Collecting for 2010 Winter Olympics

January 17, 2010 Zen No Comments

Winter Olympic Sports Memorabilia collections can be around the particular games, a sport or a person. But should the collection be for fun, passion or money? That’s up to you but if you start with fun or passion and then learn to choose wisely, you can have them all.

The winter Olympics are staged every four years, two years apart from the summer Olympics. The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France in 1924. Prior to this, figure skating and ice hockey had been events at the Summer Olympics. Prior to this, figure skating and ice hockey had been events at the Summer Olympics.

The sports that are now in the Winter Olympics are:
· Alpine skiing
· Biathlon
· Bobsled
· Cross-country skiing
· Curling
· Figure skating
· Freestyle skiing
· Ice hockey
· Luge
· Nordic combined
· Short track speed skating
· Skeleton
· Ski jumping
· Snowboarding
· Speed skating

The Winter Olympics also has demonstration events including Bandy, Ice stock sport ski ballet, Skijoring, sled-dog racing, speed skiing and the winter pentathlon.

This year the Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver, Canada. The venues are:
· BC Place
· Canada Hockey Place
· Cypress Mountain
· Main Media Centre
· Olympic Village Vancouver
· Olympic Village Whistler
· Pacific Coliseum
· Richmond Olympic Oval
· Whistler Sliding Centre
· UBC Thunderbird Arena
· Vancouver Olympic Centre
· Whistler Creekside
· Whistler Media Centre
· Whistler Medals Plaza
· Whistler Olympic Park

When starting out in collecting Sports Memorabilia, it is good to start with your favourite sport. It would be wonderful to collect declared national treasure and FIFA ambassador, Pele. However, we

One area, is autographed sports memorabilia. The success of the individual will change the value of the item. As well, the ability to prove an item is “game worn” and can be related to a particular famous game will increase the value.

Retirement or death can add value to items for popular sportsmen. However, the need to prove authenticity or the devaluation that occurs when the autograph has a personal address such as the recipient’s name, make this market fraught with difficulty. The difficulty in dealing with the large number of fraudulent signatures for sales has led to the need to have a certificate of authenticity and to buy from a reputable dealer.

Did sports memorabilia start when Babe Ruth started collecting memorabilia. Or did sports memorabilia collecting start even earlier. Surely, a celtic football in the dark ages that was one of the first sports memorabilia. Olympic memorabilia have long been collected since the early years of last century.

There is now a wide range of memorabilia for winter Olympics. These include the torches and torch replicas, jerseys, hats, T-shirts, jewellery, coins, pins, scarves and ties. And of course, every winter Olympics must have a mascot and these generate another area for collecting.

Vintage sports marketing which refers to older items have been appreciating significantly. The early Winter Olympics had few commercial collectibles, so any memorabilia are hence more valuable.

Find the value of an item is hard. Searching for valuations for sports memorabilia can be difficult. Until a item is exchanged at auction with interested buyers, the value of any item of sports memorabilia is in the owner’s mind only.

But buying something for a sport you love is a good start.

www.winterolympicscollecibles.com

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Completing Your First Triathlon Event

January 17, 2010 Zen No Comments

Completing a triathlon event

What can seem a huge hurdle to overcome is, in fact, a catalyst to so much more. Crossing your first triathlon finish line not only makes you a triathlete but it also provides an immediate level of merit that few of us can walk away from.

Make completing your priority

Before we can run we must walk. If you have never completed a triathlon, don’t worry – everything is possible. Completing is your priority, so leave competing for prizes for another day. This ‘complete-it’ attitude does one of two things:

1 In training you have no unrealistic expectations or pressures to beat a certain time. Enjoy training in the knowledge that you can crack the distance but you don’t get overly focused on training to a predicted race pace.

2 On race day, enjoy the experience rather than clock-watch the whole time. And, as you have no triathlons to your name and no previous best to beat, it’s going to be a personal best (PB) anyway.

Successful transitions

To complete any triathlon you not only need to be capable of the individual distances but also able to ‘transition’ between the events. This is daunting to a beginner, but with practice and planning it is not to be feared. Triathion is just a swim, then a bike and then a run. With training and a shorter distance ’sprint’ event, you complete the challenge. As long as your first triathlon is one of the shorter distances and you feel it’s attainable, completion is possible.

Learning is a long-term process

Even after years of triathlon training and racing, there is still a lot for us to learn as well as many new technological changes to adapt to, so be patient because becoming a fully competent triathlete takes time. Learning about new events and even longer distances takes you through the completion-conquer and compete phases. It takes time to move through each phase – no one can be an expert until they have done something several times. That’s the fun that continues to motivate many athletes one, two or even three decades after their first triathlon.

Top Tip

Triathlons are so popular you often need to enter months in advance. In some cases, they fill up in a matter of hours or days. Even small pool- based events fill up quickly. Be ahead of the game by knowing your goal event(s) and enter as soon as the entry forms are available.

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Conquering a Triathlon Distance Or an Event

January 17, 2010 Zen No Comments

Conquering distance or an event

A triathlon is not like a 100-metre race; indeed, it varies so much that no one event is exactly the same as another. Distances may be similar but swim location, bike route demands and run terrain all vary – from pool swims to choppy seas, pan flat to Tour de France terrain, or even cold moors to intense lava fields.

Going ‘up distance’

All triathlons are different, so when you’ve completed an event you want to do more and eventually go ‘up distance’. You can do this in one of three ways:

1 Complete a distance a few times, then move up to the next logical distance and format. So, pool-based sprint moves onto Olympic distance with an open- water swim and so on. Thus, taken to its ultimate conclusion, this means you are aiming to complete an Ironman. It’s the assumed ‘career’ path for so many athletes but is not necessarily ideal for all. After completing the ‘big one’ it may lead to an Ironman focus or a varied future race distance diet.

2 Focus on a distance and conquer the specifics it demands of you. You may then focus on a set distance that suits your time and personal preferences, having tried different event lengths. This career path can spring surprise moves up distance occasionally, but most triathletes have one or two distances they tend to do and they work on improving their course PBs (personal bests). This is probably best for people in the upper third of their age group who may also try to qualify for championships or medals.

3 The give-it-all-a-go option requires you to have a varied diet of events, and tends to focus on completion rather than ultimate performance, looking for challenges to crack rather than personal bests or e group excellence. This approach suits people who are testing themselves and enjoy the less demanding and often more grass roots events.

Competing with your peers

Triathlon has children completing short fun events as well as grandmothers competing over Ironman distance for medals. Racing against your age group means that the sport develops as you grow older, so age is no limit to enjoyment and success.

Racing snakes

Typically, the fastest triathletes tend to be in their mid-twenties to early thirties. Once you hit forty, you are considered a veteran (vet) and can compete against your peers in five-year age groups: 40-44, 45 – 49,50-54 and so on. Some very fast vets can win races outright, but most competitors race against their peer group and their personal best rather than aiming to win the whole event by beating fellow triathletes who could be half their age. Although few over-50s can compete with racing snakes in their twenties, they can still be very competitive.

A brave new world

As you get older, a new age group often beckons, giving you plenty of goals. You may find 20 years after your first triathion that you are returning to events once raced or moving up to a distance that suits your steady but strong constitution. Triathlon started as a challenge, and the events, distances and age groups make it one of the most eclectic sports. This interaction with youngsters who share the same sport may be why older triathletes have a youthfulness that keeps them achieving long after their inactive peers have stopped exercising. This also works in reverse with junior athletes who learn to appreciate and respect the older people they compete against.

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Swimming Equipment For Triathletes

January 17, 2010 Zen No Comments

The small amount of equipment you need to start swimming should not deceive you into thinking you need only buy a pair of goggles and a swimsuit. Swimming is all about technique, with some tools to improve your skills and others to make you swim faster. You will need the following essential items of equipment.

Swimming pool

This is the equipment most triathletes find hardest to manage. Unlike bike and run, which can happen just outside your front door, swimming involves planning and a specific location. Ideally, you need a local pool, broken into abilities (slow lane, medium lane, etc). Search for a triathion club session or masters group to give you contact with other triathletes and input from fellow swimmers or a poolside coach.

Some triathletes revert to group booking a lane and swimming together to ensure a clear lane and a pleasant session. Whether you pay per session, buy a season ticket or the pool is part of your gym membership, swimming has a cost, and good strokes are the product of hours of training.

Goggles and hat

Secure and comfortable goggles make training more pleasant and help avoid unnecessary injuries caused by swimming into people or objects. A tight-fitting hat means less drag, less wiping your hair out of your eyes and less chlorine damage to your hair. You may get a warmer head but you will have to race in a hat, so see it as race day preparation.

Swim costume

Women wear a one-piece or two-piece costume. Men can have brief-like trunks or a longer cycle- type short. Don’t wear baggy costumes or shorts; they make too much drag, forcing you to swim too hard. It’s an advanced training method to use a drag suit, so think tight and low-drag when you are buying a costume. Triathlon suits are what many people race in, but the wear and tear, chlorine and stretching caused by regular training will soon make them too expensive to justify training in.

Pool toys

There are three basic tools to help you swim better and learn good technique.
• Fins allow you to concentrate on your arm action and body roll whilst doing a light but incredibly effective foot and leg action.

• A kickboard lets you focus on kicking rhythm.

• A drinks bottle allows you to stay hydrated and provides liquid energy – essential if you are to keep good technique and mental focus from the start to finish of a session.

Advanced training tools

Drag shorts, which are designed to be worn over your normal costume, build strength in swimmers with good technique by adding resistance. However, they are not suitable for beginners, who need good skills before building strength. A set of plastic hand paddles will force you to swim with perfect hand placement or your hands will slip worthlessly through the water; always pick a small pair and then incorporate them a little at a time.

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Choosing the Correct Running Equipment For a Triathlon

January 17, 2010 Zen No Comments

Run equipment

Run clothing is as simple as a polyester T-shirt and some shorts. Conversely, running shoes are the piece of equipment that must suit your running style and type of running. They will not last forever, so you need to shop smart.

Shopping for your feet

To get the right shoes, you must take your time, try on various pairs and be prepared to walk out empty handed if nothing feels right. Go to a specialist running or triathion shop, staffed by knowledgeable people. The size of your feet increases in the afternoon, so shop then or take this into account. Wear your normal running socks or purchase some socks at the same time. If you have old run shoes, take them with you as the wear of the underside and cushioning will provide vital clues about what you need. If you have had any serious injuries, accidents or idiosyncrasies, now is the time to bring them up – the more the specialist knows about you, the more likely they are to suggest a shoe that will work with your particular running action.

Which shoes are best?

The shoe specialist will look at your feet to assess what type of shoe you need. Many shops now offer a gait analysis service, which can categorize your running style by running over a mat. Some even use treadmills to watch you run and also allow you to test the shoes for comfort. Never walk away from a shop (or purchase online) with a pair of shoes you have never worn but that are cheap or have been sold on the basis of some miraculous feature. Always try before you buy or your shoes may well injure you and will stop you in your tracks as you train towards your goal of becoming a triathlete.

How many pairs?

Once you know that a shoe works for you, it may be wise to buy a second pair soon afterwards. As models evolve and sometimes disappear, use the internet to search for the shoe that you know works with your feet. Remember also that as new versions appear, older ones drop in price dramatically.

Top Tip
Running shoes are designed with specific cushioning and stability devices that work when running. Standing around, gardening or cycling in them will damage the cushioning and stability they give you, so use run shoes only for running.

Top Tip
Best estimates are that running shoe cushioning starts to significantly deteriorate after 400 to 500 miles – sooner if the shoes are used outside of running. Write the date of purchase on the heel and replace when its time is up.

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Essential Triathlon Tools

January 17, 2010 Zen No Comments

There are some tools that are essential for successful training and will make it more comfortable, more effective or just more enjoyable. It’s not just about swim, bike and run – it’s also about training smart with the right tools.

Training diary

From a simple written diary to a high-tech one that sits on your computer, the only way to know what you’ve achieved so far and what’s left to do is to note them down. Seeing sessions you have planned ticked off and the numbers of weeks completed as you work towards your goal is a good indication of the progress you’re making. Write down the following information in your training compendium:

• Your training sessions and what you learned about the sport and yourself
• Body statistics, e.g. weight, waist size, and injuries
• Personal bests, e.g. fastest, longest or race results
• Pool times, training partners’ telephone numbers, local shop contacts or event dates
• Kit information, e.g. ideal shoe size, bicycle seat height and where/when equipment was brought.

Watch/Heart Rate Monitor

A watch may seem adequate to tell you how long you have been training, but time is not the vital training or racing information you need. A Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) tells you how hard your body is working by sending a signal from a chest strap to a wristwatch. This heart rate value is like a rev counter reading: the harder you go, the higher the number.

An HRM means you have effort (or heart rate) and duration of training (or time) to record in your diary. Many beginners mistakenly believe that an HRM is too hi-tech and too advanced. Harder is not always better, and an HRM is there to tell you honestly what amount of effort you are exerting.

Seasonal conditions

To train all year round, you will need various items of bike and run clothing. One garment will not suit all conditions, so be prepared for an expanding wardrobe. Many triathletes use an indoor cycle trainer to reduce bad weather riding and ride safely when safe cycling facilities are scarce. Riding or running in a gym is also an option that allows sports to be combined and less inclement weather missed.

Top Tip
Wetsuits are compulsory in open-water events. They are expensive and you need a perfect fit. They keep you buoyant and warm for maximum progress through the water. Whilst a running vest and swimming costume are adequate, a one- or two-piece tri suit may make you quicker. Get some open water (0/W) goggles with a wider angle of vision and greater suction to the face – useful when the water is cold and dirty.

Top Tip
Triathlons require you to wear a helmet in races. It makes sense to use one in training, so you get used to it and how to clip on and unclip out. In safety terms you ride more miles on the road than you will ever race, with traffic likely to be less aware of you than on race day.

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Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/essential-triathlon-tools-1736434.html

Choosing the Correct Cycling Equipment For a Triathlon

January 17, 2010 Zen No Comments

Cycle equipment

The longest portion of any triathlon event is the bike leg. This is also the most technologically complicated area of equipment purchase. Money can easily be wasted and expensive equipment can become obsolete if you are not knowledgeable.

Know your bike type

Bicycles come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and areas of best use. The storage compound for bikes at a race (the transition area) can be filled with mountain bikes, hybrids, racing bikes and specific tri-bikes. All allow you to get from T1 (the swim-to-bike transition) to T2 (the bike-to-run transition).

Frame size

When choosing a bike, it is vital to get the right size frame as, unlike many components, such as the three contact points (the handlebars, saddle and pedals), it can’t be changed. Sizing your ideal frame size is best done by a bike shop or tri store. You can ask advice and the helpful staff will often pass on some useful tips and tricks, so try to develop a good relationship with them.

The bike frame size that is easiest to measure starts from the centre of the bottom bracket, up the seat tube, to a point where the middle of the top tube intersects – known as centre-to-middle. Manufacturers, mechanics and athletes all vary in how they measure frame size, but, as a ball-park figure, take your inside leg measurement and then multiply by 0.67. For example, 91cm x 0.67 = 60.97 or a 61cm frame.

The exact seat height can be varied by moving the seat post up and down. Similarly, change the distance of the handlebars by changing the stem length. Start with the right frame size and you will be more comfortable, safer and more likely to enjoy your time in the saddle. Correct set up is vital and is well worth the investment in time and money. The bike needs to put you in the right position; don’t contort yourself to fit the bike. As bike speeds are higher than running, heat loss is greater and impacts with the ground harder, so it pays to buy a pair of cycling shorts, a cycle jersey and gloves. Longer or thicker ‘longs’ are needed if you intend to ride outdoors in winter.

Top Tip
Equipment that saves you time removes those wasted sessions and kit failures. Well-fitting goggles, quality tyres and inner tubes plus well-kept comfortable running shoes should be your top kit purchases.

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Nutrition Basics For Triathletes

January 17, 2010 Zen No Comments

Becoming a triathlete requires an understanding of not only how nutrition works, but also which foods you need to stay healthy, improve your fitness, aid your training, and achieve your goals. To train, race and perform your daily tasks, your body uses two types of fuel: fats and carbohydrates.

Fats or carbohydrates?

Fat is an abundant fuel, with even the leanest of athletes having over 20,000 calories in their fat stores. This slow-burn, large-capacity fuel allows us to be active for many hours or survive many days without food. The average sedentary person has more fat stored in their body than an active athlete because the former eats more than they need to survive. Excess fat is evidence of previous meals that have been surplus to requirement and stored for periods of famine – an evolutionary mechanism.

When intensity is low to moderate, fat contributes a moderate proportion of the overall calories being used. Conversely, carbohydrates are the first choice of fuel used by muscles for the first 10-20 minutes when starting exercise or working at higher intensities, such as climbing a tough hill or running fast enough to make you breathe heavily. Yet, whilst fat stores can grow indefinitely as a fuel for ‘later on’, we only have around one-and-a-half to two hours’ worth of carbohydrates in our muscles, called glycogen, when we are fully stocked up or ‘carbo-loaded’.

Working at high intensities quickly uses this fragile carbohydrate fuel reserve which may require 24-48 hours to be fully restored again. So whilst you won’t run out of fat you can run low on carbs. Very low glycogen in muscles means slow training, low morale low and an insatiable appetite.

Knowing you have limited glycogen and teaching your body to use fats better are key concepts to understand. They dictate that much of your training will be steady, but sometimes extra sports nutrition carbohydrate products should be used to improve your training and racing.

Protein

Protein from foods such as meat, eggs, milk, fish and tofu contains the essential building blocks that are needed to recover and build an athletic body. You do not have to over-eat protein, as was once thought, but regular small amounts throughout the day provide an ideal delivery of building blocks.

Top Tip

A varied, healthy diet that includes regular healthy meals and occasional treats and meals out is a good balance that will provide lots of different nutrients and a healthy attitude towards food.

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Fads and Fallacies – For Triathletes and Triathlons

January 17, 2010 Zen No Comments

You don’t have to spend a fortune on all the latest gear and gadgets. Here are some useful guidelines to making wise purchases and saving money, which will bust many of the myths that have grown up around hi-tech equipment.

Need a tri bike?

You can complete triathlons without needing an expensive tri bike. A good position and an effective training regime beats an expensive bike with a poorly trained rider. However, as your races become longer and you set yourself higher aspirations, you may want to upgrade your bike. Get into the sport on a safe bike you can afford and then wait and see if you want to invest more after your first season.

Expensive is always best?

Triathlon equipment purchases, swimming session fees and event entry fees make the sport fairly costly. However, bargains can be had and a great deal of second-hand equipment trickles down to beginners from more experienced triathletes. In all cases, be sure that the equipment is fit for the task, or you will only be buying a different version soon afterwards. Goggles must fit, bike frames must be the right size, and so on. You can save money by ignoring gadgets and fads.

Kit lasts forever?

Nothing will last forever, and some items, such as tyres, run shoes, sports bottles and goggles, require regular renewal. Your equipment must be safe, reliable and assist you in training to your goals. Unfortunately, some triathletes have a ‘Did Not Finish’ (DNF) next to their name because they use old or badly maintained equipment. With hundreds of hours of training time and much money invested, this is false economy. Wasted sessions caused by punctures, missing kit or even injury due to poor maintenance is a no-brainer.

No need to service your bike?

The bike is your biggest potential headache, so do support your local bike/tri shop by giving them your bike to service once every six months. You will need to discuss what needs replacing and trust their judgement; if in doubt, always get a second opinion. You would not drive a car without a yearly MOT or a service, so make sure you treat your bike with the same respect.

Top Tip

The best estimates are that an athlete takes at least three to five years to be nearing his or her peak conditioning and experience – much more if you are trying to be one of the best of your age group. Like building Rome, you can’t become a triathlete in a day.

Top Tip

As you get older, your capacity to recover from training will gradually be reduced compared with endurance athletes in their twenties and thirties. New distances can be conquered and personal bests achieved, but you have to train smarter as you get older.

Top Tip

With all the equipment and plenty of pool time you still need someone to point out what you’re doing right and wrong. Bad habits and poor technical ability are the product of swimming alone and never seeing yourself on a video playback. Invest in some swim coaching advice early on, and then top it up at regular intervals and you will see progress.

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