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I want to see my hair staright!
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Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 1
Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 01:26AM
: I want to see my hair staright!
My hair is like a 4a/4b type with a little 3c mixed in it and I love my natural hair, don't get me wrong, but I just want to see it straight it for once. I've really been having this urge to straighten my hair, just to really see how long it is and to have nice, thick, shiny, bouncy, and easy maintenance hair for a couple of weeks. However, I can't seem to get my hair straight. I have tried several times, even giving the Ion Keratin Smoothing Treatment a try, but every time, not even 2 minutes after the iron is off the hair, it gets puffy, frizzy, and stiff. I don't have the best blow dryer and flatiron (conair
..), but I know they're not that bad, so I don't think that's my only problem. I know that type 4 hair can be a little resistant, but I know there is a way to get the results I want. I just like having the option of straight hair when I want it, and not being able to achieve that is frustrating me. I just don't know what to do and I really need help..with everything. I want to know what are the best products to use, heat protectants, flatirons, blow dryers, etc. And also some tips on the process, what are some crucial steps that I could be missing? Thank you for helping!


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subset: commoncrawl


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I have owned two Kenwood spatulas since I was married, and this is now my second one, which is slightly different in its design. My spatula was bought for around £1 and it's constructed of white, very strong yet flexible plastic material. I really think it's an indispensable piece of kitchen equipment and it certainly gets a lot of use in my home.
I use my Kenwood spatula mainly for getting the remnants of foods out of my Pyrex mixing bowls. It's easy to use and due to its design and long handle and the fact that the end of the spatula lies flat against the glass bowl, this really does enable me to get every last drop of cake mixture out of the bowl and so nothing ever goes to waste.
The end piece of the spatula actually seems to mould itself to the sides of the bowl and the long handle makes it easy to grip and turn the spatula around easily without hurting my wrist. Nothing can escape this spatula!
My spatula has a variety of uses around the kitchen, and most recently my daughter was using it to help me smooth out the chocolate cream around her birthday cake. As the spatula is so soft and flat, all you have to do is gently spread it over the icing and it gives a perfectly neat and seamless finish.
The spatula is easy to keep clean, and ca either be washed by hand or alternatively just popped in the dishwasher. It comes out stain free no matter what foods I have been cooking and it really is a very useful and well made and designed piece of kitchen equipment.
I think I might be slightly lost without it and so I definitely recommend it.
Kenwood Flexible Spatula
After my Nan saw this in the Lakeland catolouge (which I am sure she sits and studies!), she was convinced and told me she has ordered two, one for me and one for her. They arrived and I drove down to pick my newest kitchen gadget up! My nan hadn't really explained it to me much so I was pretty suprised when I saw what looked exactly like a normal spatular, just in white.
The Spatula
Like I said, it does look incredilbly similar to a normal spatular. The difference? This plastic is bendable and, like it hints in the name, flexible. This means when scraping out of bowls and so on it moves to get the mixture out. This is much, much better than the rigid plastic ones that miss half of it as they can't reach it. I think Kenwood have hit a gold mine here as it really is a great idea!
It looks like a normal spatula except for on one of the sides. Instead of curving round, the plastic continues on and then makes a sharp turn inwards (towards the handle of the spatula. Hard to explain, so look at the picture I will post to see what I mean. The part I am talking about I use to sweep around the cake mix bowl normally.
As Kenwood is a trusted brand (in my mind, maybe not everyone elses!) I was expecting a pretty good quality product. And I wasn't dissapointed! Although the plastic is flexible, it certainly isn't breakable! I expect this spatula will probably last for many more years to come (I have had mine for around three years now). Although, if you do want yours to last a long time, there is one rule you must follow - do NOT put it in the frying pan or the saucepan. As soon as it gets near anything hot it will simply melt. It may be pretty amazing, but after all, it is still just plastic! So do be careful if you buy it!
Once again, very simple as you clean it just like you would a normal spatula. Soaking it in warm water and wiping it with a cloth or the soft side of a scourer normally does the job for me. And that is even when there is dried on cake mix, though that doesn't happen often. Me and my daughter have an addiction to cake mix lol!
One thing I would say is be careful with children and the spatula. Izzy is 11 now and old enough to be sensible, but littler kids could cut themselves as it is quite sharp at the points. Also do not let them try and lick it as I wasn't watching Izzy, she did and ended up cutting her lip. Needless to say, that cake was ruined! Though we could have got away with a strawberry effect cake...
My Experiences
I have been using Kenwood's Flexible spatula for around 3 years now and I think it is really worth the money I spent on it. It kind of reminds me of a ruler in some ways as the way it bends is pretty similar! But overall, it is a great addition to any kitchen and I'm sure it will come in handy!
Would I recommend it? Yes! Go and order one ... NOW!
Thanks for reading! Please rate and leave a comment :) x
*Also posted on Ciao under the same name*
The Kenwood Flexible Spatula is something that I've owned for about 18 months. I can't remember how much I paid for it, but I can tell you that it can be bought from Lakeland for just £1.99. The price is a good price, especially for a well known quality brand like Kenwood.
This spatula is white with a plastic handle, and then off of the handle is the spatula blades - which are a kind of two-in-one design. One of the blades is a soft blade which is rubbery, fairly soft and flexible. This blade looks like a traditional spatula, but it is definitely more flexible and so it's easy to get more mixture scraped from the sides of a bowl because it can be more easily moulded to the sides. Adjacent to that there is another blade with is a more rigid blade which I have used for a separating mixtures into portions, as well as for trimming pastry. The handle is now terribly comfortable as there is no soft handle and it's just a rigid plastic, but as it's something that's only used for seconds at a time then it's fine. The overall design works well and it has lasted well.
It is supposedly not dishwasher safe, but I have to admit to always putting it in the dishwasher and it's never seemed any detrimental effects by doing so.
Overall, I would recommend this spatula and think it handles "spatula jobs" well!
There are so many kitchen spatulas on the market of varying colours, designs and sizes. The Kenwood spatula is a very basic slim spatula made of clear/white plastic. I really wouldn't want to be without mine, it is one of the most used tools in my kitchen. I'm often cooking or baking and do own other spatulas but they are rarely used, the Kenwood is the one I reach for every time.
The advantage of this spatula is that it is so very thin, flat and extremely flexible. It is strong enough to manipulate easily and will bend just as you need it to. When you use it to scrape cake mixture from a bowl the result can be an almost totally clean bowl. Nothing is wasted with this pliable spatula and I find it so versatile. I use it for scooping out all sorts of food mixtures from bowls or dishes, also sauces from wide jars. I also find it ideal for spreading or smoothing fillings and toppings and use it for lifting delicate pastries or similar.
It can be used for warm to medium hot food, for instance I use it for removing all the mashed potato from a saucepan, but very high temperatures will melt it slightly and it will remain permanently bent at the end. It is dishwasher safe (although not on a too higher temperature) but also very easy to clean.
I actually have two of these spatulas in my kitchen just in case one is caught up in the dishwasher. I think I use the Kenwood spatula every day at some point and if I get really involved with cooking then I'll use it several times for various tasks. Very handy. I have given a Kenwood spatula to my daughter and she now won't use any other spatula.
The drawbacks are that it doesn't seem to be easy to source these spatulas, they are available from Lakeland and also Kenwood. They may be on sale in certain high street stores or kitchen specialists but not in my area. They don't necessarily last for a long time, mine last for approximately a year but I admit I tend to get them involved with too higher temperatures too often. However, the way they save any waste of food makes them excellent value for money at £1.99 each. So, without hesitation, 5 stars for the Kenwood spatula and I highly recommend it.
Thank you for reading this review!
© Lunaria 2012
We have had our Kenwood Flexible Spatula for so long now we cannot remember where we got it from but we are guessing it was probably something we bought when we were first married. It is still in fine condition and gets used very regulalry, so that will tell you how durable this is.
It is white plastic with a long handle which is very strong and sturdy and easy to use.
It can be washed by hand in warm soapy water or alterntiavely it can also be popped into the dishwasher if you like.
It is used mainly by me and my other half when we scramble eggs or when we fry them. It makes it easy to just life the egg out of the pan without it breaking up as it just slides underneath the egg and the egg sit son top of the spatula.
We are pleased with this spatula as it is bendy at the end and this is useful for a variety of different things we cook for the whole family. My wife also uses it regulalry for when she is baking cakes and such as she finds it very sueful for scraping the last dregs of cake mixture out of our large Pyrex bowls.
It is heat resitant but one word of warning, do not leave it standing in a hot frying pan as the ends will eventually turn up - it is heat resistant but not fire resistant and the ends will frazzle slightly if left in direct heat for too long.
Great product and I brand I know and trust and really recommended.
This review is also published on CIao under name of sorehead.
This is my second Kenwood spatula as unfortunately the last one melted. I left it by the gas burner and it just caught the end of it. It ruined the shape of the spatula so I had to buy another one. The first Kenwood spatula came with a Kenwood food processor I bought. I replaced it with exactly the same one as I managed to pick one up for £1.00 in a supermarket.
There is nothing fancy about the spatula; in fact it is rather cheap in design. It is made from white plastic. The handle is long enough for you to reach comfortably into a mixing bowl and scoop out the mixture without getting your hands all sticky.
At the head of the handle is the spatula, this is very flat and very thin. If you touch it with your fingers you can pull it around. It is this flexibility that makes the product so useful. You can scoop up mixture easily with it because it moulds to the shape of the bowl, nothing can escape underneath it.
At the head of the spatula this also a further piece of plastic that runs about two inches up the handle, it is a sort of flap that assists you in scooping up even more of the concoction. If you run this side around the bowl, you can remove much more of the ingredients, much quicker. It acts as a sort of mud guard! When I was transferring a cake mix from a mixing bowl to a tin, I used the spatula to make sure I got every last morsel of ingredients! It is even useful for smoothing down the top of the cake and then applying icing as it is smooth and had quite a decent sized surface area.
I use my spatula for a variety of tasks around the kitchen. I use it the most for scooping ingredients out of the bread maker and mixing bowl. You should always use plastic utensils for scooping ingredients in or out of your bread maker. Meta utensils can damage the non-stick surface of the bread pan. They can also scratch the mixing bowl and cause it to look scuffed and be harder to clean.
The spatula is cheap and can be bought on the internet or in stores for around £1.00. I think it is really good value, the product looks like it is made from cheap plastic, but that is exactly what I want from my utensil!
I would recommend this product.
I like to bake cakes, especially birthday cakes, I've always made my children's birthday cakes, always novelty cakes, from a Jewelry box with jewelry included to a keyboard piano style. To do this I need something solid that I can trust to spread the icing on the cake precisely where and how I need it to be. In the past I have had to make do with a palette knife, which you can imagine is quite clumsy to use in intricate areas, so I hunted down this Kenwood Flexible Spatula, I decided it was time for a better tool for my icing.
~Kenwood Flexible Spatula~
The spatula is a solid white plastic and measures around ten inches, I find the flexibility of this spatula fantastic, it really helps with the precision I need with my icing. I also find I'm not wasting much icing as this spatula will pick up icing from even the most difficult of places in the bowl. As I use lots of different colors, it's great that I can quickly rinse and dry the spatula off, which because it is one solid piece of plastic it's quick and easy to do with nothing getting stuck in any nooks and crannies.
I really don't know why I continued to use a palette knife all that time when there were things as good as this to make my whole icing process so much easier and neater. Of course the spatula can also be used for actually dishing out the cake mix before hand, which I do, again really easy to quickly wash and dry it, ready for the icing.
On finding other uses for the spatula I decided I needed more than one and I would recommend you get yourself 2 or 3 of these spatulas, as I've found on mixing sauces the spatula has stained somewhat and because of this I didn't really want to use it in my icing, so I got myself another couple from Lakeland for £1.99 each. Unfortunately, they do tend to bend in hot temperatures, one of my spatulas is slightly melted on the end as well.
~Really worth buying~
But besides having to be careful when inserting these spatulas in hot temperatures, I still think they are worth every penny, as the main purpose for me purchasing them in the first place was for my cakes and for this they are fantastic and I would 100% recommend them. It's amazing how much difference a simple piece of plastic has made to my cake decorating experience. I don't know how long these spatulas will last, but there not doing bad so far, I've had them since before Christmas and I use them quite a lot, they are still going strong, so I'll just have to wait and see, but at £1.99 I wont mind in the slightest when I need to buy another one.
5 stars for the Kenwood Flexible Spatula when they give up the ghost I will be buying more.
Thank you for reading my review which may also be posted on other sites.
==Kenwood Cooking Spatula==
I do love to do a bit of baking and Jack always likes to help me. The trouble is that all Jack really wants to do is to lick the bowl clean so that he can get a good deal of raw cake mixture! Who wouldn't! But I will often want to use this product, the Kenwood Spatula to clean the bowl of the remaining contents and of course tears will be shed.
We have gotten around this aspect of the final stages of baking by still using the spatula but making sure that Jack gets to eat the remaining scrape of the bowl FROM the spatula! Clever or what.
So I have had this spatula years and it is still going strong. I think I bought it from my local house wear store, Hursts, for a mere couple of pounds good 3 years ago. In that time I have used it a lot which of course means that it has been cleaned a lot and I am surprised at how good it is still looking.
The design is a little different to a lot of other spatulas and this is what makes it not only stand out but also be a really good item to have in the drawer and ensures that it is used a good amount of times. There are two sides to the spatula and these are both different as opposed to a regular spatula which looks identical both sides.
The first side is as you would expect from any regular spatula and it is made of a bendy type of rubber material which is easy to push into the bowl and it allows the cake mixture to be picked up from the sides and a clean bowl is left and all the mixture is taken on onto the side of the utensil.
The second side is a lot longer and a little firmer to touch. This is meant to be for mixing of baking and so on and really does work well on all the occasions that I have used it. It is very strong even though it is still bendy and like I say both of the aspects of this spatula work well and have lasted well too.
I find the spatula easy to clean because of the type of material that it is made from but I would always suggest making sure it is fully dry with a tea towel as soon as possible and not letting it soak in water as this will affect the strength of the rubbery material and it will be sure to perish quicker. It is of course also not suitable for use in a dishwasher or in a microwave if you thought it might be.
All in all I feel this is another top product that I have in my kitchen drawers and I will be more than happy to award it a top score of 5 out of 5 stars and a very high recommendation!
Many thanks for taking the time to read.
I do hope that this has been of some help/interest to you.
To be honest, I can't actually remember where I got this spatula from but it's a very handy accessory in my kitchen draw. I know it came with one of my Kenwood products, ie a mixer or something like that but I know I did not buy it as a separate tool on its own.
The spatula is made of white plastic and has quite a sturdy long handle. Then the spatula bit is made out of quite a thin piece of plastic which is what makes it very flexible. You can push down on this and it will bend this way and that. This makes it extremely handy for a number of different cooking methods. For example I find this spatula very handy when I am making scrambled eggs. The flexible head allows me to put the spatula on the frying pan and then scoop it under the eggs and flip them and move them around to achieve the perfect scrambled egg. If the top part of this wasn't so flexible they it would not be as easy to get under the eggs and you end up throwing them out of the pan instead of around the pan.
I also use this spatula for putting icing on my cakes. I cheat and buy ready made icing that comes in a can so all I have to do it slap it onto the cake I have just made. The spatula allows me to firstly dip it into the icing and get a good dollop on the tool and then the flexibility allows you to smooth the icing over a round cake and get some really nice edges and a nice well presented cake.
This spatula is heat resistant although I have found the end got a bit melted when I put it into a really hot frying pan but since then it has been fine. It is dishwasher proof too so very easy to clean and a good kitchen tool.
So many companies these days make kitchen mixing tools, it is easy to over look the Kenwood flexible spatula. From Nigella Lawson branded tools to other well known Chefs such as Anthony Wirral-Thompson and then Jamie Oliver, its no wonder that the household chief/or chief-ess can be confused in what to buy. Although my mum is an experienced baker and has two Kenwood kitchen machines which automatically means two free Kenwood spatulas, we already have our old 12 year old original Kenwood spatula which has been used for everything from mixing paint, to spreading plaster on walls, scooping out left over paint and generally anything which needs to be taken out with minimal wastage.
Over other rivals however the Kenwood spatula is an implement every baker should consider, not just because its an all in one washable plastic/acrylic based tool but simply because it does what it states and doesnt cost too much money.
** History, Availability, Pricing **
The history of this plastic spatula is largely unclear although I am led to believe that it was first launched in the 1960s with Kenwoods own Chef machine as well as being available to buy for the commercial catering industry. It is used in many catering and domestic settings such as restaurants and take away outlets who make and sell fresh sandwiches. Most Kenwood Food Prep machines have one of these spatulas included and that also means even their cheapest food processor; sadly it doesnt extend to their hand mixer or hand blender range; a thought that Kenwood could possibly include in their next line up of refreshments for their entire kitchen electrical range
This product has apparently won numerous awards largely for its simple design and the fact that it does what it says on the tin. Initially it was available as a single item to buy through Kenwood stockists and commercial companies that supply catering hardware usually through mail order. Although Lakeland originally dealt through mail order, this company have also started selling this spatula on their shop floor. For the price of £1-95 per spatula, you are hardly breaking the bank. I have also seen this spatula on sale at House of Fraser as well as John Lewis, so it is becoming more available through mainstream stockists.
** The Design **
When I first started working in a local café, I was put in charge of making up the daily sandwiches and baguettes. Time was lost when the usual implements broke under pressure or people kept constantly scraping bowls to get rid of food. The softness of plastic in this tool ensures that not much in the kitchen gets scrape marks. Original Kenwood Spatulas for example never had a thinning out of plastic which is visible to the naked eye. Newer spatulas have thinner plastic which speeds up spreading food items and the time it took me to spread margarine over 200 or so rolls and baguettes each time was faster with this handy little spatula than a normal knife.
What is more important is that the plastic used is very soft and pliable so although it is long around 9 to 10, even the smallest of hands can use this implement for general use. Whilst the handle may be harder in touch, it is easy to grip thanks to its rigid handle. The ridges also ensure that the spatula can be put down on a flat worktop without the mouth messing up or touching the kitchen surface.
Cheaper alternatives such as spatulas available in pound shops (and who could forget More Stores?) for example tend to be a 2 piece design, which over time when handling various baking goods can snap or fall off. I do own a lovely Nigella Lawson rubber spatula with a thin wooden handle but despite its worth its the flatness of the Kenwood flexible spatula which I prefer.
** Using The Spatula For Food **
The fact that you can bend the top fin of the head means that applying sauces etc has never been easier. Indeed the width of the spatula means that getting into most narrow jars for additional ingredients can be easily accommodated. For parents who have a lot of children and pack their lunches, this spatula speeds up the spreading time! It is indeed, very flexible. Other properties of flexibility can be easily applied to the fact that nothing is ever wasted at the bottom of the mixing bowl when you use this spatula to get everything out. Presently for example I use the Kenwood spatula on our Jack La Lanne juicer, and the thinness of the spatula fin means that it gets into all the nooks and crannies and out of the bin collector at the back of that machine. Three swipes and everything is taken out.
** What Other Uses Can This Spatula Tackle? **
This spatula is fantastic for scooping out leftover paint, varnish and wall paper paste. Ive also donated/bought the Kenwood spatula for pre-schools who use it for many uses such as smoothing out plasticine and use with school paints.
** Cleaning **
The spatula is dishwasher safe and as it is made of untainted white plastic, it is clear to see where the stains lie. Therefore it is easy to wash. Over time even when the spatula has been put in a 70° intensive dishwasher cycle, the fin still remains weak and flexible. Thankfully it has remained in its original shape too, which isnt bad given that the original one is 12 years old whilst the other two are 3 years old; all of them are always put in the dishwasher after use.
** Downsides **
Although largely the spatula can withstand hot temperatures up to 150°C, it will bend and shrink if temperatures are hotter, thus limiting use. I did that once by scooping out left over syrup after making pancakes and the fins curved into themselves thus rending the spatula useless for kitchen prep and more suited to being used in the garden shed or for mixing paint!
Although John Lewis and House of Fraser stores may not be available in every town I guess then the second downside must inevitably be availability.
** Conclusion **
This could well be one of the most flexible spatulas you can buy for use in the kitchen but it wont hurt your purse when buying. The most important aspect however is the toughness although its not made of the best abuse proof acrylic, it makes a fine implement to own for long term use. Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2007


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Bon-Neem Spray, 1 Quart
Item# 34-311
This item is currently not available.
Additional Information
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Product Details
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What happened? Who was trying to call shots?
And why not ban individual posters instead of killing the thread?
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What happened? Who was trying to call shots?
And why not ban individual posters instead of killing the thread?
You, Never? Did the Kenosha Kid?
All good questions Soup.
This is seriously too bad. Hicks, what happened specifically that caused you to think this has outgrown the board?
Part of the reason I enjoy posting here on PD (aside from the great posters on the Pacers section) is hanging out on Market Square with posters like N8R, sweabs, TJ, TA, LA, SiG, etc. and talking, playing the wolf game, and other various time wasters. It upsets me that you feel like that doesn't have a place here anymore.
Isn't part of the reason you founded PD that Rats closed the Random Thoughts thread? How is a random NBA thread different than a random thoughts on life thread? If there were offending posts, why not just delete those posts, give whoever an infraction and perhaps possible banning (which I wouldn't have liked either but it's preferrable to this) and let the counters fix their numbers.
I don't understand why the whole 4 year long thread had to be locked. But I'm more upset that some of my best friends on the board (not to mention half of the TWG players) and you couldn't get along on PD and now I'll have to go somewhere else for that camaraderie. PD isn't going to be the same anymore, and for that I'm disappointed.
The long term problem with that thread was it was allowing some folks to think they could do or say things in that thread that aren't allowed on PD, including vulgarity and comments made about other posters. My fault was not putting a stop to that in the beginning. I didn't because I thought they could handle it and I thought it would be best to let them have their fun.
The problem is that after looking the other way for so long, I think it's emboldened some to act out in ways they might not have if I'd been strict in the first place (see dicking around with things like the chat when it was here, the walls on profile pages, the thanks feature, or most recently the thread ratings feature). The final nail in the coffin was using that thread as a place to mock me just because their buddy got a temp. ban.
The counting thread has been discussed off and on before among the admins, and the idea of closing it had come up before. Now was finally the time to put an end to it IMO because now you have a clique that thinks it's their way or the highway, forgetting what board they are on and who is charge of it, and it's my opinion that it's time they took it someplace else.
If they want to stay for other reasons, fine, so long as they don't try to push any buttons, but if they want to keep their thing going the way they want it to be, they need to get their own server space to do it because it's not going to be here anymore.
Now the smart and easy thing for them to do is to get a free or cheap forum of their own and do whatever they want there. I suspect, however, they will instead try to further ruffle feathers here in a passive aggressive and/or childish manner first, thinking that's the better course of action.
It's important to note that the basic intentions of that thread (to simply count and converse) was never the problem, but the mentality some developed that it was okay to do things in there you couldn't normally do on PD (and again, that's partially my fault for not being a hard *** in the beginning) is unacceptable and needs to end.
It's also important to note that this has nothing to do with the Wolf Game or other off topic threads (unless I'm forgetting something).
The notion might be to start it again with the "promise" to "be good" this time, but that's not going to cut it. It needs to move on because it will simply become the same thing all over again eventually if allowed to continue here.
You may think I'm 100% wrong, and that's fine, but don't waste your time arguing with me on it because it will not lead to anything good.
As for Star board and the Random Thoughts, that was deleted completely and with no reason given. I have not done the same here.
As for not just banning certain people, when you start doing that, even with temporary bans, it almost always eventually leads to a permanent one or they just leave, so this way at least there's a chance they can still be involved (if they want to be) in some capacity.
Just start it someplace other than on PD and be done with it.
. . . since the one with my Q's in it was locked.
Like TJ mentioned, for a few months now I've felt like the driving goals for this forum have shifted away from civility and community. I'm not entirely sure what the new goals would be, but the tone sent from the admins (especially Hicks) has become one of "Don't **** with me" rather than the "Let's try to work this out" of old. I also think Hicks's ability to separate his roles as fan/poster/community member and as admin/moderator have gradually deteriorated. Within the last few months there have been an awful lot of strange incidents where it looked like he was using his powers as admin to settle personal quarrels.
I don't really want to make this a long screed thing, because really it doesn't upset me that much. I have simply lost faith in the idea that the administration of this site was eventually going to return to the more "let's work this out" demeanor. I was riding it out for a while, but it would seem as if the new changes are permanent. I find that kinda disappointing, as while this site will never get as bad as RATS was, and overall it will probably still remain a great site for keeping up with the Pacers w/o having to put up with all the trolling other forums hit you with, the strong sense of community that I sense has been keeping many of us here no longer seems to be important.
Since I'm struggling to describe this, I think I'll simply say that much of what has made me feel alienated here at PD lately can be exemplified by this following statement:
And really it's not like this is that big of a deal. As PD changes, this may in fact be the best way of administrating things now - I've certainly seen many other successful forums that go about things this way. However, it's not what I always valued so highly about PD, and so I think it's maybe time to just admit that things change, and that the kind of forum I like engaging w/ and the kind of forum PD is becoming no longer matches up.You may think I'm 100% wrong, and that's fine, but don't waste your time arguing with me on it because it will not lead to anything good.
I see now that TJ's thread was deleted. This is the section of the forum for questions/comments/complaints, no? I thought TJ's post was a heartfelt and civil complaint about the direction of this forum - it's unfortunate that it was deleted.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that it's been a great six years here, and that many of the friendships made here over our years of conversation will be ones I'll always remember and carry with me. So long, all! Stay healthy and live well.
Logging off,
You, Never? Did the Kenosha Kid?
SiG do you have a facebook? Feel free to look me up. My post got deleted but I had similar feelings to you.
SIG I feel your thoughts 100%. Check out the PM I sent you and hopefully we will be able to post off PD together.
A general public message to remind everyone that a private message would be much more appropriate if you want something constructive to happen.
Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
And life itself, rushing over me
Life itself, the wind in black elms,
Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you
Since the thread was locked I wasn't allowed to say that sweabs had attempted contacting Hicks through multiple venues and could get nowhere.
I tried the PM last night and Hicks was just playing dumb. What am I supposed to do?
#2 Keep it off the public board.
#3 Let things cool down.
This is probably not going to reach a resolution everybody likes (or everybody equally hates!?!) today. Cooler heads won't start to prevail until everyone takes a step back.
Note: I'm not promising that any decision will change, but it certainly isn't going to change today and it isn't going to change because of a series of public complaints alternated with public good-bye posts.
Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
And life itself, rushing over me
Life itself, the wind in black elms,
Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you
His only attempt to contact me was Facebook, and it was only to discuss preserving his counting thread posts if/when he deleted his account. But let's keep pretending he's up on a cross.
I feel both sides are being ridiculous, but what do I know.
True, both sides are ridiculous. I think many people don't want to use PMs for this because they are afraid of it being swept under the rug.
I don't have a dog in the fight, as I wasn't an avid contributor to TCT, but I will still say it's like taking something away from the class instead of punishing the specific individuals. Kindergarten-like.
I'm not a TCT person so I have no idea what went on. The only thing I can add to any of this is to agree with what you just said (basically it's about people having their day in the court of public opinion) and mention this part is the "Feedback" section of the forum so it isn't totally out of place to have this discussion here.
Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.
"A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, thats teamwork."
-John Wooden


text:
The votes are in and Dairy Herd Management is pleased to announce the top 10 innovative products of the year.
Entrees were evaluated by Dairy Herd Management's independent panel of dairy farmers, agribusiness representatives and university experts. Each entry was judged on its originality within the marketplace, usefulness and value to dairy farmers.
This is the second year for the Innovation Awards. With more than 30 entries, it was stiff competition.
In no particular order, the top 10 honorees are:
Select Sires Inc. introduces StrataGEN™.
StrataGEN is a unique, sequential breeding system that offers optimal use of genomic insights to help dairy producers achieve individual breeding goals, while also minimizing inbreeding.
StrataGEN uses genomic insights to categorize both daughter-proven sires and genomic young sires into one of five unique genetic lines, based on common traits they've inherited from their ancestors, as confirmed by individual genomic testing. Each line is identified with a single color — orange, blue, green, yellow or red, for easy understanding and implementation into any dairy breeding program.
Inbreeding and the potential financial losses it causes, is a real problem in dairy operations today. With the intensive use of genomics now being applied to sire selection, the risk of inbreeding is even greater. Research has indicated that for each one percent inbreeding increase in a herd, performance is impacted by: -24 Lifetime NM$, +.36 days of age at first calving, -13 days Productive Life, -790 pounds lifetime milk production, -25 pounds lifetime protein production and +.26 month first calving interval. All of these issues add up to have a significant impact to a dairy producer's bottom line.
For more information: Go to www.selectsires.com or call (614) 873-4683.
Arid Lite Bedding Recovery System
Manure Systems, Inc. introduces the Arid Lite Bedding Recovery System.
It is a turn-key fully-automated system that converts raw dairy manure into safe, reusable, high-quality, low-cost bedding material. The modular system has a very small footprint and is geared to provide an affordable solution for 500-cow-or-less operations.
Using a special process, the system recovers only the large coarse fiber in manure, removing the sludge, nutrients and liquid using a conditioning feature exclusive to ARID Lite. The cleaned recovered fiber is then press-dried, and is ready for immediate use as bedding material — the need for heating or composting eliminated by the conditioning process. The removed sludge and liquid is sent to storage for future use.
Return on investment is quickly realized by eliminating monthly bedding purchases. In most cases, the ARID Lite system produces more bedding than is required by the dairy providing a revenue opportunity for off-farm sales of fiber. Land application of the remaining liquids with its dramatically reduced solids means content becomes simpler, more economical and better for the grasslands.
For more information: Go to www.manuresystemsinc.com or call (800) 799-3740.
Canarm/BSM Ltd. introduces the Coneybearicade.
Coneybearicade is a unique, custom-made feed barrier that significantly improves feed management capabilities. Its innovative design makes it easy to move and virtually eliminates the task of pushing up feed from the alley to the cow.
Made from durable and easy-to-clean PVC planks, the Coneybearicade is a barrier that is 20 inches high and sits 30 inches from the front of the curb. Controlled by an automated winch and pulley control system, the board can be raised vertically by a cable 5 feet from the floor. This dynamic design feature allows it to be raised for easy cow feeding and cleaning of the manger. When in the lowered position, it runs the length of the manger, creating an impervious wall that keeps the feed within easy reach of the cows.
By keeping the feed consolidated and close to the cows, the feed will stay fresh and increase the cows' dry matter intake because the feed is always within reach.
For more information: Go to www.canarm.com/agricultural or call (613) 342-5424.
Ecalogix system
ZUREX PharmAgra, LLC, introduces the Ecalogix System™.
As dairy farms get larger, their ability to defend and control their operations against harmful micro-organisms becomes even more critical. The ECAlogix System (ECA = Electro-chemical activation) technology delivers a new level of dairy hygiene protection, providing solutions created on-site, with superior germicidal efficacy, at a fraction of the cost of current germicidal alternatives.
The ECAlogix System makes it possible to create a large amount of base disinfectant (ECAcept Concentrate) for literally pennies a gallon! Once produced, ECAcept Concentrate can be used on a wide variety of on-dairy applications from animal hygiene, facility hygiene and water treatment purposes. Either blended with proprietary ECAcept Additives, or used in diluted form, the ECAlogix System provides huge bottom-line savings and operational efficiencies.
The ECAlogix System applies a technology commonly used in municipal water treatment applications (ECA - Electro-chemical activation) and scales it to on-farm uses.
For more information: Go to www.zurexpharmagra.com/products or call (608) 203-9090.
Zuprevo antibiotic
Merck Animal Health introduces Zuprevo™ (tildipirosin) antibiotic.
Zuprevo is a novel, new macrolide antibiotic for the management of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) that offers an excellent combination of effectiveness and convenience.
Zuprevo is indicated for the treatment of BRD associated with Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida and Histophilus somni in beef and non-lactating dairy cattle, and for the control of respiratory disease in beef and non-lactating dairy cattle at high risk of developing BRD associated with Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida and Histophilus somni. These bacterial pathogens are commonly associated with respiratory disease in cattle.
Zuprevo gets its combination of effectiveness, bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity from its unique 16-member, tribasic molecular structure. The macrolides inhibit protein synthesis at the ribosomal level.
BRD is the world's most common and costly beef cattle disease, taking a substantial toll annually on animal health, productivity and welfare. Effective BRD treatment and control is critical to protecting cattle and keeping beef operations sustainable.
For more information: Go to www.zuprevo.com
Feedpail.com is the only online marketplace for bulk feed ingredients. The online market place helps producers manage the price volatility of bulk ingredients and makes sourcing those ingredients fast and easy.
There is no charge to use the listing service so producers can view, buy and bid on ingredients at no cost.
As the only online market place for bulk feed ingredients, Feedpail.com meets an industry-wide need. Since launching in June there has been tremendous interest in using the market place with several hundred searches occurring each day as of mid-July. An online marketplace for bulk feed ingredients was needed because:
• More and more producers are looking for byproducts or alternative feeds.
• Producers were struggling with the volatility of these ingredient markets.
• Producers had a large amount of time and cost associated with sourcing these ingredients.
For more information: Go to www.feedpail.com
Dairy Tech Inc. introduces Milkworks®.
Milkworks is the latest technology offered in the Dairy Tech, Inc. family of colostrum-management products. It is a cutting-edge tool that offers dairymen a simple process to deliver maximum Ig to the calf:
• The Silver Model is designed for rapid cooling of colostrum to slow the growth of bacteria before the product is stored in the refrigerator or freezer. The Silver Model is also designed to efficiently and safely thaw and warm colostrum so that calves are fed the proper volumes in an appropriate amount of time. The active warming is 4X faster than traditional methods that put the delicate Ig proteins at significant risk.
• The Gold Model takes these advantages a step further by incorporating sophisticated control options that permit colostrums pasteurization as well. Colostrum must be managed using the Perfect Udder colostrum bags that enable for pasteurization, storage, reheating and feeding all from the same container.
For more information: Go to www.dairytechinc.com or call 1-866-384-2697.
Heifer Genomics Guide
Dairy Records Management Systems introduces the Heifer Genomics Guide.
Genomics, genomic evaluation, genomics technology…Peruse any dairy publication and you are bound to see these buzz words. Our industry is on the genomics fast track. Dairy producers are testing heifers at an ever-increasing rate. University and industry researchers are touting the benefits of using genomics as an evaluation tool.
Now the question is: What to do with all of this genomic data?
Dairy Records Management Systems has the answer. The Heifer Genomics Guide (DHI-428) is now available to all dairy producer clients on DHIA test who genotype. Genomics results flow from UDSA-AIPL to DRMS and are merged with relevant management information. The result is the Heifer Genomics Guide.
To get the greatest benefit from genomics, tools such as the Heifer Genomics Guide are becoming increasingly important. The Guide enables producers to make informed decisions about their heifers from a genomics perspective and will help elevate the value of genetics in U.S. dairy herds.
For more information: Go to www.drms.org or call (919) 661-3100.
SHREDLAGE L.L.C. introduces Shredlage™.
Shredlage is a new, patent pending and revolutionary technology to process corn and/or sorghum silage that replaces a conventional kernel processer. It allows for a much longer particle length — 30 MM vs. 19 MM for conventional silage — annihilates corn kernels and shreds the plant vertically which increases microbial surface area and improves effective fiber without sorting. And, because of the particle configuration, Shredlage packs better for improved oxygen removal that results in better silage fermentation.
The actual product that SHREDLAGE L.L.C. sells is a processing unit that mounts inside a conventional corn chopper. The chopper cuts the corn to length, and then runs the silage through our processor that shreds the stocks length ways, while crushing the kernel and cob, much like the conventional kernel processors being used now.
Research conducted at the University of Wisconsin shows Shredlage cows outperformed the control cows in milk production, while maintaining strong components and feed utilization.
Further research is planned to better understand Shredlage and its benefits.
For more information: Go to www.shredlage.com or call (800) 883-9790.
Pumpeller hybrid lagoon pump
Jamesway Farm Equipment introduces the Pumpeller™ hybrid lagoon pump.
The radical new design of Lagoon Pump developed by Jamesway Farm Equipment takes much less time and less fuel to agitate the toughest lagoons.
The patented hybrid turbine chops solids entering the propeller-type core, while the integral impeller blades at the outer edge produce cannon flow and pressure. The Pumpeller agitation power exceeds that of traditional pump and prop lagoon pumps without the need for any gearbox.
Pumpeller is a completely new technology offering significantly lower operating costs and superior performance as compared to pre-existing technology.
The internal mounting of the propeller creates a powerful suction at the inlet of the turbine, resulting in a remarkable change in performance: solids are actively pulled into the cutters at the inlet instead of being repulsed by the external propeller flow. As a result, the amount of time and fuel spent to homogenize a crusted lagoon is drastically reduced.
For more information: Go to www.jameswayfarmeq.com or call (819) 845-7824.


text:
European Convention on spectator violence
Standing Committee
Joint Project "Promoting Safety, Security and service at sport events" (PRO S4)
Safety, security
and service
Convention on Safety, Security and Service
Working structures
Reports on national policies and list of national legislations
Convention on the Manipulation of sports competitions
Joint Project "Keep Crime out of Sport" (KCOOS)
European Convention on spectator violence
Spectator violence
General (see EPAS)
|Restricted access
T-DO and T-RV
Recommendation Rec (2003) 1 of the Standing Committee
on the role of social and educational measures
in the prevention of violence in sport
and handbook on the prevention of violence in sport
The Standing Committee of the European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events and in particular at Football Matches;
In accordance with Article 9.1.c of the Convention;
Having regard to Article 3, paragraphs 2 and 5 of the Convention;
Recalling its Recommendation N°2/89 on comprehensive report on measures to counter hooliganism;
Having regard to the Council of Europe's Integrated Project on "Responses to violence in everyday life in a democratic society";
Noting that violence and misbehaviour amongst spectators at sports events, and in particular at football matches, have not been eradicated, and is moving increasingly from within stadia to town centres and other places;
Considering that such violence is part of a wider social phenomenon, which adversely affects genuine law-abiding supporters and local residents and that an integrated approach is needed to counter it;
Noting the many significant improvements since the Heysel tragedy, for example on police activity and co-ordination, stadia infrastructure, crowd management and video monitoring, organisation (most notably ticketing), stadium bans and the use of the criminal law at national and international level have had a real impact in reducing violence, particularly near and within stadia;
Noting various positive initiatives in different countries with regard to educational and social measures at national and international levels to prevent violence;
Drawing on the experience gained at recent major tournaments such as the World Cup in 2002 or the European Football Championship in 2000, which have demonstrated that making arrangements to accompany and welcome supporters is useful and effective;
Considering that the further development and use of such preventive measures will contribute to a further reduction of spectator violence and will provide structural support to those involved in the organisation and management of major sports events;
Aware of the need to place a greater emphasis on prevention within the framework of the overall international policy to fight hooliganism in order to supplement the necessary conventional security measures and to ensure that they are kept in balance;
Recommends to the Parties to the Convention:
That they take preventive social and educative measures aiming at improving the welcoming and coaching of supporters, with regard to their national circumstances, drawing inspiration from the principles and initiatives presented in the Handbook on prevention of violence in sport appended herewith, notably by:
- setting-up a fan coaching policy, developing fan embassies and the use of accompanying persons;
- encouraging clubs to develop closer relations with their supporters, to value the official supporters' clubs, to stimulate their setting up and to give them a role in the context of club management and life of the club;
- making the clubs aware of the role that they can play in their social environment;
- enabling national and local authorities, and also other bodies to play a major role in developing policy measures for preventing violence.
Calls upon all sport organisations, such as FIFA and UEFA and national football associations, to assist in these aims with all the means available to them.
Appendix to Recommendation Rec (2003) 1
Handbook on the prevention of violence in sport
I. General principles behind a prevention policy
A. The current situation as regards hooliganism
B. The need for preventive measures to combat violence in sport
II. Initiatives and preventive measures
A. Relations between clubs and supporters
1. Introduction
2. Supporters' charter
3. Club officials responsible for supporter relations and associations of fans
4. Supporters' departments
B. The club's role in its social environment
1. The social and educational coaching of fans
2. Definition
3. The staff involved
4. The method
5. Relations between fan coaching schemes and the police
6. International co-operation in the field of fan coaching
D. The role of local authorities and other agencies
1. Educational activities
2. The role of advisory committees for the prevention of violence in sport
1. The atmosphere of the tournament
2. Purpose
3. Functioning
a. Structure
b. Staffing and human resources
c. Opening hours
d. Location and access
e. Reception facilities, services and information
F. Activities for local people during international tournaments
The prevention of spectator violence is a necessity for many sports events in every country of Europe.
The concept takes many forms and corresponds to widely differing realities in practice.
Preventive activities vary widely, ranging from evening remedial lessons for child supporters run by football clubs, to adventure sport activities organised for hooligans at weekends, to well-publicised fan embassies at major tournaments, and fair play campaigns. Activities are also organised by private associations on their own initiative, and others are run under government programmes carried out by public or semi-public institutions.
Even if the philosophies and the political lines behind them vary, these schemes as a whole prove highly useful and are definitely effective.
The promotion of a more consistent approach to problems that are common to many different countries is desirable. This is particularly important in the context of international matches or tournaments.
This manual is designed to identify and promote existing good practice so that individual countries may learn from each other's experiences. It is not intended to be prescriptive. It is a menu from which each member state may select according to its needs and circumstances.
Most incidents at sports events stem from either defective infrastructure, or inadequate organisation (sale of too many tickets, spectator areas with insufficient capacity) or the poor organisation, or actions of the security staff. It is now possible to take the view that, if national legislation and security regulations are complied with, the recommendations made in the European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events are applied, and the crowd is well managed, the kind of disasters that happened in the 1980s and early 1990s can now be avoided (although the circulation of spectators and ticket management are still areas of concern, in the latter case especially where international tournaments are concerned, because of the existence of black markets).
I. General principles behind a prevention policy
A. The current situation as regards hooliganism
In this early part of the 21st century, spectator violence at football grounds still remains a topical and disturbing problem, in spite of all the efforts made and resources invested over the past twenty years or so.
Most European countries are affected to a greater or lesser extent. However, the problem takes different forms. In most countries, the situation has been stabilising, with violence shifting from inside football grounds to outside, including urban areas and city centres. In some countries the nature of those involved in such violence has also changed. Football fans include young people from difficult neighbourhoods and hooliganism is becoming linked to urban violence.
Violence has occurred at football grounds ever since football became a spectator sport, namely since the 1870s in England and the early years of the 20th century on the continent.
Spectator violence, whether spontaneous or planned, is most closely associated with professional football, though in some countries it is also to be found in the amateur game and in a variety of other sports.
The contemporary football world also faces violence of a premeditated kind. This is group violence, in the form of physical aggression or vandalism, engaged in by hard-core groups of supporters. These hard-core groups follow a particular club and systematically seek confrontation with their counterparts from rival clubs. They regard themselves as elite supporters and their membership of a group of hooligans as a "way of life" which helps to add value to their social identity.
This violence may take a relatively organised form. Some hard-core groups make use of new communications technologies (GSM, the Internet, and so on) when planning and carrying out their acts of violence.
International tournaments are one-off large-scale events where considerable spectator movements and significant crowds have to be managed over a fairly long period of time.
Over the years there have been a number of serious incidents of disorder.
In most places, virtually no incidents occur inside football grounds during such tournaments; most incidents happen in city centres, after matches or in the days between them.
B. The need for preventive measures to combat violence in sport
A large number of practical measures have been introduced since the Heysel tragedy to prevent violence, both by states and by international co-operation, relating to police activity, infrastructure improvements, crowd management and video monitoring, better organisation (ticketing). This has included the use of the criminal law.
In contrast, while many proactive educational or social initiatives have been launched at local level to prevent football supporters resorting to violence, there is no common or co-ordinated approach towards prevention at international or pan-European level.
It is therefore desirable that greater attention and emphasis should be given to proactive preventive measures at these levels. These should be seen as complementing conventional security measures. An appropriate balance needs to be maintained between these different measures.
While the constitutional arrangements will vary from country to country, in most of them local authorities are likely to have a major role to play in developing and providing the various measures described in this manual for preventing violence in sport. Indeed, the lowest tier of public institutions, particularly city councils, may need to be catalysts in prevention policies and to give impetus to activities involving sports organisations or associations.
II. Initiatives and preventive measures
A. Relations between clubs and supporters
The relationship between clubs and supporters provides a framework for a number of preventive measures. The clubs should take responsibility for initiating such measures.
It would seem natural for sports clubs and federations to adopt a stronger fan support policy, thus starting a process by which they draw closer to their fans, forging a new social link.
In an ideal world, a joint charter should be drawn up by the club and the representatives of its supporters' associations, setting out the club's obligations to its supporters and the supporters' obligations towards the club and clearly defining each party's rights and duties. This would help to formalise the relationship between clubs and supporters.
A supporters' charter could cover membership, consultation and information, accessibility, ticketing policy, merchandise, community activity, and loyalty rewards. It should be based on communication with the club, and also involve partnerships with local authorities and the media, and be centred on the values of fair play in sport.
UEFA could encourage national associations to set out a possible way forward, using positive examples.
3. Club officials responsible for supporter relations and associations of fans
Clubs should value supporters' associations, encourage their setting up and consult them regularly on issues that affect supporters. The more such groups are involved in the club's decision making, the more they are likely to be committed to the creation of an enjoyable trouble-free environment for all spectators. This has been particularly noticeable in the anti-racism initiatives adopted by clubs and supporters' groups in many countries.
All professional clubs in Germany have successfully adopted a system whereby a club official with decision-making authority has been made responsible for relations with fans, so as to ensure that supporters' associations receive support and that the process of communication between club and fans is a concrete and permanent one. This is a requirement from UEFA for all clubs in international competitions.
Larger clubs could consider establishing specific "supporters' departments" to manage all aspects of their relationships with supporters. These will vary from club to club but may include ticketing, fixture list, information, organisation of travel to matches and regulations. Many clubs employ supporters in these departments. Part of the club management structure, they provide a specific interface between the club and its supporters.
B. The club's role in its social environment
As clubs have a high symbolic value, they are uniquely placed to play a leading role within their neighbourhood, their community and the whole of their local environment throughout the week. The club can play a pivotal role in supporting broader social policies and can represent a genuine driving force for the promotion of sport and for encouraging the learning process for young people, and even for supporting good citizenship. Football's link with society cannot be limited to match days, or stop where the sporting competition ends.
There are various noteworthy examples which show the way and deserve adoption elsewhere.
One is the community programme run in England. This may typically comprise a partnership with the local authority's educational services, under which the club organises remedial lessons for children who have difficulties at school. Classes are taken by official teachers at the ground, to which pupils are brought in vehicles bearing the club's logo. A high level of voluntary participation has been achieved, as has a clear improvement in the children's school results.
Another example are the "social units" to promote the playing of football in residential neighbourhoods, to organise amateur football tournaments and to get professional players involved in campaigns which highlight the value of engaging in sporting activities and of sporting ethics.
Some clubs in the Czech Republic, with the help of government programmes, have set up junior fan clubs, aimed at very young supporters (from 8 to 12 years), and these run sporting and educational activities, as well as offering social assistance with the help of a social worker, at a "clubhouse" which is a centre for leisure activities. The aim is to highlight such groups of young supporters with a positive mentality and positive behaviour, thereby giving rise to a "new" culture of sport and developing a new generation of fans who will remain loyal.
The numerous local initiatives deserve support and an international framework. It would be useful in this context to appoint within every national federation, and at UEFA and FIFA, a person to be responsible for "prevention and social programmes", who would help develop such activities and provide institutional support for them.
2. The city at the stadium and the stadium in the city
The football ground is the place where many different kinds of people come together, and sport provides a potential link between all the various component parts of the urban community, encouraging positive group action.
The football ground should play a full part in the life of the city, so that the people who live in the city also feel a sense of belonging at the football ground.
During World Cups, for example, the stadia could help to foster the involvement of local people in the sporting sphere and to bring the sporting infrastructure into the heart of the city. Firstly, by taking advantage of the pool of jobs to which the World Cups give rise, in synergy with the social reintegration programmes being run with young people in the neighbourhoods; secondly, by organising tours of the stadium for local people to show that it remains accessible; and finally by organising multicultural days in the context of the sporting event in which all local associations and authorities take part.
1. The social and educational coaching of fans
Having regard to the changing nature of hooliganism and to its particular local circumstances, several countries have concluded that it is necessary to ask social workers to carry out educational activities targeted specifically at supporters, and have taken steps towards this end. Supplementing both passive security measures connected with infrastructure or supervision and police action to manage events, fan coaching is part of an operational prevention policy extending over the medium and long term, based on ongoing grass-roots work with supporters.
Fan coaching is part of the effort described as "proactive socio-prevention". It is carried out wherever the target audience is to be found and requires such an approach. Promoting a positive fan culture and creating positive conditions for the stay of visiting supporters are key prerequisites.
The basic principle is one of active social and educational action in the field by skilled professionals who work in a targeted manner, focussing on groups of young football fans. It is essential to let projects evolve continually, ensuring that new staff are constantly brought in and provided with in-service training, so that activities do not become bogged down in tradition. The supporters' world is changing, so, by definition, fan-coaching projects have also to develop.
Fan coaching schemes are quality background activities that take on their full scope when they are part of the local environment, and they are run within a club or a city. Fan coaches' intervention in the specific area of football is part of a broader prevention or urban security programme implemented at municipal level.
In practice, fan coaching is carried out in many different ways, mainly because supporters have different profiles, but also because hooliganism itself differs as well, leading to the adoption in each country of different methods of action. Fan coaching is therefore a flexible concept, adapted to each situation on the ground, according to local needs and specific national cultures. The most structured and institutionalised efforts in terms of fan coaching have mainly been made in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
In these countries, the activities are carried out by teams of professionals specialising in social or educational work and steeped in the supporters' culture. Due to the sensitive area in which the activities are conducted and the complexity of the psycho-social problems involved, the teams work in and among the fans.
As regards responsibilities and funding, governments have a role to play, with direct support from the clubs and local authorities concerning the organisational aspects and implementation.
"Fan coaches" usually work under an employment contract.
Fan coaching involves a mobile effort, both home and away, also encompassing ongoing educational and social work during the periods of supporters' lives when they are not involved in football, thanks to the organisation of structured educational activities.
While some fan coaching takes place on match days, using a situation-based approach, its main focus is on educational and social activity, which is ongoing during the rest of the week.
The educational activities provide a valuable opportunity to carry out specifically targeted educational work with young supporters outside the particular context of matches, with their associated excitement.
The organisation of classical sporting activities (such as football on a full-sized or smaller pitch) as part of an educational project to involve young people and make them more responsible is also intended to prevent young supporters from finding themselves at a loose end in their cities, while at the same time enabling them to meet their need to be active. Some structure is offered through participation in amateur championships.
Adventure sports, such as rafting and climbing, prove very appropriate, enabling young supporters to prove their worth in a positive field, by meeting open-air sporting challenges, rather than through resorting to violence. They also enable young people to expend their pent-up energy, while providing them with the excitement they need. Significantly, they learn proper standards by participating in this kind of activity.
As the key to these efforts is learning to be actively involved and to be responsible, offering supporters consumer activities merely to keep them occupied is to be avoided, for the essential aim is to enable young supporters' positive resources and potential to be used and developed, and to express themselves through action.
The link with football may provide an opportunity to carry out social work targeted at certain disadvantaged groups. Fan coaching may thus enable individuals with social difficulties who are not helped by conventional institutions to be given assistance. When fans' social situations are improved, one step is thereby taken towards making them more independent, also as individuals.
Permanent contact with fans is important, providing the cement that binds the educational work that needs to be done.
Such contact may be maintained through street work carried out in residential neighbourhoods or on premises frequented by fans, such as bars, keeping in contact with them between matches and activities, and enabling a relationship of trust to develop.
Or it may take the form of a fan centre, an educational infrastructure open during the week and offering games and educational material, providing a place where fans can meet each other freely in an educational context. This kind of infrastructure provides a permanent interface between fan coaching and fans.
The main aim of fan coaching on match days is to ensure that a channel of communication is open between supporters and organisers.
When fan coaching services are provided by staff recognised by the authorities and accepted by the fans, the staff can be regarded as a link between organisers and fans. Thanks both to their special position at the heart of events and to constant dialogue, they can often defuse some conflicts and thereby help to avoid certain incidents.
5. Relations between fan coaching schemes and the police
Fan coaching taking place in a context of integrated prevention is of proven effectiveness. An uncoordinated approach could prove counter-productive. Positive co-operation between the police and "fan coaches" is vital to a long-term structured prevention policy. While the methods differ, the objectives are identical: to reduce violence in sport.
Both partners therefore need to understand each other's roles and perspectives and to value their contributions, in particular on the defusing of tension on match days. Fan coaches can act as important channels of communication between the police/clubs and groups of supporters.
In successful projects, the police and fan coaches have established a formal mechanism for consulting each other and exchanging information, co-ordinated through the local authority. At the same time, while there is considerable merit in a formal police contribution to the management of the fan coaching project, some countries consider it inadvisable to integrate the police into the fan-coaching structure.
6. International co-operation in the field of fan coaching
With both football and hooliganism now having an international dimension, other countries may wish to adopt the fan coaching approach according to their local needs.
Each country, region and city has its own peculiarities, and activities must be tailored to these specific local features, in particular as regards the level of institutionalisation and dialogue between fan coaches, the club, the local authority and the police.
International relations between fan coaching schemes could focus on exchanges of specific experience, so as to reinforce and enrich each country's practice.
There is a strong case for local fan coaching activities to be interlinked via a national platform.
These correspondents might come together from time to time in an appropriate forum to analyse developments and share their experiences.
Fan coaching is a concept that is primarily aimed at club supporters. Any international fan coaching structure for fans of national teams should focus more on the concept of the use of "accompanying persons" (see section E6), a concept that is more flexible and enables the work done to extend to all supporters. While the "accompanying persons" may include some workers from the fan coaching schemes, not all need come from that source.
D. The role of local authorities and other agencies
Local authorities are best equipped to co-ordinate and support activities that use sport as a tool for prevention or reintegration, especially activities run in schools or targeting school pupils. In Austria, for example, some activities are organised to teach school pupils about fair play and tolerance, and to inculcate in them respect for other cultures, by making them aware of the need to combat racism. At the same time, the FARE network runs national and international campaigns against racism.
In the urban context, one of the main focal points for action is that of rough estates, to which priority is given where policies of prevention through sport are concerned. It is important to provide facilities to enable young people from disadvantaged communities to engage in sport on a regular basis and in a structured context, and for financial considerations not to constitute an obstacle to this.
Amateur sport is the basis of all sporting activity and has a key role to play. While the media focus first and foremost on professional sport, the problems of violence are also significant in day-to-day sport, including in amateur football.
In addition to awareness-raising campaigns, targeted action is needed among amateur clubs and those who take part in sport at that level.
French legislation provides for an "officer responsible for the prevention of violence in sport" to be appointed in 26 départements. This officer acts as a resource person and a facilitator for local sporting associations, institutions and other bodies, with a view to combating violence in amateur sport.
2. The role of advisory committees for the prevention of violence in sport
Local authorities need to establish appropriate structures for addressing the problem of violence in sport and for co-ordinating activities. These could take the form of a committee made up of members who play an active part in fan coaching, the police, the football club and the courts, in combination with youth and sports associations and institutions of higher education.
The committee could also be responsible for offering opinions and sending proposals to the local authority on the form to be given to prevention policy and to its programmes. It could act as a direct intermediary between those who work in the field and policy-makers. It could also give impetus to specific projects involving the partners, either in the form of awareness-raising campaigns or through targeted action meeting real needs.
Finally, it could identify new trends, with a view to ensuring speedy, appropriate and effective responses. In some countries, such committees already exist at national level.
1. The atmosphere of the tournament
The fundamental principle underlying the organisation of a sports event must be the priority given to spectator and public safety. Thus the major challenge during sports events is that of striking a balance between the strict requirements of safety and security in the light of actual risk factors and the need to maintain the festive and convivial nature of the event.
The event must remain a welcoming and festive one, with local and foreign fans being treated correctly and with respect. As far as hospitality in connection with the matches is concerned, there is a need for a clear, well-understood and, where possible, consistent approach to the way in which supporters are treated, to the reception facilities organised for them and to the transport and accommodation policy adopted.
This can only be achieved if there is an integrated strategy under which all the responsible parties work together with common aims and objectives. This partnership requires a consensus among all concerned and their involvement during both the planning stage and the event itself.
It is important to note that the work done before matches take place, in the hours and even days preceding games, is vital. Well organised events preceding matches invariably have a positive effect on supporter behaviour and on the atmosphere in the ground.
A fundamental aim of such preventative arrangements is to create a partnership with the police, and to relieve them of some of their workload (in respect of the secondary task of providing public information), thus enabling them to concentrate on their main task of maintaining public order. The prevention programme also plays a significant role in creating a calm atmosphere and hence limiting the number of situations that might require police action.
Fan embassies are intended to offer a point to which foreign supporters can go, and they focus on fan culture and on supporters' specific needs during the tournament. They provide supporters with an opportunity to talk in their own language to people familiar with the supporters' specific environment, and who have the necessary skills to help solve their individual difficulties. Fans can also obtain information and assistance relating to matches, to ticket sales, to accommodation, to travel, to leisure activities, to any planned screenings of matches, to the theft or loss of documents and to health care, and a wide variety of information about such matters as currency exchange or alternative activities.
The aim is thus to provide a channel of communication between supporters and the local and national authorities and the tournament organisers, particularly so that up-to-date information can be rapidly and efficiently disseminated, for a tournament, by definition, has a life of its own and can undergo constant change, with situations altering considerably and speedily. As the tournament itself is not fixed and immoveable, it is essential to have a facility directly linked to the situation in the field, and able to adapt to changing situations.
Fan embassies can also represent the views of the supporters to the authorities if problems arise and take proactive initiatives to build good will between different supporter groups and with local ethnic groups.
During any international tournament, each host city should have a fan embassy scheme. Various formats are possible: a single embassy, or two embassies - one for each of the countries concerned - possibly even with a third information centre for other foreign fans in transit. The degree of professionalism and the structure's autonomy differ according to national cultural tendencies. Fan embassies are sometimes set up by the organising public authorities or alternatively by the supporters themselves.
The key requirement is that the structure should be capable of dealing with supporters in an appropriate manner, in particular fans of visiting teams.
b. Staffing and human resources
Clearly it is desirable for those involved in fan embassy provision to be adequately resourced and to possess the skills required to fulfil the functions described above.
In some cases, these can be paid staff contracted to an institutional authority or appointed association. In other cases, the involvement of committed volunteers from supporters' organisations has also proved effective.
The staff of a fan embassy should collectively possess an understanding of the fan culture of its target groups; detailed local knowledge; close contact with all relevant local, national and international agencies; and good knowledge of the languages of the target groups and the host nation.
Fan embassies should be accessible and contactable by telephone during the greatest possible number of hours. Experience has shown that permanent opening throughout the tournament may be desirable. The embassies must be open for as long as possible on the day before, the day of and the day after each match. One of the advantages of fan embassies is their accessibility, and another is their flexibility, enabling them to adapt to the situations that arise and also to tailor their activities to the lifestyles of visiting supporters.
Choosing a location is a sensitive part of the preparations, as fan embassies should be accessible, visible and in a place that is easy to get to. This question of location needs to be the subject of close consultation between prevention services, supporters' associations, police and local authority, in the light of specific local characteristics. Ideally, it is useful for fan embassies to be located in city centres, enabling a considerable amount of work to be done in advance of the match and making the embassies accessible to the greatest possible numbers, for supporters as a whole traditionally go to the ground only an hour or two before kick-off.
It is useful, as was done at Euro 96, to set up a fan consulate near the ground, so that supporters have an alternative point of reference during the periods immediately before and after each match.
The way to fan embassies should be indicated by means of effective and visible signs, making it easy for supporters to find them and making them accessible at any time. It helps if the signs contain a logo that is common to all the host cities, making identification easier. The literature distributed to supporters in their own countries before the tournament should give the addresses and other details of the fan embassies. Printing special posters with city maps showing the location of fan embassies (and other useful information such as where to find bus stops, cash dispensers, etc.) for display in the windows of shops and cafes will enable supporters to establish their own location or to find out where their fan embassies are.
e. Reception facilities, services and information
As fan embassy staff are in constant touch with the organiser, local and national authorities, the police and the security services, they are able to provide supporters with up-to-date and accurate information. They must make sure that this information is definite and reliable, and constantly check its accuracy, so that no misleading information is provided to supporters.
An associated aim is to nip rumours in the bud. The widest variety of quite fantastic rumours circulates among supporters during tournaments, and these may create difficulties that are not easy to deal with. As fan embassies combine an official position at the heart of the network of organising bodies with special and immediate relationships with supporters on the spot, they are able rapidly and definitively to help put a stop to such kinds of rumours.
Matches and arrangements for the tournament
Fan embassies distribute brochures containing information about football grounds, their location, access to them, local public transport and the kick-off times of matches. This information should include legislation or regulations relating to the tournament or to crowd management and the rules applied within each ground, including any items that are prohibited and forms of behaviour which are regarded as anti-social. Regulations vary from country to country and even from match to match, as far as items such as banners, fireworks, cameras, mobile telephones, video cameras and umbrellas are concerned.
Tickets and their distribution
Tournament organisers should make accurate and up-to-date information available to fan embassies about pricing, sales outlets, the numbers of tickets remaining (if any) and the time limits and conditions applying to sales or provide a point of contact for them to obtain this information. It is important for fans to be told at a sufficiently early stage - and to know that this information is reliable - when a match has sold out, or how many tickets are still available and at what prices, or when ticket sales have finished. Fan embassies do not, however, sell tickets.
Generally speaking, fan embassies complement or back up conventional tourist offices, which provide information about various types of accommodation and services. It is important that information should be provided not only about hotels, but also about more economical accommodation, such as campsites or bed and breakfast establishments, and accurate information should also be supplied about public transport services to these places (location, cost and timetable).
When all local accommodation is taken, supporters must be able to be pointed towards more distant accommodation and told about the means of transport they can use to get there. When more critical cases arise, fan embassies may, in consultation with the local authority or police, identify the need for emergency and temporary accommodation for supporters, directing them to improvised campsites, gymnasia with camp beds, and so on.
Moving around the country, within its cities and to and from its football grounds, is a major challenge during tournaments, and the quality of information provided on the subject is particularly important. Not only city maps, but also public transport timetables (for trains, buses, trams and underground railways) should be available, and supporters should be provided with information corresponding to their personal needs. Information similarly needs to be provided about public and privately owned parking areas in the city or near the ground, park-and-ride facilities and the timetables of shuttles to the ground (ideally with a stop at the "fan embassy").
Theft or loss of documents
Official documents, such as identity cards, passports and social security documents, as well as airline tickets and match tickets, among other things, are frequently lost or stolen during tournaments, causing dismay to the supporter who feels lost in an unknown environment and has to try to cope with a foreign language. Supporters need the benefit of a direct link or of having their problems dealt with directly by the "fan embassy", the reception facilities and hospitality of which come into their own when this kind of problem has to be solved.
In this context, the presence of a consular official in the vicinity of the fan embassy proves a considerable bonus and is therefore recommended.
Health care
Fan embassies need to be able to supply information about hospitals, ordinary or emergency medical services, emergency dentists and social welfare systems, so that supporters can be pointed in the right direction.
Fan embassies are a major source of information about leisure, sports and cultural activities organised for local people, or specifically for supporters, in the city or in other parts of the country, as well as details of how to get there. Such activities are sometimes even organised by "fan embassies" themselves, by or for supporters, and these extend to concerts, games and other activities.
It is important that information should be up-to-date, and that the very latest news should be passed on, for many activities are organised too late to be publicised in official literature, or, alternative activities may not be included in this. Other activities, news of which should be circulated mainly by the fan embassy, include public screenings of matches, which are not always planned in advance and sometimes provide a last-minute solution to the problem of channelling the movements of spectators who cannot be accommodated at a sold-out match.
a. Embassies in transit cities
As well as setting up the basic fan embassies in host cities, additional facilities can usefully be set up in those cities through which large numbers of fans will pass, or where large numbers will be staying. Such cities are those which have tourist attractions, are centres of entertainment, offer attractive activities or have large numbers of hotel rooms likely to be used by many supporters, or cities located in such a geographical position that supporters will inevitably pass through.
These scaled-down facilities can easily be placed within ordinary official services, such as tourist offices. One of their roles is also to provide information about the tournament's host cities.
It is useful if local organisers or local authorities can establish an information centre for local fans at the ground, so that they can obtain information. This would complement but not supplant the classic fan embassies. A classic fan embassy in the city with large numbers of staff is not justified over the whole period of the tournament.
If it is to operate effectively, a fan embassy will incur significant logistical and staff costs.
In view of the one-off nature of the event, part of the needs may be met with equipment, premises and staff made available by local authorities and associations. However, special funding is essential.
Governments and tournament and match organisers will need to play their part in providing the necessary funding and support for the facility.
Some countries also find it useful to send "accompanying persons" with their supporters who travel to other countries or to request that such persons accompany supporters coming from other countries. These persons come from the fans' countries of origin, speak the host nation's language and are familiar with the culture of the national supporters.
They travel with their national supporters wherever they go within the host country, basing their movements on the dates of the fixtures. They are present in the host city on the day before, the day of and the day after the game. They also travel to other places if large numbers of fans are present there.
They may either be based in the fan embassy and provide a form of outreach to spectators or they may act as stewards, escorting organised groups from their home countries to the stadium and home again. This latter form is more commonly adopted for the supporters of clubs playing in international competitions.
Such "accompanying persons" have no legal status outside their own country so their role must by definition be limited.
Their main duty is to look after the visiting supporters and to provide appropriate services so as to improve the reception that they receive and to optimise the hospitality shown to them. They can provide the fans with information and help them to solve problems, in close consultation with the fan embassy.
They play a roving fan ambassador role, helping to develop and strengthen a positive fan culture based on respect and tolerance. In some circumstances and in some countries, they may also be able to facilitate dialogue between police and supporters, so as to defuse tension and settle disputes without the need for police intervention.
In some circumstances, by agreement between the two countries concerned, they may be able to perform the tasks undertaken on match days by fan coaches (see section C). In this case the same considerations apply as at the local level.
The size of the team and the means of liaison with the organisers, police and local authorities will vary according to local needs and circumstances. It is important to ensure that there are clear lines of communication and that the responsibilities of each party are agreed and clearly understood.
c. Recruitment, selection and training
Host countries may also find it helpful to recruit welcoming staff and interpreters from among the nationals of visiting countries who already live there. Some countries, such as Turkey and Yugoslavia, may have many supporters resident in the organising country or neighbouring states. Other nations also have a considerable number of immigrant fans on the spot, among them Spain, Italy and Portugal.
The desired profile for accompanying persons does not necessarily have to be that of someone who does the work professionally or of someone who works in the education sphere with hooligans or with juvenile delinquents. As their tasks are mainly those of primary prevention aimed at all supporters, it may be beneficial not to be led by professional reflexes or different work practices.
F. Activities for local people during international tournaments
a. Awareness-raising campaigns
Related activities need to be held to raise awareness among local people and encourage them to get involved in the event, so that the festive dimension of the tournament and the concept of hospitality come right to the fore. If this is done, a convivial atmosphere will bind everyone together in the spirit of fraternity everyone expects during the tournament.
The tournament, with all its heavy symbolism, can act as a catalyst for larger-scale preventive activities. The dissemination of the values of tolerance and respect is encouraged through multicultural activities and awareness-raising campaigns.
Awareness can be raised among local people through preventive campaigns. One example of a very worthwhile initiative is that of the primary prevention activities undertaken in the "Welkom!" schools project in the Netherlands.
It is necessary to emphasise the festive side of the event, as well as the concept of fair play, and, in particular, to demystify the mood of panic inevitably generated by the media in the preparatory phase of such tournaments, to help reduce tension in the local population, and to get ready for a fraternal festival of football, rather than for confrontations with foreign invaders with a thirst for both beer and violence.
People who run pubs and bars are a specific target, for they play a vital part in preventing over-consumption of alcohol. Both staff and management of alcohol outlets need to be made aware of their responsibilities. Information needs to be targeted at them so as to reduce the likelihood of incidents occurring.
An effort must be made to avoid making an already socially vulnerable group of the population feel excluded. It is undesirable for the tournament and all that goes with it to become the preserve of a few privileged people. Preventive activities need to be carried out in local estates, especially those considered difficult.
Such activities should take further local policies on integration through sport and on intercultural prevention, and should be organised in co-operation with associations and similar bodies that have experience of socio-preventive work. Alternative activities can be organised to avoid leaving people at a loose end or bored, a situation which often leads to offences being committed, examples of such activities being sporting tournaments, "taster" sessions in certain sports, themed evenings, concerts and educational activities. Such activities also have a structuring function if they are part of a carefully considered educational project. And they distract the attention of young people from their potential interest in possible conflict areas and from taking part in clashes.
1 If this information is seen as useful for the guarantee of public order, the national fan coaching correspondent can pass it on to the national police football information point. The national police football information point can then in turn pass on the information to the national fan coaching correspondent whenever this could be useful to the correspondent's work.


text:
I have been traveling alot for work recently and have taken a ace race bag from last year and modified it a little and have been able to throw it in my suit case. This is not my bag for tourneys or compedative rouds but a bag for playing courses i have never played before or played a few time.
162 esp nuke. I can throw this bh or fh
167 z surge fh distance bh light head wind distance.
158 champ mamba turn over hyzer flipps
162 z xs straight low bh drives
164 z flick low straight fh drives. wind driver
170 gl trident thumbers fh rollers
166 glow mako
164 z hornet
174 ss voodoo
i call it the swissarmy bag because it gets the job done.
How would you fill a little travel bag like this.