes were on Kirkland and Cramphorn but Carlo Cassa and Devid Conti of Italy were quietly confident too. Then of course the Belgian contingent of Micha Robijn, Filip Vervecken and Peter Bertels were hot bets because of their recent standard of skiing and their particular expertise on canal water.Kirkland’s No Mercy Hallett had begun the weekend by playing up and the mechanical misfortune which dogged this outfit in 1997 was once again trying to rear its head. But everything was running nicely for the start of the race.The races kicked off with an Open category where Dan Cramphorn took the field by storm and dominated the race until he went in (no he didn’t fall -ok Dan-). It was Chris Cole who was there to pick up the pieces and record his 2nd successive win in the Open race here at Belgium.The cocky piece of Belgian dynamite named Rick de Brabander took ownership of F3 while the British Pog team with skier Glenn Manchett suffered mechanical misfortune. Ashley Copper, Steve Bird and other Brits did a good job of finishing this gruelling event.
But the big surprise of the day was in the Junior race when Belgian Christoff Van Gaeveren put on a display of skiing which reminded me of Wayne Mawer’s debut performance here in 1996. This diminutive piece of dynamite delivered a gutsy performance on his home water and the youngster is set to go far. But a fall put him into second behind team mate Magdeleyn while Britain’s Kim Lumley took third after only recently recovering from a follow up fall since the Worlds last year.The moment of the main race arrived. At 4pm the teams lined up in grids. At the five minute flag, tension on the canal and on the banks built up. The first flag dropped giving 19 drivers thirty seconds to pull out the short 190ft ski lines, and then they were off.
Screaming down the first flat straight, teams pushed their skiers to the limit on such short lines. Two major disappointments were the failing of Micha Robijn’s boat to start and a missed start by Filip Vervecken. But the rest had gone.Carlo Cassa was first round behind a new Bernico Foxy twin with Devid Conti 100 yards behind with Martin McLaughlin’s Cyclone. Kirkland was trailing a further 100 yards back but he’s not usually a quick starter.As the race progressed, it was clear that Carlo Cassa was back on form. It was also clear that the young Conti was further up the ladder to the top and he’s determined to follow in the footsteps of the Great Gregorio.
Endurance Boat Racing is the ability to achieve and maintain the following skills in boating:
• Staying power
• Patience
• Survival
• Stamina
• Fortitude
• Continued existence
Most popular Boat Racing Categories:
• Offshore
• Open cockpit
• Closed cockpit
• Formula 1
• Fresh water lake
• Kayak
• Ski boat endurance
Driving an F1 powerboat is like piloting a fighter jet. Take a seat inside the fully enclosed safety capsule of a F1 powerboat and go at full throttle; if it were not for being on the water you would think that you were in a fighter jet over Iraq.The propellers of these water crafts are specially designed. They are secrets of the trade and one of the many parts of the powerboat that design plays in winning. This is referred to as a ‘black art’ of the sport. Water is one of the hardest materials to include in any form of technical analysis, thanks to the way the water is changing as the propeller is pushing the boat across the surface at one-hundred-miles-per-hour. This multifaceted surface is why the propeller design is kept secret.
Choosing the right propeller; teams can often bring six propeller designs to a race, and will make their final choice as the boat is being put into the water, keeping its design secret from the competition.Fresh water Lake power boat racing; like the Memorial, 300 Mile Endurance Race from Crazy Beach at Crazy Horse Campground in Lake Havasu, Arizona. The event will once again be sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association (APBA), and it is expected that a very large number of teams will enter to try and break the APBA Endurance Record of 5 Hours 13 Minutes to cover the 300 miles set at last year’s event. These type endurance boat races are held all over the world.
Kayak events in Port Lincoln’s Water Warriors became registered members of Dragon Boat South Australia with a paddling group of eighteen. Also the 10th Australian Masters’ Games took place on the River Torrens in Adelaide in October, 2005. They trained fighting elements such as hail, rain, and sunshine to race against the clock testing their endurance.
A final endurance boat racing is ski boat racing in which a team of skiers compete in a relay type race. These skiers compete in a barefoot skiing completion to prove their team is the most dominant and consistent. They compete on lakes plus rivers, in smooth and rough water.Each boat contains a team of four to six barefoot-skiers plus a judge. The race proceeds relay-style with team members taking turns bare footing at speeds of 40-55 miles per hour. When one goes down, he is replaced. The competition lasts for a distance of twenty to forty miles. The purpose of the race is to test the endurance of the team for the length of the itinerary.
Utah is known throughout the world as being home to the best powder snow anywhere. The light fluffy snow that falls in the mountains of Utah is unique to the region. Most snow is wet and heavy, when compacted it forms ice and is slushy to drive on, but Utah snow is different. Light flakes, of what is termed powder, is a dryer snow that does not have the weight of the heavy slushy snow falls of the East Coast. The powder makes a snow pack that is unbeatable for creating perfect ski conditions and perfect conditions means the Utah ski resorts are packed with plenty of people.
Each year millions of visitors flock to the slopes of Utah mountains to ski the perfect run on the perfectly formed powdered snow. With each new snow fall skiers race to the top of the mountain to be the first to glide through the white powder. Because of its consistency, skiers a buried above their knees in a light dusting of snow as they slalom down the hills and runs of Utah ski resorts.
Resort destinations in Utah attract skiers from around the world who come to ski on the greatest snow on earth. The US Olympic ski team is headquartered in the mountains of Utah and spends their winters practicing on the slopes of the states many resorts. During the summer the team travels to Switzerland where the snow capped mountains of the Alps enjoy welcome skiers year round. Meanwhile back in Utah the ski resorts host many activities over the summer months with rides and downhill events that can be enjoyed where it is winter or spring.