2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, March
The Whitecaps increased their lead when 2011 leading scorer, Camilo, scored his first goal of the season in the 54th minute. Joe Cannon made five saves to earn his first win, and clean sheet, of the season as the Whitecaps won their season opener 2–0. The match was watched by an average of 541,000 viewers in Canada, with a total of 2.5 million people tuning in for at least a portion of the match, on TSN and RDS making it the most-viewed MLS game ever in the country.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, March
Vancouver played their first road match of the season on March 17 against Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center. Captain Jay DeMerit scored the lone goal, his first as a Whitecap, of the match with a header off a corner kick in the 68th minute. Goalkeepers Joe Cannon and Brad Knighton combined for the clean sheet and the Whitecaps won their first away match in their MLS history. Knighton replaced Cannon who was subbed off with an injury in the 41st minute. Joe Cannon was awarded the MLS Save of the Week for his stop on Casey Townsend in the 32nd minute.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, March
The Whitecaps continued their streak of not conceding a goal on March 24 in a 0–0 draw with D.C. United. Cannon was awarded with his second consecutive Save of the Week when he blocked a Hamdi Salihi header off a corner kick in the 67th minute. Vancouver capped off the month of March with their fourth clean sheet of the season but, once again, failed to score themselves against the Philadelphia Union.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, April
The Whitecaps saw their four-match unbeaten streak to open the season end on April 7 against the San Jose Earthquakes. Sébastien Le Toux scored a second half goal for Vancouver but Chris Wondolowski replied with a brace and San Jose won 3–1. The match also saw the Whitecaps set a new MLS record for shutout streak to open a season end at 427 minutes, a mark previously set by the New York Red Bulls at 421 minutes.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, April
John Furlong, former CEO of VANOC for the 2010 Winter Olympics, was named Executive Chair of the Whitecaps on April 12.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, April
Vancouver suffered their second consecutive 3–1 at the hands of Sporting Kansas City on April 18 before rebounding to beat both FC Dallas and Columbus Crew 1–0 on April 21 and 28 respectively. Camilo and Lee Young-Pyo scored the goals respectively.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, May
The Whitecaps opened the month of May with the first leg of their semi-final fixture for the 2012 Canadian Championship in an away match against FC Edmonton of the NASL. They earned a 2–0 victory over their Canadian rivals with goals from Eric Hassli and Atiba Harris while Brad Knighton earned the clean sheet in his first start for the club. On May 5 the Whitecaps had a re-match with the San Jose Earthquakes at BC Place. Vancouver were able to defeat San Jose 2–1 despite falling behind in the 15th minute.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, May
Eric Hassli scored in the final minute of stoppage time to give the club its first ever win when trailing in a match. The match took place exactly thirty-eight years since the Whitecaps played their first ever competitive match as a club, also against the San Jose Earthquakes, where they were defeated by the same 2–1 scoreline.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, May
On May 12 the Whitecaps suffered their worst defeat of the season to date dropping a 4–1 decision to the New England Revolution. Lee Nguyen, who was waived by the Whitecaps in the preseason, scored two goals and helped set up another. Vancouver drew 1–1 against Toronto FC in the first leg of the Canadian Championship. Ryan Johnson put the visitors ahead but Eric Hassli scored in stoppage time to salvage a draw. Hassli's goal was described by analysts as "jaw-dropping" and compared to his goal against Seattle Sounders FC in 2011, which received international acclaim and was a finalist for the 2011 Best Play ESPY Award and runner-up for MLS goal of the year.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, May
Vancouver opened the 2012 Cascadia Cup against the Seattle Sounders at BC Place on May 19. Twice the Whitecaps earned the lead with goals from Alain Rochat and Camilo but both were answered by Eddie Johnson and Fredy Montero for Seattle with the match finishing in a 2–2 draw. Vancouver failed to win their first Canadian Championship losing 1–0 to Toronto FC, 2–1 on aggregate. The Whitecaps ended the month in Portland where they drew 1–1 with the Timbers. Darren Mattocks scored his first MLS goal in the 84th minute to pull the Whitecaps even.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, June
On June 15, the Vancouver Whitecaps unveiled their new third kit. The design features an arbutus brown colour with sky blue trim. The new kit debuted on June 17 against Colorado where the Whitecaps won 1–0. On June 18 the club introduced Barry Robson to the media. Robson will be eligible to join the line-up on June 27. On June 28 the Whitecaps waived midfielder Floyd Franks and traded forward Tan Long to D.C. United.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, July
Barry Robson made his club debut on July 4 against Colorado. Robson was named to the starting eleven by Martin Rennie and played 57 minutes before being subbed off. The Whitecaps won the match 1–0 on a goal by Darren Mattocks. The win brought Vancouver to 29 points, eclipsing their total of 28 points in 2011. On July 8 captain Jay DeMerit was named to the MLS All-Star first XI. The 2012 MLS All-Star game took place July 25 at PPL Park in Philadelphia. The MLS All-Stars defeated the 2012 UEFA Champions League and 2012 FA Cup winners, Chelsea, 3–2.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, July
On July 11 it was announced that Davide Chiumiento would be transferred to FC Zürich. Further moves were made on July 13 when Sébastien Le Toux was traded to New York Red Bulls in exchange for Dane Richards. On July 16 the Whitecaps announced the addition of a third designated player, captain of the Scottish national team, Kenny Miller. Miller made his Whitecaps debut coming off the bench against San Jose a week later.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, July
On July 20 Martin Rennie made more moves by trading away the club's first ever designated player Eric Hassli to Toronto FC in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft and an international roster slot through the 2013 season. This also freed an international slot for the club in addition to the slot acquired from the trade.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, August
The club made two depth acquisitions to begin the month of August signing Irish centre back Andy O'Brien and Brazilian midfielder Tiago Ulisses. O'Brien made his debut coming off the bench against Real Salt Lake on August 11.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, October
On October 21 the Vancouver Whitecaps became the first Canadian MLS team to qualify for the MLS Playoffs. They entered the day needing either a win against Portland, an FC Dallas defeat, or a draw with Portland and a FC Dallas draw with Seattle. Vancouver fell 0–1 but still clinched as the Sounders defeated Dallas 3–1.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Season overview, November
The team lost their one-game playoff game against Los Angeles Galaxy 2–1 despite opening the scoring in the third minute of the match. The Galaxy eventually went on to win the MLS Cup.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Statistics, Appearances and goals
Last updated: January 7, 2013Source: Italic: denotes player is no longer with team


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Statistics, Goalkeeper stats
Updated to match played January 7, 2013Source: Italic: denotes player is no longer with team


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Statistics, Top scorers
Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Statistics, Top assists
Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total assists are equal.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Statistics, Disciplinary record
Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by position, and then shirt number.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Statistics, Disciplinary record
Last updated: August 11, 2012Source: Competitive matchesOrdered by ,  and  = Number of bookings;  = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card;  = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Competitions, Major League Soccer, League table
(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (W1) = Western Conference champion


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Competitions, Major League Soccer, Results summary
Last updated: October 28, 2012Source: Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won;  D = Matches drawn;  L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Competitions, Canadian Championship
The club participates in the four-team Canadian Championship which includes FC Edmonton, Montreal Impact and Toronto FC. The champion of the tournament is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and qualifies for the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League group stage. Each round will feature a two-legged home-and-away format. The team with the higher aggregate score from both matches will be declared the winner. Should there be a tie in the aggregate score, the away goals rule will be used to determine the winner. Should the away goals also be even then an additional 30 minutes of extra time will be played with the away goals rule no longer in effect. The final tiebreaker will be a penalty shootout.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Competitions, MLS reserves
The Vancouver Whitecaps will compete in the West Division for the 2012 MLS Reserves season. The division consists of six teams, including Chivas USA, Los Angeles Galaxy, Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders and San Jose Earthquakes. The Whitecaps will play each other team twice, once home and once away.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Cascadia Cup
The Whitecaps have had a long-standing rivalry with the Pacific Northwest clubs Seattle Sounders FC and Portland Timbers, dating back to the 1970s when ancestry clubs of the same name played in the original and now-defunct North American Soccer League. The tri-member tournament will continue in 2012.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Cascadia Cup
The winner is determined through league matches between the sides, and the club with the best record against both sides wins the trophy. The 2012 MLS season will see an unbalanced schedule due to an uneven number of teams with the addition of the Montreal Impact. As a result, the Whitecaps will play three matches each against Portland and Seattle. The odd number of matches means Vancouver will host the Sounders twice and Timbers once while visiting Seattle Portland once and twice respectively. This setup will alternate each year.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Miscellany, Allocation ranking
Vancouver is in the No. 11 position in the MLS Allocation Ranking. The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Miscellany, Allocation ranking
Vancouver moved to the top position in the allocation ranking after the Montreal Impact exercised their allocation rights to acquire Eddie Johnson. On June 26 the Whitecaps swapped their allocation ranking with the Philadelphia Union, who were in the 12 position, in a trade. Philadelphia then used their allocation ranking to sign Bakary Soumaré.


2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Miscellany, International roster slots
Vancouver have 11 MLS International Roster Slots for use in the 2012 season. Each club in Major League Soccer is allocated 8 international roster spots. Vancouver acquired one additional slot from Colorado Rapids in November 2010 and a second slot from Colorado in January 2012. They acquired a third additional slot from Toronto FC in July 2012.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
The 2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Commodores played their six home games at Vanderbilt Stadium at Dudley Field in Nashville, Tennessee, which has been Vanderbilt football's home stadium since 1922. The team's head coach was James Franklin, who is in his second year at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt has been a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) since the league's inception in 1932, and has participated in the conference's Eastern Division since its formation for the 1992 season.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
On November 11, 2012 Vandy became bowl eligible in back to back years for the first time in its 123-year football history. This was the first time since 1935 that Vandy won five SEC games in a year and the first time in 30 years that they won at home against Tennessee. Vanderbilt finished the year with the longest current SEC winning streak. For the first time since 1948, Vanderbilt finished the season with a top 25 ranking.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Before the season
Vanderbilt vice chancellor of athletics David Williams announced on February 6, 2012 Vanderbilt will be adding new artificial turf and a new JumboTron.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Before the season
Vice Chancellor Williams confirmed that a large "berm" is to be constructed in the open end of Vanderbilt Stadium as a place for fans to watch games starting fall 2012. The project, in addition to other renovations, began after the Black & Gold scrimmage on April 14, 2012. While several ACC stadiums such as Clemson's  Memorial Stadium and Virginia's Scott Stadium  have hillside seating, Vanderbilt's idea stemmed from the team's 2011 visit to Wake Forest's BB&T Field, which features "Deacon Hill" in one end zone.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Before the season
Vanderbilt's is on the line of, but not to the same as Wake Forest. Wake Forest has a natural hill, Vanderbilt's is manmade. Only 500 seats are available, the hillside is a first-come, first-served area in terms of picking a spot to sit. No lounge chairs or coolers are allowed, but fans can bring blankets to place on the grass. The berm will not reach the permanent seating on the sidelines to leave space in the corners of the end zone for fans to enter. The grass on the playing surface will be cut up and relocated to the berm. FieldTurf is being installed as the new playing surface after April 14, 2012. The JumboTron Vanderbilt is installing in the open end zone that will showcase a significantly larger screen than the one above the closed end zone.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Before the season
The fourth major project set for the stadium is improved lighting. Vanderbilt Stadium has the reputation of being one of D1 college football's darker venues for night games. Renovations are ongoing at McGugin Center, where new meeting rooms and Olympic sport locker rooms are being built. The work is due for completion summer 2012.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Before the season
On July 12, 2012, Vanderbilt announced that vice chancellor David Williams will change his title to vice chancellor for athletes and university affairs and athletics director. This will be the first time Vanderbilt has had an athletics director since 2003.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, New uniforms
On July 11, 2012 Vanderbilt unveiled new football uniforms. Marking the first time since the 1986 season Vanderbilt added a white helmet. Other changes are to the gold jersey, with the addition of black shoulder covering and numbers. Also Vanderbilt is on the front of all jerseys and Names on the back. A Star V logo is on both sides of the paints (before was only on one side). A gold anchor is in the center of the jersey collar. The words Anchor Down (the team's motto) is placed on the inside of the collar. Vanderbilt has 27 uniform combinations for the 2012 season. For the opener against South Carolina on August 30, 2012, the team wore all black.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Maryland transfers
On February 18, 2012 Maryland Football coach Randy Edsall blocked three of his players from transferring to Vanderbilt. Quarterback Danny O’Brien, offensive tackle Max Garcia and linebacker Mario Rowson. Franklin was instrumental in O’Brien's recruitment out of North Carolina, and the two shared a close relationship before Franklin's departure to become the head coach at Vanderbilt in December 2010. Edsall's transfer policy does not allow former players to transfer to other ACC schools or upcoming opponents outside the conference.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Maryland transfers
On February 22, 2012 Edsall changed his mind and said he will allow three football players to transfer to Vanderbilt, if they wish.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Maryland transfers
On February 22, 2012 Maryland officially filed tampering charges against Vanderbilt: "We have been informed by the Southeastern Conference that the Atlantic Coast Conference has filed a formal complaint involving Vanderbilt University football on behalf of one of its members. We are complying with SEC and Vanderbilt procedures and are conducting an investigation on the matter."


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Maryland transfers
Maryland has believed strongly that O’Brien had been in contact with former Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin, now Vanderbilt's coach. Under NCAA rules, a school can limit a rival program from having contact with a player without permission: "A rival school can't encourage a player to transfer without permission. And it can't provide athletics aid in the first academic year if the player transfers without that consent."


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Maryland transfers
Franklin has said he keeps relationships with former players but has maintained there was no tampering.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Maryland transfers
Vanderbilt vice chancellor of athletics David Williams said he will be looking thorough and will be conducting an internal investigation into whether football Coach James Franklin or anyone else on his staff was tampering with Maryland players who intend to transfer. The SEC sent a request to Vanderbilt to have the matter investigated.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Coaching changes
On January 13, 2012, Franklin announced the hiring of George Barlow, a defensive coordinator at the University of New Mexico in 2011. At Vanderbilt, he coached defensive backs and served as defensive recruiting coordinator. Josh Gattis, who helped Western Michigan to its fifth bowl game as a receivers coach in 2011, was hired at Vanderbilt as wide receiver coach and handled offensive recruiting coordinator duties.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Game summaries, South Carolina
Vanderbilt has played South Carolina 22 times and trails 4–18 the first meeting was in 1961 USC won the first seven 1962 to 1997 Vanderbilt won 2 in 98 and 99 USC won the next seven 2000 to 2006 Vandy won the next two and USC has won the last 4. The latest game was the first game of the college football year and played on ESPN.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Game summaries, Northwestern
Vanderbilt has played Northwestern 4 times with a 1–2–1 record, the teams' first meeting was in 1947 Vanderbilt won 3–0, in 1962 played to a tie score at 20 and Northwestern has won the last two games 21–23 and 13–23


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Game summaries, Presbyterian
This was the first meeting of Presbyterian and Vanderbilt. Jordan Rodgers did not play in this game.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Game summaries, Georgia
Secondary rival Georgia has played Vanderbilt 73 times dating back to 1893. Vanderbilt trails 18–53–2 Vandy was at one time ahead; from 1893 until 1961 Vandy was 14–9–1 from 1962 to present Vanderbilt trails with only 4 wins and 43 losses and 1 tie.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Game summaries, Missouri
Missouri and Vanderbilt have played 5 times in a tied series of 2–2–1 the first meeting was 1895. Vanderbilt lost the first 2 games 1895 0–14, 1896 6–26, tied the next 7–7 1957 and won 12–8 in 1958. This was the first meeting since 1958 only one of the five games has been played in Nashville 3 in Columbia, Mo. and 1 in Saint Louis.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Game summaries, Florida
Vanderbilt and secondary rival Florida has played 46 times and trails 9–35–2. Vanderbilt lead for only a few years from 1945 when they first met until 1963 Vandy was 6–6–1 at that point; Vanderbilt has lost the last 22 games the last two have been somewhat close most have been one sided to the Florida side Vanderbilt lost in 1993 by 52 points.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Game summaries, Auburn
Auburn and Vandy have met 41 time since 1893 Vandy leads by one game at 21–20–1 Vandy lost the first meeting and won the next 5, games tied 1, lost 2, won 2, lost 1, won 2, lost 1, won1, lost 1, Vandy won the next 8 Auburn won the next in 1955 Vanderbilt played in its first bowl game against Auburn Vandy won 25–13 from 1893 to 1955 Vandy and Auburn played 28 time Vandy lead 19–7–1. The teams did not play from 1956 to 1977 from 1978 to present the teams have played only 15 times Auburn won 13 straight games Vandy has won the last two. The 2008 game was a "ESPN College GameDay" game which Vandy won it made them at the time 5–0.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Game summaries, University of Massachusetts
UMass and Vandy is the first meeting of the schools. This was U Massachusetts first year in FBS.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Game summaries, Kentucky
Vanderbilt and secondary rival Kentucky have played 85 times dating back to 1896. Vanderbilt trails 40–41–4 Vandy won the first nine games from 1896 to 1918; in 1945 Vandy had a record of 19–2–1. The first 11 games Vandy did not give up a point outscoring Kentucky 267 to 0. Vandy has been shutout 7 times and has shutout Kentucky 15 times.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Game summaries, Ole Miss
Vandy Ole Miss Rivalry is one of the oldest in NCAA first meet in 1894. Vanderbilt trails 38–47–2. Vanderbilt won the first 16 games by shutouts, the first 19 games were won by Vandy. Vanderbilt outscored Ole Miss 566 to 14, with blowout wins in 1894 Vandy by 40, 1902 by 29, 1903, by 33, 1904, by 69, 1906 by 29, 1907, by 60, 1908 by 29, 1911, by 21, 1912, by 24, the biggest margin of defeat Ole Miss suffered was 1915 by 91, 1916 Vandy won by 35.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Game summaries, Ole Miss
They did not play every year until 1945 the 25 games were played in Tennessee 5 in Memphis and 20 in Nashville. 1948 the first game was played in Oxford, Vandy lost 7–20. From 1955 to 1962 Ole Miss shutout Vandy 7 times from 1945 to 1967 they played 20 years in a row Vandys record was 5–15–2. Since 1970 Vandy and Ole Miss has played every year (43 times), Vandy is 13–30–0. Since 2005 Vandy has won 6 games and the last 3 is the longest for Vandy since 1949 to 1951. The scoring has almost evened out through the years as Vandy has 1556 = 17.9 ppg and Ole Miss with 1610 = 18.5 ppg.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
Vanderbilt and rival Tennessee have played 107 games first meeting was 1892 playing most every year from 1900 only missing only a few years, however since 1945 they have played every year (68 times). Vandy trails 29–73–5. In 1927 Vandy was 19–2–3 since the Vols has taken over with a record of 59–8–2. Vanderbilt has been shut out 22 times and shut out UT 15 games. The most points for Vandy is (76) 1913 76-0 and UT's most points is (65) 1994 Vandy lost 0–65 the year before Vandy lost 14–62. The game on November 17, 2012, was the first time that Vanderbilt beat UT at home in 30 years. The Vanderbilt win was the largest margin of victory in the series since 1954 when Vandy won 26–0.


2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
Wake Forest and Vanderbilt have played 14 times. Vandy leads 8–6, and the first meeting was in 1964.


2012 Vanuatuan general election
General elections were held in Vanuatu on 30 October 2012. The previous elections to the 52-member Parliament of Vanuatu were held in 2008. The largest parties in this election were the socialist Vanua'aku Party, which won 11 seats, and the social-democratic National United Party (8 seats). Thirteen other parties as well as four independents won parliamentary seats. As a result, Edward Natapei of the Vanua'aku Party was able to become the Prime Minister. Since then, both Serge Vohor of the conservative Union of Moderate Parties and Sato Kilman of the People's Progress Party have held that position, with Kilman being the incumbent Prime Minister of Vanuatu at the time of the 2012 election.


2012 Vanuatuan general election, Electoral system
The 52 members of Parliament will be elected in 17 multi-member constituencies, using the single non-transferable vote.


2012 Vanuatuan general election, Electoral system
Candidates had to be at least 25 years old, and could not have an undischarged prison sentence or bankruptcy. They also required the support of at least five registered voters in their constituency, and had to put down a non-refundable 50,000 vatu deposit. The President, judges, magistrates, civil servants, police officers, teachers and members of the National Council of Chiefs were all ineligible for election to Parliament.


2012 Vanuatuan general election, Campaign
346 candidates from 32 political parties contested the 52 seats.


2012 Vanuatuan general election, Campaign
There were 344 polling stations throughout the country, including 12 in the capital city, Port Vila. Over 192,000 citizens were eligible to vote in the 2012 election, with 34,998 registered voters in the capital city.


2012 Vanuatuan general election, Campaign
The election was being observed by representatives from Australia, China, the European Union and the United States, as well as the High Commissioner of New Zealand to Vanuatu, Bill Dobie. The international observers will submit a report on the election to the Vanuatuan government once the election is completed.


2012 Vanuatuan general election, Conduct
Following the election, Attorney General Ishmael Kalsakau alleged that three ministers, including Moana Carcasses Kalosil, engaged in vote buying to secure several seats in Port Vila.


2012 Varsity Rugby
The 2012 Varsity Cup was contested from 6 February to 9 April 2012. The tournament (also known as the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-university rugby union competition featuring eight South African universities.


2012 Varsity Rugby
The tournament was won by  UP Tuks for the first time; they beat  Maties 29–21 in the final played on 9 April 2012. TUT Vikings were automatically relegated to the second-tier Varsity Shield competition for 2013, but  UCT Ikey Tigers won their relegation play-off match against  CUT Ixias to remain in the Varsity Cup for 2013.


2012 Varsity Rugby, Scoring
All four 2012 Varsity Rugby competitions will use a different scoring system to the regular system. Tries will be worth five points as usual, but conversions will be worth three points, while penalties and drop goals will only be worth two points.


2012 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Cup, Competition Rules
There are eight participating universities in the 2012 Varsity Cup. These teams will play each other once over the course of the season, either home or away.


2012 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Cup, Competition Rules
Teams receive four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points are awarded to teams that score four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lose a match by seven points or less. Teams are ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2012 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Cup, Competition Rules
The top four teams will qualify for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finishes first will have home advantage against the team that finishes fourth, while the team that finishes second will have home advantage against the team that finishes third. The winners of these semi-finals will play each other in the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.


2012 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Cup, Competition Rules
The team that finishes eighth in the Varsity Cup will be relegated to the 2013 Varsity Shield. The team that finishes seventh in the Varsity Cup will play a promotion/relegation match against the second-placed Varsity Shield team for a place in the 2013 Varsity Cup.


2012 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Cup, Teams
The following teams took part in the 2012 Varsity Cup competition:


2012 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Shield, Competition Rules
There are five participating universities in the 2012 Varsity Shield. These teams will play each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.


2012 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Shield, Competition Rules
Teams receive four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points are awarded to teams that score four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lose a match by seven points or less. Teams are ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2012 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Shield, Competition Rules
The top two teams will qualify for the title play-offs. The team that finishes first will have home advantage against the team that finishes second.


2012 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Shield, Competition Rules
The team that wins the Varsity Shield will be promoted to the 2013 Varsity Cup.


2012 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Shield, Competition Rules
The team that loses in the play-off final will play a promotion/relegation match against the seventh placed Varsity Cup team for a place in the 2013 Varsity Cup.


2012 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Shield, Competition Rules
The team that finishes bottom might also be challenged to play in a play-off.


2012 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Shield, Squads
The following players made at least one matchday squad during the season:


2012 Varsity Rugby, Young Guns, Competition Rules
There are eight participating universities in the 2012 Young Guns competition. These teams are divided into two pools (the FNB pool and the Steinhoff pool) and will play the other teams in the pool once over the course of the season, either home or away.


2012 Varsity Rugby, Young Guns, Competition Rules
Teams receive four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points are awarded to teams that score four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lose a match by seven points or less. Teams are ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2012 Varsity Rugby, Young Guns, Competition Rules
The top two teams in each pool will qualify for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the teams that finish first will have home advantage against the teams that finish second in their respective pools. The winners of these semi-finals will play each other in the final.


2012 Varsity Rugby, Koshuis Rugby Championship, Competition Rules
There are eight participating teams in the 2012 Koshuis Rugby Championship - the winners of the internal leagues of each of the eight Varsity Cup teams. These teams are divided into two pools (the Penny Pinchers pool and the Hertz pool) and will play the other teams in the pool once over the course of the season, either home or away.


2012 Varsity Rugby, Koshuis Rugby Championship, Competition Rules
Teams receive four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points are awarded to teams that score four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lose a match by seven points or less. Teams are ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2012 Varsity Rugby, Koshuis Rugby Championship, Competition Rules
The top two teams in each pool will qualify for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the teams that finish first will have home advantage against the teams that finish second in their respective pools. The winners of these semi-finals will play each other in the final.


2012 Vattenfall Cyclassics
The 2012 Vattenfall Cyclassics was the 17th running of the Vattenfall Cyclassics single-day cycling race. It was held, in and around Hamburg, Germany, on 19 August over a distance of 245.9 kilometres (152.8 miles) and was the twenty-third race of the 2012 UCI World Tour season.


2012 Vattenfall Cyclassics
In a mass sprint finish, the race was won by FDJ–BigMat rider Arnaud Démare, who became the first French rider to take victory in the event. Démare finished ahead of Lotto–Belisol's André Greipel, and RadioShack–Nissan's Giacomo Nizzolo, who completed the podium.


2012 Vattenfall Cyclassics, Teams
As the Vattenfall Cyclassics was a UCI World Tour event, all 18 UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad. Two other squads – Argos–Shimano and Team NetApp – were given wildcard places into the race, and as such, formed the event's 20-team peloton.


2012 Vegalta Sendai season
The 2012 Vegalta Sendai season was Vegalta Sendai's third consecutive season, and fifth overall, in J.League Division 1. They ended the season in second place, an all-time best finish for Sendai. Vegalta Sendai also competed in the 2012 Emperor's Cup and 2012 J.League Cup, finishing in the Third Round and the Quarterfinals respectively.


2012 Veikkausliiga
The 2012 Veikkausliiga is the eighty-second season of top-tier football in Finland. It began on 15 April 2012 and ended on 27 October 2012. HJK Helsinki were the defending champions and successfully defended their title.


2012 Veikkausliiga, Teams
RoPS were relegated to Ykkönen after finishing at the bottom of the 2011 season. Their place was taken by Ykkönen champions FC Lahti.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Venezuela on 7 October 2012 to choose a president for a six-year term beginning in January 2013.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election
After the approval of a constitutional amendment in 2009 that abolished term limits, incumbent Hugo Chávez, representing the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) was able to present himself again as a candidate after his re-election in 2006. His main challenger was Henrique Capriles, Governor of Miranda, representing Justice First. The candidates were backed by opposing electoral coalitions; Chávez by the Great Patriotic Pole (Gran Polo Patriótico, GPP), and Capriles by the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD). There were four more candidates from different parties. Capriles ran an energetic campaign, and visited each of the country's states. Throughout his campaign, Capriles remained confident that he could win the election and be the country's next President. However, Chávez consistently led most established polls, generally by large margins. In the end, his popularity remained high, and went to win the election by a comfortable margin.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election
Chávez was elected for a fourth term as President of Venezuela with 55.07% of the popular vote, ahead of the 44.31% of Capriles. The elections showed a historically high turnout, above 80% of the electorate, in a country where voting is not mandatory. Although Chávez did not win the election with a huge landslide as he had previously done in 2006, his 11-point victory over his opponent was decisive. Capriles conceded defeat as the preliminary results were known. Chávez died only two months into his fourth term.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Electoral process
Since 1998 elections in Venezuela have been highly automated, and administered by a non-partisan National Electoral Council, with poll workers drafted via a lottery of registered voters. Polling places are equipped with multiple high-tech touch-screen DRE voting machines, one to a "mesa electoral", or voting "table". After the vote is cast, each machine prints out a paper ballot, or VVPAT, which is inspected by the voter and deposited in a ballot box belonging to the machine's table. The voting machines perform in a stand-alone fashion, disconnected from any network until the polls close. Voting session closure at each of the voting stations in a given polling center is determined either by the lack of further voters after the lines have emptied, or by the hour, at the discretion of the president of the voting table.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Formal registration
On 10 June 2012, Capriles walked to the election commission to formally register his candidacy, at the head of a march estimated in the hundreds of thousands by international media, while local polling company Hernández Hercon estimated it to between 950,000 and 1,100,000. Capriles had stepped down as Governor of Miranda in early June in order to concentrate on his campaign.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Formal registration, Withdrawals
17 September, opposition candidate Yoel Acosta Chirinos withdrew from presidential election and announced support to president Chavez.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Parties, Patriotic Pole
Incumbent president Hugo Chávez Frías announced he would seek re-election at a University Students' Day rally held in Caracas in November 2010. Chávez' first mandate began in 1999, and if he had served the complete 2013–19 term, he would have served 20 years as president, having won four presidential elections. In July 2011, Chávez reaffirmed his intent to run in spite of his battle with cancer.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Parties, Patriotic Pole
Chávez was supported by the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP), an electoral coalition led by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, PSUV). A member of a GPP collective said to Venezuelanalysis.com that the GPP was created in 2011 to support Chávez' re-election and "formally unites 35,000 Venezuelan movements and collectives" as well as Chávez-supporting political parties.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Parties, Democratic Unity
The opposition parties were grouped in the Democratic Unity Roundtable whose candidate was selected through an open primary election held on 12 February 2012. The MUD electoral coalition consists of the parties Justice First (Movimiento Primero Justicia, PJ), Fatherland for All (Patria Para Todos, PPT), Project Venezuela (Proyecto Venezuela), and Popular Will (Voluntad Popular, VP) as the main supporters of Henrique Capriles in the primary elections of February 2012. Other parties in the coalition include A New Era (Un Nuevo Tiempo, UNT), Democratic Action (Acción Democrática, AD), COPEI (Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente), and Movement to Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS).


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Parties, Democratic Unity, Primary
Former President of the UN Security Council and former Governor Diego Arria of Caracas


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Parties, Democratic Unity, Primary
Former Mayor Leopoldo López of Chacao (Withdrew on 20 February 2012)


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Parties, Democratic Unity, Primary
Capriles won the opposition primaries with 1,900,528 (64.2%) votes of the 3,059,024 votes cast (votes abroad not included). The other candidates on 12 February primary ballot were:


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Parties, Democratic Unity, Primary
Leopoldo López was barred from running following corruption charges which he denied and for which he was never tried; in 2011, the Interamerican Court of Human Rights overturned the Venezuelan government ruling and said he should be allowed to run. On 24 January, placed "in the awkward position of being able to stand for elections but not hold office", he withdrew his candidacy to support Henrique Capriles.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Parties, Democratic Unity, Primary
Candidates César Pérez Vivas (governor of Táchira state), Antonio Ledezma (mayor of the Metropolitan District of Caracas) and Eduardo Fernández (former secretary general of COPEI) withdrew from the race, saying they would support candidates with better chances of winning.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Parties, Democratic Unity, Primary
A dispute erupted over the disposition of the voter rolls, rising out of concern that opposition voters could incur reprisals. Because the names of voters who had participated in the request of the 2004 recall referendum against Chávez had been made public via the Tascón List and, according to opposition leaders, those voters were later targeted for discrimination or lost jobs, the MUD had guaranteed voter secrecy. On Tuesday 14 February, in response to "a losing mayoral candidate, who asked that the ballots be preserved for review", the Supreme Court of Venezuela ordered the military to collect the voting rolls "so that electoral authorities could use them to investigate alleged irregularities during Sunday's elections".


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Parties, Democratic Unity, Primary
An attorney for the opposition said that records are to be destroyed within 48 hours by law. Violence broke out as the opposition attempted to prevent police from collecting the names of voters. One young man, Arnaldo Espinoza, was run over and killed by a police tow truck that backed up suddenly, attempting to separate people who were protecting the vehicle belonging to the vice-president of the regional office for the primary elections in the state of Aragua. Later the opposition declared all voter rolls had been destroyed.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Candidate platforms, Chávez
The GlobalPost says that "housing, health and other programs have been the cornerstone" of President Chávez's tenure, who "remains very popular, largely because of the vast number of social programs he put in place, funded by Venezuela's vast oil wealth". According to The Washington Times, Chávez said the opposition represents "the rich and the U.S. government"; as part of his campaign, he increased social spending and investments to benefit the poor, and plans to launch a satellite made in China before the elections.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Candidate platforms, Capriles
According to Reuters, "Capriles defines himself as a center-left 'progressive' follower of the business-friendly but socially-conscious Brazilian economic model", although he is a member of the center-right Justice First. He has a youthful and populist style, a sports enthusiast who rides a motorbike into the slums, and has broken with the older guard of Venezuelan politicians. Although he comes from a wealthy family, he espouses helping business thrive through a free market while tackling poverty via strong state policies.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Candidate platforms, Capriles
In an interview with the GlobalPost, Capriles said his campaign was based on "improving education, which he sees as a long-term solution to the country's insecurity and deep poverty". In November 2011, in response to claims from Chavez that the opposition would end the Bolivarian Missions if elected, Capriles said "he would be 'mad' to end" projects like Mission Barrio Adentro, adding that "the missions belong to the people". In February 2012 Capriles insisted he would keep these programs, saying "I want to expand them, and get rid of the corruption and inefficiency that characterizes them."


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Candidate platforms, Capriles
In early September 2012 David De Lima, a former governor of Anzoategui, published a document he said showed secret MUD plans to implement much more neoliberal policy, if elected, than their public statements showed. De Lima said the document was a form of policy pact between some of the candidates in the MUD primary, including Capriles. On 6 September 2012 opposition legislator William Ojeda denounced these plans and the "neoliberal obsessions" of his colleagues in the MUD; he was suspended by his A New Era party the following day.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Candidate platforms, Capriles
Capriles said that his signature on the document was a forgery, while the MUD's economic advisor said that the MUD had "no hidden agenda", and that its plans included the "institutionalisation" of the government's Bolivarian Missions so that they would no longer be "subject to the whims of government". Nonetheless, several days later four small parties withdrew from the MUD coalition. One small coalition party claimed De Lima had offered them money to withdraw from the MUD; De Lima denied the claim. On 30 September, another opposition politician, Aldo Carmeno from the Christian-democratic party COPEI, withdrew support for Capriles, and accused Capriles of "double speak" and "tricking the Venezuelan people". Carmeno announced his support for Hugo Chávez.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Campaign
The authority of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) to oversee the election was recognized by the opposition. Chávez said the fairness of the CNE should not be challenged. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) noted Chávez's popularity among poor Venezuelans, and that "Chávez dominates the nation's mass media, and has been spending lavishly on social programs to sway Venezuelan voters". A January poll placed Chávez's approval rating at 64 percent.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Campaign
In May Rafael Poleo, owner and publisher of El Nuevo País, warned in a column in his newspaper that the MUD candidacy was lagging in the polls because it "ignores that in Venezuela voting is emotional ... and that the people vote for hope", adding that "Chavismo has taken the place in the heart of the people which AD and Copei have vacated." He concluded that "going down this road, I can already tell them the outcome."


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Campaign
Capriles criticized Chávez for expropriating private businesses and for the government's use of the state-controlled media; the Washington Times said it will be hard for Capriles to compete with Chávez's "ability to take over the airwaves of all TV and radio stations when he deems appropriate". In June Chávez said he would not engage in an election debate with Capriles, describing him as a "non-entity" he would be "ashamed" to measure himself against.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Campaign, Funding
It has been reported that funds to social programs increased dramatically before the elections, with Chávez devoting 16% of Venezuela's GDP to the initiatives.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Campaign, Chávez's health
Prior to the election, Chávez received treatment for cancer in Cuba including radiation, chemotherapy, and two operations. In a Mass during Easter Week 2012, Chávez wept and asked Jesus Christ to give him life; the Associated Press says that although Chávez often praised socialism and atheism, his cancer caused him to turn to Jesus Christ for inspiration and that "... analysts say his increasing religiosity could pay election-year dividends in a country where Catholicism remains influential". He did not reveal the specifics of the type or location of his cancer, but his illness was a factor in election campaigning.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Campaign, Chávez's health
According to Reuters, some journalists sympathetic to the opposition spread information about Chávez's cancer based on claims that they have access to medical sources. Amid speculation about whether he will live through the elections, there was no clear successor. CNN stated "outlines" of a successor were seen in the appointments of two Chávez allies to top posts; Diosdado Cabello as president of the National Assembly of Venezuela and Henry Rangel Silva as minister of defense. Reuters said additional potential successors or placeholders include Chávez's two daughters and Nicolás Maduro, foreign minister.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Campaign, Chávez's health
The Venezuelan constitution provides for the president to appoint vice presidents at his discretion, and for the vice president to assume power in the event of the president's death, but according to CNN, the more likely scenarios range "from a military coup to Chavez naming Cabello or Maduro vice president before he dies." CNN also says that analysts say Cuban politics have a role in the succession questions, with some Cubans supporting the president's brother, Adán Chávez; trained militia in Venezuela may also be a factor if there was a succession crisis.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Campaign, Chávez's health
From mid-April to late May 2012, Chávez was only seen in public twice, spending almost six weeks in Cuba for treatment. On 7 May, he responded to criticism that he had left Venezuela in a power vacuum, saying he would be back soon. On 22 May he took part in a live broadcast of a cabinet meeting lasting several hours. He created a new Council of State, fueling rumors that it would act as a committee to help in the event a transition of government is needed.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Campaign, Allegations
In February 2012 Capriles was subject to what were characterized in the press as "vicious" and "anti-semitic" attacks by state-run media sources. The Wall Street Journal said that Capriles "was vilified in a campaign in Venezuela's state-run media, which insinuated he was, among other things, a homosexual and a Zionist agent". These comments were in response to an opinion piece on the website of the state-owned Radio Nacional de Venezuela, published on 13 February 2012, and to allegations broadcast on La Hojilla relating to an alleged sexual incident in 2000.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Campaign, Allegations
Titled "The Enemy is Zionism" the Radio Nacional opinion piece noted Capriles' Jewish ancestry and a meeting he had held with local Jewish leaders, saying: "This is our enemy, the Zionism that Capriles today represents ... Zionism, along with capitalism, are responsible for 90% of world poverty and imperialist wars." Capriles is the grandson of Jewish Holocaust survivors and a self-professed devout Catholic. The United States-based organisations Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Anti- Defamation League condemned the attacks and voiced concern to Chávez, who vowed in 2009 to punish incidents of anti-Semitism.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Campaign, Allegations
In early July 2012 Capriles published a document allegedly showing that the government had ordered all military personnel not to view private television networks. The publication coincided with a Capriles political ad aimed at the military; the document was alleged by state-run news agency Agencia Venezolana de Noticias to be a crude forgery, showing the document alongside the original and highlighting the changes, with Chávez himself repeating the analysis of the document on television.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Campaign, Allegations
Based on non-classified military order 4926 from September 2011, the document had been redated to 31 July but was published several weeks before that date, still bearing the original signature of the minister of defense in September 2011, Carlos José Mata Figueroa (who had been replaced in January 2012). The document bore the original document number, and had the "not classified" stamps replaced with "confidential", but retained the original "NOCLAS" ("not classified") classification mark. The source of the document was not identified, but Chávez said that it was "nothing new that [the opposition] forges documents and invents things that never happened".


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Opinion polls
According to Reuters, "Polls are historically controversial in Venezuela", pointing out that "Venezuelan pollsters – who range from a former Chavez minister to an openly pro-opposition figure – also tend to double as political analysts, offering partisan opinions in state media or opposition-linked newspapers." In addition, it said that "As in previous elections, a proliferation of little-known public opinion firms with no discernable track record have emerged from obscurity promoting polls that appear to openly favor one candidate or the other."


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Opinion polls
In June 2012 most pollsters showed Capriles behind by at least 15 percentage points, and intention to vote for Chávez slowly increasing since the end of 2011. One firm, Hinterlaces, was accused by Capriles of publishing "bogus polls". The Chavez campaign accused Datanalisis and Consultores 21 of inventing polls to support opposition plans to claim fraud in the event of defeat.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Opinion polls
Although the poll results vary widely, most of the variation is by pollster; results from individual pollsters are quite stable over time. Of the established Venezuelan pollsters, Consultores 21 and Varianzas have consistently shown a close race, while IVAD, GIS XXI, Datanalisis and Hinterlaces have consistently given Chávez a 10 to 20-point lead.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Opinion polls
In June the CNE required pollsters publishing polls relating to the election to register with them, and to provide details of their methodology. The list of registered pollsters is available online.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Conduct
In March 2012, at a Capriles rally, a group of armed men began firing guns "in an apparent effort to break up the rally". According to news reports, five people were injured, including the son of an opposition member of the National Assembly of Venezuela. Capriles was subsequently taken safely from the scene. Journalists for TV channel Globovisión had been covering the rally; according to reporter Sasha Ackerman, both she and her cameraman were threatened by the armed men, who confiscated their equipment and footage of the shootings.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Conduct
A Globovisión statement the next day identified the armed men as PSUV supporters, saying "These groups wore red shirts identifying them with a political tendency. More importantly, it was an armed and organized group that fired weapons against people". Venezuela's justice minister, Tarek El Aissami, said that the attacks were perpetrated by opposition supporters "to generate this show", while some government sources said that Capriles' bodyguards "were the ones to start shooting". The state news service Agencia Venezolana de Noticias reported that a local resident said that a group of individuals arrived on motorbikes, changed from yellow shirts to red in front of her house, and began shooting.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Conduct
There have also been reports of opposition supporters attacking journalists at opposition campaign events, including reporters for local public station Catatumbo Television at an event in Zulia, and reporters for VTV at events in Aragua, Tachira and Barinas. Capriles subsequently told journalists "I'm against any type of violence, no matter where it comes from."


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Conduct
PSUV politician Diosdado Cabello declared that Chávez was the only one who could guarantee peace. He added: "those who want fatherland will go with Chávez; those who are traitors will go with the others". He also said that if the opposition wins, it would take the measures of the IMF.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Conduct, Alleged plots
On 20 March Chávez declared he had intelligence reports about an alleged plot to assassinate Capriles, and said the government was monitoring security for Capriles, with the Director of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service meeting with Capriles' security team. Capriles responded that what the government should do is to guarantee security for all Venezuelans. Chávez said that his government "has nothing to do with" the plot, and according to Reuters, "implied that the plot came from elements in the opposition". Capriles' campaign manager said the announcement was intended to force a change in Capriles' house-by-house campaigning style. In the 2006 presidential election, Chávez similarly declared he had uncovered an assassination plot against his opponent, Manuel Rosales.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Conduct, Alleged plots
Later that same month, Chávez claimed the existence of an opposition plot to disrupt the election with violence and "attack ... the constitution, the people and institutions". Of the "list of actions" he said he was preparing in response, Chávez said he was willing to nationalise banks or companies that supported the opposition should they "[violate] the constitution and the national plan."


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Conduct, Alleged plots
In April, Chávez said Capriles was behind a conspiracy plan against his government. Reiterating that he would win with at least 70% of the votes, Chávez said that he had created a civil-military command to neutralize any "destabilization plans" in the event that the opposition did not recognise the results. In reference to the events of April 2002, Chávez said that if necessary, "there would not just be the people on the streets, but the people and soldiers".


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Results, Close states
Red font color denotes states won by President Chávez; blue denotes those won by Governor Capriles.


2012 Venezuelan presidential election, Results, Close states
States where margin of victory was more than 5% but less than 10%:


2012 Venezuelan regional elections
Regional elections were held in Venezuela on 16 December 2012 to elect state governors and state legislators. The result was a victory for the ruling United Socialist Party, which won the governorships of 20 of the 23 states, an increase from the 18 won in the 2008 elections. Voter turnout was 53%.


2012 Ventforet Kofu season
The 2012 Ventforet Kofu season sees Ventforet Kofu return to J.League Division 2 after being relegated from Division 1. This is their 36th non-consecutive season in the second tier of Japanese football, the longest number of seasons for a club in the division. Ventforet Kofu are also competing in the 2012 Emperor's Cup.


2012 Ventforet Kofu season
After 36 seasons of tries, Ventforet Kofu won their first second-tier title.


2012 Venus Jupiter Mercury conjunction
The 2012 Venus–Jupiter–Mercury conjunction, was an astronomical conjunction that occurred on February 25, 2012 between the Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter, forming a triple conjunction. It was globally observed in the western sky soon after sunset.


2012 Venus Jupiter Mercury conjunction
On March 13, Venus and Jupiter re-entered conjunction, and five astrological signs (zodiac constellations) were globally visible, all around sunset local time.


2012 Venus Jupiter Mercury conjunction
As the Venus and Jupiter conjunction continued to converge through March 2012, three other planets became visible. Mercury, Mars, and Saturn. Mercury was visible just above the western horizon soon after sunset. Mars was visible in the eastern sky, from the Northern Hemisphere.


2012 Venus Jupiter Mercury conjunction, Venus Jupiter conjunction
On March 15, 2012, Venus and Jupiter drew to within 3 degrees of each other.


2012 Venus Jupiter Mercury conjunction, Venus Jupiter conjunction
A similar conjunction happened in May 2013, but with less visibility.


2012 Vermont elections
Vermont's 2012 general elections were held on November 6, 2012. Primary elections were held on August 28, 2012.


2012 Vermont elections, Governor
Incumbent Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin (since 2011) ran for re-election.


2012 Vermont elections, Lieutenant governor
Republican incumbent Phil Scott, who has held the position of Lieutenant Governor (since 2011) ran for re-election.


2012 Vermont elections, Lieutenant governor
Cassandra Gekas, the former health care advocate for the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Scott. Marjorie Power, an attorney and former member of the Montpelier City Council who unsuccessfully challenged Scott as the Progressive nominee in 2010, is running again; however, Power may withdraw if Gekas receives the Progressive Party endorsement.


2012 Vermont elections, Secretary of State
Democratic incumbent Jim Condos, who has held the position of Secretary of State of Vermont since 2011, is currently running unopposed in the primary as well as the general elections. Condos has also been nominated by the Progressive Party.


2012 Vermont elections, Secretary of State
Liberty Union Party candidate Mary Alice Herbert was the sole declared candidate opposing Condos. She declined to debate Condos.


2012 Vermont elections, Secretary of State
Condos received 86.6% of the votes cast for the office of SoS.


2012 Vermont elections, Treasurer
Democratic incumbent Beth Pearce, who was appointed to the position of Vermont State Treasurer in 2011, was elected to her first full term.


2012 Vermont elections, Treasurer
Wendy Wilton, the Rutland City Treasurer and former State Representative, was the Republican nominee. Don Schramm, a retired businessman, was the Progressive nominee for the third election in a row.


2012 Vermont elections, Attorney general
Incumbent William Sorrell, who had held the position of Vermont Attorney General since 1997, ran for re-election and defeated T. J. Donovan for the Democratic nomination.


2012 Vermont elections, Attorney general
For the general election, Jack McMullen, a businessman who ran for the U.S. Senate in 1998 and 2004, was the Republican nominee. Ed Stanak, a retired state employee and former president of the Vermont State Employees Union, was the Progressive candidate. Rosemarie Jackowski was on the ballot as the nominee of the Liberty Union Party.


2012 Vermont elections, Attorney general
In the general election, Sorrell won another term. The results were:


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor
On May 18, 2012, incumbent Auditor Thomas M. Salmon announced he would not be running for re-election.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State Senate
All 30 members of the Vermont Senate are up for election. The state Senate currently consists of 20 Democrats, 8 Republicans, and 2 Progressives (who caucus with the Democratic majority).


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State Senate
Essex-Orleans: Republican incumbent Vincent Illuzzi is running for state Auditor.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State Senate
Franklin: Republican incumbent Randy Brock is running for Governor. Democratic incumbent Sara Kittell is retiring.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
All 150 members of the Vermont House of Representatives are up for election. The state House currently consists of 94 Democrats, 48 Republicans, 5 Progressives (who caucus with the Democratic majority), and 3 Independents (who also caucus with the Democratic majority).


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
Caledonia-2: Democratic incumbent and House Majority Leader Lucy Leriche is retiring.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
Chittenden-6-3 (Chittenden-3-3 prior to redistricting): Democratic incumbent Jason Lorber is retiring.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
Chittenden-6-7 (Chittenden-3-6 prior to redistricting): Democratic incumbent Kenneth Atkins is retiring.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
Chittenden-7-4 (Chittenden-3-9 prior to redistricting): Democratic incumbent Bert Munger is retiring.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
Franklin-2 (Franklin-1 prior to redistricting): Democratic incumbent Gary Gilbert is retiring.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
Franklin-3-1 (Franklin-3 prior to redistricting): Republican incumbent Dustin Allard Degree is seeking a state Senate seat.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
Franklin-5 (Franklin-6 prior to redistricting): Republican incumbent Norman H. McAllister is seeking a state Senate seat.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
Franklin-6 (Franklin-2 prior to redistricting): Democratic incumbent Richard Howrigan is retiring.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
Lamoille-3 (Lamoille-4 prior to redistricting): Republican incumbent Adam Howard is retiring.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
Orleans-1: Republican incumbent Robert Lewis is seeking a state Senate seat.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
Rutland-6 (Rutland-7 prior to redistricting): Republican incumbent Joe Acinapura is retiring.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
Windham-2-3 (Windham-3-3 prior to redistricting): Progressive incumbent Sarah Edwards is retiring.


2012 Vermont elections, Auditor, General Assembly, State House of Representatives
Windsor-4-2 (Windsor-6-2 prior to redistricting): Democratic incumbent Charles Bohi is retiring.


2012 Vermont gubernatorial election
The 2012 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012, to elect the Governor of Vermont. Incumbent Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin won re-election to a second term, making this the only one of his gubernatorial elections in which he won a majority of the vote. In his 2010 and 2014 races, the Vermont General Assembly was required to choose a winner in accordance with the state constitution, because no candidate won a majority.


2012 Vic Open
The 2012 Vic Open was held from December 13 to 16 at the Club de curling Victoria in Quebec City, Quebec as part of the 2012–13 World Curling Tour. The event was held in a round robin format, and the purse for the event was CAD$10,000, of which the winner, Simon Dupuis, received CAD$1,800. Dupuis defeated Philippe Lemay in the final with a score of 8–6.


2012 Vic Open, Teams
Though the event is listed on the men's World Curling Tour, one women's team, skipped by Marie-France Larouche, was allowed to participate.


2012 Viccourt Cup
The 2012 Viccourt Cup was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 1st edition of the tournament and was part of the 2012 ITF Women's Circuit. It took place in Donetsk, Ukraine, between 16 and 22 July 2012.


2012 Viccourt Cup, WTA entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Viccourt Cup – Doubles
Lyudmyla Kichenok and Nadiya Kichenok won the title defeating Valentyna Ivakhnenko and Kateryna Kozlova in the final 6–2, 7–5.


2012 Viccourt Cup – Singles
Vesna Dolonc won the title, defeating Maria João Koehler in the final, 6–2, 6–3.


2012 Victoria Cup
The 2012 Victoria Cup was a cancelled rugby tournament, originally scheduled to be played  in June and July 2012 as the third Victoria Cup involving the national teams from Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda.


2012 Victoria Cup
The tournament was cancelled after Uganda withdrew due to financial difficulties, and was not revived until 2019. The only fixtures played in 2012 were the home and away Elgon Cup matches between Kenya and Uganda. All fixtures involving Zimbabwe were cancelled.


2012 Victoria Cup, Schedule
The original schedule was for home and away fixtures in a double round-robin involving all three teams.


2012 Victoria Curling Classic Invitational
The 2012 Victoria Curling Classic Invitational was held at the Archie Browning Sports Centre in Victoria, British Columbia from March 29 to April 1 as part of the 2011–12 World Curling Tour. The purse for the men's and women's events was CAD$72,000 and CAD$18,000, respectively.


2012 Victorian Premier League
The 2012 Victorian Premier League was the one-hundredth season of the top tier of club football in Victoria. The home and away season commenced on 23 March 2012. Green Gully were the defending champions. Dandenong Thunder defeated Oakleigh Cannons in the Grand Final, becoming the first side in thirty one years to secure a Victorian football treble, having won the State Knockout Cup, VPL League Title and their first VPL Grand Final this year.


2012 Victorian Premier League, Teams
On 16 December 2011, Whittlesea Zebras announced it would change its name to Moreland Zebras effective this season.


2012 Victorian Premier League, Promotion and relegation
Teams promoted from Victorian State League Division 1:(After the end of the 2011 season.)


2012 Victorian Premier League, Promotion and relegation
Teams relegated to Victorian State League Division 1:(After the end of the 2011 season.)


2012 Victorian Premier League, Regular season
The Victorian Premier League 2012 season was played over 22 rounds, beginning on 23 March and concluding on 16 September 2012, followed by the final series.


2012 Victorino Cunha Cup
The Victorino Cunha Cup is an annual Angolan basketball tournament held in honour of former Angolan basketball coach Victorino Cunha. The 4th edition (2012), ran from October 15 to 17, and was contested by four teams in a round robin system. Primeiro de Agosto was the winner.


2012 Victory Bowl
The 2012 Victory Bowl was a college football bowl game played on November 17, 2012 at Francis Field in Greenville, Illinois. It featured the Northwestern Eagles against the Greenville Panthers. The Panthers won 28-27 in overtime. It was Greenville's first Victory Bowl win after three previous losses. It was Northwestern's sixth Victory Bowl appearance.


2012 Victory Bowl, Game play, First quarter
The game was scoreless in the first period, with Northwestern punting three times and Greenville turning it over twice on downs.


2012 Victory Bowl, Game play, Second quarter
Northwestern got the scoring started after a Greenville fumble early in the second quarter. Two plays later, Josh Balzer connected with Brian Lecheler for an 88-yard touchdown strike. The Eagles then capped a 66-yard drive with a two-yard TD pass from Balzer to Lecheler with 15 seconds remaining in the half for a 14-0 lead.


2012 Victory Bowl, Game play, Third quarter
Greenville opened the second half with a scoring after Brendan Chambers ran nine yards for a touchdown after a 74-yard scoring drive. Following a Northwestern three-and-out, the Panthers had an 80-yard touchdown pass of their own as Chambers found Anthony Gonzalez to tie the game at 14. Both teams traded punts and fumbles for the rest of the quarter without any scoring.


2012 Victory Bowl, Game play, Fourth quarter
After being pinned at their own 1-yard line, Greenville put together a 99-yard drive resulting a two-yard touchdown run by Justin Honeycutt for the Panthers' first lead of the game. Greenville threw an interception on its next drive, and Northwestern scored on the ensuing possession with a Tim Youtzy two-yard run with 4:10 left to tie the game at 21. Both teams threw interceptions late in the game, and Greenville missed a 27-yard field goal as time expired, sending the game to overtime.


2012 Victory Bowl, Game play, Overtime
Greenville won the coin toss and elected to kick off. Youtzy capped an eight-play Northwestern drive with a one-yard TD run, but Ethan Zepp choked worse than Shaq’s girlfriend on prom night, and his PAT failed. Greenville took five plays to get into the end zone on its possession, with Chambers' three-yard touchdown tying the game. Frewin's point-after was successful to win the game for the Panthers, 28-27.


2012 Vietnam Open Grand Prix
The 2012 Vietnam Open Grand Prix was the ninth grand prix gold and grand prix tournament of the 2012 BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix. The tournament was held in Phan Dinh Phung Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from August 20 until August 26, 2012 and had a total purse of $50,000.


2012 Vietnamese Cup
The 2012 Vietnamese Cup was the 20th edition of the Vietnamese Cup. It started on 18 December 2011 and finished on 29 August 2012.


2012 Vietnamese Cup, Semi-finals
1 In April, Sai gon were renamed Sài Gòn Xuân Thành


2012 Vietnamese National Football First League
The 2012 Vietnamese National Football First League season was the 18th season of Vietnam's professional football league. It began on 30 December 2011 and finished on 18 August 2012.


2012 Vietnamese Super Cup
The 2012 PV Gas Vietnamese Super Cup Final was the 14th edition of the Vietnamese Super Cup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's V-League and Vietnamese Cup competitions.


2012 Villaggio Mall fire
The 2012 Villaggio Mall fire occurred at 11:30 on May 28, 2012 in Villaggio Mall, Doha, Qatar. The fire left at least 19 people dead and another 17 were injured. The fire is reported as having started in the facility's nursery, and 13 of the victims were children. Five people were found guilty Thursday of death by negligence after a Doha mall blaze; a spokesman said.


2012 Villaggio Mall fire
Sheikh Ali Bin Jasim Bin Al Thani, and his wife giving 6 years in jail and they ordered to pay victims' families blood money. The Villaggio Mall was set to be reopened in 20 September, 2012.


2012 Villaggio Mall fire, Fire
The fire was started in the Gympanzee daycare with electrical fault in 11:05. A few moments later, a fire quickly spread through the Luxurious Doha shopping mall before the police and the firefighters coming. In 11:34, there are so many Doha firefighters started to extinguishing a fire inside Doha shopping mall blaze.


2012 Villanova Wildcats football team
The 2012 Villanova Wildcats football team represented Villanova University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 28th-year head coach Andy Talley and played their home games at Villanova Stadium. They are a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). They finished the season 8–4, 6–2 in CAA play. Due to Old Dominion (7–1 in CAA play) being ineligible for the CAA title, the Wildcats finished in a four-way tie for the CAA championship. They received the CAA's automatic bid into the FCS playoffs where they lost in the first round to Stony Brook.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games
The 2012 Vintage Yachting Games was the second post-Olympic multi-class sailing event for discontinued Olympic classes. The event was held on 7–14 July 2012 on Lake Como in Italy. The organization of this event was in the hands of the Multilario, a joint venture of local yacht clubs at Lake Como. The Vintage Yachting Games Organization (VYGO) was the governing organization. A total of 225 sailors in 113 boats from 17 countries competed in seven Vintage Yachting Classes


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Prologue, Bid process
Multilario as organizer was chosen after a bidding process in the summer of 2008. The two other contestants were Yacht Club Cannes for the Mediterranean and Hungarian Yachting Federation for Lake Balaton. Multilario responded enthusiastic on the request of Alberto Barenghi, President of the International Flying Dutchman Class Organization and chairman of the Vintage Yachting Games Organization's Supervisory board, for candidate Lake Como as host for the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games and submitted an extensive proposal based on the bidding template to the Vintage Yachting Games Organization. It was this proposal the voting classes based their vote on.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Prologue, Bid process
Only one voting round was needed to determine the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games location. In the voting process the Vintage Olympic Classes of 2008 each class could cast one vote and each vote counted as one. The potential 2012 classes could also each cast one vote but the outcome of the potential classes counted as one in the total.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Prologue, Kick-off and preparation
The Kick-off for the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games project was given on Sunday 17 May 2009 in Gravedona, Italy, during a dinner at the Associazione Velica Alto Lario. Present were the management of the Vintage Yachting Games Organization and Multilario.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Prologue, Kick-off and preparation
A yearly meeting was held between the Vintage Yachting Games Organization and Multilario to evaluate the progress of the preparation.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Vintage, Venues
For the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games several venues were used to cater for the several Vintage Yachting Classes.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Vintage, Venues
All of them located on the east coats of the Northern part of Lake Como, Italy.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Vintage, Wind conditions
The Northern part of Lake Como was reportedly a thermic wind venue. In this time of year the normal situation is that at about 13:00 the Swiss mountains are heated up and a Southern wind hits the racing areas with about 10 to 14 knots. As result of this no races were scheduled in the morning. Unfortunately during the event the temperature was low in Switzerland during the Vintage. As result the actual wind did not came above the 8 knots during the races.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Vintage, Calendar
The program of the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games was as follows:


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Vintage, Measurement
Measurement during the Vintage Yachting Games was limited to new sails and safety equipment of the competing boats. Sails, rigging and boats used in the previous year at Continental and World championships was only "stamped". No major measurement issues were found.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Vintage, Opening ceremony
Due to the fact of three locations: Bellano, Dervio and Santa Cecilia harbor, it was not possible to have the original planned fleet review. As alternative a fanfare followed by a long parade of sailors and organizers walked from the Dervio city hall to the Vintage meeting point near the waterfront. There the opening ceremony of the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games took place. Besides the Italian National Anthem two choirs of Italian Opera singers sung Va, pensiero from Verdi during the flag hoisting procedure. Furthermore there were short speeches from The Vintage Yachting Games Organization, the representatives of Bellano and Dervio, the organizing clubs and the Italian Sailing Federation. Finally Alberto Barenghi, president of the International Flying Dutchman Organization and chairman of the Vintage Yachting Games supervisory board declared the games opened.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Vintage, Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony started with the Vintage InterPares race in the 12' Dinghies. This was followed by the prize giving with the team of father and daughter Maccari as presentation duo.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Vintage, Closing ceremony
During the closing of the event Rudy den Outer handed over stainless remembrance plates with the Vintage logo to the cities of Bellano and Dervio. He also announced that "Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy", host of this year's Olympic sailing regatta, will be the host of the 2016 Vintage Yachting Games. After that the Vintage flag was received from Pietro Adamoli and Carlo Bossi, representing the Multilario organization. The flag was subsequently handed over to John Best representing Great Britain as the next host country.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Vintage, Media coverage
The official photographer of the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games was Silvio Sandonini.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Sailing
Races in all events were sailed in a fleet racing format of nine scheduled races. The contestants raced around a course in one group, and each boat earned a score equal conform the bonus point system. The five best scores for each boat were summed up for the overall score. Due to wind conditions not all scheduled races could be sailed.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Sailing, Reports per event
Per class separate pages reporting the facts are available (see the details section per class in the medals table).


2012 Vintage Yachting Games, Sailing, Report Vintage InterPares race
By crossing an Italian colored ribbon Yevhen Braslavets, the responsible person of the victorious Ukrainian Dragon Bunker Prince, won the Vintage InterPares race 2012. In this race all winners of the Vintage Yachting Games meet each other in a battle between the classes. This race is held in the 12' Dinghy, an Olympic class in 1920 and 1928. This class is still very active in 10 countries including The Netherlands, Italy and Japan. For privacy reasons the rest of the finishing order will remain a secret. The International Dragon Class will be "THE" Vintage Yachting Class for the next four years.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – 5.5 Metre
The 5.5 Metre was an event on the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games program at Lake Como,  Italy. Five out of the nine scheduled race were entered. 45 sailors, on 15 boats, from 7 nations entered.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – 5.5 Metre, Race area and Course
Of the three Campo's (Race Area's) available for the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games at Lake Como Campo Alpha was used for the 5.5 Metre event. In general this Campo is situated in North of Dervio.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – 5.5 Metre, Race area and Course
For the 2012 edition of the Vintage Yachting Games three different courses were available. The 5.5 Metre could use only course 2.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – 5.5 Metre, Wind conditions
The Northern part of Lake Como was reportedly a thermic wind venue. In this time of year the normal situation is that at about 13:00 the Swiss mountains are heated up and a Southern wind hits the racing areas with about 10 to 14 knots. As result of this no races were scheduled in the morning. Unfortunately during the event the temperatures in Switzerland were low. Also was the thermal South breeze battling with the gradient wind from the North. As result the actual wind did not came above the 8 knots during the races and was instable at times.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – 5.5 Metre, Wind conditions
Campo Alpha has normally a tendency to have a slightly higher wind speed than Campo Charlie this due to the fact that it is more Northern than Charlie so that the Southern thermal breeze is strengthened.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – 5.5 Metre, Races, Summary
In the 5.5 Metre five out of the planned nine races were completed.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – 5.5 Metre, Races, Summary
The fleet of the 5.5 Metre (Olympic between 1952 – 1968) was very impressive. With 15 boats racing it was not the largest fleet but the size of the boats and the sail area made the class very present at Lake Como. Since all 5.5’s are built from a different design, the speed of each boat can differ as well. But the racing remained close and competitive. The class had chosen to bring the classic designs to the Vintage. This means boats designed in their Olympic period from 1952 to 1968.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – 5.5 Metre, Races, Summary
The choice of design period for the next Vintage is still open. The races went between William Borel, Yves Duclos-Grenet, Adrien Baumelle, from France, Anders Nordman, Robert Segercrantz, Johan Hjelt, from Finland and the team of Olympian Hubert Reich, Dr. Wolfgang Oehler, Christian Hemmerich, from Germany sailing in their Olympic boat from 1964. In the end the Finnish team took the gold followed by the German team of “Biwi” Reich.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Dragon
The Dragon was an event on the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games program at Lake Como,  Italy. Five out of the nine scheduled race were entered. 39 sailors, on 13 boats, from 9 nations entered.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Dragon, Race area and Course
Of the three Campo's (Race Area's) available for the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games at Lake Como Campo Alpha was used for the Dragon event. In general this Campo is situated in North of Dervio.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Dragon, Race area and Course
For the 2012 edition of the Vintage Yachting Games three different courses were available. The Dragon could use only course 2.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Dragon, Wind conditions
The Northern part of Lake Como was reportedly a thermic wind venue. In this time of year the normal situation is that at about 13:00 the Swiss mountains are heated up and a Southern wind hits the racing areas with about 10 to 14 knots. As result of this no races were scheduled in the morning. Unfortunately during the event the temperature in Switzerland were low. Also was the thermal South breeze battling with the gradient wind from the North. As result the actual wind did not came above the 8 knots during the races and was instable at times.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Dragon, Wind conditions
Campo Alpha has normally a tendency to have a slightly higher wind speed than Campo Charlie this due to the fact that it is more Northern than Charlie so that the Southern thermal breeze is strengthened.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Dragon, Races, Summary
In the Dragon five out of the planned nine races were completed.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Dragon, Races, Summary
The Dragon class (Olympic between 1948 – 1972) had her first competitor from Africa ever. The South African (RSA) team did reasonably good with an eight place overall. The Dutch team of Reinier Wissenraet, Pim ten Harmsen van der Beek, Marc Reijnhoudt also the defending champion came in on second place. Bronze was taken by Vasiliy Senatorov, Igor Ivashintsov, Alex Muzichenko from Russia. But the gold was for the Ukrainian team of Yevgen Braslavetz, Georgii Leonchuk, Sergey Timokhov.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Dragon, Races, Victors
Reinier WISSENRAET (l),Pim TEN HARMSENVAN DER BEEK (m)   andMarc REIJNHOUDT (r)


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Flying Dutchman
The Flying Dutchman was an event on the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games program at Lake Como,  Italy. Six out of the nine scheduled race were entered. 30 sailors, on 15 boats, from 9 nations entered.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Flying Dutchman, Venue overview, Race area and Course
Of the three Campo's (Race Area's) available for the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games at Lake Como Campo Charlie was used for the Flying Dutchman event. In general this Campo is situated in front of the city of Bellano.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Flying Dutchman, Venue overview, Race area and Course
For the 2012 edition of the Vintage Yachting Games three different courses were available. The Flying Dutchman could only use course 1.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Flying Dutchman, Venue overview, Wind conditions
The Northern part of Lake Como was reportedly a thermic wind venue. In this time of year the normal situation is that at about 13:00 the Swiss mountains are heated up and a Southern wind hits the racing areas with about 10 to 14 knots. As result of this no races were scheduled in the morning. Unfortunately during the event the temperature in Switzerland were low. Also was the thermal South breeze battling with the gradient wind from the North. As result the actual wind did not came above the 8 knots during the races and was instable at times.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Flying Dutchman, Venue overview, Wind conditions
Campo Bravo has normally a tendency to have a slightly higher wind speed than the two other Campo's this due to the fact that it is more Northern than Charlie so that the Southern thermal breeze is strengthened and that the fact that the lake narrows in front of Dervio.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Flying Dutchman, Races, Summary
In the Flying Dutchman six out of the planned nine races were completed.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Flying Dutchman, Races, Summary
The Flying Dutchman class (Olympic between 1960 – 1992) was dominated by the Austrian families: Aichholzer and Zingerle. Their two teams took gold and silver. The third place was for Ginés Romero Bernabeu and lvaro Moreno Egea who were beating the Bonaire delegation of Henry Koning and Rob Taal with a minor 0.6 points.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Men's Europe
The Men's Europe was an event on the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games program at Lake Como,  Italy. Five out of the nine scheduled race were completed. 11 sailors, on 11 boats, from 5 nations entered. The event was started together with the Europe Female event. However separate scores were given.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Men's Europe, Venue overview, Race area and Course
Of the three Campo's (Race Area's) available for the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games at Lake Como Campo Bravo was used for the Europe Male event. In general this Campo is situated in front of the city of Dervio.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Men's Europe, Venue overview, Race area and Course
For the 2012 edition of the Vintage Yachting Games three different courses were available. The Europe Male could only use course 3.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Men's Europe, Venue overview, Wind conditions
The Northern part of Lake Como was reportedly a thermic wind venue. In this time of year the normal situation is that at about 13:00 the Swiss mountains are heated up and a Southern wind hits the racing areas with about 10 to 14 knots. As result of this no races were scheduled in the morning. Unfortunately during the event the temperature in Switzerland was low during the Vintage. Also was the thermal South breeze battling with the gradient wind from the North. As result the actual wind did not came above the 8 knots during the races and was instable at times.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Men's Europe, Venue overview, Wind conditions
Campo Bravo has normally a tendency to have a slightly higher wind speed than the two other Campo's this due to the fact that it is more Northern than Charlie so that the Southern thermal breeze is strengthened and that the fact that the lake narrows in  front of Dervio.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Men's Europe, Races, Summary
In the Europe Male at Campo Bravo only five races could be completed. In the Europe class, Olympic from 1992 – 2004, the female and male event started as one fleet in this Vintage. Of cause they had separate results.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Men's Europe, Races, Summary
By the male Europe sailors Frederik RASK and Sverre REINKE both had 11.7 points after five races. Frederik took the gold after breaking the tie. Bronze was for Jacob CHOLEWA, Denmark.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – O-Jolle
The O-Jolle was an event on the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games program at Lake Como,  Italy. Five out of the nine scheduled race were completed. 11 sailors, on 20 boats, from 3 nations entered.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – O-Jolle, Venue overview, Race area and Course
Of the three Campo's (Race Area's) available for the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games at Lake Como Campo Bravo was used for the O-Jolle event. In general this Campo is situated in front of the city of Dervio.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – O-Jolle, Venue overview, Race area and Course
For the 2012 edition of the Vintage Yachting Games three different courses were available. The O-Jolle could only use course 3.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – O-Jolle, Venue overview, Wind conditions
The Northern part of Lake Como was reportedly a thermic wind venue. In this time of year the normal situation is that at about 13:00 the Swiss mountains are heated up and a Southern wind hits the racing areas with about 10 to 14 knots. As result of this no races were scheduled in the morning. Unfortunately during the event the temperature in Switzerland was low during the Vintage. Also was the thermal South breeze battling with the gradient wind from the North. As result the actual wind did not came above the 8 knots during the races and was unstable at times.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – O-Jolle, Venue overview, Wind conditions
Campo Bravo has normally a tendency to have a slightly higher wind speed than the two other Campo's this due to the fact that it is more Northern than Charlie so that the Southern thermal breeze is strengthened and that the fact that the lake narrows in  front of Dervio.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – O-Jolle, Races, Summary
In the O-Jolle, Olympic in 1936, at Campo Bravo only five races could be completed. The Dutch sailors took the first three places. Ton OP DE WEEGH once again was victorious at Lake Como. He became European Champion here two years ago and showed once again that this is his lake! Silver was for Martin BAAS and the bronze for Thies BOSCH in his new boat.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Soling
The Soling was an event on the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games program at Lake Como, Italy. Six out of the nine scheduled race were completed. Seven nations entered 39 sailors in 13 boats.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Soling, Venue overview, Race area and course
Of the three Campos (Race areas) available for the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games at Lake Como Campo Charlie was used for the Soling event. This Campo is situated in front of the city of Bellano.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Soling, Venue overview, Race area and course
For the 2012 edition of the Vintage Yachting Games, three different courses were available. The Soling could only use course 2.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Soling, Venue overview, Wind conditions
The northern part of Lake Como is reportedly a thermic wind venue. At this time of year, the normal situation is that at about 1 pm the Swiss mountains are heated up and a southern wind hits the racing areas at about 10 to 14 knots. As a result of this, no races are scheduled in the morning. Unfortunately, during the event, the temperature in Switzerland was low. Also, the thermal south breeze battled with the gradient wind from the north. As a result, the actual wind did not rise above eight knots during the races and was unstable at times.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Soling, Venue overview, Wind conditions
Campo Bravo has normally a tendency to have a slightly higher wind speed than the two other Campos due to it being more northern than Charlie so that the southern thermal breeze is strengthened and to the lake narrowing in  front of Dervio.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Soling, Races, Summary
In the Soling six out of the planned nine races were completed.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Soling, Races, Summary
The Soling class (Olympic between 1972–2000) brought the top sailors of their countries to Lake Como. When the races started it could be anyone's series. When the dust of the first two days of racing was settled, Peter Neumann, Rudolf Rager, Rudolf Hubauer from Austria, Igor Yushko, Sergiy Pichugin, Dmitriy Yarmolenka from Ukraine and Rudy den Outer, Gavin Lidlow, Ramzi Souli from The Netherlands,  were battling for gold. In the final race, the decision came: UKR gold, AUT bronze and NED silver.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Soling, Races, Victors
Rudy DEN OUTER (l),Gavin LIDLOW (m) and Ramzi SOULI (r)


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Tempest
The Tempest was an event on the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games program at Lake Como,  Italy. Six out of the nine scheduled race were entered. 30 sailors, on 15 boats, from 4 nations entered.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Tempest, Venue overview, Race area and Course
Of the three Campo's (Race Area's) available for the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games at Lake Como Campo Charlie was used for the Tempest event. In general this Campo is situated in front of the city of Bellano.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Tempest, Venue overview, Race area and Course
For the 2012 edition of the Vintage Yachting Games three different courses were available. The Tempest could use course 1 or 2.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Tempest, Venue overview, Wind conditions
The Northern part of Lake Como was reportedly a thermic wind venue. In this time of year the normal situation is that at about 13:00 the Swiss mountains are heated up and a Southern wind hits the racing areas with about 10 to 14 knots. As result of this no races were scheduled in the morning. Unfortunately during the event the temperature in Switzerland were low. Also was the thermal South breeze battling with the gradient wind from the North. As result the actual wind did not came above the 8 knots during the races and was instable at times.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Tempest, Venue overview, Wind conditions
Campo Bravo has normally a tendency to have a slightly higher wind speed than the two other Campo's this due to the fact that it is more Northern than Charlie so that the Southern thermal breeze is strengthened and that the fact that the lake narrows in  front of Dervio.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Tempest, Races, Summary
In the Tempest six out of the planned nine races were completed.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Tempest, Races, Summary
In the Tempest class (Olympic between 1972 – 1976) the battle went between team of Cornelia Christen, Ruedi Christen from Switzerland and the team of president of the German Sailing Federation: Rolf Bähr, Christian Spranger. In the last two races the Swiss team showed their light air competencies and won both races. The Italian host team of Alessandro Castelli, Paolo Brambilla came in fourth after Klaus Wende, Max Reichert who took the bronze. The Tempest, known by the older sailors as a class for the heavy weightssailors, give a wonderful display of mixed team sailing.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Women's Europe
The Europe Female was an event on the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games program at Lake Como,  Italy. Five out of the nine scheduled race were scheduled. 11 sailors, on 11 boats, from 4 nations entered. The event was started together with the Europe Male event. However separate scores were given.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Women's Europe, Venue overview, Race area and Course
Of the three Campo's (Race Area's) available for the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games at Lake Como Campo Bravo was used for the Europe Female event. In general this Campo is situated in front of the city of Dervio.


2012 Vintage Yachting Games – Women's Europe, Venue overview, Race area and Course
For the 2012 edition of the Vintage Yachting Games three different courses were available. The Europe Female could only use course 3.