COMPETITION CORNER
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE SPORTS AND RECREATION DIVISION
VOLUME 3, #2
June 2009
Edited By
Lisamaria Martinez
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- THE PRESIDENT'S PITCH, By Lisamaria Martinez
- TECHNIQUES FOR SUCCESS AS A BLIND SWIMMER, By James Fetter
- FROM THE COUCH TO THE FIELD:
Recollections Of The Birth Of A Beep Baseball Team
By Eric Scholz
- ASK KELLY, By Kelly Thornbury
- 5 WAYS TO SNEAK FITNESS INTO FAMILY TIME
By Suzy Buglewicz
Competition Corner is the publication of the Sports and Recreation Division of the National Federation of the Blind. Members can expect to read an update from the president of the Sports and Recreation Division as well as a variety of articles and web links that may be of interest to blind individuals who are interested in--or passionate about--health, fitness and recreational and competitive sports activities.
The National Federation of the Blind national convention is approaching quickly. In a matter of a few weeks, 3,000 blind people will take on the detroit Marriott. We'll find ourselves, once again, traversing down endless hall ways, cruising through crowds of users tapping long white canes and asking everyone and anyone where this room or that is located. As president of the Sports and Recreation Division, I hope your question to fellow Federationists will be: "Where in the Courtyard Marriott is the skyline A Room?" Of course, if you are asking this question you are well on your way to our Sports and Recreation Division meeting. This year our division meeting will be interactive. I hope to meet with all of you this year.
This year, just as last, the Sports and Recreation Division has a slew of activities for you to enjoy. At this year's Sports Extravaganza, spearheaded by sports and Recreation Vice President, Christella Garcia, you can learn about swimming, judo and rowing. The schedule of Extravaganza events are listed below.
So, be sure to bring your swim suit, a pair of sweats, a comfy shirt and your judo gui top (if you have one). See you all there!
Friday July 3
Time: 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Event: Swim Clinic
Location: Pool, Courtyard Marriott
Description: Annie Sawicki, part of the AdapTap team (that designed an award-winning device by blind swimmers), is conducting a swimming workshop.
Sunday July 5
Time: 12:30 - 5:00 pm
Event: Sports and Recreation Division Business Meeting
Location: Skyline A Room, Courtyard Marriott
Description: Register for the division meeting from 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm. Our interactive meeting begins at 1:00 PM. Wear your sweats and come ready for hands-on presentations in yoga and much more!
Sunday July 5
Time: 5:00 - 8:00 Pm
Event: Judo Workshop
Location: Skyline B Room, Courtyard Marriott
Description: Join USA Judo and paralympian bronze medal winner
Greg DeWall to learn about judo from people involved in the sport. See you on the mat!
Monday July 6
Time: 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Event: Indoor Rowing
Location: Skyline A and B Rooms, Courtyard Marriott
description: Row your way into fitness and maintain a healthy lifestyle using an accessible rowing machine. Prizes plus plenty of fun!
As always, keep a close eye on your email in-box and your finger off the delete button for the next edition of Competition Corner.
Swimming is widely believed to be one of the best full-body exercises, and it is also among the easiest sports to adapt for the blind. I have swum at both the recreational and competitive level for approximately 16 years and have probably confronted most challenges a blind swimmer could face. Through a combination of working with coaches, talking to other blind swimmers, and a process of trial and error, I have learned some techniques that I believe can help any blind person interested in learning how to swim or increasing the intensity of his workout to do so while staying safe and enjoying the sport just as much as its millions of sighted devotees do.
The first question I am always asked by sighted and blind people alike when I tell them I am a swimmer is: "how on earth do you avoid crashing into the walls at either end of the pool all the time?" The answer I give them, if they do not appear to be overly concerned about safety, is that neither I, nor any other blind swimmer I know, has any way of avoiding the occasional collision with the walls. As we all know from our daily lives, we sometimes bump into things, but we don't let the fear of accidents prevent us from traveling independently or leading full, productive lives.
Just as with independent travel, we can use certain techniques in the pool to avoid colliding with the walls more often than not. The most effective technique is to have a sighted tapper--that is, a person with a long, relatively light pole with a tennis ball or some other soft ball on the business end--on each wall to tell the blind swimmer when to turn by tapping him on the head or shoulder. This method has the obvious downside of depending on sighted assistance, and as with readers or other types of assistants, tappers have their own schedules and may need to be paid. In most cases, the swimmer is responsible for paying his own tappers out of pocket, the only exceptions being swimmers who are training with the Paralympic team at the Olympic Training Center or who have very good friends, parents, etc willing and able to tap for free at every practice. Thus, I would not recommend this method for swimmers who intend to practice several times a week, unless they are willing to spend a lot of money or juggle the schedules of two other people. Nevertheless, this is by far the best method to use at meets, and it is the only method approved for use in competition by USA Swimming and the International Paralympic Committee.
Outside of competition, however, I would advise a blind swimmer to count his strokes and learn to swim consistently enough to have about the same number of strokes on each lap. For freestyle and back stroke, figure out how many strokes it takes for you to swim a length of the pool, subtract one or two if necessary, and start your flip turn when you have done that number of strokes. It is certainly possible to do crisp legal flip turns with this method, although perfecting it will take a fair amount of patience and repetition. Breast stroke and especially fly are a bit trickier, as the swimmer's head is fully exposed during part of the stroke, but with experience, it is possible to do legal, two-hand touch turns on these strokes as well without spending too much time gliding into the wall.
A third method relies on lane markers attached to the racing lanes directly underneath the back stroke flags. This method, which I described in an article in the June 2008 issue of the Braille Monitor, allows blind swimmers to gauge the distance to the wall as accurately as sighted swimmers doing back stroke, thus alleviating, though by no means removing, the need to count one's strokes. As with any piece of equipment, these lane markers are not indestructible. They can certainly break or become dislodged from the lane lines, so blind swimmers, and all swimmers for that matter, should still count their strokes and try to keep the number of strokes per lap as consistent as possible. This serves as not only a safety net but also a means of preserving your stroke technique, even as you get tired and shorten up your strokes.
The other challenge specific to swimming without sight is maintain a straight course down the middle of the lane, despite not having the line of black tiles on the bottom of the pool for guidance. When I first started swimming at age eight, my course down the lane resembled that of a pinball more than anything approaching a straight line. I was thus very fortunate enough to have a coach willing to work with me in the water until I start swimming more or less in the middle of the lane, and although I still greet the lane line with my shoulder or hand on occasion, I can usually swim from one end of the pool to the other without touching either lane line.
This is, of course, not a miracle, nor does it result from possessing some kind of superhuman sonar capability. Any swimmer, blind or sighted, can swim straight down the middle of the lane by having a balanced stroke and keeping his head pointed forward. It simply takes more practice for us as blind swimmers, since we have no visual verification of our course and no way of using echo-location or so-called facial vision as on land. It is also possible to track one lane line while swimming, and although this is definitely the way to go while sharing a lane, it can slow a swimmer's progress and lead to an unbalanced stroke.
As one might expect, however, the greatest and most frustrating challenges that I and other blind swimmers have faced are false conceptions of our abilities and the belief that we should be kept separate from our sighted teammates both for safety reasons and for the purposes of competition. For example, when I first swam with the Masters team at the University of Notre Dame, where I am currently a graduate student in Political Science, I was always given my own lane, despite my assurances that I was capable of sharing a lane as well as considerable crowding in the other lanes allotted to the masters team. If I ever shared a lane, I was always put with the other blind swimmer on the team, since the coach apparently believed that this was safer than allowing either of us to share a lane with one of our sighted teammates. We were also both expected to be interested in, and commit to, training for the Paralympics, since it was assumed that blind swimmers would only want to compete against one another and would never be interested in competing against sighted swimmers. Having competed at the international level against other blind swimmers in the late 90's, I understood the time commitment required for making a serious Paralympic bid, and it soon became clear that I would have to choose between that and my graduate work.
To make a long story short, both of us first asked, and eventually demanded, to be integrated with the rest of the team and to be expected to do no more or less than our sighted teammates. Although this created some friction at first, our coach not only came around to our way of thinking but gained greater respect for us once we demonstrated our ability to stand up for ourselves, articulate our position, and follow through by safely sharing lanes with, and competing against, our sighted teammates. In fact, she even became the driving force behind the design of the aforementioned lane markers, which should be available for online ordering by the time this article is circulated.
As we all know, every story of the blind demanding to be treated equally with the sighted does not have such a happy ending, and we still have a long way to go before achieving opportunities for participation in sports equal to those available to our sighted peers. Even so, it has become clear to me that, with common-sense techniques and an accurate understanding of our abilities, we are perfectly capable of participating, and even competing, in sports such as swimming with the sighted, and we require few accommodations in order to do so. This is not to decry the role of separate competitions, such as the Paralympics, since blind swimmers are still at a minor disadvantage relative to their sighted counterparts, and every tenth of a second counts in elite competitions. However, blindness certainly should not preclude a swimmer from training and competing on the vast majority of swim teams, nor should every blind swimmer feel compelled to compete in the Paralympics. In summation, swimming, like so many other arenas, can be accessible to us, once we decide to learn the alternative techniques of blindness associated with it and demonstrate to our sighted teammates and coaches that we are able to swim safely and independently.
It was an ordinary Saturday in late September of 2002. With no homework from my Delta College classes to worry about, I rewarded myself by making the one hour-plus trip to the Bay Area to watch my favorite baseball team--the Oakland Athletics. The game did not disappoint. I watched my boys rally from a three to one sixth-inning deficit, then score three more runs in the eighth inning for a six to three victory over the Texas Rangers. With only a week left in the regular season, the win proved crucial in clinching the rugged American League West over second-place Anaheim. But as joyous as I was about that game, that is not what I remember most about that day. No, it was something so much more important, so much more life changing. It was the day I would first contemplate being not just a watcher of sport, but a participant.
I had been home for a couple hours when I got the call. It was a blind acquaintance I had only met in the spring that year, but who I hadn't heard from all summer. After some brief small talk, he told me he was trying to assemble a blind baseball team. Beep ball, they called it. I had heard of the sport, and I had touched a beep ball. I had even joked earlier that very summer about playing on a beep ball team. Well my friend was looking to start a team and wanted to know if I was interested.
Those who know me know I love to watch sports and can speak knowledgeably about sports despite any challenges posed by my blindness. Sighted people used to assume blind people didn't know much about sports, but there is a growing number of blind individuals who can hold their own with anyone on that four-letter network. Even so, I considered myself only a sports fan--not an athlete. An astute sports fan, but only a fan.
I had wrestled for a year in high school, but quit after suffering a broken arm in a spring practice. I was finished, I told myself. Sure, I had taken part in certain Blind Olympic-style events such as the Blind Optimist Day. However, my one year on the JV wrestling team was the extent of my participation in organized sports competition and there was nothing to suggest I would ever become a successful athlete. I am not tall. I am not heavy or particularly muscular. I do run well, stay limber, and have good coordination, but I would never be mistaken for one of those mashers in the major leagues. Thus, the idea of joining any kind of a team was initially daunting to me. It wasn't fear of failure or losing; it was the radical change in life-style. What was I going to tell my family and friends? My reputation would change forever, and I wasn't ready to be considered a jock.
So back to my phone call from my friend.
My friend explained that a team required a minimum of six players--preferably more. Even if I joined, he would only have three, far short of the number needed to begin formal operations. We talked for awhile about the game's rules and the National Beep Baseball Association which is in charge of sanctioning official competition and putting on an annual major tournament. I expressed a clear interest in playing for this new team, with the thought that no such team would ever be established. I hung up the phone and resolved to tell no one of our conversation. No use building up my hopes and the hopes of others over such a long-shot proposition.
The months passed and fall turned to winter. My friend and I talked regularly on the phone. We talked about school, computers, social events at the Blind Center, and our favorite sports teams. Not a word was mentioned about beep ball. I exercised a bit more than before--vaguely holding out hope that getting in shape would have immediate practical relevance.
Still nothing.
All that talk about beep ball was just talk.
It was Monday February tenth, 2003. Funny thing, but I just happened to watch one of those courtroom shows and there was a case involving a guy in a legal battle with a co-ed softball team. I don't remember the details, but I remember thinking how neat it would be to be on such a team.
I recalled my buddy telling me about beep ball. I wondered Why he didn’t follow up on that? I was interested in playing, but if that were to happen he better get enough players. Preferably right away!
That very night I was watching a college basketball game between Utah and Wyoming. At 9:30, the phone rang. My buddy had five players--it was up to me to make it six, the legal minimum. Within a week, we had eight and the Stockton Stingrays were born.
Several players have come and gone since the Stockton Stingrays were established but the core of our team remains intact and is passionate as ever about our sport. We are entering our seventh season, and will compete in the NBBA World Series for the fifth time. Through our tireless efforts in promoting our team within the community, we have earned the privilege of hosting this year's World Series. We hope it is the best ever, and we hope all visiting teams return home with positive feedback about how our community volunteers conducted this event.
Our players, coaches, and other volunteers are excited about the upcoming season. We expect to field our most competitive team to date, but we always welcome more hands. We can always use more sighted individuals to help with duties on the field. Even though we have added more players we welcome any blind person to come out and try our game. We meet most Saturday mornings at Atherton Park on Quail Lakes Drive from March through August.
For more details about our beep baseball team contact our sponsor, the Stockton Community Center for the Blind. They can be reached at 209-466-3836. Visit them at Community Center for the Blind and go to the Stingrays page. You can also email the Stingrays.
If you don't think you're interested; think about it some more. I have been where you are. I know what it is like to think "Why Me?” don’t be afraid, maybe you're not big like Babe Ruth or fast like Rickey Henderson. I have experienced what it's like to feel inadequate--only to give the game a shot and learn that baseball is for everyone. Again, I once had the same questions as you. I've been there. If I can do it, you can do it.
HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH:
ACSM Guidelines for Physical Activity
Editor’s Note: Kelly Thornbury has an AA degree in Physical education and is currently working on his BS degree in Kinesiology and Health Promotions; emphasizing on exercise science (physiology) and prescription. He is preparing for certification exams for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Health and Fitness Instructor and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
It is a question about as old as exercise itself, "“How much do I need to exercise?" The answer depends on the goal of the exercise program: sport performance, health-related fitness, or weight loss for example. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), along with the American Heart Association (AHA), jointly published the Physical Activity and Public Health: Updated Recommendations for Adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association (2007). This position statement outlines the minimum recommendations for exercise and physical activity based on reviews of years of studies on the effects of physical activity on health and fitness.
Disease progression and outcomes are inversely related to the participation in regular physical activities. Physical activity reduces the risk factors for a number of diseases including: cardiovascular disease, thromboembolic stroke, hypertension,
type II diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis; anxiety, depression and cancers such as colon and breast cancers.
It is helpful to think of exercise like a medicine and an exercise prescription as a prescription for medicine. How often you take the medicine, its strength, the amount, and the type, are all important factors in the drugs effectiveness of treating the illness or disease. Similarly, how often you exercise, the intensity level of the activity, how long you engage in the activity, and the type of activity, all influence how effective the exercise intervention will be on the risk factors and hypokinetic diseases (diseases correlated to a sedentary lifestyle) associated with inactivity. The ACSM/AHA guidelines can be broken down into four categories: Frequency, Intensity, Time (or duration), and Type, also known as the FITT principle. For the first time, the position statement also includes specific recommendations for resistance training in addition to cardiovascular conditioning.
The basic recommendations for physical activity for cardiovascular conditioning are: A minimum of five days a week of a moderately intense exercise, or three days a week of a vigorous exercise, or a combination there of, for an accumulation of thirty minutes in bouts of at least ten minutes or more, consisting of dynamic, rhythmic activities incorporating large muscle groups. The recommendations for resistance training are at least twice a week, eight to ten exercises incorporating all the major muscle groups, for one set of eight to twelve repetitions. These recommendations can be placed into the
FITT principle as follows:
Frequency: Aerobic activities at least five days a week for moderate activities, or three days a week for vigorous activities, or a combination of the two. An example of combined activities might include walking for thirty minutes twice a week, then jogging for twenty minutes for two days. The recommendation for resistance training frequency is two non-consecutive days.
Intensity: A moderate intensity level is typically described as that of a brisk walk; something that gets the heart rate up above normal. In more scientific terms, a metabolic equivalent level (MET) of three to six METs is generally considered to be a moderate level activity.
Vigorous activity is characterized by jogging, and significantly raises the heart rate and causes rapid breathing, or MET levels above six. Combinations of moderate and vigorous activity levels may be incorporated to achieve weekly MET expenditure levels calculated from the minimum recommendations. Recommended intensity for resistance training is a weight that allows for eight to twelve repetitions at volitional fatigue (the point when the exerciser decides they can not complete one more repetition successfully).
Time: Or duration, for aerobic activities should be an accumulation of at least thirty minutes of moderate activity in at least ten minute bouts. This means, that engaging in three ten minute bouts of moderate aerobic exercise counts as thirty minutes for the day. While the goal is to work out to the thirty minute bout, the accumulation technique allows less fit individuals, or individuals with time constraints, to achieve the desired duration. The exerciser may also perform 20 minutes of vigorous activity, not including warm ups or recovery periods, again in ten minute bouts. The duration for resistance training should be a minimum of one set for each exercise.
Type: For aerobic training, activities that are dynamic, rhythmic, and incorporate large muscle groups. Resistance training activities include a progressive weight training program, body weight bearing calisthenics, stair climbing, and similar strength movements of major muscle groups.
These recommendations are for relatively healthy adults aged eighteen to sixty-five years, to promote and maintain health, and potentially reduce the risks of chronic diseases and premature death. These recommendations are not focused on performance enhancements like power, speed, or agility, but rather health components of fitness like cardiovascular health or body composition. Also, weight loss, and maintaining a significant weight loss, requires a significantly greater dose of exercise, not incorporated within these guidelines. Finally, remember that these are the minimum recommendations, and research supports the "dose response" that more physical activity of moderate and vigorous levels is better.
Reference
Haskell, W. L., et al. (2007). "Physical activity and public health: Updated recommendations for adults from the american college of sports medicine and the American heart association." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 39(8), 1423-1434.
Note: This article is from the Beachbody.com newsletter issue number 358 which was circulated on Wednesday May 27, 2009. For more information about Beachbody.com or for more information about their newsletters, please go to www.beachbody.com.
After spending several hours a day at a desk job or sitting in traffic while shuttling overscheduled kids from one activity to the next, it's tempting for families to want to spend their downtime plopped on the couch. The next time you find yourself with an hour or so of unscheduled free time, grab the kids and get moving. Research shows that families that work out together are more likely to stick with it, since they can motivate and encourage each other. And exercising as a family has multiple benefits, from being able to spend quality time with those you love and committing to an active lifestyle, to reducing stress and increasing energy levels. But you don't have to call it exercise. Here are six activities that let families play together, and promote fit and healthy lifestyles.
Family Outings
- Play in the park. Grab an assortment of balls and equipment from the garage (soccer ball, football, basketball, and baseball and gloves), along with a Frisbee® and the family dog. Pack a cooler with some water and snacks, and head to your local park with the family for an afternoon of fresh air and playtime. You'll all have so much fun that you won't even realize you're getting a workout.
- Kids Swimming. Go swimming. Swimming is a great way to stay in shape. It's an excellent workout for people of all ages. Depending on the time of year and where you live, you can head to your local indoor or outdoor pool for fun and affordable family playtime. Swimming helps improve balance, endurance, and posture, and it's one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise.
Swimming regularly can also increase self-esteem in kids as they become more comfortable in the water and learn to master their strokes. Get some rings and diving sticks, and take turns diving for them. If your kids are young, sign them up for swimming lessons—they can get their lessons while you work out in the lap lanes. Be sure young kids are never left unattended, and remember the sunscreen if you're outside!
- Take a hike. A family hike involves a little more planning than other activities, but the benefits are well worth it. Plan the trail level and hike length around the group's abilities and experience. If it's your first family hike, start with a mostly flat trail that's no more than 1 mile round-trip (you don't want to start carrying your kids halfway through the hike). Gradually increase the length and trail difficulty with each hike.
Bring a few lightweight backpacks with healthy snacks and water bottles. Keep the kids interested by letting them carry the trail map, and having them look for specific items, like interesting wildflowers or rock formations. Most metropolitan towns have family friendly trails offering easy to moderately difficult hiking trails. To find a trail near you, visit LocalHikes.com.
- Family Biking. Go for a bike ride. A family bike ride is a great way to get out of the house and get a workout at the same time. Cycling is also one of the best ways to tone and strengthen the upper leg and calf muscles. Turn a family bike ride into an outing by biking to a specific destination (maybe the corner ice cream shop for frozen yogurt?). Make sure everyone wears a helmet and the appropriate gear. And follow the rules of the road!
- Jump rope. Rope jumping dates back to 1,600 AD, when the Egyptians used vines for jumping. Nowadays, it's a great way to burn off energy, reduce stress, improve coordination and endurance, and sing your favorite rhyming songs. Jumping rope at a moderate pace can burn up to 800 calories an hour. For variety, try double Dutch, which is when a person jumps through two jump ropes at the same time. Or invite the neighbors over and have a jump-roping contest, and follow up with an assortment of healthy snacks. You just might start a new tradition.
Did you recently read a cool news article about a blind athlete? Do you have your own sports story to share? If so, write it down and send it to us! It might just end up in a future issue of the Competition Corner!
Don’t forget to join the Sports and Recreation Division. For questions about joining please contact Lisamaria Martinez, president, for more details. You may also join our listserv by simply going to www.nfbnet.org and clicking on the link “Join or Drop NFBnet Mailing Lists.”
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