Archive for November, 2010
Tony Hawk Shred for Wii Review & Giveaway
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UPDATED! The winner is Cynthia C – I have sent the winner an email. If I do not hear back within 48 hours I will draw another winner.
In the mood for skateboarding one moment and snowboarding the next? In the Tony Hawk Shred game for Wii – you can get big air and skate like the pros all from the comfort of your home! The new Tony Hawk Shred game for Wii uses a innovative, motion sensing board controller and is packed with action.
My kids who are ages 9, 12 and 14 had way too much fun one-upping each other with crazy jumps and tricks as they navigated the various courses. You stand on the special board controller and use your own body movements to control the rider through the courses which are filled with steep drops, huge jumps and gaps, arcade style game play and effects and special guest appearances from pro athletes like Chaz Ortiz, Torah Bright, Shaun White and more! Within minutes of starting game play, they figured out all the game lingo, how to jump – even how to skateboard in a handstand, and picked up some cool moves.
Check out the trailer video to get the full effect of how the board sensor works to control game play or visit the official game site for even more game features:
This game is fun for everyone – you can pick your player, your course, your skill level and whether you hit the skatepark or snowboard on the slopes. The game and skateboard bundle retail for about $100, but you can win one here! We were sent the Tony Hawk Shred Skateboard bundle to review but we received a second one, as well, so we are giving that one away to one lucky reader!
What We Are Giving Away
- The prize is one (1) Tony Hawk: Shred Skateboard bundle for Wii (Valued at $99).
How To Enter
- Leave a comment on this post telling me whether you prefer snowboarding or skateboarding – either in real life or in the Tony Hawk Shred game.
- Get bonus entries by letting your friends know about our giveaway. Get one extra entry for each of the following:
- Post about it on your own blog, in a forum or share it with your friends on Facebook
- Give a shout out on Twitter (we are @SportsGirlsPlay)
- Like SportsGirlsPlay on Facebook
- Come back and leave a second comment telling us where you shared it.
Rules
- Leave your comment(s) no later than midnight December 9, 2010.
- You must use your real name and email address in the comment form below – don’t put your email address in the comment itself. If you don’t we can’t contact in the event that you win.
- We will be using Random.org to select one (1) winner.
Disclosure: Although I was sent a Tony Hawk Shred bundle to review and one to giveaway, the opinions expressed in the review are entirely my own.
Sports Girls Play Go-Getter Award – Blind Gymnast Lola Walters
Posted by: | Comments(Click on the video above to watch it with a 30 second commercial or click through to watch the 4 minute segment without the commercial on this amazing young athlete!)
Gymnasts are a rare breed. They are tough. They fall and get back up, they fly through the air from bar to bar, vault over inanimate objects that are as big, if not bigger, than they are and they perform complex series of skills on a beam that is 4″ wide and 4′ off the ground. And, they do all of this willingly, day after day!
ABC News did a feature on a gymnast that is even more extraordinary than most of her peers, because she does her gymnastics without being able to see that bar clearly! Eleven year old Lola Walters is legally blind, yet she doesn’t let that stop her from doing the things she loves to do. The Level 6 gymnast relies on her friends to tell her where and when to start her run for vault and she doesn’t even see the board to jump off of until she is about 5 feet from it – that is amazing when you consider most Level 6 gymnasts start their run for vault about 50′-65′ away from the vault.
Lola, you are an inspiration to us all! Keep up the hard work.
Is Pay-to-Play for High Schools Sports Becoming the Norm?
Posted by: | CommentsToday was the first day of Winter Sports practice in our county for the Middle Schools and High Schools. That also means in two weeks I will have to pull out my checkbook and stroke a check for $100 for my son to be on the High School Swim Team. Since when do you have to pay to be on a public high school sports team?
As education budgets get cut and schools look for creative ways to save money, more and more school districts across the country are implementing pay to play fees for their athletes. In our county it is $100 per season, per athlete beginning in Middle School. While the $100 fee is not a hardship for our family, it is for many in our county – and for many it is the difference between playing high school sports and sitting on the couch after school.
High school sports at my kids’ school are already being hit hard. Last year the school district did away with the activity buses – the buses that take kids home after sports or other extra-curricular activities are done. Being that our high school serves a large and rather rural area of our county, many students who played sports before now have no way of getting home from practice as many parents both work and car pools are not always an option. So now, add to the mix, pay to play, and many of our children simply cannot participate in high school sports.
These same children who are missing out on the opportunity to play are the same children who really need all the positive that sports has to offer – from fitness to self confidence to discipline and everything in between.
What do you think? Is Pay-to-Play becoming the norm? Is it fair? Is there a better solution? What is a reasonable amount to require? Leave a comment, because I would love to hear your insight!
