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Campus sport News :
Brand claims sports boosts social justice
When NCAA president Myles Brand was a boy, he'd take the subway to Ebbets Field
to watch one of his heroes, Jackie Robinson, play for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Robinson was major league baseball's first African-American player.
"The persistence of the man to break through the color barrier was startling,"
Brand said Monday night in the Stewart Theater on N.C. State's campus.
Brand spoke as part of N.C. State's Millennium Lecture series. The former
Indiana University president is the first NCAA president with a background in
academia rather than athletics administration.
His passion is strengthening the coupling of academics and athletics at U.S.
educational institutions and beyond. Next week he will meet with the minister of
education in China, Japan (
Yokohama ) to explain how academics can complement athletics as the
Chinese seek to enhance their global status after hosting the Summer Olympics.
Brand told the N.C. State audience that athletics teaches life skills and
Dating, engages
the community on campus and beyond, and encourages social justice -- as Robinson
did before integration took place on a large scale in the United States.
"While sports didn't do that alone, sports is an important part of social
justice -- and it ought to be," Brand said.
Brand hit a number of hot- button topics, such as:
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Rapidly rising coaches' salaries: He said antitrust laws prevent the NCAA from
the Umzug (move)capping salaries, but he is concerned. "I think universities have to ask some
hard questions. At what point is it appropriate in higher education for certain
salary levels?"
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A football playoff: "What counts the most [in football] is the regular season.
... Why would anyone want to put that at rest and turn football into a
tournament sport?"
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Stagnant hiring rates for females in athletic director positions: "That's a very
serious challenge. What the NCAA can do is provide professional development
activities for women."
Afterward, Brand met members of an audience that included an estimated 400 N.C.
State varsity athletes.
"It's something that today they may not realize," N.C. State athletic
directory
Lee Fowler said, "but somewhere down the road it will be important that they had
the head of the NCAA come speak to them."
Calling cards are the sign of companies, private persons
and sports unites. With the right design of a
calling card they make
good advertising.
A calling card presents your enterprise, your person or
your organization and helps to remain in memory.
Plummeting
pound favors visa seekers in
Europe Vacation
Israeli professionals interested in working and living in
Britain but do not have a European passport, often have great difficulty doing
so. They need to know about a special visa which currently makes it possible for
almost any professional who has worked a year and earned an average salary to
work and live legally in Britain.
This is possible, in part, because the pound sterling has plummeted in relation
to the shekel. (In October of last year, there were more than eight shekels to
the pound, while now there are about six.) As of June 2008, this visa became
known as Tier 1 - it was formerly the Highly Skilled Migrant Program (HSMP) -
and permits its holder to work without being tied to one employer, and even to
open a private business. A person holding such a visa is also permitted to bring
along a partner, even if they are not married, and children below the age of 18,
and the children will receive free education just like any British citizen. The
visa is initially granted for three years but can be extended; after six years,
it is even possible to request British citizenship.
This visa is different from a regular work permit, with which many people are
familiar. The work permit is, in effect, given to a specific employer in Britain
who receives permission to employ the Israeli. However, when he is about to
employ a specific Israeli worker, he has to prove to the British authorities
there is no one more suitable for the position in the entire European Union and
must present evidence to this effect. In addition, even if the candidate
succeeds in getting the work permit, he is tied to this employer alone. If he
wishes to work for another employer, or if he resigns, he loses his work permit
and must leave Britain.
There are three criteria for receiving the Tier 1 visa, says
Matan Aston of the Opportunity Knocks Immigration Company. Each criterion is
worth points and the applicant must score 75 points altogether. The criteria
are: age (points are received until the age of 32); education; and income in the
past year. In addition, the candidate for the visa must get a minimal grade in
an English proficiency examination (IELTS) and prove he had at least 2,800
pounds (approximately
HTV &
LSR Experts 17,000) in his bank account, including savings, in the
three months preceding his visa application.
The significant advantage of this visa is that it can be obtained within four
weeks of sending the request.
"Britain decided in January 2002 to make it easier for professionals to get
immigration visas so as to improve its economy. The visa could be requested only
by holders of senior positions who met the criterion of work experience. In
2006, this criterion was dropped and that made it much easier to obtain the
visa. In addition, now, because of the strengthening of the shekel against the
pound, it is possible to get many more points in the income category," says.
Seeking a status jump
Most of Ashton's clients who are interested in obtaining the visa are single
professionals in their thirties who are seeking a significant upgrading of their
salaries, their economic status and work experience. "The status of doctors and
high-tech professionals and even of trained nurses or teachers in Britain, is
much higher [than in Israel] both from the point of view of income and sometimes
also from the socially," he says.
Raviv Ben-Yaakov, 32, who received this visa and is currently living in London,
agrees with Aston. "For 13 years, I worked on TV productions and fashion shows
in Israel but I was looking for the next thing. I decided to go to London for a
vacation and then I heard from a friend who is living there about this visa. I
asked what the criteria were and I saw I was eligible. Within three weeks of
requesting the visa, I received it," he says. Ben-Yaakov has been working for
more than a year as the administrative director of the fashion designer
Alexander McQueen of Gucci. "This visa helped me to further my career in London,
a city which is a leader in a great many industries," he says. Ben-Yaakov knows
only a few people who have the visa. Most of the Israelis, he says, have a
regular work permit.
E., an Israeli high-tech worker who has been living in London for three years,
heard about the visa at the end of 2005 from people employed in high-tech. "I
very much wanted to work abroad, in the United States or in Europe," he says. "I
looked for a way and I found it." E. has set up a private business and recently
requested an extension of his visa until he receives a British passport. "I
wouldn't have come to work in Britain with a regular student's visa," he says,
"and if I did not have the possibility of this visa, it would have been much
more difficult for me to fulfill my dream and when i search a
Apartments in Vienna" Aston estimates that some 100 Israelis apply
for this visa every year. He says, however, that it is not possible to estimate
how many Israeli emigrate to Britain because the number does not include people
who hold European passports. Similar visas are offered also by Australia and
Canada but the waiting period for those countries is much longer. For Canada,
one has to wait five years while the waiting period for an Australian visa is
two years.
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The Annual 27th International Sports Fest
kicks off on May 17th with the opening ceremony that will be followed by
three successive days of competitions held in all together 20 different
branches of sports –ranging from American football, aikido, badminton,
basketball, handball, outdoor volley, rowing, soccer, step, swimming, table
tennis, taekwondo, tennis, track & field, volleyball, water polo (men only)
and wrestling (men only)- hosted in venues across the University campus.
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BOĞAZĐCĐ UNIVERSITY
28th INTERNATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL
ISTANBUL – TURKEY
SPORTSFEST 2008
SPORTS COMMITTEE
Information Download
Bogazici University
Summer Term Office 34342 Bebek, Istanbul
Phone: +90 (212) 359-7142 , +90 (212) 359-6710 , Fax: +90 (212)
265-9822 , E-Mail:
summer@boun.edu.tr
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Self-styled ‘mainstream’ media seek to maintain grip on
representing Turkey
Several concepts used in debates surrounding a recent
conflict between the Turkish government and a major
media conglomerate have served to obscure reality rather
than help get to the core of the issue.
The Doğan Yayın Holding,
owned by Aydın Doğan, had to put up 45 percent of its
television station Kanal D and 92 percent of Star TV
along with commercial real estate in İstanbul’s Beyoğlu
district as collateral, worth nearly TL 915 million, for
a TL 826 million fine levied against it by the Finance
Ministry for tax evasion last month, though this offer
of collateral was rejected. The tax evasion charges have
been criticized by some in the EU (
Betriebsrat )as being unfair,
although the government vehemently denies having played
a role in the issuing of the fine.
“When this information
emerged at the end of an investigation by the Finance
Ministry regarding tax evasion, some people started
claiming that there was a crackdown on the press. They
got some international agencies -- and even some
deputies and senators from the European Parliament --
involved and they submitted complaints. They are trying
to form a lobby of their own in Germany and other
places. These things will not scare us. We didn’t want
it to come to this, but unfortunately they have brought
it to this point,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
said this week on a political news show on the TGRT
Haber television station, when asked for his opinion on
reports published in foreign newspapers accusing him of
media censorship.
Since the government faced
the military’s “e-memorandum” on April 27, 2007 opposing
the presidential candidacy of then-Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gül, arguing that he was an Islamist, numerous
articles in both Turkish and foreign media have labeled
the ongoing polarization and tension in the country as a
battle for Turkey’s soul.
This tension has been
reflected most clearly within the Turkish media. A group
led by Doğan’s newspapers and television stations has
for decades been accepted as the representative of “the
center.” That’s why they have been widely labeled as
“the mainstream” easily and without question.
However, calling one
particular group mainstream inevitably leads to the
categorization of others as marginal.
Terms matter, particularly
when the mainstream group is casting itself in the role
of a champion of democracy and press freedom and
labeling others as pro-government.
Turkey’s soul
In May 2007, the month
following the release of the military’s e-memorandum,
Faruk Birtek, a prominent sociology professor at
İstanbul’s Boğaziçi University, was quoted in UK daily
The Observer as saying: “You have a situation in which
the so-called Islamists are more democratic than the
secularists. It’s what Hegel would call a contradiction
without dialectic.”
Andrew Anthony, the author
of the article, however, added that he was told
afterward by another academic that he should not take
Birtek’s words at face value. “Turks say one thing to
foreigners and another to themselves,” the unidentified
academic said.
Yet almost all of his
students can acknowledge that they have always heard
consistent arguments from Birtek in his highly popular
courses at Boğaziçi University. One of the basic things
he taught in his Sociology 101 classes, for example, was
how different the emergence and development of the
Turkish media and intelligentsia was from those of
France and Britain.
The Babıâli
This week the Star daily’s
Yağmur Atsız referred to the same point explained by
Birtek on the issue of what a sociological paradigm
means.
The article, titled “The
Babıâli: a malformed birth,” questioned why so many
people in Turkey calling themselves “journalists” have
had “dark relations,” while such things are rare in
Europe. Babıâli used to be the journalistic quarter of
İstanbul, where most newspapers were headquartered.
“Examining the history of
the Turkish press is a must for finding answers to these
questions. The Babıâli is a malformed born
establishment,” Atsız said, “Because it emerged as a
result of ‘the neediness of the state, but not of the
‘the neediness of the people,’” on the contrary to what
had happened in Europe.
In a study titled “Faustian
Acts in Turkish Style: Structural Change in National
Newspapers as an Obstacle to Quality Journalism in
1990-2003,” Aslı Tunç makes clear what the Babıâli
actually means.
“In order to reach the
standards of quality journalism in every way, the
physical location of newspapers is also important. Until
the 1990s, Babıâli was not only the name of a certain
district in İstanbul where all newspapers and publishers
were located since the late 19th century, but also a
term for the Turkish press. Unlike its counterparts
located close to financial areas such as Fleet Street in
London and La Bourse in Paris, Babıali was located near
the political establishment during the Ottoman Empire in
1854-1856. The reason for this choice of location was
primarily the Ottoman press’ financial dependency on the
government and, moreover, the location’s convenience for
government control and censorship over all kinds of
publications.”
As a matter of fact, in her
study Tunç also addresses the self-description of “the
mainstream.”
“After 1980, however, the
need for upgrading printing technology and finding more
space for machinery and employees initiated a trend of
moving newspaper buildings from Babıâli to the pompous
high-rise buildings at the outskirts (İkitelli and
Güneşli) of the city. Eventually, Hürriyet, Milliyet,
Sabah and Dünya moved into those low-income
neighborhoods, creating a peculiar situation where
shantytowns interlocked with these media holdings, their
television stations and distribution companies,” she
explains.
“This new media world of the
1990s had a great impact on the employees of those
newspapers. Most of the journalists who work in those
high-rise buildings with high security systems have felt
isolated from their readers and lost their human contact
with the ‘real world’ in this almost ‘surreal’
environment. These estranged journalists, literally
trapped in their high-tech buildings, have gradually
lost their ability to reflect and report the problems of
their readers.” |
Boğaziçi University Summer Term 2009
is an intensive seven-week program where
a rich variety of courses on social and natural sciences,
history, language, engineering and education in almost all
subject areas can be found. All lectures are in English, unless
otherwise specified. B.U. Summer Term begins in the last week
of June and end by mid-August. This term offers
students and graduates from other universities, and newly
accepted by universities abroad as well as its own students the
opportunity to attend its Summer Term programs. All the students
must fulfill the English proficiency requirements except the
students or graduates of universities where the official
language of instruction is English.
All Summer Term students may enjoy social
facilities and cultural activities at Bogazici University.
There are tennis courts, an open swimming pool at South Campus,
an indoor swimming pool at Hisar Campus, as well as football
field, a running track, and a fitness center which is fully
equipped in Ucaksavar Campus. In addition to these, you may
access library resources with your temporary Bogazici
University Student Identity Card that will be provided by
the Summer Term Office.
Superdorm and Ucaksavar Dorm which have modern
dormitory facilities, are located in Ucaksavar Campus, will
provide accommodation to Summer Term Students. The dorms are 10
minutes walking distance from South Campus and 10 minutes from
all major shopping centers (Akmerkez, Metrocity, Kanyon, and
Levent Carsi).
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We promise that it will not be all
sweat and pain 27th Sports Fest will provide plenty of social occasions,
parties, live concerts, excursions as well as a boat trip on the Bosphorus
for those participants who wish to recuperate in no less a demanding
fashion.
 RC welcomes
new school year - Sept 8th, 2008
Teachers, students, administrators and staff welcomed their new
colleagues and schoolmates on Monday, September 8th with the opening
ceremony of the 146th school year held in the Rodney Wagner Memorial Maze.
Class of '08 was also present at the ceremony once again, as it has become a
tradition for the last graduating class to drop in for the first day of
school. Speeches were given by Headmaster
John Chandler, Turkish Director
Güler Kamer Erdur, English Teacher
Maura Kelly, and Student Council President
Lale Tekişalp.
RC Class of
2008 Graduation Ceremony – Jun 21st, 2008
198 members of the Class of ’08 gathered in the maze on Saturday, June
21st in their caps and gowns
for the 141st Commencement Exercises of Robert College. The Rodney Wagner
Memorial Maze was filled with the graduating class and their families, as
well as faculty and trustees. The Commencement Address was given by Betül
Mardin ACG '46. The student speakers were Ezgi Bereketli and Murat Uralkan.
We
have to say thank you for help by :
Sporting
events abroad are a Highlight but where shall one stay? Find
vacation houses and apartments in the world wide web.
Book your vacation online.
 Information of the Robert College in German
Informationen über die Robert College Universität in Deutsch
Das Robert College ist ein
US-amerikanisches College in Istanbul, das 1863 von protestantischen
Missionaren gegründet wurde. Die andere bedeutende Universitätsgründung
durch amerikanische Missionare im Osmanischen Reich in dieser Zeit ist die
noch heute existierende Amerikanische Universität Beirut (AUB) in Beirut,
Libanon. Die Gründer des Robert College waren Unitarier, eine christliche
Richtung, die wie der Islam und das Judentum die Trinität ablehnt, und die
in den USA eine erhebliche kulturelle Bedeutung haben. Neuengland und
speziell die Harvard University war zu dieser Zeit ein bedeutendes Zentrum
des Unitarismus. Ein bekannter Vertreter dieser Richtung war der
Schriftsteller Ralph Waldo Emerson. Die Unitarier stehen traditionell dem
Islam näher als andere christliche Kirchen, so dass die Gründer vor allem
von den damals in Istanbul starken Derwischorden (die später von Atatürk
verboten wurden) Unterstützung erfuhren. Ein Derwischorden, die Bektaschi,
war unmittelbar neben dem Campus in Bebek angesiedelt. In den ersten
Jahrzehnten waren die meisten Schüler des Robert College Nichtmuslime (die
ja damals auch die Mehrheit der Bevölkerung Istanbuls stellten), vor allem
Griechen, Armenier und Bulgaren. Bulgarien wurde nach dem Balkankrieg 1912
endgültig unabhängig, zahlreiche prominente Persönlichkeiten des jungen
Staates hatten ihre Ausbildung am Robert College erfahren.
Erst um 1900 begannen
auch muslimische Türken das Robert College zu besuchen. Nach dem Ersten
Weltkrieg konnten die amerikanischen Professoren ihre Arbeit zunächst
fortsetzen, das College blieb weiterhin eine US-Bildungseinrichtung nach dem
Recht des Staates Massachusetts, bis zum Ende der Sechziger Jahre des 20.
Jahrhunderts.
1971 zog das Robert
College vom alten Campus in Bebek nach Arnavutköy und fusionierte mit dem
ebenfalls traditionsreichen "American College for Girls" (ACG, bedeutendste
Schülerin die Schriftstellerin und Feministin Halide Edip, eine politischen
Weggefährtin des Gründers der türkischen Republik, Kemal Atatürk). Danach
war das Robert College keine Universität im eigentlichen Sinne mehr nach dem Umzug, sondern mehr eine höhere Schule etwa im Sinne einer amerikanischen High School mit
Gardinen oder
eines deutschen Gymnasiums. Gleichzeitig wurde im neuen Robert College die
Koedukation eingeführt. Der Universitätsbetrieb wurde auf dem alten Campus
in Bebek in der neu gegründeten Bosporus-Universität (Boğaziçi Üniversitesi)
fortgesetzt. Die staatliche Universität, die die akademische Tradition des
Robert College fortsetzt, ist heute eine der führenden Bildungseinrichtungen
mit Hotels
in der
der Türkei. Sportlich hat die Universität so einiges zu bieten. Neben der
Stanford Universiät bietet auch Busports College einen eigenen
SEO Service
So trug Sie
dieses Jahr das Internationale Sport Fest aus. So hat das
Branchenbuch Düsseldorf mehrere Sonderberichte verfasst.
Gegen Ende des 19.
Jahrhunderts waren auch deutsche Dozenten an den amerikanischen Colleges in
Istanbul tätig. Friedrich Schrader, der später als Journalist und
Schriftsteller bekannt wurde, lehrte am Robert College, Paul Lange (gest.
Istanbul 1920), später als "Lange Bey" Hofkapellmeister des letzten
türkischen Sultans, unterrichtete am ACG europäische klassische Musik. Ein
Sohn von Lange, Hans Lange, ging in den 20er Jahren als Assistent von Arturo
Toscanini in die USA, und war in den vierziger und fünfziger Jahren des 20.
Jahrhunderts dort ein sehr bekannter Dirigent (u.a. 1936 bis 1946 am Chicago
Symphony Orchestra).
Education ( German =
Fernstudium ) in Germany :
Mit einer Weiterbildung per
Fernstudium
beim ILS erwerben Sie einen qualifizierten Abschluss. Deutschlands
größte Fernschule verfügt über 200 staatlich zugelassene Fernlehrgänge,
sowie jahrelange Erfahrung und Bildungskompetenz.
Mit einem
Fernstudium an der Euro-FH
erlangen Sie akademische Abschlüsse in den drei Fachbereichen Business
School, Logistics School und Law School erlangen. Die vermittelten
Lerninhalte sind praxisorientiert und im beruflichen Alltag direkt anwendbar.
Für ein
Fernstudium an der Fernakademie für
Erwachsenenbildung stehen Ihnen 170 staatlich zugelassene
Fernlehrgänge zur Verfügung. Das Lehrgangsangebot gliedert sich in drei
spezialisierte Fachakademien.
The German economy is the largest in Europe and the third largest in the
world. The country attracted EUR 439 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
in 2006. With a high productivity rate and a world-class education system
Germany ensures that its citizens maintain high standards of living. Germany
is also number one for research and is Europe’s largest logistics market.
Decreasing labor costs and corporate tax levels Lida have created an
investor-friendly economy.
Some of the world’s leading companies are based in Germany. To identify
the largest companies in Germany, I used the main stock market index in
Germany- the DAX. The DAX contains the 30 largest and most liquid stocks
traded in the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The DAX is a performance-based
index. All dividends, stock splits and other events occurring to index
components are rolled into the index. The 30 stocks represented in the index
are the blue chips of Germany.
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02.11.2008
The first real sign you’re not in Colorado anymore -- and there are lots of
little indicators such as self-sanitizing robo-commodes, smoke-choked après bars
and conveyor belt-loaded chairlifts -- is the early 14th-century “pfarrkirche,”
or parish church, that extends its onion-shaped dome up into the alpine sky high
above this half-timbered hamlet in the Arlberg region of Austria.
Not even the Ute Indians were running around the Colorado Rockies in the 14th
century. Beaver Creek wouldn’t be a twinkle in anyone’s eyes for another six
centuries or so. And the sport of alpine skiing as we know it today didn’t exist
in either place. So in some ways it’s a strange sisterhood that was formed in
2001 between the mountain resorts of Beaver Creek and Lech-Zürs am Arlberg.
Beaver Creek was the last major ski resort built in Colorado, belatedly opening
in December of 1980 as an originally proposed venue for the 1976 Winter
Olympics, which Denver voters rejected and were ultimately held in, of all
places, Austria. Lech rival Innsbruck, to be precise.
Beaver Creek’s magnificent stone
chapel is a marvel, named by Brides Magazine among the most popular wedding
venues in the nation, but its birth in 1987 makes it an architectural baby by
Lech standards, where the ornate pfarrkirche is ringed by the graves of
prominent citizens dating back centuries.
And while Beaver Creek arguably originated in North America the concept of the
ultra-luxe, self contained alpine resort, Lech-Zürs can legitimately lay claim
to being the birthplace of alpine skiing itself. Ski pioneer Viktor Sohm first
offered instruction to locals in 1906 (the world’s first ski school), and in
1937 the first ski lift in Austria was built at Zürs, a smaller, more exclusive
village adjacent to Lech.
On closer examination, though, there are more deeply ingrained similarities
between Lech-Zürs and Beaver Creek than differences, beginning with the people
who call both high-altitude destinations home. Something in the thin, crisp
mountain air instills a friendliness -- a spirit of “Willkommen” if you will --
that delivers an unparalleled level of service in both mountainous playgrounds.
The people who live, work and
play in both areas are driven by a sense of alpine adventure, a passion for the
mountain lifestyle and a genuine love of sharing that zeal with guests from less
vertically uplifted parts of the world. The measured yet genuine hospitality of
the Austrian resort worker is immediately apparent, from the precise time the
taxi driver greets the train in Langen to the waiter at the luxurious yet
charming Alpenhotel Valluga in Zürs who knows his guests by surname and dietary
preference after just one evening on property. Search in the German "Suchmaschine"
for
Real Estate in Austria
and you will found all over Hotels and the Land austria.
“The passion for the mountains is something that we really share,” Peter Burger,
owner of the Berghof Hotel in Lech, says of the ties that bind both Beaver Creek
and Lech-Zürs residents. Viewed through the prism of the people and their
passion, the Beaver Creek and Lech-Zürs sister-resort relationship makes
infinite sense and as info we have
Hoteljobs.
Lech and Zürs are but two constellations in a galaxy of snow-sliding options in
the winter and a vast, rolling hiker’s paradise of Tyrolean tundra in the
summer. Beaver Creek is fairly big by American ski-resort standards, but
Austria’s Arlberg region, which also includes the resorts of Stuben, St. Anton
and St. Christoph, is a sprawling expanse of 85 ski lifts, 180 miles of
established ski trails and another 110 miles of off-piste descents.
The Arlberg’s overall skiing altitude of between 4,750 and 9,200 feet above sea
level pales in comparison to Beaver Creek’s stratospheric elevations of between
8,100 and 11,440 feet, but the much younger Alps are far more sheer and
dramatic, rising in stunning and mostly treeless relief to wall in the high,
pastoral valleys. Little wonder Lech was awarded “Most Beautiful Village in
Europe” in 2004.
Home to the world-famous and first of its kind Ski Club Arlberg, the area has
raised no less than four Olympic alpine skiing champions and is a towering
testament to ski technique, having produced the father of modern skiing, Hannes
Schneider, who developed the unified Arlberg Method of ski instruction. Skiing
is king in the Arlberg, much as it defines the character of Beaver Creek, but it
is far from all there is to the region.
Nate Goldberg, head of Nordic skiing and director of the Beaver Creek Hiking
Center in the summertime, regularly leads trekking trips to Lech-Zürs in the
late summer, attracting outdoor enthusiasts, to be certain, but also those
enamored with the Austrian Alps’ rich history, generations-old culture of
hospitality, and borderline obsession with good food and drink.
“When you hike in Colorado you’re talking about sheer beauty and wilderness, but
when you hike in Austria it’s beautiful and wild but it is civilized in the
sense that when you get to your destination, you sit down to a wonderful meal,”
says Goldberg. “Another real plus is you don’t get the altitude effects when
you’re hiking in the Alps, which makes a big difference for people coming up
from sea level and hiking at 4,000 to 8,000 feet versus 8,000 to 12,000 feet.”
The concept of intermingling alpinism (climbing and skiing high peaks) with the
equally important Austrian pastime of wining and dining is something that has
finally taken root in the States, as evidenced by the growing number of world
class restaurants in and around Beaver Creek and exquisite on-mountain eateries
such as Beano’s Cabin and Zach’s Cabin. But the Austrians have been honing the
tradition for the better part of the last century.
Ludwig Kurz, director of community relations for Beaver Creek Resort Company,
former mayor of Vail and a native of Salzburg, Austria, says his countrymen have
tended to focus more on the aspects of skiing most Americans view as mere
accessories -- spas, dining, après-ski -- out of necessity. Colorado’s high, dry
continental climate provides consistently better snow conditions than the more
maritime weather of central Europe.
“One of the reasons Americans are so concerned with ski, ski, ski and making
more turns is that very often we have better conditions. In Europe, the
conditions aren’t always as good, so they’ve taken a more broad and holistic
approach to the sport,” says Kurz, who leads a ski trip to Lech-Zürs each
season.
“Our grooming at Beaver Creek is usually perfect, but it is more difficult to do
such a thing in the Arlberg where the terrain has more narrow ravines and
gullies. Going off-piste in Austria can be downright dangerous, especially if
the visibility is poor,” adds Kurz.
And for that reason, guides in the Arlberg, where much of the skiing is in open,
timber-free terrain, are more than merely advisable -- they are a virtual
necessity. Lack of visibility and hidden dangers aren’t the only concern. The
vastness and endlessly interconnected nature of the ski resorts can have
disastrous consequences for the uninitiated.
This is particularly true of “Der Weisse Ring,” or the White Ring, ski
interconnect between Lech, the car-free village of Oberlech, Zürs and Zug, which
consists of 14 miles of mostly intermediate trails. It is fairly benign in clear
weather, but can be quite daunting in overcast or snowy conditions. When the
skies are clear, though, take the tour and stop at an outdoor, mountaintop bar
or restaurant along the way. It’s an Austrian tradition.
The origins of the sister-resort relationship were almost accidental, first
percolating in St. Anton, Austria, in February of 2001 when a contingent from
Beaver Creek attended the World Alpine Ski Championships—a highly prestigious
racing event Vail-Beaver Creek has hosted twice.
Kurz took the group on a side trip to Lech-Zürs and they all fell instantly in
love with the former farming towns that have assiduously maintained their quaint
character. Serious about their motto of “More time, more space,” Lech-Zürs
defies all the stereotypes of the European ski experience, offering uncrowded
slopes, unfettered friendliness and a soothing sense of civility.
And in much the same way that Beaver Creek has closely guarded its surrounding
environs to protect its quality of life, Lech-Zürs has taken steps to limit
traffic, control the type and amount of development and improve air quality
through its 12-year-old biomass power plant, which has reduced emissions by up
to 70 percent. Quaint, yes. Stuck in the past, hardly. The Beaver Creek
contingent was in awe of the place, but it was the people who cemented the deal.
Thus began a series of cultural exchanges which includes an annual Oktoberfest
visit to Beaver Creek in September by a Lech-Zürs contingent made up of various
business owners, prominent citizens and public officials, many of whom play in
the 45-member brass band called Trachtenkapelle Lech. The band also returns in
late November and early December for the annual Birds of Prey World Cup ski
races, in which the best men’s ski racers in the world duel on North America’s
most daunting downhill course.
Then in April a large group from Beaver Creek travels to Lech-Zürs for an annual
festival and two-day wine tasting during which the Beaver Creek Friendship Wine
is selected, and throughout all of these events and several other culinary
festivals, chefs and sommeliers from both resorts engage in active exchange
programs that have resulted in a happy blending of alpine gastronomic customs.
Indeed, it is no wonder people want to emulate a European ski town feel in
Beaver Creek and Vail. But what truly makes the Lech experience so incredible
and so unique is the people.
15.10.2008
US Sport Film Festival
you see a lot of happy endings
at the movies, particularly sports movies. So it's fitting that Philadelphia —
where the big sports stories haven't had happy endings for the last 25 years —
was chosen to host the first ever U.S. Sports Film Festival.
Sports and movies are an
organic fit: The arc of competition creates a natural drama. Not to mention
those highlight reel moments! Robert Redford and his lights-destroying home run
in The Natural or Rocky running up the Art Museum steps. Sharon Pinkenson,
executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, sees the festival
reaching beyond film and sports buffs. "These stories are about athletes as
heroes, imperfect people that achieve great things," says Pinkenson. "It's
really about the human stories."
The festival is the passion of
founder Stephen Hartman, who felt that these kinds of movies never had a true
home. While other festivals, like Tribeca, have similar components, the Sports
Film Fest is the first and only to feature movies solely about sports.
Originally planned for Lake Placid, N.Y., Hartman brought the idea to Pinkenson
when it wasn't getting enough attention. The fest's slate is a mix features,
documentaries and repertory. Festival spokesman Joe Favorito says organizers
aimed to include a wide spectrum, from baseball to running to jiu jitsu and
mixed martial arts. "We wanted to make it as diverse as we possibly could and
the fact they're good films helps, too," says Favorito, former head of public
relations for the Sixers.
Each film takes its own
approach to looking at sport. The feature Sugar, which garnered buzz at
this year's Sundance and comes from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the
writing-directing team behind 2006's Half Nelson,follows a Dominican
baseball player recruited to play in the minor leagues. Pittsburgh Passion
is a doc about a women's football team who play just as hard as their male
counterparts, but have to hold down day jobs and make their own travel
arrangements.
The slate of rep films honors
producer Mark Ciardi, who had a hand in the scheduled The Rookie,
Miracle and Invincible — the latter about amateur-turned-Eagle Vince
Papale.
The Phillies may or may not end
our dry spell, but there's always a chance for a happy ending at the movies.
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