Seeing is believing

Vision is as important as being physically fit in excelling in sports. On and off the playing field, an athlete must be able to see things clearly because what you see is what you get.

If seeing is believing, then you can’t go wrong with eyewear that’s designed for sports.

That’s the message from sports broadcaster Patricia Bermudez-Hizon who swears by Nike Vision.

Shaan says the technology behind Nike Vision takes into account the hardships that athletes endure visually in competition and that’s why its combination of science and style makes for being "a serious contender for the choice of people about sports eyewear."

Shaan’s a consultant for public relations and marketing for Branded Lifestyle Inc. and Nike Vision is one of her accounts but she insists hers is no biased opinion.

At the moment, Shaan is looking for local endorsers to pitch for Nike Vision. That shouldn’t be difficult because there’s no more popular brand among athletes.

"He or she must be an outstanding athlete whose achievements and talents embody what Nike Vision is all about," says Shaan. The search is now in progress.

There’s a long list of star endorsers all over the world and Shaan makes it a point to single them out, one by one.

On top of the elite cast is Russian tennis queen Maria Sharapova who started playing at four, turned pro 10 years later and is now the world’s undisputed court darling.

The others are golfers Grace Park of South Korea, Justin Leonard, Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini, baseball players Albert Pujols, Torii Hunter, Lance Berkman, Jimmy Rollins, Jason Phillips, Jermaine Dye, Alex Gonzalez and Carlos Beltran, soccer’s Thierry Henry of Arsenal and Edgar Davids of Holland and runners Marion Jones, Paula Radcliffe of England, Catherine Ndereba of Kenya and Meb Keflezighi of the US.

So what’s the big deal about Nike Vision?

Shaan says in sports, your focus must stay on the field of play and there’s no time to spare worrying about your vision.

"Sports doesn’t just happen in a straight line," adds Shaan, quoting from a Nike Vision paper. "Sports requires superlative sight in all directions. Which is why everything built at Nike Vision is designed with a view for the whole picture, eyewear that turns the extraordinary into the routine."

For golfers, Shaan recommends the Nike Max Golf Tint. It’s a model that considers the different aspects of the game–the cut of the grass, the color of the sky and the white of the ball.

"Nike measured the amount of light these important elements emit then turned the color of the lens to enhance those aspects and create an environment of greater contrast," continues Shaan. "The result is a perspective that gives you a better shot at saving par."

You don’t only look good on the greens but you also play better, adds Shaan.

"Because you see even the subtle breaks on the green, you get to shave strokes off your game," notes Shaan.

For athletes who indulge in endurance sports, Shaan suggests the Nike Max Speed Tint because judgment of terrain and sky in rapidly variable light conditions is key. The light architecture and transmission level of the shades reduces glare from road surfaces, relaxes the eyes and enhances visibility in shifting conditions.

"That way, you focus on your ride, your run and your race," says Shaan.

Athletes, who require corrective lenses, are also given priority by Nike Vision. Shaan says Nike’s patented Rx processing technique widens the zone of visual clarity, reducing distortion across the entire lens and keeping vision truer to the original prescription at wide angles.

Shaan says a line of eyewear was specially designed for the female market. The Sera model that Sharapova and Jones endorse comes in fashionable colors like crystal, black, translucent El Dorado, translucent denim and shy pink.

Shaan, of course, won’t let you go until she talks about Nike Vision’s adjustable top-mounted and ventilated nose bridge to reduce fogging, the bi-flex hinge to accommodate varying head sizes, the multiple lens options for all light conditions, the scratch-resistant polycarbonate lens, the lens coating that repels sweat and water and the state-of-the-art ultra violet absorbency.

Next time you spot Shaan in a marathon or playing tennis or on an obstacle course, check out what she’s wearing. Don’t just focus on her shoes and outfit. Look at her shades, too, because after all, seeing is believing.

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