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APIS students get ready for competitions in Nakon Sawan and Phrae
American Pacific builds Taekwondo Gym
American Pacific International School (APIS) has recently
opened its new Taekwondo Gym for staff and students. More than 20 students
(ages 7 to 17) and staff are regularly training and learning the blocks and
kicks that will eventually lead them to their black belts. The program’s
focus is on fitness, balance, agility and self-defense. Several students are
training for a competition that will take place in Nakon Sawan at the end of
March and another one in Phrae in May. The school has plans to send students
to compete in Bangkok next year with other international schools, which run
similar programs.
APIS
students are training for a Taekwondo competition that will take place in
Nakon Sawan at the end of March and another one in Phrae in May.
The
APIS Junior Taekwondo Team shows they’re ready!
At APIS, all the instructors have earned their black belts and have
several years of teaching experience. “This is a great program for expat
students because it is portable for families that move around the region or
back to the United States as Taekwondo gyms can be found throughout the
world now,” explained Mr. Sutherland, Headmaster at APIS.
Prem takes top spot
Chiang Mai Middle School Basketball
Sport is a very big and important factor of education in
all international schools in Chiang Mai. Last Wednesday, March 12, the
Middle School Basketball teams played some matches, which were hosted once
again by Prem Tinsulanonda.
The
green team from Grace International takes a break from the fast action on
the court.
First
place Prem: Rafaela Kraushaar, Chelsea Bell, Ann Shilling, Sonya Shadravan,
Hannah Smith and missing is Marie Sivek since at the time she was still at
the dentist.
The Prem team gave an impressive performance,
particularly No 8 Hannah Smith who was top scorer for the tournament with 25
points.
A special mention must go to Marie Sivek, number 11, who
despite having her front teeth knocked out 2 weeks previously, rushed back
from a dentist appointment in order to play in the second game. That’s
what’s called real sportsmanship and enthusiasm. 1 extra point for Marie!
This was the first time a middle school tournament was
held. The girls all had a great time and it can only be hoped this will be
built on in subsequent years.
In league standings, Prem is in first place, followed by
2nd place Murray and in third GIS.
Results:
Prem 38 versus Grace International School (GIS) 11
Prem 21 versus Murray International 17
Murray 28 versus GIS 0
Anti-drug street soccer kicks off this weekend
Autsadaporn Kamthai
Kad Suan Kaew shopping complex in cooperation with the
Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) jointly launched the “Kad Suan
Kaew Street Soccer” campaign to help promote the value of exercise and
spending useful time and to protest against drug use among youngsters.
The winner will receive a trophy from Chiang Mai Governor
Pisit Khetphasook and other prizes valued up to 30,000 baht. There are 3
rounds of this competition. The 1st round will be held March 22-23, from 1
p.m. - 7 p.m. and on March 27-28 from 5-8 p.m. Thirty-two teams are
competing in this tournament.
The 2nd round begins on March 29 (1-7 p.m.), and there
will be 16 teams competing. For the final round on March 30 (also 1-7 p.m.),
the remaining 8 teams will compete for the title. All will take place at the
front ground at Kad Suan Kaew department store.
Pucks drop in April for Bully Family ice hockey tournament
Autsadaporn Kamthai
The Bully Family is planning an ice hockey tournament to
celebrate their 3rd anniversary in April.
Kad Suan Kaew 2002 Co. Ltd and Thailand Ice-skate
Association will jointly host the ice-hockey competition to celebrate the
Bully Family’s 3rd anniversary. The competition will be held April 4 - 7,
beginning each day at 1 p.m., at Bully Sky Ice on the 5th floor, Zone C at
Kad Suan Kaew department store.
The winner will receive a trophy from Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra.
Sport lovers should not miss this competition. Come and
cheer your favorite team!
Chiang Mai Pool League
Fitness Tips
G’day Readers,
Apologies for being remiss in my column writing for the
last few weeks, that’s something that will happen from time to time as a
contributing writer, work must come first and things here at the gym have
been keeping me away from the computer.
2 or 3 guilt trips from the senior staff at the paper and
I’m back behind the machine with something for all above the legal age.
It does refer to Valentine’s Day, which was a month ago
but the info is valid nonetheless.
If you haven’t planned anything special for
Valentine’s Day (or any other day for that matter) why not head to the
gym? Studies have shown that exercise may be the best remedy to spice up
your love life! Stop thinking about that little blue pill and read on, this
is better for your entire body function.
The American Council on Exercise (ACE) recently published
a report that identified numerous studies showing a direct correlation
between exercise and an improved sex life.
According to a study conducted at the Howard School of
Public Health, men who exercised for 20 to 30 minutes each day were half as
likely to suffer from erection problems than those who did no exercise. At
the University of California scientists found that sedentary healthy
middle-aged men who began exercising, reported more frequent sexual activity
and orgasms, more reliable function during sex, and more satisfying orgasms
than those who remained sedentary.
A study of athletes at the University of North Carolina
found that those who exercised at 70% of their VO2 max increased levels of
the hormones free-testosterone, cortisol, and epinephrine, which contribute
to increased sexual arousal. 70% of VO2 max is an exercise intensity that
has you unable to hold a conversation whilst working out for a period of at
least 20 minutes. Yes, you are working hard but not so hard that you feel as
though you are killing yourself.
The Massachusetts Male Aging Study, a ten-year study on
erectile dysfunction, found that sedentary men had the highest risk of
impotence, while those who participated in regular exercise had the lowest.
A study conducted by the University of Texas measured the sexual response of
35 young women while watching a travel film and an X-rated film. The study
was conducted twice, the first time the women cycled vigorously for 20
minutes and the second time they did not. Using a device that measures blood
flow to genital tissue the researchers found that after exercising the women
experienced a 169% increase in vaginal responses.
Finally, a study published in The Journal of Sports
Medicine and Physical Fitness revealed that married couples who voluntarily
began a supervised fitness program together were more likely to stick with
the program than those who joined without their spouses.
“Regular exercise appears to enhance sexuality through
a variety of mechanisms that affect both the mind and body,” said Dr
Cedric Bryant, chief executive physiologist for ACE. “These studies help
document that regular, moderate exercise may help prevent, reduce or
possibly reverse major sexual problems, from erectile dysfunction to low
libido, in both sexes.”
Carpe’ Diem
The Square Ring
by Howie Reed
Last week was a little unusual around the boxing world as
there were a lot of fights in a lot of different countries that could affect
the landscape. In Berlin more than 10,000 showed up as Sven Ottke (30-0)
added another hide to the wall with a “squeaker majority decision”
(116-114, 115-113, 112-116) over Yank Byron Mitchell (24-2-1). Prior to the
fight the Ottke camp lodged an official protest against the use of Puerto
Rican judge Samuel Conde-Lopez, who was assigned by the IBF despite having
worked mostly with the WBA in recent assignments. Conde-Lopez had it 116-112
for Mitchell while his seeing eye dog had a similar score. The Super
Middleweight division is not the glamour spot in boxing but Ottke does now
own the IBF & WBA belts which should count for something. Be nice to see
Ottke meet up with Brit Joe Calzaghe who holds the WBO Crown. Eric Lucas,
the WBC titleholder, would be the next choice.
It’s a shame if they didn’t televise the Acelino
“Popo” Freitas (32-0) WBA/WBO Jr. Lightweight Champ’s Sunday fight
with Juan Carlos Ramirez (29-5). It was a corker. Not to worry if you missed
it; so did the worst referee in boxing. Geno Rodriques could not have done
more wrong. Wonder he didn’t get Ramirez seriously hurt. In the third
after each fighter scored a “a questionable knockdown” Freitas landed a
picture perfect right hand that dropped Ramirez like “Noi does a punter
out of baht.” The fight should have been stopped then and there. Referee
Rodriques instead allowed them to finish the round and start the 4th. That
stanza lasted only 19 seconds. The perfect fight next would be against
Yodsanan Nathachai, better known as 3-K Battery. The Battery is 40-2 and
could actually be one of the Thai fighters that could travel outside the
friendly borders of the Kingdom and get a win. Maybe not against Freitas but
he’d give a darn good account of himself.
Anybody remember former WBC light heavyweight champion
Donny Lalonde? He was the toast of Canada many years ago. He’s back at age
43 getting an easy Unanimous Decision (98-92 times 2 and 99-92) over the
weekend to up his record to (41-4-1). He hopes the win will propel him into
a fight with former champ Virgil Hill. Another Canadian got some redemption
when heavyweight Kirk Johnson scored a spectacular KO over Lou Savarese at
1:52 of the 4th. The fight was for a meaningless title but more importantly
it may make up for Johnson’s lackluster performance against former
heavyweight champ John Ruiz last time out.
As you sit discussing the world of boxing whilst enjoying
an ice cold Klosters (I understand they are back in business) you’re
probably saying, “Who the hell is this Corrie Sanders Bloke?” Don’t
blame you one bit as until he KO’d W. Klitschko to win the coveted WBO
Heavyweight Championship I though he was a journeyman who spelled his first
name Corry. “Naw naw” say the boxing Gods. Corry Sanders is a Yank and
the Champ Corrie is from South Africa and damn proud of it. Good for him. He
thought about coming to America with fellow heavyweight and friend Frans
Botha but choose to stay in his homeland. He’s hung around the fringe of
top heavyweights ever since he started in the late 80s. He ran off a string
of 23 wins which included 16 KO’s. Then in 1994 he stepped it up a bit
against Nate “Mr.” Tubbs and got KO’d in 2.
From that date he went on another winning streak of 13-0
with 10 KOs. Now if 13 fights in 6 years doesn’t sound like your average
busy fighter, it isn’t. Sanders would much rather be on the golf course
where he plays to a 1. It’s almost as if his mindset is, “Whoops almost
broke. Best fight.” He held the WBU title from 1997 until KO’d in 7 by
Hashim Rahman (32-2) in 2000. That was Sanders’ second try against
“good” competition. He failed. Rahman would go on to beat Lennox Lewis.
He then proved that he’s not the coldest beer in the icebox when he turned
down a multi fight big dollar deal with cable giant HBO until after his
rematch with Lewis. After the Lewis fight it was “Hashim who?” He fights
David Tua later this month.
Pro fighter ‘Scottish” Dave Stewart informs the
Square Ring that, “I’m boxing again on April 26th in Coventry against a
Jamaican guy called Chill John. It’s a step up to eight rounds and a win
over him will get me some acclaim as he’s well respected.
“They’re saying here in the UK that the forthcoming
Harrison-McCullough fight is the most eagerly awaited since Benn-Eubank II.
The pundits seem to be split down the middle on who will win. My opinion,
for what it’s worth, is that Scott’s size, strength and determination
will take him to a points decision but it might be close. Are you still
picking Wayne?”
It’s been a long hard road for good guy Wayne
McCullough (26-3) who finally gets another shot at a world title. This trip
to the post he gets Scott Harrison (18-1-1) who won the WBO Featherweight
title last October with a UD over champ Julio Pablo Chacon. Harrison has
been made a slight betting favorite which is somewhat surprising as two of
McCullough’s loses are to Prince Naseem and Eric Morales. These fighters
were a combined 66-1. Harrison has showed some power with 5 KOs from 6 wins.
But I’ll stick with the Pocket Rocket to do the business.
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