Rise In Popularity Of Sports Nutrition Products Amongst Adolescents And Baby Boomers

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Sports supplements were originally designed for professional sportsmen and athletes. These were ergogenic supplements meant to enhance athletic performance, increase muscle mass, and provide spurts of energy when needed. However, the real force driving the industry today is adolescents and baby boomers! Enthused by a desire to live long and healthy, these baby boomers have sent the sports supplement market soaring for more than a decade. Adolescents, or the younger generation, want to build muscle, enhance their sports performance, or use sports supplements as part of their diet regimen.

This popularity is marked by a fast rise in sales every year. According to research conducted by the Nutrition Business Journal, the fastest growth in the nutritional supplement market is in specialty supplements and in the sports nutrition sector, which has a growth expectancy of 6 percent right through 2010.

Sports Nutrition Products ‘ Rising Popularity

Baby Boomers
Baby boomers were the first generation to include fitness in their daily program even beyond middle age. These people are educated, have the spending power, are aware of their nutritional needs and desire to adopt proactive measures to maintain good health. According to Forbes, the number of health clubs has tripled since 1990. This is directly related to the number of men and women, over the age of 55, joining health clubs. In 2003, 6.3 million health club members were over 55 working out what they believe is a prescription for maintaining an active lifestyle. The intensity of growth is further substantiated when you think of the fact that there is a baby boomer turning 55 every 7 seconds!

Adolescents
Adolescents are another group of people who increasingly enjoys sports nutrition supplements for various reasons.

The problem of being overweight has tripled since the early 1970s and today about 15% of our children between the ages of 16-19 are overweight. Statistics keep rising, with an expected 25% of overweight children by 2010. Many of these adolescents use weight loss supplements.

Thirty to forty million children participate in organized athletic activities. About sixty percent of our children participate in school sports. There is pressure to perform and many of these children use supplements to enhance muscle mass and improve their sports performance. Nutritional sports supplements offer a better alternative to steroids which are considered unsafe and carry harmful side effects.

Bars, beverages and meal replacements are the most popular sports supplements in this category. Energy drinks sensationalized by celebrities or sports stars have become lucrative prospects.

Sports Nutrition Products ‘ Rising Prospects

The nutritional sports supplement manufacturing industry maybe a small segment of the entire nutritional supplement industry, but it consists of consumers who are dedicated. Those who invest in sports nutrition supplements are making an investment towards a determined goal. It could be to enhance sports performance, or to maintain good health and an active lifestyle.

Sports nutrition products, including weight loss products, are not only sold by retailers, but many health spas, gyms, health clubs carry sports supplements. This accounts for about 42 million people. Retail stores, chain stores and departments are other additional outlets.

Sports nutrition and weight loss is therefore a big business and still booming. In spite of the economic climate this industry is showing a respectable growth. With the new GMPs in place by June 2009 for medium sized manufacturers, the supplement industry will receive an added impetus. The newly enforced quality regulations will help to build more consumer trust in nutritional supplements.

New Lexus Sports Car, Emotionally Distinct

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Toyotas luxury division has earned reputation for refined and sophisticated luxury sedans and sports utility vehicles and this reputation will be lifted once again with its new vehicle, the Lexus IS F. It will belong to Lexus line of reliable but elegant family and commuter vehicles.

The Lexus IS F sports car will go on sale in spring causing shakeups with cars of the same platform from European premium brands like BMW, Porsche, Volvo (makes original Volvo catalytic converter), Audi, as well as the American Chevrolet Corvette.

Lexus doesnt have a halo vehicle, and in the luxury automotive world thats important, said Michael Robinet, an automotive analyst at consultancy CSM Worldwide.

The IS F is a vehicle that wont necessarily drive up Lexus bottom line, but it will drive traffic to showrooms and bolster the companys image. Lexus is looking for younger buyers right now, and so they want to make a big splash with this vehicle.

Starting to gain fame, last week the new Lexus vehicle was featured in the annual Neiman Marcus holiday catalog, the Christmas Book being one of the costliest items on its list. Its tag price of $68,000 comes from its black leather interior, hand-polished wheels and Special Build Badge.

The BMW 3 Series, Audi RS4 and Porsche 911 will have quite a formidable foe in the Lexus IS F when it joins its club of performance-tuned sports sedans. So far, it is the fastest production Toyotas luxury division has ever built.

You can mistake the Lexus IS F to be carrying a German DNA with its performance of zero to 60 mph in just a matter of 4.9 seconds. 20 miles per gallon is boasted by its powerful five-liter V8 engine producing 400 horsepower, says its Japanese automaker. For a sports car, its mileage is already a respectable one considering the EPA mileage standards of Audi RS4s 15 mpg and Porsche 911s 18 mpg.

According to Toyotas domestic operations manager, Akio Toyoda, their Lexus division is envisioning to inject its reputation some emotion with the IS F more than what the LS 430 luxury sedan did.

Lexus has long been renowned as a luxury, high-quality brand, he said at the cars unveiling last week at Fuji Speedway, the automakers racing circuit near Mount Fuji in Japan.

But to be recognized as a true global premium brand, we knew we needed more emotional vehicles.

As Lexus equipped the IS F with its supercharged technologies and premium substance, Toyota expects that the car will give its consumers the peak satisfaction to raise sales to 7,000 models globally next year even with its premium price. According to Paul Newton, Lexus is maintaining a good stand in the auto market for producing the best luxury cars making the sales target very feasible.

There appears no reason why the brand will not reach its targets based on the styling and early reports of its performance, he wrote in a research note, adding that the models prospects in Europe and Japan are less clear.

A sporting halo model cannot harm its somewhat staid image in Europe, he said, but the brand needs time to gain traction in Japan, where it has only been present for the last three years.

The exchange rate of the dollar versus the Euro will help Lexus beat the European vehicles which are becoming pricey although European maker resisted price increase.
Now is key time for luxury Asian brands because of the strength of the euro, which is making it hard for the luxury European manufacturers, he said. Any time the value of the dollar falls, import prices rise, and the import manufacturer has to take a haircut on the sales margin to keep the price of the vehicle the same.

How Sports Trading Pins Are Awarded

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A number of trading pins are awarded for a variety of reasons in different sports. For example, in football and baseball athletes and teams sometimes can win trading pins for winning championships and tournaments. In soccer and hockey, certain pins are awarded for winning regional competitions and national events that lead to international competitions like the World Cup. By understanding how some of these pins are awarded, collectors are able to determine the overall collectible value of certain pins as they build their collections of sports trading pins.

Awarding of Sports Trading Pins in High School Sports

In high school sports, trading pins and other awards are awarded for a variety of reasons. Most often trading pins are awarded as a means of enhancing a sports team’s spirit of teamwork and are given to athletes at the end of a season as a way to reward players for participating in as many games as possible during the season. Some customized pins may be awarded to athletes who are on teams that win at county, district, regional, and state competitions. These pins are usually very colorful and are of great value to collectors of localized sports memorabilia. All in all, the criteria for the awarding of high school sports trading pins is often up to the discretion of a team’s coach and the athletic director of the high school program.

Awarding of Sports Trading Pins in Collegiate Sports Programs

Collegiate sports trading pins are some of the most sought after pins by athletes and collectors. These pins are usually awarded in a similar fashion to the way that high school pins are awarded with the exception that college-level pins are awarded on a more stringent basis. College-level sports pins are only awarded to the best performing players, whereas high school sports trading pins are usually awarded to all of the team’s players. That said, there are a few exceptions to this rule in the case of trading pins that are awarded for bowl games in football and the College World Series in baseball. In these events, just about every player on the team receives a trading pin commemorating the event. On the whole though, college-level sports trading pins are considered quite a bit more valuable by athletes and collectors.

To get a specific idea of how college-level sports trading pins are awarded, it is a good idea to look at a few of the most common trading pins awarded in collegiate baseball. One pin that is usually awarded to the pitching staff is a trading pin awarded for the pitcher to pitch the most number of games over the course of the season. Another trading pin that is highly coveted is the pin given to the player who hits the most home-runs over the season. Finally, a trading pin made from gold or silver is often given to the player who has been determined by the baseball team’s coaching staff to be the most valuable player by getting the largest number of opposing players out over the course of the season. As can be seen, college-level sports trading pins are usually only given to those players who have proven their value to the overall success of the team. This is one of the many reasons why these pins are highly sought after by collectors.

Awarding of Olympic and Professional Sports Trading Pins

An interesting fact about the awarding of Olympic and professional sports trading pins is that these pins were designed originally as a way to identify team members wherever they went when they were not participating in Olympic and professional sporting events. After World War II, companies started putting together a variety of sports trading pin designs in order to market sports memorabilia to professional and Olympic sports fans. As a result of this marketing push, fans began to receive more and more sports trading pins for professional and Olympic sporting events. This fact led to the development of the hobby of collecting sports trading pins. ‘

Today, sports trading pins are awarded to professional and Olympic athletes for many of the same reasons that they are awarded to athletes that participate in sports at a lower level. One will often find companies offering athletes and their fans professional and Olympic sports trading pins to mark a certain tournament like the Super Bowl or a historic Olympic event like the 2008 Olympics that were held in Beijing. All in all, Olympic and professional sports trading pins are some of the most commonly traded sports pins available to collectors.

The value of professional and Olympic trading pins is determined usually by a collector’s desire to own a professional team’s particular pin or to have a pin that memorializes a specific historical event. On the whole, these pins range widely in value making them a challenge for collectors who may consider their collection of sports trading pins to be an investment. Therefore, it can be a good idea to use a collector’s buying guide when purchasing any type of sports trading pin that you may be unfamiliar with.

Now that you have a better idea of how sports trading pins are awarded, you will be able to more easily determine the value of the pins that you are looking to collect. All in all, the hobby of collecting sports trading pins is an exciting and fascinating look at the wide world of sports.

Printable Sports Trivia Questions And Answers

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Looking for something fun to do at your next party or family event? Why not try trivia? It is entertaining, exciting and everyone can get involved. Age, sex and the number of people does not matter. Trivia is for everyone and it can be played anywhere.

Sports trivia is a great choice because almost everyone knows something about sports. You may not be a hockey fan, but what do you know about skating or sailing? Almost everyone has knowledge or information about some kind of sport. You do not have to be the worlds biggest fan to enjoy sports trivia. You can print and enjoy these fifty questions that I have compiled about all different kinds of sports and sports figures. Test your knowledge or that of your friends. Enjoy!

1: Britains Linford Christie was banned from competing for two years in which sport?
A: The 100m dash because he tested positive for drugs.

2: Which countrys entire team was barred from competing at the Paralympics in Sydney?
A: Spain, they were caught entering non-handicapped athletes into the games.

3: Which sports figure holds the record for appearing the most times on the cover of Sports Illustrated?
A: Michael Jordan, he has been on the cover 47 times.

4: Who is the only man to play both a NFL game and a MLB game in a single day?
A: Deion Sanders

5: Which two countries have not missed one of the modern day Olympics?
A: Greece and Australia

6: Which goalie holds the record for the most wins in regular season play?
A: Patrick Roy

7: What is the maximum weight for a golf ball?
A: 1.6oz

8: In Olympic badminton how many feathers does the bird have?
A: 14

9: What professional sport did bank robber John Dillinger play?
A: Baseball

10: Who was the only person elected to both the football and the baseball hall of fame?
A: Cal Hubbard

11: Wayne Levi was the first golfer to win a PGA tournament using a colored ball. What color was the ball?
A: Orange

12: Which track and field event is banned in high schools in every state except Rhode Island?
A: The hammer throw

13: The world Cup of Soccer has only been won by three European countries. Who are they?
A: West Germany, England and Italy.

14: Which NHL team was once called the St. Patricks?
A: The Toronto Maple Leafs

15: What sport, other than baseball uses the word homerun?
A: Cricket

16: What sport awards the Maurice Podoloff Trophy?
A: Basketball, it is awarded to the most valuable player

17: How many panels make up a soccer ball?
A: 32

18: How many stitches are there on a baseball?
A: 108

19: Who was the first female parachutist?
A: Jean Genvieve Granerin in 1799, she jumped from a hot air balloon.

20: What is the most watched sport in the world?
A: Soccer (football).

21: Which sport has the largest number of participants in the world?
A: Fishing.

22: In what year did boxing become a legal sport in the US?
A: 1901

23: What edible substance was found in golf balls?
A: Honey

24: Who holds baseballs record for the most stolen bases in a single season?
A: Rickey Henderson

25: Who holds the record for the longest hitting streak in baseball?
A: Joe DiMaggio, 56 games.

26: Who holds the record in basketball for the most career rebounds?
A: Wilt Chamberlain

27: Who holds the record in basketball for the most fouls?
A: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 4657.

28: Who holds the record in basketball for the most blocked shots?
A: Hakeem Olajuwon 3830.

29: In what year was the Ice Dancing included in the World Championship?
A: 1952, in Paris.

30: Who holds the record for the most homeruns in a single season?
A: Barry Bonds he set the record in 2001.

31: Which woman took silver in the mens World Figure Skating Championship in 1902?
A: Madge Syers-Cave, there was no womens events and no rule in the mens saying a woman could not compete.

32: Who was the first woman to win the woman s World Figure Skating Championship?
A: Madge Syers-Cave, she won it in 1906

33: What is the name of the stadium where the Houston Astros play?
A: Minute Maid Park

34: What sport do the Houston Astros play?
A: Baseball

35: Which country won the gold medal in mens beach volleyball at the 2008 Summer Olympics?
A: USA, the team of Rogers/Dalhausser defeated the Team from Brazil to win the gold.

36: Who holds the record for the most goals in the NHL?
A: Wayne Gretzky, he scored 894.

37: In which sport would you use the terms reefing and furling?
A: Sailing

38: Which sport awards the Ryder Cup?
A: Golf

39: Who holds the records for the most goals in one season in the NHL.
A: Wayne Gretzky, in the 81-82 season he scored 92 goals.

40: How many players are on the field for each team in American football?
A: 11 there are 12 in Canadian football.

41: James Naismith is credited with inventing which sport?
A: Basketball. When the game was first played there were only 13 rules.

42: Which sport has a three in the key rule?
A: Basketball, it was introduced in 1936 to cut down on contact between players.

43: In basketball how far is the free throw line from the net?
A: 15 feet or 4.6m.

44: How long is a football game?
A: 60 minutes.

45: In which sport might you find a dagger and a trapeze?
A: Sailing.

46: Which country held the 2008 Olympics.
A: The Olympics were in Beijing China.

47: Which sport awards the Winston Cup?
A: NASCAR

48: In which sport did Sonny Liston participate?
A: Boxing, he was a heavy weight.

49: Affirmed, won the triple crown in 1978, who was his regular jockey?
A: Steve Cauthen and he was the youngest jockey ever to win the triple crown.

50: Who eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics?
A: Michael Phelps in swimming.

How to Create Sports Uniforms

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Uniforms are what set one team apart from another. It’s understood that spectators would have a hard time differentiating one team from another without uniforms. Plus, the uniform a team wears allows supporters to know which colors they should sport for a game. Honestly, you would probably feel foolish showing up wearing red if this is the opposing team’s color. So that said, follow these tips from Shop4Teams for learning how to research and design a sports uniform. Research >

While it may seem pretty straightforward when it comes to understanding how to design a uniform, there is still some preliminary research to conduct. For instance, you should know what sort of fabric and cuts are meant for a certain sport. Each sport requires different movement, so the uniform should conform to these motions. Also look into bylaws mandated by a league. A sports league may have restrictions on styles and colors. For instance, it may only allow solid colors. You’ll also be able to find out what sort of fabric you should invest in. Your last step for preparation is to devise a budget. Understand who will pay for the uniforms and what that person or group of people is willing to spend. Design

Now you can get into the design of the uniform. Think of the whole outfit and what socks, hats, helmets, and other gear and accessories may contribute to the whole. Sketch out your intended design on paper to see how all pieces will coordinate when they’re together. Present the drawing to the team so they can add suggestions and so you can make improvements. Then bring the design in to printing shops and ask if they can meet your vision and at what rate. Shops and vendors such as Shop4Teamscan add in their input to make the design more attractive. Once you’ve settled on a service, you can make your order.

At http://www.shop4teams.com/basketball/ Save 25% to 50% on athletic uniforms, team warm ups, sportswear and custom jerseys for all team sports. Sports included are: basketball, football, baseball, softball, hockey, soccer, track, wrestling, volleyball and lacrosse. Visit the page on Shop4Teams!