2003 IFAF World Championship
The 2003 IFAF World Championship was the second instance of the IFAF World Championship, an American football world championship held by International Federation of American Football (IFAF). The tournament was held in Germany at Herbert Dröse Stadion and Berliner Strasse Stadion. Japan won the championship for the second time in a row.


2003 IFMAR 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championships
The 2003 IFMAR 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championships was the tenth edition of the IFMAR 1:10 Electric Off-Road World Championship was held in Largo in the United States.


2003 IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship
The 2003 IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship was the 7th IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship, the premier annual international inline hockey tournament. It took place in Nuremberg and Amberg, Germany, with the gold-medal game played on July 19, 2003.


2003 IIHF World Championship
The 2003 IIHF World Championship was held between April 26 and May 11, 2003 in Helsinki, Tampere and Turku, Finland.


2003 IIHF World Championship
It was the 67th annual event, and was run by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).


2003 IIHF World Championship
Canada won the gold medal after defeating Sweden 3–2 in a tightly fought final. Over 14 minutes into the overtime, Canadian forward Anson Carter beat Swedish goaltender Mikael Tellqvist with a wraparound goal. The goal was contested for several minutes before replays confirmed that Tellqvist had stopped the puck behind the goal line. It was Canada's first World Championship win in five years.


2003 IIHF World Championship
Sweden surrendered five consecutive goals against Finland in their quarterfinal to trail 5–1 seven minutes into the second period, at which point Swedish goaltender Tommy Salo was swapped for Mikael Tellqvist. This proved to be the Swedish team's necessary wake-up call as the Swedes went on to score five unanswered goals before the end of regulation and ultimately win the game 6–5.


2003 IIHF World Championship, Qualification Tournament
The Far Eastern Qualification was played as a single game during the 2003 Asian Winter Games on February 4, 2003 in Hachinohe, Japan. South Korea had opted to not play as they believed it more beneficial to focus on training and developing for their Division II tournament. During the games Japan also beat the Koreans eleven to two in the semi-finals.


2003 IIHF World Championship, Final tournament, First round
In the First Round, the top 3 teams from each group progressed to the Second Round, whilst the last placed team progressed to the Consolation Round.


2003 IIHF World Championship, Final tournament, Second round
In the Second Round, the top 4 teams from each group progressed to the Final Round, whilst the bottom 2 teams are eliminated.


2003 IIHF World Championship, Final tournament, Group E
Tables and scores below include meetings between teams during the First Round.


2003 IIHF World Championship, Final tournament, Group F
Tables and scores below include meetings between teams during the First Round.


2003 IIHF World Championship, Final tournament, Group G
As the Far Eastern qualifier,  Japan avoids relegation. Therefore,  Belarus and  Slovenia are relegated to Division I for the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships


2003 IIHF World Championship, Ranking and Statistics, Scoring leaders
List shows the top ten skaters sorted by points, then goals, then (fewer) games played.


2003 IIHF World Championship, Ranking and Statistics, Leading goaltenders
Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list.


2003 IIHF World Championship Final
The 2003 IIHF World Championship Final was an ice hockey match that took place on May 11, 2003 in Helsinki, Finland, to determine the winner of the 2003 IIHF World Championship. Canada defeated Sweden to win its 22nd championship.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division I
The 2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division I was a pair of international under-18 ice hockey tournaments run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Division I tournaments made up the second level of competition at the 2003 IIHF World U18 Championships. The Group A tournament took place between 23 and 29 March 2003 in Ventspils, Latvia and the Group B tournament took place between 22 and 28 March 2003 in Briançon, France. Denmark and Norway won the Group A and Group B tournaments respectively and gained promotion to the Championship Division for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. While Great Britain finished last in Group A and Ukraine last in Group B and were both relegated to Division II for 2004.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division I, Group A tournament
The Group A tournament began on 23 March 2003 in Ventspils, Latvia. Denmark, Japan, Latvia and Slovenia all returned to compete in this year's Division I tournament after missing promotion to the Championship Division at the previous years World Championship. Great Britain gained promotion to Division I after finishing third in last years Division II tournament and Germany was relegated from the Championship Division after failing to survive the relegation round at the 2002 IIHF World U18 Championships.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division I, Group A tournament
Denmark won the tournament after finishing first in the group standings and gained promotion to the Championship Division for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. Germany finished second losing only to Denmark and Slovenia finished in third place. Great Britain finished in last place after losing all five of their games and were relegated back to Division II for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. Martin Nielsen of Denmark finished as the top scorer of the tournament with eleven points including four goals and seven assists. Japan's Kaku Asari finished the tournament as the leading goaltender based on save percentage.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division I, Group A tournament, Scoring leaders
List shows the top ten skaters sorted by points, then goals.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division I, Group A tournament, Leading goaltenders
Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division I, Group B tournament
The Group B tournament began on 22 March 2003 in Briançon, France. Austria and Italy both returned to compete in this year's Division I tournament after missing promotion to the Championship Division at the previous years World Championship. France and Poland gained promotion to Division I after finishing first and second respectively in last years Division II tournament and Norway and Ukraine were relegated from the Championship Division after failing to survive the relegation round at the 2002 IIHF World U18 Championships.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division I, Group B tournament
Norway won the tournament after finishing first in the group standings and gained promotion to the Championship Division for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. Poland finished second after winning three of their games and drawing the fourth and Italy finished in third place. Ukraine finished in last place after finishing last in the group standings and were relegated to Division II for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. Marcin Kolusz of Poland finished as the top scorer of the tournament with seven points including four goals and three assists. Poland's Bartosz Stepokura finished the tournament as the leading goaltender based on save percentage.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division I, Group B tournament, Scoring leaders
List shows the top ten skaters sorted by points, then goals.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division I, Group B tournament, Leading goaltenders
Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II
The 2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II was a pair of international under-18 ice hockey tournaments run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Division II tournaments made up the third level of competition at the 2003 IIHF World U18 Championships. The Group A tournament took place between 17 and 23 March 2003 in Tallinn, Estonia and the Group B tournament took place between 5 and 11 March 2003 in Belgrade, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. South Korea and Romania won the Group A and Group B tournaments respectively and gained promotion to Division I for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. While Bulgaria finished last in Group A and South Africa last in Group B and were both relegated to Division III for 2004.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II, Group A tournament
The Group A tournament began on 17 March 2003 in Tallinn, Estonia. Both Croatia and Estonia who missed promotion to Division I at the previous years World Championship returned to compete in this year's Division II tournament. Belgium, Bulgaria, South Korea and Spain all gained promotion to Division II from Division III following a restructure of the Division sizes which increased the number of teams in each group from four to six. South Korea won the tournament after winning all five of their games and gained promotion to Division I for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II, Group A tournament
Estonia finished second losing only to South Korea and Croatia finished in third place. Bulgaria finished in last place after losing all five of their games and were relegated back to Division III for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. Tomislav Grozaj of Croatia finished as the top scorer of the tournament with 27 points including 18 goals and nine assists. Thomas Tyson of Belgium finished the tournament as the leading goaltender based on save percentage.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II, Group A tournament, Scoring leaders
List shows the top ten skaters sorted by points, then goals.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II, Group A tournament, Leading goaltenders
Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II, Group B tournament
The Group B tournament began on 5 March 2003 in Belgrade, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Hungary, Netherlands and Romania all returned to compete in the Division II tournament after missing promotion to Division I at the previous years World Championship. Lithuania, South Africa and Yugoslavia all gained promotion to Division II from Division III following a restructure of the Division sizes which increased the number of teams in each group from four to six. Romania won the tournament after winning all five of their games and gained promotion to Division I for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II, Group B tournament
Hungary finished second after winning three games and drawing a fourth and the Netherlands finished in third place. South Africa finished in last place after losing all five of their games and were relegated back to Division III for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. The tournament was also the last appearance of Yugoslavia's under-18 team as the country was reconstituted as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The Yugoslavia men's under-18 team was replaced the following year by the Serbia and Montenegro men's national under-18 ice hockey team. Tivadar Petres of Romania finished as the top scorer of the tournament with 17 points including 11 goals and six assists. Hungary's Dominik Vinnai finished the tournament as the leading goaltender based on save percentage.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II, Group B tournament, Scoring leaders
List shows the top ten skaters sorted by points, then goals.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II, Group B tournament, Leading goaltenders
Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division III
The 2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division III was a pair of international under-18 ice hockey tournaments run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Division III tournaments made up the fourth level of competition at the 2003 IIHF World U18 Championships. The Group A tournament took place between 5 and 8 March 2003 in Mexico City, Mexico and the Group B tournament took place between 6 and 9 February 2003 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Group A competition was won by Australia while Iceland won the Group B tournament. Upon winning their respective tournaments both teams gained promotion to Division II of the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division III, Group A tournament
The Group A tournament began on 5 March 2003 in Mexico City, Mexico. All four teams participating made their debuts at the IIHF World U18 Championships. Australia won the tournament after winning all three of their games and gained promotion to Division II of the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. Mexico finished second after losing only to Australia and China finished third after losing to Australia and Mexico. New Zealand who finished last also suffered the largest defeat of the tournament, losing to Australia 1–14. Lliam Webster of Australia finished as the top scorer of the tournament with nine points including five goals and four assists. Australia's Patrick Baxter finished the tournament as the leading goaltender based on save percentage.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division III, Group A tournament, Scoring leaders
List shows the top ten skaters sorted by points, then goals.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division III, Group A tournament, Leading goaltenders
Only the top goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division III, Group B tournament
The Group B tournament began on 6 February 2003 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Turkey who finished last in Division III at the 2002 IIHF World U18 Championships returned to compete in this year's Division III tournament, Israel returned to the World Championships having not played since 2001, Iceland made their first appearance in the Division having only previously played in a qualification tournament in 2001, and Bosnia and Herzegovina made their debut appearance at the World Championships.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division III, Group B tournament
Iceland won the tournament after winning all three of their games and gained promotion to Division II of the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. Turkey finished second after beating both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Israel on goal difference and Bosnia and Herzegovina finished in third. Israel who had original won their first two games against Iceland and Bosnia and Herzegovina had the results annulled and scored 5–0 in favour of the opposing teams due to their use of three players who did not meet the International Ice Hockey Federation's eligibility criteria. Israel had originally won the games 9–1 against Bosnia and Herzegovina and 5–4 against Iceland. Birgir Jakob Hansen of Iceland finished as the top scorer of the tournament with ten points including five goals and five assists.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championship Division III, Group B tournament, Scoring leaders
List shows the top ten skaters sorted by points, then goals.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championships
The 2003 IIHF World U18 Championships were held in Yaroslavl, Russia. The championships began on April 8, 2003 and finished on April 18, 2003. Games were played at Arena 2000 and Avtodizel Arena in Yaroslavl. Canada defeated Slovakia 3-0 in the final to claim the gold medal, while Russia defeated the United States 6-3 to capture the bronze medal.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championships, Championship results, Relegation Round
Note: Matches   Switzerland 13-2  Kazakhstan and  Finland 8–6  Belarus from the Preliminary Round (on April 13, 2003 and April 14, 2003 respectively) are included as well since these results carry forward


2003 IIHF World U18 Championships, Championship results, Final round
Russia beat  United States for the Bronze medal 6–3. Sweden beat  Czech Republic for 5th place 3–2 in Overtime.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championships, Championship results, Final standings
Switzerland and  Kazakhstan are relegated to Division I for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championships, Division I
Division I consisted of two separate tournaments. The Group A tournament was held between 23 and 29 March 2003 in Ventspils, Latvia and the Group B tournament was held between 22 and 28 March 2003 in Briançon, France. Denmark and Norway won the Group A and Group B tournaments respectively and gained promotion to the Championship Division for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. While Great Britain finished last in Group A and Ukraine last in Group B and were both relegated to Division II for 2004.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championships, Division II
Division II consisted of two separate tournaments. The Group A tournament was held between 17 and 23 March 2003 in Tallinn, Estonia and the Group B tournament was held between 5 and 11 March 2003 in Belgrade, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. South Korea and Romania won the Group A and Group B tournaments respectively and gained promotion to Division I for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships. While Bulgaria finished last in Group A and South Africa last in Group B and were both relegated to Division III for 2004.


2003 IIHF World U18 Championships, Division III
Division III consisted of two separate tournaments. The Group A tournament was held between 5 and 8 March 2003 in Mexico City, Mexico and the Group B tournament was held between 6 and 9 February 2003 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Australia and Iceland won the Group A and Group B tournaments respectively and gained promotion to Division II for the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships.


2003 ISAF Sailing World Championships
2003 ISAF Sailing World Championships was the first edition of the ISAF Sailing World Championships and was held in Cadiz, Spain from 11 September to 24 September.


2003 ISAF Sailing World Championships, Venue
The venue for the 2003 ISAF Sailing World Championships was Cádiz with three marinas: El Puerto de Santa María for Mistral, Finn, Yngling, Europe, Star, Tornado and 49er, Cádiz for Laser and Rota for 470. Racing was held on nine race areas off Cádiz.


2003 ISSF World Cup
For the 2003 ISSF World Cup in the seventeen Olympic shooting events, the World Cup Final was held in October 2003 in Milan, Italy for the rifle, pistol and running target events, and in Rome, Italy for the shotgun events.


2003 ITF Men's Circuit
The 2003 ITF Men's Circuit was the 2003 edition of the third tier tour for men's professional tennis. It was organised by the International Tennis Federation and is a tier below the ATP Challenger Tour. The ITF Men's Circuit included satellite events and 336 'Futures' tournaments played year round across six continents, with prize money ranging from $10,000 to $15,000.


2003 ITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's Circuit is the second tier tour for women's professional tennis organised by the International Tennis Federation, and is the tier below the WTA Tour. In 2003, the ITF Women's circuit included tournaments with prize money ranging from $10,000 to $75,000. In addition to the traditional tournament format, there were also three four-week circuits each worth $40,000 in prize money.


2003 ITF Women's Circuit
The ITF world champions in 2003 were Justine Henin-Hardenne (senior singles), Virginia Ruano Pascual / Paola Suárez (senior doubles), Kirsten Flipkens (junior singles) and Andrea Hlaváčková (junior doubles).


2003 ITF Women's Circuit, Tournament breakdown by region
*Includes information for events in Central America and the Caribbean


2003 ITF Women's Circuit, Singles titles by nation
This list displays only the top 22 nations in terms of singles titles wins.


2003 ITU Triathlon World Championships
The 2003 ITU Triathlon World Championships were held in Queenstown, New Zealand on December 6, 2003.


2003 IWCC Trophy
The 2003 IWCC Trophy was an international women's cricket tournament held in the Netherlands between 21 and 26 July 2003. Organised by the International Women's Cricket Council (IWCC), it was the inaugural edition of what is now the World Cup Qualifier.


2003 IWCC Trophy
The tournament featured six teams and was played using a round-robin format. The top two teams, Ireland and the West Indies, qualified for the 2005 World Cup in South Africa. All matches held One Day International (ODI) status, with Japan making its debut in that format and Scotland playing only its second ODI tournament. Ireland's Barbara McDonald was named the player of the tournament, while the leading runscorer and leading wicket taker, respectively, were Pauline te Beest of the Netherlands and Pakistan's 15-year-old off spinner, Sajjida Shah.


2003 IWCC Trophy, Background and qualification
At all prior editions of the World Cup, participation had been determined by invitation only. The creation of a qualifying tournament, to be known as the IWCC Trophy, was proposed at the 1997 meeting of the IWCC committee in Calcutta, India. It was initially suggested that the inaugural tournament be held in 2002 for the planned 2004 World Cup, but the dates for both the IWCC Trophy and the World Cup were both later shifted forward by one year. Six teams participated in the inaugural IWCC Trophy:


2003 IWCC Trophy, Background and qualification
Ireland and the Netherlands qualified for the tournament based on their performance at the 2000 World Cup in New Zealand, where they were the bottom two teams. Of the other four teams, Pakistan and the West Indies had participated at the 1997 World Cup in India, while Scotland (one of the IWCC's newest members) had played in only one prior international tournament, the 2001 European Championship. Japan was making its international debut in women's cricket, with the sport having only popularised among women in the preceding decade.


2003 IWCC Trophy, Statistics, Most runs
The top five tournament batsmen are included in this table, ordered by runs scored and then by batting average.


2003 IWCC Trophy, Statistics, Most wickets
The top five tournament bowlers are listed in this table, listed by wickets taken and then by bowling average.


2003 Icelandic Cup
The Visa-Bikar 2003 was the forty-fourth season of the Icelandic national football cup. It started on May 18, 2003 and concluded with the final on September 27, 2003. The winners qualified for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup 2004–05.


2003 Icelandic Men's Football League Cup
The 2003 Icelandic Men's Football League Cup was the eighth staging of the Icelandic Men's League Cup. It featured all the 2002 Úrvalsdeild karla teams and the top 6 teams from 1. deild karla in 2002.


2003 Icelandic Men's Football League Cup
The competition started on 21 February 2003  and concluded on 9 May 2003 with ÍA beating Keflavík 4-2 on penalties in the final.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 10 May 2003. The Independence Party remained the largest party in the Althing, winning 22 of the 63 seats. The coalition government of the Independence Party and Progressive Party remained in office, with Davíð Oddsson continuing as Prime Minister.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Background
For the previous twelve years Davíð Oddsson of the Independence Party had been Prime Minister of Iceland and since the 1995 election had been ruling in coalition with the Progressive Party. At the last election in 1999 the two ruling parties together won 38 of the 63 seats, to maintain a majority in the Icelandic parliament.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies
There are six constituencies in Iceland. According to the Law on Parliamentary Elections (nr.24/2000), each constituency is allocated nine seats decided by proportional voting in the constituency. In addition there are nine leveling seats (either 1 or 2 per constituency, depending on their population size) which are allocated with the aim of achieving proportionality based on the overall number of party votes at the national level.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies
The number of constituency seats shall however be adjusted ahead of the next election, if the ratio of residents with suffrage per available seat in the constituency becomes more than twice as big in the latest election, comparing the constituency with the highest ratio against that with the lowest ratio. In that case a constituency seat is reallocated from the constituency with the lowest ratio to that with the highest, until the various ratios comply with the rule. However, the total number of seats (including leveling seats) must never become less than six in any constituency. The box below displays the number of available seats in each constituency at the 2003 parliamentary election.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies, Method for apportionment of constituency seats
The available constituency seats are first distributed to each party according to the D'Hondt method, so that proportional representation is ensured within each of the constituencies. The next step is to apportion these party distributed seats to the candidates within the party having the highest "vote score", after counting both direct candidate votes and their share of party votes in the constituency.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies, Method for apportionment of constituency seats
In Iceland the "candidate vote system" is that, for each constituency, each party provides a pre-ranked list of candidates beneath each party name (listed according to the preferred order decided by the party), but where the voters voting for the party can alter this pre-ranked order by renumbering the individual candidates and/or crossing out those candidates they do not like, so that such candidates will not get a share of the voter's "personal vote" for the party.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies, Method for apportionment of constituency seats
As a restriction on the possibility of re-ranking candidates, it is however only possible to alter the first several candidates on the list. The borderline for alterations is drawn for the first three candidates if the party only win one of the total seats in the constituency, or if more than one seat is won the borderline shall be drawn at the pre-ranked number equal to two times the total number of seats being won by the party in the constituency.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies, Method for apportionment of constituency seats
So if a party has won two seats in a constituency, then the voter is only allowed to re-rank the top four ranked candidates on the list, with any rank altering by voters below this line simply being ignored when subsequently calculating the candidate vote shares within each party. Final calculation of the candidate vote shares is always done according to the Borda method, where all candidates above the previously described borderline in the ranking are granted voting fraction values according to the voters noted rank.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies, Method for apportionment of constituency seats
If the number of considered candidates consist of four (as in the given example), then the first ranked candidate is assigned a value of 1 (a so-called full personal vote), the next one get the value 0.75 (1/4 less), followed likewise by 0.50 and 0.25 respectively for the two last candidates. If the number of considered candidates instead had been six (due to winning 3 seats), then the first ranked candidate in a similar way would be assigned a value of 1 (a so-called full personal vote), with the following five candidates receiving respectively 5/6, 4/6, 3/6, 2/6 and 1/6.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies, Method for apportionment of constituency seats
As mentioned above, crossed out names will always be allocated a 0.00 value. The accumulated total score of the candidates voting fractions, will be used in determining which candidates receive the seats won by their party.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies, Method for apportionment of constituency seats
Note that candidate vote scores are not directly comparable to candidates from other parties, as how many seats are being won in a constituency by a particular party will effect how their candidates receive voting fractions (like in the above examples, where a candidate ranked number four for a party winning two seats would receive a voting fraction of 0.25, compared to 0.50 for an equally ranked candidate belonging to a party winning 3 seats)


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies, Method for apportionment of leveling seats
After the initial apportionment of constituency seats, all the parties that exceed the election threshold of 5% nationally will also qualify to potentially be granted the extra leveling seats, which seek to adjust the result towards seat proportionality at the national level.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies, Method for apportionment of leveling seats
The calculation procedure for the distribution of leveling seats is, first, for each party having exceeded the national threshold of 5%, to calculate the ratio of its total number of votes at the national level divided by the sum of one extra seat added to the number of seats the party have so far won. The first leveling seat will go to the party with the highest ratio of votes per seat. The same calculation process is then repeated, until all 9 leveling seats have been allocated to specific parties.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies, Method for apportionment of leveling seats
A party's "votes per seat" ratio will change during this calculation process, after each additional leveling seat being won. The second and final step is for each party being granted a leveling seat to pin point, across all constituencies, which of its runner-up candidates (candidates that came short of winning direct election through a constituency seat) should then win this additional seat.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies, Method for apportionment of leveling seats
This selection is made by first identifying the constituency having the strongest "relative constituency vote shares for this additional seat of the party", which is decided by another proportional calculation, where the "relative vote share for the party list in each constituency", is divided with the sum of "one extra seat added to the number of already won constituency seats by the party list in the constituency".


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies, Method for apportionment of leveling seats
When this strongest constituency has been identified, the leveling seat will be automatically granted to the highest placed unelected runner-up candidate on the party list in this constituency, who among the remaining candidates have the highest personal vote score (the same figure as the one used when ranking candidates for constituency seats).


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Constituencies, Method for apportionment of leveling seats
The above described method is used for apportionment of all the party allocated leveling seats. Note that when selecting which of a party's constituencies shall receive its apportioned leveling seat, this identification may only happen in exactly the same numerical order as the leveling seats were calculated at the party level. This is important because the number of available leveling seats are limited per constituency, meaning that the last calculated leveling seats in all circumstances can never be granted to candidates who belong to constituencies where the available leveling seats already were granted to other parties.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Campaign
The Social Democratic Alliance was the main left wing opposition party and their leader, Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, a former mayor of Reykjavík, was hoping to become the first female Prime Minister of Iceland. They were hoping to capitalise on a feeling that it was time for a change in government. The Social Democrats stressed welfare, health and housing which they said the Independence Party had failed to address.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Campaign
The Independence Party campaigned on their record of economic growth over the past decade. This had seen Icelandic businesses expand abroad and Iceland become the 6th richest county per capita in purchasing power parity.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Campaign
Opinion polls as the election neared showed the Independence Party with about 34-35% support and with a small lead over the Social Democratic Alliance which was getting 27-33% support.


2003 Icelandic parliamentary election, Results
The Independence Party maintained a narrow lead over the opposition Social Democratic Alliance. However this was their worst election result since the 1987 election, as their vote dropped from 40.7% in the previous election to only 33.7%. The Social Democrats gained three seats; however their leader, Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, was not elected, as she had only placed herself 5th on the list of candidates for her district.


2003 Idaho Vandals football team
The 2003 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. Idaho was a football-only member of the Sun Belt Conference, and played their home games in the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow. The Vandals went 3–9 under head coach and alumnus Tom Cable, in his fourth and final season.


2003 Idaho Vandals football team
Prior to Cable's arrival in 2000, Idaho had just two losing seasons (1981, 1997) in two decades; he had four consecutive with a 11–35 (.239) record and was fired immediately after the season.


2003 Idaho Vandals football team, NFL Draft
One Vandal senior was selected in the 2004 NFL Draft, which lasted seven rounds (255 selections).


2003 Idea Prokom Open
The 2003 Idea Prokom Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Sopot, Poland, that was part of the International Series of the 2003 ATP Tour and of Tier III of the 2003 WTA Tour. The tournament ran from 28 July through 3 August 2003.


2003 Idea Prokom Open, Finals, Men's Doubles
Mariusz Fyrstenberg /  Marcin Matkowski defeated  František Čermák /  Leoš Friedl 6–4, 6–7(7–9), 6–3


2003 Idea Prokom Open, Finals, Women's Doubles
Tatiana Perebiynis /  Silvija Talaja defeated  Maret Ani /  Libuše Průšová 6–4, 6–2


2003 Idea Prokom Open, Finals, Women's Doubles
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2003 Idea Prokom Open, Finals, Women's Doubles
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2003 Idea Prokom Open – Men's Doubles
František Čermák and Leoš Friedl were the defending champions but lost in the final 6–4, 6–7 (7–9), 6–3 against Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski.


2003 Idea Prokom Open – Men's Doubles, Seeds
Champion seeds are indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which those seeds were eliminated.


2003 Idea Prokom Open – Men's Singles
José Acasuso was the defending champion but did not compete that year.


2003 Idea Prokom Open – Men's Singles
Guillermo Coria won in the final 7–5, 6–1 against David Ferrer.


2003 Idea Prokom Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


2003 Idea Prokom Open – Women's Doubles
Svetlana Kuznetsova and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario were the defending champions, but none competed this year.


2003 Idea Prokom Open – Women's Doubles
Tatiana Perebiynis and Silvija Talaja won the title by defeating qualifiers Maret Ani and Libuše Průšová 6–4, 6–2 in the final.


2003 Idea Prokom Open – Women's Singles
Dinara Safina was the defending champion in the Women's Singles event in the 2003 Idea Prokom Open, a Polish tennis competition. She retired in her quarter-final match against Anna Pistolesi.


2003 Idea Prokom Open – Women's Singles
Pistolesi won the title by defeating Klára Koukalová 6–2, 6–0 in the final.


2003 Idea Prokom Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
The first two seeds received a bye into the second round.


2003 If Stockholm Open
The 2003 If Stockholm Open was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the Kungliga tennishallen in Stockholm, Sweden and was part of the International Series of the 2002 ATP Tour. The tournament was held from 20 October through 26 October 2003. Fifth-seeded Mardy Fish  won the singles title.


2003 If Stockholm Open, Finals, Doubles
Jonas Björkman /  Todd Woodbridge defeated  Wayne Arthurs /  Paul Hanley 6–3, 6–4


2003 If Stockholm Open – Doubles
Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett were the defending champions but lost in the quarterfinals to Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley.


2003 If Stockholm Open – Doubles
Jonas Björkman and Todd Woodbridge won in the final 6–3, 6–4 against Arthurs and Hanley.


2003 If Stockholm Open – Singles
Paradorn Srichaphan was the defending champion but lost in the first round to John van Lottum.


2003 If Stockholm Open – Singles
Mardy Fish won in the final 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(7–4) against Robin Söderling.


2003 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
The 2003 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. They participated as members of the Big Ten Conference. Their home games were played at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. The team's head coach was Ron Turner, who was in his seventh season with the Illini. Illinois had a record of 1–11.


2003 Imo State gubernatorial election
The 2003 Imo State gubernatorial election occurred in Nigeria on April 19, 2003. The PDP nominee Achike Udenwa won the election, defeating Ezekiel Izogu of the APGA.


2003 Imo State gubernatorial election
Achike Udenwa emerged PDP candidate. He picked Ebere Udeagu as his running mate. Ezekiel Izogu was the APGA candidate with J. A. Iroegbu as his running mate.


2003 Imo State gubernatorial election, Electoral system
The Governor of Imo State is elected using the plurality voting system.


2003 Imo State gubernatorial election, Primary election, PDP primary
The PDP primary election was won by Achike Udenwa. He picked Ebere Udeagu as his running mate.


2003 Imo State gubernatorial election, Primary election, APGA primary
The APGA primary election was won by Ezekiel Izogu. He picked J. A. Iroegbu as his running mate.


2003 Imo State gubernatorial election, Results
A total number of 11 candidates registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission to contest in the election.


2003 Imo State gubernatorial election, Results
The total number of registered voters in the state was 1,630,494.


2003 Independence Bowl
The 2003 Independence Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Missouri Tigers and the Arkansas Razorbacks on December 31, 2003, at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. Missouri was making their first bowl appearance since 1998. This was Missouri's first bowl game under Head Coach Gary Pinkel. Arkansas, on the other hand, made their sixth straight bowl appearance, but had lost the last three.


2003 Independence Bowl
Arkansas defeated Missouri 27–14, winning their first bowl game since the 2000 Cotton Bowl. It was Arkansas' first victory in the Independence Bowl. Missouri fell to (8–5) on the season, while Arkansas improved to (9–4). This was the Hogs second bowl victory under head coach Houston Nutt. It would be the Hogs last bowl victory until 2009 when they won the Liberty Bowl.


2003 Independence Bowl
The Tigers opened the game with a 7–3 lead after the first quarter, but Arkansas rallied back, scoring 18 unanswered points to take a 21–7 lead into halftime. Mizzou cut the Hogs lead to 21–14 with a third quarter touchdown. But Arkansas answered with two field goals, one in the third and one in the fourth, to seal the victory for the Razorbacks. The Hogs outdueled the Tigers in every facet of the game, to include a blocked punt against Missouri in the second half.


2003 Independence Bowl
Arkansas running back Cedric Cobbs was named the game's Offensive MVP, rushing for 141 yards and a touchdown. The game's Defensive MVP was Razorback linebacker Caleb Miller, who finished the game with 14 tackles and an interception.


2003 Indian Rajya Sabha elections
Rajya Sabha elections were held on various dates in 2003, to elect members of the Rajya Sabha, Indian Parliament's upper chamber. Three members from Kerala and one member from Puducherry were elected.


2003 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Elections, Members elected
The following members are elected in the elections held in 2003. They are members for the term 2003–2009 and retire in year 2009, except in case of the resignation or death before the term. The list is incomplete.


2003 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Bye-elections
The following bye elections were held in the year 2003.


2003 Indiana Fever season
The 2003 WNBA season was the 4th for the Indiana Fever. The Fever attempted to reach the playoffs, but they fell short by one game.


2003 Indiana Hoosiers football team
The 2003 Indiana Hoosiers football team represented Indiana University Bloomington during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. They participated as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The team was coached by Gerry DiNardo in his second year as head coach.


2003 Indianapolis 500
The 87th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 25, 2003. Two-time defending champion Hélio Castroneves won the pole position and was trying to become the first driver in Indy history to win three in a row. With 31 laps to go, however, Castroneves was passed by his Penske teammate Gil de Ferran, and the duo finished 1st–2nd, with de Ferran winning his first Indy 500. The race was sanctioned by the Indy Racing League and was part of the 2003 IndyCar Series season.


2003 Indianapolis 500
For the 2003 season, the series adopted a new chassis package and saw the introduction of Toyota and Honda to the field. It was Honda's third period of involvement at Indy. They partnered with the Judd program in the 1987 race, and was an engine provider in CART in 1990s, entering at Indy in 1994-1995. Toyota, previously an engine provider in CART, however, was making their first ever trip to Indy.


2003 Indianapolis 500
Due to cost issues, and a shortage of engines and drivers, there was considerable concern going into the event that the field might fall short of the traditional 33 starters. On the final day of qualifying, the field was filled, avoiding a PR "black eye."


2003 Indianapolis 500
Former presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton were in attendance, the first time in Indy history that two former presidents were at the race. It was the elder Bush's second visit to the Speedway; he previously presided over the opening ceremonies of the 1987 Pan American Games, which was held at the track. Rookie A. J. Foyt IV, racing on his 19th birthday, became the youngest driver ever to compete in the race.


2003 Indianapolis 500
For the first time since the 1970s, the race was not announced as a sell out. Since 1985, the race was usually sold out by July of the previous year.


2003 Indianapolis 500
As of 2020, the 2003 race was the first and only Indy 500 victory for Toyota. It also marked the first Indy 500 win for a Japanese and/or Asian engine manufacturer.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Background
The biggest interest story going into the race was the impending retirement of popular veteran Michael Andretti. Andretti announced that the 2003 Indy 500 would be his final race, and that he would retire from driving immediately after, to focus on team ownership. (Note that Andretti came out of retirement and returned to drive at Indy in 2006-2007.)


2003 Indianapolis 500, Background
Despite the open wheel "split" continuing into what was now its eighth season, nearly all of the top CART-based teams entered at Indy for 2003. It was the fourth consecutive year that CART-based teams entered the Indy 500, and each successive year saw an increased number of participants "crossing over." The 2003 season was a turning point in the "split," as several teams, including Penske, Andretti-Green, Ganassi, and Rahal pulled out of CART and defected permanently to the Indy Racing League on a full-time bases. One of the few holdouts for 2003 was Newman/Haas Racing. Paul Tracy, a key fixture in the controversial 2002 race, also did not enter.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Background
During the spring Dario Franchitti of Andretti-Green Racing was injured in a motorcycle accident, which sidelined him for most of the season. Robby Gordon replaced him in the car at Indy, and Gordon planned to attempt the Indy-Charlotte "Double Duty."


2003 Indianapolis 500, Background
After changes in the rules, Greg Ray entered and qualified a car carrying the number 13. It was the first time #13 appeared on a car at the Indy 500 since George Mason in 1914. From 1926 to 2002, usage of #13 was not permitted, and throughout the entire history of the race, was generally avoided by competitors due to superstitions.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Background
For the first time ever, a support race was scheduled for the month of May at Indy. The Menards Infiniti Pro Series arrived at the Speedway for the inaugural Freedom 100. The race was scheduled for the Saturday of Bump Day weekend.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Background, Mario Andretti crash
Andretti-Green Racing driver, Tony Kanaan, suffered a radial fracture of his arm on April 15 in a crash at Motegi. On April 23, the 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti took over Kanaan's car for a test session. Andretti retired in 1994, and this was the first time in nine years he had driven a major open wheel car. If Kanaan was not cleared to drive in enough time, tentative plans were being prepared for Andretti to qualify the car for him. He would then turn the car over to Kanaan on race day. No firm plans had yet been made though for Andretti to actually drive in the race.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Background, Mario Andretti crash
During Andretti's test session, it was noted by many observers that despite his lack of experience in modern Indy cars (which had changed substantially since his retirement in 1994) and his advanced age (63), he quickly reached competitive speed. During the morning session, he turned a lap of 212.509 mph, and looked "as if he had never been away." Later in the day, he upped his speed to over 223 mph. The success of the test created a stir, and speculation grew during the afternoon that Andretti may even attempt to qualify for the race.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Background, Mario Andretti crash
With only two minutes left in the session, Kenny Bräck crashed in turn one, and the yellow light came on. Andretti entered turn one at full speed, and struck debris on the track from Bräck's crash. The object, identified by some as the rear wing, or possibly a piece of foam from the impacted SAFER Barrier, pitched the nose of Andretti's car upward, and the car became airborne. The car then went into a rapid double-reverse somersault flip at speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Background, Mario Andretti crash
Television footage from the WTHR helicopter-cam showed that the car clipped the top of the debris fence, and was nearly high enough to go over it. The car fell back to the racing surface, slowed by its mid-air tumble, and slid to a stop upright. Andretti walked away from the crash with very minor injuries.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Background, Mario Andretti crash
Andretti initially shrugged off the accident, and still contemplated returning to qualify the car in May. A day later, however, he reconsidered. When asked later what had gone through his mind during the crash, he replied, "'What the hell am I doing here?""


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race schedule
* Includes days where track activitywas significantly limited due to rain


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Practice – week 1
Practice opened on Sunday May 4, with roughly 29 car/driver combinations named to the field. That was short of the traditional 33 starters for the race, and there was ongoing speculation around the garage area on who would potentially fill the four open spots. At the onset, drivers were flirting with the 230 mph barrier.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Practice – week 1
On Tuesday May 6, rookie Dan Wheldon (231.108 mph) became the first driver to break the 230 mph barrier. A day later, Kenny Brack (231.039 mph) also broke 231 mph. Dan Wheldon set the fastest lap of the month on Thursday May 8 at 232.202 mph, the fastest lap run at the Speedway since 1996.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Practice – week 1
On "Fast Friday" May 9, Arie Luyendyk spun exiting turn one, and hit the outside wall with the back end of the car. The car slid down the track, and hit the outside wall in turn 2 also. Luyendyk suffered a back injury, and soreness in his neck and shoulders. Ultimately, Luyendyk decided to sit out the race, and retired from driving permanently.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Time trials – Pole Day
Pole Day was scheduled for Saturday May 10. During the morning practice session Billy Boat spun out of turn four, and made heavy contact with the safety attenuator at the north end of the pit wall. The car hit with the back end, flew up into the air momentarily, and came to rest against the outside wall on the mainstretch. The energy-absorbing barrier was demolished, but officials stated that the barrier withstood the impact, and worked effectively. Boat was transferred to Methodist Hospital for observation, but was eventually released and cleared to drive. By the time that track crews could replace the barrier, rain began to fall. A violent thunderstorm swept through the area, and washed out qualifying for the afternoon.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Time trials – Pole Day
Pole qualifying was moved to Sunday May 11. The weather was cool and windy. Robbie Buhl was the first car to make an attempt, and he put his car the field with a safe run of 224.369 mph. At 12:30 p.m., rookie Scott Dixon (230.099 mph) was the first car over 230 mph. At 12:45 p.m., Robby Gordon (230.205 mph) took over the provisional pole position.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Time trials – Pole Day
At 12:55 p.m., rookie A. J. Foyt IV was attempting to become the youngest driver ever to qualify for the Indy 500. On his first lap, he spun exiting turn 2, did not hit the wall, and slid backwards down nearly the entire length of the backstretch. He was uninjured.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Time trials – Pole Day
The first trip through the qualifying line was completed at about 1:45 p.m. Several drivers had pulled out of line, waiting for better conditions. At 2:41 p.m., Tony Kanaan took over the top spot with a run of 231.006 mph.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Time trials – Pole Day
At 4:36 p.m., two-time defending race winner Hélio Castroneves (231.725 mph) secured the pole position. Tony Kanaan was bumped to the middle of the front row, and Robby Gordon held on to the outside of the front row. The day ended with A. J. Foyt IV completing a run, and Gil de Ferran, the last car with a realistic shot of the front row, turning in a somewhat-disappointing 228.633 mph, good enough only for 10th starting position.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Practice – week 2
Practice resumed on Wednesday May 14. With nine spots open in the field, unqualified teams began to prepare for the final day of qualifying. Alex Barron was named to replace Arie Luyendyk in the Mo Nunn entry. By Thursday, 32 car/driver combinations had materialized.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Practice – week 2
Among the fastest drivers who had yet to qualify were Jimmy Vasser (228.275 mph) and Alex Barron (227.714 mph). Vasser missed the first weekend of time trials due to his participation in the Champ Car German 500.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Time trials – Bump Day
The final day of time trials, Sunday, May 18, opened with nine spots open in the field. During the week, there was considerable concern about the prospects of filling the field to the traditional 33 starters. Airton Daré and Vítor Meira were named to rides in the morning, meaning there were then nine cars preparing to qualify.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Time trials – Bump Day
Time trials opened at 12:30 p.m., with Jimmy Kite the first car out. After two fast laps, however, the car stalled with an electrical problem. In the first half-hour, three cars qualified, led by Jimmy Vasser, and the field was up to 27 cars.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Time trials – Bump Day
Jimmy Kite returned to the track, this time qualifying without incident. Airton Daré stalled several times trying to leave the pits, but after repairs, he qualified to fill the field to 29 cars. Just before 2 p.m., Alex Barron and Richie Hearn completed runs, and the field was up to 31 cars. Hearn's team acquired a Penske back-up car, and he was safely in the field.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Time trials – Bump Day
At 3 p.m., there were two spots left in the field. Only two cars remained on the sidelines, Robby McGehee and Vítor Meira. No other teams were planning on qualifying, although a rumor circulated around the garage area that Ganassi was considering on wheeling out a backup car for Jeff Ward. McGehee (224.493 mph) completed his qualifying attempt at 3:30 p.m., leaving only one spot open in the grid. At 4:05 p.m., Meira (227.158 mph) filled the field to 33 cars. At that point, the track was opened for practice, and the track officially closed at 6 o'clock without any other qualifiers.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Practice and time trials, Time trials – Bump Day
The series avoided the embarrassment of not filling the field to the traditional 33 cars. The race had not failed to do so since 1947, when several drivers that were members of ASPAR (the American Society of Professional Auto Racing) threatened to boycott the race over the purse size. Nonetheless, some members of the media chastised the effort, later nicknaming the afternoon "Fill Day" rather than the traditional Bump Day. During the television coverage, Bob Jenkins and Jack Arute passionately defended the event from its detractors. Despite pointing out the lack of drama on the final day of time trials, Robin Miller was among those who suggested that the 2003 field was the deepest talent-wise since the open wheel "split".


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Start
The controversy of filling the field the previous weekend fizzled as race day arrived. Mari Hulman George gave the command to start engines at 10:47 a.m. EST, and all 33 cars pulled away from the starting grid. It would be the final time that the race would begin at the traditional 11 a.m. EST start time.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Start
Polesitter Hélio Castroneves took the lead at the start, and led for the first 16 laps. The first yellow came out on lap 9 when Billy Boat stalled in turn two. After the restart on lap 15, Sarah Fisher spun in turn three, hitting the outside wall. After pit stops, Scott Dixon took the lead on lap 17.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, First half
Michael Andretti led 28 laps in the first half, but during a pit stop on lap 98, the car quit with the broken throttle linkage.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, First half
On lap 61, Richie Hearn got up in the "marbles" in turn two, hitting the outside wall. Jaques Lazier spun to avoid the crash and came to rest on the inside of the track. Both drivers were uninjured.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, First half
The lead changed several times in the first half, with Tomas Scheckter, Tony Kanaan, and Jimmy Vasser each taking turns in the lead. Hélio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran were running in the top 5 most of the way.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Second half
Tomas Scheckter led from laps 101-128, with Hélio Castroneves close behind in second. On lap 127, Airton Dare crashed in turn 2, bringing out the caution, and the leaders all made pit stops. Castroneves beat Scheckter out of the pits and took the lead. Gil de Ferran was in third. On lap 135 restart, de Ferran passed Scheckter for second place.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Second half
At lap 150, Penske teammates Castroneves and Gil de Ferran were still running 1st-2nd. Castroneves was looking to put himself in position to win his third "500" in a row. The leaders made their final pit stops on laps 165-168. After the sequence of green flag stops, Castroneves and de Ferran were again running 1st-2nd.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Second half
On lap 169, leader Castroneves was hung up behind the lapped car of A. J. Foyt IV down the backstretch. While it was not captured by TV cameras, earlier in the race A. J. Foyt IV had come down and made contact with Castroneves while being lapped in Turn 2. This perhaps led to Castroneves following A. J. Foyt IV through the 2nd turn allowing de Ferran to make the pass for the lead going into turn 3.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Second half
On lap 172, Robby Gordon stopped on the track with a broken gearbox. The yellow came out, but none of the leaders pitted. Gordon immediately departed the grounds, and flew to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Second half
With 25 laps to go, the green came back out with de Ferran leading, and Castroneves in second.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Finish
On lap 182, Scott Sharp brushed the wall in turn 4, then crashed in turn 1. After the cleanup, the green came back out on lap 186. One lap later, however, Dan Wheldon spun in turn three, hit the outside wall, then the car flipped over and landed upside-down. Wheldon was not injured.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Finish
During the caution for the Wheldon crash, Scott Dixon, who was running in the top ten, was weaving back and forth on the mainstretch to warm up his tires. He began to do it too vigorously, and brushed the inside wall. The car was too damaged to continue.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Finish
The green came out with six laps to go. Gil de Ferran held off Hélio Castroneves by 0.2290 seconds to win his first Indianapolis 500. After the race, Castroneves coaxed de Ferran to climb the catch fence on the mainstretch, mimicking his own traditional post-race victory celebration. de Ferran ended up retiring at season's end, becoming the fourth Indy 500 winner to retire as a reigning "500" champion.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Race summary, Finish
The "curse of the Indy three-peat" prevailed again as Castroneves failed to achieve victory. His three-race career record of 1st-1st-2nd, however, established an Indy record for a driver's first three starts. Castroneves' second place tied Al Unser's 1970-1971-1972 effort of 1st-1st-2nd.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Box score
W  = Former Indianapolis 500 winner;  R  = Indianapolis 500 rookie


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
The race was carried live on the Indy Racing Radio Network. Mike King served as chief announcer. The booth crew had a new look for 2003. Longtime driver expert Johnny Rutherford left the crew to take over the position of pace car driver during caution periods. Joining King in the booth were two newcomers, Dave Wilson who served as color commentator, and new "driver expert" Davey Hamilton. Hamilton was on a hiatus from driving after his serious crash at Texas in 2001. The broadcast was heard on 555 affiliates.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
The 2003 race saw all four turn reporters return to their assigned posts from the previous year. The three pit reporters remained the same, although they swapped their locations along pit road. The 2003 race would be the final 500 on the radio for longtime members Howdy Bell and Chuck Marlowe. Bell once again had the limited role of reporting from the track hospital, while Marlowe covered the garage area as he had since 1989.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Sponsor guests interviewed in the booth included Tim Manganello (BorgWarner), Keith Sirios (Checkers and Rally's), and Chevrolet pace car driver Herb Fishel. Other guests interviewed in the pits included Jim Campbell (Chevrolet) and Wynonna Judd.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Chief Announcer: Mike KingDriver expert: Davey HamiltonColor commentator: Dave WilsonHistorian: Donald DavidsonCommentary: Chris Economaki


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Turn 1: Jerry BakerTurn 2: Kevin LeeTurn 3: Mark JaynesTurn 4: Chris Denari


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
The race was carried live flag-to-flag coverage in the United States on ABC Sports. The on-air crew remained the same from the previous year, with Bob Jenkins returning as host, and Paul Page handling the play-by-play duties. It would ultimately be the final 500 on television for Bob Jenkins.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
For the first time, the race broadcast featured a presenting sponsor. The race was billed as the "Indianapolis 500 Presented by 7-Eleven." The crew called the race for the final time from the booth on top of the Paddock grandstand, for starting in 2004, they would move to the newer television studio inside the Pagoda.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Controversy
On Sunday May 18, the final day of time trials, when there was some question of whether the field would be filled to the traditional 33 cars, television reporters Bob Jenkins and Jack Arute passionately defended the event from its detractors on air. Afterwards, Jenkins received criticism, mostly for a lack of journalistic professionalism and objectivity. His statements were considered biased in favor of the IRL/IMS, and that he allowed his personal opinions enter his reporting.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Controversy
During ABC coverage of time trials, Vítor Meira filled the field to 33 cars. Arute opened his interview with Meira at 5:17 p.m. EDT by stating:


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Controversy
And to all the naysayers who predicted that there would NOT be 33 cars in the field of this year's Indy 500, allow me to introduce you to Vítor Meira.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Controversy
The naysayers have been proven wrong, there is a 33-car field set for the 500.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Controversy
As the day was coming to a close, the television coverage switched to ESPN for the final hour. Jenkins closed the broadcast with the following commentary at 6:56 p.m. EDT:


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Controversy
I want to again say how disappointed I am in some of the journalists in this city and in other cities who have questioned the 33-car starting lineup this year. I think they forgot one thing. And this is really what they've been trying to put down all this time. This is the Indianapolis 500. It was 50 years ago, it is today, and it will be next year and in years to come.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Controversy
I want to echo what Bob Jenkins said. From the beginning of the month of May here at Indianapolis, misguided people have said that this race wasn't going to have a field of 33. Hello! Not only are the field of 33 full but it's also going to be the most competitive Indy 500 in most recent memory. I want to go back to the thoughts of one Jim Mora (local NFL coach) who once said to misguided media, ya think ya know, but ya just don't know.


2003 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Controversy
Jenkins was released from ABC/ESPN at the end of the 2003 season. After a very brief stint covering CART on Spike TV in 2004, and after a single race at ESPN in 2008, he joined Versus (now known as the NBC Sports Network) in 2009. It was never announced if the on-air comments were a factor in his release, and Jenkins contends he was never informed if that was the case. Following the 2012 season, Jenkins reduced his schedule to a reserve role that includes Carb Day coverage.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season
The 2003 Indianapolis Colts season was the 51st season for the team in the National Football League and 20th in Indianapolis. The Colts improved on their 10–6 record from 2002, going 12-4 and reached the postseason for the second straight season. After the season, quarterback Peyton Manning was named league MVP along with Steve McNair of Tennessee.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season
After defeating the Broncos and the Chiefs in the first two rounds, the Colts lost to the New England Patriots in the title game, which saw the first playoff meeting between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. New England defeated the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season, Notable games, Week 1: at Cleveland Browns
The Colts had high expectations leading into the 2003 season, and hoped to start the season on the right track after a humiliating loss the New York Jets in the 2002 AFC Divisional Playoffs. Peyton Manning struggled for most of the game, throwing two interceptions in the first half. Kelly Holcomb and the Cleveland Browns suffered from similar problems, however, as Holcomb twice drove the Browns inside of the Indianapolis ten yard line, but failed to score a touchdown on either drive.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season, Notable games, Week 1: at Cleveland Browns
With the game tied 6–6 in the fourth quarter, Manning flawlessly drove the Colts from their own 8 yard line to the Cleveland 25, the highlight of the drive being a 15-yard connection to wide receiver Reggie Wayne on a 3rd and 10 situation. With six seconds left, coach Tony Dungy called timeout and sent in kicker Mike Vanderjagt to attempt the game-winning field goal, which he connected on. This kick was Vanderjagt's first game winner since being labeled as an idiot kicker by Manning in the offseason after charging that Manning needed to show more emotion in games.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season, Notable games, Week 3: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
After being down 3–0 at halftime, the Colts scored 17 third quarter points followed by six points in the fourth quarter to beat Jacksonville 23-13 and improve to 3–0.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season, Notable games, Week 4: at New Orleans Saints
The Colts offense was nearly flawless as Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison hooked up six times for 158 yards and three touchdowns. Harrison accounted for half of Manning's 308 passing yards while Ricky Williams, Marcus Pollard, and Dallas Clark threw in good receiving days as well. The Colts rushing attack was not as strong without Edgerrin James but Indianapolis still picked up 101 yards on the ground.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season, Notable games, Week 5: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In Tampa on Monday Night, the Bucs scored 21 unanswered points and held a 35–14 lead with 5:09 remaining. The game began to change hands when Brad Pyatt returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards. James Mungro scored a short touchdown, the Colts recovered an onside kick, and Peyton Manning threw a touchdown to Marvin Harrison to cut the lead to a touchdown. With 35 seconds left, Ricky Williams scored a touchdown from 3 yards out to tie the game.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season, Notable games, Week 5: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With four minutes to go in overtime, Mike Vanderjagt missed a potential game-winning 40 yard field goal wide right, but it was called back by a rare leaping penalty when Bucs DE Simeon Rice landed on his own player. Vanderjagt's ensuing 29 yard attempt was blocked, but kept going and bounced off the right upright and through the posts.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season, Notable games, Week 13: New England Patriots
The Colts hosted the Patriots in the first meeting between the two clubs since October 2001 and the first meeting since divisional realignment took the Colts out of the AFC East into the AFC South. With both teams at 9–2 it was the latest in a season in which two teams with no more than two losses had ever met. The Patriots opened up with a flurry; an Adam Vinatieri field goal was followed by the sacking of Peyton Manning and a fumble recovery, followed by a Mike Cloud rushing score.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season, Notable games, Week 13: New England Patriots
Dedric Ward then caught a 31-yard Tom Brady touchdown throw for a 17–0 Patriots lead. Peyton Manning led two scoring drives that left the score 17–10 New England with 12 seconds in the first half, but on the ensuing kick to end the half Bethel Johnson ran the ball back for a 92-yard touchdown.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season, Notable games, Week 13: New England Patriots
The Patriots increased their lead to 31–10 on another Cloud rushing score, but the tide turned decisively as Brady threw two picks late in the third quarter; Manning completed a 13-yard touchdown to Reggie Wayne on fourth down, then found Marvin Harrison for a 23-yard score. A six-yard Troy Walters touchdown catch in the fourth tied the game at 31, then Bethel Johnson had another huge kickoff return, setting up a 13-yard Brady to Deion Branch touchdown.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season, Notable games, Week 13: New England Patriots
Kevin Faulk was then steamrolled in the Pats' redzone and fumbled the ball, leading to a 29-yard Mike Vanderjagt kick and a 38–34 Patriots lead. The Patriots were forced to punt in the final minutes and Ken Walter laid a huge egg as his punt landed at the 50. The Colts drove to the Patriots 2-yard line entering the final minute and Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest suffered a momentary leg injury that necessitated stopping the clock.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season, Notable games, Week 13: New England Patriots
On first down Edgerrin James was stopped at the 1; on second he was stopped and Manning called the Colts' final timeout; on third he threw to the left side of the endzone but the ball sailed over everyone's heads; finally on fourth with 15 seconds remaining James was stopped at the 1 by McGinest, Ted Washington, and Rodney Harrison. The 38–34 thriller left the Patriots shaken ("I've never seen anything like it," Rodney Harrison said afterward) and left them 10–2 and the Colts 9–3.


2003 Indianapolis Colts season, Postseason schedule, Game summaries, AFC Divisional Playoff
This offensive shootout became the second game without a punt in NFL playoff history, and first since the Buffalo Bills played the San Francisco 49ers in 1992. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns, while Edgerrin James ran for a career postseason high 125 yards and two scores. On the Kansas City side, Dante Hall caught a touchdown and returned a kickoff for another; and Priest Holmes, who set the regular-season rushing touchdown record, rushed for 176 yards, caught 5 passes for 32 yards, and scored twice. Kansas City quarterback Trent Green threw for 212 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 18 yards in his first career postseason game. The Chiefs defense failed to stop the Colt's offense. Kansas City's defensive coordinator Greg Robinson was asked to resign the following week.


2003 Indianapolis mayoral election
The Indianapolis mayoral election of 2003 took place on November 4, 2003. Voters elected the Mayor of Indianapolis, members of the Indianapolis City-County Council, as well as several other local officials. Incumbent Democrat Bart Peterson was reelected to a second term.


2003 Indianapolis mayoral election, Election results
2003 was a good year for Democrats in Indiana's mayoral elections, with the party winning control of the mayoralties of all of the state's top seven most populous cities for the first time since 1959. The Democratic Party also won control of the mayoralties in twenty of the state's thirty cities with populations above 25,000. Additionally, in 2003, Democrats won more than 56% of partisan mayoral races in Indiana.


2003 Indianapolis mayoral election, Election results
During the general election, Marion County, saw voter turnout of 27% in its various elections.


2003 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship
The 2003 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship was the 38th edition of the World Championship  The Championship was held as a Grand Prix series over six rounds.


2003 Individual Long Track World Championship
The 2003 Individual Long Track/Grasstrack World Championship was the 33rd edition of the FIM speedway Individual Long Track World Championship.


2003 Individual Long Track World Championship
The world title was won by Robert Barth of Germany for the second time.


2003 Individual Speedway European Championship, Final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


2003 Individual Speedway Junior European Championship
The 2003 European Individual Speedway Junior Championship was the sixth edition of the Championship.


2003 Individual Speedway Junior European Championship, Final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


2003 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship
The 2003 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship was the 27th edition of the World motorcycle speedway Under-21 Championships.


2003 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship
The final was won by Jarosław Hampel of the Poland.


2003 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship, World final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


2003 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship, World final
+ Martin Smolinski replaced the injured Krzysztof Kasprzak (3rd in semi-final A).


2003 Individual Speedway Latvian Championship
The 2003 Latvian Individual Speedway Championship was the 29th Latvian Individual Speedway Championship season. The final took place on 12 October 2003 in Daugavpils, Latvia.


2003 Individual Speedway Latvian Championship, Results
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance • t - exclusion for touching the tapes • x - other exclusion • e - retired or mechanical failure • f - fell • ns - non-starter • nc - non-classify


2003 Indonesia Open (badminton)
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Stvbastian (talk | contribs) at 03:03, 27 December 2019 (ext links). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2003 Indonesia Open (badminton)
The 2003 Indonesia Open in badminton was held in Batam, from August 26 to August 31, 2003.


2003 IndyCar Series
The 2003 IRL IndyCar Series brought some of the biggest changes in its history. The league adopted the name IndyCar Series, after a settlement with CART prohibiting its use had expired. Several former CART teams brought their full operations to the IRL, most notably major squads Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Green Racing, as well as former CART engine manufacturers Toyota and Honda, replacing Infiniti who shifted its efforts to the new feeder series Infiniti Pro Series. Many of the IRL's old guard including Robbie Buhl, Greg Ray, and Buddy Lazier had difficulty competing in this new manufacturer-driven landscape. The league also added its first international race this year, taking over the CART date at Twin Ring Motegi.


2003 IndyCar Series
The season's most successful entrants were Ganassi and Team Penske that had made the switch already the year before. New Zealander Scott Dixon won the opening race of the season at Homestead and ran very consistently all year long to win his first title at the age of 23. Gil de Ferran won Penske's third consecutive Indianapolis 500 in May and finished second to Dixon in the title race.


2003 IndyCar Series
The finale however was marred by a severe incident that nearly killed former series' champion and Indy 500 winner Kenny Bräck. De Ferran won the race with Dixon in second being well enough to seal the title. Bräck would eventually recover; however, Tony Renna, a Ganassi development driver, lost his life in a test crash at Indianapolis after the season had officially ended.


2003 IndyCar Series
2003 was also the first and only engine title for Toyota and also first Asian and Japanese car manufacturer to won IndyCar Series IRL-era engine manufacturer's title and thus ending seven-year American engine manufacturer's supremacy. As of 2019, 2003 was also the last chassis manufacturer title victory for Panoz G-Force Technologies to date.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Toyota Indy 300
This race was held March 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Tony Kanaan won the pole.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Purex Dial Indy 200
This race was held March 23 at Phoenix International Raceway. Tony Kanaan won the pole.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Inaugural Indy Japan 300
This race was held April 13 at Twin Ring Motegi. Scott Dixon won the pole.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, 87th Indianapolis 500
The 87th Indy 500 was held May 25 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hélio Castroneves sat on pole but came up just short of the three-peat in the 500.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Bombardier 500
This race was held June 7 at Texas Motor Speedway. Tomas Scheckter won the pole.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Honda Indy 225
This race was held June 15 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Tony Kanaan won the pole.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, SunTrust Indy Challenge
This race was held June 28 at Richmond International Raceway. Scott Dixon won the pole. The race originally scheduled for 250 laps, but shortened to 206 laps due to rain.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Kansas Indy 300
This race was held July 6 at Kansas Speedway. Scott Dixon won the pole.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Firestone Indy 200
This race was held July 19 at Nashville Superspeedway. Scott Dixon won the pole.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Firestone Indy 400
This race was held July 27 at Michigan International Speedway. Tomas Scheckter won the pole.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Emerson Indy 250
This race was held August 10 at Gateway International Raceway. Hélio Castroneves won the pole.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Belterra Casino Indy 300
This race was held August 17 at Kentucky Speedway. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Firestone Indy 225
This race was held August 24 at Nazareth Speedway. Scott Dixon won the pole.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Delphi Indy 300
This race was held September 7 at Chicagoland Speedway. Richie Hearn won the pole.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Toyota Indy 400
This race was held September 21 at California Speedway. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. It was the fastest circuit race ever in motorsport history, with an average speed of 207.151 mph (333.306 km/h) over 400 miles (643.6 km). This also makes it the de facto fastest ever 400 mile motor race beating the NASCAR record set during the 1999 Kmart 400.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Chevy 500
This race was held October 12 at Texas Motor Speedway. Gil de Ferran won the pole. The race was memorable for a five–way championship duel involving de Ferran, Scott Dixon, Hélio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, and two-time titlist Sam Hornish Jr.. The race was also notable for a frightening, but non–fatal, accident involving Tomas Scheckter and 1999 Indianapolis 500 champion Kenny Bräck. Scheckter was uninjured, but the Swede was launched into the air after wheel–to–wheel contact on the backstretch and violently clobbered the catch fencing.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Race summaries, Chevy 500
Debris was scattered across the track, and the already long period of yellow flag laps prompted IRL race control to end the race at lap 195 of 200. Because the race reached 1 lap past the halfway point the race was considered official. Gil de Ferran, Bräck's former title rival in CART, won in his final IndyCar race, joining Ray Harroun and Sam Hanks (both of whom retired immediately after winning an Indianapolis 500) as drivers who retired from U.S. open wheel competition in the winner's circle. Scott Dixon won the IRL title in his first season in the IndyCar Series (having spent two seasons in CART) and Englishman Dan Wheldon beat Roger Yasukawa for Bombardier Rookie of the Year honors.


2003 IndyCar Series, Season Summary, Final driver standings
Note: 1 Tora Takagi had 23 points deducted at Texas Motor Speedway due to unacceptable driving.


2003 Infiniti Pro Series
The 2003 IRL Infiniti Pro Series Season was the series' second. It consisted of 12 races and the champion was Mark Taylor who won 7 of 12 races and only suffered 2 DNF's and 1 DNS. All teams used Dallara chassis and Infiniti engines. Only 7 drivers competed in every race and 3 more missed a single race.


2003 Insight Bowl
The 2003 Insight Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the California Golden Bears at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 26, 2003. The game was the final contest of the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams, and ended in a 52–49 victory for California. Virginia Tech and Cal combined for 101 points; only the 2001 GMAC Bowl saw more points scored by two teams in a bowl game without overtime.


2003 Insight Bowl
During the 2003 college football season, Virginia Tech accumulated an 8–4 regular-season record that included four losses in the Hokies' final six regular-season games. As the third-place team in the Big East Conference, Tech accepted a bid to the 2003 Insight Bowl. Facing the Hokies were the California Golden Bears, who went 7–6 during the regular season, tying for third place in the Pacific-10 (Pac-10).


2003 Insight Bowl
The 2003 Insight Bowl kicked off at 8:30 p.m. EST on December 26, 2003. From the beginning of the game, it was a quick-paced, high-scoring contest. In the first quarter, Virginia Tech jumped out to a 21–7 lead courtesy of the Tech passing game, which was coordinated by quarterback Bryan Randall, who threw four touchdowns during the game. In the second quarter, California recovered from its 14-point first-quarter deficit by scoring two touchdowns. Tech, meanwhile, scored another, and took a 28–21 lead into halftime.


2003 Insight Bowl
The offensive onslaught continued in the second half, though it was California who took the advantage at first. Bolstered by an improved defensive effort that held the Hokies scoreless throughout the third quarter, California and quarterback Aaron Rodgers scored 21 unanswered points to take a 42–28 lead into the fourth quarter. In that quarter, the Hokies clawed back into competition. Tech scored a touchdown to begin the quarter, but Cal answered with one of its own, making the score 49–35.


2003 Insight Bowl
The Hokies evened the score at 49–49 after an 80-yard touchdown drive that took less than two minutes and a punt return by DeAngelo Hall for a touchdown. The post-score Tech kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Bears possession at their 35-yard line. With time running out, Cal began to drive for a game-winning score. Cal needed just seven plays to advance 47 yards and set up a field goal attempt. As time expired, kicker Tyler Fredrickson kicked a 35-yard field goal to give California the 52–49 win.


2003 Insight Bowl, Team selection
In 2003, the Insight Bowl contracted with the Big East conference and Pacific-10 conference to select teams for participation in its annual game. Big East champion Miami was awarded an automatic Bowl Championship Series berth, and second-place Pittsburgh accepted a bid to the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina. Continental Tire Bowl officials considered inviting Virginia Tech to participate in the game, but were required to invite Virginia due to the Continental Tire Bowl's contract with the Atlantic Coast Conference.


2003 Insight Bowl, Team selection
Rather than selecting two teams that faced each other in the final game of the regular season, Continental Bowl officials chose another team. The other possibility for the Hokies was the San Francisco Bowl, whose managers also held a contract with the Big East, but because Tech played in the previous year's San Francisco Bowl, the bowl's organizing committee decided against a second invitation.


2003 Insight Bowl, Team selection
California's route to the Insight Bowl was less roundabout. In the Pac-10, first-place Southern California was awarded the conference's Bowl Championship Series bid. Second-place Washington State was selected by the Holiday Bowl, and Oregon, tied for third place with California, received a bid to the Sun Bowl. Oregon had a better overall record than California and also won the teams' head-to-head matchup.


2003 Insight Bowl, Team selection, Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech entered the 2003 college football season having gone 10–4 the previous season, including a season-ending victory over Air Force in the inaugural San Francisco Bowl. During the offseason, the Hokies were extended an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference and accepted, making the 2003 season their final year in the Big East. In the annual preseason poll of reporters covering Big East football, Virginia Tech was picked to finish third in the conference, behind the previous year's champion, Miami, and Pittsburgh.


2003 Insight Bowl, Team selection, Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech's first game of the season was at home against Central Florida on August 31. In a game that saw the debut of quarterback Marcus Vick, brother of former star Hokie Michael Vick, 10th-ranked Virginia Tech pulled out to an early lead before Central Florida fought back in the second half. Tech recovered, however, and won the game, 48–29. Virginia Tech followed the victory with five others. On October 11, a fourth-ranked Hokie squad easily won against Syracuse University, 51–7, giving Virginia Tech a 6–0 record.


2003 Insight Bowl, Team selection, Virginia Tech
In its seventh game, Tech suffered its first loss. Traveling to Morgantown, West Virginia, home of West Virginia University, the third-ranked Hokies lost 28–7 to the No. 23 Mountaineers. The loss was Tech's worst since November 2001, and knocked the previously undefeated Hokies out of contention for the national championship. The Hokies returned home to face another high-ranking opponent, No. 2 Miami. Recovering from the loss against West Virginia, the Hokies delivered one of the highest-profile wins in school history, defeating the second-ranked Hurricanes 31–7. The game ended a 39-game regular-season winning streak by Miami and was Tech's first victory over a top-eight team in 34 games.


2003 Insight Bowl, Team selection, Virginia Tech
Tech's fortunes declined dramatically following the victory over Miami. The week after that win, Tech lost 31–28 to Pittsburgh, then escaped with a one-point win in overtime against Temple University, which had just one win that season. Tech's win against Temple was its last in the regular season. The Hokies lost their final two regular-season games, dropping their overall record to 8–4. To some Virginia Tech fans, the Insight Bowl invitation accepted on December 1 was a disappointment after a season that began with hopes of participation in the national championship game.


2003 Insight Bowl, Team selection, California
The California Golden Bears earned a 7–5 record in 2002, a year that culminated with a 30–7 victory over traditional rival Stanford in the Big Game. It was California's first winning season since 1993, and came on the heels of a 1–10 season in 2001. New head coach Jeff Tedford was praised for turning the program around so quickly, and expectations were high heading into the 2003 season. Tedford was awarded a new five-year contract in the offseason, and in the annual preseason poll of media covering the Pac-10 conference, Cal was picked to finish eighth in the 10-team organization.


2003 Insight Bowl, Team selection, California
In the Bears' first game of the season, California traveled to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, to face No. 10 Kansas State for the 2003 BCA Classic. There, California lost 42–28 in the season opener for both teams. California recovered from the loss in its next game, outscoring the visiting Southern Miss Golden Eagles 34–2. Despite the Bears' success against Southern Miss, they struggled in their next two games, losing to both Colorado State and Utah. Traveling to the Midwest to face Big 10 opponent Illinois, California debuted a new quarterback: Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers had success late in California's game against Utah, but did not earn the win. Against Illinois, however, he orchestrated a California offense that emerged victorious, 31–24.


2003 Insight Bowl, Team selection, California
The week after the Illinois game, California faced its toughest opponent of the season: third-ranked Southern California. The USC Trojans were undefeated heading into their game against the Bears and on an 11-game winning streak, but California maintained a lead throughout the game. During the fourth quarter, however, USC rallied to tie California and force overtime, then second and third overtimes when the score remained tied. At the end of the third overtime, California kicker Tyler Fredrickson's 38-yard field goal kick was successful, and the Bears earned a 34–31 victory.


2003 Insight Bowl, Team selection, California
It was California's first home victory over a top five team since 1975, and turned out to be USC's only loss of the season. California lost its next two games, but then won four of its final five, completing the regular season with a record of 7–6 and earning a spot in the Insight Bowl.


2003 Insight Bowl, Team selection, California
California head coach Jeff Tedford said, "Playing in a bowl game was one of our primary goals this year, so today's announcement represents a milestone for this team and the Cal football program." The Insight Bowl would be California's first bowl game appearance since 1996.


2003 Insight Bowl, Pregame buildup
In the weeks leading up to the game, media coverage focused on Virginia Tech's lack of motivation heading into the game. The Hokies were ranked among the top five teams in the country earlier in the season, and had higher expectations than the Insight Bowl, a factor some commentators speculated could cause a distraction. The game was Virginia Tech's first in the state of Arizona, and its first against a Pac-10 team. California played in the 1990 Copper Bowl, the name of the Insight Bowl before a name change in the mid-1990s.


2003 Insight Bowl, Pregame buildup, Offensive matchups, Virginia Tech offense
Virginia Tech running back Kevin Jones drew media attention one day after Virginia Tech's selection for the Insight Bowl by announcing that he would be foregoing his final year of school in favor of entering the NFL Draft. Jones was an All-America selection and broke a Virginia Tech single-season record by rushing for 1,494 yards during the regular season. Speculation immediately turned to the fact that Jones could be the top running back taken in that year's draft.


2003 Insight Bowl, Pregame buildup, Offensive matchups, Virginia Tech offense
Assisting Jones' success was a strong offensive line, led by Associated Press first-team All-America center Jake Grove. Grove was the only first-team All-America player for the Hokies that season and earned the Dave Rimington Trophy, given annually to the best college center in the United States. As with Jones, Grove announced his intention to enter the NFL Draft following the Insight Bowl.


2003 Insight Bowl, Pregame buildup, Offensive matchups, Virginia Tech offense
Virginia Tech quarterback Bryan Randall also benefited from the Hokies' strong offensive line. Randall finished the regular season having passed for 1,598 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also rushed for 412 yards on the ground, and was the Hokies' second-leading rusher. Wide receiver Ernest Wilford was the Hokies' leading receiver, finishing the regular season with 776 receiving yards and three touchdowns.


2003 Insight Bowl, Pregame buildup, Offensive matchups, California offense
Running back Adimchinobe Echemandu was named California's regular-season most valuable player by ESPN.com writer Ted Miller, who pointed to Echemandu's 1,161 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground despite missing one game and most of another due to injury. He was picked ahead of Bears quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who finished the season with 2,509 passing yards and 17 touchdowns despite starting the season as the team's backup player in that position. He outplayed original starting quarterback Reggie Robertson and replaced him during most of the second half of the season.


2003 Insight Bowl, Pregame buildup, Offensive matchups, California offense
Rodgers' favorite passing target was wide receiver Geoff McArthur, who was the Bears' leading receiver during the regular season, catching 85 passes for a school-record 1,504 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. In one of the Bears' final practices before the Insight Bowl, however, McArthur fractured his right forearm and was unable to play. McArthur recorded the third-highest receiving total for a Pac-10 player and had the second-highest average receiving yards per game in the country during the regular season. He set California single-game records for receiving yards and receptions. Junior receiver Chase Lyman was picked to start the Insight Bowl in McArthur's place. Lyman caught just seven passes for 107 yards during the season.


2003 Insight Bowl, Pregame buildup, Offensive matchups, California offense
During practice before the game, California kicker Tyler Fredrickson practiced kicking the ball high to avoid what was expected to be a difficult Virginia Tech kick-blocking attack. During the regular season, Fredrickson had five kicks blocked and successfully converted just 14 of 29 field goal attempts. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, blocked 102 kicks in the 200 games previous to the Insight Bowl.


2003 Insight Bowl, Pregame buildup, Defensive matchups, Virginia Tech defense
Virginia Tech's defense, which performed well in the beginning of the season and against No. 3 Miami, faltered in the final games of the regular season, allowing 123 points and over 1,800 yards to opponents' offenses. Despite a poor performance when compared with previous seasons' accomplishments, Virginia Tech still ranked second in the Big East conference in total defense, scoring defense, and quarterback sacks.


2003 Insight Bowl, Pregame buildup, Defensive matchups, Virginia Tech defense
Leading that defense was cornerback DeAngelo Hall, a second-team All-America selection and first-team All-Big East selection who was also a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the best defensive back in college football. Hall finished the regular season with 54 tackles and 1 interception. Hall was also a threat returning kicks. During the regular season, he returned 30 punts for 434 yards and 2 touchdowns.


2003 Insight Bowl, Pregame buildup, Defensive matchups, California defense
The California defense was led by defensive back Donnie McCleskey, an All-Pac-10 selection who accumulated 99 tackles—the most on the team—and 2 interceptions during the regular season. The 99 tackles were enough to tie him for 14th place on California's all-time single-season tackle leaders list.


2003 Insight Bowl, Pregame buildup, Defensive matchups, California defense
Lineman Ryan Riddle drew attention by accumulating 5.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss despite playing only three games for the Bears. Riddle had not played football for two years while he focused on academics. He eventually signed up with a junior college team, then transferred to California when the Bears expressed interest in having him play on their team.


2003 Insight Bowl, Pregame buildup, Defensive matchups, California defense
Linebacker Brendan Tremblay, who finished the season with 31 tackles, was scheduled to miss the game due to a knee injury that required surgery.


2003 Insight Bowl, Game summary
The 2003 Insight Bowl kicked off at 8:30 p.m. EST on December 26, 2003 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona. Though normally a baseball stadium, Bank One Ballpark hosted the Insight Bowl from 2000 to 2005 with seating reconfigured from the standard used during baseball games. 42,364 people attended the game, which was just 511 short of a sellout and was the largest crowd to attend an Insight Bowl game since the game moved to Bank One Ballpark in 2000. In exchange for participating in the game, each team received $750,000. On December 24, two days before the game, spread bettors favored Virginia Tech to win by three points.


2003 Insight Bowl, Game summary
An estimated 2.7 million people watched the game on ESPN's television broadcast, which was commentated by Mark Malone, Mike Golic and Rob Stone. The audience was large enough to earn the game a Nielsen rating of 3.08, making it the 13th most-viewed bowl game that season and the fourth-highest television rating of the 20 bowl games broadcast on ESPN that season. At kickoff, the weather was clear with an air temperature of 56 °F (13 °C). Owing to the cool temperatures, the roof of Bank One Ballpark (which is retractable) was closed after fireworks were shot off during the opening ceremony.