United States Virgin Islands is the self governing island country of United States of America. There are three main islands. These are St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John. In addition to these, there are approximately 50 islets. Official language of this island country is English, Spanish and Creole.

British Virgin Islands is a territory located in Caribbean. The capital city is Road Town. Official language of British Virgin Islands is English. Little and big islands and many islets form the British Virgin Islands like United States Virgin Islands. Vacation on these islands attracts people from all over the world.

Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindus people live on the islands. The culture of the area is very diverse and rich. It is the combination of traditional and modern elements. Especially native people’s culture is worth to see and live. During your vacation you will most probably enjoy this different culture.

Activities on Virgin Islands
Sport is an option you can do during your Virgin Islands vacation. Popular American and British sports can be found here. You can play basketball, football, baseball and cricket. These are only major sport branches you can play. There are other ones which you will also enjoy. Especially water sports are very widespread. Located near sea, Virgin Islands offer you water sports such as swimming, diving, fishing, surfing, windsurfing, snorkeling and many other ones. If you like sporting, Virgin Islands is a good place for this kind of vacation. Just come and experience!

Virgin Islands has a special cuisine and different flavors. As it is an old province, the cuisine of the Virgin Islands is diverse. Tropical fruits, vegetables, fish are used mostly. Additionally spice is used dominantly in dishes. During your vacation on Virgin Islands, you should taste these different flavors. You will enjoy the traditional dishes and natural products used in these dishes.

Wedding and honeymoon programs are very popular on Virgin Islands along with just ordinary vacation organizations. People from all over the world come here to organize a special wedding ceremony generally at beach. Beside that, Virgin Islands is an option for honeymoon couples. Spending such a special time in such a special atmosphere will certainly give you unique experiences of your life.

Dining is a special occasion on Virgin Islands. Having dinner during sunset is a thing that you will most probably enjoy. There are restaurants close to sea and every dinner is delightful differently. Enjoy this on Virgin Islands.

Virgin Islands is becoming more and more important as it is a tourism center. People want to have a home here. Just a short vacation on the islands is not enough for them. More and more people are buying estate on Virgin Islands. After visiting the area, you may want such a thing as Virgin Islands looks like a part of paradise.

For a guide of United States Virgin Islands visit usvi.net.

See also British Virgin Islands page britishvirginislands.com.

Benefits of Exercise and Sport
Regular exercise means longer and health years for you. It is accepted that it is never late to begin exercising. Even simple and regular walking increases the life standard of you. There are benefits of exercise over all the body. With exercise the thickness and durability of muscles change. The joints are stronger. It is an essential way to protect bones. Regular exercise is recommended especially for osteoporosis disorder. Exercise reduces the backbone, knee and other bone related pains. These are the major benefits of exercise and sport.

In addition to these benefits, exercise and sport has good impacts on heart and heart related illnesses. First of all, regular exercise and sporting regulates the heart system. It is also effective on blood circulation. One of the benefits of exercise and sporting is regulating hypertension. As metabolism becomes faster, the body gives out unnecessary things more easily.

Exercise Sport and Beauty Relationship
Exercise and sport improve the body. They do not make you lose weight. However, it is undeniable that sport and exercise make you look fit, beautiful and energetic. If you make the muscles work regularly, they look better and they are stronger. There is a close relationship between exercise, sport and beauty.

There are exercise and sport types aiming to make the persona lose weight. If you lead such a way along with a proper diet, you can lose weight and look better. This is one of the aspects of exercise, sport and beauty relationship.

Psychological Benefits of Exercise and Sport
Exercise and sport are not only useful for health and beauty. It is a well known fact that exercise and sport also affect your psychology. There are many psychological benefits of exercise and sport. Exercising and sporting persona feels more confident and ambitious. The body is discovered. The oxygen need of the body is provided more decently and this increases the mental activities. Empathy, love, human relationships become well. With the hormones released, the persona is aware of the things that give her/him pleasure.

After Regular Exercise and Sport What Change in Your Life and Body?
In addition to health and beauty benefits of exercising and sporting, exercise and sport change many things in human body and life. First of all, they become inseparable parts of your life. It is a life style. Such a life style keeps the persona from bad habits such as smoking, alcohol consumption, drug addiction etc. Your body and life are pure. One of the biggest changes that come after exercising and sporting is elasticity. Your body is much more elastic. It is stronger and healthy.

Medical Control before Exercise and Sport
It is true that exercise and sport are good for people. However, you should go through a medical control before starting regular exercise and sport. If you have heart related illnesses, rhythm disorder, tension problems and hypertension, consult to a doctor and learn the suitable exercise and sport way for you.

Sledding
Sledding is a popular winter sport. For it, a sled is required basically. There are amateur sledding activities especially among children. In addition to that, sledding is a professional sport branch. In some Olympics, sledding is an important sport. Sledding became a winter sport only in 19th century. Sledding is used as a way of transportation along with being a sport. It is a sport branch that requires special attention because injury, accidents are possible while sledding down from a slope.

Skating
Skate on the snow! Skating is one of the most interesting winter sports. The idea is very similar with ordinary skating. However this time player skates on the ice. Using skates, if you find a suitable area for skating, try this sport.

Skiing
Skiing is the most popular winter sport. It is such a widespread activity that skiing is a part of winter tourism. Along with being a professional sport, skiing is also an activity of amateurs. When people skied for the first time, the aim was not sport. They were trying to go from somewhere to somewhere else. Briefly, it was used as a transportation way. When everything was like this, the skiing equipment was also simple. People used tree as ski. Skiing was improved much. The methods, equipment, types, everything changed. There are many types of skiing. These change according to the equipment, area, way and the aim of the sport. Some skiing types are Nordic skiing, military skiing, telemark skiing, kite skiing, alpine skiing and cross country skiing.

Snowboarding
As sport technologies developed more and more, new sport branches emerged. Snowboarding is one of them. It is a new winter sport branch. It became popular only after the second half of 20th century. Snowboarding is the combination of surfing, boarding and skiing. It is a sport branch that requires skill and hardworking. The player wears a special shoe that is on the board. Snowboarding is played on the slopes that are covered with snow.

Ice Hockey
Ice hockey is played on the ice by two teams. It is a team sport. Ice hockey can be played on artificial hockey rink. However, it is classified as a winter sport as playing on the natural ice is preferred. The basic aim of ice hockey is controlling the disc on the ice. The disc is played with sticks. The teams win point when they send the disc into the goal area. Six players play during ice hockey game. A team has more than 20 players. A game takes three periods of 15 or 20 minutes. Ice hockey is popular especially in United States of America, Canada, Finland and Czech Republic. It is popular in these countries as there were more suitable areas in these countries. But ice hockey can be played in every country now as playing on the artificial ice is also possible.

Snowball Fight
Snowball fight is generally categorized as a game. However, snowball fight is a part of some sport organizations. It is very simple. The players throw snowball to each other. The aim is just fun. Snowball fight can be played by teams. Each team tries to hit the other.

Travel to USA

Central Park is a US National Historic Landmark. It is one of the most visited parks in the world. The Central Park Conservancy manages Central Park. Need for open space created such a place. As New York City grow more and more, people needed more space. In 19th century, a great area was left for park and Central Park was built. After building period, design works were made. The design of architects Olmsted and Vaux was applied to the recreation area. It was a project dominant with “green”. Soil was brought, trees and flowers were planted. Sculptures were replaced, playgrounds were built. With the foundation of Central Park Conservancy, Central Park experienced a more organized development.

Visiting Central Park
Central Park is an attraction place for both New Yorkers and tourists. With its natural beauty and impressive environment, Central Park attracts attention of people from all over the world. Along with just going around, there are also many activities you can do at Central Park.

Central Park is designed with many sculptures. If you are interested in architecture, sculpture and statues, you should see these pieces. Approximately 30 different sculptures can be seen at Central Park. These depict generally famous names and fictional characters. The most famous of them are sculpture of William Shakespeare, Alexander von Humboldt, Hans Christian Andersen, Sir Walter Scott, Alexander Hamilton, Alice of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Balto, Still Hunt and the Indian Hunter.

Sport activities options are available. Running, jogging, skating and bicycling are the major sport activities that can be done at Central Park. In addition to amateur sport activities, professional sport organizations are held at Central Park. The New York Marathon is the most popular of these activities. If you follow the activities, you can join or watch these activities at Central Park.

Climbing is a popular activity at Central Park. Compared with other sport branches, climbing is more popular here. There are rock outcroppings at Central Park. Rat Rock and Cat Rock are also two other places for climbers. If you like climbing, it will be different experience at Central Park in New York City.

Since the foundation of Central Park, the traffic has been always a problem. Carriage horses were an alternative for transportation. Carriage horses create a traditional atmosphere. However, carriage horses were banned at Central Park. It is claimed that this activity is against animal rights. Nowadays, Central Park is away from the traditional scenes of carriage horses.

For children there are playgrounds at Central Park. These playgrounds offer muppet performances, theatre plays and many other interesting activities. While you are going around, your children can enjoy themselves at these playgrounds.

Central Park is also a centre of art and culture. Watching theatre plays, concerts and performances, following festivals are just some cultural and artful activities at Central Park.

For the official Central Park website visit centralparknyc.org.

Vacation: Loch Ness

Loch Ness is famous with Loch Ness monster. The interesting things do not end with this. Cherry Island is found on Loch Ness. You may wonder what makes it so interesting. It is the only island of Loch Ness and it is a crannog. It means the island is artificial.

Loch Ness Monster
The first thing coming to mind is its monster. Famous Loch Ness monster named as “Nessie”. Except from the gigantic sight of nature, monster attracts more attention.

Loch Ness monster was not identified as an animal species. There are still researches about it. There are even speculations saying that such a creature does not exist. Which one is correct, it is unknown. However there are photos of Nessie.

Nessie is classified as Lake Monster. It is the most famous monster of the world. Initially, existence of such a monster was reported in 1933. Since that, it became news for several times. Newspaper wrote about it, television programs tried to show videos of it.

Loch Ness monster attracted attention of the entire world and its popularity is going on. Scientists work about it; tourists want to see it, tours are held, even a sector of Nessie emerged.

It is claimed that Nessie is not similar to any animal species. Witnesses and photographs describe Loch Ness monster as a big creature. It looks like a dragon. It has a big body and a small head with long neck.

Activities around Loch Ness
Tours are held around Loch Ness. Tourists come here especially to see monster Nessie. Additionally, natural beauties and historical places are worth to see. Natural attraction places include gardens, falls, canals, parks, and wildlife parks. Scotland is historically a rich country. Here in Loch Ness and around it, there are historical places you can visit. Castles, museum can be visited. Some of these attraction places are far from Loch Ness. However, visiting them is enjoyable and it is good for learning the area more.

Golf is a sport played while visiting Loch Ness. There are many clubs. If you are interested in playing golf, it can be a different experience; playing in such a place. Golf is not the only choice of you. Trekking, walking, rafting, fishing, skiing activities are also available around Loch Ness.

If you visit Loch Ness, there are many stores selling traditional goods, Scottish wines. There are even shops selling only Nessie goods. It became a sector there. Nessie t-shirts, dolls, key chains etc.

If you want to visit, here a funny site titled as “The Legend of Nessie the Ultimate Loch Ness Monster Site”.

In 2001, the decision was taken about where 2008 Summer Olympic Games will be held. Beijing was chosen. Since then, preparations have been continuing. The Olympic torch has been going around nearly 130 days in the world. It visited more than 20 countries and 100 cities.

Teams and Sports
Being an international organization, 2008 Olympic Games will host approximately 10.500 athletes. There are 28 sport branches and 302 events will be held.

Participating countries include Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kenya, South Korea, North Korea, Latvia, Lithuania,  Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and many other ones from all over the world.

There will be contests of 28 sport branches. These sports are diving, swimming, synchronized swimming, water polo, archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, football, gymnastics, handball, judo, modern pentathlon,  rowing, sailing, shooting, softball, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling.

Broadcasting of Beijing Olympic Games
The latest news of Beijing Olympic Games can be followed from the official website. If you can go and watch the games there, it is the best, but if you can not, there is no option except from watching it on TV. Beijing confirmed to give any permission to the media for broadcasting. Up to now, some minor problems occurred. However, the games will be broadcasted via TV channels all around the world.

Renewal in the City Beijing for Olympics
Olympics is a great organization. It requires easy transportation, suitable sport centers, stadiums, pools, areas, accommodation places… After being selected as hosting city of games, Beijing experienced a great renewal in the whole parts of the city.

First of all, new venues were constructed. For training and games, these venues including national stadium, aquatic centers, sport centers were built. For accommodation of participants Beijing Olympic Village was built.

Visit official web page of 2008 Summer Olympics

SPORT: Play Handball

Modern handball has been developed from some similar games at the end of 19th century.  These games were played by Central and Northern European people in 19th century. Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Norway began to dominate in the international sphere.

Chronology of Handball
- In 1890s Konrad Koch developed an outdoor game similar to modern team handball.

- In 1908 The first handball rule book was published.

- In 1912 Field Handball was spread in all over the world.

- In 1926 Standard International Rules were established.

- In 1928 International Amateur Handball Federation (IAHF) was established by the representative from 10 countries. This Federation became the resent International Handball Federation. The first president of International Handball Federation was Avery Brundage.

- In 1932 the game was a demonstration sport at the Olympics.

- In 1938 the first Handball Field Championship was played in Germany.

- In 1940s Indoor Handball was invented in Denmark.

- In 1946 eight founder nations; Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland established The International Handball Federation (IHF).

- In 1952 the Amateur Handball Union was established in USA.

- In 1953 U.S. Handball Association was established.

- In 1954 the first IHF Men’s Indoor World Championships were played.

- In 1957 the first Ladies Championships were won by Czechoslovakia.

- In 1959 the USHA (United States Handball Association) held its first handball tournament.

- In 1965 the Olympic Committee approved indoor handball for the Olympic Games.

- In the late1980s and early 1990s Algeria, Egypt, South Korea, China made an impact on the international competitions.

- 2008 Summer Olympics Handball Tournaments will be held from August 9 to August 24 at the Olympics Sport Centre Gymnasium.

These days, handball is an increasingly popular game all over the world. There are 1.130.000 handball teams and more than 31million handball players in the world.

How many types of handball do we have?

Irish Handball: It is the most popular handball of all. It is played with a hard handball and the court has four walls.

Beach Handball: This game is similar to team handball. However, it is not played in a hall. It is played on the sand. Two teams pass and bounce a ball trying to throw the ball in the goal of opposing team.

Team Handball: There are two teams and seven players in each team (six players and a goalkeeper) Throwing the ball in the goal of opposing team is the aim of the game.

Field Handball (outdoor handball or grass handball): It was the original form of team handball. The rules of the games are similar to team handball.

American Handball: Players hit a small rubber ball against a wall or more walls.

The game was firstly played by upper class in the United Kingdom where the play also was originated in the 19th century. Do not you remember tennis scenes from history books and movies? Women who wear ball clothes and men in suits play tennis; it was symbol of high class and their nobleness. As this game was accepted as a sign of being noble, it was not widespread; it was played only by a certain public. There were no courts; people played it only in their own areas.

With time, tennis and required materials became available for everyone, it was played by more and more people, and it became an Olympic sport. Now there are people playing this enjoyable game from all around the world.

International Tennis Federation
International Tennis Federation is the head organ of this game, the federation was established in 1913 and many associations from different countries are bound to it. Federation holds cups, slams, and tournaments; it is the authority to set up rules of tennis game. The federation is also responsible from officials.

Tennis Court – Basic Rules – Shots
A rectangular and flat grass, clay or hard surface court is used for tennis, the measurements of a tennis court is 23.77 meters to 8.23 meters.

Player or team having four points wins the game, set of the game changes. Serve, backhand and forehand, and grips are major shot types, there are also other ones, but these are the main ones. While learning playing tennis, serve, backhand and forehand are the first things to learn.

Tournaments and Grand Slams
Tournaments are classified according to the age of player, gender, or any other specific situation such as using wheel chair. There are four great tournaments, Grand Slams: Australian Open, French Open, the US Open and Wimbledon. These tournaments are held every year by International Tennis Federation. More than a hundred players join these organizations and they are watched by millions of people from different countries.

Grand slams were not held at the same time, the first one is Australian Open. It was held in 1905, every year it is held in Australia, in Melbourne Park. The French Open is the second grand slam tournament, it is held in France, Paris. Nowadays, Wimbledon is the most popular of these organizations, it is the third grand slam tournament, and it is held in the United Kingdom annually. The US Open has a historical background, and it is the latest grand slam tournament. The US Open is held annually, too. It is held in New York, in the USA.

For further information, images, videos and latest news visit Tennis.com

History of Basketball

Naismith tried to find a local game for his students, but with time, it became so popular that in every school, college, and sport centers it was played and became the official sport of United States. New clubs were established, many new teams started to play basketball.

Basic Regulations of Basketball
Basic time and measurement regulations are decided by FIBA. Generally the game covers four quarters of 10 minutes, there is 15 minutes half time break, and other short breaks are 2 minutes. There are five players of each team, and there is no substitute player limitation. Referee and the table officials control the game. A basketball court is in the standard sizes, the court is 28 by 15 meters.

Positions of the players are different; they are named as center, small forward, power forward, point and shooting guard.

FIBA
FIBA is the abbreviation form of Fédération Internationale de Basketball meaning International Basketball Federation. The federation holds international basketball games, it also sets up international rules, regulations, player transfers are controlled by FIBA and it also controls referees. FIBA was founded in 1932 and now it has many related associations around the world.

NBA
The United States is the place where basketball was born and NBA is the official basketball league of North America. It is a professional organization which is also a participant of FIBA. There are many teams of Canada and the USA in NBA. It was founded in 1946, it was closed, reopened, some teams left, some others joined and it became one of the most popular basketball leagues around the world. It is still quite important; many star players come from this organization, being a player in NBA shows the quality of the player. The league has two seasons, one regular season and the other is playoffs.  There are millions of people who follow NBA leagues closely around the world.

The latest NBA champion is Boston Celtics team; it is an American team and it has seventeen championships. Lastly, Boston Celtics is the champion of the year 2008.

Faster Than Wind: Formula 1

The Biggest Step – The Great Period for Formula
Bernie Ecclestone is the president of Formula 1 management and administration, with his arrangement of commercial issues, a new era began for F1. After 1980s, F1 became a great business; Ecclestone arranged income, after many new arrangements, Concorde Agreement was signed in 1981. The agreement makes every team race if they do not give reasonable cause to give up; it also regulates the income from publications to teams.

What Does F1 Mean?
F1 is the abbreviation form of Formula 1 and as it can be understood from the title “1”, it is the first class races of this group. There are races from F1 to F10; the number shows the professionalism of the race.

What is FIA?
FIA is the abbreviation of Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, meaning International Automobile Federation. It is the sport federation regulating races, records, economical issues, holding international organizations. FIA is also responsible for judging and making decisions about undesired behaviors concerning races.

Michael Schumacher: A Legendary Name
There are many famous F1 drivers, and certainly Schumacher is the leading name. Michael Schumacher is a legendary name who will be remembered like this forever. The first step of German driver begins with a modified pedal car when he was just seven years old. His career includes the teams Jordan, Benetton and Ferrari. His first race was with Jordan in 1991 while he was racing instead of another driver. He is the world champion of years 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. He broke many records during his racing career, and after 2006 Italian Grand Prix, he announced his retirement leaving many people call after him, people wanted him continue, however he is one of the oldest racer of F1. There are some nicknames that Tifosi give to this legendary man, such as Rain Master due to his talented mood in rainy races, Schumi and Schuey.

The latest news can be found in Formula 1 official website.