An Introduction to Scuba Diving

Scuba Diving (Photo credit: John Kotsifas)

The idea that people could breathe underwater was once a fantasy. But today, diving has left the realms of imagination and grown into a worldwide sport with millions of followers. Those who take part in it are granted privileged access to a mysterious yet beautiful world, and every dive is an adventure into the unknown.

Since prehistoric times, people have been drawn to explore the incredible world that lies underwater, whether in pursuit of food or lost riches or from sheer inquisitiveness. There is evidence, for example, that people were holding their breath and diving for shellfish by about 3,000 BC.

Recent Improvements

Despite this long relationship with the undersea world, the human body is not designed to remain underwater for prolonged periods of time. Only comparatively recently, with the development of rudimentary diving bells and helmets from the Middle Ages onward, did it become possible to stay submerged for longer than a single breath allows. During the 18th and 19th centuries, there were remarkable advances in diving technology, such as full diving suits supplied by air pumped from the surface. These advances, which were often spurred on by the lucrative rewards of salvage work, extended dive times and gave access to ever greater depths.

The invention of Aqua Lung in the mid-20th century permitted divers to explore the depths of the world's oceans freely for the first time. This truly remarkable apparatus enabled people to take their own air supply with them when they dive, eliminating the need to be connected to the surface by an airline. The system that evolved from it—scuba—is today widely used in recreational and professional diving.

Global Appeal

As scuba technology became better, diving opened up to the general public. What was once the realm of experts and professionals gradually became a sport with global appeal. Even in countries without a coastline, you will find divers who spend time underwater at inland sites, such as lakes and rivers, or who travel abroad to experience the beauty of the oceans. Once you are qualified, you can dive virtually anywhere in the world. Language is no barrier underwater, since divers use standard hand signals that are understood internationally.

It is hard to tell how many divers there are in the world today, but well over a million people qualify each year. Since its inception in 1966, over 13 million divers around the world have been certified by PADI (the Professional Association of Diving Instructors), and PADI is just one of many training agencies. Diving is one of the fastest-growing hobbies in the world today.

Laura Ginn is a writer and editor for Extreme Sports X, an extreme sports magazine that is updated daily with the latest news, reviews and feature length extreme sports articles.

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Sports Carnival Ecstasy - January 24, 2012

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Welcome to the January 24, 2012 edition of Sports Carnival Ecstasy. In this edition we have Eric Gargiulo and his preview of The Ten Biggest UFC Fights of 2012. Kevin takes a look Fantasy Basketball Buy/Sells for Week 3 of the NBA season. The Jets Have Bigger Problems Than Quarterback according to Jim Bearor. And finally there's an article by Maxim Clark on The 11 Most Questionable Hockey Trades… Ever! Hope you enjoy the material, bookmark, share, tweet, like on Facebook and come back soon.

Eric Gargiulo presents The Ten Biggest UFC Fights of 2012 posted at CamelCluchBlog.Com, saying, "The UFC is gearing up for an explosive 2012. Several big fights are already in place along with some gigantic possibilities if certain chips should fall their way."

Charles Chua C K presents 5 blogging Lessons to Learn from the World No 1 Badminton Player posted at All About Living with Life.

baseball

Jason Arias presents A Personal Twist on the 2013 Hall of Fame Ballot posted at The Ringer Report, saying, "Taking a look at the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot and why it means more to me than any ballot thus far"

basketball

Kevin presents 2011-2012 Fantasy Basketball Buy/Sells Week 3 posted at Draftopia, saying, "Alright so we're in week 3 of Fantasy Basketball, and beginning to see which players are for real and which are destined to annoy us the rest of the season."

Richard Livsey presents BROOKLYN NETS, FUHGEDDABOUDIT! posted at MentalSwag.com, saying, "I'm leaving the Knicks for good."

extreme

Robert Hazlewood presents Plyometric Exercises For Speed and Agility posted at Agilty Drills For Speed and Explosiveness.

Tomislav Stajduhar presents Should WRC allow superally restarts? posted at World Rally Blog.

football

Steve presents 2012 High School All American Games This Week posted at BrutusReport, saying, "Soon marks the national highschool all-American bowl week featuring the best seniors and many college selections throughout the games."

Evan Hoon presents The Sports World Through a Teenager's Eyes posted at The Sports World Through a Teenager's Eyes, saying, "Tim Tebow's 1st playoff win."

Jim Bearor presents The Jets Have Bigger Problems Than Quarterback posted at The Bearor's Den, saying, "My thoughts on the Jets and their postseason woes. I would really appreciate the oppurtunity for some of my work to be featured in your carnival, thank you."

David Katz presents Sleeping With The Fishes: 2012 NFL Playoffs posted at Davy Jones' Locker Room, saying, "Hilarious Sports Blog With Quality Analysis and Writing"

Evan Hoon presents The Sports World Through a Teenager's Eyes posted at The Sports World Through a Teenager's Eyes.

hockey

Maxim Clark presents The 11 Most Questionable Hockey Trades… Ever! posted at IceHockeyLeagues.com.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of sports carnival ecstasy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Sports Carnival Ecstasy - August 26, 2010

Welcome to the August 26, 2010 edition of Sports Carnival Ecstasy.This time around we have 40 article submissions for the carnival with some new blogs and some familiar ones. Michael Keneski starts this carnival with a number of daily fantasy baseball wrap-ups. I'm still in the top 3 in my league so I like to keep up-to-date with the posts. And also in baseball, NYSportsballs writes about the New Generation of Pitchers. And finally Matt Regaw breaks the hearts of Boston fans with his story on the Red Sox having no chance of making the playoffs. MB reflects of basketball free agent activity with his article on Life after Bosh for the Toronto fans. And we have three great articles on the NFL with the season just around the corner. Matt Regaw has a Preseason Preview. NYSportsballs breaks down why Tim Tebow is Not NFL Caliber. Something to do with a late release and a bad haircut. And Eric Gargiulo has his own Fantasy Football 2010 Preview. Hope you enjoy, bookmark, share, and come back next time.

Pinnacle presents Creating a Corporate Image posted at Pinnacle Plans blogs.

MB presents Gavin Floyd and xFIP « Toronto+ Sports Blog posted at Toronto+ Sports Blog, saying, "Someone in my fantasy league made a comment regarding Floyd’s terrible season and I commented “outside of a brutal BABIP and low strand rate, Gavin Floyd has essentially been the same pitcher” to which I was basically ridiculed. But as we can see from this chart, Gavin Floyd was and is the same pitcher and therein lays the beauty of advanced pitching metrics like FIP or xFIP and the use of the peripherals that help gather these stats (BABIP, strand rate, HR/FB etc)."

Punong presents Expect the Unexpected with Kali Sikaran posted at Kali Sikaran International.

GCfisherman presents IS FISHING A SPORT? posted at Fishing the Gold Coast.

baseball

Michael Keneski presents FANTASY BASEBALL WRAPUP: WEDNESDAY posted at Fantasy Sports Geek.

Michael Keneski presents FANTASY BASEBALL WRAPUP: THURSDAY posted at Fantasy Sports Boss.

Michael Keneski presents FANTASY BASEBALL WRAPUP: FRIDAY posted at Fantasy Sports Boss.

Michael Keneski presents WHAT TO DO WITH MATT KEMP????? posted at Fantasy Sports Boss.

NYSportsballs presents A New Generation of Pitchers – by Jack Kehoe posted at Big Sports Balls.

Michael Keneski presents FANTASY BASEBALL ISSUES: TIM LINCECUM: TIME TO WORRY???? posted at Fantasy Sports Boss.

Matt Regaw presents Dream Another Dream: The 2010 Boston Red Sox Don?t have a shot at the Playoffs posted at Bookie Blitz, saying, "Boston Red Sox are done in 2010. Sports betting picks for baseball are here"

basketball

MB presents Life After Bosh posted at Toronto+ Sports Blog, saying, "Losing a player with the abilities and talents of Chris Bosh is a tough pill to swallow. Bosh was a gamer and a highly skilled player who was also fiercely competitive, his 24 ppg and 10 rpg is something you do not simply replace. Chris Bosh was a star player, and in the NBA that means a few things..."

MB presents Lebron Made Wrong ‘Decision’ « Toronto+ Sports Blog posted at Toronto+ Sports Blog, saying, "Why did I have trouble getting to sleep, was this really worth of all the fuss and attention, did I just get caught up in all of the hype created by ESPN? Whatever it was, it had the whole world captivated during a horribly produced, lacklustre and at times boring/awkward one hour special called simply “The Decision”."

extreme

Addy presents Flawless Triathlon Transitions posted at tri-bikes.com, saying, "Flawless Triathlon Transitions: Shave minutes off your triathlon time by perfecting your transitions"

football

Michael Keneski presents FANTASY FOOTBALL GEEK DRAFT ROUND 1 posted at Fantasy Sports Boss.

Michael Keneski presents FANTASY FOOTBALL GEEK DRAFT: ROUND 2 posted at Fantasy Sports Boss.

Michael Keneski presents FANTASY FOOTBALL TIDBITS posted at Fantasy Sports Boss.

Matt Regaw presents NFL Preseason Preview: 5 Reasons to watch when Miami takes on Tampa Bay posted at Regaw World, saying, "NFL preseason sports betting promo code Dolphins vs Tampa Bay"

Matt Regaw presents NFL Preseason Intriguing Storylines: Steelers vs. Lions posted at Regaw World, saying, "Pittsburgh Steelers Vs Detroit Lions sports betting preseason preview"

Michael Keneski presents FANTASY SPORTS BOSS DRAFT ROUND 5 posted at Fantasy Sports Boss.

Matt Regaw presents NFL Preseason Preview: Five Reasons to watch when the 49ers battle the Colts posted at Regaw World, saying, "2010 NFL Sports Betting Preseason promo code preview: Colts vs Niners"

Matt Regaw presents Will The Reggie Bush / USC Feud Derail the Saints This Season? posted at Regaw World, saying, "Saints and Reggie Bush and the USC scandal"

Matt Regaw presents NFL Preseason NY Giants at NY Jets: Best Bet for Battle in Big Apple posted at Regaw World, saying, "NFL preseason Sports Betting picks for Monday night football in game of Jets vs Giants"

Matt Regaw presents NFL 2010 Preview: Handicapping the Race for the Offensive Rookie of the Year posted at Bookie Blitz, saying, "2010 NFL sports betting promo for rookie of the year!"

Matt Regaw presents Give me a Minuteman: Five reasons to watch Patriots at Falcons posted at Bookie Blitz, saying, "NFL sports betting preseason promo code, Patriots at Falcons preview and five reasons to watch"

Michael Keneski presents FANTASY BOSS FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT: ROUND 6 posted at Fantasy Sports Boss.

Matt Regaw presents Young Eagles Flying High Heading Into Game Against The Bengals posted at Bookie Blitz, saying, "football sports betting picks, Eagles at Bengals friday night"

NYSportsballs presents Tim Tebow is Not NFL Caliber posted at Big Sports Balls.

Matt Regaw presents Cowboys at Chargers: NFL Preseason Preview and Prediction posted at Bookie Blitz, saying, "NFL preseason review sports betting picks, and trends. Cowboys at Chargers"

Matt Regaw presents 2010 NFL Preseason: Houston at New Orleans Preview and Pick posted at Bookie Blitz, saying, "Sports betting football picks on NFL preseason Texans at Saints free bet, pick, and more"

Matt Regaw presents Sportsbook Review: Diamond Sportsbook (DSI) posted at Bookie Blitz, saying, "Sportsbook for football sports betting, sportsbook review of one of the best sportsbooks in the business"

Matt Regaw presents Odd Man Out: Five Teams that Deserve to be in the Preseason College Football Top 25 posted at Bookie Blitz, saying, "Football Sports Betting Picks, College Football Top 25 poll"

Michael Keneski presents FALLOUT: SIDNEY RICE'S HIP SURGERY posted at Fantasy Sports Boss.

Eric Gargiulo presents Fantasy Football 2010 Preview ? Tight Ends posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, "So here we are at the portion of my previews where we look at fantasy football TEs. This one is also kind of tricky due to the fact that very few can be huge numbers guys, and only thought of fondly in leagues that require a TE position filled."

Matt Regaw presents NFL Preseason Weekend Guide: The Best Games To Watch in Week Three posted at Bookie Blitz, saying, "Free sports betting picks for NFL preseason and NFL preseason promo code, best games to watch in week three"

Matt Regaw presents 2010 NFL Preseason: Indianapolis Colts at Green Bay Packers Preview and Pick posted at Bookie Blitz, saying, "Football sports betting picks for the NFL preseason with a $50 free bet on the Colts at Packers"

golf

Ben van Rensburg presents Pine Lodge Resort, George, Southern Cape, South Africa posted at Dream Golf Job.

Andrewgolf presents Being a vice-captain is my kind of gig... posted at Loopin' For the Lama, saying, "Vice-captain of the Ryder Cup seems like it would be better than most jobs out there...
A sarcastic take on what assisting Monty would be like"

mma

Tal presents History | London 2012 posted at London 2012, saying, "All about the Olympic games"

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of sports carnival ecstasy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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