A Sneeze And A Wheeze

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Cold air can trigger asthma and tends to drive us indoors. Just turning on the heater can kick up dust that’s been hiding for too long, and keeping it warm inside only makes it easier for mold to grow. How can you get through yet another bad allergy season? We’ll show you what you’re up against and how to fight back.

The Allergens

Welcome dust, mold and animal dander—the three indoor allergens most prevalent in the winter. If you have allergies or asthma, you’ll likely react with sneezing, itchy eyes, a runny nose, wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath or tightness in the chest. Because you’re spending more time indoors with the heat on, watch for stirred up dust and animal dander, along with mold growth in tubs, showers and sinks.

Plan of Attack

Don’t let winter allergies get the best of you. Here are 10 ways to eliminate allergens and prevent asthma attacks this season.

1. Wash your bed sheets and pajamas in hot water each week.

2. Encase pillows, mattresses and box springs in dust mite-proof covers. (Available on amazon.com or at most department stores.)

3. Dust with a damp cloth to trap dust and keep it from becoming airborne.

4. Keep pets, rugs and carpet out of your bedroom.

5. Vacuum floors and rugs once or twice a week with a HEPA filter.

6. Use a dehumidifier to keep your home’s humidity level below 50 percent.

7. Clean all tubs, sinks and showers with a bleach solution to kill mold and prevent its growth.

8. Run bathroom and kitchen vents when showering and cooking.

9. When it’s cold and dry or wet and rainy outside, wear a scarf that you can pull over your mouth to warm the air you breathe and prevent triggering asthma.

10. Avoid burning wood fires indoors, as the smoke can set off asthma, as well. If you do, make sure to keep the area well ventilated.

Get Relief

Sometimes enough is enough. If your allergies become unbearable, see your allergist. He or she can perform a skin test to check for new allergies, give you allergy shots or put you on over-the-counter antihistamines, inhaled steroids, nasal sprays or eye drops to relieve your symptoms.

Onecan only imagine the pent-up glee oozing from the walls of the Coates Golf boardroom during its post-mortem meeting that followed the inaugural Coates Golf Championship last January.

The event served as a launching platform for the new Marion County-based company dedicated to expanding equipment options for female golfers and endured its fair share of skepticism. But after enormous galleries at the tournament, a star-studded field of players and the Coates brand peppered over national television for an entire week, all doubts were certainly laid to rest.

The pre-tournament skepticism centered mainly around the locale, as LPGA officials initially preferred the event to take place in one of Florida’s greater population centers, such as Orlando or Tampa. Company founders Mollie and Randy Coates were adamant that the event could—and should—work in Ocala and insisted that the LPGA kick off its 2015 season at Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club.

The move proved genius as hordes of fans from Marion and surrounding counties (even up from Tampa and Orlando) stormed Golden Ocala, creating an atmosphere that many players noted went beyond a normal tour event.

Jessica Korda, who tied for second, said, “it feels like I’m playing in a major (championship).”

Michelle Wie offered the following assessment: “It’s like a major turnout. It’s exciting to play in front of excited crowds. It seems like they’re really excited to see us and feels really great.”

The tournament created momentum not just for the LPGA, which enjoyed its biggest year in history with the most purse money distributed, but also for the Coates Golf company. Coates, with its one-of-a-kind business model, debuted its line of ladies-only equipment at the event and has parlayed that opening-day splash into a successful year and bright future.

Recently, Coates announced that its line of clubs will be available at national retailers Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy, which will showcase Coates equipment right alongside such industry heavy hitters as Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade and Nike.

“Coates Golf has had an incredible first year,” says Mollie. “We have an exceptional line of equipment and apparel of which our distribution center is completely stocked.”

With 80,000 spectators at the 2015 tournament and television broadcasts available in over 150 million homes, Coates made quite a big splash in its initial dive into the golf industry pool. So what does one do for an encore?

“The knowledge we gained from our first event has given us a lot of ammunition to make 2016 even better,” says Mollie.

The 2016 event will be the second tournament on the LPGA Tour schedule, running the week of February 1 through 6 at Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club.

Mollie says that the 2016 event will show logistical improvements for fans as well as provide more activities beyond golf spectating. Anyone who attended last year’s event and waited in a long car line to enter the property will certainly be pleased.

“In 2016, we are completely changing the way parking, ticketing and will call will be handled, making it much easier for crowds to get onto tournament grounds and enjoy the golf,” says Mollie.

With easier access to the event, fans will also get to enjoy the most exciting addition to the event—the Craft Beer Tasting Festival. Tri-Eagle Sales and Cone Distributing have partnered to provide 18 different breweries for attendees to ‘taste a round’ for a small fee. The festival will be held in the garden in front of the Golden Ocala clubhouse.

Inkster On Board With Coates

Caught up in the growing snowball of the Coates brand was the recent signing of a golf legend to represent the company on the LPGA Tour. Hall of Famer Juli Inkster brings instant credibility to the Coates product line with a record and reputation matched by only a few in the history of the sport.

In last year’s Coates Golf Championship, Inkster showed she still has plenty of game to run with the younger set as she tied for 40th and was one of only 21 players in the entire field to break par both days after the cut.

With 31 LPGA Tour wins, including seven major championships, Inkster’s playing credentials make her the most decorated active player on the Tour. In addition, she owns more Solheim Cup victories than any American in history and captained the U.S. team to victory in 2015.

And now she is putting her weight behind the Coates mission.

“I understand what Coates Golf means to the golf industry and to women,” says Inkster, who will play Coates equipment out of the Coates bag as will fellow player representative Alexandria Jacobsen. “With Coates, now women at all levels of play have options—and they are performance options. I have never been more confident that there are great things to come for women and golf.”

Mollie says that the 2016 command, she now juggles athletic exercise, a busy golf schedule game’s leading ambassadors regardless of gender.

At age 55, Inkster carries the athletic gate of most of her younger peers on the Tour. Able to perform a cartwheel or handstand on command, she now juggles athletic exercise, a busy golf schedule and an analyst position with Fox Sports during coverage of USGA events. All the while, Inkster maintains her status as one of the game’s leading ambassadors regardless of gender.

“Juli is the embodiment of what Coates Golf represents,” says Mollie. “She is strong, athletic and an inspiration. To have Juli associated with our commitment to empower and equip women to expect more from golf is a tremendous compliment. It also speaks volumes of her commitment to this sport and to growing the game.”

In 2016, Inkster will again challenge the young guard at the Coates Golf Championship, but this time, she’ll be sporting the now-familiar antelope logo on her bags and clubs, which she will promote at future LPGA and Legends events. It’s the merging of a company and a legend, both holding firm to a belief and philosophy to make the game better for everyone.

Coates Committed To Women’s Golf

With the momentum building and the growth of Coates Golf, the sky could be the limit. Coates has embarked on a never-before attempted strategy of honing onto a single niche in the market place: women’s golf.

But could success someday lead the company to expand into the more predominant and more-crowded male markets? That, according to Mollie, would undermine the company’s commitment.

“Coates will always be solely dedicated to women’s golf,” says Mollie. “That in itself is what differentiates us from the other equipment companies in the market. All of our research, engineering and manufacturing is focused only on what female golfers need in the game.”

Mollie is on a mission that seems about much more than just the financial success of a company. As much a pied-piper for the female golfer, she sees the venture not so much as capital, but historic.

“Although we do our best to not let it bubble up in conversations often, misogyny is still very much present within the golf industry, and we do everything we can through our marketing to shine light on it. We give (women) the same options as men when fitting themselves with clubs. We understand that these female golfers are athletes and take their game seriously.

“Beyond what we do as a company, we want to be the cheerleaders for girls and women to have the confidence to believe in themselves and to take the course head on.”

If a microcosm of the company’s future success can be found in the success of the tournament, there are certainly bright days ahead.

Last year, the Ocala event marked the season-opener for the LPGA Tour, but this time around the tour heads to the Bahamas before returning to Ocala. Nonetheless, one of the best fields in women’s golf is again expected to hit the course with defending champion Na Yeon Choi leading the way.

“The 2015 Coates was an astounding success,” says Mollie. “The local community came together through corporate sponsorships, volunteer staff and general spectatorship to make the inaugural event a tournament that the LPGA professional women are still talking about.”

The success of the 2015 inaugural event provided a boon not only to the LPGA Tour and the Coates brand but also to the local economy, something tournament founders hoped would result from bringing the tournament to Ocala. Research conducted by Kerr & Downs Research, a group out of Tallahassee, which was commissioned by a third party, estimates the local economic impact of last year’s event to be $18.4 million.

So when Mollie speaks of empowerment, it’s not just for female golfers but also for the Ocala region the company calls home.

“If you’re my fighter, there’s no drinking, no smoking,” he says. “I’m strict. I’m fair.”

Kahlil’s a heavyweight fighter, and he trains with Ocasio in the mornings and works on cardio in the late afternoons. He says the goal is to train hard enough that the fights seem easy, but boxing is still an intense sport whether you’re training or fighting.

“It’s the hardest sport in the world,” Kahlil says. “You’re gonna take hits in the face.”

Kahlil thanks God and the man who’s been like a father to him for making him a better fighter. He remembers watching his older brother box as a little kid and feeling that’s what he was supposed to do. So, when he first walked into a boxing gym in his early 20s, he knew that’s where he belonged. He’s been fighting ever since, and just last year, he went professional. His record stands at 234, and his next fight is scheduled for January 23.

“Kahlil is strong. He’s strong,” Tito says. “He’s got a lot of skills, and his attitude is awesome.”

When he steps into the ring before each fight, it’s not just the confidence built by his training that keeps him strong; it’s the support from his wife, Felicia, too. Instead of getting nervous for him, she gets pumped and starts yelling, “Hit him! Hit him!”

“He’s a beautiful person and has a beautiful heart,” Ocasio says.

FLOAT On Jon

Todd Frobish has been paddle boarding for three years. He’s 52 years old, one of the owners of Brick City Bicycles and the director of sales at Nobility Homes in Ocala. He got into paddle boarding when he was looking for a way to cool off after riding his bike.

“With a paddle board, you can hop in the water and get back on the board anywhere,” he says. “It’s environmentally friendly, and it’s not too expensive.”

Brick City Bicycles sells paddleboards and keeps a sign-up sheet for paddle boarding trips, so Todd often takes people out on the weekends. Although paddle boarding does require some balance and coordination, he says it doesn’t take long to learn.

“It definitely makes a difference in your core and upper body,” he says.

That’s another reason he likes paddle boarding. Because he gets a lower body workout when he rides his bike, paddle boarding gives him an upper body workout, not to mention allows him to cool off in the water. It’s also a fun activity that he, his wife and their two daughters can do together.

“It can be as strenuous as you want it to be,” Todd says, admitting that he’s even taken a nap on his board before.

He usually travels to Crystal River, Rainbow River, Salt Springs or the Silver River for his outings, and, for Todd, the scenery is what makes paddle boarding worthwhile.

“The Silver River is my favorite place to go,” he says. “You never know what you’ll run into.”

FAST And Furious

At the coach’s whistle, 23-year-old Erin Jackson speeds from the starting line, bent over and gliding so fast that she grazes the ground with her fingers. It’s speed skating practice at Skate-A-Way South for the Ocala Speed team, and Coach Renee Hildebrand yells, “Go, go, go!”

Born and raised in Ocala, Erin grew up skating. She spent her summers at Skate Mania’s camps and attended the weekly openskating sessions. At 11 years old, she started speed skating when her mom ran into Coach Hildebrand and told her how much Erin loved skating. The coach invited Erin and her mom to a get-together at the rink.

“After that, I was hooked and joined the team,” Erin says.

Now she has several medals under her belt, and she skates on three different speed skating teams and a roller derby team in Jacksonville. Both skating styles are high intensity workouts, demanding lots of cardio, core and leg strength, and Erin practices between seven and 14 hours each week.

Because she’s been skating most of her life, Erin has developed a close family of skaters and finds it normal to wear spandex most of the time. Though this 23 year old plans to pursue an engineering career and earn her master’s degree in materials science, she also hopes to achieve her goal of winning senior world champion in The World Speed Skating Championships one day.

“The most rewarding part is just having a great time doing something I love,” she says.

Darling DANCER

“W hen I dance, I forget my age."� Millie Blonder holds out her hands. There’s not one wrinkle.

“I’m 80 years old,” she says. “I’ve been dancing for 45 years.”

She leans forward as if to share a secret, “It’s all this belly dancing. It keeps you young.”

She turns back to the group of three women in her exotically decorated home studio, flips on Egyptian music, claps and counts “five, six, seven, eight.” Her students line up, and Millie sits, beating a small drum. When it’s Millie’s turn to enter the dance, she moves with ease and skill.

It all started for Millie as a young girl. Born in New York in 1935, she loved watching Maria Montez in the movies.

“I wanted to be her,” she says. “Her hands were so soft and pretty.”

Millie worked for a phone company in New Jersey and didn’t start dancing until she was in her 30s. Her mother told her about Ibrahim Farrah, a performer and teacher of Middle Eastern dance, and Millie ended up studying under him for 17 years. She took the name

“Zuhela” and danced in restaurants and clubs, admitting, “I came from a different world.”

When Millie retired from the phone company, she moved to Florida. She went to week-long workshops, learned choreography and taught classes at CTAE for 15 years. She’s never had to advertise, adding that her husband, Chuck, always wonders how people find her. She just laughs it off, “They just find me.”

She’s taught from her home for five years now, and she praises dance for its many health benefits. Her doctors tell her it’s the best thing she can do. Though she’s gone through back and knee surgery, a shoulder replacement and breast cancer, she’s shockingly limber and healthy.

“This dancing pulls arthritis away from you,” she says. “Especially women should dance.”

Millie plans to keep dancing for the rest of her life. And from the looks of it, it’s going to be a long one!

ROCKING And Roping

Katherine Hatfield is 57 years old and does something she never pictured herself doing. She coaches the jump rope team at Ft. McCoy School.

She’s been the school’s physical education teacher for 18 years, but she got involved with Jump Rope for Heart through the American Heart Association 12 years ago. She learned how to coach the team through workshops, conferences and training. Now her team performs about 10 times each year.

“The kids are very committed to the team, the school and the sport of rope jumping,” she says. “My work with the Ft. McCoy Jump Rope team has been one of the motivating elements that keeps me going each and every school year.”

Katherine has about 30 students between third and eighth grade on her team, and she holds practices two to three times a week for a couple of hours. She starts beginners off with single jumps before teaching them the more complicated ones. Jumping skills and techniques include partner jumps, long rope, group routines, power jumps and cartwheels.

Jumping rope is a full body workout for Katherine and her team, and she’s noticed feeling healthier and more active because of it.

“Depending on jumps, you can really get your heart beating,” she says. “Fifteen minutes of jumping burns off the calories of one candy bar.”

Mind And Body CONNECTION

For 29-year-old Chris De Vilbiss and 22-year-old Holly Saitta, acroyoga is all about connecting with others.

“The mental connections that are made with others during partner yoga have brought me joy and a sense of connectedness,” Holly says.

One person acts as the base, lies on their back and balances their partner on their hands and knees. The partner balancing on the base is called the flyer.

“At the advanced level, the flyer is active and performs an array of acrobatic movements while balancing on the base’s hands, feet, knees, shoulders, etc.,” Chris says.

Holly describes acroyoga as having two separate branches, solar-acrobatic and lunartherapeutic. The flyer is passive in lunartherapeutic but active in solar-acrobatic.

Holly’s been doing acroyoga for two years and is trained in lunar acroyoga and Thai massage. Chris is certified in Sadhuana Yoga Chi and has been practicing acroyoga for four years. Now they teach a weekly acroyoga class at My Yoga Connection in Gainesville.

Techniques like stability, balance and communication are necessary, but the intensity of the exercise really depends on the style of acroyoga and the people doing it.

OVER The Edge

Jasper Webb jumps, grabs onto a high rail, turns his body sideways and swings through to the other side, like it’s nothing. He and two friends, Corey Banta and Corey Nickels, met on the University of Florida campus this evening for a specific purpose: parkour.

At 41 years old, Jasper stays in shape by running along walls, jumping precisely onto small targets (like a curb from a high ledge) and swinging himself on, over or through obstacles. When he’s not teaching psychology classes at Vanguard High School or doing parkour at UF, he’s instructing kids between the ages of 5 and 16 in the art of parkour.

“I’m naturally uncoordinated, so I break it down into steps,” he says as he demonstrates the moves involved in doing a vault jump.

Jasper describes a sphere of ability that everyone has. Though levels of physical ability and body awareness can be obstacles in parkour, fear can also get in the way of doing certain things.

“Sometimes the fear will actually cause you to mess up,” he says. Banta, 24, explains that practice and confidence can help overcome those obstacles. Both he and 22-year-old Nickels remember how they started compared to what they can do now. Jasper and Banta are part of the statewide parkour association, Florida Parkour (FLPK). The name of their group, Gainesville Parkour, was created to bring together anyone interested in parkour. They’re not an official club, but they use their Facebook group to set up places and times to meet.

“It’s like skateboarding without a skateboard,” Jasper says. “You can do it anywhere.”

That’s what attracted Jasper to this sport. He’s been doing it since 2010 after his friend showed him a parkour video. He immediately saw that it was challenging but also like an art form. As an avid skateboarder, he loved that he didn’t need to buy any equipment for parkour.

“All you need is a solid sole in the front [of your shoes] and comfortable clothes,” he says.