On the water
- Skurfing is where the participant “skurfs” behind a boat on a surfboard
- Barefoot water skiing is waterskiing with no skiis
- Boating is the use of boats
- Bodyboarding is similar to surfing, but the board is smaller and the person (normally) lies down on the board
- Canoeing
- Canoe Polo is polo using a canoe
- Dragon Boat Racing is a team paddling sport on water
- Fishing is the recreation and sport of catching fish
- Hydroplane racing
- Jet sprint boat racing
- Kayaking
- Kite surfing on flat water using a kite for propulsion
- Motor boating
- Offshore powerboat racing
- Outrigger canoeing
- Parasailing where a person is towed behind a vehicle (usually a boat) while attached to a parachute
- Rafting
- Rowing propels a boat by means of oars
- Sailing using the wind for propulsion
- Skimboarding involves riding, standing up, on a board down the wet sand and timing the ride to connect with a shorebreaking wave
- Surfing downhill on waves
- Splash padding: games on zero depth splash pad
- Tubing down a river or behind a boat
- Wakeboarding is similar to water skiing, but using only one board attached to the feet
- Wake skating is similar to wakeboarding, but the board is not attached to the feet
- Water skiing is using skis to slide over the water while being pulled by a boat or other device
- Windsurfing on flat water using wind for propulsion in combination with sails
- Yachting
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_water_sports
Humans are not equipped with gills so, at its most basic, dive equipment serves as a life-support system, enabling us to breathe underwater. To dive on any level, one must be comfortable with gear.
Borrow, Rent, or Buy
Reference:
(Walter, Claire. Gear Talk. Scuba Diving: Everything you need to know to get started (and keep going). United States: Ragged Mountain Press, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2000.)
Diving appeals to women with different levels of sociability, adventure, athletic skill, technical interest, physical courage, and aesthetic sense. Some dive because they can enjoy the camaraderie of other women with similar interests. Some dive because it’s an escape to another realm that they can do close to home; for others…diving provides a reason to travel to distant shores. Some like the image of strength and athleticism that diving projects. Others are enamored with diving because they like the physical sensation of weightlessness and enjoy breathing compressed air. Such diehards will dive in an y waters, any time. Some people are gearheads who are really into the equipment aspect of the sport and spend more time reading dive magazine test reports and new-product news than gazing longingly at photos of exotic travel destinations.
Reference:
(Walter, Claire. What is Diving? Scuba Diving: Everything you need to know to get started (and keep going). United States: Ragged Mountain Press, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2000.)
Also You may want to check my other post about Scuba Diving
Diving takes place in an environment that is as intrinsically hostile to humans as outer space. Technology enables us to function, to some degree, in both places. In the case of diving, newcomers to the sport must become familiar with water’s effects on the body, the equipment that enables us to adapt to that environment, and the fundamentals of dive technique. This knowledge is not optional and it isn’t something that you pick up along the way.
Unlike that vast majority of other recreational activities, scuba diving is not something you simply go out and learn on your own. Learning from a friend isn’t wise, either. Rather, you must undergo training and take a test to ensure that you have learned the fundamentals of being a safe diver. You must assimilate a fairly large body of knowledge before you pass the test, earn your scuba certification, and call yourself a diver.
Reference:
(Walter, Claire. What is Diving? Scuba Diving: Everything you need to know to get started (and keep going). United States: Ragged Mountain Press, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2000.)
You can also check out my Previous post about Diving.
Famous Competitive Divers
- Australia: Rebecca Gilmore, Mathew Helm, Chantelle Newbery, Robert Newbery, Dean Pullar, Melissa Wu and Loudy Tourky
- Canada: Myriam Boileau, Philippe Comtois, Alexandre Despatie, Blythe Hartley, Émilie Heymans, Anne Montminy, Beverly Boys, and Irene MacDonald
- China: Fu Mingxia, Gao Min, Guo Jingjing, Hu Jia, Lao Lishi, Na Li, Li Ting, Wu Minxia, Peng Bo, Xue Sang, Tian Liang, Hailiang Xiao, Ni Xiong, He Chong and Yang Jinghui
- Holland: Edwin Jongejans
- Italy: Klaus Dibiasi, Giorgio Cagnotto
- Mexico: Rommel Pacheco,Fernando Platas
- Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo
- Russia: Alexander Dobroskok, Vera Ilina, Igor Lukashin, Ioulia Pakhalina, and Dmitri Sautin
- United Kingdom: Leon Taylor, Peter Waterfield, Jason Statham, Tom Daley
- United States: Hobie Billingsley, Scott Donie, Michael Galitzen, Bruce Kimball, Nathan Kohuth, Beatrice Kyle, Mark Lenzi, Greg Louganis, Pat McCormick, Cynthia Potter, Aileen Riggin, Laura Wilkinson
The Continuation of the previous post on Diving
Diving refers to the sport of performing acrobatics whilst jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard of a certain height. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a common recreational pastime in places where swimming is popular.
While not a particularly popular participant sport, diving is one of the more popular Olympic sports with spectators. Successful competitors possess many of the same characteristics as gymnasts and competitive cheerleaders, including strength, flexibility, kinaesthetic judgment and air awareness.
via [Wikipedia]
Snorkeling although not a sport but since this deals with water related activity I had to post this, for info, of course. The point in snorkeling is to observe underwater attractions for extended periods of time with relatively little effort for fun relaxation and entertainment.
Snorkeling - the practice of swimming at the surface of a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a snorkel which is the “J” – shaped tube used for breathing, and usually swimfins or what I would like to call flipper.
Snorkeling is a popular recreational activity, particularly at tropical resort destinations and at accessible scuba diving locations. Snorkeling is also employed by scuba divers when near the surface, and search and rescue teams may snorkel as part of a water-based search.
The primary attraction of snorkeling is the opportunity to observe underwater life in a natural setting. This may include coral reefs and their denizens, such as fish, cephalopods, starfish, sea urchins, and mollusks. Snorkeling in sandy areas may allow sighting of rays and various flatfish. Other organisms that can be seen while snorkeling include various forms of seaweed, jellyfish, shrimp, sea turtles, various types of sea cactus and occasionally anything else which may be found in the ocean.
via [Wikipedia]
It consists of swimming, cycling and running over various distances. A triathlon athlete to be competitive time needs proficiency in swimming, cycling, and running and must have learned to race each stage in a way that preserves their energy and endurance for subsequent stages. Events in triathlon are placed back-to-back in immediate sequence. Competitor’s official time includes the time required to “transition” between the individual legs of the race, including any time necessary for changing clothes and shoes. A triathlon is an endurance sports event
Water basketball is a water sport which mixes rules of basketball and water polo. Ideated and promoted by Italian teacher Francesco Rizzuto in 1986; it is played in a swimming pool. Teams of five players each must shoot at goal with a ball within a certain time after gaining possession.
In USA, Brazil, and Europe, some amatorial matches are organized to develop this sport.
In 2005, the Arab Federation of Basketball recognized it as a form of basketball.
In the Netherlands, people have been playing waterbasketbal since the 1970s. Besides regular tournaments, they also organize a national championship where the best teams compete for the official Dutch Waterbasketbal championship title.
via [Wikipedia]
For More Info You can Check out Water-Basketball.com
Swimming is a healthy activity and enjoys a low risk of injury compared with many other sports. Nevertheless there are some health risks with swimming, including the following:
- Drowning, inhalation of water arising from
- Adverse effects of immersion
- Secondary drowning, where inhaled salt water creates a foam in the lungs that restricts breathing.
- Salt water aspiration syndrome.
- Thermal shock after jumping into water can cause the heart to stop.
- Exostosis which is an abnormal growth in the ear canal due to the frequent, long-term splashing of water into the ear canal. (Known as Surfers’ ear)
- Exposure to chemicals
- Disinfectant Chlorine will increase the pH of the water, if uncorrected the raised pH may cause eye or skin irritations [6].
- Chlorine inhalation; breathing small quantities of chlorine gas from the water surface whilst swimming for long periods of time may have an adverse effect on the lungs, particularly for asthmatics. This problem may be resolved by using a pool with better ventilation, with an outdoor pool having the best results.
- Chlorine also has a negative cosmetic effect after repeated long exposure, stripping brown hair of all color, turning it very light blonde. Chlorine damages the structure of hair, turning it “frizzy.” Chlorine can dissolve copper which turns blonde hair green. Proper pool maintenance can reduce the amount of copper in the water, while wetting the hair before entering a pool can help reduce the absorption of copper.
- Chlorine will often remain on skin in an anhydrous form, even after several washings. The chlorine becomes odorous once it is back in an aqueous solution (when salivated on, during a shower, etc.)
- Infection
- Water is an excellent environment for many bacteria, parasites, fungi and viruses affecting humans depending on water quality.
- Skin infections from both swimming and shower rooms can cause athlete’s foot (boat bug). The easiest way to avoid this is to dry the space between the toes. [7]
- Microscopic parasites such as Cryptosporidium can be resistant to chlorine and can cause diarrheal illness when swimmers swallow pool water.
- Ear infections, otitis media, (otitis externa).
- When chlorine levels are improperly balanced, severe health problems may result, such as chronic bronchitis and asthma.
- Swimmer’s own actions
- Overuse injury; competitive butterfly stroke swimmers for example may develop some back pain, including vertebral fractures in rare cases, and shoulder pain after long years of training, breaststroke swimmers may develop knee pain, and hip pain, and freestyle and backstroke swimmers may develop shoulder pain, commonly referred to as swimmer’s shoulder (a form of tendinitis).
- Hyperventilation in a bid to extend underwater breath-hold times lowers blood carbon dioxide resulting in suppression of the urge to breathe and consequent loss of consciousness towards the end of the dive, see shallow water blackout for the mechanism.
- Adverse water and weather conditions
- Currents, including tides and rivers can cause exhaustion, can pull swimmers away from safety, or pull swimmers under water.
- Wind enhances waves and can blow a swimmer off course.
- Hypothermia, due to cold water, can cause rapid exhaustion and unconsciousness.
- Sunburn severity can be increased by reflections in the water and the lack of clothing worn during swimming. Long-term exposure to the sun contributes to risk of skin cancer.
- Objects in the water.
- Propeller damage is a major cause of accidents, either by being run over by a boat or entanglement on climbing into a boat.
- Collision with another swimmer, the pool walls, rocks or boats.
- Diving into a submerged object, or the bottom, often in turbid water.
- Snagging on underwater objects, particularly submerged branches or wrecks.
- Stepping on sharp objects such as broken glass.
Organisations publish safety guidelines to help swimmers avoid these risks
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming#The_risks_of_swimming