Sunday, April 24, 2016

Origin of the Marathon


Of all the races, one race is considered a true test of human endurance; the Marathon. While runners of shorter races like the ones in track and cross country are impressive, they do not stand up to the test of human athleticism as marathon runners do. But where did the name marathon come, and why is it 26.2 miles? 


The race gets its name fromt he legend of Pheidippides the Greek messenger in 490 BC. In the legend, Pheidippides was sent from the battlefield at Marathon to Athens to announce that the enemy, the Persians, had just been defeated. He ran from Marathon to Athens without stopping, and when he arrived, he burst into the assembly and shouted "We have won!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he collapsed, dead.

Like most legends, there is quite a bit of debate as to the accuracy of this tale. Herodotus, a Greek historian who is one of the main sources for the Greco-Prussian wars, mentions Pheidippides as the messaenger who ran from Athens to Sparta and back to ask for help. He makes no mention of a runner coming back from Marathon.

In 1879, Robert Browning wrote the poem Pheildippides in which his story of messenger ran from Marathon to Athens. This poem became accepted as a historic legend. During the modern Olympics in 1896, the marathon was added to both popularize the games, and call back to the ancient glory of Greece. Now, it exemplifies the talent of the athletes.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Scuba Diving

Image result for scuba diving
Scuba Diving is a recreational activity which allows people to explore the submarine environment for extended periods of time. It is surprisingly dangerous activity, resulting in more fatalities than recreations such as skydiving. But, scuba diving has many rewards. So what does it take to scuba dive?  The success of scuba diving is dependent upon 3 main factors.
            The first factor is the equipment. The equipment is what allows the diver to spend the amount of time it does under water, and dive down to the depths they want. The first piece of equipment is the mask. The mask allows the scuba diver to see under water. It is possible to dive without a mask, however, being able to see while under water is kind of important. The second piece of equipment needed are the fins. The fins allow the diver to more control over his or her movements, and to move around faster. The fins are worn on the feet, and helps to push the diver through the water like the fins of a fish. The next piece of equipment is the BCD.The BCD has three main functions. The first being that it helps to control buoyancy. As a diver dives deeper, the buoyant forces become weaker. So the diver needs additional weights to offset his or her buoyancy. This vest (the BCD) can be filled with more air, or let air out. If the diver has dived deep, he or she becomes less buoyant, so they need to sill the BCD with more air so that they stay at the same level. If they are close to the surface, they would let out air to become less buoyant so that they don’t float up to the surface. The BCD’s second function is to allow diver to attach accessories. The diver can attach knives, lights, dive slates, etc. The suit keeps them tucked away so that they don’t drag the ocean floor and damage the environment, but still easily accessible to the diver. Lastly, the BCD is what the air tank is attached to.
The air tank is exactly as it sounds. It is a tank that contains compressed air. This is what provides the air a diver needs to stay submerged for extended periods of time. A device called the regulator is what allows the diver to breathe from the air tank. It is named a regulator because it regulates the amount of air the diver breathes in from the tank. It takes the pressure provided from the tank, and changes it to a pressure that the diver can breathe.
The next thing someone needs to know in order to scuba dive, is buoyancy basics. There are 3 types of buoyancy. Positive Buoyancy, negative buoyancy, and neutral buoyancy. Positive buoyancy is where the diver floats upward. Negative buoyancy is where the diver sinks downward. Neutral buoyancy is where the diver neither floats nor sinks, but stays suspended at one level. Neutral buoyancy is the goal a diver strives to achieve while diving. He or she can do this by adjusting the amount of air in the BCD.
Divers needs to be mindful of pressure. Humans are built to survive under the pressure of the atmosphere. So when the diver dives deeper and deeper, the pressure upon the diver increases. So people can only dive so far safely. As the diver dives, the air is compressed under the pressure. This makes them less buoyant. That’s when the diver would add air to the BCD. In addition, the diver will need to balance their pressure with the pressure of the water around them. To do this, the diver must do a few different things during his or her decent. First they need to ensure that they are breathing normally to ensure the lungs are properly inflated. The second thing is to add air to his or her mask. The diver does this by breathing out of his or her nose into the mask. Lastly the diver needs to add air to his or her ear and sinuses. The diver can do this by pinching his or her nose, and slowly attempting to breath out of it. This will equalize the pressure. Upon the diver’s ascent to the surface, they must ascend slowly, while breathing normally to allow the extra air added while diving to slowly leave the body. If the diver does either too quickly, it could result in serious damage.
In closing, diving can be an awesome experience, if done safely, and with the proper, maintained equipment.


                 

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Is Marching Band a Sport?

Is marching band a sport? There seems to be a lot of debate on whether Marching on a field in formation counts as an athletic competition. Let's look at both sides.

Webster defines a sport as an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. If we are looking at marching band from this definition alone, then it is clearly a sport. A marching band competition consists of multiple bands, or "teams", performing a routine in front of a panel of judges, who rank them. Each band must play music in time with the other members while marching in sync and reaching specific points on a football field. So by definition, Marching band is a sport. It requires physical exertion and skill, and teams compete against each other. 

But there are many people who don't agree that it is a sport, but consider it more of art. Even though it requires physical exertion, they argue that that it does not require physical training. Being a member of marching band in high school, I can attest that marching band does require a ton of rehearsal to master musical techniques and music during the routine. It really is an art form. But I think that most all sports can be viewed as an art form. All athletes must practice techniques to master their sport, and those techniques could be considered a form of art. 

Marching band is a sport. If the issue is that marching band isn't athletic enough, one just has to look at other events that are called sports such as golf or bowling. Neither of those require a lot of physical exertion, yet are considered sports. Marching band also requires just as much if not more team cooperation than that of other sports. So by all accounts, Marching band is a sport.