Tag: Australia

Surfboard Maker Catches Wave Down Under

BoardcaveStarting a new business can be all consuming, and often times those who do start a business put their heart and soul into it and that means missing out on the better things in life. But for Ryan Mets, one of the founders of Boardcave, he is ready to ride the wave. His company has new patent pending technology that could challenge the factory-made surfboards that are common in the Australian market.

Instead his online business, which recently went live after two years in development, now allows surfers to order custom-made surfboards made by Australian shapers directly from the website. The Boardcave site allows surfers to compare what various surfboard shapers have in mind and thus get a very personalized and customized board to hit the waves.

Boardcave Official Website
[Via The Sydney Morning Herald: Surfboard Maker Catches Wave of Support]

Aussie Athletes Face Bans of Sleeping Pills at Olympics

Imagine flying half way around the world, having to sleep in a strange bed the night before a big event and then being told you can’t take a prescription sleeping pill! All that worry is probably enough to have many competitors tossing and turning, but this is no joke!

The Australian Olympic Committee announced that it amended its team medical manual to prohibit the use of Stilnox and other zolpidem related drugs by athletes at the Olympics. The reason is that former Olympic swimming champion Grant Hackett said he became heavily reliant on the sleeping pills at the end of his career.

So the committee has responded by saying that there is an “obligation… to protect the health of our athletes.” But isn’t serious insomnia a health problem as well?

How ridiculous does some of this get? Well, consider that the World Anti-Doping Agency once considered caffeine a performance enhancer and it was on the list of banned substances. That has since changed, but it still doesn’t address how athletes with insomnia will deal at bedtime.

The Australian Olympic Committee has made a few other questionable decisions this year. Two Aussie swimmers, Nick D’Arcy and Kenrick Monk, have added a self-imposed social media ban prior to the games. The reason is that the pair visited a California shooting range in June and posed for pictures with “high-powered pistols [sic] and shotguns.” The AOC reacted to their posting the photos online.

“They showed poor judgement in posting what we saw as inappropriate photos, in which they appear to be skylarking with guns while in the US last week,” said Swimming Australia CEO Kevin Neil. “While what the boys did was not illegal, posting the photos on social networks encourages public debate, and that debate can be seen to have a negative impact on the image of the sport and their own image.”

The pair are adults and visited a legal gun shop so we see no problem? Of course we wonder if members of the Australian Olympic Team competing in shooting sports will be allowed to post photos of themselves with their firearms?

Interbike 2010: Ready Steady, Rack ‘Em Up

Bikes are great when you’re riding them, the rest of the day these two-wheeled machines are just in the way. And that’s true whether you’re a hardcore racer or just a causal rider. Most of us don’t have a team trailer to store a bike either, and whether the ride is kept in the garage, basement or in an apartment it takes room.

This week at Interbike new start-up Steadyrack is showing its innovative solution that can allow for keeping the bike off the ground and getting some valuable floor space. The system was invented in Perth, Australia by cyclist and homebuilder David Steadman and inventor Ron Collicott in 2000, and the pair have been tweaking it over the years to come up with a thoroughly thought out product. Continue reading Interbike 2010: Ready Steady, Rack ‘Em Up