Watersports blog

The highly anticipated Water Sports game for Nintendo Wii is now available for purchase. This was revealed by software developer Avanquest this week. Gamers can now use their Wii Balance Boards as they take on the challenge in wake boarding, kite surfing, water craft racing and windsurfing in great locations such as Australia, South Africa and California at the comfort of their living rooms.

Gamers can steer using the board and perform great tricks using the Wii remote. The adjustable difficulty settings make the transition easier for beginners and pros. The Wii Balance Board, as stated by the developers, is not a prerequisite because users can still play the Water Sports game without the board.

A multiplayer mode is set up for users who want more action and challenge. The boarder must concentrate in order to excel in the game and the high scores can definitely boost up the confidence.

The game can be bought in gaming retail stores.

More than eighty people have been forced to evacuate the Hereford Leisure Pool after a fire alarm triggered off after smoke was seen billowing outside the building.

Women and men wearing swimwear had to endure the cold winter weather outside as they waited for instructions by the authorities who immediately responded to the alarm that sounded off around 7 am on Tuesday.

A spokesman for the West Midlands Ambulance Service said that there was no fire but the smoke that was seen outside the building caused the alarm to go off without warning. He was quick to point out that the patrons were immediately advised to evacuate the area as a safety measure. Blankets were immediately provided in order for the patrons to cover their swimwear and protect themselves from the cold weather.

They are currently investigating the cause of the smoke.

The Central American country of Belize is a diverse society, with people speaking different kinds of languages. The great thing about this country is the numerous tourist destinations that can be visited, not to mention the adventure packages that can be availed off.

Unknown to many, Belize is a top snorkeling destination. Enthusiasts of this sport go to this country to experience the adrenaline rush of snorkeling. One of the top service providers is Seaduced By Belize.

Part of the tour provided by the company is the access to Hol Chan Marine Reserve where tourists can see a wide array of eels, sting rays, sea turtles and even barracudas. To check out the sharks, there’s Shark Ray Alley where adventure-seekers can swim with the nurse sharks. These smaller sharks are of little harm to the people because they usually stay at the bottom and mostly sleep, but just in case ladies don’t forget to wear your sports swimwear if you are in need of a swift escape.

It seemed like the audience inadvertently took part in the surfing competition – literally.

Spectators of a surfing competition at Half Moon Bay, California, located in the southern part of San Francisco were swept off their feet by waves over six feet high. The waves reportedly pushed some spectators off the sea wall.

The police and firefighters, who immediately responded to the incident, moved the spectators back by a hundred yards. Earlier in the day, the public was already informed of strong and high waves but some couldn’t resist taking a closer look of participants showing their surfing skills in the contest.

Fortunately, no lives were lost in the incident. However, there were about 13 people who suffered broken legs and hands. Some have minor bruises and were treated at the beach.

The contest, called Mavericks Surf Contest has a cash prize of $150,000 which makes it one of the sought after surfing competitions among surfers.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recently signed a new law that grants the Philippine Coast Guard additional powers in terms of law enforcement. One of the significant powers given is the Coast Guard’s prerogative to detain and stop substandard passenger and cargo vessels from sailing within the country’s waters.

The law is known as Republic Act 9993 or the “Philippine Coast Guard Act of 2009.” The new law aims to prevent sea tragedies especially since there is a growing incidence of such in the country for the past few years.

Some of the world’s worst maritime disasters occur in the Philippines. With this in mind, there’s a significant need to come up with a law that pinpoints clearer responsibility and accountability.

The law has been under legislative review for more than eight years and the signing definitely brings a breeze of fresh air to the commuters who constantly board shipping vessels in their daily operations.

The authorities finally found a family of three that were reported missing on a canoeing trip down the Mitchell River in far north Queensland.

The family, composed of a mother, father and a seven-year old son, left Mount Carbine at the northern part of Cairns late on Friday but evening has passed and they still have not arrived at the pick up point.

According to reports, a massive air and land search was launched and the State Emergency Service (SES) personnel were also contacted to assist with the search. The authorities then saw the family just before nine in the morning about twenty kilometers off from where they started.

The family stated that they got lost during the canoeing adventure and was forced to take shelter under their canoe while waiting for the rescue team they luckily had waterproofs and were wearing appropriate swimwear.

Rolf Straatemeier of the Mareeba District said that the canoeing party failed to check out the length of the journey and ran out of light but still managed to set camp at a nearby river bank.

Great Britain’s Olympic diving athlete Tom Daley revealed that his father’s brain tumor returned, just four years after an operation to remove it had taken place.
The 15-year old world diving champion revealed this week that the routine scan on his father took place recently and the results showed signs of the cancer returning.

Despite this revelation, his father Robert said that the diagnosis of the cancer won’t prevent him from seeing his son compete in the 2012 Olympic Games which London will be hosting.

The 39-year old father has been very supportive of his son’s diving ambitions, having not missed any training session or competition.

Daley said that his father opted not to worry much about the cancer as it would only affect his performance as well. He added that his father is a good and fun parent and served as an important influence on him.

Daley became the youngest Olympic athlete in Britain when he competed at the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, China.

The Colorado River Outfitters Association is hosting the annual rafting convention and trade show at the Pueblo Convention Center this week. The event starts on Tuesday and ends on Thursday.

The convention is staged annually to give the rafting industry the opportunity to prepare for the upcoming season which involves tournaments and launching of new rafting-related products.

Micah Salazar, one of the organizers of the event, said that about 70 boating professionals and fifty vendors are expected to attend and will share ideas as to how to increase the public interest n rafting.

Kayaks, paddles, rafts and other gears are expected to be put on sale during the trade show.

Colorado’s rafting industry remained strong despite the financial crisis. However, the officials said that they should not be complacent with this fact and should continue coming up with innovative ideas that would attract more clients in the future.

Olympian Mark Foster has joined in the call of Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington and world record titlist Liam Tancock in the implementation of new swimsuit regulations, which involves getting rid of advanced swimsuits and going back to traditional ones during competitions.

The wearing of Speedo LZR since February 2008 resulted to more than 200 world records being set which included the Olympic Games in Beijing, China. There have been complaints that these swimsuits are performance enhancers.

FINA, the international governing body on aquatic sports, have decided that starting January 1, 2010 all swimsuits used in competitions should be made out of textile only.

Michael Phelps’ coach Bob Bowman threatened to withdraw the 14-time Olympic champion from competitions if changes were not established.

This forced FINA to act ruling that from January1, 2010 all suits will be textile only with far less coverage of the body.

Foster said that this is a great welcome for everyone since it no longer about the swimsuits anymore but the swimmers, which should be the point of the competitions in the first place.

The Dive Equipment and Marketing Association, considered to be the largest trade expo in the scuba diving and snorkeling industry was held earlier this month in Orlando, Florida. The exhibitors showed the must have snorkeling and scuba diving gears which can be useful in tropical vacations in islands. These gears are slated for wide release in the coming months. The items that got massive attention was the Hydroacoustics Inc. Diver Interdiction System which costs $60,000, the Proteus 500 ROV which costs $33,000.

Not to be missed was the Liquid Image Underwater Camera Mask which makes it easier for photographers to shoot videos of colorful fish and coral without having to schlep around a camera and strobes. This costs $150. The Liquid image works to up to 115 feet deep, enough to get those hard to get images of underwater creatures.