Yousra Named Charity Ambassador for “The Right to Climb” Initiative

Wild Guanabana, a company dedicated to designing once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences to remarkable destinations around the world, recently announced that famous Egyptian Actress Yousra has been named the charity ambassador for “The Right to Climb”; an initiative aimed at raising awareness and funds for the Right to Live Association for the Intellectually Challenged (RTLA), a non-profit private organisation that provides care and training to persons in Egypt with special needs.
“The Right to Climb” is under the auspices of The Special Olympics (SO), an organization dedicated to empowering individuals with
intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition. A group of 20 climbers will attempt to reach Africa’s tallest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro at 19, 340-foot, in September to support the cause of the intellectually challenged in Egypt and to educate people on the role these individuals can play in society.
Funds raised throughout the campaign will help support RTLA’s programmes that provide the necessary skills and training needed to help the intellectually challenged smoothly integrate into society and become active members of the community.
The expedition will be led by Omar Samra, the first Egyptian to climb Mount Everest and founder of Wild Guanabana, whose two sisters suffer from a mental disability that is under funded and largely misunderstood by many in Egypt.
Approximately 3.85 to 4.7 million persons suffer from some sort of disability in Egypt and 73.3 percent of these are mentally challenged.
Both governmental and non-governmental organizations work together to remedy disabilities and provide the needed support. However, current services cover only 10 percent of those in need. This often ignored segment of the population requires more services and “The Right to Climb” aims to bring these issues to the forefront and raise awareness of what can be done to better serve Egyptians with disabilities.

Alex Higgins, snooker ace, dies at 61

Two-time winner of the World Snooker Championship dies at home after long battle with throat cancer.
The ace of the green baize finally succumbed to the throat cancer that he had been battling for several years. With his opennecked shirt, long hair, cigarette in one hand and a strong drink in the other, Higgins overturned snooker’s public image as a game played by old men in dickie bows.
Six-time champion Steve Davis described his former rival as one of the few geniuses around the table.“To people in the game he was a constant source of argument, he was a rebel,” Davis said. “But to the wider public he was a breath of fresh air that drew them into the game. He was an inspiration to my generation.”
As to his own encounters with Higgins across the table, Davis said: “It was a love-hate relationship with Alex Higgins. The thrill of playing him was fantastic, but the crowd that came along were not your usual crowd. They were much more noisy and you had to play the crowd as well.”
Former snooker champion and commentator Dennis Taylor told the BBC: “I don’t think you’ll ever, ever see another player in the game of snooker like the great Alex Higgins.”He had enjoyed some “terrific battles” against the Ulsterman, he
said, adding: “He was a very, very exciting player to watch. He just was totally unique.”

Obsessive-compulsive disorder in Athletes

Players form habits and routines that they repeat endlessly when playing, such as Nomar Garciaparra’s batting glove adjustments between pitches or basketball players’ patterns when at the free-throw line. Skill development is all about repetition, and such a repetitive nature seeps into an athlete’s confidence as much as it does his muscle memory. Obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD) is nothing to take lightly, but its symptoms do seem to parallel the habits of some professional athletes.
English soccer star David Beckham has trouble leaving a soccer pitch without practicing his free kicks for hours on end, and the world’s best dead-ball striker has actually been diagnosed with OCD.

Regatta on Air

In 1898, one of the first programmes to be broadcasted on radio was a yacht race that took place off the Irish coast in Dublin as Italian Guglielmo Marconi hired a tug which he fitted it with a 75 foot antennae and broadcast the regatta. It became
a defining moment in the broadcasting history of the America’s Cup in October the following year as Marconi was contacted by the New York Herald and asked to transmit live radio coverage of races between Columbia and Shamrock.

The Most Red Cards in Soccer History

It is Tomáš Řepka of the Czech Republic who holds the unenviable record. He has been sent off 17 times in his career. He missed UEFA Euro 1996 because of a red card. In 2001 Řepka was sent off during 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification playoff game against Belgium which cost the Czechs the game and subsequently ended in elimination. It was also his last game for the national team. One of his scandals includes attacking game officials and TV cameraman in September 2007. He got his fastest red card in the 1st minute of a game.

Long Forgotten Olympic Sport

Jeu de paume was played at only one Olympic Games, in London in 1908. It is similar to squash only the competitors use their hands instead of a racket to strike the ball.

Irish Paralympian Aims for London 2012

Jason Smyth is a visually-impaired Irish Paralympian who was born in Derry, Northern Ireland on 4 July, 1987. His central vision
is affected by Stargardt’s disease.
Smyth took double Paralympic gold in Beijing in 2008 winning both the 100 and 200 metre sprint event and set world records
in the partially sighted category. He was totally unfazed by all the attention. “Obviously it’s very nice but generally I get on with it and let people say what they want to say,” he said. “I train with Tyson Gay and it’s really not that big a deal where other people would get scared,” he said of not being overawed on his senior debut.
“I don’t mind what way people remember me but I’m coming here and performing well as a mainstream senior international and I’m trying to move forward to qualify for London 2012 against able-bodied athletes. “At the same time I am a Paralympic athlete, so you’ve also got to look at that as well I suppose,” he added.

Who Steps into Diego Maradona Boots

There is mounting speculation that 59-year-old Alejandro [Alex] Sabella is set to replace Diego Maradona as coach of his native Argentina.Ironically, it will not be the first time that Sabella has stepped into Maradona’s shoes if he does land the Argentinian job.                                                                                                                                                                              Sabella rose through the junior divisions of River Plate in the early 1970s, when his position, and the number 10 jersey, were owned by Norberto Alonso. Sabella felt his talents were not exploited properly, but in 1976 he got his break when Alonso was transferred to Olympique Marseille. He played a key role when River won the 1977 Metropolitano championship. Nevertheless, when Alonso returned to River Plate, Sabella was again relegated to the bench. He joined Sheffield United and made his
debut against Leyton Orient on 19 August 1978.
He returned to Argentina in 1981 and he made over 150 appearances for Estudiantes then finished his playing career in Brazil and Mexico.
He assisted former team-mate Daniel Passarella, who managed Argentina at the 1998 World Cup, and the pair also moved on to Italian club Parma and the Uruguayan national side.
Sabella led Estudiantes to the Argentinian title last year before winning the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the UEFA Champions League. Although Sabella won four international caps, he would never get anywhere the dizzy heights achieved by Maradona.