Kang GURU Magazine — June 2008

Learning Aussie Rules in Jakarta with Chris Bandy (AYAD)

Kang GURU
Magazine for June 2008

Kevin's Welcome Letter
Sporting Snippets
Kang Guru Voices - SMS, letters, emails and the Kang Guru FORUM
Idioms Inggris
Quick Fix
Sport
Olympics for ALL athletes
The Olympic Games
Indonesian Athletes
The Australia Indonesia Partnership
Oz-Indo Connections
SMA Page
Kang Guru Connection Clubs
The Joeys Club
Kang Guru in the Classroom
Entertainment and Sport
Different Pond Different Fish
Kang Guru News Room
Sport and Technology in the Future

September Magazine Theme

The theme of the September 2008 Kang Guru magazine will be sports, to follow up on the Olympic Games, plus articles about leisure and lifestyle and how people's lives are always changing, hopefully for the better.

Please note: Sport is part of SMP curriculum year 9, semester 2. Health and Habits is in the SMP curriculum for year 8, semester 1.

Unbelievable Sports Records

Football: To be a champion footballer, your legs and feet are very important, right? In the Guinness World Records for football, heads are also recognized as very important. Thomas Lundman from Sweden holds the record for the longest time heading a football without dropping it. He headed the ball for 8 hours, 32 minutes and 3 seconds. Zheng Da Zong Yi of China also holds a record for keeping a football in the air only using his head. He headed a ball 341 times in just one minute. Can you imagine that!

Badminton: Li Huifeng from China juggled a shuttlecock for 4 hours 40 minutes non-stop using only her feet. The shuttlecock never touched the ground. She must have been tired after breaking that world record!

Basketball: Can you spin a basketball? Michael Kettman of the USA can. He spun 28 basketballs all at the same time and that effort put his name in the record books.

Karate: Don't argue with Ali Bahcetepe from Turkey - he's a strong, strong man! He broke 317 concrete blocks in just one minute using his bare hands. Ouch!

These brilliant records are taken from the Guinness Book of Records. Would you like more sports records like these in the September magazine?

Now that's a Tall Order

If you watch or play basketball one thing you can’t help but notice is the height of the players. In The United States there is a basketball team with four people each over two metres tall in their team. Sun Ming Ming (see pictures) is 2.40, Gheorghe Muresan 2.31, Ayo Adigun 2.13 and Deng D’Awol 2.13. If you stacked them on top of one another they would reach almost 10 metres into the sky!

Extra Lessons for Indonesian Athletes

Athletes from around the world will be going to Beijing in August. There will be athletes from Indonesia and Australia, Japan, india, Nigeria, Korea, Russia, Sweden, The United Kingdom, Argentina, Germany, Holland and Italy, just to name a few countries. So how will they all talk to each other? It is guaranteed that many of them will be using English. During their preparations for the Olympic Games, many of the Indonesian athletes were training not just for their sport but for English lessons too! Indonesian athletes such as Shenny (diving), Sandou (weightlifting) and Surya (track and field) are already skilled in English BUT they are happy to receive extra lessons too. Helping these athletes and others to speak to competitors from other countries shows the importance of English. Truly the 'Lingua Franca' of the Olympics!

Full of Ideas!

I always say that every edition of the Kang Guru Magazine comes full of ideas. It inspires teachers to create some new ways of teaching and beside that it can accelerate the students to have better English competence. The theme of March 2008 magazine was about ‘Fashion’. It was really good. We did some new activities using that magazine in our class. The students were curious to know the contents. Most of students feel bored with packaged books that are written systematically and with boring topics. But with this magazine they have new motivation to study English. Perhaps because it's real and contextual. So please be always creative and always have the contents realated to the students life and reality. Thanks.

Agus Suganda - English teacher
SMP 1 Cimahi
WEST JAVA

Remember Mr. Agus you can always use the free Listening & Reading Class Sets from Kang Guru to support your activities in the classroom.

Colourful edition!

I think Magazine March 2008 edition is better than previous ones because it is more colourful especially the front cover. Fashion and design attracts my students to read enthusiastically to get more information about clothing. They mostly like Joeys Corner to do the tasks. They enjoy reading “Different Pond Different Fish” and like to discuss it with their teachers and friends. They are also interested in Quick Fix to check if their sentences or expressions are grammatically correct or not.

In short, Kang Guru Magazine is a really special book for them.

Alvian Ghafur Ercham
SMP 1 Jember
EAST JAVA

Dear Alvian, Thanks for your positive comments. I hope your students will enjoy the Joeys task this time too and the other tasks. They're all about sport and just as challenging too.

This decorative envelope is from Lailatul Qomariah in Probolinggo, East Java

An Unusual Cover!

First about the cover of the last magazine. You put so many pictures there and that made it a really creative, unusual cover and it really represents the theme. Mostly the topics and articles from that Kang Guru magazine were really interesting to read cos they gave so much information especially about design and fashion/trends. Your articles broaden our knowledge about design and fashion around the world and it's so great cos you put some pictures also about them. We hope that your Kang Guru magazine in the next edition give us more quizzes, riddles or some puzzles just to make the readers more involved and encourage them to learn English.

Tince
RRI English Conversation Club Bandung
WEST JAVA

Dear Tince, you can find more tasks in this June edition and you can win lovely prizes from KG! Good Luck!

Spectacular!

Hi! I’m Pradnya Emeralda S. My opinion of the March magazine is that it is very good. It tells us about Indonesian, Australian and even world fashion. I like fashion so much but I don’t like shopping. I like to learn more about fashion so for me the March magazine is very useful for me. The section that I like most is design & fashion/trends, I like them because my career plan is to be a designer or architect. That section gave me much knowledge about world design and it's so spectacular. Oh ya, I also have a critic. In the magazine, there’s news about fashion and trends in Indonesia but there’s no fashion/ trends in Australia. I really want that. I hope in the next magazine (sport) there’s news about sportmen and women and sport in Australia and please add more idioms Inggris. It's so useful for me and also for my friends.

Pradnya Emeralda S.
Cimahi, WEST JAVA

Dear Pradnya, you can see many stories about Australian sport, training, football, cricket, etc. in this edition!

Awesome!

The March edition is really interesting and awesome. The cover is colorful, unique and fantastic. I've done some activities with different level of students both SMP or SMA.

I found that my students at SMA are keen on reading about Harajuku. Although there some controversies among them but the class environ-ment is really alive. Some of them would wear this trend if they had graduated from Senior High School. Some of them said that if they wore it probably they would be sent to mental hospital. I have been finishing topics about narrative text or stories and also shopping about fashion (the last lesson plan in SMP curriculum is about shopping). First, I took Manga characters as my topic for composing a narrative story to students. I was really impressed with their writings. The Joeys Club page is also an attractive activity for shopping topic and vocabulary. My students now know how to describe people’s fashions.

Lusi Handaru - English teacher
SMP/SMA Immanuel Pontianak
WEST KALIMANTAN

Great to hear that Lusi. Hopefully with this June edition you can do different activities with your students in the classroom. There are lots of interesting articles about sport and especially the Olympic Games. There is certainly a lot to talk about!

Helping my study!

I feel interested to read all of the articles in Kang Guru magazines. I think it can help me to study English and to know a lot of information about Australia and Indonesia especially I like Australian Scholarships because I want to study there. The magazine makes me feel enthusiastic to study. I like Quick Fix with Ayu because this article gives a lot of information about using right or wrong words in English. The Kang Guru magazine is so useful for me.

Nur Kholiq, an SMP student grade IX
Sempu, Banyuwangi, EAST JAVA

That's great to hear Nur but do you also listen to me on the radio? I regularly present Quick Fix on Kang Guru radio. Those segments are always very helpful and fun. Good for your pronunciation too.

Do you know someone, maybe a friend of yours, who is on the ball? Just imagine if a receptionist started a new job. She was very quick to learn and had no trouble working by herself. Someone might say this about her. The new receptionist is on the ball. She's only been here a week and already she knows where everything is.

Are you on the ball — do you learn quickly? Or perhaps you are like my friend who was about to enter a 100 metre sprint. I asked him if he was confident about entering the race. This is what he said,

I didn't sleep very well last night so I'm not really on the ball today. I'm not sure I will win.

The last idiom today is - the ball is in your court. This probably refers to tennis. If the ball lands on your side of the court you must hit it back to continue the game. So if someone says to you the ball is in your court now, they are waiting for you to make the next move or decide on the next step.

Here's an example:
Rafael is selling his motorbike. He told Chris how much he wants to sell it for. Now he's waiting for Chris to decide. The ball is in his court now.

And here's another example:
Johan has been to two job interviews. Luckily for him both companies have offered him a job. Which one will he take? The ball is in his court now.

A message from the Kang Guru Crew — Good luck using these idioms over the next few months. The ball's in your court now so why don't you start the ball rolling and begin using them today! You'll soon be on the ball!

DO, PLAY or GO ?

We are often confused when to use do, play or go when we are talking about sports. A simple way to remember which word to use is this:

• play with any competitive game
• go with activities that can be done alone
• do with groups of related activities

Yanto plays badminton every weekend. Reny goes swimming everyday. She does athletics.

Anton plays judo every day. Bayu goes basketball on Saturdays. Indira does fishing after school.

Exercise: put do, go or play in the gaps below. Please pay attention on the structure, you might have to add — an s/es, -ing or change the tense.

1. I love __________ football.
2. Bonar and I used to __________ jogging every day when we were at University.
3. She's been _______ gymnastics for over a year now.
4. This summer we _______________ wind surfing on our holiday.
5. He's quite an athlete. He _______ basketball, baseball and does martial arts too.
6. My wife __________ horse riding twice a week.
7. Why don't we __________ tennis tomorrow?
8. Some people think that ____________ aerobics four times a week is the best possible way to keep fit.

What is sport?

Sport is an activity —

• which is generally competitive
• which usually has rules or customs which make the activity run properly and fairly
• in which winning and losing are essential parts of the competitive activity and which often involve two or more people or teams of people
• where animals and mechanical equipment can be integral components of the activity
• for some people who compete against themselves

The AIS has 35 sports programs in 26 sports such as basketball, gymnastics, netball, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, and weightlifting, as well as Paralympics sports for disabled athletes. The campus is very well-equipped. Approximately 700 athletes receive scholarships from the Institute each year and are given top level coaching; have access to equipment, sport science and medicine facilities; accommodation, meals and travel; and assistance with education and career planning.

Adi Witono Waluyo, an ADS awardee studying for his Master of Adult Education degree at La Trobe University, Melbourne.

In 2007, KONI, Komite Olahraga Nasional Indonesia, invited trainers from Australia to assist with their training of Indonesian athletes for the South-east Asian Games held in Thailand in late 2007. These trainers are still in Indonesia assisting with training for the 2008 Olympics and PON 2008 - see page 7.

There is evidence that the Chinese enjoyed sport, particularly gymnastics, as early as 4000 BC. In ancient Egypt, monuments to the Pharaohs show that swimming and fishing were possibly sporting events in ancient Egypt. Egyptian sports also included javelin throwing, high jump, and wrestling. A wide range of sports were played in ancient Greece. Sport became such an important part of the Greek culture that the Greeks created the Olympic Games.

Industrialization, particularly in the 20th century brought increased leisure time to the people of developed and developing countries. There was a lot more time for people to play in, and enjoy sporting events. Professional sport also grew and this meant that sports fans began following the activities of professional athletes through radio, television, and the internet.

The Paralympic Games

The chances for people with disabilities to be involved in sport have changed dramatically over the past few decades. Public awareness has increased. More and more disabled people of all ages find interest in sport. The IPC, the International Paralympic Committee, was formed in 1989. Today it supervises and coordinates not only the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games but also coordinates other international sporting events for disabled athletes. At the Paralympics in Beijing there will be events in 19 different sports including athletics, football, judo, swimming and volleyball. There will also be some wheelchair events such as wheelchair basketball, fencing, rugby and tennis.

Kang Guru recently spoke to several Indonesian athletes with disabilities who have been successful in their sport.

Nengah Widiasih is a disabled heavy weightlifter from Karangasem Kubu, Bali. She is only 18 and has already won third place in Thailand at the 4th ASEAN PARA GAMES - more than she ever dreamed of. She started weightlifting when she was 15 years old after watching her brother training. Her first national championship was in 2006 when she took part in Solo PELATNAS. Nengah was thrilled when she was selected to join 47 other Indonesians to compete in Thailand January 2008. She told KG she was very nervous because it was a tough competition. Nengah is very proud with what she has achieved and Kang Guru wishes her all the best in future competitions.

At YPAC (Yayasan Penyandang Anak Cacat, Bali) Kang Guru also met with four other athletes - Gede Suantaka (18) and Wayan Warta (27) both weightlifters, Ferdianton (16) a shotput athlete and Gede Wisnu Sudarta (18), a discus and shot put athlete. They have competed in several national championships in Central Java, Jakarta and Denpasar. They all will compete at PORCADA III, May 20th 2008. YPAC Definitely has a whole wardrobe full of talented young athletes! Best of luck to all of you guys!

Thanks to Paulien Long, an Australian VIDA volunteer working at YACUM Bali for introducing Kang Guru to these athletes. Also see the September 2007 Kang Guru magazine ‘Accessible Environments’ which tells of some of the work VIDA is doing with disabled people in Bali.

www.vidavolunteers.com.au

The Special Olympic Games

Special Olympics is an International Organisation created to help people with intellectual disabilities to realize their potential and gain in self confidence. It also encourages them to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy and friendship.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded The Special Olympics in 1968 and international events take place every four years. More than 2.5 million athletes of all ages are involved in training and competition in more than 180 countries. The organisation offers year round training and competition on 30 different summer and winter sports. The motto of the athletes competing in the Special Olympics is "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt"

Ida Yany and Laeli Yuntari are champion Indonesian sportswomen. Their sport is tennis but tennis with a big difference. Both play tennis from wheelchairs (kursi roda). That's right, and their success has not only been here in Indonesia but also on the international sporting scene. For example, Ida has won many titles including Singles Runner-Up in Taipei in 2005 and Singles Winner in Sri Lanka in 2007. Kevin interviewed both women at the very busy Cheshire House in South Jakarta where they live and work. They love sport very much and it has made a huge difference to their lives in the very same way that it has to the other athletes featured in this maagzine. Listen to Ida and Laeli on Kang Guru radio in August and September 2008.

• Around 776 BC, records show that athletic contests were held every four years at Olympia in Greece. Any Greek man who was not a slave could enter. No women athletes were allowed. The Games began with a 200 m running race. Other sports included wrestling and chariot racing. The winners were crowned with a laurel wreath. What? No medals!
• In AD 394 the Games were stopped by the Romans.
• In 1894 the new International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded by Baron De Coubertin.
• In 1896 the first Modern Games were held in Athens, Greece. Fourteen nations sent teams and about 245 athletes took part. No women allowed to enter.
• In 1908 the Games were held in Paris. Twenty six countries sent athletes and 11 women took part – but only in tennis and golf.
• In 1908 the Games were held in London and for the first time athletes entered the stadium behind their Nation’s flags. Over 2,000 athletes took part.
• In 1912 electronic timing devices were used for the first time in Stockholm, Sweden.
• In 1920 the Olympic flag was raised for the first time in Antwerp.
  

• In 1928 in Amsterdam the Olympic Flame was introduced. Women competed in field and track events for the first time.
• In 1932 the Games were televised for the first time.
• In 1936 in Berlin the first relay for the Olympic torch was carried by 3,331 runners from Athens to Berlin.
• In Melbourne in 1956 the first Games were held in the Southern Hemisphere. At the Closing Ceremony the athletes entered the stadium as one big group to celebrate the closing of the Games. This tradition still continues today.
• In 1981 the IOC decided professional athletes could take part in the Games as long as they received no payment for either taking part or winning.
• In 2000 in Sydney, 10,651 athletes from a
  record 199 nations took part in the
  second Olympics to be held in Australia.
• In 2004 the Games returned to Athens.
• In 2008 the Olympic Games will be held
  in Beijing, China. It is planned over 195
  Nations will compete in 302 events,
  representing 28 different sports.
  

Which events will you be watching?

Olympic Quiz

Unjumble the name of the city, match it with the country, the year the Olympics were held there and the flag from that country.

The Olympic Flame and Torch

In ancient Greece a flame was kept burning throughout the Olympic Games. It represented purity and striving for perfection. This tradition began again at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928 and has become an important part of the Games ever since. Nowadays the flame represents a continuation from the past Games to the present. It is always lit in front of the ruins at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece several months before the Games begin. Eleven women light the flame using the sun's rays and a parabolic mirror. (In case of cloudy weather, a backup flame is lit in advance!) The idea of a relay of torch bearers carrying the flame from country to country began in 1936. Since then the flame has traveled over water in boats and a canoe, underwater by divers, on a dog sled across the snow, by aeroplane, on horseback and even on a camel to reach the site of the Games! Being a torchbearer is a great honour. It has become a tradition to let a famous athlete run the final stage of the relay when the torch reaches the Olympic Stadium. In 2008 the torch will visit 135 cities in 20 countries covering 137,000 kms in 130 days. It will reach Beijing on the 6th August. Phew!!!

The Olympic Flag

Have you seen the Olympic Flag? Can you describe it? What do the graphics really mean?

There are five coloured rings on a white background. From left to right the rings are blue, yellow, black, green and red. They represent the five inhabited continents — the Americas are treated as one. The rings are interlaced to represent the idea that the Games are universal, bringing athletes together from around the world. As every national flag in the world contains one of these colours it is thought this further symbolizes the universality of the Olympics.

Who designed the flag? Frenchman Baron De Coubertin

When was it first flown? It was first flown at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium.

Sandou is an Indonesian weightlifting champion. He won a gold medal in the SEA Games in Thailand. He first started lifting weights when he was 14, and just a few years later he was already winning competitions in Indonesia. Sandou enjoys weightlifting because it strengthens his body and makes him feel healthy. Sandou used his excellent English language skills when he spoke with Kang Guru last April in Jakarta. His Olympic target for Beijing is a fourth place medal. Good Luck!

Shenny Ratna Amelia began learning English at primary school in Jakarta and began diving as well. English has been important for Shenny and as she trains and competes in countries such as Australia, Spain, China and the USA. Shenny uses English everyday. Shenny competed in the Sydney Olympics in 2000 in the 10 meter diving platform event. Shenny had two rather odd reasons for taking up diving. Shenny wanted to fly like Superman and she thought diving would help make her grow taller. Well, Shenny never grew taller but in one way she did learn to fly. Through diving, she won a gold medal at the SEA Games in 2007, a gold and a bronze medal in PON 2000 and at PON 2004 Shenny won two gold and two silver. After Beijing is over, Shenny is getting married and finishing her studies to become a sports coach and trainer.

From left to right: Sandou, Greg Wilson (Aussie trainer), Shenny, the Australian Ambassador Mr Bill Farmer, Donny, Dede, Rob Ballard (Aussie trainer) and Suryo.

Sinta Darmariani is from Bali and lifts weights in the 75 Kg class. Much like Sandow, Sinta followed her father into the sport when she was just 12 years old and in SD. Sinta won gold at PON 2005, a silver medal at the Junior World Championship in China in 2006 and a gold medal at the SEA Games in Thailand in 2007. English is very important for Sinta so that she can talk with her international sporting friends otherwise it would be impossible to communicate easily. Sinta will be very happy with a bronze medal (3rd place) in Beijing.

Greg Wilson, one of the Aussie trainers brought in by KONI from Australia, has been working with weightlifters and swimmers in particular. The athletes told Kang Guru of the great work he has been doing helping them with strength and endurance training through swimming and running activities. This has made training more interesting and varied. For Shenny in particular, Greg has helped her overcome a recent shoulder injury. Jason Kurfurst has been assisting with the training of Indonesia's tennis and badminton players.

Donny began swimming when he was 7. He was a member of a swimming club in his hometown of Purwokerto in Java. Donny has alredy qualified for the 200 meter butterfly event in Beijing so he should do well. Donny won a silver medal in that event in Thailand AND broke the Indonesian record at the same time. Donny is doing strength and fitness training with Greg Wilson and recently went to Australia for the Olympic Trials with his full-time coach, Herbert Yoo. Donny's dream for Beijing is to get his PB - his personal best time. Good luck Donny.

Dede Irawati is from Jakarta. Her sport is the 100 meter hurdles. She began 12 years ago and she loves it because it is different. It is a challenge. In PON 2008 Dede hopes to qualify for Beijing. Dede works in a bank but the bank gives her plenty of time off to train so that's good, isn't it? Discipline is very important for Dede - no jam karet for Dede!

PON (Pekan Olahraga Nasional) began in Surakarta in 1948. These games are held every four years and for 2008 they will be held in East Kalimantan. PON 2008 is due just a month before the Olympic Games and will be a final chance for some athletes to qualify for the Olympic Games. But for many Indonesian athletes PON is far more important and meangful than the Olympics.

Be sure to listen to Kang Guru during July and August to hear all of these athletes talking to Kang Guru about their careers, their Aussie training, and their own English language skills.

Communities and Education
Program in Aceh (CEPA)

Families, communities and schools are very, very important factors in a child's development. Each play an incredibly important role. If these three influences are not in harmony then it is often the children who suffer, especially their education.

In 2003, when the conflict in Aceh was very bad, school buildings were burned down, including over 100 primary schools in Bireuen alone. Schools were looted and books, records and other materials were lost. Funds going into schools were not used properly leaving little or no funds for basic maintenance. Teacher and student attendance was disrupted due to fighting, lack of transport, community dislocation, and poverty, making it difficult for schools to operate effectively. Teachers were targets of intimidation and violence from both sides of the conflict.

A recent ground-breaking ceremony for all seven primary schools / Madrasah Ibtidayah in school cluster No. 3, Simpang Mamplam was held by AIP-CEPA at SDN 17 Simpang Mamplam, Kab. Bireuen, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. With assistance from the Australia Indonesia Partnership — Communities and Education Program in Aceh (AIP-CEPA) rehabilitation of seven primary schools and Madrasah Ibtidayah in this school cluster was made possible. In order for the assistance to be most effective, it was also vital for the people and the communities to work together. People helping people to work together to improve their communities, schools and the education of their children. Well Done!

Friends Helping Friends in Mentawai

The Mentawai Islands have perfect waves for surfing. It is a surfing paradise in fact. However in this paradise, the Mentawai people, mostly women and children, have to cope with the problems of malaria and other preventable diseases. SurfAid International is a non-profit organization dedicated to the alleviation of human suffering through community-based health programs. It was established after international surfers visited the islands and saw the plight of people living there. With the support of the Australian and New Zealand governments, the global surfing community is helping the Mentawai people to cope with these and other health issues. SurfAid has come to prove the healing power of cross-cultural partnerships — friends helping friends. Together with an impassioned, motivated, and talented team of volunteers, staff, and supporters, SurfAid is well underway and working hard with the Mentawi people to improve their lives. There will be more news of SurfAid in the September 2008 Kang Guru magazine. www.surfaidinternational.org

Australia Indonesia Muslim Exchange

Do you enjoy meeting people from other places? Perhaps talking about your community and your life — comparing and learning, right? People meeting with people from other countries and exchanging views and information is so important too. Deni Wahyudi Kurniawan, from Garut, has been a Kang Guru-ite for many years. He was lucky enough to visit Australia last year with the Muslim Exchange Program. He is currently Secretary General of Muhammadiyah Junior Youth Association. He studies at Syarif Hidayatullah University in Jakarta. Building strong people to people links is an important goal of the Muslim Exchange program and by meeting local Aussie Muslims Deni learnt many interesting things. Kang Guru asked Deni about the most common question he has been asked since returning. He is often asked this question, ‘What rights do Australian Muslims have compared to other religions’? His answer? It doesn’t matter what people's religious beliefs are, they have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else and these are strongly upheld by the government. One other of Deni's observations was the plurality of the Australian Muslim community with people from Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

In the September Kang Guru magazine read more about the Muslim Exchange Program for 2008, an very important part of the Australia Indonesia Partnership from the Australia Indonesia Institute (AII). You will meet Fredianto from Jambi and Ms Asme Fahmi from Sydney, recent participants in the 2008 exchange program.

Five Australians visited Indonesia in late May 2008 with the Muslim Exchange Program. All are impressive young leaders in the Australian Muslim community. Read about them in the next edition of the Kang Guru magazine.

Australian and Indonesian Youth in Sigerongan, Lombok

In early 2008, Ayu from Kang Guru visited Lombok to meet participants in the 2007-2008 Australia Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP). Ayu wanted to find out about their activities during their stay in Sigerongan village, near Mataram and to introduce the AIYEP participants to the Kang Guru language clubs and members in Lombok.

During their stay in Sigerongan village, the AIYEP participants worked on several development programs in the village. They helped to build public facilities for the villagers including waste disposal units AND a badminton and volleyball court. By working together the AIYEP participants and villagers created new opportunities for the locals to enjoy sport and to encourage physical activity for many years to come. Friendly sports matches were held between the villagers and AIYEP visitors almost daily. Bi-lateral sport - what a great idea, right? Sport in Sigerongan, as in all Australian towns, is an important part of village life and harmony.

Every year 18 young Australians and 18 Indonesians are selected to join AIYEP. The 18 Indonesians stayed with host families in regional Australia for two months in late 2007 and then returned to Indonesia (Lombok) with the 18 Aussie participants in late Dec. 2007. AIYEP is funded by the Australia Indonesia Institute (AII). It provides opportunities for young people from Indonesia and Australia to live and work together and understand more about each others culture. www.dfat.gov.au/aii

Application Dates:

ADS June 16 - September 5
ALA April 1 - June 30
Endeavour April 9 - July 11

Did you know there are over 10,000 Indonesian alumni from AusAID scholarship programs? After they complete their studies alumni return to their workplace and contribute their skills and knowledge as teachers, government employees, scientists, lecturers, business people and researchers.

Dr. Boediono, who completed his masters Degree in Australia, has just taken over as Governor of Bank Indonesia. And Marty Natalegawa, who completed a PhD, is now Indonesia's Ambassador to the United Nations. Great stuff!

Aussie Rules Football in Jakarta

The Jakarta Bintangs Australian Rules Football Club, with the support of the Australian Government and the Australia Indonesia Institute (AII), has launched a new program to develop Aussie Rules Football among school students in Jakarta. Former champion footballer, Chris Bandy from West Australia, is in Jakarta with the Australian Youth Ambassador for Development Program (AYAD) to lead a group of Indonesian coaches to set up regular training sessions and games of Aussie Rules in about 100 schools. This involves over 10,000 children and their teachers in East and South Jakarta. ‘Every single school that we've been to have asked when we were coming back again. They loved the game and that was the girls too.’

But it is not just the people to people training; funds from AII are being used to provide training materials, equipment and wages for the Indonesian trainers from those schools in the program. This financial support will help to make sure that Chris and the Bintangs can develop a network of local coaches to manage the long-term development of the game. And we mean long term! www.bintangs.com/V.2/

Papuan Curly Angels

They are called the Papua Curly Angels. They are all female athletes from Papua and all heading to Australia to prepare for PON 2008. Many, many years ago Papua was a leading force in basketball in Indonesia. However it has only been in the last 5 years that they have regained their position as one of the best provinces for basketball and that includes men's basketball (see pic above — all yellow shirts). They are once again participating in the Indonesian National State Championships. In May this year, the Curly Angels went to Australia to train with the Diamond Valley basketball team in Victoria. Twenty two young Papuan women spent several weeks living with Australian families whilst training and playing games in the Melbourne area. Their ultimate goal is to win gold at PON 2008 and through this trip to Oz they plan to improve their skills and their knowledge of basketball. They told Kang Guru that they also plan to come back to Indonesia with new skills plus new people to people relationships with their host families and fellow basketball players.

Cricket Indonesia with Eki

Eki is 16 years old and already an alumni of Australia. Eki went to school in Australia for ten years when his father received two consecutive Oz scholarships from the Australian government. English wasn't a problem at all for Eki. One of Eki's greatest experiences in school in Australia was the game of cricket. He loved cricket more than all the other sports made available to students (boys and girls) — football, rugby, soccer, swimming, basketball, netball, martial arts, tennis, etc.

Cricket is very important to him now that he is back in Indonesia. Eki is involved with Cricket Indonesia. He plays for the Under 15 National Team. The Jakarta Cricket Association League has 10 teams in places such as Bogor, Bandung, Bintaro and Banten. Last May, Kang Guru met Eki at Cibubur near Jakarta at a training session for young local cricketers. The coaches helping the 50 – 60 young cricket players included trainers from Indonesia, Pakistan and The Netherlands. Several Aussie trainers/coaches from Darwin were there that day providing a series of special training sessions. www.cricket-indonesia.com

Sports in Schools in Australia

Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) is a compulsory subject in all Australian schools from primary (SD) to Senior High school (SMA). These lessons are not always held on the football pitch, tennis court, swimming pool or netball court. Important time is also spent in the classroom teaching the students about health issues like personal hygiene, diet, the benefits of regular exercise and the dangers of taking drugs and smoking. This popular subject also includes learning about individual, family and community values and beliefs. Lessons help students to handle interpersonal relationships and their interactions with the physical environment in which they live.

Rowing: A Team Sport in Australia

Joyce, an Indonesian teacher of English and an old friend of Kang Guru, is in Australia for a year on a teacher exchange. Kang Guru asked Joyce to talk to some young Australians about their favourite sports. Here she is with Catrina, a year 12 student from Sydney, talking about Catrina's favourite sport — rowing.

J How long have you been rowing?
C I have been rowing for about four years now.

J Why did you choose rowing?
C I wanted to do something different from the sports usually played in Australian schools such as netball and hockey.

J Does anyone else in your family row?
C Yes my twin sister, Alicia.

J How often do you train?
C We train for about two hours Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings before school. We also train for about five hours on a Saturday if we don’t have a race. The hardest part is we have to get up at 5am!

J Do you ever just want to stay in bed?
C Oh yes! Sometimes we feel very tired.

J Who do you race against?
C Usually with teams from other schools.

J It sounds like hard work. What makes you enjoy it so much?
C The girls on the team get very close as we spend so much time together. We rely on one another, because if one doesn’t show up it's harder to row the boat. We are committed to coming every time so as not to disappoint our team.

J You're part of a team?
C That’s right. Usually there are eight of us rowing the boat, but sometimes just a quad.

J What's a quad?
C A quad is four people rowing a boat.

J Are you a successful rowing team?
C Oh yes we have won many races.

Writing a News Story

Do you like to read the sports pages in the newspaper? There are some great news stories about sporting events. How do you write a good news story? Follow these tips from Kang Guru and maybe you could write your own news report about a sport or other event in your town or village.

What is news?

• News is any information that gives important facts and explanations about a person, place or thing.
• News doesn't only come from foreign countries.
• News happens everywhere around us.
  

A good news story:

• Describes an event that is important for others to know about.
• Should be well researched.
• Uses more than one source — in case the first one is wrong!
• Contains interviews and quotes.
• Is well planned and organized.
• Uses language, structure and vocabulary according to the style of the publication — for example — newspaper, woman's magazine, sports journal.
  

Common structure of a news story:

• An eye-catching headline.
• The first paragraph (the lead) should make the reader want to read the rest of the story.
• The following paragraphs should contain the facts that explain the event — who, what, where, when, why and how.
• Include quotes — exact words from witnesses or people involved in the news event.
• The final paragraph should be a type of conclusion which rounds off the story with new and important information.
  Good Luck with your news story writing!

Since 2001 Kang Guru has enjoyed a wonderful relationship with hundreds of English language clubs and their thousands of members. We regret to announce that the Kang Guru Connection Club network, and the current style of support for English language clubs in Indonesia, will finish at the end of this year. After 8 years and hundreds of clubs, it is time to close an important chapter of Kang Guru in Indonesia therefore the KGCC will finish in December 2008. All the staff of Kang Guru and the IALF wish to thank all clubs and all of their members for their interaction and support during those 8 years. It has certainly been a lot of fun, hasn't it !

NB: The basic idea behind the Kang Guru Connection Club network right from the beginning was that the clubs were individual and strong groups within themselves. The support offered by the Australia Indonesia Partnership (AIP) through AusAID and Kang Guru was developed to assist clubs to grow and learn. Many clubs took advantage of this and are now strong, active clubs in their area. That's fantastic and we congratulate those clubs for their hard work.

What happens now? It is not all over yet. Ayu from Kang Guru, for example, recently visited clubs in East Java in May. These club visits will continue for the next 4-5 months including final Get Together in October for groups of clubs who want to organize them. During July-October, Kang Guru will be facilitating a series of e-learning activities for all current Kang Guru clubs so get ready for those. Ayu will be contacting the most interactive of the current KGCCs in July with news for further e-learning activities.

Students in China and Kang Guru?

Margaret and John Rollings are fondly remembered in Madura because of their work with AusAID’s ISELP project a few years ago - Islamic Schools English Language Project. Now they are working in China and some of their English language students sent these comments about the Olympic Games for 2008 to Kang Guru. Thanks guys!

Charles
It's a good chance for the world to recognize China and learn about its culture, customs, industry, agriculture and eat the delicious food – it is also a good chance for our mother land China to recognize the countries of the world.

Toni
The Beijing Olympics will bring us a prosperous business and good fortune. It's a good chance to show the world what China looks like! It is a good chance to develop the China economy and international communications.

Would you or your club like to make email contact with some of Margaret and John’s students? If the answer is yes then send an email to kdalton@ialf.edu and tell us why you would like a Chinese e-penpal?

Ayu's trip to East Java

Between May 3 - 5, Ayu was assigned to do club and school visits in East Java. Ayu visited 3 clubs in Probolinggo (English Conversation Club, English Development Club, English Enthusiast Bevy), attended a speech competition at SMA 1 Blitar, met the listeners at Persada FM Blitar, visited SMA 1 Mojokerto and met SMP teachers in Mojokerto. Ayu was impressed by all the clubs. They were so active asking questions with much enthusiasm. Ayu was warmly welcomed and had interactive discussions about Kang Guru and about learning English. A member of EDC Muh Fathan Zamani said: “Kang Guru is everything for us. Before we were not really interested in learning English until we know about KG. We learned so many things from the magazine and Kang Guru is the one and only magazine that is allowed to read at our pesantren”.

The visit also brought a fantastic and positive result for SMA 1 Mojokerto. Within two months the principle is going to establish a radio station that can broadcast Kang Guru radio program all over Mojokerto, isn't that great?

Would you like Kang Guru to visit your KGCC before the end of 2008? Contact Ayu at Kang Guru — kgcc@ialf.edu

The JOEYS really love sport. Although they do sports at school they also spend their weekend doing leisure sports with their friends and family.

Ali loves playing soccer and he is very good at it too!, Fatimah likes to play chess with her older brother. Budi goes cycling with his family every Sunday. And Sinta loves playing traditional sports like tug of war with all her friends in her area. Samuel loves to go swimming with his family in the local swimming pool and Natalya loves jogging.

The Joeys got together at Sinta's place one day and they were talking about their interest in sports. Look at what the Joeys would love to do in the future. Well I hope their wishes can come true — maybe when they are a bit older.

I say thank you very much on your effort to lead this program run smoothly. I think this program change my school to be such a global school with a global teacher. As a result of this, next month my school will connected by “speedy” so there will not be problem dealing with internet connection anymore. Good news from my school!

Alvian Ghafur Ercham (SMPN 1 Jenggawah)

It was a great program and was made my students greatly interest to join. Why? because all the member would be given souvenirs from KGRE. It was really help them to motivate them in learning english.

Dwi Ardiansyah (SMP Islam Terpadu Al Khafi, Tarik Sidoarjo)

Here is an easy game you can play as a warmer when your students first come into the class. You can use it with students of all levels. It's a type of brainstorming activity. It's also very useful for recycling vocabulary used in an earlier lesson. Ask the students to sit in small groups. On one piece of paper (per group) they should draw a line horizontally across the page and another vertically down the page so they have four boxes. Label the boxes A,B,C and D. Then give them instructions for lists of words to write in the boxes. For example if you are reviewing the topic of sports ask them to write five sports you play with a ball in box A. The first team that writes five sports correctly gets a point. They should read their list out to the class. Then in box B ask the students to write five sports played in teams/played in water/on a court or pitch, indoors/outdoors etc. Then five things you need to play - for example: football (badminton, basketball etc), then five sports with a time limit. You can change the lists with the topic/vocabulary you want to review.

Kang Guru and Ema from Pasuruan

In the March magazine we included a letter from an old listener of Kang Guru. In this edition we include a letter from a new fan of Kang Guru, Ema Rany, S.Pd from Pasuruan. Although she has been teaching for about 10 years she has only recently heard about Kang Guru from a friend. But she says, “it's never too late to try”. As well as being a teacher she is also a member of ‘Pengurus Daerah Ikatan Pustakawan Indonesia Kabupaten Pasuruan’ (Indonesian Librarian Association of Pasuruan Regency). One of her responsibilities is to encourage the reading of English. However getting the right books is expensive. She knows her students are interested in English and would like to help them by using Kang Guru magazines.

She told Kang Guru she loves to try different techniques in order to catch the attention of her students and stop them from becoming bored. Here are some examples.

• find some vocabulary which are hidden in trees and then students construct sentences from the words they’ve found, changing gifts and describing them in order to be guessed by the other students

Even though she is very inventive in her teaching methods she says, ‘Most of my students lack vocabulary and are not willing to read English texts if the texts do not have interesting topics. That's why Kang Guru is my great obsession because its topics are useful, important for the improvement of our English skill, and up to date. I want to be a more creative teacher for my students. I want to be a broad-minded teacher, not left behind, and Kang Guru will be useful for the improvement of education as a whole.’

Isn't that fantastic. We hope we can visit Ema and her school and library one day. Thanks Ema for a great letter.

Have you used either the SMA or SMP Packages from Kang Guru with your students yet? Why not? Each package is only Rp 125,000 (for either cassettes or CD). If you want to have both audio cassettes and CDs, then the price is Rp 150,000. Fantastic!

Please send your money by pos wesel or bank transfer to KGRE:

Nama account: IALF

Bank: Bank Central Asia Cabang Hasanudin
Alamat: Jl. Hasanudin No. 58, Denpasar
No. account: 040-1-470-289

Note: For any order made by bank transfer, please send or fax the transfer slip to the KGRE office with your name and phone number.

Aming has never studied English and told Kevin that his English just sort of comes from inside of him. He always reads books, watches movies without sub-texts and uses dictionaries. In college however he was more interested in improving his English in a more formal way. Aming realizes that English is important in his type of business especially if he wants to go global. Meeting clients from abroad and possibly working overseas requires a good level of English skills – Aming certainly has those skills already.

IN2OZ
What is this, you may ask? Kang Guru is really happy to tell you about the IN2OZ program. Cultural ties between Indonesia and Australia have always been strong and IN2OZ is doing even more to make those ties even stronger. Just like Indonesians, Australians are very creative people. IN2OZ aims to share this creativity in the fields of music, art, sport and culture. In 2008 participants will be performing, exhibiting, and exchanging and talking about ideas. What has happened so far in 2008? Australia’s best jazz musicians performed in the international Java Jazz Festival in March in Jakarta and Australia’s latest rock musicians – the Young and Restless toured Indonesia in April. And what’s coming? Look out for Strike-a-Chord, the traveling science education exhibition which will be visiting Indonesia, crazy skateboard and BMX action in the phenomenal media art exhibition Streetworks and Australian writers at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.

Culture and the arts are not forgotten. Experts from both countries are already working together to preserve rare and precious artifacts at the Indonesian museum using the latest in Australian technology and know-how.

IN2OZ began in 2008. It is Australia’s cultural diplomacy program in Indonesia sponsored by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Australian International Cultural Council.

SMS and tell us what aspect of Indonesian culture do you think should be traveling to Australia for Australians to see. Maximim 50 words - 08123870479 - inc. your name!

During the interview in his hotel in Nusa Dua it was difficult to stop Aming from talking. Kevin asked Aming if he ever stops talking? Aming said a simple NO to that question. His main advice to fellow Indonesians learning English - 'DON'T worry if people laugh at your English. Just keep talking and practising. Forget about them, yeah.'

Although Aming works mainly in Jakarta he actually spends most of his free time in Bandung. Kang Guru asked Aming if he enjoys being the center of attention and Aming’s response was a very strong YES. As an easily recognized celebrity he doesn’t really mind people saying hi to him and having a chat. However if and when people begin to disturb him he calls security people to help him out.

As for Aming’s future, what does he think is going to happen? He is not sure what is going to happen to him but he just follows his heart. He wants to be happy, just like everyone else. He can even see himself staying at his home on the hill, maybe becoming a simple farmer but perhaps traveling the world too.

A Brilliant Theater Production in Bandung

Waldi and Syalwa are students at UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung. Along with fifty other enthusiastic university students, they recently worked on a theatrical production called ‘Maksudnya Apa?’. With expert guidance from Australian actor and teacher Kerensa Dewantoro and well-known Bandung-based play-wright and director Yunis Kartika, the students wrote and performed the show at Bandung universities in April 2008. The show, ‘What Do You Mean?’ explores the power of language to enlighten, confuse and entertain. It attracted praise and interest from local university and school students, as well as the artistic community in Bandung. Languages included Indonesian, English, Sundanese, Arabic and Tibetan. Kang Guru saw a final rehearsal of the show and interviewed several of the writers/players.

'This experience has made me explore myself. I now feel something new - I can be anyone, I can be someone new. The most important things we've learnt is the value of working together and to understand other people's emotions'. Waldi and Syalwa, students at UIN Sunan Gunung Djati.

The writing workshops and final performances were supported by a grant from the Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII), an Australian Government Initiative, in cooperation with UIN Sunan Gunung Djati.

Football or Soccer?

In Indonesia those two words are the same sepakbola, but in Australia they are two different sports. When I visited Australia for the first time back in 2004, I ended up being very confused.

" Let's watch the football on TV" I said.

They turned on the TV to another sport, which I had never seen before in my life.

"What sport is that?" I asked.
"That's football Adi"
"Really? People don't play that football in Indonesia. They play Ronaldo's football"
" Ohh, that's soccer!"

Well, what's the difference? At first, I thought it would be a matter of British or American English, or a word choice in dictionary. However, to Australians, it is about two completely different sports! Like the sky and the earth! I realized then that football refers to the Australian style sport known as footy, and soccer is the most popular sport on this earth. So, be careful with those two words when you're visiting Australia.

Kangaroos visiting Melbourne!!!

Broadcasters talking about Kangaroos visiting Mebourne made Adi sit up and listen. He thought the KG team was visiting Australia! But he soon realized the Kangaroos is the name of a sports team — a team of rugby players. He mentioned this to an Aussie friend who laughed at the misunderstanding. He explained to Adi that in different sports in Australia each team has a different name. Sports fans automatically know which team and which sport a commentator is talking about when they hear the names. No explanation is necessary. ‘Explain to me,’ said Adi as they looked at the sports page on the newspaper. ‘In Rugby Union we have the Wallabies and the Wallaroos — that's the men's and ladies teams. In Rugby League there are the Kangaroos and the Jillaroos — again the men’s and the women's teams. There are also teams called the Dolphins and the Sharks — they are a swimming team and a water polo team. Teams made up of disabled athletes have their names too — the Rollers are the men's wheelchair basketball team and the Steelers are the men's rugby team. Okay now I won't get so confused said Adi. I wonder which team he cheers for?

Aussie Sports Carnivals

I am Leike Schaap from Hallena College in Perth. I am good at volleyball and I am in the volleyball team in my school. In most Australian schools sport is a very important part of a student lifestyle. Sports events at schools are usually very big and almost everyone gets involved in the activities. School students are encouraged to participate in sport activities from when they first start school. The most popular event is the ‘Sports Carnival’ where there are many different sports competitions in one day such as long and short distance running, javelin, long jump and relays. In this carnival students are divided into groups noted by colours and each colour competes against another. At the sports carnival, students wear colorful and distinguishable uniforms to represent their team. Regular sports carnivals are a great way to encourage kids to participate in sports events. They are usually annual events. Students really look forward to these special days which are generally either athletic carnivals or swimming carnivals.

Fond Aussie Footy Memories

Studying in Australia left me with many everlasting memories. One of them is the opportunity to watch Australian Rules Football, Footy, in the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). This is a huge stadium to accommodate more than forty thousands patrons. That was the match between Sydney Swan and Richmond Tiger held on Saturday afternoon in early winter. Indeed the supporters from each team were wearing official team costumes along with scarves and other attributes to show which team they supported. They sung the team song and yelled out loud to support their teams. What a ‘positive fanaticism’ they showed. Those supporters seemed to stand on opposite sides when they were INSIDE this stadium. Outside the stadium, however, they appeared to be ones, the footy lovers and no more fanatic supporters of a certain team. I didn't think I would find it in Indonesia.

Salimah was a teacher with ISELP at PP Qomaruddin, Gresik East Java. She then was an ADS scholarship awardee at Monash University in Victoria from 06-07. Now Salimah is doing an ICELT course for the LAPIS-ELTIS Project at IALF Bali.

Kang Guru 2008 Writing Competition

Hundreds of entries have been received from all over Indonesia for this year's Kang Guru Writing Competition. Did you enter? We hope you did. Some of you may be wondering why your entry is not here on this page with the winners. Well, it was interesting to see how many people wrote about their favorite sport, for example. That was not the topic! Readers were asked if they agreed or disagreed with this statement – Sport is very, very important.

The Grand Winner is Amanatun Hasanah from Gresik, East Java. The two runner up entries are from Reem from Pamekasan in Madura and Helmi Wattimury from Sorong in West Papua. All three Kang Guru-ites will be visiting Bali later this year as part of their prize. Congratulations to everyone who entered — well done! Here's just a part of what Amanatun wrote in her entry —

"The first advantage is for our health. Sport can be the medicine for many diseases such as stroke, heart disease, hypertensions, diabetes and many others. By doing sport regularly, people who have those kind of diseases can be healthy and reduce their diseases. Besides, people who don't have those diseases will be saved and always be healthy. That's why I can say that sport is for the best health."

On the Literature Page in the December 2005 Kang Guru magazine we printed an excerpt from a book called "Flowers On The Cliff Edge" by Renny Yaniar. Suprihatin, from SMP1 Kauman Tulungagung, sent an SMS to Kang Guru recently telling us that the same piece of writing was used in the Ujian National Bahasa Inggris 2007/2008. Go Go Kang Guru!!

ToT in Lombok

Three members of the Pusat Pengembangan dan Pemberdayaan Pendidik dan Tenaga Kependidikan (P4TK) Bahasa team from Jakarta joined Kang Guru earlier this year to observe Kang Guru workshops in Sidoarjo and Nganjuk (see March 2008 magazine). They were impressed by the active, practical style of the Kang Guru workshops and invited Kang Guru to join their own training sessions. In May, Kang Guru joined two different P4TK Bahasa training sessions — one in Mataram, Lombok and the other in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

In Mataram, 60 teachers attended a two-week training course called the Training of Trainers (ToT). They came from East Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores and even as far away as Rote. Some already knew about Kang Guru and had attended Kang Guru workshops in their hometowns. Teachers were divided into two groups — SMP and SMA. Each group followed different classes starting from about 8 in the morning to 8:30 at night! That's a lot of training, right!

Kang Guru joined them for two days in the middle of their course and spent a day with each group. Kang Guru conducted sessions on improving listening lessons, adapting materials, and the very popular, warmers, games, songs and quizzes. The teachers were really active and enthusiastic. The workshop gave the teachers lots of useful examples. Many teachers commented on this at the end of the sessions. The practical “ready to go” activities were valuable and easy for them to pass on to other teachers in the future.

It's not a shoe any more.
It's a machine!

Technology plays an important role in sports, whether applied to the athlete's health, technique or equipment used. Over the years as sports have grown more competitive the desire for better equipment has also grown. The first sports shoes, designed in 1868 were very simple. The uppers were made of canvas and the sole made of rubber. Things are very different today. Here are some recent developments in sports shoes.

• Air, gel or high tech plastics, pumped into the mid section of the shoes to provide cushioning.
• Flashing lights so the wearer can easily be seen in the dark.
• A small instrument slipped into a specially designed pocket on the shoe which can record the runners speed, distance and calories used! This tiny piece of technology can be connected to a computer where other details can be seen. The runner can track their performance over days, weeks or months. The runner can also listen to music while he is running with this small piece of technology!
• ‘Velcro’ fastenings instead of laces.
• High tech materials such as rubber (the same as in tyres for formula one racing), Kevlar (a high tech material used in the production of some badminton and tennis racquets) and plastics as used in space-programs.

No longer are sports shoes a simple affair. Do your sports shoes help you to run faster?

Get more miles out of your old sneakers

What are the running tracks near you made of, grass, tarmac, sand? Nike is collecting old, worn out sneakers. Where are they going? They are recycling the old shoes and processing them to make new sports surfaces for basketball courts, tennis courts, running tracks and playgrounds. Almost 20 million pairs of recycled shoes have already been used in this way worldwide!

New 'bathers' bring new records

In the past swimmers, especially male swimmers shaved off their body hair. They shaved the hair on their heads, chests, back, arms and legs. Some even shaved off their eyebrows. Why? Well, removing hair was thought to reduce drag (tarikan) and made them faster in the water.
Soon they may not have to shave any more. A group of scientists and a sports company are together developing a revolutionary new swimsuit. How does it work?
First, specialized computer technicians scanned over 400 athletes to pinpoint areas of high friction. Then they placed a new, low friction material on the swimsuits in those areas. The swimmers were scanned again wearing the new swimsuits and the results showed the friction was reduced. The full body suit covers up rough human skin with a sharkskin like material that reduces the friction in the water. In 2007 swimmers wearing the suits broke 21 world records. Look out for swimmers using the suits at the Beijing Olympics. Work hasn’t stopped and the design team is hoping to produce an even more advanced suit for the 2012 Olympics in London.

('bathers' is Australian slang for a swimming costume)

Race to the finish

Timing devices have changed dramatically as technology has improved. At first the officials just used the naked eye and a ribbon to see who crossed the line first. Then in 1896 hand-held stopwatches were used to time the athletes. As electronics developed, unofficial electronic timing devices were used for the first time in 1912 at the Stockholm Olympics. This technology was improved for the 1916 Olympics and the ‘Micrographe’ was introduced. This instrument could measure time to 1/100th of a second. Maybe because of this new technology 18 new world records were recorded in just 16 days! At the 1948 Olympics a photo finish camera, called the ‘Magic Eye’ was used for the first time. When the results of a close race were checked using the Magic Eye technology it showed the person who had been announced the winner was actually in second place!

What about today? Well most state-of-the-art timing systems use a camera that feeds a stream of digital photographs into a computer. An operator then uses special software to read the times. Some sports, (such as bobsledding) where time is measured in milliseconds, even use a type of GPS (global positioning system) and satellites. It showed that one silver medal was won by just four milliseconds! Now that’s technology!