Hasta La Gadget!

According to Safe Kids Worldwide, more than 3.5 million children age fourteen and under get medical treatment for sports injuries each year. Of those, nearly half are overuse injuries, such as Sever’s disease (a heel problem often associated with soccer), Osgood-Schlatter disease (knee pain common in male soccer and basketball players), gymnast’s wrist, runner’s knee, swimmer’s shoulder, shin splints (common in soccer players and track athletes), and Little League elbow or shoulder.

Three out of 10 parents in a 2012 SafeKids Worldwide survey reported that their child had sustained the same sports injury more than once. The same survey showed that such repeat injuries are more common among athletes who play on three or more teams, play on multiple teams at the same time in different sports, and have missed time playing or practicing due to injury.

Multiple injuries among some young athletes highlight the need for rest to prevent overuse injuries, overtraining, and burnout. Here are 10 ways experts say parents can help avoid these problems:

1. Days off from sports every week: Encourage your child to try to take at least 1 to 2 days off per week from competitive athletics, sport-specific training, and competitive practice (scrimmages) to allow time for both physical and psychological recovery. In a 2011 position statement, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association recommends that, as a general rule, youth athletes should limit sports to no more than 16 to 20 hours per week. Loyola University Medical Center sports medicine physician Neeru Jayanthi, who has studied overuse injuries extensively, recommends that young athletes spend no more hours per week playing sports than their age.

2. Follow the ‘10% rule’: To avoid overuse injuries, sports medicine expert Elizabeth Quinn advises athletes, novice or expert, not to increase their weekly training time, number of repetitions or total distance more than 10% each week (e.g. increase total running mileage by 2 miles if currently running a total of 20 miles per week).

3. 2-3 months off from a sport every year: Encourage your young athlete to take at least 2 to 3 months away from a specific sport during the year. A 2010 study found a 42% increase in self-reported overuse injuries in high school athletes who participated in a sport all year versus 3 or less seasons per year. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2012 Policy Statement on Baseball and Softball recommends against youth pitchers pitching competitively more than 8 months in any 12-month period, and that they get 3 consecutive months of complete rest from pitching each year.

4. Keep focus on fun and skill development: A 2014 study by researchers at George Washington University reported that 9 of 10 kids said “fun” is the main reason they participate. When asked to define fun, they offered up 81 reasons – and ranked “winning” at number 48. Young girls gave it the lowest ratings. The best thing we can do for our kids, as parents and coaches, is to keep the amount of competition in youth sports from becoming excessive, to make having fun and learning the sport as important, if not more important than winning, especially for younger children. They will have a lifetime of competition soon enough.

5. Increase the amount of unstructured free play: The American Academy of Pediatrics emphasized in a 2007 report that “play (or some available free time in the case of older children and adolescents) is essential to the cognitive, physical, social and emotional well-being of children and youth,” and that organized sports participation should not come at the expense of such play. Dr. Jayanthi says a good rule of thumb is for your child not to spend more than twice as much time playing organized sports as spent in unstructured activities such as pick-up basketball games and touch football.

6. Avoid multiple teams: Nearly 7 in 10 parents of parents in the SafeKids Worldwide survey say their kids play on more than one team at the same time, 22% in the same sport and 43% in a different sport. More and more youth baseball players play on multiple teams at the same time. While doing so may give them more opportunities to develop their skills, and while the amount of pitching may be limited by league rule or the judgment of the coaches, playing on multiple teams with overlapping seasons increases the risk that weekly pitch limits (or the 100 inning per season limit recommended by the American Sports Medicine Institute in a 2010 study) will be exceeded because of a lack of communication and coordination between coaches, who are likely to end up blaming each other if your child suffers an arm injury. In its 2012 Policy Statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics says “Young pitchers should avoid pitching on multiple teams with overlapping seasons,” and calls for the enforcement of rest requirements across all teams.

7. Watch out for signs of burnout: If your child complains of non-specific muscle or joint problems, fatigue, or experiences a dip in grades, they may be experiencing burnout, and sitting down for a heart-to-heart talk about their sports participation may be appropriate. The surest path to burnout is to play the same sport season after season.

8. Medical team at tournaments: Advocate for the development of a medical advisory board for weekend athletic tournaments to educate athletes about heat or cold illness, overparticipation, associated overuse injuries and/or burnout.

9. More health, safety and nutrition education: Encourage development of educational opportunities for athletes, parents, and coaches to provide information about appropriate nutrition and fluids, sports safety, and the avoidance of overtraining to achieve optimal performance and good health.

10. Exercise more caution for younger athletes: If you are the parent of a younger athlete, be especially cautious in allowing them to participate in multi-game tournaments in short periods of time.

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Like most fashionistas the thought of waiting until September for a new fashion week was almost painful. Luckily Australia was able to grace us with new designs during their Resort 2016 shows last week. Even though I observed the catwalk from my desk, the shows opened up my eyes to a new group of talented designers.

When social media started promoting MBFWA, I became extremely curious as to what country was hosting this fashion week. I then typed into Google- MBFWA, and I was happily surprised to find out it was for Australia. As I began researching the presenting designers my jaw began to drop as I viewed their past collections. Each design was more ornate than the next. I then started my own countdown for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia.

My favorite thing about the clothing featured during this fashion week was how the designers and their teams were able to manipulate fabric. One collection that has been embedded in mind since last week is Maticevski’s. For those who don’t know the designer, he has an avant-garde style and has been recognized as a “technical genius”. My favorite piece of his new collection is the Encompassing Dress. This piece has the volume and draping expertise to make any head turn.

Another designer that stood out for their use of fabric manipulation was Strateas Carlucci. The designers used the wave tuck technique to create incredible texture on a blouse, dress, sweater, short jacket, and a mid length coat for both women’s and men’s clothing. This feature completely changed the feel and appearance of the knit fabrics used, and really made the collection special.

Designer Michael Lo Sordo’s Resort 2016 line was consumed with whimsicality. This element was highlighted through the use of silk chiffon micro pleats throughout his collection. This fabrication allowed him to create fan-like gowns, blouses, and skirts that could transform any lady into a goddess- an Australian goddess. The enchanting gowns designed by Michael and his team made his collection stand out, and has made me a fan of his work for shows to come.

One of my favorite collections to walk the runway of Carriageworks was Betty Tran’s line. Her drive to create pieces that empower women to look and feel great about themselves truly shines with this collection. Her pieces highlighted women’s curves through tight silhouettes and gathered trains. One piece I really admired was a red waistcoat with black embroidery that had a floor-length gathered tail. Her designs and use of red were reminiscent of older Valentino collections. This is one of the reasons why I feel ardent about the line and the designer.

When many of you think about Australia, kangaroos and the Outback are the only things that come to mind. However, once you review the collections produced by these talented Australian designers fashion will be the only thing that will come to mind.

For more information on Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia go to:
http://mbfashionweek.com/australia

Maticevski’s Encompassing Dress

Strateas Carlucci

Michael Lo Sordo

Betty Tran

Ten Pieces show at Sydney’s iconic Icebergs pool
Photo: Instagram @Australia / @vincent_Bondi

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Nadeesha Godamunne is a full time in-house fashion illustrator/colorist from New Zealand now residing in Brooklyn, New York. Her voice needs to be heard. The creativity of her hands need to be seen. Say hello to Nadeesha.

1. Tell Me Your Story!
My name is Nadeesha Godamunne, I’m a 27 year old illustrator originally from Sri Lanka. I grew up in New Zealand, and ever since I could remember, was surrounded by art supplies. My mother was a preschool teacher and knew I had a natural talent for drawing. I drew before I could write, it was the fastest way of communicating, and the most enjoyable. Naturally, my parents kept me occupied with copious amounts of coloring books, Crayola packs and extra curricular art lessons. I was fortunate enough to have had all the tools needed to excel.

I continued to excel in the arts during high school, and took as many art related subjects as I could; graphic design, painting and art design. Though drawing was a natural part of my being, I never considered it a viable career path. It was a skill I valued, but also something I did for fun. I knew I wanted to work in the creative field, but drawing as a profession made me nervous. Its not the 80s anymore, where illustrations grace the covers of magazines and newspapers, in fact illustration today isn’t the most favored form of communication, photography dominates.

I went on to do fashion design for my college degree at the Auckland University of Technology. It was another form of expression. Though I enjoyed the design process of draping, patternmaking and sewing, I kept returning to drawing, and concluded my final year with a collection that featured hand drawn garments digitally printed on shift dresses, giving the illusion of many layers of clothes. The collection won multiple prizes, including the Mittelmoda award, which allowed me to showcase in Gorizia, Italy. The Trompe L’oeil aspect certainly rekindled my love for drawing, and opened up another avenue for textile design. My mentor Linda Jones, encouraged me to pursue my Masters in illustration. It was a bizarre concept that seemed almost too self-indulgent. Two years later, I completed my postgraduate studies, and realized that drawing was my life, and there was no going back.

I was fortunate enough to have then been approached to teach fashion illustration to freshmans at the Auckland University of Technology. I did this for two years and subsequently relocated to San Francisco where I instructed at the Academy of Art University, teaching along one of my greatest inspirations, Gladys Perint Palmer. Teaching opened my eyes to the lack of visual literacy today, so giving students the confidence and ability to communicate their ideas was rewarding.

I continue to collaborate with designers and editors to push forward the potential of fashion illustration. There is definitely a resurgence today, which is uplifting.

2. What is the meaning of Mokshini? Why did you decide to name your brand this?
Mokshini is my first name, and Nadeesha, my second. Though I’ve always been called Nadeesha, I felt it was time to nurture more of my ‘true’ identity. The name change has also allowed me to shift gears and think of my self as a brand, not just a freelance illustrator.

3. That is so dope to see yourself as art! Your art is very inspired by street style. Would you consider yourself a fashionista?
The term ‘Fashionista’ gets tossed around a lot, so I will instead say that I appreciate beautifully made clothes. The feel, drape and construction of a well-made garment are exciting to me and inspire me to draw. As a fashion illustrator one should hope I love clothes and have a keen eye for it. Taking pride in my appearance, experimenting, and expressing myself through attire, is part of my job.

4. How is your work compatible with your personal style?
Clothes are definitely an extension of my personality, and like wise my work. I dress according to how I feel. Some days I’m flirty and girly, and play with color and print, other days, I feel dark and grungy, and sport leather and black. I enjoy serendipity, so am definitely not a planner. I’m the same way when drawing. I experiment with certain styles and mediums depending on the way I feel, and try not to let the things around me dictate me. In both the way I dress and draw being bold, confident, expressive, and quirky are common denominators.

5. Who are your true inspirations?
My mother, who is a large part of why I’m doing what I’m doing. She has always influenced and supported my yearning to draw. My mentors, from college, who continue to give me feedback and critique, and of course the great masters themselves (both traditional artists and contemporary fashion illustrators). Kenneth Paul Block, Rene Gruau, Egon Shiele, Toulouse Lautrec and Gladys Perint Palmer are a few that have influenced my body of work. I have a pin board of many of these figures drawing in their studios, a constant reminder to keep pursuing and excelling.

6. AfroPunk (PLEASE HYPERLINK http://www.afropunk.com/) recently picked up your work and features it weekly? How has its large readership affected your work? How did you get involved with the AfroPunk community?
The response has been extremely positive; I’ve been receiving a lot of praise and appreciation for my art and what I do. When I illustrate a person, I feed off their energy, more so than the photograph itself, their demeanour and character is what I try to capture, not so much a likeliness. I think this interpretation is what people find captivating. The fact they are ‘real’ people off the streets of NYC, makes the work instantly relatable also. More importantly, there is a strong cultural element. Drawing beautiful black men and women, and capturing how they express their identity through dress, is alluring. From striking jewellery to colourful prints, its certainly been fun to illustrate. How I got involved was by reaching out to AfroPunk, who after hearing my story was interested in doing a write-up. What was a feature soon became a weekly instalment after I pitched the idea. It’s been a great platform.

7. Humans of New York (PLEASE HYPERLINK http://www.humansofnewyork.com/) are certainly super spectacles! However, will you consider expanding your work to other major cities with an immense fashion scene? If so, which cities?
Certainly! This is a major goal of mine. I see my tag line ‘New Eyes- New York’ evolving to say, ‘New Eyes- London’ or Milan, or Paris; the major fashion capitals. I envision Mokshini evolving into a brand, where I collaborate with photographers from around the globe to capture characters I could illustrate. At its core, the drawings not only aim to capture fashionable people from different geographic locations, but also the zeitgeist in each of these countries.

8. Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
I see myself working independently, growing Mokshini, and expanding my network of supporters. It is one thing to be a freelance illustrator, and another to create a brand, where the work comes to you. I envision a collection of prints and textiles for merchandise, and collaborations with leading brands, fashion houses and retail stores.

To view more of Nadeesha’s work visit: MOKSHINI.com

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

In short order everyone will transition from complaining about how cold it is to complaining about how hot it is, especially me. A fan is a great thing to have around to supplement your air conditioning, or depending on the temperature, protect your electric bill from your A/C unit getting run at all. But which fan is best? Time to spin up your nominations.

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It’s been 7 years, and the great iOS vs Android debate rumbles on—in internet forums and real life. But these platforms have come a long way even in the last year or two. Do the old arguments still apply? What features separate iOS 8.3 from Android 5.1 Lollipop? We used a Nexus 6 and an iPhone 6 to investigate.

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