UCD Gymnastics Club

As the clocks all over New Delhi continue the countdown, Delhi and India await anxiously for arguably the biggest sporting event hosted by India. It has been a hot topic of gossip among Delhites and as the moment finally approaches, it is time that we take a look at the various notable happenings leading to this worldwide phenomenon.

The journey to Commonwealth Games 2010 has not been a smooth one, it obviously has got its share of controversies tagged to itself. Whether its the collapse of Metro-rail Bridges, or the lagging in constructions all over Delhi, deaths of workers at sites and unprepared venues, all of these things did take the CWG2010 preparations through a roller coaster ride. But now at last, as the fine tuning is on its way, the venues declared, the arrangements made, the security threats cleared and the final stages of ticket-sales have commenced, it is more than safe to say that New Delhi is ready to welcome the whole world and put up an unforgettable show.

Speaking of show, the opening ceremony which, the whole world has set its eyes upon, will take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. Experts in performing arts are preparing to put up a great show, and the event itself will be attended by a number of world leaders and delegates. The event, to be held on 3rd October, 2010 will mark the beginning of the XIXth Commonwealth Games. On that day, the Queen’s Baton relay, which left the Buckingham Palace on the 29th October, 2009 will reach the Opening ceremony. The Baton, a symbol of world peace and harmony between the commonwealth games has toured the world since then.

Spreading the message of the Games is the official mascot, Shera, a tiger (Sher in Hindi meaning Tiger) who has always been covered by the media. Shera has been all over Delhi, interacting with students in the famed Delhi university, and taking closer look at the venues. It has become synonymous to Commonwealth Games 2010 with the Delhites.

The Official sporting events will begin the next day, on the 4th October, 2010 in six venue clusters and five stand-alone venues. Also, 26 new training venues are being constructed. The venues include some important stadiums like Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Major Dhyanchand Stadium among others.

There will be 17 sports majorly, and 72 countries will participate in the games. The highest number of sportsmen being sent are from Australia and England, apart from the host country, India. Also, India’s home-grown sports – Kabaddi, will also be a demonstration sports in the games. The Indian government has arranged for the stay of all participants and delegates at the Games Village, at Khel Gaon and at the Ashoka Hotel, which has been named the official family hotel for the games.

With all the massive preparations, it has to be seen whether the Games can go smoothly, hoisting India’s name as one of the best host-nations for world class sporting events. As New Delhi gears up for the biggest event in India, we can only hope for the best experience for everybody.

By: Surendra Rautella Singh

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The crowd is on its feet wild with excitement. One basket and the championship trophy stays at home with your team. The basketball rebounds off the backboard directly into your daughter’s hands. There are scant seconds left to play in the last period of the game. She pivots quickly to takeoff up the court outpacing everyone; all of a sudden she pulls up grimacing in pain and grabbing the back of her leg. She falls to floor the victim of a hamstring pull, possibly even a muscle tear, which could have been prevented – before time ran out!

Children are capable of placing themselves in all sorts of situations that demand good physical conditioning, especially flexibility. Running while playing soccer or baseball, high kicks in the martial arts, running the court in basketball, leaps in dance, and back walkovers in gymnastics all demand a wide range of motion from the muscles involved, in other words flexibility.

Unfortunately, when an activity is so dynamic that it extends a body part beyond its normal range of motion, an injury may occur. Usually, the injury is something minor like a muscle pull or strain, but it could also become a tear or a muscle separation from the bone on which it is anchored. To prevent such an injury all children should learn a basic flexibility program appropriate to their sport.

There are several aspects to flexibility (like joint specificity) that time and space will not allow for in this article, including some new thought on the subject that suggests extensive stretching before an activity is not as important as simply getting the blood flowing with some cardiovascular activity like jumping jacks. Stretching for flexibility then occurs after the workout for maximum benefit. Consult with your coach for flexibility techniques appropriate to the sport your child enjoys.

However, as an example to help prevent hamstring pulls (muscle on the back of the upper leg) let’s evaluate your child’s flexibility in the lower back, hips, and the back of the upper legs. You can give your child this easy test.

Take a twelve-inch ruler and mark off one inch increments down the middle of a piece of paper. At the six-inch mark draw the number zero. Then, in one direction, mark the positive numbers +1, +2, + 3, etc. In the other direction, write the numbers -1, -2, -3, etc.

Have your child sit on the floor with her legs extended. The back of her knees should remain flat on the floor with her toes pointing toward the ceiling. Place the scale marked with 1-inch units at her feet so the zero aligns with her heels. Every inch mark towards the body is marked -1, -2, -3 and so on; each inch beyond the heels starting with +1, +2, +3 and so forth.

Now, have your child extend her arms out to her toes. Stop if it hurts, and by all means do not allow her to bounce or drive herself forcefully forward to get a better score! Only let her reach as far as possible without excess pain! If your child can just barely reach her toes, she would have a zero score, which would be an average score. If she cannot touch her toes, she would receive a negative score of -1 or less. A child who shows good flexibility would have a positive score of +1 or greater.

Don’t panic if your child can’t touch her toes, but please don’t ignore it. There are many solutions to this problem. Involving your child in physical activities at a young age that focus on all aspects of fitness, especially proper conditioning and flexibility has benefits that will last into her adult life. Great activities that develop these components, especially flexibility are; gymnastics, martial arts, dance, and yoga. These are great “gateway” activities that have advantages for other sports activities.

Pay attention while your child learns proper flexibility because some of the techniques for stretching hamstrings just might help relieve some lower back pain for you too – but please check with you doctor or chiropractor first before stretching or attempting to re-live your childhood sports fantasies.

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By: Rik Feeney

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