Not long after the windstorm, I shot these videos.
There were other sections on the field I didn't get to that had more airplanes flipped, including, sad to say, a couple beautiful J3 Cubs. I hope the Grand Champion hopeful I videoed yesterday wasn't one of them...but everybody loses when this many airplanes are damaged and destroyed.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Rain 'n A Lot Of Pain
A horrific thunderstorm kept feeding nasty tornadic weather right across central Florida, and at one point we had a funnel cloud which may have touched down, depending on who you talked to, and flipped airplanes around like so many child's toys.
The two Dakota Cubs I flew out in from Sioux Falls were not spared. The 180hp Cub Speedy Richardson and I flew the last two days of our 6-day flight was destroyed. The Cub flown by Amy Gersch was damaged but should be able to fly home, though the cowling was dinged up pretty bad and the metal prop was gouged by the wreckage of the other Cub which flipped, ripping out its double tie downs like they were anchored in peanut butter, and landed on Amy's plane.
I hunkered down in the Sun 'n Fun Museum (big steel building) with a couple hundred other anxious showgoers, including Dan Johnson and his wife Randee.
Our sincerest regrets, condolences and wishes for solid insurance policies for all those who suffered losses today.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sun 'n Fun 2011 Day One
Well, Day One for me anyway; the show started yesterday but I was still stranded in Alabama by soggy and intractable weather with a couple Dakota Cubs.
 |
| Amy Gersch |
A 6-day odyssey...and we're just glad to have made it at all. Several VFR pilots are still stuck in the South and the storms continue.
Here's a video I quick-shot today, thanks to Legend Cub's Dave Graham, who took me over to meet the owner of a fabulous Piper Cub J3 restoration.
 |
| Dave "Speedy" Richardson |
It's really gorgeous. My video doesn't do it justice but it'll give you a bit of a peak. The owner is having it judged and hoping to snag a Grand Champion Award. And it's sure got a shot: absolutely immaculate.
The restoration cost upwards of $80K! Now that's commitment.
Dave and Kurt Sehnert also clued me in a new airplane about to debut from Legend, as well as a quick glance on how this top selling American-produced LSA builder has weathered the sluggish economic recovery.
"Our new Super Legend Cub," says Dave Graham, "has a flapped wing for reduced stall speeds and we're putting a lot of carbon fiber into the structure, in doors, wing tip bows and other components. The tailfeathers are Super Cub size with slightly more area, and aerodynamically balanced for more control authority."
"Power is a Lycoming 0-233. It's a 115 hp, multi fuel engine to help address the ethanol fuel situation. The Super Legend will have the same power to weight ratio as the original PA-18 Piper Super Cub with a 150hp engine, so it will be a good performer."
Legend's anticipated timetable:
[] Lycoming expects to complete certification testing by the end of Quarter 3, 2011,
[] ASTM certification for the airplane end of 2011, and ready for the market by Sebring 2012
Intro price is $139,900. 20% down will hold a slot.
It will be an SLSA first, then a kit.
 |
| Frame of the new Super Legend |
"The Texas Sport (kit) version will come after the SLSA version is done, probably by Sun 'n Fun 2012. The kit can be built either Experimental Amateur Built or as an ELSA. Of course we will offer our factory built program too as we do with our other models."
Kurt tells me the SLSA Legends continue to dominate sales, and buyers are ponying up for loaded versions with all the toys installed.
"Kit builders tend to build Experimental rather than ELSA because most want their own customized version, which you can't do with an ELSA, which has to be built to the same exact specs as the SLSA."
 |
| Super Legend frame detail |
The amphib float option Legend offers had a curve ball thrown at it when Baumann Floats recently surprised the aviation world by closing its doors.
"We'll have to see what happens," says Kurt. "We're looking at other players, but it's been a bit of a shock and it's a shame, they made an excellent product. But like all business, we'll just go to plan B."
On the Economy: "Well, we figure if we got this far, we'll make it. It has been a skinny two years. But it feels like things are moving again."
Monday, March 28, 2011
Call for Papers
International Association for the Philosophy of Sport in conjunction with the APA Eastern Division Meeting December 27-30, 2011, in Washington, D.C.
The International Association for the Philosophy of Sport invites the submission of papers to be considered for presentation at the 2011 American Philosophical Association Eastern Division Meeting. Papers are welcome on any area of philosophy of sport from any theoretical approach. Presenters must be members of both APA and IAPS and pay regular conference registration fees. For more information on IAPS, go to http://www.iaps.net/. Papers should have an appropriate scope and length for a twenty-minute presentation.
To be considered, please submit a 500-800 word abstract of the paper by May 10, 2011. Abstracts should be submitted as attachments by e-mail [.doc, .docx, .rtf, or .pdf format] to joan.g.forry@vanderbilt.edu. Only those contributors who do not have access to e-mail should send a hard copy to Joan Grassbaugh Forry at the address below.
Submitting authors will be notified of the acceptance or rejection of their papers by May 30, 2011.
Dr. Joan Grassbaugh Forry
Vanderbilt University
111 Furman Hall
Nashville, TN 37240
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sun 'n Fun 2011 Takes Off Tomorrow
SUN 'n FUN 2011 kicks off, even as scores of planes - yours truly included - remain scattered around at airports up to hundreds of miles away, trying to beat the storm system that’s prevented them from making it to Lakeland, FL so far.
* Blue Angels performances four different days, highlighting the celebration of the 100th anniversary of naval aviation
* a 20-year retrospective on Desert Storm
* a 10-year commemoration of September 11, 2001
* the formal opening of the new Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA) on the SUN ’n FUN campus.
* F-22 Raptor flight three different days
* AvBid Airplane Auctions
* Hot Air Balloon Launch at dawn, Saturday, April 2
* Daily and nightly airshows with fireworks
* AOPA "Rally GA" Day
* Lindbergh Foundation Awards for electric-powered flight advances
* "Green Space” Exhibit of environmentally friendly, aviation-related products and services, anchored by Lindbergh Foundation.
* 75th Anniversary Cub Convoy mass arrival to SUN ’n FUN, Monday, March 28.
And of course all the mix of colorful booths, new aircraft (including new LSA) and a whole lot more.
 |
| photo courtesy Harvey Reidel and Sun 'n Fun |
Speaking of square, I may have to pull the plug, rent a car and drive the last 500 miles from Sparta, TN...but I'm hanging in until the last minute because it would sure feel a lot better to land in the same Dakota Cub I started out in.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Stranded in Sparta
Half way to Sun 'n Fun, thumb typing on my iPhone, we're sitting in the same place we've been in - the comfy lounge at friendly FBO, Sparta Aero Services - since 8 this morning.
It's 3:30 now.
Allow me one small comic book growl of anguish: aarghh.
Thanks, that feels better.
Our erstwhile Cub Crew, ably led by aviation Whiz Kid Amy Getsch who's interning in marketing at Dakota Cub, the Super Cub replica kit and certified maker, flew down this far yesterday, landed right around sunset after a lovely, mottled-sun trek at a leisurely 90 mph all the way at an average 3000 feet.
400 miles down, we stopped for a late lunch and picked up some reinforcements: two gents also en route to Florida, each flying their J3's.
Dick Pattschull of Iowa City and George Armstrong of Omaha, Nebraska launched, just after we got back from lunch, from Fulton Co., Mo.'s Hensley Airport.
We hurried along, Amy and I, in the Dakota Super 18 LT she calls Little Airplane, and the identically painted Super 18 she calls Big Airplane (it has a 180 hp engine; the LT has a C90 that puts out 113 hp).
Big Airplane is being flown by Dave "Speedy" Richardson, AKA the Resident Gypsy, a conundrum that describes his rooted history in Sioux Falls and his love of long XC flights.
Amy talks to "her" - Little Airplane - as if she were a beloved horse - there's even a little stuffed panda bear riding along in the wing root with a great bird's eye view of the tandem cockpit and what's a comin' too.
Half an hour later we slowly overtook the pokier J3s and pressed on toward Sparta.
Clouds to the east spread a long gray somber note to the end of the days flying
Dick, after a comm miscue, landed several miles south of Sparta. We looped back trying to find Speedy, who could transmit but not receive.
We finally touched down in a murky dusk. I was impressed with how easy the big 26" bush tires and stout tailwheel soaked up my landing imperfections
Up at 6 the next morning, we ate and headed to the field. Eight hours later, still here. More bad weather en route. I may have to hop a winged beer can from nearby St Louis if we get stuck.
And I say again: arrgh.
It's 3:30 now.
Allow me one small comic book growl of anguish: aarghh.
 |
| Situation: 8:00 a.m. |
Thanks, that feels better.
Our erstwhile Cub Crew, ably led by aviation Whiz Kid Amy Getsch who's interning in marketing at Dakota Cub, the Super Cub replica kit and certified maker, flew down this far yesterday, landed right around sunset after a lovely, mottled-sun trek at a leisurely 90 mph all the way at an average 3000 feet.
400 miles down, we stopped for a late lunch and picked up some reinforcements: two gents also en route to Florida, each flying their J3's.
Dick Pattschull of Iowa City and George Armstrong of Omaha, Nebraska launched, just after we got back from lunch, from Fulton Co., Mo.'s Hensley Airport.
We hurried along, Amy and I, in the Dakota Super 18 LT she calls Little Airplane, and the identically painted Super 18 she calls Big Airplane (it has a 180 hp engine; the LT has a C90 that puts out 113 hp).
 |
| Situation: 5:15 p.m. |
Amy talks to "her" - Little Airplane - as if she were a beloved horse - there's even a little stuffed panda bear riding along in the wing root with a great bird's eye view of the tandem cockpit and what's a comin' too.
Half an hour later we slowly overtook the pokier J3s and pressed on toward Sparta.
Clouds to the east spread a long gray somber note to the end of the days flying
Dick, after a comm miscue, landed several miles south of Sparta. We looped back trying to find Speedy, who could transmit but not receive.
We finally touched down in a murky dusk. I was impressed with how easy the big 26" bush tires and stout tailwheel soaked up my landing imperfections
Up at 6 the next morning, we ate and headed to the field. Eight hours later, still here. More bad weather en route. I may have to hop a winged beer can from nearby St Louis if we get stuck.
And I say again: arrgh.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Anger and Fighting in Competition
Editor’s Note: This blog has been a bit dormant for a while, but apparently some people are still discovering and finding it useful. I thank you for your kind comments. Despite our low activity, we were recently named among the “Top Martial Arts Sites” by The MMA Zone. I was grateful and honored by the recognition and thought I would try to revive the site - if only temporarily– until reality sets in again. So, here goes… Paddles…. CLEAR … BEEEEEEP…
Optimal arousal (heh, heh… you said “arousal”, heh, heh) is a key to performing effectively in competition. But what is “optimal”? Excellent question. Some of you might remember the old “Inverted U” hypothesis. In psychology books, it is known as the Yerkes-Dodson Law. The basic idea is that anxiety (or physiological arousal, more generally) in small to moderate doses tends to help competitive performance by accelerating your drive and energy. But at a certain point, arousal becomes too high and it begins to impair performance. When arousal is working for you, that’s being in “the zone.” Crank it up past that point, and the upward line in the upside down “U” begins to turn downward. Pretty basic.
But if you watch combat sport athletes, you’ve probably noticed an incredible range in emotional intensity – even among the winners. That seems to defy the idea that there is one optimal point for everyone.
An alternative to the Inverted U is the Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning -or IZOF model. The IZOF model suggests that “the zone” of optimal emotional and physiological intensity varies for each individual athlete. One of the areas where I’ve seen this most clearly with fighters specifically is in how they handle or use anger.
Anger generally tends to charge your arousal level. Your thoughts are racing. Your body is revved up. And your emotions are running high. Is that a good thing? That depends. It depends on who you are and how you handle it. I remember chatting with one young fighter – a super nice guy who was not naturally aggressive - saying how he was trying to work himself up to “hate the guy” who he was opposing in the cage. He thought that he needed hate and anger to tap into his inner barbarian .. or something like that.
Anger can sometimes generate drive and energy. But it can also sometimes drain it. And it will often overshadow the part of your brain responsible for anticipation, planning and strategy. So there can be a steep cost as well.
Recently, researchers in Finland took a look at how anger affected the performance of 20 high-level (international) competitive karate athletes. They measured the athlete’s expression of anger and asked them to recall their best and worst competitive performance – before during and after. As the IZOF model would predict, responses were all over the map. Just over half had low anger in their best and their worst performances. For these competitors, anger was neither a handy tool nor an impediment.
Another group tended to notice a rise in anger intensity in their worst performances – more so in the pre- and post-fight situations than in the competition itself. What did seem to make a difference was the athlete’s ability to regulate or control his or her level of anger intensity and perceiving that he or she had enough coping resources to deal with the stress and frustrations of competitive adversity.
Here’s one way to look at these results: When you can selectively summon and carefully control your anger, you can use it as an energizing resource. But when anger is prompted by an opponent, it may signal to your brain that you are in trouble making it worry that you don’t have enough resources to cope. Becoming angry may be different than allowing an opponent to make you angry. When you react with anger you give up a measure self-control. You may get a boost of intensity, but you may also be more prone to tactical and strategic mistakes. Know yourself.
Ruiz, M., & Hanin, Y. (2011). Perceived impact of anger on performance of skilled karate athletes Psychology of Sport and Exercise DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2011.01.005
Here’s one way to look at these results: When you can selectively summon and carefully control your anger, you can use it as an energizing resource. But when anger is prompted by an opponent, it may signal to your brain that you are in trouble making it worry that you don’t have enough resources to cope. Becoming angry may be different than allowing an opponent to make you angry. When you react with anger you give up a measure self-control. You may get a boost of intensity, but you may also be more prone to tactical and strategic mistakes. Know yourself.
Ruiz, M., & Hanin, Y. (2011). Perceived impact of anger on performance of skilled karate athletes Psychology of Sport and Exercise DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2011.01.005Touchstones: Honoring the Basics
The FAA has a helpful publication that wouldn’t hurt us to check out now and then, whatever our level of experience and skill: the Airplane Flying Handbook.
Sure, it may seem like plain vanilla...but where would hot fudge sundaes and banana splits be without good old dependable vanilla?
We pilots need to maintain our good airmanship foundation, no matter how big a hotshot we sometimes imagine ourselves to be. Reviewing the essentials helps us recall those nuances we forget, or shortcut...and which, in a pinch, we may desperately need in our quiver of flying skills.
Once we start down that "I got this wired" slippery slope, the risk of incidents and accidents increases...and who needs that kind of education?
Case in point: FAA's Handbook section on porpoising.
I sometimes revisit a landing tendency that I've been working to correct: I will make a bigger-than-necessary pitch correction after bouncing a landing.
If I balloon up at a higher angle of attack then I want, I'll push the nose over -- too far. Instructors invariably tell me, "Whoa, just let it settle or go around, don't go chasing it."
I picked up that habit from hang glider and ultralight flying, where ultra-slow landing speeds and draggy airframes sometimes let you get away with...and even require...dramatic last-second pitch-ups to keep you from making hard landings.
The problem with such pitchy exuberance in an LSA or traditional GA airplane is the cleaner airframe's tendency to let you get it into "porpoising" flight, by chasing an ever-growing up/down nose angle...until a hard impact becomes unavoidable.
Porpoising is a classic scenario for collapsed landing gear. A local SportCruiser was recently destroyed when the pilot lost control after porpoising near the runway.
Rather than reprise in my own words how to avoid mimicking the happy undulations of our sea-going mammalian friends, I'll refer you to this excellent section (it's a PDF: go to page 8-31).
I know I picked up a few pointers I'd forgotten...and learned a couple things I'd never learned in the first place. After all, no one CFI can cover it all, no matter how skilled.
A pilot's license is our ticket to continue lifelong learning...and self-teaching through study and practice is an important component of it.
Speaking of the SportCruiser, I started to porpoise one the first time I flew it. The SLSA has a very sensitive pitch response, especially compared to its roll pressures.
I expected I would be easing the nose off the runway just fine on my first takeoff but we suddenly zoomed up to a 20-30 degree angle. Instead of easing the stick forward, I pushed it just a bit too smartly forward -- and we were instantly looking back down at the runway.
My instructor said "Whoa cowboy, easy does it!" as he eased the stick back to establish a proper climb angle. I became a pitchmeister with my pinkies in that airplane from then on.
The FAA Handbook's bottom line: if you get seriously out of sync in pitch inputs, just power up and go around.
We sometimes forget we usually have a choice. Doing a go-around is always a good mindset to keep in your mental skillbag: it's too easy to slip into the "I gotta land now!" syndrome.
Give that Handbook a look: I bet you'll find something in there that will make you a better pilot.
Sure, it may seem like plain vanilla...but where would hot fudge sundaes and banana splits be without good old dependable vanilla?
We pilots need to maintain our good airmanship foundation, no matter how big a hotshot we sometimes imagine ourselves to be. Reviewing the essentials helps us recall those nuances we forget, or shortcut...and which, in a pinch, we may desperately need in our quiver of flying skills.
Once we start down that "I got this wired" slippery slope, the risk of incidents and accidents increases...and who needs that kind of education?
 |
| Criquet Storch SLSA |
I sometimes revisit a landing tendency that I've been working to correct: I will make a bigger-than-necessary pitch correction after bouncing a landing.
If I balloon up at a higher angle of attack then I want, I'll push the nose over -- too far. Instructors invariably tell me, "Whoa, just let it settle or go around, don't go chasing it."
I picked up that habit from hang glider and ultralight flying, where ultra-slow landing speeds and draggy airframes sometimes let you get away with...and even require...dramatic last-second pitch-ups to keep you from making hard landings.
The problem with such pitchy exuberance in an LSA or traditional GA airplane is the cleaner airframe's tendency to let you get it into "porpoising" flight, by chasing an ever-growing up/down nose angle...until a hard impact becomes unavoidable.
Porpoising is a classic scenario for collapsed landing gear. A local SportCruiser was recently destroyed when the pilot lost control after porpoising near the runway.
Rather than reprise in my own words how to avoid mimicking the happy undulations of our sea-going mammalian friends, I'll refer you to this excellent section (it's a PDF: go to page 8-31).
I know I picked up a few pointers I'd forgotten...and learned a couple things I'd never learned in the first place. After all, no one CFI can cover it all, no matter how skilled.
A pilot's license is our ticket to continue lifelong learning...and self-teaching through study and practice is an important component of it.
Speaking of the SportCruiser, I started to porpoise one the first time I flew it. The SLSA has a very sensitive pitch response, especially compared to its roll pressures.
I expected I would be easing the nose off the runway just fine on my first takeoff but we suddenly zoomed up to a 20-30 degree angle. Instead of easing the stick forward, I pushed it just a bit too smartly forward -- and we were instantly looking back down at the runway.
My instructor said "Whoa cowboy, easy does it!" as he eased the stick back to establish a proper climb angle. I became a pitchmeister with my pinkies in that airplane from then on.
The FAA Handbook's bottom line: if you get seriously out of sync in pitch inputs, just power up and go around.
We sometimes forget we usually have a choice. Doing a go-around is always a good mindset to keep in your mental skillbag: it's too easy to slip into the "I gotta land now!" syndrome.
Give that Handbook a look: I bet you'll find something in there that will make you a better pilot.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Aviation Jobs, American Style
Good news from Allegro LSA’s head honcho Doug Hempstead, as he spoke with our publisher Mike McMann.
Allegro, now a solely-American made, composite/aluminum S-LSA (my flight report is due out soon in the magazine) told Mike he expects to hire as many as 35 workers within the next year. These are jobs that were formerly held by Czech Republic personnel.
Allegro is a Czech-designed airplane (Fantasy Air) that, like so many LSA, was built in Czech Republic and assembled, test flown and delivered in the States.
Doug and his wife Betty bought the rights to produce the airplane here and production is now underway at the company's Sanford, NC plant.
More than 450 of the Kevlar-composite fuselage/aluminum wing Allegros have been sold since 1994, most overseas. The Hempsteads hope to change that proportion...and employ more Americans in the process.
Three Allegro models are offered: Classic Trainer at $89,000 (also configurable as an IFR trainer), Voyager at $94,000 (adds things like MGL Voyager EFIS, Garmin radio and transponder and vertical card compass), and Executive at $99,000 (adds two Dynon Skyview Synthetic Vision panels and Garmin GPS 500).
Those are highly competitive prices for a composite ship with lots of high-tech extras. It's an excellent airplane that fulfills a lot of missions from trainer to cross-country cruiser.
Allegro, now a solely-American made, composite/aluminum S-LSA (my flight report is due out soon in the magazine) told Mike he expects to hire as many as 35 workers within the next year. These are jobs that were formerly held by Czech Republic personnel.
Allegro is a Czech-designed airplane (Fantasy Air) that, like so many LSA, was built in Czech Republic and assembled, test flown and delivered in the States. Doug and his wife Betty bought the rights to produce the airplane here and production is now underway at the company's Sanford, NC plant.
More than 450 of the Kevlar-composite fuselage/aluminum wing Allegros have been sold since 1994, most overseas. The Hempsteads hope to change that proportion...and employ more Americans in the process.
Three Allegro models are offered: Classic Trainer at $89,000 (also configurable as an IFR trainer), Voyager at $94,000 (adds things like MGL Voyager EFIS, Garmin radio and transponder and vertical card compass), and Executive at $99,000 (adds two Dynon Skyview Synthetic Vision panels and Garmin GPS 500).
Those are highly competitive prices for a composite ship with lots of high-tech extras. It's an excellent airplane that fulfills a lot of missions from trainer to cross-country cruiser.
GB athletes pull out of wheelchair marathon
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/disability_sport/9381294.stm
30 January 2011
The final day of the World Paralympic Athletics Championships in Christchurch ended in chaos and confusion with top athletes refusing to r`ce on a marathon course they describe as unsafe.
Here are a number of issues . . . .
• By not closing roads off to traffic, are organisers forcing athletes to participate in a different sport- more like an ‘extreme’ version of wheelchair marathon racing with the added task of having to dodge cars- more of an achievement to finish rather than a sporting contest?
• Athlete withdrawals devalue the competition, and winning becomes less of an achievement.
• There are issues of fairness to athletes who have prepared for a contest under a specific set of terms and conditions to be given a new set of parameters and tests that arguably are not related to their sport.
• Compromising athlete safety and the de-valuing of a world championship event may also discourage potential sponsors or spectators from investing in the sport.
The Bigger Picture . . .
There is a popular belief that the Olympic games and the Paralympic games run equally beside each other. However, in many ways this is a misconception.
Separate but Equal?
For practical reasons, the Olympic Games and the Paralympics cannot be incorporated as one event. For instance, stadiums have certain capacities and cannot cater of spectators for both games. Additional problems include the necessary technological modifications in facilities and equipment and the unrealistic time scale that both games would require. For this reason the games are held separately whereby the Paralympic games run two weeks after the Olympics. Arguably this timescale subtracts the focus from the Paralympic games as an after-thought. A possible alternative is to hold the Paralympic games as its own event in a separate year.
Recent literature has also explored idea’s that separate cannot be equal. This is evident, for example, in the categorisation of events according to gender (baseball, softball, synchronized swimming, boxing). Nevertheless, there are also strong arguments for the view that maintaining the Paralympics will lead to a reduction in the inequalities between able bodied and disabled bodied competition.
30 January 2011
The final day of the World Paralympic Athletics Championships in Christchurch ended in chaos and confusion with top athletes refusing to r`ce on a marathon course they describe as unsafe.
Here are a number of issues . . . .
• By not closing roads off to traffic, are organisers forcing athletes to participate in a different sport- more like an ‘extreme’ version of wheelchair marathon racing with the added task of having to dodge cars- more of an achievement to finish rather than a sporting contest?
• Athlete withdrawals devalue the competition, and winning becomes less of an achievement.
• There are issues of fairness to athletes who have prepared for a contest under a specific set of terms and conditions to be given a new set of parameters and tests that arguably are not related to their sport.
• Compromising athlete safety and the de-valuing of a world championship event may also discourage potential sponsors or spectators from investing in the sport.
The Bigger Picture . . .
There is a popular belief that the Olympic games and the Paralympic games run equally beside each other. However, in many ways this is a misconception.
Separate but Equal?
For practical reasons, the Olympic Games and the Paralympics cannot be incorporated as one event. For instance, stadiums have certain capacities and cannot cater of spectators for both games. Additional problems include the necessary technological modifications in facilities and equipment and the unrealistic time scale that both games would require. For this reason the games are held separately whereby the Paralympic games run two weeks after the Olympics. Arguably this timescale subtracts the focus from the Paralympic games as an after-thought. A possible alternative is to hold the Paralympic games as its own event in a separate year.
Recent literature has also explored idea’s that separate cannot be equal. This is evident, for example, in the categorisation of events according to gender (baseball, softball, synchronized swimming, boxing). Nevertheless, there are also strong arguments for the view that maintaining the Paralympics will lead to a reduction in the inequalities between able bodied and disabled bodied competition.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Athlete Whereabouts & Professional Sport Unions
At the recent European Professional Sportspeople’s forum, FIFPro, the worldwide representative organisation that promotes the interests of over 50,000 footballers from 43 member unions raised their concerns over the current system of whereabouts.
• The main issue discussed was whether professional sportsmen and women are to be viewed primarily as employees and so subject first and foremost to European and National employment laws,
OR
• Due to the ‘specificity of sport’ they should be subject to governing body rules rather than general extra-judicial procedures implemented by WADA and IF’s.
Whilst vehemently taking an anti-doping stance, FIFPro raised the following concerns regarding the whereabouts system.
• The current system does not sufficiently consider the agency and liberties of athletes as human beings, often neglecting their fundamental rights as sportspeople. Interpreting full-time athletes as employees within sport suggests that testing outside of competition or training exploits a competitor’s privacy and rights as an individual.
• Implementation of the whereabouts system is not universal and is therefore not applied equally to all athletes.
• The outcome of failing to attend three doping tests creates the same punishment as a test that produces positive results. It could be argued that ‘strict liability’ produces too broad a spectrum for implementation of punishment and doesn’t cater for individual or specific cases.
• Current anti-doping laws shape sport, whereas it should realistically be reversed. Training and competition needs should take precedence over restrictions to an athlete’s training programme that may be the result of the whereabouts system.
• It can be argued that the punishment (up to 2 year ban) is too strict, especially when we consider that an athlete may be banned on the basis that they have demonstrated forgetfulness or disorganisation etc as opposed to a failed drugs test.
• For those that are part of a team sport, doping tests and the whereabouts system should be incorporated into training regimes as such demands already provide sufficient information on whereabouts.
Go to http://www.fifpro.org/ to see an example of how some athlete groups are starting to respond to governance issue in their sport
• The main issue discussed was whether professional sportsmen and women are to be viewed primarily as employees and so subject first and foremost to European and National employment laws,
OR
• Due to the ‘specificity of sport’ they should be subject to governing body rules rather than general extra-judicial procedures implemented by WADA and IF’s.
Whilst vehemently taking an anti-doping stance, FIFPro raised the following concerns regarding the whereabouts system.
• The current system does not sufficiently consider the agency and liberties of athletes as human beings, often neglecting their fundamental rights as sportspeople. Interpreting full-time athletes as employees within sport suggests that testing outside of competition or training exploits a competitor’s privacy and rights as an individual.
• Implementation of the whereabouts system is not universal and is therefore not applied equally to all athletes.
• The outcome of failing to attend three doping tests creates the same punishment as a test that produces positive results. It could be argued that ‘strict liability’ produces too broad a spectrum for implementation of punishment and doesn’t cater for individual or specific cases.
• Current anti-doping laws shape sport, whereas it should realistically be reversed. Training and competition needs should take precedence over restrictions to an athlete’s training programme that may be the result of the whereabouts system.
• It can be argued that the punishment (up to 2 year ban) is too strict, especially when we consider that an athlete may be banned on the basis that they have demonstrated forgetfulness or disorganisation etc as opposed to a failed drugs test.
• For those that are part of a team sport, doping tests and the whereabouts system should be incorporated into training regimes as such demands already provide sufficient information on whereabouts.
Go to http://www.fifpro.org/ to see an example of how some athlete groups are starting to respond to governance issue in their sport
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Graduate Study in the Philosophy of Sport
Philosophy of sport is alive and well, with numerous scholarly associations and individuals working in the field. And yet for those who are interested in pursuing a graduate degree in the field, it can be difficult to ascertain where to go and who the potential graduate advisors/supervisors might be. After all, it's not like there are "Philosophy of Sport" departments, and many philosophers of sport aren't housed in philosophy departments. This can make the search difficult.
I asked this once a couple of years ago, but am doing so again here for the sake of such potential students and for the sake of the field. In the comments, tell us about philosophers of sport who work in graduate programs that are accepting students for this type of work. Thanks!
I asked this once a couple of years ago, but am doing so again here for the sake of such potential students and for the sake of the field. In the comments, tell us about philosophers of sport who work in graduate programs that are accepting students for this type of work. Thanks!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
IAPS 2011 Conference Website
For more information, see the link. Here's a bit from the site:
The 2011 conference promises to be a special one, as it signifies a homecoming for IAPS. The first full conference of the then Philosophical Society for the Study of Sport (PSSS) was hosted at Brockport in November of 1973. In addition, many PSSS and IAPS scholars, including some past presidents, have taught at the College and/or presented papers for its annual Sport Philosophy Lecture. At the head of this list is Dr. Warren P. Fraleigh, one of the Association’s founders, who will be honored during the 2011 conference.
We are also looking forward to honoring Dr. Jim Parry, who will deliver the 2011 Distinguished Scholar Lecture during the conference, and Dr. Cesar R. Torres, who will give his Presidential Address after completing his two-year term as IAPS President. We also anticipate an outstanding program of academic presentations and panels to be offered by IAPS members from around the world, including a keynote address by Dr. J. S. Russell.
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