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Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of instructional manuals or how-to guides on being a mascot. Most amateur mascots rely on those who preceded them or other fellow school mascots to clue them in. Whether you talk to an alligator mascot, wildcat mascot or even a pirate mascot, there are a few common pointers that each potential mascot should know and understand. Though most of the people think the life of a mascot is a breeze, all mascots know better.

Before you even think about becoming a mascot, you want to make certain you are in top physical shape! If you’re not actually there yet, it’s time to hit the gym. Aerobics, gymnastics and weightlifting can all lead you to the fantasy of taking over as the next mascot of your school or institution. Aerobics are a must when it comes to mascot training. Many mascots include running in their daily exercise routine. Game days can be excruciatingly long. Entertaining a group for hours at a time takes massive physical endurance. Running will help you get there. Gymnastics are what will set you apart as a mascot from your competition. A mascot who can simply do a back handspring will completely catch the eye of the judges you perform in front of. Any professional mascot is generally a wiz at gymnastics and implements them into all of their routines. You may wonder why weight lifting would be included in mascot training. Although weight lifting isn’t a must have, it definitely gives you an advantage. Muscle keeps your metabolism performing sharply and will help you in whatever trick you have up your sleeve as a mascot. Wearing a heavy wildcat mascot costume for example, isn’t a simple job. Weightlifting will help you get your feet off the ground no matter how many pounds that wildcat mascot costume is. The goal isn’t to pump up, but to remain toned.

Now that you’ve evaluated your present physical shape, it is time to move on to a more exciting subject : game day. Game day is what every mascot is looking forward to. Game day presents an opportunity for each mascot to strut their stuff and entertain the crowds. Most mascots don’t expect anything but grins and sunlight on game day. In reality, your first game will be a wake up call. You will see how being stuffed in a costume for 4 hours can tire you downright out. Its necessary that you’ve a quality costume to help to keep you well ventilated and protected. Donning a massive costume like a wildcat mascot also needs proper cooling, especially for those in hotter climates. Most mascot suppliers will carry a cooling system to get you through the hottest of nights. Guesstimate your weather within that wildcat mascot costume to be at least 20 degrees hotter than the outdoor temperature. In order to prepare for game day, its definitely crucial to practice in your costume before hand! Get that wildcat mascot costume on and see how it feels to do your routine about 10 times over and over. This will give you a pretty sensible idea of what you are in for. Although being a mascot could be a difficult job, it actually is lots of fun. The adrenaline of entertaining your entire school will give you something to anticipate throughout the year.

When Felix Withers attended High School he was a High Honors student where he graduated with 4.0. He got his BA in Language Arts at UofU. He is now writing for web marketing.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/a-brief-mascot-tutorial-1687592.html

If you start talking about cowboy shooting games you could be talking about any number of varieties of the sport, but most likely you’re talking about one of the three main flavors. For those interested in, or just getting involved in cowboy shooting, let’s take a look at what most people are doing.

Cowboy Fast Draw – This is probably what most people think of when they envision cowboy shooting games. On the large and small screen, how many times have we seen two men meet in the middle of the street while the onlookers duck for cover? In the movies the scene usually ends with someone lying in the dust while smoke drifts from the barrel of the winner’s gun.

Fortunately for the competitors, cowboy fast draw is still concerned with drawing and firing faster than the other guy (or gal), but now you’re shooting at a target instead of each other.

When the shooters are ready, a light on the targets comes on after a random number of seconds. The fastest to fire and hit the target is the winner of that round.

Cowboy Action Shooting – In this activity the participants are set up on a stage that appears to be part of an Old West town. You might see a saloon, a bank, or a livery stable. The competitors take turns shooting a series of targets, sometimes going from the window of the bank, to the doorway of the stable, etc. They’re required to shoot pistols, rifles, and shotguns.

Each cowboy or cowgirl is timed from start to finish and extra time is added to their score for each target that is missed.

There are some variations in cowboy action shooting — some people shoot their pistols gunfighter style, one in each hand, and some people shoot duelist style, the pistol always fired from the same hand.

Mounted Shooting – A lot of people have seen barrel racing with horses, either at the rodeo or on TV, and mounted shooting can be described as barrel racing with guns.

Balloons are attached to posts in the arena and as the horse and rider go through the course, the rider fires at and pops the balloons. The fastest ride missing the fewest balloons is the winner.

Cowboy mounted shooting is the only one of these three varieties where blank ammunition is used. Even with blanks there’s enough material coming from the barrel of the gun that it will pop a balloon at several feet. (Most people think blanks are harmless, but they can be deadly.)

One thing all of these cowboy shooting games have in common is the costuming. The participants are dressed in period clothing, typical of what you might have seen in the late 1800s. The firearms are all replicas (or actual antiques) of firearms found in the Old West during that time frame.

Plus, all of the participants have their own cowboy “alias” and many have created extensive stories about “their life in the old west.”

Spectators are always welcome (safety is of top concern at these events) and when you show up for the first time you’re going to think you stumbled into a time machine and came out in the Old West!

Learning the cowboy fast draw is easier with a timer — the Fast Draw Timer for the iPhone means you can practice almost anywhere. See http://CowboyShootingSoftware.com for the shooting timer.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/the-different-styles-of-cowboy-shooting-games-1688030.html