World’s Most Popular Event

How are you preparing to use the world’s most popular event? You may be asking, “What event is he talking about?” I’m talking about the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. How are you using this event that will be holding the attention of the world for over 30 days to reach the people in your community?

You may not think it has anything to do with you, especially in the suburbs of America, but let me ask you a few things. Do you have refugees living in your community? Do you have a Hispanic population in your community? Do you have soccer-loving kids in your community and your church? If you’re in a church like I was, you can answer yes to all of those questions. So let’s use this platform to reach people for the kingdom.

My family and I now live in Cape Town, South Africa, one of the host cities for the World Cup. We run Ubuntu Sports Outreach that provides primary school-aged boys with coaching mentors from local churches in township communities. Those relationships get kids connected to that church and to Jesus. Where we live, World Cup fever is reaching its height. People are excited and expectant about what is coming. Trust me, in your refugee, Hispanic, and soccer-playing communities the excitement is also building. People are reading Internet stories, wondering who will start for their country, and preparing to watch all the games. You can use this attention and passion for the glory of Christ and to spread the word about your church.

Here are a few ideas on how to capitalize on this event. Host a public viewing event for specific attention-grabbing matches. Put together a 5-a-side soccer tournament for kids. Have a soccer-themed worship service in your church. Host a soccer camp for kids in your community. These are just a few of the ideas, but possibilities are left only to your creativity. There are resources and ideas available at www.theultimategoal.co.za. Also check with your local sports ministry like FCA, Athletes in Action, and Upward. They will likely have even more ideas and resources. Don’t allow this great opportunity to reach new people in our communities pass us by.

Casey Prince served as the Director of High School Ministries at Grace Community Church in Raleigh, NC for 7 years. His family now lives in Cape Town where they have started Ubuntu Sports Outreach.

Fantastic!

takes place in the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater located near "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" and "Beauty and the Beast-Live On Stage". Watch Sorcerer Mickey battle Disney Villains in this sensational laser and light show.

The amphitheater opens 90 minutes before the show begins. You can bring in outside food or purchase snacks inside. You can also book a Fantasmic Dining Package which gives you reserved seating.

There are long rows of metal benches that are banked for easy viewing. It's designed after the famous Hollywood Bowl and can accommodate 1,500 guests. While it's tempting to run down to the front, the "water screens" used in a lot of the sequences often produces a light mist that could head right in your direction.

Fantasmic originated in Disneyland. While parts of the show are similar, there are differences. It's rare for those who have seen both prefer the Disney World version.

As noted above, it's rare that a performance doesn't have a parent scrambling out with their terrified child. The Disney Villains can be pretty scary, especially when it's dark and they're larger than life. If your little one is sensitive, think twice about going until they're older and can understand what's going on.

The finale is a lot of fun. An 80-foot replica of the ship from "Steamboat Willie" features 26 Disney characters waving and singing as they go by.

If you want to take advantage of priority seating and skip the usual long wait to get into this show, book the Fantasmic Dining Package

TIP: If you're visiting during a busy time of year, there are usually two performances scheduled. Go to the second one for a less crowded experience.

FUN FACTS:
- The moat surrounding the show contains approximately 1.9 million gallons of water.
- The mountain stands approximately 57.5 feet above the water.
- The fire-breathing dragon rises 50 feet into the air and has a wing span of 50 feet.


Click Here for current show times
The entire show lasts 25-minutes long. There are normally only showings 2 or 3 times a week.

WORLD WIDE SPORTS (SPORT GIVE HEALTH & FITNESS)

espn wide world of sports
What launched with a single cable network on Sept. 7, 1979, is now ESPN, Inc., the leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets, including six domestic networks, 46 international networks and more than 50 business entities. Today, ESPN delivers sports programming to more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents across a variety of platforms – television, wireless, interactive, print, radio, broadband, event management and consumer products – all with the hopes of fulfilling its original mission of serving sports fans.
In 1996, The Walt Disney Company, under CEO Michael Eisner, acquired Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., which included 80 percent of ESPN. In 2005, Robert Iger was named CEO of The Walt Disney Co. – after serving as president and COO since 2000 – and continues to oversee ESPN today. In one momentous deal, Disney and ESPN changed the entire landscape of sports and entertainment, combining the sport expertise of ESPN with the creativity and the guest-experience capabilities of Disney.
A Field of Dreams Fully Realized

Today, the newly renamed ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort represents the perfect intersection of sports and entertainment – Disney’s sports complex as the leading multi-sport venue in the nation combining with ESPN’s stature as the preeminent sports entertainment media outlet in the world.
The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex marks the latest collaboration between the two powerful brands. The two companies have worked together successfully in the past on such events as the X Games Trials, the Old Spice Classic NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and ESPN RISE Games. Most notably, ESPN and Walt Disney World Resort together stage ESPN The Weekend, the sports-themed special event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that has been a virtual “Who’s Who” of celebrity athletes and personalities. In all, ESPN televises dozens of events from Walt Disney World Resort each year.
ESPN Designates ESPN WWoS Complex Official 3D Development Center
Recognizing the need for a real-world testing ground to continue the development of ESPN 3D, ESPN has designated the ESPN Innovation Lab at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex as the hub for developing 3D technology. ESPN will invite various technology companies to utilize the site for emerging technology enhancements focused on 3D television. In addition to the resources at the Innovation Lab, ESPN will bring online a new production center that can be used for producing live sporting events for multiple ESPN platforms.
The Innovation Lab and the new Production Center based at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex gives ESPN a designated testing ground to continue creating a robust ESPN 3D network. This complex provides ESPN access to more than 300 sporting events which means 3D production testing can occur throughout the year. The research ESPN gathers through these facilities will set the pace for innovation and provide fans the best 3D on-air coverage of sporting events.Chuck Pagano, executive vice president, technology, ESPN
The new Production Center will also serve as a training facility for production personnel to gain experience in telecasting 3D events. This facility houses eight edit rooms which will feed highlights into the main server system based in Bristol, Conn. Also, the Production Center controls 42 robotic cameras scattered throughout the complex which will capture highlights from the various playing venues. The facility also has 10 ENG cameras and four EFP cameras. The production control room has 16 channels of bi-directional video along with audio ingest, play-out capabilities, graphics building and more.

ESPN’s Innovation Lab opened in October 2009. It has produced two innovative production elements, Ball Track and ESPN Snap Zoom. Ball Track is a Doppler radar hit-tracking system that has the ability to track home runs showing the distance and height of the ball in-flight, updating continuously during the ball’s flight. It debuted on the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby telecast on July 13. ESPN Snap Zoom debuted on Monday Night Football on Sept. 28 and is a freeze-frame technology that brings the fan closer to the play by zooming in an area of interest and providing insight to a current action on the field thus giving the viewer a different view on a particular focus of play.
ESPN 3D, the industry’s first 3D television network, will showcase a minimum of 85 live sporting events during its first year, beginning with the first 2010 FIFA World Cup match on June 11 featuring South Africa vs. Mexico. Other events to be produced in 3D include up to 25 2010 FIFA World Cup matches, NBA, X Games 16, college basketball and college football, which will include the BCS National Championship game in Glendale, Ariz., Jan. 10, 2011. Additional events will be announced at a later date.
About ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which hosts more than 300 events a year, is the leading multi-sport venue for amateur and professional sports in the United States, accommodating 60 different sports and athletes from more than 70 countries. Designed to take youth sports to the next level, the 220-acre facility features: The Fieldhouse, a 165,000-square-foot field house which seats 5,500 for basketball; Champion Stadium ballpark ,Hess Sports Fields, which include multiple baseball, softball and soccer fields,JCenter, an 80,000-square-foot multi-sport fieldhouse, and Innovation Lab, a real-world testing ground for the ESPN Emerging Technology group to develop ground-breaking on-air products like Ball Track and ESPN Snap Zoom. In addition, the complex features 56 high-definition cameras and 40 high-definition video screens, including three jumbo screens, that can capture and display footage from any event taking place at the complex. The camera and video screens, as well as a 20-zone audio system, are controlled through a state-of-the-art Production Center that features eight edit bays and links to ESPN facilities in Bristol, Conn., New York and Los Angeles.

ESPN WWoS Complex Expands Diversity of Events in 2010
Already distinguished for its unparalleled diversity of sport, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex has added an even wider variety of events in 2010 and beyond, highlighted by the debut of its first-ever Major League Gaming Pro Circuit tournament and the expansion of events that are part of the ESPN RISE Games. New and expanded events range from traditional sports (baseball, softball and soccer) to up-and-coming sports to non-traditional sports.
The ESPN RISE Games in July is expected to expand considerably, with more than triple the number of athletes from last year. In its second year, the event includes seven sports, with new events involving AAU basketball, U.S. Lacrosse and USSSA softball.
This year, the complex will serve as a 2010 tournament stop on the Major League Gaming Pro Circuit, bringing together the nation’s top professional and amateur video gamers for a three-day competition at the complex. In all, the tournament plans to attract more than 250 teams, comprised of nearly 2,500 gamers, with competitors facing off in a variety of popular games. Major League Gaming is the largest professional video game league in the world, targeting the approximately 40 million North American consumers who have a passion for playing video games as a competitive social activity.
The famed Harlem Globetrotters returned to the facility for a special performance on Feb. 25 as part of the official re-launch of ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The clown princes of basketball played the Washington Generals in a special performance featuring sports celebrities, ESPN personalities and Disney characters, in a game that aired on ESPN2 on Feb. 26. The Globetrotters have entertained fans around the world for more than 84 seasons and have won more than 23,000 games.
Capitalizing on the excitement of the upcoming FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Walt Disney World Resort will host viewing parties across the resort, including at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, for guests looking to follow the action of their favorite countries while on vacation.
There are also a number of other traditional, up-and-coming and non-traditional sports events taking place at the complex:
TRADITIONAL:
Varsity Brands has extended its relationship with Walt Disney World Resort through 2014 and will look to add to its list of national cheerleading championships and events that currently includesthe College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship, theNational High School Cheerleading Championship, the National All Star Cheerleading Championship, the National Dance Team Championships and the Cheerleading and Dance Worlds Championship. These championships are broadcast on ESPN and ESPN2 to more than 90 million homes each year. More than 40,000 cheerleaders and 80,000 fans attend these events annually.
Those events join several other recently announced events such as the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend, Oct. 1-2, which culminates with a 13.1-mile nighttime race and after-hours party inside the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. And the inaugural Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic ,a four-team exhibition event featuring two-time MLS Cup Champion Houston Dynamo, the New York Red Bulls, who reached 2008 MLS Cup Final, FC Dallasand Toronto FC.
USSSA, a longstanding partner of the complex, has expanded its event offerings to include a new 64-team elite baseball national championship, and two additional girls fast pitch softball national championships. Additionally, the USSSA Pride, a pro women’s softball team, will be playing two four-game homestands at the complex in the summer of 2010.
Another new event is the Rawlings Gold Glove baseball tournament, an invitational tournament with players (ages 10-18) from around the country, scheduled for fall 2010.
Pop Warner Little Scholars, the parent organization of the Pop Warner Super Bowl and National Cheerleader Championships, has expanded its event lineup to include Pop Warner-branded flag football tournaments.
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex will be hosting the NIKE Football Combines, providing SPARQ testing to thousands of high school athletes wanting to measure and track their athletic capabilities.
UP-AND-COMING:
The national governing bodies (NGB) for USA wrestling, judo, gymnastics, fencing and lacrosse have extended their relationships with ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and will host several new and expanded events between 2010 and 2013.
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has extended its involvement through 2014, with the complex hosting the 2011 MAAC Men’s Soccer Championships, the 2012 MAAC Cross Country Championships, the 2013 MAAC Women’s Soccer Championships and the 2014 MAAC Volleyball Championships. The MAAC has hosted conference championships at Walt Disney World Resort since 1998.
In September, the complex will host the Touch Rugby USA Nationals, an international rugby tournament with limited physical contact. The event features some of the best adult touch rugby athletes from around the world.
Disney’s Soccer Showcase, which features the top youth soccer players in the nation, will add a fourth college showcase tournament to its popular lineup of events in the summer of 2010.
AAU is expanding its national championship events at the complex with the addition of three more girls’ basketball championships and showcase tournaments, and the addition of a boys and girls national cross country championship in December.
The high school and college spring training program, presented by Champion, at the sports complex, which involves baseball, softball, lacrosse and track & field teams from around the country training at the sports complex, will expand to include golf this year.
A volleyball summer camp in June, hosted by Kaylee Scholarship Association, will become the first-ever high school team camp offering.
NON-TRADITIONAL:
In November, the VEX Robotics competition returns for the annual VEX Robotics All-Star Challenge Tournament. The Vex Robotics Competition, the largest secondary school robotics program in the world with more than 2,500 teams in 20 countries, features middle school and high school teams competing against each other with their student-built robots in a game that tests their science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills.
The Iron Kids Triathlon has been added to the Iron Man 70.3 Florida Triathlon Weekend, held at Walt Disney World Resort. Similar to the Iron Man event, the Iron Kids Triathlon involves swimming, biking and running.
New and Expanded Events for 2010 and Beyond
-ESPN RISE Games
-Major League Gaming
-Harlem Globetrotters
-Major League Soccer
-FIFA World Cup Viewing
-Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend
-Rawlings Gold Glove Baseball Tournament
-Pop Warner Flag Football
-Varsity Brands
-AAU Girls Basketball Championships and Showcase
-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships
-USSSA Baseball and Softball
-VEX Robotics
-Touch Rugby USA Nationals
-Kaylee Scholarship Association Volleyball Summer Camp
-Iron Kids Triathlon
-New Events Tied to National Governing Bodies for Wrestling, Judo, Gymnastics, Fencing and

Lacrosse
-Disney Soccer Showcase
-Disney High School Spring Training Program
ESPN WWoS Complex Key Annual Sporting Events
The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is home to more than 300 events each year, accommodating 60 different sports, and drawing athletes from more than 70 countries. Competitors range from the young to the old, from the amateur and highly skilled to the Special Olympian and the weekend warrior. Below are a handful of signature events:

Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend presented by CIGNA (January)
The Walt Disney World Marathon began in 1994 and takes runners along a magical 26.2-mile journey through all four Disney theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom). Known as one of the top family-destination races, marathon weekend attracts more than 55,000 runners and their families (more than 100,000 people total) to enjoy the weekend’s activities – Kids Races, a Family 5K, half marathon, marathon and Health & Fitness Expo.
Tom Shaw Performance Camp (February)
Since 2006, renowned speed and conditioning coach Tom Shaw has trained some of the top NFL players at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Notable athletes include Deion Sanders, Super Bowl XLIII MVP Santonio Holmes (Pittsburgh Steelers), 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison (Pittsburgh Steelers), Calvin Johnson (Detroit Lions), Glenn Dorsey (Kansas City Chiefs), Chris Johnson (Tennessee Titans) and Devin Hester (Chicago Bears).
Atlanta Braves Spring Training (February-March)
On March 27, 1997, the Atlanta Braves exhibition game versus the Cincinnati Reds marked the grand opening of the sports complex. Led by manager Bobby Cox and perennial all-star Chipper Jones, the Braves enjoyed a string of nine straight division titles while at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and now feature one of the most promising young teams in baseball.
Cheerleading Worlds Championship (April)
Considered the Super Bowl of cheerleading events, the Cheerleading Worlds Championship features the globe’s best cheerleading squads. Participation in the event has grown dramatically from three international teams representing two countries to more than 100 teams (8,500 cheerleaders) from 40 countries.
AAU Boys Basketball National Championships (July)
The tournament features some of the top high school-age players from across the country. Known as a breeding ground for future NBA stars (Lebron James, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade), the event attracts NCAA coaches from the top basketball programs, making it the premier collegiate recruiting event in the nation.
ESPN RISE Games presented by Target (July)
The multi-sport festival anchored by several elite high school sports events including the AAU 17-under Boys Basketball Super Showcase, the Under Armour High School Softball All-American game and the Gridiron Kings, an elite 7-on-7 football event. The event also includes an open division for baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse and track & field competitions.
Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend (debuts October 2010)
The Disney Wine & Dine Fall Half Marathon Weekend will make its debut Oct. 1-2, 2010. The nighttime race will take participants through multiple theme parks and will culminate at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival for an exclusive after-hours party. The weekend will include Mickey’s Halloween Family Fun Run 5K, Kids Races and the event’s first-ever half marathon two-person relay.
Children’s Miracle Network Classic (November)
Since 1971, the PGA TOUR’s most magical stop has taken place at Walt Disney World Resort. The Palm and Magnolia golf courses play host to the final tournament of the PGA TOUR Fall Series. Notable winners of the event include Jack Nicklaus, who won the first three Classics (’71-’73), Payne Stewart (’83), Tiger Woods (’96, ’99), Vijay Singh (’04), Davis Love III (’08) and Stephen Ames (’07,’09).
Old Spice Classic (November)
The premier pre-season Division I event is an eight-team, 12-game men’s basketball tournament that takes place over Thanksgiving weekend and features some of the top collegiate teams in America. Past winners include Arkansas (2006), North Carolina State (2007), Gonzaga (2008) and Florida State (2009). Competing this year will be Notre Dame, Temple, Boston College, California, Georgia, Manhattan College, Texas A&M and Wisconsin.
The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards/Disney Spirit Award (December)
The star-studded awards show features the live presentation of nine of college football’s most prestigious awards, along with Disney’s Spirit Award. The event takes place at Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney’s BoardWalk. Disney’s Spirit Award has been presented annually to college football’s most inspirational figure since 1996, including Tim Tebow in 2008 and Mark Herzlich in 2009.
Pop Warner Super Bowl (December)
Sixty-four of the top youth football teams in the nation compete in this week-long Super Bowl after advancing through regional competitions. National crowns will be won in four divisions based on size and age – Jr. Pee Wee (ages 8-11 yrs.), Pee Wee (9-12 yrs.), Jr. Midget (10-13 yrs.) and Midget (11-15 yrs.). The Pop Warner National Cheer & Dance Championships also takes place, bringing together thousands of cheerleaders from across the country.
Disney’s Soccer Showcase presented by Chelsea Football Club (December)
Widely regarded as the leading elite youth soccer tournament in the nation, this event annually attracts the top high school-aged boys and girls soccer players from across the country. The tournament features more than 500 teams (roughly 9,500 athletes). More than 800 college coaches attend, making it the place where top college prospects are recruited.
ESPN WWoS Complex Breakdown
ARCHITECTURE (Overall Facility)
Architect: David Schwarz (Washington, D.C.). Schwarz also designed The Ballpark at Arlington, home of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers.
Design: “Florida Picturesque” style embodies a Florida- or Mediterranean-flavor design with Spanish-style roofing, blue and green accent tiling, vibrant yellow colors and symmetrical tower-like structures.
Venues: Champion Stadium, The Fieldhouse, Jostens Center , Hess Sports Fields, Baseball Quadraplex, Softball Complex, Tennis Complex, Track & Field Complex, including cross country, covered training facility, Production Center and Welcome Center. A state-of-the-art bowling center is coming in 2012.
Other amenities: Expanded retail pop-ups (four locations), ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill, PlayStation Pavilion, a welcome center and a parking lot with more than 5,000 spaces.
CHAMPION STADIUM
The centerpiece of the sports complex, Champion Stadium is a retro-style Major League Baseball ballpark that annually hosts MLB spring training (Atlanta Braves) and numerous amateur tournaments. With permanent seating and existing infrastructure, the facility can also host concerts, corporate hospitality functions, event opening ceremonies and other large gatherings.
Maximum capacity for 11,500 guests, including 9,500 permanent upper and lower deck seats (80 percent are located between first and third base), plus a grass berm in left field that offers seating for an additional 2,000+ guests.
Four luxury suites (all include indoor and outdoor seating areas), plus an additional suite that features a large conference room; two upper-level outdoor suites; and two mezzanine-level outdoor terraces.
Display booth equipped with state-of-the-art production equipment for managing in-stadium entertainment, including a 33’ 7” wide by 21’7” high jumbo screen which can display ESPN programming, customized videos, daily highlight reels and interviews from the sports complex.
PRODUCTION CENTER
2,500 square foot state-of-the-art facility with eight edit bays and uplinks to ESPN in Bristol, Conn., Los Angeles and New York.
56 high-definition cameras (42 robotic, 10 handheld and four studio) and 40 high-definition video screens, including 3 jumbo screens that can capture and display footage, event highlights and interviews that will broadcast throughout the complex and on various Disney and ESPN platforms.
THE FIELDHOUSE
Versatile indoor arena includes high arches and trusses and other architectural and design elements reminiscent of a classic 1950s style fieldhouse (capacity: 5,500). This multi-purpose facility can accommodate virtually any indoor sport that does not require ice, including basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, volleyball, martial arts, team handball, roller hockey, cheerleading and dance, trampoline and tumbling, indoor tennis, etc., in addition to concerts and conventions.
Room for six full-size collegiate basketball courts (four on main level and two upstairs on auxiliary court).
JOSTENS CENTER
A state-of-the-art multi-sport fieldhouse, Jostens Center includes space for six college-size basketball courts, or 12 regulation-size volleyball courts, or two roller hockey rinks, and four locker rooms, two conference rooms and two officials’ rooms.
HESS SPORTS FIELDS
The Sports Fields venue, sponsored by Amerada Hess Corporation, are large enough to accommodate a variety of outdoor sports — soccer, football, lacrosse, baseball, field hockey, rugby, softball, cricket, etc. The seven grass playing surfaces and four fields may be used collectively for one large event or multiple events may take place simultaneously on various fields.
Permanent bleacher seating is available at each field and additional bleachers may be added for larger events (capacity: 10,000).
BASEBALL QUADRAPLEX/ SOFTBALL COMPLEX
The Baseball Quadraplex includes four professional baseball fields and a half field (used for infield drills). The quad annually hosts MLB players during spring training and minor league players during Rookie League (Gulf Coast League) and Fall Instructional League seasons, as well as camps, clinics and tournaments for amateur and youth players.
The Softball Complex includes six fields that can accommodate fastpitch and slowpitch softball, as well as youth baseball (12 and younger).
TENNIS COMPLEX
Tennis complex includes 10 “HAR TRU” green clay courts, including a stadium court, and can accommodate events ranging from youth clinics to major professional tournaments. Formerly hosted U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships on ATP Tour (1997-2000).
TRACK & FIELD COMPLEX
World-class 400-meter polyurethane Track & Field Complex meets IAAF world governing body standards and measurements, and is consistent with Olympic T&F venues throughout the world.
The Track & Field Complex features an adaptable Cross Country Course.
ESPN WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS GRILL
An enlarged and enhanced sports-themed fast casual restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating located across from Champion Stadium. The restaurant contains a full bar and menu items include burgers, pizza, signature sandwiches and salads, along with a variety of desserts and beverages.
Includes high-definition TV screens, live radio remote capabilities and a SportsCenter desk.
ESPN INNOVATION LAB
New home for the Emerging Technology group at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Facility develops various broadcast-related technologies that eventually may make their way to air on ESPN Networks.
ESPN has utilized the sports complex and its numerous sporting events to build and test future on-air applications, such as player and object tracking and player game simulation.
UNIQUE EXTRAS
Retail facilities: Three sports-themed merchandise locations reside at the sports complex, while customized merchandise vehicles are located throughout the other venues during individual events.
The Welcome Center provides assistance to sports complex guests during their visit to Walt Disney World Resort, including planning for theme park visits, dining and golf reservations.
The PlayStation Pavilion features 17 state-of-the-art PlayStation 3 systems, including a SingStar stage, and a collection of just-released game titles.
ESPN WWoS Complex Quick Facts
The complex incorporates the signature elements of ESPN for a one-of-a-kind experience that is designed to take youth sports to the next level and make athletes, coaches and fans feel as if they made it to the “big time” and on to ESPN.
The complex features a 20-zone audio system, 56 high-definition cameras (42 robotic, 10 handheld and four studio) and 40 high-definition video screens, including three jumbo screens, that can capture any competition at the complex and display live action, game highlights, player interviews and ESPN programming.
A new 2,500-square-foot state-of-the-art Production Center with eight edit bays and uplinks to ESPN facilities in Bristol, Conn., New York and Los Angeles provides competition footage to various ESPN media platforms such as ESPN, ESPNRISE.com and ESPN3.com.
The ESPN Innovation Lab, where new ground-breaking on-air products are developed and tested utilizing the athletes and events taking place at the complex. Additionally, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex was recently designated as ESPN’s development hub for 3D telecast technology.
A redesigned and renamed ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill, a sports-themed eatery with high-definition TV screens, live radio remote capabilities and a SportsCenter desk.
The PlayStation Pavilion features 17 PlayStation 3 systems, including a SingStar stage, and a collection of just-released sports-themed games and other titles.
The Welcome Center is an information hub for sports complex guests looking for sports event information as well as theme park information, dining reservation, golf tee times, etc.
About ESPN, Inc.
ESPN, Inc. is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. The company is comprised of six domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU), ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS and ESPNU HD simulcast services, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (46 networks, syndication, radio, Web sites), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN PPV, ESPN Zones (sports-themed restaurants), and other growing new businesses including ESPN3.com (Broadband), ESPN Mobile Properties, ESPN on Demand and ESPN Interactive. Based in Bristol, Ct., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.
About ESPN Technology:
ESPN Technology develops the ideas and applications that bring the fan closer to the game with new, innovative production enhancements. ESPN’s technology team designed and supports two of the most technologically advanced production centers in the world, the Digital Center in Bristol, Conn., and the Los Angeles Production Center which is the first 1080p-capable production facility. In addition, the Emerging Technology Group has developed many on-air advancements over the past 30 years, including virtual graphics applications, Huck-O-Meter and the Emmy-winning EA Virtual Playbook

Health Awareness for Public

Health education has an important role in teaching, developing and maintaining awareness of people about the health issues, health care and hygiene. It is a profession which is aimed at the achievement of health awareness in the masses.
In developed countries health education is efficiently working to promote the methods by which health of people in a society could be ensured. But the developing countries are lacking in this sector.
Health education involves education regarding the maintenance and promotion of physical, mental, spiritual and social health of people. It equips individuals, communities and societies to take planned and effective health decisions for the promotion and well being of people in general.
It is the health educator who prepares plans regarding improvement and promotion of health facilities in the society.
The awareness campaigns are also designed by health educators for the masses so the people can enjoy better health using scientific and natural measures. Health education also helps counsel people regarding illness prevention and remedies.
Educational skills along with health expertise enable the health educators to enhance the health of others. The health educator decides his plans about health education strategies only after analyzing the need and knowledge level of a community regarding health. The communities which are developed but do not have water and those that suffer from environmental pollution will be educated differently in comparison to the people of less developed community that have many hygiene problems.
They may also do a research and evaluate after educating people about health to know the effectiveness of the efforts. In case of severe virus infecting masses in a society, like swine flu and bird flu, people can get useful information regarding prevention from health educators. The health educators motivate people for practicing what they learn through health education.
More Health Issues :
-Achieving Physical, Mental and Social Well Being
-Getting started with Exercise for Healthier Life
-Consuming Sufficient Healthy Foods Yet Maintaining Ideal Weight
-Understanding Your Body Needs in Maintaining Optimal Health
-Stay Off Smoking with Physical Activities

Health Tips For Busy People

Many women's lifestyle magazines frustrate us by providing exercise regimens for work and then adding: "You can do this exercise in your office!" What about those of us who work in a cube or other small space (with no floor space for Pilates-style stretches) that's not very private (do you really want your boss to wander by right when you're doing jumping jacks?). Even if you are cube-confined, you can maintain your health in a cube.
Make A "Health" Drawer
Your filing spaces are your friends. Most cubes have lots of little drawers. Make one of them a "health" drawer. Add a ziplock bag or two with healthy non-perishable snacks in it (maybe dried veggies), a few bags of herbal, non-caffeinated tea (switch over from coffee midday to help you sleep better at night), and a travel-size hand-sanitizing gel for use regularly when there's a cold going around the office (did you know most colds are transmitted through shared objects like doorknobs?). A decorative canvas bag can store an extra pair of athletic shoes in case you can take a 10 minute walk or stretch break over lunch.
Get Blood Back To Your Brain:
Pop goes the weasel. When you sit in a cube in front of a computer or on the phone for hours at a time, gravity pulls your blood towards your feet. It pools in your feet, ankles, and fanny; if you're ever noticed your feet looking puffy towards the end of the day, the puffiness may be a side-effect of having blood spending so much time down there! Our arm and leg muscles function as "pumps" to get blood back to the heart.
While you could just do jumping jacks to get the blood flowing back upwards, there are less noticeable ways to get blood moving: If you've got a shelf in your high in your cube, keep daily useables (paperclips, stapler) there; getting up regularly will remind you to stretch. While standing lift your legs up at the knee, one at a time, to help get blood flowing. One enterprising woman kept a postcard pinned up towards the very top of her cube wall - and kept an ever-growing collection of postcards that she exchanged every day in the afternoon. The new postcard each day perked her up, and it gave her a reminder to get up and stretch several times a day.
Muscular injury is common in the desk-job world. The Center for Disease Control reports that 92,576 injuries resulted from repetitive motion, including typing or key entry. Make sure to take breaks from the keyboard at least once an hour. Use a wrist support at your computer when you are typing or browsing, Your forearm, wrist, and hand should be on a level, not making a V. The Harvard RSI action group suggests some exercises to help prevent repetitive stress injuries . If you spend a lot of time on the phone and can't use a speaker phone, don't hold the phone by crunching your shoulder against your ear. Instead, invest in or ask for a headset or shoulder support for your receiver.
Drink Plenty Of Water:
Drinking water is very important. It can help you recover from a cold more quickly (though it doesn't "cure" it), replenish lost fluids after exercise, and assist in weight loss (many people think they are hungry when they are actually thirsty, so make sure to take a drink before diving for the candy machine). Keep a four-cup bottle or thermos near the computer and replenish daily. Don't overdo though - excess water can dilute important minerals and vitamins in your blood stream.
Make Sure To Take Your Vitamins & Other Pills:
Pill reminders. Do you need regularly forget to take vitamins because you're busy? Find an attractive, desk-top container to put the bottle in - a decorative flower pot is one option. Something attractive and eye catching will remind you it's there. This can also work for daily medications, but keep in mind that some medications can be toxic to others or have street-value (many prescribed pain killers), so these are medications that should stay with you, rather than your desk.

Imaginary scenarios can influence world events

The concept of a scenario, which is used in areas such as social planning and some fields of research, was originally borrowed from the world of the theatre and was first launched in the 1950s by the American Herman Kahn in the context of futurology studies. Kahn had in mind a description of possible developments in a particular area, for example military technology or civil transport. He introduced the term “scenario” to make the point that this was something other than traditional forecasting (which simply described the most likely course of development).
His idea was, by making use of several basically different scenarios, to broaden thinking about the future and to provide a better basis on which to arrive at robust conclusions. Such scenario-based planning soon found a place in the defence sector in a number of countries including Sweden and it was also adopted by large corporations, for example Shell, where much of the method-related pioneering work was carried out.
There is also a parallel scenario tradition, involving so-called normative scenarios, which takes values and interests into account. This is often referred to as “backcasting”. Backcasting scenarios reason from a desired future situation and offer a number of different strategies to reach this situation. Both these techniques have long been used and further developed by the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) in the context of assignments from civil and military customers and in a variety of research projects.
Forecasts and trend predictions need to be based on stable patterns of development in the particular field of interest concerned. Demographic trends have, over long periods of time, been characterised by such stability and the same applies, for example, to the growth of car ownership over much of the period since the Second World War. But there are also many examples of situations in which the course of development appears more irregular, or where periods of stability are interspersed with more chaotic spells.
One example is the fall of the Berlin Wall, which changed the balance of power in the world, a change that is still having repercussions. There are new actors and new types of conflict which can affect Sweden’s security. The Cold War meant that there was a fixed structure for the threats that could be envisaged, a structure that no longer exists. At the same time, modern society faces new, imponderable challenges, for example globalisation and the effects of climate change on the environment which, in the long term, entail a higher risk of pandemics and extreme weather phenomena. One might say that that there is a broad or qualitative uncertainty as to the possible effects of global developments in terms of new risks and threats to Sweden’s security.
Both scenario planning, as conceived and developed by Kahn and Shell, and advances in normative scenario planning such as backcasting, have emerged as a reaction to the inability of prediction and trend-based planning to handle situations involving rapid changes and possible trend breaks. Scenarios can be used where one cannot rely on trends or if one considers that unfavourable trends should be broken.

Developments not easily influenced
Shell’s scenario planning emerged in the early 1970s as a result of the realisation that current trends and development patterns could no longer be taken as given. In that situation it became necessary to broaden future-oriented analysis. This marked the beginning of the development of scenarios for the surrounding environment as a basis for strategic assessments. Many other companies followed and today such techniques are also used in the public sector.
In the tradition of Shell’s work, a set of qualitatively different scenarios were developed to handle the fundamental uncertainty as to which direction development would take. The scenarios focus on the environment in which the organisation works and describe the possible courses of development in areas which the organisation cannot influence but which can have a major effect on its own operations. An example of such a factor in the surrounding environment is the effect of the price of oil on a transport business. Such scenarios have since been used to develop a strategy which can function in all the different scenarios, so-called robust planning. Usually three or four different scenarios are developed. This allows a relatively broad spectrum to be covered while keeping the number of scenarios to a manageable figure.
Shell’s real contribution is the development of a participating process in which the users, that is to say the decision makers concerned, together with external experts, participate in the scenario development through workshops with structured brainstorming. Computer models based on so-called morphological analysis have been developed by FOI and a number of other research institutes as an alternative to the Shell approach but with the same effort devoted to developing qualitatively different scenarios. One example in which the scenario process in a Shell-type approach was led by FOI is described in the article on page 50.
The normative scenario approach (backcasting) emerged, as did the explorative approach, during the 1970s. In the wake of the oil crises a number of countries carried out normative energy system studies with the aim of finding long-term solutions to the dependence on oil, something that was increasingly recognised both as a security threat and as an environmental problem.

Desirable visions of the future
The concept of backcasting was launched with the idea that it could be used to develop future situations that were desirable, or at least to help solve relevant social problems. Subsequent analysis would address the question of how that future situation or situations could be achieved. In Sweden, FOI carried out early studies which attracted attention. Among the results were two articles, published in the highly regarded journal Science during the 1980s, on the future energy situation in Sweden. This is one topical example of a backcasting study carried out by FOI.

So when does either scenario planning or backcasting represent the best choice of method?
Scenario planning, with scenarios of the surrounding environment in which an organisation is operating, can be appropriate when the activities to be planned are strongly dependent on factors outside that organisation’s control while, at the same time, a number of these factors could conceivably develop in different ways, in other words when there is a significant degree of uncertainty. Backcasting, on the other hand, may be an appropriate choice if there is a major problem which cannot be resolved by means of current trends, but where the relevant actors should together be able to bring about a trend break.
Karl Henrik Dreborg is an analyst at FOI and a specialist in the scenario technique known as backcasting.

New electronic display be used

One of the latest inventions in the field of light emitting devices might change the way people light their homes and design clothes. The device represents a thin film of plastic able to conduct electricity and create solar power.
Scientists working on the international project are looking forward to bring the organic light emitting devices to the masses. Thus the invention could significantly cut costs by billions of dollars each year.
Due to the fact that the organic light emitting devices are very thin and flexible, electronic display screens could be easily created on nearly every material, thus, for example, clothing could, for the first time in history, display specific electronic information.
There are various ways of using the this OLED, like for example change the color of clothes, beer can would be able to display various sports results. In addition the OLED is much more efficient than the light bulb used today.
Currently these devices are applied in mobile phones and MP3 players. However, such OLED is not quite reliable for large TV or computer screens.
In order to make the device more efficient so later to launch it to mass market, the international consortium of researches, Modecom, headed by the University of Bath, United Kingdom, started a three-year project which will cost about $1,700,000.
Modecom comprises 13 groups from 9 universities and two companies. There are three groups from the United Kingdom, six groups from the United States and one group from China and one each from three European countries including Belgium, Italy and Denmark. Only the European countries and China will receive financial aid from the European Union.
The coordinator of Modecom is Dr Alison Walker, who represents the Department of Physics of the University of Bath. "This is a long-term project, and the contributions of many scientists are needed for its success ... Success in achieving the goals of cheap, efficient and long lasting devices is essential as we must do everything we can to reduce our energy costs," he stated.