2003 Utah snowstorm
The 2003 Utah snowstorm was a major snowstorm that affected the state of Utah during December 25–31, 2003. Many areas of Utah were paralyzed by up to 4 feet (1.2 m) of snow. The Wasatch Front from the Salt Lake Valley northward saw generally 1–3 feet of snow (30-90 cm), with up to four feet on the benches, while the surrounding mountains generally saw 5–7 feet of snow (1.5–2 m), with up to nine feet in some areas. The storm even reached southern Utah with moderate snow amounts, with a few inches in some low-lying valley locations. At least five deaths were attributed to the heavy snow.


2003 Utah snowstorm
The Salt Lake City airport saw 21.9 inches (55.6 cm) of snow. The 19.4 inches (49.3 cm) of snow that fell during December 25-28, in the first wave of the storm, ranks as the 5th-largest storm in Salt Lake City history. The most snow along the Wasatch Front was found on the Layton bench in Davis County, which saw 51 inches (130 cm). Davis and Weber Counties were perhaps the hardest-hit areas, with even valley locations recording over 2 and as much as 3 feet (60–90 cm) in places.


2003 Utah snowstorm
Bountiful, typically one of the areas hardest hit by lake-effect snows, saw 32 inches (81 cm), Clearfield 28 in (71 cm), and Ogden 36 in (91 cm). The storm also affected areas further north, including Brigham City with 19 inches (48 cm) and Logan with 18 inches. Areas along the southern Wasatch Front saw less snow, with just six inches (15 cm) in Provo, although Spanish Fork saw 17 inches (43 cm), due to lake effect snows from Utah Lake, which Spanish Fork is frequently in the path of. The Wasatch Back also saw significant amounts of snow, with 50 inches (130 cm) in Summit Park, near the summit of Parley's Canyon and just a few miles northwest of Park City.


2003 Utah snowstorm
The Wasatch Mountains saw phenomenal, near-record amounts of snow. Farmington Canyon in Davis County saw the most snow of any place in the storm, with 103 inches (262 cm) of snow. The ski resorts of Salt Lake County saw several feet of snow as well, with some skiers reporting "epic ski conditions." Alta saw 87 inches (221 cm) of snow, Snowbird had 82 inches (208 cm), Brighton 66 inches (168 cm), and Nordic Valley 51 inches (130 cm).


2003 Utah snowstorm
Unusual for such a storm, this massive snowstorm even penetrated into southern Utah, dropping moderate amounts across the south. The Brian Head ski resort saw 40 inches (102 cm) to top off mountain locations, while even low valley locations saw snow, including Kanab with seven inches (18 cm), and Hurricane with two inches (5 cm), just a few hundred feet (~100 m) higher and a few miles east of Saint George.


2003 Utah snowstorm
Overall, five people were killed in the storm. An avalanche on the east side of Mount Timpanogos killed three snowboarders on December 26, while traffic accidents killed two people on December 28. In addition, at least 1,000,000 people along the Wasatch Front lost power just on the first day of the storm, and at least 2,000 traffic accidents were reported (most of them along the Wasatch Front). In total, the storm caused at least $3,820,000 in damage. Utah Power (now Rocky Mountain Power) faced criticism from residents and even the Salt Lake City council on the speed and effectiveness of restoring power to the area after more than 300 customers were still without power 20 days after the storm.


2003 Uzbek League
The 2003 Uzbek League season was the 12th edition of top level football in Uzbekistan since independence from the Soviet Union in 1992.


2003 Uzbek League, Overview
It was contested by 16 teams, and Pakhtakor Tashkent won the championship.


2003 V-League
V-League 2003 was the 47th season of Vietnam's professional football league, the V-League. PepsiCo was the league's sponsor, replacing Strata Sport Marketing.


2003 V-League
Hoàng Anh Gia Lai won their first title in this season.


2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series
The 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series was a motor racing series for V8 Supercars. The series, which was the fifth V8 Supercar Championship Series, began on 22 March 2003 in Adelaide and ended on 30 November at Eastern Creek Raceway after 13 rounds. It ended with the awarding of the 44th Australian Touring Car Championship title by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport to Tasmanian driver Marcos Ambrose. It was the first time a Stone Brothers Racing driver had won the championship and marked the first title win by a Ford driver since Glenn Seton in 1997, ending a five-year run by Holden Racing Team drivers.


2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series, Teams and drivers
The following drivers and teams competed in the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series. The series consisted of eleven rounds of sprint racing and two rounds (the Sandown 500 and the Bathurst 1000) of endurance racing with each car piloted by two drivers.


2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series, Results and standings, Race calendar
The 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series consisted of 13 rounds which included eleven sprint rounds of one, two or three races and two longer distance endurance races requiring two drivers per car.


2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series, Results and standings, Drivers championship
Drivers were required to drop the points earned at their worst round from their total, regardless of how many rounds were entered. Drivers who only entered one round lost all their points.


2003 V8 Supercar season
The 2003 V8 Supercar season was the 44th year of touring car racing in Australia since the first runnings of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the fore-runner of the present day Bathurst 1000, the Armstrong 500.


2003 V8 Supercar season
There were 21 touring car race meetings held during 2003; a thirteen-round series for V8 Supercars, the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series (VCS), two of them endurance races; a six-round second tier V8 Supercar series 2003 Konica V8 Supercar Series (KVS) along with a non-point scoring race supporting the Bathurst 1000 and V8 Supercar support programme event at the 2003 Australian Grand Prix.


2003 V8 Supercar season, Season review
The 2003 season brought substantial change at the pointy end of the series, with the era of the Holden Racing Teams dominance of V8 Supercar ending and the era of Stone Brothers Racing beginning. Marcos Ambrose form throughout the series was irresistible. From the series third round at Eastern Creek Raceway to the eighth round at Oran Park Raceway SBR Falcons took all six wins, Ambrose five of them with a second place behind Ingall at Queensland Raceway the only aberration.


2003 V8 Supercar season, Season review
Ingall would win again in the Gold Coast street race with Ambrose confirming his championship at the Eastern Creek championship finale. Holden did not give in willingly, Mark Skaife and Greg Murphy each winning two rounds, with Skaife and Todd Kelly taking the reborn Sandown 500 as one of them, while one of Murphy's wins was Bathurst with his co-driver Rick Kelly becoming the youngest Bathurst winner. The only other round winner was Craig Lowndes had his first win for new team Ford Performance Racing.


2003 V8 Supercar season, Season review
Apart from the enduros, Stone Brothers Racing swept all before them with Mark Winterbottom dominating the Konica V8 Supercar Series in SBR's older AU Falcon. Winterbottom won four of the six rounds, the others were won by Andrew Jones and eventual series runner up Matthew White.


2003 V8 Supercar season, Results and standings, Race calendar
The 2003 Australian touring car season consisted of 20 events.


2003 V8 Supercar season, Results and standings, Netspace V8Supercar Showdown
This meeting was a support event of the 2003 Australian Grand Prix.


2003 V8 Supercar season, Results and standings, Konica V8 Supercar Challenge Race
This race was a support event of the 2003 Bob Jane T-Marts 1000.


2003 V8Star Series
The 2003 V8Star Series season was the third and final V8Star Series season. It featured ten races at four European racing circuits, in Germany and the Netherlands. Portuguese ex-Formula One driver Pedro Lamy was crowned champion of the series, taking five wins in all and beating Germans Thomas Mutsch and Michael Bartels to the title.


2003 VCU Rams men's soccer team
The 2003 VCU Rams men's soccer team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2003 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, playing in the Colonial Athletic Association.


2003 VCU Rams men's soccer team
The season was one of the most successful season in the program's history, as the Rams won both the CAA regular season and tournament champions successfully defending their titles from 2002. By winning the CAA Tournament, the Rams qualified for NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, for the second straight year and for the sixth time in the program's history. In the NCAA tournament, the Rams advanced to the final sixteen (Regional Semifinals), at the time, their deepest run in the tournament.


2003 VCU Rams men's soccer team, Team, 2010 roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2003 VCU Rams men's soccer team, Match results
Lists of matches, featuring result, attendance (where available) and scorers, grouped by competition (league, cup, other competition). Do not include friendly matches.


2003 VCU Rams men's soccer team, Match results, Legend
Home team listed on the right, away team listed on the left. Teams with a "#" sign represents their NSCAA National Ranking at the time of the match.


2003 VFL season
The 2003 Victorian Football League season was the 122nd season of the Australian rules football competition.


2003 VFL season
The premiership was won by the Williamstown Football Club, after defeating Box Hill by 29 points in the Grand Final on 21 September.


2003 VFL season, League membership and affiliations
There were several changes to the VFL–AFL reserves affiliations prior to the 2003 season:


2003 VFL season, League membership and affiliations
As a result of the changes, the VFL was reduced from sixteen teams to thirteen. Geelong was now the only one of the ten Victorian AFL clubs left fielding its own reserves team in the VFL, with nine clubs in VFL-AFL affiliations.


2003 VMI Keydets football team
The 2003 VMI Keydets football team represented the Virginia Military Institute during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season. It was the Keydets' 113th year of football, and their 1st season in the Big South Conference.


2003 Vaahteraliiga season
The 2003 Vaahteraliiga season was the 24th season of the highest level of American football in Finland. The regular season took place between May 31 and August 11, 2003. The Finnish champion was determined in the playoffs and at the championship game Vaahteramalja XXIV the Turku Trojans won the Helsinki Roosters.


2003 Valdostan regional election
The Valdostan regional election of 2003 took place on 8 June 2003. The election was characterized by a strong showing of the centrist Valdostan Union, which gained more than 47% of votes.


2003 Vale by-election
The 2003 Vale by-election was held in the States of Guernsey district of Vale on 9 July 2003, following the resignation of deputy Rodney Collenette due to ill health. Graham Guille was elected as the new deputy.


2003 Vale of White Horse District Council election
Elections to Vale of White Horse District Council were held on 1 May 2003. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes having taken place since the last election in 1999. The Liberal Democrats lost seats, but stayed in overall control of the council.


2003 Valencia City Council election
The 2003 Valencia City Council election, also the 2003 Valencia municipal election, was held on Sunday, 25 May 2003, to elect the 7th City Council of the municipality of Valencia. All 33 seats in the City Council were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in thirteen autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.


2003 Valencia City Council election, Electoral system
The City Council of Valencia (Valencian: Ajuntament de València, Spanish: Ayuntamiento de Valencia) was the top-tier administrative and governing body of the municipality of Valencia, composed of the mayor, the government council and the elected plenary assembly. Elections to the local councils in Spain were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years.


2003 Valencia City Council election, Electoral system
Voting for the local assembly was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in the municipality of Valencia and in full enjoyment of their political rights, as well as resident non-national European citizens and those whose country of origin allowed Spanish nationals to vote in their own elections by virtue of a treaty. Local councillors were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each local council. Councillors were allocated to municipal councils based on the following scale:


2003 Valencia City Council election, Electoral system
The mayor was indirectly elected by the plenary assembly. A legal clause required that mayoral candidates earned the vote of an absolute majority of councillors, or else the candidate of the most-voted party in the assembly was to be automatically appointed to the post. In the event of a tie, the appointee would be determined by lot.


2003 Valencia City Council election, Electoral system
The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of a determined amount of the electors registered in the municipality for which they were seeking election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. For the case of Valencia, as its population was between 300,001 and 1,000,000, at least 5,000 signatures were required.


2003 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2003 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix was the last round of the 2003 MotoGP Championship. It took place on the weekend of 31 October - 2 November 2003 at the Circuit de Valencia.


2003 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (motoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round sixteen has concluded.


2003 Valencian regional election
The 2003 Valencian regional election was held on Sunday, 25 May 2003, to elect the 6th Corts of the Valencian Community. All 89 seats in the Corts were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.


2003 Valencian regional election
Despite growing discontent with the nationwide José María Aznar's government, the People's Party (PP) was able to comfortably retain its absolute majority in the Courts, losing only 1 seat compared to 1999, which went to United Left (IU). The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), despite becoming the party that grew the most from 1999, was unable to translate those new votes into any new seats.


2003 Valencian regional election
Valencian Union (UV), the former coalition partner of the PP during the first Zaplana Government (1999-2003), continued its decline into irrelevance and fell below 3%, depriving it of any possibility of overcoming the 5% required threshold to enter the Courts.


2003 Valencian regional election
Francisco Camps became the new President of the Valencian Community succeeding José Luis Olivas, who had replaced Eduardo Zaplana in 2002 after the latter was named Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in Aznar's Cabinet.


2003 Valencian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
The Corts Valencianes were the devolved, unicameral legislature of the Valencian autonomous community, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Valencian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Government. Voting for the Corts was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in the Valencian Community and in full enjoyment of their political rights.


2003 Valencian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
The 89 members of the Corts Valencianes were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of 5 percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Alicante, Castellón and Valencia. Each constituency was entitled to an initial minimum of 20 seats, with the remaining 29 allocated among the constituencies in proportion to their populations on the condition that the seat to population ratio in any given province did not exceed three times that of any other.


2003 Valencian regional election, Overview, Electoral system
The electoral law provided that parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors were allowed to present lists of candidates. However, groupings of electors were required to secure the signature of at least 1 percent of the electors registered in the constituency for which they sought election. Electors were barred from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties and federations intending to enter in coalition to take part jointly at an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election being called.


2003 Valencian regional election, Overview, Election date
The term of the Corts Valencianes expired four years after the date of their previous election. Elections to the Corts were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 13 June 1999, setting the election date for the Corts on Sunday, 25 May 2003.


2003 Valencian regional election, Overview, Election date
The Corts Valencianes could not be dissolved before the date of expiry of parliament.


2003 Valencian regional election, Opinion polls
The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font. 45 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Corts Valencianes.


2003 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
The 2003 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented the Vanderbilt University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by head coach Bobby Johnson in his second year as the head coach, the Commodores finished with a record of 2–10 for the second straight season and 21st consecutive losing season. Ended a 23 consecutive losing streak to SEC teams with a win to Kentucky.


2003 Vaughan municipal election
The City of Vaughan 2003 Municipal Election took place on 10 November 2003. One mayor, three regional councillors and five local councillors have been elected for the city of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. In addition, local school trustees have been elected to the York Region District School Board, York Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest and Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud. These elections were held in conjunction with all other municipalities across Ontario. (see 2003 Ontario municipal elections).


2003 Vaughan municipal election
Following the resignation of Ward 5 local councillor, Susan Kadis on July 9, 2004, a by-election was held on November 25, 2004.


2003 Vaughan municipal election, Candidates, Regional Council
Because Mario Ferri received the highest vote count among the candidates for Regional Councillor, he was styled as the acting Mayor in cases where the Mayor is unavailable. However commonly confused, this is a different role than being the Deputy Mayor


2003 Veikkausliiga
The 2003 season was the 73rd completed season of Finnish Football League Championship, known as the Veikkausliiga. At the same time it was the 14th season of the Veikkausliiga.


2003 Veikkausliiga, Overview
The Veikkausliiga is administered by the Finnish Football Association and the competition's 2003 season was contested by 14 teams. HJK Helsinki won the championship and qualified for the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League qualification round, while the second and sixth placed teams qualified for the first qualification round of the 2004–05 UEFA Cup. The third and fourth placed teams qualified for the UEFA Intertoto Cup 2004, while FC KooTeePee and KuPS Kuopio were relegated to the Ykkönen.


2003 Villanova Wildcats football team
The 2003 Villanova Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the Villanova University in the Atlantic 10 Conference during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their 19th season under head coach Andy Talley, the Wildcats compiled an 7–4 overall record with a 5–4 mark in conference play. They were ranked number 25 in the polls.


2003 Virginia Cavaliers football team
The 2003 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Al Groh. They played their home games at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia.


2003 Virginia House of Delegates election
The Virginia House of Delegates election of 2003 was held on Tuesday, November 4.


2003 Virginia House of Delegates election, Election results, Detailed Results
Party abbreviations: D - Democratic, R - Republican, I - Independent, IG - Independent Green, L - Libertarian


2003 Virginia House of Delegates election, Election results, Detailed Results
Note: Only House districts that were contested by more than one candidate, or that switched party control are included here.


2003 Virginia Tech Hokies football team
The 2003 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented the Virginia Tech in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Frank Beamer. They played their home games at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia and participated as members of the Big East Conference.


2003 Virginia elections
Virginia's 2003 state elections were held on November 4, 2003. Voters elected all 100 members of the Virginia House of Delegates to two-year terms ending in 2006, and all 40 members of the Virginia Senate to four-year terms ending in 2008. There were also elections for local offices (such as Board of Supervisors, Sheriff and Clerk of the Circuit Court) in most counties.


2003 Virginia elections
This was the first set of Senate elections since the General Assembly redrew districts as a result of population shifts captured in the decennial federal census. As a result, there were a few members of the House who retired.


2003 Virginia elections
Other than the minor effects of redistricting, there was no unifying theme advanced by either party. Governor Mark Warner did not announce his new fiscal plans for the biennium until after the election, to avoid affecting the General Assembly results. According to the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, the election was "about nothing, almost entirely local affairs and personality-driven, with no mandate generated and no meaning beyond the total of seats gained and lost."


2003 Virginia elections, State Senate
Previous to the election, Virginia's Senate consisted of 23 Republicans and 17 Democrats. Republicans picked up one open seat, that of retiring Senator Leslie Byrne, who found her district leaning too far to the right to make a serious effort. This resulted in Republican control of the Senate by a 24 to 16 majority, a post-Civil War low for the Democratic Party.


2003 Virginia elections, State Senate, Election Results
Party abbreviations: D - Democratic, R - Republican, I - Independent, IG - Independent Green, L - Libertarian


2003 Virginia elections, State Senate, Election Results
Note: Only Senate districts that were contested by more than one candidate are included here.


2003 Virginia elections, House of Delegates
Previous to the election, Republicans controlled the House of Delegates with 64 seats, compared to the Democrats' 34 seats, and two seats held by Republican-leaning Independents. Democrats won four seats from the Republicans, defeating one incumbent and taking three open seats, while one Republican took an open seat previously held by a Democrat, making the post-election composition of the House 61 Republicans, 37 Democrats, and 2 Independents.


2003 Virginia's 31st House of Delegates district election
Virginia's 31st House of Delegates district election, 2003, held 4 November 2003, was a contest between incumbent Republican Scott Lingamfelter and Democratic challenger David G. Brickley, who had served as director of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation under Governor James S. Gilmore III.


2003 Vodacom Cup
The 2003 Vodacom Cup was the 6th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions.


2003 Vodacom Cup, Competition
There were seven teams participating in the 2003 Vodacom Cup competition and another seven teams participating in the 2003 Vodacom Shield competition. Teams would play all the other teams in their competition once over the course of the season, either at home or away.


2003 Vodacom Cup, Competition
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that score four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams losing a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2003 Vodacom Cup, Competition
The top two teams in each competition qualified for the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the teams that finished first in each competition had home advantage against the teams that finished fourth and the teams that finished second in each competition had home advantage against the teams that finished third. The winners of these semi-finals then played each other in the final.


2003 Vodacom Cup, Competition
The bottom team in the Vodacom Cup was relegated to the 2004 Vodacom Shield, while the top team in the Vodacom Shield was promoted to the 2004 Vodacom Cup.


2003 Vodacom Cup, Teams, Team Listing
The following teams took part in the 2003 Vodacom Cup competitions:


2003 Volta a Catalunya
The 2003 Volta a Catalunya was the 83rd edition of the Volta a Catalunya cycle race and was held from 16 June to 22 June 2003. The race started in Salou and finished in Barcelona. The race was won by José Antonio Pecharromán of the Paternina–Costa de Almería team.


2003 Volta a Catalunya, Teams
Fifteen teams of up to eight riders started the race:


2003 Volta a Catalunya, Stages, Stage 1
16 June 2003 - Salou to Vila-seca, 26.7 km (16.6 mi) (TTT)


2003 Volta a Catalunya, Stages, Stage 2
17 June 2003 - Móra d'Ebre to El Morell, 183.6 km (114.1 mi)


2003 Volta a Catalunya, Stages, Stage 3
18 June 2003 - La Pobla de Mafumet to Andorra (Els Cortals d'Encamp), 216.6 km (134.6 mi)


2003 Volta a Catalunya, Stages, Stage 4
19 June 2003 - Andorra la Vella to Llívia, 157.4 km (97.8 mi)


2003 Volta a Catalunya, Stages, Stage 5
20 June 2003 - Llívia to Manresa, 166.3 km (103.3 mi)


2003 Volta a Catalunya, Stages, Stage 6
21 June 2003 - Molins de Rei to Vallvidrera, 13.1 km (8.1 mi) (ITT)


2003 Volta a Catalunya, Stages, Stage 7
22 June 2003 - Sant Joan Despí to Barcelona (La Pedrera), 128 km (80 mi)


2003 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
The 2003 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana was the 61st edition of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana road cycling stage race, which was held from 25 February to 1 March 2003. The race started in San Vicente del Raspeig and finished in Valencia. The race was won by Dario Frigo of the Fassa Bortolo team.


2003 Volvo PGA Championship
The 2003 Volvo PGA Championship was the 49th edition of the Volvo PGA Championship, an annual professional golf tournament on the European Tour. It was held 22–25 May at the West Course of Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England, a suburb southwest of London.


2003 Volvo PGA Championship
Ignacio Garrido beat Trevor Immelman in a playoff to claim his first Volvo PGA Championship.


2003 Volvo PGA Championship, Round summaries, Playoff
The playoff began on the par five 18th; Immelman reached the green in two; while Garrido's second shot clattered into the trees and came to rest just off the green. Garrido played a superb chip shot to 2-feet, leaving himself a tap-in birdie. Immelman three-putted to hand the Spaniard the title.


2003 Volvo Women's Open
The 2003 Volvo Women's Open was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Pattaya, Thailand. It was part of Tier V of the 2003 WTA Tour. It was the 13th edition of the tournament and was held from 3 November through 9 November 2003. Unseeded Henrieta Nagyová won the singles title, her second at the event after 1997, and earned $16,000 first-prize money.


2003 Volvo Women's Open, Finals, Doubles
Li Ting /  Sun Tiantian defeated  Wynne Prakusya /  Angelique Widjaja, 6–4, 6–3


2003 Volvo Women's Open – Singles
Angelique Widjaja was the defending champion, but lost to Ľubomíra Kurhajcová in the second round.


2003 Voyageurs Cup
The 2003 Voyageurs Cup was the second Voyageurs Cup tournament which was started by the Canadian supporters group The Voyageurs. The 2003 Edition of the tournament featured the same four teams as the 2002 tournament: Calgary Storm, Montreal Impact, Toronto Lynx and Vancouver Whitecaps.


2003 Voyageurs Cup
The 2003 competition was won by Montreal Impact who led the competition with wins in their first three games. Neither Toronto Lynx nor Vancouver Whitecaps could overcome their lead, although, Montreal did not clinch their second Voyageurs Cup until the last game of the competition against Calgary, on August 31, with a 2–0 win at home.


2003 Voyageurs Cup, Format
Each team played two matches (home and away) against each other team. All of these matches are drawn from the USL A-league's 2003 regular season; the final two matches played between each city's team is counted as a Voyageurs Cup 2003 match. In each match, 3 points are awarded for wins (even if it comes in extra time), 1 point is awarded for a draw, and 0 points are awarded for losses (even if it comes in extra time). The four teams are ranked according to the total number of points obtained in all matches.


2003 Voyageurs Cup, Format
The team ranked highest after all matches have been played is the champion, and will be awarded the Voyageurs Cup.


2003 Vuelta Ciclista de Chile
The 26th edition of the Vuelta Ciclista de Chile was held from March 27 to April 5, 2003.


2003 Vuelta a Andalucía
The 2003 Vuelta a Andalucía was the 49th edition of the Vuelta a Andalucía (Ruta del Sol) cycle race and was held on 16 February to 20 February 2003. The race started in Córdoba and finished in Benalmádena. The race was won by Javier Pascual Llorente.


2003 Vuelta a Asturias
The 2003 Vuelta a Asturias was the 47th edition of the Vuelta a Asturias road cycling stage race, which was held from 13 May to 17 May 2003. The race started and finished in Oviedo. The race was won by Fabian Jeker of the Milaneza–MSS team.


2003 Vuelta a Burgos
The 2003 Vuelta a Burgos was the 25th edition of the Vuelta a Burgos road cycling stage race, which was held from 11 August to 15 August 2003. The race started and finished in Burgos. The race was won by Pablo Lastras of the iBanesto.com team.


2003 Vuelta a Castilla y León
The 2003 Vuelta a Castilla y León was the 18th edition of the Vuelta a Castilla y León cycle race and was held on 20 May to 24 May 2003. The race started in San Andrés del Rabanedo and finished in Ávila. The race was won by Francisco Mancebo.


2003 Vuelta a Castilla y León, Teams
Eighteen teams of up to eight riders started the race:


2003 Vuelta a Colombia
The 53rd edition of the Vuelta a Colombia was held from June 16 to June 30, 2003. The cycling race took place over fifteen stages (including a prologue) and 2,200 kilometres.


2003 Vuelta a España
The 58th Edition of Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 6 September to 28 September 2003. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 2,957 km (1,837 mi), and was won by Roberto Heras of the US Postal cycling team.


2003 Vuelta a España
Isidro Nozal lead the general classification for much of the race until succumbing to the pressure posed by Roberto Heras who closed the gap to Nozal over the final days and took the jersey in the final time trial. The points classification was won by Erik Zabel from Germany, the mountains classification was won by Félix Cárdenas from Colombia and the combination classification was won by Alejandro Valverde. iBanesto.com was the winner of the team ranking. Alessandro Petacchi, an Italian sprinter won five stages.


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11
The 2003 Vuelta a España was the 58th edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Vuelta began in Gijón, with a team time trial on 6 September, and Stage 11 occurred on 17 September with a stage to Cuenca. The race finished in Madrid on 28 September.


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 1
6 September 2003 — Gijón to Gijón, 28 km (17 mi) (TTT)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 2
7 September 2003 — Gijón to Cangas de Onís, 148 km (92 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 3
8 September 2003 — Cangas de Onís to Santander, 154.3 km (95.9 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 4
9 September 2003 — Santander to Burgos, 151 km (94 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
10 September 2003 — Soria to Zaragoza, 166.7 km (103.6 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
11 September 2003 — Zaragoza to Zaragoza, 43.8 km (27.2 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
12 September 2003 — Huesca to Cauterets, 190 km (120 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
13 September 2003 — Cauterets to Pla de Beret/Val d'Aran, 166 km (103 mi) (ITT)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 9
14 September 2003 — Vielha to Envalira, 174.8 km (108.6 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
15 September 2003 — Andorra to Sabadell, 194 km (121 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
17 September 2003 — Utiel to Cuenca, 162 km (101 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21
The 2003 Vuelta a España was the 58th edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Vuelta began in Gijón, with a team time trial on 6 September, and Stage 12 occurred on 18 September with a stage from Cuenca. The race finished in Madrid on 28 September.


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
18 September 2003 — Cuenca to Albacete, 168.8 km (104.9 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
19 September 2003 — Albacete – Albacete, 53.3 km (33.1 mi) (ITT)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
20 September 2003 — Albacete to Valdepeñas, 167.4 km (104.0 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
21 September 2003 — Valdepeñas to La Pandera, 172.1 km (106.9 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
23 September 2003 — Jaén to Sierra Nevada, 162 km (101 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
24 September 2003 — Granada to Córdoba, 188.4 km (117.1 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
25 September 2003 — Las Rozas to Las Rozas, 143.8 km (89.4 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
26 September 2003 — Alcobendas to Collado Villalba, 164 km (102 mi)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 20
27 September 2003 — San Lorenzo de El Escorial to Alto de Abantos, 11.2 km (7.0 mi) (ITT)


2003 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 21
28 September 2003 — Madrid to Madrid, 148.5 km (92.3 mi)


2003 Vuelta a Murcia
The 2003 Vuelta a Murcia was the 19th professional edition of the Vuelta a Murcia cycle race and was held on 5 March to 9 March 2003. The race started and finished in Murcia. The race was won by Javier Pascual Llorente.


2003 Vuelta a Venezuela
The 40th edition of the annual Vuelta a Venezuela was held from September 8 to September 21, 2003. The stage race started in Tucupita, and ended in San Felipe, Yaracuy.


2003 WABA Champions Cup
The WABA Champions Cup 2003 was the 6th staging of the WABA Champions Cup, the basketball club tournament of West Asia Basketball Association. The tournament was held in Tehran, Iran between June 11 and June 13. The winner qualify for the Asian Basketball Confederation Champions Cup 2003.


2003 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2003 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament was held in the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The winners of the tournament were the #1 seeded Tulsa Golden Hurricane.


2003 WAFL season
The 2003 WAFL season was the 119th season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League. For this season the WAFL reverted briefly to playing its semi-finals as a “double-header”, a policy abandoned for good at the end of the 2005 season, and also reverted to a twenty-game home-and-away season with three byes which has continued to this day.


2003 WAFL season
On the field, 2003 saw the end of East Perth's hat-trick of premierships as longtime rivals West Perth avenged their thrashing in the previous season's Grand Final, in the process becoming the first WAFL team to hold an opponent goalless since soon-defunct Midland Junction held West Perth themselves goalless in the opening round of 1916. Their Grand Final victims, Subiaco, were however to use this season as a springboard to the longest dynasty in the WA(N)FL since South Fremantle's famous teams of the late 1940s and early 1950s, with four consecutive minor premierships and five flags between 2003 and 2008. East Perth dominated the first two thirds of the season with the Falcons but after their goalless score they suffered major problems off the field and fell to third.


2003 WAFL season
On the debit side, Peel Thunder, after three relatively promising seasons and the granting of a new five-year licence during April to secure their status in the WAFL, returned to rock bottom, losing their first seventeen matches and looking certain of a second winless season before an upset victory at Fremantle Oval against a South Fremantle team expected to break into a seemingly settled top four. They were not helped by the loss via transfer to East Fremantle after six games of their only competent forward in Scott Simister.


2003 WAFL season
The Sharks, historically the league's most successful club, sunk to a level not seen during the twentieth century owing to the loss due to injury and transfer of their regular ruck division, which left them critically short of height after David Dwyer fell injured in the fifth round. The blue and whites lead Peel by only one match for most of the year, and despite winning five of their last seven matches, East Fremantle were to win a mere nineteen of eighty matches between 2003 and 2006, the worst four consecutive seasons in their history.


2003 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 1
2002 wooden spooners Swan Districts record a controversial draw against the three-time premiers after rover Shane Beros kicked a behind which East Perth claimed was touched after the siren to preclude a score – this was ultimately denied. It proved the last draw in the WAFL for 500 matches until Round 9, 2008.


2003 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 2
East Perth win well but are upset at the condition of Arena Joondalup, which caused the Royals two major knee injuries.


2003 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 3
Skipper Joel Cornelius is wary of Swan Districts’ flying start after winning only one game in 2002, despite the team kicking 19.20 (134) to 5.4 (34) after quarter-time in a result that fails to vindicate Peel’s new five-year licence.


2003 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 5 (Easter weekend)
Despite the loss of coach John Northey due to a health scare from his wife, South Fremantle stay undefeated against a persistent Swans team that never has the class to overpower the Bulldogs.


2003 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 8
Led by West Coast recruit and late inclusion Jeremy Humm, East Perth take revenge for their controversial opening round draw by crushing the Swans, in the process scoring 11.3 (69) in the last quarter.


2003 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 21
In hot, sunny weather, West Perth continue their form in the rain at Joondalup the previous Sunday to firm as flag favourites and leave South Fremantle, playing the winless Thunder, with a golden opportunity to displace Claremont from a top four that had looked settled for many weeks.


2003 WAFL season, Finals, Semi-finals
East Perth send a timely reminder of their power to Subiaco and West Perth with their seventh straight finals win in wet conditions.


2003 WAFL season, Finals, Preliminary final
West Perth kick nine goals to nil in the second quarter to end East Perth’s run of finals victories despite omitting 1999 Simpson Medallist Christian Kelly.


2003 WAFL season, Finals, Grand Final
The loss of leading full-forward Brad Smith and a shock decision to kick into a strong wind ruin Subiaco’s hopes of a first premiership since 1988.


2003 WAFL season, Notes
A record of 23 wins and 61 losses between 1967 and 1970 is the only approach. This “first full round” consisted of Rounds 2 to 10, during which the nine WAFL clubs played each other once. It was thought for a long time that Magro would replace the retiring Northey at his former club for the 2004 season.


2003 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2003 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 44th conference playoff in league history and 49th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The 2003 tournament was played between March 14 and March 22, 2003, at five conference arenas and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. By winning the tournament, Minnesota was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.


2003 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The first round of the postseason tournament featured a best-of-three games format. All ten conference schools participated in the tournament with teams seeded No. 1 through No. 10 according to their final conference standing, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The top five seeded teams each earned home ice and hosted one of the lower seeded teams.


2003 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The winners of the first round series advanced to the Xcel Energy Center for the WCHA Final Five, the collective name for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds. The Final Five uses a single-elimination format. Teams were re-seeded No. 1 through No. 5 according to the final regular season conference standings, with the top three teams automatically advancing to the semifinals.


2003 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format, Conference Standings
Note: PTS = Points; GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


2003 WDF World Cup
The 2003 WDF World Cup was the 14th edition of the WDF World Cup darts tournament, organised by the World Darts Federation. It was held in Épinal, France.


2003 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
The 2003 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship was a golf tournament that was played from February 26 to March 2, 2003 at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. It was the fifth WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the first of four World Golf Championships events held in 2003.


2003 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
Tiger Woods won his sixth World Golf Championships event, and his first ever match play victory, by defeating David Toms 2 and 1 in the 36 hole final.


2003 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Brackets
The Championship was a single elimination match play event. The field consisted of the top 64 players available from the Official World Golf Rankings, seeded according to the rankings. Vijay Singh (ranked 4) withdrew with a rib injury, Nick Faldo (ranked 54) withdrew because of flu and Toru Taniguchi (ranked 55) withdrew because of injury. They were replaced by Robert Karlsson (ranked 65), Phil Tataurangi (ranked 66) and Carl Pettersson (ranked 67).


2003 WGC-American Express Championship
The 2003 WGC-American Express Championship was a golf tournament that was contested from October 2–5, 2003 over the Capital City Club's Crabapple Course in Woodstock, Georgia. It was the fourth WGC-American Express Championship tournament and the third of four World Golf Championships events held in 2003.


2003 WGC-American Express Championship
World number 1 Tiger Woods won the tournament to capture his third WGC-American Express Championship and his seventh World Golf Championships title.


2003 WGC-NEC Invitational
The 2003 WGC-NEC Invitational was a golf tournament that was contested from August 21–24, 2003 over the South Course at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. It was the fifth WGC-NEC Invitational tournament, and the second of four World Golf Championships events held in 2003.


2003 WGC-NEC Invitational
Darren Clarke won the tournament to capture his first WGC-NEC Invitational and his second World Golf Championships title.


2003 WGC-NEC Invitational, Field
Rich Beem (4), Ángel Cabrera (4), Michael Campbell (4), Paul Casey (4,5), Fred Couples (4,5), Ben Curtis (4,5), Bob Estes (4), Nick Faldo, Brad Faxon (4), Trevor Immelman, Freddie Jacobson (4), Jonathan Kaye (5), Len Mattiace (4), Rocco Mediate (4), Chris Riley (4), John Rollins (4,5), Eduardo Romero (4), Justin Rose (4), Jeff Sluman (4)


2003 WGC-NEC Invitational, Field
Stephen Allan, Bob Burns, Jonathan Byrd, Ben Crane, Robert-Jan Derksen, Steve Flesch, Dan Forsman, Ignacio Garrido, Philip Golding, Peter Jacobsen, Robert Karlsson, Craig Parry, Ian Poulter, Rory Sabbatini, Gene Sauers, Steen Tinning, Kaname Yokoo


2003 WGC-World Cup
The 2003 WGC-World Cup took place November 13–16 at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, U.S. It was the 49th World Cup and the fourth as a World Golf Championship event. 24 countries competed and each country sent two players. The prize money totaled $4,000,000 with $1,400,000 going to the winning pair. The South African team of Rory Sabbatini  and Trevor Immelman won. They won by four strokes stroke over the English team of Paul Casey and Justin Rose.


2003 WGC-World Cup, Qualification and format
18 teams qualified based on the Official World Golf Ranking and were joined by six teams via qualifiers in Singapore and Mexico.


2003 WGC-World Cup, Qualification and format
The tournament was a 72-hole stroke play team event with each team consisting of two players. The first and third days were fourball play and the second and final days were foursomes play.


2003 WNBA All-Star Game
The 2003 WNBA All-Star Game was played on July 12, 2003 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, home of the New York Liberty. This is the second time New York hosted the contest after previously hosting the 1999 game. This is the 5th annual WNBA All-Star Game.


2003 WNBA All-Star Game, The All-Star Game, Coaches
The coach for the Western Conference was Los Angeles Sparks coach Michael Cooper. The coach for the Eastern Conference was New York Liberty coach Richie Adubato.


2003 WNBA Finals
The 2003 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2003 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Detroit Shock, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the Los Angeles Sparks, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, two games to one in a best-of-three series. This was Detroit's first title.


2003 WNBA Finals
The Shock made their first appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Sparks made their third straight Finals appearance.


2003 WNBA Finals
Going into the series, the Sparks had won two WNBA championships (2001, 2002). The Houston Comets hold the record with four championships won.


2003 WNBA Finals
The Shock had a 25–9 record (.735), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Sparks (24–10).


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Lisa Leslie collected 23 points and 12 rebounds as the two-time defending champion Sparks used a huge first half for a 75–63 victory over the Detroit Shock in Game One of the WNBA Finals.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Detroit entered with the Coach of the Year in Bill Laimbeer, who has put his stamp on a physical frontcourt that features Swin Cash, rookie Cheryl Ford and Ruth Riley. But Leslie and Delisha Milton led a defensive effort that bottled up the Shock's vaunted trio and opened up a 42–21 cushion at halftime.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Leslie scored 12 points in a 25–4 tear that broke open the game for the Sparks. Her basket with just under three minutes remaining before halftime gave Los Angeles a 38–16 cushion.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
The Shock shot a woeful 19 percent (7-of-37) in the first half. Ford made just one of her first seven attempts and had her shot blocked emphatically by Milton on one occasion and Leslie on another.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Milton scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Tamecka Dixon added 15 points. Point guard Nikki Teasley handed out 11 assists.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Leslie had little trouble against the 6-5 Riley, scoring 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the first half. The success did not come as a surprise to her.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Cash scored 16 points and Deanna Nolan, who was listed as questionable due to a back injury, added 15 for Detroit. Cash, Riley and Ford, who collected 11 points and 12 rebounds, combined to make just 10-of-39 shots.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 1
Riley managed only six points and six rebounds in 32 foul-plagued minutes. Detroit finished at just under 29 percent (20-of-70).


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
Deanna Nolan and the Detroit Shock found a way to stave off elimination.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
Nolan made two foul shots with 12 seconds left and the Shock made a final defensive stand to hold off the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Sparks for a 62-61 victory in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
Detroit blew a 19-point lead and seemed on the verge of being swept out of the WNBA Finals. Lisa Leslie's basket capped an 11–0 spurt that provided a 61–57 advantage for Los Angeles with 1:28 remaining.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
Detroit's Kedra Holland-Corn answered with a 3-pointer, and Los Angeles' Tamecka Dixon misfired on the other end. After a timeout, Nolan drew a foul on Sparks forward Delisha Milton and made her foul shots to give the Shock the lead.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
After a timeout by Sparks coach Michael Cooper, Los Angeles went to Leslie. The 6–5 center was swarmed by the Shock defense and kicked it out to Milton, who tried to get off a shot but lost the ball instead as time expired.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
Holland-Corn came off the bench for 10 of her 16 points in the second half. Nolan scored 14 points and Ruth Riley added 11 as the Shock overcame 32 percent shooting (9-of-28) over the final 20 minutes.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
Leslie scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half and also grabbed 15 rebounds for Los Angeles. Milton netted 18 points despite 6-of-18 shooting.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
The Shock dominated play from the outset, using a 22–5 tear for a 24–9 cushion on a three-pointer by Holland-Corn near the midway point of the first half. A foul shot by Riley with 2:49 left before halftime opened up a 38–19 advantage.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
The Detroit Shock won the WNBA Finals, defeating the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Sparks, 83–78, as Ruth Riley dominated the decisive third game.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
Riley scored a career-high 27 points on 11-for-19 shooting and won the showdown of All-Star centers as she thoroughly outplayed Lisa Leslie, who managed 13 points on 5-for-19 shooting before fouling out in the final minute.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
The 6-5 Riley was named Most Valuable Player. It was somewhat of a reprise of 2001, when she led Notre Dame to the national championship with the same sort of post play she displayed in this series.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
After the final buzzer, confetti fell from the rafters of The Palace of Auburn Hills and Riley triumphantly hoisted a sign that read, "2003 WNBA champions" as the crowd of 22,076—the largest in league history—celebrated.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
The Shock became the first team in American pro sports to go from having the worst record in the league to champions the following season.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
The Sparks did not go down without a fight. They erased a 14-point deficit in the first half and an 11-point deficit in the second half, opening a three-point lead with 3:40 left.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
Leslie made 1-for-2 free throws to provide a 73–70 lead, but the Sparks went scoreless for more than three minutes. Riley made a short jumper, then harassed Leslie into a miss at the other end with 1:10 left.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
After Deanna Nolan's three-pointer gave Detroit the lead for good, Leslie missed a short banker and fouled out chasing the rebound.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
Nolan scored 17 points, Swin Cash added 13, 12 rebounds and nine assists and Ford had 10 and 12 boards for the Shock, who won the last two games at home after dropping the opener in L.A.


2003 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 3
Mwadi Mabika had 29 points and nine rebounds, Delisha Milton scored 19 points and Tamecka Dixon added 14 for the Sparks, who were 0-4 on the road in the postseason.


2003 WNBA Playoffs
The 2003 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2003 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Shock beating the Western Conference champion and two-time defending WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks, 2-1. Ruth Riley was named the MVP of the Finals.


2003 WNBA draft
The 2003 WNBA draft, both the dispersal draft and the regular WNBA draft, took place on April 24. The dispersal draft involved players from the rosters of the Portland Fire and Miami Sol teams which had both folded after the 2002 season. For that reason, Miami's picks obtained in trades were lost.


2003 WNBA draft
The year brought multiple changes. Along with the folding of the Fire and the Sol, two teams moved to new cities. The Utah Starzz moved from Salt Lake City, Utah to San Antonio, Texas, changing their name to the San Antonio Silver Stars, and the Orlando Miracle moved from Orlando, Florida to Uncasville, Connecticut to become the Connecticut Sun. The Sun became the first franchise not to be based in a city that also was home to an NBA franchise.


2003 WNBA draft
The draft itself also changed. Instead of the previous four-round format, the 2003 draft shrunk to its current format of only three rounds.


2003 WNBA season
The 2003 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's seventh season. It was first season in which teams either folded or relocated, as well as the first to have teams that were not co-owned with NBA teams. The Orlando Miracle relocated to Connecticut and became the Connecticut Sun, the Utah Starzz relocated to San Antonio, Texas and became the San Antonio Silver Stars. Meanwhile, both the Miami Sol and the Portland Fire folded, while the Charlotte Sting became the second WNBA team without a brother NBA team. The schedule increased from 32 games per team to 34, where it stands to this day. The season ended with the Detroit Shock winning their first WNBA Championship.


2003 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
The WPA 9-Ball World Cup 2003 was the 14th edition of the WPA World Championship for 9-Ball Pool. It took place from July 12 to 20, 2003 in Cardiff, Wales .


2003 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
Thorsten Hohmann won the event 17–10 victory in the final against Canadian Alex Pagulayan. Defending champion Earl Strickland was eliminated in the semi-final against Hohmann.


2003 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Tournament format
The event featured 128 participating players which were divided into 16 groups, in which they competed in round robin mode against each other. The top four players in each group qualified for a knockout round from the stage of the last 64.


2003 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Tournament format, Controversy
The event saw reigning champion Earl Strickland play 6-time world Snooker champion Steve Davis in the last 16. Before the match, held in Cardiff, during a press conference, Strickland commented that he knew that the fans were being disrespectful towards him, and favouring Davis. During the match, Strickland referred to a crowd member as an "asshole", and began to talk during Davis' shots, against the rules. Referee Michaela Tabb warned Strickland, to which he replied that Tabb should "shut up". Davis would use his entitled comfort break shortly before the next frame, despite already being down on the shot to break. Davis would later suggest this was used as gamesmanship.


2003 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Tournament format, Controversy
During the break, Strickland put his fingers in his ears to block out the crowd's support for Davis. With the match at 10 racks to 9, in favour of Strickland, he missed a long 6 ball. Using the rest, Davis would miss an "easy" shot (according to Strickland), from where Strickland would leap out of his seat, and exclaim that Davis had "dogged it." Strickland's tirade against Davis, the crowd, and the rules of the event, continued through the main part of a post-match interview, before visibly calming and apologizing for his behaviour. After admitting regret over his reactions during the encounter with Davis, Strickland entered the arena for his next match carrying a bunch of flowers which he gave to Tabb by way of an apology, and proceeded to play in a much calmer manner for the remainder of the event.


2003 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Tournament format, Controversy
Strickland had also played the 2003 World Snooker champion Mark Williams in the preliminaries of the competition, winning 5–3.


2003 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Preliminary round
The following players were knocked out of the competition in the preliminary round, finishing 5th or lower in the round robin.


2003 WTA German Open – Doubles
Elena Dementieva and Janette Husárová were the defending champions, but had different outcomes. Dementieva had to withdraw due to a left foot strain, while Husárová teamed up with Elena Likhovtseva and reached the semifinals.


2003 WTA German Open – Doubles
Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez won the title, defeating Kim Clijsters and Ai Sugiyama 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 in the final. It was the 20th title for Ruano Pascual and the 27th title for Suárez in their respective doubles careers. It was also the 2nd title for the pair during this season, after their win in Charleston.


2003 WTA German Open – Doubles, Seeds
The first four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2003 WTA German Open – Singles
Justine Henin-Hardenne was the defending champion and successfully defended her title, by defeating Kim Clijsters 6–4, 4–6, 7–5 in the final.


2003 WTA German Open – Singles
It was the 3rd title in the year for Henin-Hardenne and the 9th in her career.


2003 WTA German Open – Singles, Seeds
The first nine seeds received a bye into the second round.


2003 WTA Tier I Series
The table below shows the 2003 WTA Tier I Series schedule.


2003 WTA Tour
The 2003 WTA Tour was the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the 2003 tennis season. The 2003 WTA Tour included the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, Tier IV and Tier V events. ITF tournaments were not part of the 2003 WTA Tour, although they award points for the WTA World Ranking.


2003 WTA Tour Championships
The 2003 WTA Tour Championships, also known by its sponsored name  Bank of America WTA Tour Championships Presented by Porsche, was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, United States. It was the 33rd edition of the year-end singles championships, the 28th edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2003 WTA Tour. The tournament was held between November 4 and November 10, 2003. First-seeded Kim Clijsters won the singles event and earned $1,000,030 first-prize money as well as 485 ranking points.


2003 WTA Tour Championships
With her victory Clijsters became the first female tennis player to earn $US4 million in a season. For the first time since 1978 a round robin system was used, after the men's Tennis Masters Cup. Two groups of four players were formed and each contender had to play three matches. Also, for singles, instead of the top sixteen players qualifying, only top eight qualified for the WTA Tour Championships. For doubles, the top four pairs (previously top eight) pairs qualified for the WTA Tour Championships, but still continued with the single elimination format.


2003 WTA Tour Championships, Finals, Doubles
Virginia Ruano Pascual /  Paola Suárez defeated  Kim Clijsters /  Ai Sugiyama, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3.


2003 WTA Tour Championships – Doubles
Elena Dementieva and Janette Husárová were the defending champions, but didn't qualify for this year's event.


2003 WTA Tour Championships – Singles
Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, and successfully defended her title by defeating Amélie Mauresmo in the final 6–2, 6–0. Belgium Kim Clijsters defeated France Amélie Mauresmo, 6–2, 6–0.


2003 WTA Tour Championships – Singles
It was Clijsters's 2nd WTA Championships title, her 9th title of the season and the 19th of her career.


2003 WTA Tour Championships – Singles, Draw, Red Group
Standings are determined by: (1) Number of wins; (2) Number of matches; (3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; (4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; (5) Steering Committee decision.


2003 WTA Tour Championships – Singles, Draw, Black Group
Standings are determined by: (1) Number of wins; (2) Number of matches; (3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; (4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; (5) Steering Committee decision.


2003 WUSA Draft
The 2003 WUSA College Draft took place on February 2, 2003. It was the third and final college draft held by Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) to assign the rights of college players to the WUSA teams.


2003 WUSA Founders Cup
The 2003 WUSA Founders Cup, also known as Founders Cup III, was the third and final championship match in Women's United Soccer Association history, played between the Atlanta Beat and the Washington Freedom to decide the champion of the league's final season. The game was played at Torero Stadium in San Diego, California on August 24, 2003. The Washington Freedom defeated the Beat 2-1.


2003 Wagner Seahawks football team
The 2003 Wagner Seahawks football team represented Wagner College in the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC). The Seahawks were led by 23rd-year head coach Walt Hameline and played their home games at Wagner College Stadium. Wagner finished the season 6–5 overall and 3–4 in NEC play to tie for fifth place.


2003 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team
The 2003 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team was an American football team that represented Wake Forest University during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third season under head coach Jim Grobe, the Demon Deacons compiled a 5–7 record and finished in seventh place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.


2003 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election
The 2003 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council in West Yorkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party kept overall control of the council.


2003 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election, Election result
The results saw Labour lose 2 seats to the Conservatives in Pontefract South and Wakefield Rural, and 1 seat to the Liberal Democrats in Ossett. Labour remained firmly in control, and while they were disappointed to lose 3 seats, the results were seen as being "not too bad" by the Labour council leader Peter Box. No other party won any seats, but the votes for the British National Party concerned the other political leaders. Voter turnout was lowest in South Elmsall ward at 18.6%.


2003 Wales rugby union tour of Australasia
The 2003 Wales rugby union tour of Australasia was a series of matches played in June 2003 in Australia and New Zealand by Wales national rugby union team to prepare the 2003 Rugby World Cup.


2003 Wales rugby union tour of Australasia, The Test with Australia
Australia: Chris Latham, 14.Wendell Sailor, 13.Morgan Turinui, 12.Steve Kefu, 11.Joe Roff, 10.Elton Flatley, 9.George Gregan (c), 8.Bill Young, 7.Jeremy Paul, 6.Patricio Noriega, 5.Nathan Sharpe, 4.David Lyons, 3.David Giffin, 2.Phil Waugh, 1.Toutai Kefu,  – replacements: 16.Brendan Cannon, 17.Ben Darwin, 18.Dan Vickerman, 19.Daniel Heenan, 20.Chris Whitaker, 21.Nathan Grey, 22.Lote Tuqiri Wales: 15.Rhys Williams, 14.Mark Jones, 13.Jamie Robinson, 12.Mark Taylor, 11.Tom Shanklin, 10.Stephen Jones, 9.Gareth Cooper, 8.Colin Charvis, 7.Martyn Williams (c), 6.Jonathan Thomas, 5.Robert Sidoli, 4.Gareth Llewellyn, 3.Gethin Jenkins, 2.Robin McBryde, 1.Iestyn Thomas,  – replacements: 16.Mefin Davies, 19.Alix Popham        –  No entry: 17.Ben Evans, 20.Dwayne Peel, 21.Ceri Sweeney, 22.Gavin Henson


2003 Wales rugby union tour of Australasia, The Test with All Blacks
New Zealand: 15.Mils Muliaina, 14.Doug Howlett, 13.Tana Umaga, 12.Dan Carter, 11.Joe Rokocoko, 10.Carlos Spencer, 9.Steve Devine, 8.Carl Hoeft, 7.Keven Mealamu, 6.Kees Meeuws, 5.Chris Jack, 4.Reuben Thorne (c), 3.Ali Williams, 2.Marty Holah, 1.Jerry Collins,  – replacements: 18.Brad Thorn         –  No entry : 16.Anton Oliver, 17.Dave Hewett, 19.Richie McCaw, 20.Byron Kelleher, 21.Aaron Mauger, 22.Caleb RalphWales: 15.Rhys Williams, 14.Mark Jones, 13.Jamie Robinson, 12.Mark Taylor, 11.Tom Shanklin, 10.Stephen Jones, 9.Gareth Cooper, 8.Colin Charvis, 7.Martyn Williams (c), 6.Dafydd Jones, 5.Gareth Llewellyn, 4.Robert Sidoli, 3.Gethin Jenkins, 2.Robin McBryde, 1.Iestyn Thomas,  – replacements: 16.Mefin Davies, 18.Chris Wyatt, 19.Jonathan Thomas, 20.Dwayne Peel, 21.Ceri Sweeney, 22.Gavin Henson    –  No entry: 17.Ben Evans


2003 Walker Cup
The 2003 Walker Cup, the 39th Walker Cup Match, was played on 6 and 7 September 2003, at Ganton Golf Club in North Yorkshire, England. The event was won by Great Britain and Ireland 12½ to 11½, marking the first time that Great Britain & Ireland had three consecutive wins.


2003 Walker Cup, Format
The format for play on Saturday and Sunday was the same. There were four matches of foursomes in the morning and eight singles matches in the afternoon. In all, 24 matches were played.


2003 Walker Cup, Format
Each of the 24 matches is worth one point in the larger team competition. If a match is all square after the 18th hole extra holes are not played. Rather, each side earns ½ a point toward their team total. The team that accumulates at least 12½ points wins the competition.


2003 Walker Cup, Teams
Ten players for the USA and Great Britain & Ireland participate in the event plus one non-playing captain for each team.


2003 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2003 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.


2003 Wamena incident
The 2003 Wamena incident (Indonesian: Peristiwa Wamena 2003) involved a sweeping operation and forced relocation of civilians around the town of Wamena by the Indonesian Army and the Indonesian National Police following a raid on an armory. The operations lasted for around two months following the raid, displacing thousands of civilians and resulting in the deaths of around fifty civilians from various causes.


2003 Wamena incident, Incidents
The raid occurred on 4 April 2003 at around 1 AM, launched by an unidentified mob, against the armory of the Wamena District of the Indonesian Army. In the raid itself, 29 rifles were stolen by Papuan rebels alongside 3,500 rounds of ammunition. During the raid, two Indonesian soldiers were killed and one was heavily injured.


2003 Wamena incident, Incidents
Between April and June 2003, sweeping operations were launched around Wamena, affecting 25 villages. The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) estimated that nine civilians were killed and 38 were heavily injured. Torture and destruction of property and public facilities were also reported. Around 7,000 villagers were forcefully displaced, and 42 died due to starvation during this period. Reports characterized the operations as not discriminating locals and those involved in the rebel movement.


2003 Wamena incident, Aftermath
Investigations of the human rights violations during the incident was launched by Komnas HAM following approval by then-president Megawati Sukarnoputri. However, as of 2019, the violations have not went to court. The events have been referred to as Tragedi Wamena Berdarah (Bloody Wamena Tragedy).


2003 Wamena incident, Aftermath
Five men arrested and imprisoned for their alleged involvement in the 2003 raid were given clemency by Indonesian President Widodo during one of his visits to Papua in May 2015.


2003 Wan Chai District Council election
The 2003 Wan Chai District Council election was held on 23 November 2003 to elect all 11 elected members to the 14-member District Council.


2003 Washington Huskies football team
The 2003 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its first season under head coach Keith Gilbertson, the team compiled a 6–6 record, finished in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Pacific-10 Conference at 4–4, and was outscored 316 to 312.


2003 Washington Huskies football team, NFL Draft
Four Huskies were selected in the 2004 NFL Draft, which lasted seven rounds (255 selections).


2003 Washington Mystics season
The 2003 WNBA season was the sixth for the Washington Mystics.


2003 Washington Redskins season
The 2003 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 72nd season in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their 7–9 record from 2002, dropping to 5-11 and missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year. This was their worst season since 1994.


2003 Washington Redskins season
This was the first season since 1982 that the Redskins did not have cornerback Darrell Green, who retired after the 2002 season. Owing to different formulas for intraconference scheduling used by the NFL before 2002, it was the first time since 1994 that the Redskins played the Atlanta Falcons and the first time ever the Redskins had played at the Georgia Dome, which opened in 1992. During the season the Redskins wore a patch on their jerseys with the initials "GSS: Hail to the Redskins" to commemorate Gerald S. Snyder, the father of owner Daniel Snyder who had died during the 2003 offseason.


2003 Washington Redskins season
Following the season, defensive end Bruce Smith retired after 19 seasons in the NFL, Pro Bowl defensive back Champ Bailey would be traded to the Denver Broncos and head coach Steve Spurrier left after spending only two seasons coaching the Redskins.


2003 Washington Redskins season, Offseason
The Redskins acquired former New York Jets players Randy Thomas, John Hall, Laveranues Coles, and Chad Morton in free agency.


2003 Washington State Cougars football team
The 2003 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The defending Pac-10 champions, the team was led by first-year head coach Bill Doba, promoted from defensive coordinator. The Cougars played home games on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, with one in Seattle at Seahawks Stadium.


2003 Washington State Cougars football team
WSU was 9–3 in the regular season and 6–2 in the Pac-10, runner-up to champion USC. Invited to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, the Cougars defeated fifth-ranked Texas, and moved up to ninth in the final rankings.


2003 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship
The 2003 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship was the 103rd staging of the Waterford Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Waterford County Board in 1897. The championship began on 15 August 2003 and ended on 9 November 2003.


2003 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship
On 9 November 2003, Mount Sion won the championship after a 1-14 to 1-10 defeat of Ballygunner in a final replay at Walsh Park. It was their 33rd championship title overall and their second title in succession.


2003 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship
Lismore's Seán Daly was the championship's top scorer with 6-20.


2003 Watford Borough Council election
Elections to Watford Borough Council were held on 1 May 2003. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats gained overall control of the council from no overall control. Overall turnout was 32.05%.


2003 Waveney District Council election
The 2003 Waveney Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Waveney District Council in Suffolk, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.


2003 Wealden District Council election
The 2003 Wealden District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Wealden District Council in East Sussex, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 1999 reducing the number of seats by 3. The Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2003 Wealden District Council election, Background
At the last election in 1999 the Conservatives won 34 seats, compared to 22 for the Liberal Democrats and 2 independents. In November 2003 the Conservatives gained 2 seats from the Liberal Democrats in a by-election in Uckfield, but the Liberal Democrats took one seat back in the same ward in a June 2002 by-election.


2003 Wealden District Council election, Background
The Liberal Democrats also lost seats after 2 Hailsham councillors, Nick and Madeline Ellwood, were expelled from the party, and a further 2, John Glover and Ian Haffenden, resigned from the party in protest. The 4 councillors who resigned formed a Wealden Independents party, while the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council, Allan Thurley, stepped down over the expulsions and was succeeded by Eddie Rice.


2003 Wealden District Council election, Background
A total of 133 candidates stood for the 55 seats in 35 wards being contested, after boundary changes reduced the number of seats from 58. The changes increased the number of seats in Crowborough and Uckfield, while combining some of the rural seats.


2003 Wealden District Council election, Campaign
A major issue at the election was council tax after it increased by 18%, 5.1% of which was due to Wealden Council. The Conservatives blamed the increase on the government providing a poor grant to the council, while the Liberal Democrats called for the council tax to be replaced by a local income tax. Another issue was housing with the Conservatives called for more land to be released for low cost housing, but the Liberal Democrats attacked the number of houses to be built, saying the infrastructure needed to be improved first. Both the Labour party and local independents also campaigned against the 1,300 houses to be built in Hailsham, with The Independents saying more houses should be built in the north of the council area.


2003 Wealden District Council election, Campaign
The Conservatives said they would tackle littering and continue the household recycling scheme, while the Liberal Democrats called for policing to be improved and for the council to be modernised. Meanwhile, Labour aimed to win their first seat on the council in Uckfield and called for the council to abolish the reduction in council tax for second homes.


2003 Wealden District Council election, Election result
The Conservatives stayed in control of the council with 34 seats, while the Liberal Democrats took 15 seats and independents won 6. Few seats changed parties, with the Conservatives keeping a 13-seat majority. The changes that did happen included the Liberal Democrat group leader Eddie Rice losing his seat in Rotherfield and the Liberal Democrats were also defeated in Polegate South, where Ivy Scarborough, a Residents Association candidate was successful. Independents were also successful in Crowborough and Hailsham, while Labour failed to take any seats. Overall turnout at the election was 35%, up from 33.5% in 1999.


2003 Wealden District Council election, By-elections between 2003 and 2007, Uckfield Ridgewood
A by-election was held in Uckfield Ridgewood on 16 September 2004 and was held for the Liberal Democrats by Robert Sweetland with a 185-vote majority.


2003 Wealden District Council election, By-elections between 2003 and 2007, Pevensey and Westham
A by-election was held in Pevensey and Westham on 29 September 2005 after the death of the previous councillor John Vincent. The seat was held for the Conservatives by Kevin Balsdon with a 760-vote majority.


2003 Wealden District Council election, By-elections between 2003 and 2007, Crowborough North
A by-election was held in Crowoborough North on 6 April 2006 and was held for the Conservatives by Timothy Tyler with a 279-vote majority.


2003 Wealden District Council election, By-elections between 2003 and 2007, Uckfield New Town
A by-election was held in Uckfield New Town on 29 June 2006 after the death of the Liberal Democrat councillor Ian Nottage. The seat was held for the Liberal Democrats by Julia Hey with a 170-vote majority.


2003 Webby Awards
The 7th Annual Webby Awards were held in San Francisco, California on June 5, 2003. Due to budget cutbacks made in response to the 2002 Internet bubble, the decision was made to hold this year's ceremony partially online. This would be the last year that the Webbys would be presented in California prior to their relocation in New York City. For this award ceremony, the business category was expanded with the addition of a new award for "Best Online Businesses." This award would be presented for "sites that excel at achieving fundamental business goals such as increasing sales lead generation or enhancing customer loyalty and retention, marketplace impact and innovation."


2003 Wellingborough Borough Council election
The 2003 Borough Council of Wellingborough election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Borough Council of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, UK. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2003 Wellington Sevens
The 2003 Wellington Sevens, also known as the 2003 New Zealand Sevens, was an international rugby sevens tournament that was held in Wellington, New Zealand as the third leg of the 2002–03 World Sevens Series. The tournament took place at the Westpac Stadium on 7–8 February 2003.


2003 Wellington Sevens
Niue finished second in the Bowl competition, which was the team's best result at that time.


2003 Wellington Sevens, Format
The teams were drawn into four pools of four teams each. Each team played the other teams in their pool once, with 3 points awarded for a win, 2 points for a draw, and 1 point for a loss (no points awarded for a forfeit). The pool stage was played on the first day of the tournament. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the Cup/Plate brackets. The bottom two teams from each group went to the Bowl/Shield brackets.


2003 Welsh Open (snooker)
The 2003 Regal Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 22 to 26 January at the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales.


2003 Welsh Open (snooker)
Paul Hunter was the defending champion, but he lost in the semi-finals 2–6 against Mark Williams.


2003 Welsh Open (snooker)
Stephen Hendry defeated Williams 9–5 in the final to win the 34th ranking title of his career.


2003 Welsh Open (snooker), Tournament summary
Defending champion Paul Hunter was the number 1 seed with World Champion Peter Ebdon seeded 2. The remaining places were allocated to players based on the world rankings.


2003 Welsh Open (snooker), Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2003 Welsh Open (snooker), Prize fund
Winner: £82,500Runner-up: £42,500Semi-final: £21,250Quarter-final: £11,700Last 16: £9,600Last 32: £7,800Last 48: £4,000Last 64: £3,150


2003 Welwyn Hatfield District Council election
The 2003 Welwyn Hatfield District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Welwyn Hatfield District Council in Hertfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2003 Welwyn Hatfield District Council election, Election result
The results saw the Conservatives increase their majority on the council after making one gain from Labour in Hatfield West. No other seats changed parties, with the Conservatives holding Sherrards by 123 votes over Labour. The closest result came in Handside ward where the Conservatives held the seat by 20 votes over the Liberal Democrats, meaning that the Liberal Democrats remained without any seats on the council. Overall turnout in the election was 33.1%, down by 2% from the 2002 election, with a quarter of the votes cast being postal votes.


2003 West Berkshire Council election
The 2003 West Berkshire Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of West Berkshire Council in Berkshire, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2000 reducing the number of seats by two. The Liberal Democrats lost overall control of the council to no overall control.


2003 West Berkshire Council election, Background
At the last election in 2000 the Liberal Democrats held control of the council with 28 councillors, compared to 25 for the Conservatives and there was 1 independent councillor. However boundary changes took place for the 2003 election, which reduced the number of seats from 54 to 52 and affected all but 3 of the wards.


2003 West Berkshire Council election, Election result
Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats won 26 seats, meaning that the Liberal Democrats lost the majority on the council that they had held for the previous 12 years. The Liberal Democrat leader on the council, Lena Rust was defeated in Basildon ward by the Conservatives, while in Westwood ward the Conservatives gained the seat by 4 votes after 4 recounts. However the Liberal Democrats did pick up a seat in the new Theale ward.


2003 West Berkshire Council election, Election result
Following the election the Liberal Democrats were able to continue running the council due to the chairman's casting vote.


2003 West Berkshire Council election, By-elections between 2003 and 2007, Victoria
The Liberal Democrats remained in control of the council with the chairman's casting vote after retaining Victoria ward in a by-election on 4 December 2003.


2003 West Berkshire Council election, By-elections between 2003 and 2007, Thatcham North
A by-election was held in Thatcham North on 5 May 2005 after Liberal Democrat councillor Bob Judge resigned from the council. The seat was gained for the Conservatives by Sheila Ellison with a majority of 175 votes over the Liberal Democrats, which gave the Conservatives a majority on the council.


2003 West Berkshire Council election, By-elections between 2003 and 2007, Pangbourne
A by-election was held in Pangbourne ward on 20 April 2006 after the resignation of Conservative councillor Susie Kemp. The seat was held for the Conservatives by Pamela Bale with a majority of 574 votes over the Liberal Democrats.


2003 West Coast Conference Baseball Championship Series
The 2003 West Coast Conference Baseball Championship Series was held on May 23–25, 2003 at Pepperdine's home field, Eddy D. Field Stadium in Malibu, California, and pitted the winners of the conference's two four-team divisions. The event determined the champion of the West Coast Conference for the 2003 NCAA Division I baseball season. San Diego won the series two games to one over Pepperdine and earned the league's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2003 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2003 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place on March 7–10, 2003. All rounds were held in San Diego, California at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The semifinals were televised by ESPN2. The West Coast Conference Championship Game was televised by ESPN.


2003 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The San Diego Toreros earned their first WCC Tournament title and an automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Jason Keep of San Diego was named Tournament MVP.


2003 West Dorset District Council election
The 2003 West Dorset District Council election was held on Thursday 1 May 2003 to elect councillors to West Dorset District Council in England. It took place on the same day as other district council elections in the United Kingdom. The entire council was up for election. Following boundary changes the number of wards were reduced by five, and the number of seats reduced from 55 to 48.


2003 West Dorset District Council election
The 2003 election saw the Conservatives take majority control of the District Council.


2003 West Dunbartonshire Council election
The 2003 elections to West Dunbartonshire Council were held on the 1 May 2003 and were the third to the unitary authority, which was created along with 28 other local authorities, under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994. They were also the last held under the single-member constituency first past the post system, which was replaced in the 2007 election with Single Transferable Vote.


2003 West Lancashire District Council election
The 2003 West Lancashire District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of West Lancashire District Council in Lancashire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.


2003 West Lancashire District Council election, Campaign
Before the election the Conservatives held 30 seats compared to 24 for the Labour party, after the Conservatives gained a majority in the 2002 election for the first time since 1991. 18 seats were contested in the election with the Conservatives defending 11 and Labour 7. In total 46 candidates stood in the election, made up of 18 Conservative, 17 Labour, 4 Green and 7 independent candidates. No Liberal Democrats stood in the election, with their local party reported to have fewer than 100 members. Among the councillors defending their seats in the election was the Conservative council leader, Geoffrey Roberts, while a former Labour councillor John Fillis stood as in independent in Scott ward, after having been cleared earlier in the year of defrauding Labour party accounts during the 1997 general election.


2003 West Lancashire District Council election, Campaign
The election was seen as being a close contest being the Conservative and Labour parties, but the Liverpool Echo felt apathy among Labour voters could imperil some Labour held seats in Skelmersdale. The Conservatives defended their record in control of the council for the past year, pointing to a recycling scheme they had introduced, improvements they claimed to have made in street cleaning and they pledged to continue investing in services. However Labour attacked the Conservatives for scrapping a community warden scheme, pledged that they would end a pest control charge and would provide a new cemetery for the area. Labour also accused the Conservatives of planning to privatise services to a Liverpool company, however this was denied by the Conservatives.


2003 West Lancashire District Council election, Election result
The results saw the Conservatives remain in control of the council despite losing 2 seats to Labour. Labour narrowly gained seats in Scott and Wrightington wards from the Conservative after a recount. This meant the Conservatives only had a majority of 2, with 28 seats compared to 26 for Labour. No other candidates were elected with all 7 independents being defeated. Overall turnout in the election was 27.5%.


2003 West Lindsey District Council election
Elections to West Lindsey District Council were held on 1 May 2003. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.


2003 West Lothian Council election
Elections to West Lothian Council were held on 1 May 2003, the same day as the other Scottish local government elections and the Scottish Parliament general election. The election was the last one using the old FPTP based ward system, and saw Labour retaining their majority on the council.


2003 West Oxfordshire District Council election
The 2003 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2003 West Oxfordshire District Council election, Background
Before the election the Conservatives controlled the council with 32 councillors, while the Liberal Democrats had 10 seats, Independents had 5 seats and the Labour Party had 2 seats. 16 seats were contested in 2003, with 13 of the sitting councillors defending their seats.


2003 West Oxfordshire District Council election, Background
A total of 53 candidates stood for election, 15 Liberal Democrats, 14 Conservatives, 9 Greens, 8 Labour, 6 independents and 1 UK Independence Party.


2003 West Oxfordshire District Council election, Election result
The Conservatives retained control of West Oxfordshire District Council with a reduced majority of nine seats. They won 9 of the 16 seats contested, but lost three seats, two to the Liberal Democrats and one to an Independent candidate. This left the Conservatives with 29 councillors, while the Liberal Democrat gains moved them to 12 seats on the council. In total 11 of the 13 sitting councillors who stood again in 2003 won re-election.


2003 West Oxfordshire District Council election, Election result
The Independent gain from the Conservatives came in Witney Central, where first time candidate Harriet Ryley was elected after campaigning against the redevelopment of the Marriotts Close area for either a superstore or housing. Meanwhile, Labour kept two seats on the council, after Eve Coles held a seat in Chipping Norton ward for the party, while none of the Green Party candidates were elected. Overall turnout at the election was 32.89%.


2003 West Somerset District Council election
The 2003 West Somerset District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of West Somerset District Council in Somerset, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.


2003 West Somerset District Council election, Election result
5 Conservatives, 2 independents and 1 Liberal Democrat were unopposed at the election. One of the independent councillors, Michael Gammon, took the Conservative whip.


2003 West Virginia Mountaineers football team
The 2003 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. They were led by head coach Rich Rodriguez and played their home games at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.


2003 West Virginia Mountaineers football team
They rebounded from a 1–4 start to end the season 8–5 and captured a share of the Big East Conference Championship, the school's first since 1993. The team earned a trip to the 2004 Gator Bowl, where they lost a rematch to the rival Maryland Terrapins 41–7.


2003 West Virginia sniper
The 2003 West Virginia sniper attacks were a series of sniper-style shootings that took place over the course of several days in August 2003 in the U.S. state of West Virginia, killing three people. The victims were killed by a single bullet from long distances as they stopped at shops or gas stations.


2003 West Virginia sniper
In July 2012, Shawn Lester, who had been indicted for all three murders in 2011, pleaded guilty to the second degree murder of one of the victims. The charges with respect to the other two murders were dropped as part of a plea bargain. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.


2003 West Virginia sniper
The shootings were reminiscent of the D.C. sniper attacks that took place in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. in the fall of 2002.


2003 West Virginia sniper, Shootings
On August 10, 2003, Gary Carrier Jr., 44, of South Charleston, was fatally shot in the head while talking on a payphone outside a Charleston GoMart.


2003 West Virginia sniper, Shootings
On August 14, 2003, Jeanie Patton, 31, was killed at a Speedway filling station around 10:30. She was fatally struck by a bullet to the back of her head as she was about to pay for gas she pumped.


2003 West Virginia sniper, Shootings
90 minutes after Patton's killing, Okey Meadows Jr., 26, was shot in the neck while purchasing milk at a security window at the GoMart on U.S. Route 60, 10 miles away from Patton. Both Patton and Meadows were residents of Campbells Creek.


2003 West Virginia sniper, Investigation
All three victims were killed late at night by the same kind of small-caliber rifle, although police did not determine whether the same weapon was used to kill all three. Ballistic tests showed that a .22-caliber rifle was used to kill the second and third victims. The first bullet could not be completely checked due to damage, but appeared to have similar characteristics to the other two bullets.


2003 West Virginia sniper, Investigation
Police said that they were looking for a dark-colored full-size pickup truck. Eyewitnesses believed that the driver was a large white male, but could not identify the suspect further due to the darkness. A man was eventually arrested who matched this profile and who had implied to witnesses that he was the sniper, but no charges related to the shootings were ever brought against him.


2003 West Virginia sniper, Investigation
Police considered the possibility that the shootings were drug-related, as Patton and Meadows had drug connections. However, police were not aware of any drug connections for the first victim.


2003 West Virginia sniper, Investigation
About five months earlier, while exiting a local Kroger supermarket, Randy Burgess was shot twice in the chest sniper-style and died the next day. Although no hard evidence connected this murder with the three that would follow, investigators did not dismiss the possibility.


2003 West Virginia sniper, Investigation
In October 2003, a joint task force investigating the shootings announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the killer. This reward would later be increased to $100,000.


2003 West Virginia sniper, Investigation
A key witness identified a local area resident, Shawn Lester, as the shooter shortly after the murder. At some time before the three successive murders, the witness' younger brother had stolen an automobile engine belonging to Lester that had a large quantity of methamphetamine hidden inside. Lester later confided in the witness that "he had taken something important to me, so I'll take something important to him", and told him to "keep an eye on the news". Jeanie Patton was the longtime girlfriend of the witness' younger brother.


2003 West Virginia sniper, Investigation
When the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department failed to act on the witness' information, despite him passing a polygraph test, the witness agreed to be a guest (anonymously) on a local public-access television program titled "West Virginia's Most Wanted". The show aired in January 2007. The show's host, Andrew Palmer, presented a theory that a gang called the "Charleston Five" had carried out the shootings. He suggested that two victims were chosen randomly to throw suspicion off the gang for killing its intended target, Jeanie Patton.


2003 West Virginia sniper, Investigation
Seven and a half years later, on March 31, 2011, Shawn Lester was arrested and charged with the murder of Jeanie Patton. The property of a woman believed to have sheltered Lester and his gang was excavated to search for the pickup truck used in at least two of the murders and for bodies of possible further victims.