It’s summer time and a visit to a beach in the evening is definitely restorative after a hard day’s work in the office. Albeit it’s nice to watch people sitting by the beach and enjoy the scenic beauty especially the sun set, sometimes it’s also fun to play some good sports on the beach. It relaxes your body and mind both. It’s just simply a lot of fun to play some sports on the beach.

However, heavy sports like football may not really be a good option to play on the beach (although some folks do it). Tennis would have been absolutely one of the best sports to play on the beach but having a tennis court on the beach is a far-fetched idea. Hence, Frescobol is the best option to replace tennis. Frescobol originated in Brazil and ever since it has been very popular in the country.

Gradually, Frescobol is also seen being played as one of the favorite sports in many beaches outside Brazil. At the moment, Frescobol is FB Collection’s flagship beach accessory. It is a collection of two hand-made bats. The bats are made wood. The Frescobol kit comes beautifully packed in a mini tennis bag. You can buy the set from Selfridges at £110.00. So, the next time you and your friends pay a visit to your local beach, make sure that you are well equipped with a set of Frescobol.

Via: ShortList\FBCollection

The Russian Olympic officials are now finding themselves in the cross hairs of the President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who has called for an immediate resignations of these top officials, who are now being blamed for the despicable performance of the Russian sport teams at the 2010 Winter Olympics, held in Vancouver, Canada. In a statement, Mr. Medvedev has put the blame squarely on the sports officials, whom he refereed to as “fat cats” and has further stated that, the nation’s sports system needs a complete overhaul.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Russian team only managed to get the 11th spot, with an accumulated three gold, five silver and seven bronze medals, an extremely poor performance considering the standards set by the Russian teams in previous such events. Furthermore, this year’s disastrous performance is the worst of its kind for Russia in the last 100 years, since the country began participating in the Winter Olympics in the year 1912. For one of most momentous sporting events of this year, the Russian government had spared no effort in promoting its Winter Olympics teams, with a mass influx of money, patriotic speeches and other high profile means of promotion.

However, Mr. Medvedev has assured those athletes who have won gold medals in their respective categories that, their efforts will not go in vain and, the President himself will award these athletes with government awards and appreciations.

According to Dmitry Medvedev,

“Unprecedented investments are being made in sports in Russia, but money is not everything. We need to think about how we change our training methods. The new training system should focus on athletes who should be put at its cornerstone, not sports federations and their executives — and not even the trainers, with all our great respect to them. Athletes are those who bring victories, and they should become the focus of our attention.”

Via CNN

The torch was designed by Winter Olympics design director Leo Obstbaum and built by jet-maker and high-speed train manufacturer Bombardier. The Canadian company was founded in 1942 and is the largest supplier of rail equipment, systems and services, and the third largest manufacturer of civil aircraft in the world. The design has incidentally been inspired by the contours of Canada’s winter landscape. It symbolizes the tracks created in snow and ice by winter sports.

Working with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), Bombardier engineers and industrial designers apparently spent more than two years designing and testing the 2010 Olympic Torch.  A vent in the side of the torch allows the Olympic Flame to unfurl like a flag.

Via: trendsnow, bombardier, wikipedia

It’s the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East that opens up an entirely new adventurous world of racing to people other than racing aces in the UAE region. The nature of the contest being, `arrive and drive’. Full time working professionals in the region can simply drive on to the Circuit, change into racing gear and helmet, and step into a perfectly prepared Porsche GT3 Cup car to race on. Not surprisingly, professionals with die-hard racing enthusiasm have taken to the concept with great enthusiasm.

Among those who have begun their pursuit of the racing passion are Saudi Arabian princes, cousins, and the super rich of UAE. The 12-round series was introduced in December by Porsche Middle East in conjunction with Austrian-based motor sport specialists, Lechner Racing, to identify top Arab and local based talent in the region for Formula One racing.

Via: automobilsport

It’s a human nature to have a desire for something that we can never get such as ‘being able to fly’ is an impossible thing that humans will never be blessed with. At some point of time, everybody wishes to fly like a bird so freely. Some adventurous folks take up adventure sports like gliding, skydiving, balloon rides, etc. However, like any other adventurous sports, these sports too involve high risks even if you are a trained professional.

If you want to play safe and still enjoy flying, then you could perhaps try the “Portable Gliding Simulator,” which is designed by some Australian adventure sports enthusiasts. It’s not surprising as Australia is known for outdoor sports. Quite ironically, these folks say they have done it as they believe the Australians are not into gliding despite the favorite climatic conditions just right for this sport. Portable Gliding Simulator is not at all portable as it weighs 450 kgs. It needs to be towed by a car.

The simulator comes with a full working instrument panel, cockpit and head tracking. Since everybody cannot be a trained pilot, you could perhaps try the simulator and fly on your own. I would just love to fly like a free bird endlessly.

Via: DesignAwards

Way back in 1928, AirCamper was designed by one Bernard Pietenpol. He built a common man’s airplane with no more than an eighth-grade formal education to back him.

His intention was to build a plane affordable to people and easy to make for home builders, and he did so with things from the hardware store and scavenged parts. The Do-It-Yourself plane is touted to become more popular with time.
The same model can now be acquired at $ 2,000.

For the amazing vision he had, Delicious Filmworks has just made a new short documentary about the vision, tracing his vintage family pictures, the take-offs and touchdowns of his homebuilt plane and extended interviews with Pietenpol’s family. His son and grandson carry his legacy on. The award-winning short film is called Finding Flight and spans 41 minutes.

Needless to say, the airplane’s simple design enjoys a popular following among flight lovers across ages.

Via: flyingwood, makezine, boingboing

The first Grand Slam (Australian Open) men’s title of the year goes to none other than the undisputed champ himself, Roger Federer. With this win, Federer picked up his 16th grand slam trophy, which is two more than the record held by Pete Sampras. At 28, Federer is still conspicuously showing the signs that he is indeed the no. 1 in the world.

The win did not come as a surprise going by the semi-final match Federer played against Jo Wilfred Tsonga. Nevertheless, Federer’s win has ample reasons for Andy Murray to be worried and upset about. The whole of Britain was gunning for the young Murray to win the final against Federer. If he did, he would have made history tonight as Britain hasn’t won a grand slam final in the past 73 years. Looks like, the pressure hit Murray real hard as it showed clearly in the match.

Federer easily dominated the match right from the start, and to win in straight sets speaks all the more about his skills. There is absolutely no denying the fact that Roger Federer is undoubtedly one of the very few best tennis players in the world. With the winning of his 16th grand slam title, Federer has already sent out the threat to his opponents. The champ truly deserved the trophy.

Via: Gather

After suffering a season of surprises, the F-1 will get back its greatest champion in 2010. Michael Schumacher, 40, 41 next January 3rd, who owns seven world titles and almost all records of the class, announced yesterday his return after three years of retirement.

The German, who had not competed since the GP Brazil 2006, will pilot the Mercedes GP, old Brawn, who closed the season earning the title of both drivers, with Jenson Button, as the constructors.
With a three-year contract, Schumacher will become in 2010 the oldest man to fly an F-1 since 1995, when Nigel Mansell, who was then 41, played in two races for McLaren. The German, however, is back with clear intentions. “I do not think of anything less than the title.”

The news of the return of seven-times champion could not have come at a better time for the F-1. In 2009, the category had its credibility shattered after Piquet’s admission that hit in the Singapore Grand Prix the year before to facilitate the victory of his team-mate, Spaniard Fernando Alonso.

After the scandal of the Renault, the F-1 went through hard times in the middle of the season when other teams threatened the category if the parallel regulation of 2010 was not revised. The FIA president Max Mosley, then, was forced to withdrew himself from the command to lead and a new FIA president was elected, Jean Todt.

Via: Folha.

Some people are just too adventurous in life. It is fascinating to see these adventurous folks performing deadly stunts that give you the adrenaline rush. Yves Rossy, a 50 year old Swiss adventurer is attempting to jump out of a plane at 6,500 ft and cruise at 130 mph and cross 23 mile between Tangier in Morocco and Tarifa on the Southwestern tip of Spain. He will perform this death defying stunt by using a four-cylinder jet pack and carbon fibre wings spanning over 8 feet.

While Mr. Ross performs his adventurous act, he will be accompanied by a fleet of helicopters and aircraft to film the event and it will be broadcast live on the internet. However, Mr. Rossy’s journey will depend on good weather. The stunt is expected to complete in less than fifteen minutes. Mr. Rossy is featured in the record books a year ago when he crossed the English Channel from Calais to Dover using a jet-propelled wing on his back.

It sounds rather eccentric but Mr. Rossy believes he possesses the skills of man and bird. Hence, he calls himself with the nickname “Fusionman”. He also often calls himself with the sobriquet “Jetman”. We only wish all the best to this brave man. Age is definitely not a factor.

Via: Telegraph

Yup, it seems that the red light has gone on for the Umpire Decision Review System that initially received so much support from players and cricket boards alike. Despite Dave Richardson, the ICC’s general manager of batting his heart out to try and keep the system alive it has just not taken off and is being shot down mercilessly by boards world over. So what is the exact problem? It is not so much the cricketing reasons but the financial ones. Since broadcasters of the series involved and the home cricket board are supposed to bear the costs of the referral system, none is ready to take on the extra expenditure in these tough times.

The on going series between India and Sri Lanka is a prime example where BCCI shot down the idea of using referral system as Nimbus and the board had an issue with spending the money. With the richest cricket board in the world backing out, hope seems pretty bleak elsewhere. But Richardson is hopeful as he tries to garner support from Down Under in Australia where he feels both the ACB and the production channel will be more willing to help out.

While there is no doubt that the system is good for the game and viewers alike, it seems broadcasters are just not willing to go that extra mile on the issue. Or a game that is still largely confined to a handful of post-colonial colonies, it would be better to think long term than bother about short-term savings.