Diving

Most diving competitions consist of three disciplines: 1m and 3m springboards, and the platform. Competitive athletes are divided by gender, and often by age group. In platform events, competitors are allowed to perform their dives on either the five, seven and a half (generally just called seven) or ten meter towers. In major diving meets, including the olympic games and the World Championships, platform diving is from the 10 meter height.

Divers have to perform a set number of dives according to established requirements, including somersaults and twists. Divers are judged on whether and how well they completed all aspects of the dive, the conformance of their body to the requirements of the dive, and the amount of splash created by their entry to the water. A possible score out of ten is broken down into three points for the takeoff, three for the flight, and three for the entry, with one more available to give the judges flexibility.

The raw score is multiplied by a difficulty factor, derived from the number and combination of movements attempted. The diver with the highest total score after a sequence of dives is declared the winner. Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acribatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sports that is part of the olympic games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.



Diving is one of the most popular olympic sports with spectators. Competitors possess many of the same characteristics as gymnasts and dancers, including strength and flexibility. China came to prominence several decades ago when the sport was revolutionized by national coach Liang Boxi and after intense study of the dominant Louganis. China has lost few world titles since. The success of Greg Louganis has led to American strength in diving internationally. Other noted countries in the sport include Italy, Australia and Canada.

Sapi Island, Tunku Abdul Rahman Park

Pulau Sapi is located off the coast of downtown Kota Kinabalu. From Hyatt Regency Kinabalu, a 2-minute drive or a 10-minute walk will bring you to the jetty at Jesselton Poin ferry terminal (formerly known as Sabah Port Authority jetty).

There are a number of tour operators here that will bring you to Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (which consists of the islands of Pulau Gaya, Pulau Sapi, Pulau Manukan, Pulau Sulug and Pulau Mamutik). The one way charged per head of boat which only cost you RM7.00 . One boat can fit 4-6 people, A short 20-minute breezy boat ride away brings you to the sun-kissed beach of Pulau Sapi.

The water is extremely crystal clear. During the day, the beach is buzzing with a hive of beach activities.The beach is probably one of the region's most beautiful beach. The water is quite shallow and ample of shades are available. In term of snorkeling, one still can do it here although I found there was not so much marine life compared to the nearby island of Pulau Manukan. Otherwise, you can laze down by the beautiful beach and worship the sun. In short, activities galore on this beautiful beach. Just get your sun-tan lotions and sun-shade, then head to the lovely island.


Do not be afraid of your safety while you are in any five (5) Tunku Abdul Rahman island, life guard will be there to help you out in case of anything happen. Besides, you can also explore its unique of the junggle trekking which is believed to be the Sapi Head as you can see through the map. The jungle trekking will takes you 20-30 minutes. Asides, do not missed out the lovely beach (Gaya Island) while you are on trekking. Gaya island can be seen clearly through the jungle trekking in Sapi Island. Trust me, it is a bliss scenery to behold as for the beach lovers!

Memory of Sandakan Death March

Imagine this. It is May 1945. Clad only in ragged loin-cloths, over 500 skeletal creatures, barely recognisable as human, struggle to their feet at the Sandakan POW Compound, on Sabah's north-east coast. Three long years in captivity, half of them on starvation rations and with little or no medical attention, have taken their toll. The grimy, wasted bodies of these once fit and strapping Australian and British servicemen are covered in sores and scabies, their filthy hair and beards matted and lice-infested. Many are suffering from tropical ulcers, some so large that shin bones are clearly visible. Others, bloated from beriberi, lumber along on sausage-like legs. They are bound for Ranau, a small village on the flanks of Mt Kinabalu, South East Asia's highest peak, situated 250 kilometres away to the west, in the rugged Borneo jungle interior.

All were members of a 2700-strong Allied contingent transferred to Sandakan by the Japanese in 1942-43, following Singapore's fall. Their task? To construct a military airfield, using not much more than their bare hands. For the first twelve months or so, conditions at Sandakan were tolerable. However, in mid 1943 the Japanese discovered that the POWs not only had a radio but were in league with a local resistance organisation. The kempei-tai, or secret police, swooped. Arrests and transfers followed. Discipline at Sandakan was tightened considerably and life became much more difficult for the remaining 2,434 prisoners.

Manila City, Phillipines

The City of Manila (Filipino: Lungsod ng Maynila) is the capital of the Philippines and one of the 17 cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila. It is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay, on the western portion of the National Capital Region, in the western side of Luzon. Manila is one of the central hubs of a thriving metropolitan area home to around 20 million people. As of 2009 update, Manila ranks as the world's eleventh and the fifth by population. Manila is also ranked as one of the most densely populated cities in the world.


Manila occupies a total land area of 38.55 square kilometers, is the second most populous city in the Philippines, with more than 1.6 million inhabitants. Only nearby Quezon City is more populous. The metropolitan area is the second most populous in Southeast Asia. Manila is bordered by several cities in Metro Manila such as Navotas City and Caloocan City to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong City to the east, Makati City to the southeast, and Pasay City to the south. The Pasig River bisects the city in the middle. Almost all of the city sits on top of centuries of prehistoric alluvial deposits built by the waters of the Pasig River and on some land reclaimed from Manila Bay.






Filipino is the national language of the Philippines and, along with English, is an official language designated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Filipino is an Austronesian language that is based on existing native languages in the Philippines; the most significant influence is the Tagalog language. A large number of Spanish and English loanwords also exist in the vocabulary. The Filipino language remains in evolution, development, and further enrichment on the basis of existing languages of the Philippines and other languages. It is the first language of Filipinos living in Metro Manila and the second language of most Filipinos.


Sometimes the term "Filipino" is incorrectly used as the generic name for all the languages of the Philippines which, in turn, would be termed as dialects. Also, because of its similarity to the language on which it is based, it is still sometimes identified with Tagalog. The Commission on the Filipino Language (Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino), the regulating body of Filipino, envisions a process of popularizing regional dialect usage derived from regional languages as the basis for standardizing and intellectualizing the language, thus forming a lingua franca.