Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Soccer- The Present
Soccer boots used to be made out of leather (which is heavy) and only comes in black. Nowadays soccer boots are getting more then 2 or more colors and it is getting lighter as the years pass. The soccer boot today has been revolutionised by using kangaroo skin (which has so far proven that it is light yet more durable then traditional materials) and new material which is incorporated to make the boot. There are new materials such as micro fibre and liquid rubber that are being used today.

Adidas are the leading brand in soccer boots (which have an astonishing three- quarters of all players wearing “the brand with three stripes” in the 2006 world cup) have come up with two new designs to further revolutionise the impact of which the soccer boots will have in the near futures game. They have come up with the “Predator Absolute” and the “+F50 TUNIT”. The Predator has the new “Power Pulse” technology and the new F50 has three interchangeable parts. This allows players to change the way the boot handles in different weather.

Nike has also chipped in with new materials for its soccer boots which consist of carbon for a “longer lasting boot”. Yet it is surprisingly light, it only weighs 196g.

The soccer ball has also been change. The old 32 panel soccer ball (which consist of hexagons and pentagons) has been changed to the new modernise 14 panel ball (which consist of propeller like shape). This makes the ball a lot “rounder” according to the makers of the ball Adidas. They have put the ball through intense testing to make sure the ball not only is rounder but also serves a purpose. The ball handles the wet exactly like it would when dry. The old soccer balls will absorb a lot of water when the weather is wet, up to 10% it’s on weight. This has changed the way players play and handle a wet game. This soccer ball has been used in the 2006 Germany world cup.

Soccer- The Future
Soccer in the future will have more and more improvement. More and more players will want to “customize” their soccer boots. There will be soccer boots “specially fitted” for certain players (though there is already now it is uncommon). There will also be more speacilised boot for certain positions on the field (for example wingers boots will get lighter and more focused on speed). There will be more symbols and words on players’ boots. Soccer balls will also get more durable and lighter. It will also be better performing.

Both Adidas and Nike will continue to pave the way for more technological advancements. Soccer boots will only get lighter and more durable. The boots will also have newer materials incorporated not only on the exterior skeleton but also on the inside of the boot. The boots will also aid in the skills of a footballer. As one writer said “if technology in soccer should be continued it will get to a time when certain boots would be designed in such a way that the ball would definitely enter the net no matter the direction the player kicks the ball with the boots”. So that shows that the future technology of soccer can be its on downfall. But the future does look bright for soccer.

my response to the sub question

I think that technology in the future will definitely have an impact on sport. Already in the past, we have seen that as new materials are put to use, sports such as badminton, soccer and basketball all have had advancements because of such technology. Every sport that was ever listed will benefit from these new discoveries by scientists or laymen. Materials will become more durable, players will become better at their sport, there are bound to be many changes. Technology could change the clothes athletes wear, the equipment they use, the stadiums or courts they play on, even down to the sweat bands they wear. A player’s clothes can help reduce sweating by maybe having cool pads around the body, cooling down the body as the athlete partakes in their respective sport. Their shoes will provide better grip, allowing them to improve on agility and at the same time support their ankle. Playing balls which give athletes better control over the ball. Courts will be able to offer players better grip and faster movement of ball.
Also when training, the technology can be used to make training equipment which will allow the players to sharpen their skills and play at a much higher level. This of course will lead to more changes in the technology used in sports.
So all in all, I think that it is inevitable for technology affect sport in the future. But I think it would mostly affect the equipment used because it is the easiest to modify.

How will technology affect sport in the future?

With developing nanotechnology, and altering and mixing materials, the game of badminton will change a lot, with players generating more power to smash so smashes will be faster and stronger. More tricks shots will be developed by players making the game more intense and deceptive. With lighter and more defensive type racquets, games will be longer and player have to train more of their endurance to keep up their energy. New types of training drills will be introduced to train player’s endurance in their arms and legs. Specially-made racquets, grips, strings, and shoes will make players able to develop new types of shots making badminton a game of trickery, not just strength. Technology will change Badminton in many aspects mainly in equipment. For professional players, customized racquets will make sure the player’s best skill is shown and enable them to learn and make new shots. Maybe in the future, players will learn to use both hands to play, as in badminton the other hand doesn't do much apart from keeping balance. If players could play with both hands a whole new aspect of the game is brought in. Technology will indeed change how Badminton is played in the future.

Monday, October 15, 2007

We are starting to answer our basic questions now.
I think we should be able to present by Friday

Sunday, October 14, 2007

today

We have now planned out what we have to do, in the time that we have. Since we all have all our research complete all we have to do is extract the infomation and put it all together. We still have to decide how we are going to present all our infomation. Today we will eliminate all the infomation we dont need, and decide how we are going to present

ernest
We need to get our priorities rite
Today we found out that we are going to be presenting on Thurs
Which is going to be way too little time. Our "to-do" list is to finish of our research and actually start thinking of a way to present our info.

Daniel