Make It a Great Party With Kites

If you want to have a fun, creative, and memorable party, include individual kites as your party favor. Whether it be an adult fun-loving get together, or a party for kids, going outdoors and flying kites has become an increasingly popular activity for people of all ages.

Many kites today can be purchased in bulk from ten to sixty in a box so as to meet the needs for any sized party event. From plastic to nylon, you can find any type of kite to fit any occasion. Cartoon and creature kites are great for kids and adults, too. With a choice of many beloved movie and television characters, there are so many colorful combinations to choose for your own special event. Delta and or diamond shapes are very popular, too, and look great flying along the beach or in a large park.

One of our friends purchased a party pack of diamond kites and let their guests decorate them before flight. These adults truly became kids again as they were trying to outdo each other with their creative prowess. When all was said and done, there were many fun sights to behold as these personally decorated party favors completely took over the sky!

Another party included cartoon characters for a young girl and her friends. With the easy to assemble plastic kites, all the kids were giggling and completely enjoying the colors and characters as they flew. Even with a few minor entanglements of the flying line and handles, the kids all remarked that this was "The best party, ever!" Besides that, they each got to take home their own fun party favor, so they were still excited even though the party had to come to an end.

With the beginning of those great summer time activities for kids and adults, having a party and flying kites is fast becoming a very popular activity throughout the country. Not only is this a way to get everyone outdoors to enjoy a fun time together, this is also a wonderful way of getting a little exercise, too. There is nothing like the sight of youngsters and oldsters running after a kite and trying to keep it going in the wind. There is also no end to the creative games that can be played for length of flight, highest in the sky, shortest flight, or craziest maneuvers. Literally, the sky's the limit for the fun and enjoyment found at a party that includes kite flying.

Sheri Manning has been an educator, working with children and young adults all her life. She really enjoys kite flying and seeing young people and families benefit by the exercise of flying kites together. For a great selection of kites and flying toys from certified manufacturers, go to: http://www.kiteflyingpro.com/

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Riding the Line Between Good and Great

There are many good players in every sport, the player that sort of coasts through, does well but who never really becomes a star. You can find these players in all sports and there are more good players than there are great players in world. So what sets these people apart and what makes them great rather than simply good? The following are some ways sports stars are riding the line the between good and great:

Workout or Practice - The really great players rarely take a day off and are always working on their game skills. Whether they are in the weight room training or running drills for their sport, they never let themselves go to the point of being out of shape. They may take a day or two off a week, but they are constantly training because if you do not use your skills, you can lose them and this can be hard, but not impossible, to come back from.
Study - Great players are always studying the competition to find the weaknesses that can be exploited when the competition takes place. They also continue to study their own tapes to see what holes are in their own game so when they workout or practice they can work on these areas. They are constantly working to better themselves mentally as well as physically so they can be ready when game time rolls around.
Stay Humble - There is a difference from being a great player and a notorious player. Notoriety does not necessarily equate to greatness and many of the most famous athletes were humble and did not get into much trouble. There are an equal number of players who are quite famous but not because of their in sports work ethic but because they do all the wrong things on their off time or they think they are greater than reality portrays. Stay humble and remember that even though you are attaining to greatness, you are still a human being like everyone else.

Riding the line between good and great is the difference between working harder at your sport and learning your own weaknesses so you can become better. Study your opponent and yourself to find holes in the game that can either be exploited or worked on. Remember your roots and stay humble because notoriety does not make you great, you make you great.

Sports Zone Media is your #1 source for all things sports. Here you will find news, articles, updates and more on your favorite sports topics, professional teams, youth coaching, high school sports and health/nutrition.

Lisa Mason has been writing professionally since 1998 with a specialty in Internet content. A youth coach with a passion for a variety of sports, she founded Sports Zone Media to combine her love of sports and writing.

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Joining A Social Football Club Can Be Great For Your Health

Virtually all men love to watch a football match but what number of them would put the commitment into trying to play themselves? Here's a small list of five top reasons to be a part of a local football team.

1. It's without a doubt a fantastic way to make you stay physically fit. Aerobically it is really superb and it helps to keep your heart rate up which can only be good for you. Because playing in a football team would need you to train frequently, the work out would help make your heart healthy. You really should be cautious at first when training due to the fact you would be working with muscle groups that you aren't used to working so hard and might get a tweak in your hamstring muscle or calf. The more often you train, the simpler it becomes.

2. Socially it's a terrific activity. Meeting up with your pals regularly to train and play, with the customary pint in the bar after can be a fabulous way to catch up with friends and their gossip. It's also a good justification for time away from the wife or girlfriend!

3. The outgoings needed for playing in a friendly football team are much less than playing many other sports for example golf. You'll require some boots, a bag and because many teams make use of cheap football kits, the cost here is decreased. There may be some weekly fees due but definitely not a large amount. With that said an economical sport to play.

4. What a fantastic de-stresser it can be after having a hard day in the office or workplace. Nothing takes your mind off the stresses of everyday life like physical fitness. It's a well known indisputable fact that exercise is not just great for the body but it's ideal for you mentally too. Some people experiencing depression are recommended by their medical doctors to look at frequent exercise as it produces chemicals known as endorphins into the body.

5. If you ever fancied yourself as a bit of a Rooney, Terry or Messi in your day, taking part in social football will give you the means to show off some of those skills that you've kept under wraps for a long time. You may be shocked that you still have that flair, or think about where all of it went! Either way, it'll make you feel great and should you have kids of your own, especially boys, you may take great satisfaction in displaying to them what you are made of. It's surprising how very easily satisfied they are! Furthermore, it gives you a chance to show off in front of the person in your life!

So there you are. What exactly are you waiting for? Healthy, in shape, sociable and de- stressed! Looks like the ideal scenario to me and football clubs are always looking for new members.

The author is a digital designer and resides in the UK. He is a big fan of playing social football to keep fit and healthy and for anyone wishing to join a football team or looking to start a new one, he highly recommends Wholesalefootballkits.com for Cheap Football Kits and also Kid's Football Kits.

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Conquering The Arctic: Two Great Ascents in Greenland

A joint British-Russian expedition to the Watkins Mountains returned from Greenland in spring 2011. The members of the expedition were Sebastian Sloane, Mark Morrison, Warren Allen, Julian Cooper, Maxim Bouev and Andrey Pogudin with leaders Ian Barker and Mark Basey-Fisher. In the second half of May 2011, the expedition succeeded in completing two ascents in the eastern part of the biggest island on Earth - Mt Gunnbjorn (3694m), the highest mountain in the Arctic, and a nearby previously unclimbed peak rising above 3000m.

The start of the expedition was marred by inclement weather. Low temperatures, strong winds and snow had the expedition to postpone the first in the season climb of Mt Gunnbjorn for a few days. These days were spent on making the base camp habitable and on short trips into a tributary of the Woolley glacier. On the 24th of May 2011, however, making the best of a spell of good weather the expedition finally reached the summit pyramid. The stability of snow though on the western slope of the mountain forced the climbers to abandon the standard route to the top. The usual ascent route via the south-western col runs to the base of a tall rock tower on the south-western ridge and then traverses the western face of the mountain until it reaches the north-western rib. Thereafter the summit is reached via a climb along the ridge. However, 1ft-deep snow slabs prompted the expedition to avoid the dangerous traverse of the western face, and instead to climb the rock tower on the south-western ridge directly where the angle of the slope reaches 50 degrees. It is a less frequented route which had probably been attempted only once in the last 10 years. The attempt was successful, although one of the participants badly pierced his knee with an ice-axe. Two of the members of the expedition, Maxim Bouev and Andrey Pogudin, became the first Russians to summit the highest mountain within the Arctic circle.

The initial plan of the expedition also involved two further ascents of the second and third highest mountains in the Arctic, Mt Dome (3682m) and Mt Cone (3669m), located in the vicinity of Mt Gunnbjorn. However, there was a much more interesting opportunity: to make an attempt on another summit higher than 3000m. This summit was the last remaining unclimbed mountain in the middle part of a tributary of the Woolley glacier, south-east of the place where a Gunnbjorn base camp is normally placed. The mountain had previously been photographed and attempted by an expedition led by Paul Rose in 2010. He, however, had to abandon the summit attempt due to unstable soft snow conditions.

The expedition led by Ian Barker and Mark Basey-Fisher was more successful. It attempted the mountain on the 28th of May from the high camp set at 68d 54.336N 29d 37.151W. The climb was challenging as in the lower part of the ascent route it ran through a steep, heavily crevassed couloir, overhung by huge seracs. After leaving that avalanche-prone bottle-neck, the climbers reached a saddle where they faced another obstacle - a 60ft-tall rock tower, similar to the one that they managed to negotiate a few days earlier on Mt Gunnbjorn. Two hours were spent on putting friends in cracks, and getting to the top of the step with slope as steep as 60 degrees at places. Then followed an easy climb along an exposed ridge, and yet another previously unclimbed mountain top in Greenland welcomed its first visitors at 3150m!

Upon return to the base camp there was a hot debate about the name for the mountain. In the end, the decision has been reached to name the peak after Augustine Courtauld, a hero of the British Arctic Air Route Expedition in 1930-1931, and a member of the party of British geologists who were the first to climb Mt Gunnbjorn back in 1935. From December 1930 to May 1931 Courtauld lived alone in a Greenland Icecap Station, gathering meteo-data, which later turned out to be exceptionally useful in establishing a regular air-traffic between Europe and America via a northern route. Several attempts to relieve Courtauld from his duties, or replenish his food supplies from an aircraft were thwarted by horrendous weather. Only 150 days after establishment of the Icecap Station, Gino Watkins, the leader of the expedition, and other members of the expedition managed to reach Courtauld in dog-driven sleds, and relieve him just as Courtauld's food and fuel were running out.

The joint British-Russian expedition 2011 was a fruitful international effort that allowed two good ascents, first of their kind. The expedition was timely relieved from the glacier by Simon Yates (known for the mountaineering story "Touching the Void") who after a short break returned to Greenland second time within a month to lead another group of climbers to the top of Mt Gunnbjorn.

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