Tag: Damian Farrow

It’s True! Sports Stinks, by Justin Kemp & Damian Farrow

There are sports facts galore in It’s True! Sport Stinks, written by two sports scientists. If you think that keeping your eye on a fast-moving ball is almost impossible, you’re right. If you think that putting a crocodile in a pool will make you swim faster, meet the coach who agrees with you. From tennis, football, cricket to car racing and pro wrestling, learn the secrets of moving faster, jumping higher and surviving your favourite sport.

The titleIt’s True! Sport Stinks, combined with the cover art featuring a prostrate tennis player surrounded by balls, set up the expectation that this book will be about sport failures/accidents, sport smells. While there are some elements of both in this book, there is a lot more as well. All the popular sports are here, as are less well known sports like Paralympic skiing. There’s information about increasing performance and the ways some athletes cheat. The content is varied, informative and entertaining. Recommended for mid- and upper-primary readers.

It’s True! Sports Stinks by Justin Kemp & Damian Farrow, with illustrations by Heath McKenzie
Allen & Unwin 2006
ISBN: 1741148545

Why Dick Fosbury Flopped, by Damian Farrow & Justin Kemp

Why and how did Dick Fosbury invent the high jump (or flop) which bears his name?
How did the golf ball get its dimples?
How have performance enhancing drugs affected world records?
How have athletes’ bodies changed over time?

In Why Dick Fosbury Flopped, sports scientists Justin Kemp and Damian Farrow explore the answers to these and many other burning questions about sport and sports stars. They attempt to debunk some of the myths and investigate apparent sporting conundrums.

With a slightly humorous take on the subject, this is still an in-depth, scientific look at sport, from the team that present radio show Run Like You Stole Something. There are hundreds of sporting facts, definitions and explanations as well as tidbits of trivia.

This is a book sure to please any sports trivia buff (would-be or otherwise).

Dr Damien Farrow is the Skill Acquisition Specialist at the Australian Institute of Sport, working with a variety of AIS sports and consulting to professional teams in football codes. Justin Kemp is the Exercise Physiologist at Australian Catholic University, Melbourne.

Why Dick Fosbury Flopped, by Justin Kemp and Damian Farrow
Allen & Unwin, 2006