Ailsa Harvey
Chessboxing, as suggested by the name, combines two very contrasting pastimes in alternating rounds: chess and boxing. While the board game tests the athletes’ mental ability, the boxing tests the physical.
The sport was invented by a Dutch performance artist, Iepe Rubingh. Originally, chessboxing was thought to be an art performance, but it soon turned into a competitive sport. Currently, it has gained most popularity in Germany, the United Kingdom, India and Russia.
Ailsa Harvey
Boccia is one of only two Paralympic sports to not have a counterpart in the Olympics. A sport related to bowls, boccia sees athletes with severe physical disabilities taking part. In 1984 it was introduced to the Olympic Games and although it was originally designed for athletes with cerebral palsy, it is now played by athletes with many other disabilities affecting motor skills.
Ailsa Harvey
Surf Lifesaving is a competitive sport, which combines aspects from both surfing and lifeguard services. The skills required in this sport replicate those needed to save a life whilst also improving fitness and confidence.
The sport evolved from the training carried out by Australian and New Zealand lifesavers and is still based on these volunteer clubs who perform rescue duty. Although the sport is still mainly popular in just Australia and New Zealand, competitions now exist in five regions in Canada and in Europe the sport is continuing to develop.
Kyle Brown
Roller derby is a contact sport that originated out of America and now has roots worldwide. A typical ‘bout’ consists of two teams of up to 15, with 5 on the oval track at any given point – 1 ‘jammer’ (identified by a star on their helmet) and 4 ‘blockers’. A jammers job is to lap members of the opposition team and will score points in the process, whereas, as the name suggests, it is the duty of the blockers to prevent that.
With rollerblading an activity many people grew up with, it’s surprising that a competitive sport such as roller derby hasn’t had much exposure or attention. But here at PACE News, we caught up with the team at Scottish Roller Derby to find out more!
Ailsa Harvey
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating which involves competitors racing on the ice. There are different distances to compete at: long track speed skating, short track speed skating and marathon speed skating. The standard rink for long track is 400 meters long, but sometimes shorter tracks are used.
The first sign of speed skating can be traced back over a millennium to Scandinavia, Northern Europe and the Netherlands, where natives added bones to their shoes and skated across frozen bodies of water. Ice skating is thought to always have been an activity of joy rather than transport.
Ailsa Harvey
Fencing, one of the first sports to ever appear in the Olympic Games, has three forms in the modern game. These forms include foil, épée and sabre and each uses a different kind of weapon. Competitive fencers usually specialise in one of these weapons, but the foil is generally regarded as the best weapon to begin learning with.
Derived from duelling, fencing originally emerged from the development of sword fighting for self-defence. The sport is played on a strip (2m by 12m long) and the aim is to score ‘hits’ or ‘touches’ on your opponent using one of the three weapons. These touches are recorded electronically by the players body wires because of how fast-paced the action is.
Ailsa Harvey
Football, or soccer, is the largest growing sport being played by women around the globe, with major national and international competitions enabling female footballers to play at professional level. But how bumpy was the road to professionalism in women’s football? And how does football for men and women compare today?
One of the first European teams was founded by Nettie Honeyball in England, 1894, and was called the ‘British Ladies’ Football Club’. It was this team which helped to influence many women to take up the sport. However, they didn’t have everybody’s support. When women’s football first emerged, it wasn’t accepted by the British football associations as they believed this rise posed a threat to the game’s ‘masculinity’.
Ailsa Harvey
For many, breathing is an essential component in their method for remaining calm. But how do you keep composed when deep underwater with no oxygen, for up to seven minutes? How do you push yourself to your limit without going too far?
Freediving is a form of diving without the use of any breathing apparatus. Competitors can specialise in a range of disciplines in both deep diving and pool diving. I caught up with five British freedivers to find out why they chose this underwater sport and learn how they value safety in the sport.
Ailsa Harvey
Falling through the sky from a plane, at an average speed of 120mph, skydiving is unsurprisingly considered an extreme sport. The sport involves freefalling; gradually accelerating to reach terminal velocity. A parachute is deployed when closer to the ground and in cases of World Record attempts this requires great cognitive strength and quick thinking.
Harry McArthur
The Nitro Circus tour is hitting the UK and France in two weeks, coming to the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on the 21st of November. The show will feature multiple X-Game medallists as well as several Nitro Games world champions.
As part of the show the daredevils from Nitro Circus will perform tricks on BMX, FMX, scooters and skates amongst some other contraptions- in the past they have done tricks whilst sitting in a bath with wheels! They will perform stunts and tricks off of ramps of multiple heights, displaying their athleticism and reckless bravery.
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