Yesterday, on 17 of August, I went to the YOG cycling event with the school. It is held at the Tampines Bike Park, the weather is extremely hot. The competition started with the junior women competition at 9am. In the first Youth Olympic Junior Women's Cross- Country final, Karolina Kalasova of the Czech Republic got the gold medal with the time 46 minutes 58 seconds, Linda Indergand from Switzerland came in eight seconds later while Kristina Laforge from Canada managed to came in a time of 49:22. Singapore's cyclist, Nasthasia finished in 22nd place, two laps behind the leader. I saw one of the competitors fell while she was coming down from the steep and uneven road, but she still continued to finish the race. When I see this, I felt that her determination of finishing the race is very strong. From this, I learnt that we must not give up until the end no matter what happens. At 12 noon, they started the junior men's cross country final. Jhonnatan Botero from Columbia got the gold medal with a time of 58:42, while Andrea Righettini from Italy cam in 47sec behind the leader and got silver. Lastly, Laurens Sweeck from Belgium got bronze, at a time of 1 hour and 1 second. Singapore's male cyclist came in the 30th. From this event, I saw a lot of competitors with very strong determination and it made me learnt that I should also have that kind of determination when I do something and do not give up halfway.
Today, 21st July is Racial Harmony Day. Our school celebrated it by having booths which are set up by the secondary ones and threes, during recess and after school. A lot of the students also wore their traditional costumes to school. I had interviewed Syafiq from 3E3 about his feeling towards Racial Harmony Day.
Interviewee: Syafiq 3E3
1) Did you go to the Racial Harmony Day carnival? Is it fun?
No, but I think it is quite fun as I see a lot of students enjoying it.
2) Do you know what happen during the 21 July 1964?
Yes, there was a racial riot between the Chinese and the Malay, which is also Prophet Muhammad Birthday. During the riot, 36 people were killed and 556 were injured. About 3,000 people were arrested.
3) Are you participating in tomorrow's Racial Harmony activity? (Amazing race, face painting, etc.)
Yes.
4) Why do you think we celebrate Racial Harmony Day?
I think Racial Harmony Day allows us to meet awesome people and to make more friends in other races. Racial Harmony Day also let us knows that we must build strong bonds with each other regardless of race, language or religion, so that the riot that happened in 1964 will not happen again.
5) How do you feel about Racial Harmony Day?
I feel awesome to have so many friends of different races and is able to celebrate Singapore's success as a racially harmonious nation.
Climate change is a change in the weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It can be a change in the average weather or a change in the distribution of weather events around an average. Climate change maybe limited to each specific region, or may happen over the whold Earth. Factors that cause climate change include such processes as variations in solar radiation, deviations in the Earth's orbit, mountain-building and continental drift, and changes in greenhouse gas concentrations. Some parts of the climate system, such as the oceans and ice caps, respond slowly in reaction to climate forcing because of their large mass. Therefore, the climate system can take centuries or longer to fully respond to new external forcings. Evidence for climatic change is taken from a variety of sources that can be used to reconstruct past climates. The complete global records of surface temperature are available beginning from the mid-late 1800s. For earlier periods, most of the evidence is indirect.
This picture shows climate change. It is because the smoke coming out from the factories are polluting the air and will cause air pollution which will lead to climate change. In Singapore, there are also quite a number of factories like this. Although the factories are built quite far away from the city area, the smoke will still travel from that place to the rest of Singapore. That will cause sudden weather change in Singapore, like it will suddenly rain during a sunny day, and there is sun when it is raining. Other than the air pollution from the factories, people also pollute the Earth by land and water pollution which will also cause climate change in the whole world.
The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event first held in Singapore opening August 14, 2010, and scheduled to last 12 days until August 26. The games are planned to be held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format. The Youth Olympic Games will feature athletes between the ages of 14 and 18. The idea for such an event was introduced by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge in 2001. On July 6, 2007, IOC members at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City approved the creation of a youth version of the Olympic Games.
While the August 2010 event is scheduled for 14 days; the winter version is planned to be a maximum of nine days, with the first edition taking place in early 2012.
It has been stressed that the host city should not have to build any major venues, with the exception of some temporary structures or possibly an Olympic village. Also, all competitions must be held in the host city, ruling out any joint bids. According to bid procedures, the track and field stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies must hold 10,000 people, and a city must have a 2,500-seat aquatics facility (for Summer editions).
Education and culture are also key components for this Youth edition. Not only does the education/culture aspect apply to athletes and participants, but also youth around the world and inhabitants of the host city and surrounding regions. Multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and multi-age requirements are the targets of the program which stress the themes of "Learning to know, learning to be, learning to do, and learning to live together."
Each participating country would send at least four athletes. 170 countries are expected to participate in the inaugural 2010 Youth Summer Olympics. (There are over 200 National Olympic Committees, most of which participate at the regular Games). Participants will be grouped by age, for example, 14–15 years, and 16–18 years. One source indicates athletes will be chosen at least 18 months in advance, which suggests that some could be chosen as young as age 12. Other reports indicates the qualifications (which guidelines are being set in autumn of 2008) will occur between December 2009 and May 2010.At least one IOC member criticized the plan, noting that smaller teams from all countries may fail to capture the interest of the media, nations, and the athletes themselves.
In early November 2007, Athens, Bangkok, Singapore, Moscow, and Turin were selected by the IOC as the five candidate cities among which the host city will be elected for the Inaugural Games. In January 2008, the candidates were further pared down to just Moscow and Singapore. Finally, on 21 February 2008, Singapore was declared host of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games 2010 via live telecast from Lausanne, Switzerland, winning by a tally of 53 votes to 44 for Moscow. Singapore is contesting all 26 sports.
Cycling
Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century and now number about one billion worldwide. They are the principal means of transportation in many regions.
Bicycling is a highly efficient mode of transportation and optimal for short to moderate distances. Compared to motor vehicles, bicycles have numerous benefits including the provision of exercise, generating renewable energy and thus no air pollution, reducing traffic congestion, minimizing noise pollution, easier and less costly parking, much lower likelihood of causing a fatality, high maneuverability, ability to travel on roads or special paths, and lower user cost as well as societal costs. Criticisms and downsides to cycling commonly include: reduced protection in crashes, longer travel time, no inherent protection from poor weather, difficulty in transporting passengers, and the physical demands of operation.
