The Fastest Nation

It’s quite usual for us to get to know that some American athlete wins another world or Olympic title in sprint event. Last time it was news from Helsinki World Championships, where the Americans had clear superiority over others in individual sprint disciplines. They won more titles than all other nations taken together. Of course, that’s not every time that it happens, but the advantage of American athletes which is due to their high level is obvious. While athletes from other countries come to sport elite and go away, Americans always stay in. Moreover, it’s impossible to imagine the sprint elite without Americans. They dominate short-distance running championships now. They have been dominating for all history of modern athletics since the first Olympic Games in Athens in 1896.

To prove this point of view I’m giving the so-called rating of all nations’ Olympic performance athletes of which ever took prices at the modern Olympic Games. A nation gets 3 points for every gold medal, silver is 2 points and bronze is 1 point. For example, at the 2004 Olympics the Americans won all medals in men’s 200 meters dash. In women’s 200 meters dash a Jamaican won gold, an American got silver and a Bahamian got bronze. Thus Americans get 8 points, Jamaicans – 2 point, Bahamians – 1 point. Summing up points for all years we get following statistics:

100 meters:
USA – 120
Germany – 22
Great Britain – 20
Canada – 14
Australia – 13
Other countries – 69

200 meters:
USA – 117
Germany – 18
Jamaica – 16
Australia – 14
Great Britain – 12
Other countries – 63

400 meters:
USA – 97
Germany – 22
Great Britain 20
Jamaica – 13
Australia – 12
Other countries – 52

In every event Americans are far ahead of others. However, even if we take into consideration such a huge advantage, it might be still wrong to say that other countries’ athletes are much worse trained. During the twentieth century there were stars among British, Canadian, Caribbean and other sprinters whose achievements have become part of sports history. Many of them are Olympic and world champions. There also world record holders among them. Now we talk about Asafa Powell, Veronica Campbell and Tonique Williams-Darling. We also remember Linford Christie, Donovan Bailey, Marita Koch and Marie-Jose Perec from the past.

However, the point is that they are the only representatives of their nations. They come into sports, show outstanding performance and go away followed by no compatriots matching their level. But only the USA athletes show high-level performance constantly. It’s quite hard to find reasons for it taking into account that the level of training process is also high in many other countries. Actually it is not the training process itself that differs the States from other countries. It is rather sports system organization which selects, raises and motivates athletes.

Prevalent approach to athletics

There are two models of sports system organization in the world.

The first one is the system of state financing developed in most countries. State Sports Department exercises supervision over Sports Federations which provide athletes with good conditions for trainings, medicine care, opportunities for preparations and so on. The State takes care of athletes from the beginning of their career and they feel comfortable in such conditions.

Many of them come into athletics and train like for fun, considering running from this point of view: “I have an opportunity for training. First I will train for fun and will see if I am good in running. If I’m good, I will pay more attention to trainings. If I’m not, I will just enjoy the achieved level. My country will take care of me and will give me an opportunity to afford such “pleasure” trainings.” For some of them sprint is a hobby. Some of them achieve good results at the local level performing time of 10.4-10.2 seconds in 100-meters dash, and think that it is good enough. Those who are highly motivated progress further and sometimes take prizes at international level. But most of such sprinters don’t even reach a 10-second barrier let alone 9.8-9.7 second time which is necessary for major competitions.

So there are no good selection process and no high competing environment in such a system.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association

One more model is when business interferes with sports and government doesn’t take part in the process simply providing the athletes with conditions. Such model is developed in the USA. Besides professional sports, there is a unique system of university sports organization which gives birth to a huge amount of world-famous stars in athletics. The National Collegiate Athletic Association sports are fantastically popular and widely covered on television and in press. Even world-known bookmakers provide lines for bets on NCAA leagues. No country in the world can boast of such situation. College teams receive huge money from their team sponsors and are interested in achieving high results attracting well-trained athletes. It means that skilled athletes receive scholarships which cover expenses on study and living. For many of them such way is the only chance to enter a university. Thus athletes who competed for a university team are highly motivated in achieving good results. They don’t just train, they secure stability of their lives. Very often at NCAA championships college athletes achieve higher results than professional athletes of other countries.

There is one more positive aspect of the USA model. Several sport events are extremely popular in the United States. These are football, basketball, baseball, hockey, track and field and some others. Almost all universities have their own teams for participating in these sports. If an athlete at the beginning of his career chooses some event, and some time later it turns out that he is much better in some other event, he can simply change an event within the same university. There are many such examples among Olympic champions at sprint events. Marion Jones who was member of her university basketball team, later became the fastest woman in the world. Famous sprinter Ato Boldon started his career playing soccer. Jim Hines used to be a baseball player in his early years. Eddie Tolan won Michigan state football championships as a high school boy. Much more examples could be mentioned.

Such conditions give an opportunity to find out really talented athletes, and hard competition compels them to develop their skills very fast. Yesterday’s NCAA champions become top world athletes today. Now it is John Capel, Shawn Crawford, Justin Gatlin, Jeremy Wariner and Lauryn Williams. In future there will be new stars and the National Collegiate Athletic Association model will never fail.

It’s worth mentioning that Caribbean athletes are good too. But note that many of them studied in American universities.

One might ask why American athletes are not so good at long distance running as they are at sprint events. The answer is simple – they like action. It’s much more interesting for them to watch a 100-meter race during 10 seconds than wait for the end of a 10-kilometers race for a half of an hour. They are crazy about eye-catching shows. And what could be more eye-catching than short-distance running? It’s not just a part of running or athletics, it’s another kind of sport, where limits of human body performance come out. That’s why they just go and grab world and Olympic titles in sprint and left the rest of events for the others.

Shooting and Dribbling Your Way to Good Health

In 1891, a Canadian physical education instructor named James Naismith faced a dilemma about continuing a sports program and having to do it indoors. At that time, most sports were held outdoors or in a wide, open field. It was the middle of winter and Naismith only had limited space to use to continue is P.E. classes.

To solve his problem, Naismith created a game for the students that focused on the use of skills and not merely the utilization of physical strength. He called this invention — basketball. Initially, players were made to dribble a soccer ball up and down a court and points were earned by shooting the ball into a basket. Naismith later developed the game by forming two teams of five active players each who tried to outscore each other by shooting the ball through a 10-feet high hoop or goal. The team with more points at the end of the game wins. Through time, basketball was developed into a sport with standardized and specialized skills.

Today, basketball is one of the most popular sports in the entire world. Its inclusion in the 1936 Olympics and the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1949 further boosted its popularity. The NBA, as the world’s premier basketball league, gave rise to many superstar athletes. Basketball fans were glued to their t.v. sets as they watched these athletes perform acrobatic and high-flying moves across the court.

Traditionally, basketball has been a “male-dominated” sport. It was only in 1976 that women’s basketball was recognized as an Olympic sport. By 1996, more opportunities for female ball players opened up with the formation of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a counterpart to the NBA. In 2006, the WNBA became the first team-oriented women’s professional sports league that existed for 10 consecutive seasons. Women like Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoops, and Rebecca Lobo are now enjoying the limelight that was once enjoyed by Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Since its creation in 1891, the sport has already passed through several evolutions as a serious sports event. Aside from attaining its stature as a top-grossing sports and entertainment feature, it is also enjoyed by millions of amateurs and ordinary people who prefer a game that makes them sweat and have fun at the same time. As a sport, basketball provides a balance in terms of skills development, aerobic exercise, and competitiveness.

Participating in physical activities like basketball is beneficial to children, adolescents, and adults. Regular physical activity contributes to overall health and may aid in weight loss. Studies show that regular physical activity has the potential to promote enhanced self-esteem and reduce the symptoms of stress and anxiety in children, adolescents, and adults with emotional disorders. People who partake in physical activities excrete substances called endorphins. These endogenous morphins, or endorphins, are the body’s natural pain-killer. Endorphins are released when a person’s physical activity has reached a moderate and high. These substances gives a moments of relaxation, which some health experts call the “runner’s high.” Endorphins make people ‘high’ and happy. Research show that people who exercise regularly have more energy and better self-esteem compared to their inactive counterparts.

People can improve their health and quality of life by picking a physical activity like basketball as a part of their lives. Being physically active early in life may bring many physical, social, and emotional benefits and may lead to good health.

Betting on US Sports

With the explosion of internet betting gone are the days when betting on the like of the NFL, NHL or the NBA are confined to just the outright winner or match handicaps (where the outsider is given a lead in order to make the best more even). As competition within the world of internet betting has mushroomed so has the range of bets offered as they compete to become ‘the leading exponent of US sports’. On any match now you can bet on ‘over & under’ which is betting on whether you reckon the total amount of points scored will be over or under a given number. Wider afield you can go for what the first scoring play will be or even who the Man of the Match award will be given or MVP (Most Valuable Player).

As a result the popularity of US Sports betting has also risen simply due to the fact that there is more for the ‘leisure’ bettor to get involved with and more enticing odds that those in the two horse race that is one side or the other to win. Whilst there is a huge lobby to restrict internet betting in the US the feeling that the bird has flown the nest is very strong as off-shore operators are queuing up for the business and many have now even listed themselves on the UK stock exchange giving them an immediate credibility.

For those of you with a nervous disposition it’s probably worth turning away now as the biggest growth area in betting in the US, outside of the monster that is Poker, is College sports! Yep, I’m afraid bookies will take bets on almost anything if the appetite is there – one was taking bets on how would die in the latest Harry Potter book another on the outcome of the Michael Jackson trial. Is nothing sacred, apparently not? And the NCAAF is no different – but before we judge to harshly, let’s not pretend that private underground wagering on the College sports has been massive for years so why not bring it out into the open. For those interested, Florida State and Miami are joint favourites in the ACC Conference Championship.

In the more mainstream fields Indianapolis just head the betting in the NFL over New England for the Superbowl XLI, its hard to split the Detroit Red Wings and the Ottawa Senators (who, with a name like, that should certainly know better than have a bet) in the Stanley Cup and in the MLB World Series its very tight in the betting between the New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

Well, happy betting as our eyes start to turn away from the World Cup (that’s soccer to those who only follow the US stuff) and look forward to a new season of Hockey, Baseball, American Football and Basketball

We hope this helps but visit TheSportsman.com or read the paper, out every day for more tips and hints.

We’ve Ruined Sports for Kids – The Curse of Athleticism or the Olympic Myth

How much is too much?
When it comes to youth sports, it appears the answer is nothing is too much. The average professional hockey, basketball, or soccer player plays around 80 games a year – another 20 if he or she is on a championship team. Ten-year old kids often play the same number, along with practices and weekend tournaments.
So what’s going on?
What’s going on is that adults have stolen sports from kids. We’ve professionalized sports, organized the games we used to play in the schoolyard or on the streets for hours as kids. Instead of those endless games, parents drive their kids to league games and practices, where whistles and coaches tell kids what to do and how to do it. This goes on five, six, even seven times a week. Sure, a precious few go on to superstardom as professional athletes, but they’re the one percent of the one percent. The rest burn out by 14.
Is it really necessary to travel hours every weekend to yet another tournament? Is that third practice a week really adding to a young person’s enjoyment? Is there not something wrong about $50,000 budgets for 12-year old hockey teams?
More is not necessarily better. The magic number is three – one game and two practices a week. Until a kid is 13 or 14, that is enough of any one activity. Let them develop a number of interests – sports, reading, music, and maybe hanging out with friends once in a while. After that age, if the interest is still there, then it might be appropriate to let them focus totally on one thing.
We need to remember that sports are for kids – not for those watching from the sidelines. Professional athletes are paid millions to play 80 games a year; and our kids are paying a high cost for our obsession with organized sports.

Some Cases Of Steroids In Football

The use of steroids by professional athletes and sports persons is an open secret now. The stories about pro sports stars taking steroids in sports led sports organizations and leagues to fabricate strict polices on steroids.

Presently, steroids stand banned by the International Olympic Committee, National Collegiate Athletic Association, and many professional sports leagues including the Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League, and National Hockey League.

The National Football League (NFL) brought out its policy of steroids in football as early as 1987. The NFL banned the use of steroids in football players because steroids have potentially dangerous side effects and they give players an unfair advantage.

Lyle Alzado is probably the most famous instances of the use of steroids in football. The Brooklyn, New York born footballer, Alzado is one of the most remembered US sports stars to admit to abuse of steroids in football. Alzado, who died of brain cancer at the age of 43, asserted that his use of steroids in football directly led to his final illness. Using natural growth hormone, harvested from human corpses, as opposed to synthetic growth hormones, Alzado now lies buried at River View Cemetery in Portland.

Vernon, Connecticut born Bill Romanowski is another famous instance of the use of steroids in football. Romanowski was infamous for his altercations in game. Romanowski revealed in a book that he was using steroids in football, and he was introduced to several performance enhancing compounds, notably anabolic steroids by Victor Conte, the founder and president of Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO).

Upper Marlboro, Maryland born – Shawne Merriman – an American football outside linebacker for the San Diego Chargers of the NFL was suspended for using steroids in football in 2006. On October 22, 2006, reports were made public by CNN that Merriman would face a 4 game suspension for violating the NFL’s steroid policy.

On October 22, 2006, CNN reported that Merriman would face a 4 game suspension for violating the NFL’s steroid policy. Chris Mortensen of ESPN cited a source that claimed the suspension was “definitely for steroid use and not a ‘supplement-type’ suspension.”

Later, Merriman in a press conference admitted, “Yes, I did something unknowingly, but at the same time I did something that was against the policy…”. On May 5th 2007, Merriman in an interview with the North County Times stated that he took a tainted nutritional supplement.

Athletic Running Shoes – What To Buy

If you are going running, you need running shoes, right? If you want to walk, then you’ll find what you need in the walking sneaker category. Most sports have their own shoe, which makes it a little easier for beginners to understand what is expected of them. If you’re playing your first game of golf with the boss, golf shoes are the way to go. Almost nobody buys bowling shoes unless they are planning on bowling all the time. Recreational bowlers need not go quite that far. It’s dizzying. It’s especially dizzying for a parent who is trying to support all of their child’s sporting interests. Showing up with the proper pair of shoes is equally as critical as remembering to pack them clean underwear before they go off for a sleep over.

Here’s the kicker, for the already hustled parent of today, these shoes become a little more complicated as outdoor sports are now also becoming indoor sports. Soccer can be played in either arena, and require two different pair of shoes. Football and baseball are spreading, granted slowly, into the indoor arenas of the world, also requiring new shoes.

Track is not quite the same thing as running and a cross country shoe is needed for those long distance runners. Remember when we were kids? We had a play pair and a dress pair. Ode to the simple life. It’s rather long gone. School leagues make all these shoes a requirement, which is fine for those who can afford it. Those who can’t are forced to deny their child the joy of playing sports, which can not only teach them a great deal but can also become a healthy lifestyle over some of the options available to idle children. Most of the time, the shoes, the uniform, the dues, and the tournament costs are enough to drive a parent into a second job. Swimming would be a good sport, but talk about pool fees. Swimming can be done for free at your local water’s edge!

Athletic footwear has, in the past twenty years or so, taken a huge leap forward. There is a valid reason for requiring all these shoes for all these sports. Through technological advancement, science, and interest, these shoes have each been designed for the optimum fit for the expected performance. Some sports require a lot of short burst of speed followed by on—a—dime—precision footwork. Others require more extensive bursts of speed. Some require a combination of both. Proper footwear helps to prevent injury. These new advancements in athletic footwear have only put a marginal nick in the number of emergency room trips for sprained ankles and torn ligaments, but they have shown extensive improvements in the large scale, long term injuries that can develop. The breaking down of cartilage, bone spurs, wear and tear on joints, and foot development problems have decreased significantly for both major athletes and those who participate in school sports.

What does this mean for the future of athletic footwear? Nothing outstanding. There will be more developed choices, the better than average brands, the chronic competition to be the best, and the increase in price as the quality matures. After all, the expense of knees and ankles is definitely worth the cost of an excellent pair of athletic shoes.

So this raises the question—when is it necessary to start plunking down large chunks of change for the correct athletic shoe, the best athletic shoe, and the eternal “latest and greatest” athletic shoe? I mean, should I run to the store and blow $150 because my kid says he wants to play basketball, only to find out a month later that basketball made us aware of his vertical challenges? Now he thinks soccer might be his game. My personal belief, and I have many that are highly unpopular, is that you get the best you possibly can for the level of play. Yes, I believe that a fourth grader should have the proper equipment, even if he is just dabbling in the sport to figure out whether or not it’s his game. Having the right shoes with the right fit can go a long way against injury, which is why most sporting organizations and schools require them.

Online Casino Gaming – Cyberspace Gambling

A new form of gambling started its success all around the globe in the 1990ies that people are talking about. Online casino gaming, online gambling, internet gambling, or cyberspace gambling. Doesn’t matter how you call it. It’s fun and exciting.

Nowadays gamblers from all around the globe are playing their favourite casino games online. Video poker, blackjack, roulette, craps, slots and many other casino games. Some casinos offer more than 200 different games with their free software download.

Also availabe are no download flash casino games. This games can be played without downloading instantly in your browser.

There are lots of classic casino games available, as well as video poker, online slot machines and progressive slots.

The jackpots are actually very high. Some people have won more than one million dollars from playing progressive slots. The latest payout was over $2.000.000!

Most woman like to play at bingo online. Cool are the 3D graphics that let your virtual self walk around in the bingo room and sit and play at the table. You also can chat with other players.

Men like live casino dealer games. Female dealers that you can chat with and watch via live web cam play baccarat, sicbo, blackjack and roulette in a multi player chatroom.

What makes online gambling also great is playing at an multi player poker room. Poker players can play against other players from all over the world online. What this makes so exciting is that players can qualify for poker tournaments via the internet.

Online qualifiers already play at championships like the monte carlo millions, the world poker tour and the world series of poker, the WSOP.

Relatively new are mobile casino games. You can play blackjack, poker or slots in your cell phone, pda, palm and many other wireless devices.

Sport book wagering online is possible, too. Bets on football, hockey, baseball, basketball, boxing, tennis and other US and european sports can be placed online. But not only that. The live odds can be watched in real time via an live sport betting line. Always updated.

Besides casinos run internet casino tournaments. Poker and slot players battle for real cash prizes.

Regardless if you are playing for big money at an high roller online casino or not for real money online casino gaming is a lot of fun.

Casinos offer a free casino sign up bonus to all players. Free extra money to play! The amount is depending on how much you deposit in your account by using one of the many online funds transfer services or your credit card. Online sports & race books also offer free cash bonuses as well as online poker rooms.

If you are interested in gambling online, looking for casino news, good luck sayings and more cool stuff please visit our website.

Why Online Gambling Is So Popular

In the last few years we have witnessed a revolution in online gambling. Online gambling was once considered a shady operation in which unscrupulous web site operators simply vanished with their customers’ money. But things have changed a lot since those days.

As the number of online gamblers has increased, and the amounts of money being wagered have sky-rocketed, like all other ecommerce businesses, online gambling has become an established, credible alternative.

These days, online gambling is so popular and so well organized that no legitimate operator of an online gambling enterprise would risk the future of his business by ripping of his customers. As in any business, the credibility of the operation is critical to its success. This is especially the case with online businesses, where bad news travels very quickly. Every serious online gambling establishment makes it a top priority to deal with customers openly, honestly and fairly.

** The appeal of online gambling

We take for granted that millions of people around the world like to gamble. The reasons and motivations for this are the same whether they gamble in casinos, at physical venues like race tracks or betting shops, or whether they gamble online.

Land-based casinos obviously have some features that you cannot get from an online casino. There is an important social component that is not there with online gambling. The glitz and flash of the casino atmosphere draws many people in and encourages them to get involved. People are drawn in by the excitement and the immediacy of the activity around them.

But setting aside the “entertainment” value of spending a night at the casino, from the wagering perspective, doing your gambling online has far fewer distractions, is more efficient, and lets you more easily focus on the task at hand. It’s all gambling all the time. Which means that you can spend hours — or minutes. You can place your wager and move on to something else.

** Convenience is very important

In other words, online gambling is much more convenient. There is no need to drive an hour or two to spend an entire (expensive) evening eating, drinking, and wagering. When you gamble online you do it from the comfort of your own home. You can do it online at any time — in the middle of the day, or in the middle of the night.

You can also do it at your own pace. If you are a newbie to the world of online wagering, most sites will have tutorials and demos that show you how things work. They will explain the rules and the terminology. And there is no pressure to play games or place wagers before you know what you are doing.

** Practise and play for free

In fact, with online gambling you can get your feet wet without risking any money at all. There are many games where you can play for free. You can even “test run” many actual games to see how they work and how you might have fared if you had been wagering real money. This is a great way to learn how the system works and to get a feel for what interests you most. Once you feel you have sufficiently mastered the techniques you can open a small account and start placing actual wagers.

** Play a greater variety of games

There is now a multitude of established casinos and wagering websites, and most of them have a wide variety of games to choose from. For instance many have a complete selection of casino games such as Blackjack, Baccarat, Keno, Poker, Roulette and Craps.

But that is only part of the action. There is often a complete Sportsbook betting facility where you can place wagers on virtually any major sporting activity taking place in the world. That includes NFL Football, NCAA Football, NBA Basketball, NCAA Basketball, WNBA Basketball, Major League Baseball, NHL Hockey, PGA Golf, Pro Tennis, Auto Racing, Professional Soccer, Professional Boxing, Olympic Sports, and much more.

** Security issues

Most people are concerned about the safety and security of online commerce, and this is especially the case with online gambling. The fact is that any successful online business must protect its reputation and guard its integrity, or it will be out of business very quickly. This is even more true for online gambling sites.

That is why you should check the legitimacy of any online business you are thinking of dealing with. Search for reviews of the site in online forums where users comment on their experiences with the site. You should also search for special review sites where online gambling sites are reviewed. Bear in mind that these reviews may not be objective and are often out-of-date, but they can serve as a useful guide.

Once you decide on a site, build a relationship gradually with small amounts of money. That will give you a chance to see how the system works, and to see how the online gambling site you have chosen treats its customers.

Famous Soccer Players

The game soccer is one of the world’s most popular sports. It has produced some famous soccer players over the past few years. Here are some of the world’s famous and greatest soccer players ever.

Pelé
“Edson Arantes do Nascimento” or also more popularly known as “Pelé” was the first soccer player ever to achieve three World Cup medals and several other soccer records. He is known as “The King of Football”. He is regarded as the most famous, if not, one of the most famous soccer players. He amazed the world with his unbelievable ball handling ability. Pelé is a household name among soccer players and soccer fans all over the world. Pelé is known for his pace and strong shot. He has these uncanny abilities for a short man. Pelé rose out of poverty through the sport soccer. He is an inspiration to all young soccer players all over the world.

Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luiz Nazario de Lima, or more popularly known among soccer enthusiasts as “Ronaldo”, was named one of the famous soccer players of all time. He has great speed, ball dribbling ability and excellent goal scoring instinct. Ronaldo was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Like most famous soccer players, he learned to play soccer on the streets of his hometown neighborhood. Ronaldo is considered one of the best strikers in soccer. He can outplay almost every defender. He plays for Brazil and is considered one of the best soccer players of today.

Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham is one of the most famous soccer players of today. He is one of the few who made 100 appearances or more in the UEFA (United European Football Association) Champions League. And he is the only English soccer player to ever score on three different World Cups. David Beckham is considered to be one of the best midfielders to ever play for the British team. David Beckham played for the Manchester United at the young age of sixteen.

Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane is currently one of the most famous soccer players in the world. Zidane is regarded as one of the best soccer players in this generation. He has great dribbling, passing abilities and balance and to top all that he has excellent shot capabilities. His playing styles are not showy. He has this simple and elegant soccer playing styles, which made him a famous and great soccer player. He can make some difficult moves look easy. He recently gave France a “1-0” victory over Portugal, to secure a slot in the World Cup 2006 Finals. France will meet Italy. However, he officially announced that he would retire after the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Pocket Bike Racers: True Athletes

One of the least understood aspects of motocross racing by non-participants is the incredible level of physical fitness required of competitors. Many people unfamiliar with the sport often assume that the rider is doing nothing more strenuous than steering a motorized vehicle around a field, something that would be just as easy as driving the family car around the block. This is not the case. Racing pocket bikes, or motocross racing, has actually been found to be one of the most physically demanding sports in existence. If someone really studies a rider’s actions while racing, it becomes easy to see why.

The rider must maintain incredibly ultra-precise control of a machine that is not only traveling, but racing, over the type of terrain that most people would have difficulty walking across. They have to do this while maintaining as fast a speed as possible. The rider is astride a machine weighing a large amount of weight and, at the most elite professional level, has an engine that pushes them at almost seventy-five miles per hour at top speed. A rider’s arms and legs are constantly moving during a race, fighting for control of the motorcycle while absorbing the energy produced by high-speed landings from heights that can often exceed twenty feet, not to mention the two-foot high stutter bumps (called whoops) that beat the crap out of both the motorcycle and the rider. The G forces produced from the race test the absolute limits of a rider’s strength and endurance. Finally, a typical professional race lasts a minimum of thirty minutes, if not longer. That means for a full half an hour, the faster the rider goes, the more violently and frequently he or she is punished. Unlike Nascar, there are no pauses, breaks, time outs, or pit stops.

The National Sport Health Institute in Englewood, California, tested several professional motocross racers in the early 80’s as part of a comparative study of athletes in different sports. Most of what was tested was the cardio-vascular (heart) fitness of athletes from various sports across the board. Athletes from track and field, American football, basketball, and soccer were tested, among several others. The cardiac stress and strength showed, to many people’s great surprise, that the motocross athletes had just as high of a fitness level as any other discipline tested. In other words, this isn’t a sport to get into unless you are willing to do the type of high level conditioning that athletes in other sports must endure to get to the peak of their game. Argue however you want, but tests show that pocket bike racers and motocross racers are athletes, and need to be viewed as such.