Wednesday, August 4, 2010 |
Walktall Summer Sale
Up to 50% off footwear, clothing and accessories
Check out our summer sale at Walktall.co.uk where you’ll find great discounts on a range of products from footwear brands such as DC, Espy and J Shoes to latest clothing and accessories.
But hurry if you wait you’ll be too late!
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Behind the scenes with Lacoste, Merrell, Columbia and Vans
With the summer season drawing to an end the Walktall team have been as busy as ever scouring the planet to bring you the best brands in the biggest sizes for next season. Check out some behind the scenes action as the team prepare for the season ahead with great video footage for the likes of Lacoste, Merrell, Columbia and Vans.
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Coming soon - Walktall branded flip flops!
Coming soon!
Our very own Walktall flip flops are due to hit our e-shelves any day now. Available in sizes 12-16 these stylish sandals cool and comfortable and at a fraction of the price of other sandals retailing at only £10.00.
So keep your eyes peeled as they are a summer wardrobe must have for flip flopping about in!Be the first person to comment on this post...
Rockport adiPRENE by adidas technology
Rockport have teamed up with
Adidas to ensure even more comfort is inlcuded in their footwear!
AdiPRENE by Adidas is a proprietary footbed technologhy that offers heel shock absorbtion and forefoot cushioning delivering more comfort with every step.
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Merrell competition Winner
We recently teamed up with Merrell the outdoor footwear specialists to offer all customers the chance to get outside and win a handheld Garmin Dakota 20 GPS system for the ultimate summer adventure.
Well a big congratulations to David Edmondson for winning the competition, we hope you enjoy the GPS and system whether it’s for short backpacking trips or ambitious day trips!
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World Cup Entertainment Package Winner
Congratulations to David Stuart who won the ultimate world cup entertainment package.
Photographed here with his new 42inch LCD HD ready LG flat screen TV, 4 litre beer fridge and an Adidas World Cup 2010 foot ball, he is set to recreate the excitement of the 2010 world cup from the comfort of their home.
Let’s hope the rest of the England matches are worth the time spent installing the TV!
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World cup ball being criticized
Every four years, a new official soccer ball is designed for and used during World Cup matches. And every four years, players -- and this time even scientists -- criticize the new ball.
"It's a little sad that the World Cup has balls of such poor quality," Iker Casillas of Spain, one of the top keepers in the world, told Spanish reporters after being scored upon in a match. Other players have called its flight weird and unpredictable.
But this time around, the athletes have science on their side.
Researchers in Japan were the first to independently test the ball's flight characteristics in wind tunnels, finding evidence that the new ball does in fact fly more erratically than the 2006 "Teamgeist" ball. Their data suggests it may not always provide the "exceptionally stable flight" that Adidas claims.
Some Balls Like It Rough
The new "Jabulani" ball -- released by Adidas last December in South Africa and in regular use since the beginning of the 2010 Major League Soccer season in March -- is not a traditional black-and-white ball of 32 flat pentagon and octagon panels stitched together.
The Jabulani is made of eight spherically-molded panels bonded together without stitches. Tested in computer simulations, wind tunnels, and on the pitch by Adidas personnel at a facility in Germany and by researchers at the University of Loughborough in the United Kingdom, the ball is, according to Adidas, "perfectly round" to within less than one hundredth of an inch.
English player Frank Lampard, who is sponsored by Adidas, described it as "a very strong ball, true to hit."
But some other sports engineers who have taken a look at the ball are inclined to agree with the goalkeepers. Its surface, they said, seems suspiciously smooth -- despite grooves added by the designers that encircle the ball.
"It seems like the aerodynamic characteristics of Jabulani come near that of a smooth sphere," said Takeshi Asai, a sports engineer who tested the new ball at the University of Tsukuba in Japan.
It sounds counterintuitive, but rougher balls tend to be more stable when flying through the air.
"If you had a golf ball without dimples, you couldn't drive it 100 yards," said John Eric Goff of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. "If a baseball didn't have stitches, you'd never hit a home run."
That's because roughness on a surface creates turbulence around a ball moving at high speeds -- eddies of air that cling to and stabilize it. When a ball slows down to a critical speed, the airflow becomes smooth or "laminar" as the streamlines become parallel. This switch from turbulent to laminar flow, which roughness helps to counteract, causes the ball to change velocity; it's a nightmare for goalies and helps kickers bend one into the back of the net.
Decades of research have shown that the smallest variations in the surface can have a big effect. In 2008, Goff found that sharper faces on a traditional soccer ball help to trip the air flow to turbulent at lower speeds. Even the width of grooves on the surface of the ball has been shown to change the airflow.
Smooth Moves
The design of the ball may actually help it to fly farther at fast speeds, according to wind tunnel tests conducted by Kazuya Seo of Yamagata University in Japan, whose research was supported by the sports equipment manufacturer Molten USA. When kicked at 45-70 mph -- typical speeds achieved by professional players -- the ball feels less drag than previous balls and actually flies a few meters father.
But his tests also showed that as the ball slows, its behavior becomes more like that of a smooth sphere than previous World Cup balls. At just under 45 mph, turbulent flow becomes laminar and the ball suddenly feels heavy drag forces that put on the brakes.
"The fullback who wants to head the ball will have to wait more," said Seo. "The player who is familiar with the [2006] Geist might lose his/her timing."
Asai found another potential issue with the Jabulani in the wind tunnels: its spin.
Spinning balls -- like a curveball in baseball -- experience a sideward force noticed 300 years ago by Isaac Newton, who said that one side of tennis ball seems to "beat the contiguous air more vigorously than the other." This is now called the Magnus effect, and it happens because a spinning ball generates a pressure on one side is greater than on the other.
According to Asai's measurement, this sideways force on the Jabulani fluctuates more than the forces on the 2006 World Cup ball, which could cause it to bend in unpredictable ways and help to explain the reactions from goalkeepers.
Considering all of the other variables involved in the World Cup -- from pitches at high altitudes to inconsistent player performances -- it's unclear whether these differences in the ball in this are extreme enough to affect the final scores.
In the end, said Tim Chartier, a mathematician at Davidson College near Charlotte, N.C., putting out a new ball is a bit like Microsoft testing a new version of Windows in the field after months of laboratory debugging.
"World Cup soccer players will kick the ball again and again and again," said Cartier. "They'll find the unseen bugs."
Reference: FoxNews.com
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Nike has launched its TV ad for the 2010 World Cup
We've been waiting to share the Nike football video ever since our DVD landed Walktall HQ - so pull up a seat, because you aren't going to want to go anywhere for the next three minutes... Now Nike Football have a bit of a reputation when it comes to epic adverts. From the infamous "Au Reviour Cantona", to the classic "Wall" and even forgotten greats such as "Parklife", the Nike Football ads are a footballing dream.
Starring some of the world’s best players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Fabio Cannavaro, Franck Ribery, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Patrice Evra, Gerard Pique, Ronaldinho, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Thiago Silva, Write The Future, Nike Football's campaign for summer 2010 is another classic!
Directed by renowned Hollywood director and producer Alejandro G, this epic football journey unfolds through a match of goal line clearances, game-winning tackles and lightning footwork. And with a star-studded cast of appearances made by tennis legend Roger Federer, basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and Homer Simpson we think the commercial that heralds the start of Nike's global marketing campaign ahead of the World Cup, which starts in South Africa on Friday, is a blockbuster!
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Get exploring with a free Garmin Dakota 20 GPS system and Free Merrell aluminium water bottle
Get exploring!
Calling all outdoor fans! We’ve teamed up with Merrell the outdoor footwear specialists to bring you this groundbreaking competition!
Order any pair of Merrell shoes before Friday 4th June and you’ll be entered into a competition to win a handheld Garmin Dakota 20 GPS system to make sure you’re well equipped for the outdoors this summer!
All you have to do is purchase a pair of Merrell shoes from our great new range for the chance to win. What’s more we're also giving away a free Merrell aluminium water bottle with every Merrell order whilst stocks last!
So what are you waiting for? Click here to get purchasing and for your chance to win!
See you outside!
Terms and Conditions
All you have to do to be in with chance of winning a free Garmin Dakota 20 GPS system is to purchase a pair of Merrell shoes.
This offer expires at 11.59pm on Friday 4th June 2010. The free Merrell aluminium water bottle is subject to availability. Only one entry per customer is permitted. This offer is for Merrell products only and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. We reserve the right to withdraw this offer at any time.Be the first person to comment on this post...
Walktall - We go to extra lengths
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