England U20 World Cup Team Accosted at Bogota Airport

It looked as if there may have been trouble at Bogota airport yesterday when security was massively increased for the arrival of the England under 20 World Cup Squad.

In fact the squad were given a very Columbian welcome by a host of female police officers who had gathered at the airport with the specific intention of making the team’s arrival as fun as possible.

As the girls ran towards the players it did look for a moment as if the entire team were just about to be arrested and detained but it was simply the keenness of the young ladies to engage the English lads in a swift salsa before they made their way to their hotel.

They certainly weren't expecting to be accosted by the Columbian police in this manner!

The boys took to the floor but to be honest, we think they need to brush up a little on their Latin dance skills. Let's just hope that the English Under 21s show even better movement on the pitch!

Speed Flying & Wingsuit Flying - Video Footage to Take your Breath Away

If you are reading this, don’t tell your mother.  She will probably have palpitations at the thought of speed flying, let alone the fact that you are reading this and perhaps even considering having a go yourself.

The best way to describe this fairly new sport is visually.  The video above which will have your chin meeting the floor is Alain Montant, sliding down the lines of a cable car in Chamonix.

The words mad fool spring to mind, followed quickly by give me a go!


It is also known as ski-base and speed riding.  Here, Mattias Giraud displays his skill with a Ski-BASE triple backflip captured in 960p that has to be seen to be believed.  Hold on to your hats. It is almost as if there is a switch in your head that you have to click in order to get in to the mentality to do this thing - and this video imagines it in exactly that way.


As winter sports go this is a long way from being accepted at the Olympics as it is considered way too dangerous.  It was created by skydivers and paragliders who were looking for new sensations – and they certainly got one too.  They wanted to create a link between gliding through the air and gliding by ski.  They got it right.  The sport has now developed.  Where once the paragliders modified their own equipment, now you can buy SpeedFlying wings and gliders.


Here is a compilation of the progression from skiing to skiflying.  You have to wait a minute or two but then the videos of these guys simply propelling themselves off the edge of cliffs is something awesome - you have to see it to believe it.


Ultimately, you might think, who needs skis - or snow for that matter.  Come forth the new generation of  wingsuit flyers who are ready to take things to the next level.  This is a collection of shots from flights made by guys called Robert, Jean Noel, Ludo and Halvor during the 2009-2010 season, while flying the V3 and testing several new V-series wingsuit prototypes around Europe.  Holy cow.

Wingsuit Base Jumping

Hold on to your hats.  Wingsuit flying involves the human body flying through the air using a jumpsuit knwon as a wingsuit. 

This adds more surface area to the body and creates lift.  You should see what they get up to in this video - it will take your breath away.

They are also called birdman suit or squirrel suit.  As you can see from this breathtaking video it is not for the fainthearted.

he flight should end with the opening of a parchute.  As long as you have sufficient altitude you should be able to start your flight from any point - as long as you can glide.  For this, BASE jumping exits are perfect.  But would you do this?

Sit back, grab a coffee and take it all in.  Not afraid of heights by any chance are you?

Pacquiao Training Footage Exclusive

On November 4, 2009, this film was made to witness the private press-only Pacquiao training session at the WildCard Boxing Club in Los Angeles.  This was prior to the Pacquiao vs. Cotto fight.

Manny Pacquiao, is a Filipino professional boxer who has also entered the world of politics and is revered by his many fans. He is an the first (and therefore only) boxer in history to win ten world titles in eight different weight divisions.

At the same time he is  also the first boxer in history to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was declared Fighter of the Decade for the 2000's by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). He is also a three-time BWAA and The Ring Fighter of the Year" in 2006, 2008 and 2009^.

Here is the exclusive footage from that legendary day.

Emotions in Gymnastics

This remarkable video shows the build up to a gymnastics competition through a series of pictures which shows the emotions of the gymnasts as they compete.  The pictures are beautifully shot and show the build up to the competition.

The shots at the beginning show the lights one by one coming on in the gymnasium, lighting up the apparatus that will be used in the competetion.  Them rather than show the gymnastics themselves it shows the looks of the gymnasts as they are competing, awaiting their scores or at the point of receiving them.

As such the whole gamut of human emotion is shown here, from the victorious to the bewildered and nervous.  As such it is a great representation of a still undervalued sport which requires total dedication from its pursuants.

Push Pull

If this film doesn't leave you exhausted then nothing will. 

It is a glimpse of the cyclist and all round athlete called Pete Billington. All of the outdoor shots were taken out of the back/top of a four door jeep wrangler going up Mount Tamalpais. Everything else took place on a stage in a controlled studio environment that was lit using 2 soft boxes.  It gives a glimpse of just how hard the training regime is for a cyclist and how fit they have to be to compete.

The film was created by Landis Fields, Zac Wollons, Punn Wiantrakoon, and Brian Berringer and directed and Edited by Landis Fields. The project required 2 locations.   The entire film was shot on 2 canon 7D's (mostly at 60p for "slow-mo" flexibility later on while editing) and 1 Canon 5D at 30p which was conformed to a 24 frame timeline. All cameras were equipped with different lenses that fit the needs of each shot.

In case you are wondering, the music is by A Perfect Circle - Outsider (Apocalypse Remix).

FORUMLA ONE: Schumacher Almost Kills Barrichello - Penalised 10 Grid Places

Michael Schumacher, never a stranger to controversy on the Formula 1 circuit, today stooped to a new low in the Hungarian Grand Prix.  Barrichello was almost pinned against the pit wall as he tried to overtake Schumacher - Barrichello was later to call this move the most dangerous he had seen in his Formula 1 career.

This is the latest in a series of spats between the two, pictured left in happier days.  When it spills over on to the track, however, things can become dangerous.

The whole thing took place as Wiiliams driver Barrichello looked to take advantage of a mistake that Schumacher made around Turn 14.   Schumacher went wide and this enabled the Brazillian to close up to him and get a run on his former team mate.

He pulled to the right and pulled alongside Shcumacher who, seeing that he might lose the race, forced Barrichello right up against the wall of the pit.

Good job that the wall ended before Barrichello hit it.  If it hadn't been for the wall finishing that would probably have happened.  The judges recognise this and Schumacher has been penalised 10 grid places.

Perhaps this was punishment for that party where Barrichello sang. The song consisted of the rather childish claim that Schumacher is viado - a derogatory term meaning gay in Brazilian Portuguese. Or perhaps not.  Whatever caused Schumacher to do this, it won't help his Christmas card list much, that's for sure.