2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Background
The mobilisation was described as "unprecedented" by the mayor of Barcelona. Barcelona daily El Periódico de Catalunya described it as "without a doubt one of the biggest protest marches that have ever occurred in Catalonia, and possibly the biggest".


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Background
The demonstration was led by a banner with the Catalan slogan Som una nació. Nosaltres decidim. (in English, "We are a nation. We decide. ").


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Background, Changes in government
Several analysts believe that the demonstration on 10 July was a turning point in relations between Catalonia and Spain. An election to the Catalan Government was held on 28 November 2010 with Artur Mas (CiU) emerging as president.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Background, Changes in government
A general election was held in Spain the following year in which the People's Party won an absolute majority with 187 of the 350 seats in the chamber. Party leader Mariano Rajoy was sworn in as president of the Spanish Tenth Legislature shortly afterwards.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Background, Public response
Catalonia saw several local referenda for independence take place in hundreds of villages between 13 September 2009 and April 2011, with an overwhelming number of "yes" votes being cast. However, turnout was low at 27.41%.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Background, Public response
Several citizens' initiatives arose in 2011 and 2012 in response to perceived slights by Spain, such as the No vull pagar ("I don't want to pay") campaign, which protested against toll fees by private companies present in Catalonia that were seen as abusive compared with those in other parts of Spain. The protest began in early April 2012 in Catalonia, with minor extensions in Valencia and the Balearic Islands by the following month.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Background, Public response
At an institutional level, several municipalities of Catalonia came together to create the Associació de Municipis per la Independència ("Association of Municipalities for Independence"), an organisation officially established on 14 December 2011 in Vic which brings local organisations together to further the national rights of Catalonia and promote its right to self-determination.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Background, Support for independence
Changes in support for independence in Catalonia through time can be seen by comparing the results of a survey conducted by Spain's Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas in 1996, which asked: "Personally, would you support or reject Catalonia becoming independent?" with more recent surveys carried out in 2011 and 2012, revealing the level of support in a referendum on the independence of Catalonia.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Demonstration, Institutional events
During the morning, like every year, wreaths were laid on the monument to Rafael Casanova in Barcelona's Ronda Sant Pere. An official ceremony was then held in Parc de la Ciutadella where, according to government spokesman Francesc Homs, "our national sentiment" and especially "the Catalan language, after the recent attacks" would be celebrated. The event was led by playwright John Ollé and emceed by the previous director of the Catalan public TV, journalist Mònica Terribas. The official ceremony began with a parade by the Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra. Then, the town Capmany—symbolising the "fight against fire" after its comarca of Alt Empordà suffered a serious wildfire this summer—delivered the Catalan flag to President Artur Mas.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Demonstration, Institutional events
During the ceremony, several local bands played songs and read poems by Catalan authors. Portuguese singer Maria de Medeiros performed as guest artist, singing a poem by Ausiàs March, a Valencian medieval author. The Government also commemorated several anniversaries, including those of Antoni Maria Alcover, Montsalvatge, Eduard Toldrà and Pere Calders. The official image of the National Day was a reproduction of the painting The Catalan Spirit (1971), by Antoni Tàpies.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Demonstration, Route
The march officially began at the intersection of Gran Via and Passeig de Gràcia (near Plaça de Catalunya) at 6:00 pm, descending Pau Claris street to the Via Laietana, finally ending, near the Parliament of Catalonia building in the Parc de la Ciutadella, at the intersection of Marquès de l'Argentera street and Passeig de Picasso, where a stage was set up. Núria de Gispert, the President of the Catalan Parliament, received a delegation from the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), the organisers of the march, who called for the process leading to secession from Spain to be started.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Demonstration, Organisation
A banner with the slogan "Catalonia: New European State" led the march. The banner was presented on 5 September in the central Plaça Catalunya, the same day that Carme Forcadell, in the press conference for the presentation, said "The people are prepared, and we need the government and our institutions to take a step forward, because we want a free and sovereign country, we want independence."


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Demonstration, Organisation
The banner was carried by 10 representatives of the territorial regions of the ANC and by 10 representatives of the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI). Directly behind them was the president of the ANC, Carme Forcadell and the vicepresident, Carles Castellanos. They were accompanied by Joan Rigol and Ernest Benach. The third group was formed by a group of representatives of both the ANC and the AMI.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Demonstration, Organisation
Next in the march came the political parties who confirmed that they would attend: (CDC, UDC, ICV, ERC, SI, RI) and other entities like Òmnium Cultural, Plataforma Pro Seleccions, Sobirania i Progrés, and Sobirania i justícia, among others. The Popular Unity Candidates (CUP) and the Independentist Left went ahead with their own demonstration on 11 September and did not participate in the march in an official capacity, while allowing their members to join it if they wanted to.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Demonstration, Organisation
The other political parties with representation in the regional parliament of Catalonia at the time –PSC, PP and Ciutadans– had refused to participate in demonstration due to its secessionist intent, making it the first time in modern times since these rallies started by the Spanish transition to democracy when not all of the Catalan political parties participated in this kind of rally.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Demonstration, Organisation
The fifth and largest group was formed by the public.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Demonstration, Attendees
Organisations, municipalities and institutions from all over Catalonia booked buses to bring people to the event. The anticipation of a massive turnout led the organisers to change the route several times. The mayors of Girona, Manresa and Figueres organised special Renfe trains to Barcelona. In addition, over 1000 buses from all over the country were made available to people wishing to travel to the capital to attend the march, which makes it the event with most buses in the history of the country, as confirmed by the City Council of Barcelona. On the same day, a group of bikers held a "motorcycle separatist march" that started from Vic in the morning. As a curious aside, a marathon runner attended the rally by leaving Sant Carles de la Ràpita on 9 September to reach the march running on 11 September.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Demonstration, After the march, Green cards
At the stage set up at the end of the march, the organisers, the Catalan National Assembly, asked those present several questions. Green cards had been printed in various publications prior to the demonstration and people were asked to bring them along, and to hold them up to vote "yes" to these questions. Cards were also handed out at the event. The aim was to get a photograph with a sea of green voting papers in support of Catalan independence.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Demonstration, After the march, Green cards
We want an image of the Catalan people's desire for freedom, and what better backdrop for this than the door of Parliament?


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Demonstration, After the march, Concerts
Òmnium Cultural organised the Festa per la Llibertat 2012 ("Party for Freedom 2012") at the end of the march, on a stage set up on Passeig Lluís Companys. The concert, which included the Pastora, Txarango and Brams bands, began at 7:30 pm with writer Màrius Serra as the host.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Responses
The event has marked the Catalan political agenda and the debate about the right to hold a referendum on the independence of Catalonia has been re-opened, as well as the debate about the feasibility of an independent Catalan state and its integration into the European Union. On 25 September 2012, the president of the Generalitat of Catalonia Artur Mas announced snap elections for the Parliament of Catalonia to be held on 25 November and argued, referring to the demonstration, that "the street vocal must be moved to the polls".


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Responses
On 12 October 2012, during the celebration of the National Day of Spain, an estimated 6,000 people according to Barcelona's Municipal Police up to 65,000 people according to the delegation of the Spanish government in Catalonia, rallied at Plaça de Catalunya in central Barcelona against independence as a response to 11 September demonstration.


2012 Catalan independence demonstration, Following years
The protest was followed in the succeeding years by the Catalan Way (2013), the Catalan Way 2014, the Free Way to the Catalan Republic (2015) and Go ahead, Catalan Republic (2016).


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix was the fifth round of the 2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season and the 17th Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix. It took place on the weekend of 1–3 June 2012 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. The three classes of motorcycle racing which took place during the weekend were MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix
Casey Stoner qualified on pole position in MotoGP, but it was his Repsol Honda teammate, Dani Pedrosa, who started in fifth place that took the lead at the first corner. Ben Spies was in second place for the first three laps, but slid off the track when challenging for the lead. This allowed the other factory Yamaha rider and championship leader Jorge Lorenzo to move up into second place and engage in a race long battle for the win with Pedrosa.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix
Meanwhile, Stoner was behind the Tech 3 Yamaha of Andrea Dovizioso, and was battling with the other of Cal Crutchlow. He eventually beat Crutchlow to take fourth place whilst Dovizioso took the first podium of the year for the Tech 3 Yamaha team. As a consequence of the race, Lorenzo increased his lead in the riders' standings to 20 points over Stoner. Pedrosa remained third in the standings, with 30 fewer points than Lorenzo.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix
In Moto2, Marc Márquez took his fourth consecutive pole position by beating championship leader and fellow Spaniard Pol Espargaró by two-tenths of a second. Thomas Lüthi completed the front row with Andrea Iannone in fourth place; it was these four riders who dominated the race, staying in close company for the majority of it too. Iannone led almost every lap to take the victory, but had to resist pressure in the closing laps to take his first win of the season.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix
Lüthi finished second and Márquez finished third after winning an appeal against a one-minute penalty issued by the FIM for a collision between himself and Espargaró, which had resulted in retirement of the Kalex rider with three laps remaining. The result rearranged the order in the riders' standings with Lüthi now leading the way on 88 points with Márquez only 2 behind. Not far behind them were Espargaró and Iannone, still firmly in contention, on 71 and 70 points respectively, the reduced gap down to the Italian's victory.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix
The Moto3 race was not as close as the one in the other two categories as Maverick Viñales won his home race from pole position. It was his second victory of the season. Zulfahmi Khairuddin's first front-row for any Malaysian rider, second place, failed to translate into a great result and he finished down in eighth. It was a close eighth though, as he and the six riders in front of him had squabbled in close proximity for the majority of the race allowing Viñales to break away.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix
Sandro Cortese and Miguel Oliveira emerged victorious in the tight battle to the line to take second and third place to complete the podium. Álex Márquez set the fastest lap of the race. As a consequence of the race, Cortese was still leading the riders' standings on 87 points but, with victory, Viñales was now just 7 points behind him. Luis Salom remained third in the standings, but was now on a fairly distant 55 points, 32 fewer than Cortese.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Background and qualifying
Jorge Lorenzo entered the event leading the Riders' standings following his win at the preceding event – the French Grand Prix. Reigning world champion Casey Stoner was second in the standings, eight points behind Lorenzo, whilst his Honda teammate, Dani Pedrosa, was seventeen points behind him. Yamaha led the way in the Manufacturers' standings, all 90 of their points courtesy of Lorenzo. Honda were 4 points behind them, and Ducati remained in third place after Valentino Rossi scored their first podium of the season in Le Mans.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Background and qualifying
Colin Edwards returned to his CRT ride after breaking his collarbone at the Portuguese Grand Prix four weeks previously; he had been replaced with Chris Vermeulen for the French Grand Prix. Bridgestone took asymmetric tyres to the race for the bikes to compensate for the large number of long, right-handed corners on the track.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Background and qualifying
Stoner took pole position in qualifying for the event, his second of the season, and the third for his team. Lorenzo qualified in second position, one tenth slower than the pole time. Crutchlow completed the front row by qualifying third for the third time in the season for the Tech 3 Yamaha team. A resurgent Ben Spies set a time fast enough for fourth position, but was still only the third fastest Yamaha on the grid. Stoner's teammate Pedrosa, the polesitter from the previous race, qualified fifth, after he ran off the track on his final timed run.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Background and qualifying
He was in front of the other Tech 3 Yamaha of Andrea Dovizioso, who completed the closely matched top six with a time just fourth tenths slower than Stoner's. The first Ducati rider was Nicky Hayden, who started the third row of the grid. He was followed by the LCR Honda of Stefan Bradl, who took his best qualifying position of the season so far, and then Valentino Rossi. Álvaro Bautista was accompanied by Barberá and Karel Abraham on the fourth row of the grid. Behind them, in thirteenth, Randy de Puniet was the highest qualifying CRT rider. Colin Edwards was fourteenth behind him on his return alongside Aleix Espargaró, de Puniet's teammate. Michele Pirro, James Ellison, Mattia Pasini, Yonny Hernández, Danilo Petrucci and Iván Silva were sixteenth to twenty-first respectively, completing the grid on the final two rows.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Background and qualifying
Cal Crutchlow set the fastest time in the warm-up session for the event in slippery conditions on the morning of the race, with Stoner second fastest and Rossi third, narrowly ahead of an impressive Bautista. The conditions lead to crashes from some riders, including falls from Pedrosa, James Ellison and Héctor Barberá.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Race
The conditions at the start of the race were warm and humid, with an ambient temperature of 27 °C (81 °F) and a track temperature of 38 °C (100 °F). All the riders chose to race on the softer tyre on both the front and rear, except from the two Repsol Hondas of Stoner and Pedrosa, who started with the harder tyre on both front and rear.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Race
At the start of the race, Pedrosa took the lead at the first turn, despite his fifth place starting spot. Ben Spies, who had moved up into second, attempted to overtake Pedrosa around the outside of turn 3, but had to give best. His teammate, Lorenzo, had dropped down to third in front of polesitter Stoner. The two Tech 3 Yamahas were fifth and sixth, with Dovizioso ahead of Crutchlow.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Race
Later on in the first lap, Dovizioso overtook Stoner for fourth place while Nicky Hayden dropped from seventh to tenth – first behind Stefan Bradl, then behind teammate Rossi and next behind Álvaro Bautista. Stoner then ran slightly wide, allowing Crutchlow to take fifth place. On the third lap, Spies once again tried to take the lead from Pedrosa at Turn 3, and temporarily did. However, he continued to run off into the gravel before falling off his bike and having to rejoin the track down in last place.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Race
The order then began to settle down, and the top five of Pedrosa, Lorenzo, Dovizioso, Crutchlow and Stoner began to pull out a gap to the rest the field. Behind them, Bautista, Bradl, and the Ducatis of Rossi and Hayden continued to fight over the following four places. Lorenzo took the lead from Pedrosa at the first turn on the sixth lap of the race, and started to build a gap immediately. Meanwhile, Stoner overtook Crutchlow to regain the position he had lost on the first lap, but the pair had already fallen two seconds behind the leading three bikes by this point.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Race
On lap 11, Pedrosa retook the lead from Lorenzo on the main straight, while Dovizioso remained close behind the pair. On the following lap, whilst trying to regain the position, Lorenzo overshot at the corner and was forced to ride across the kerbs to avoid the gravel. Dovizioso fell back to the ongoing battle between Stoner and Crutchlow on lap 15, whilst another battle between Bautista (sixth) and Rossi (seventh) began to catch up.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Race
After numerous attempts, Lorenzo managed to pass Pedrosa again to take the lead of the race with 6 laps remaining with a manoeuvre down the inside of turn 10. Pedrosa had a large, unintentional wheelie entering the corner due to problems with his bike, possibly allowing the pass to happen. The two riders now had a large lead over everyone else, but Pedrosa began to fall back from Lorenzo in the final three laps.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Race
On the 23rd and penultimate lap, Ben Spies managed to return into the top 10 by overtaking Héctor Barberá (Spies had been running in eleventh since lap 12, half-way through the race). On the final lap, Stoner managed to pull away from Crutchlow and catch up with Dovizioso; however, he wasn't able to make a pass and take a podium place.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Race
Jorge Lorenzo won the race to take his third victory of the season in front of his home fans, extending his championship lead over Stoner to 20 points. Lorenzo also set the fastest lap of the race. Dani Pedrosa finished second, a result he was disappointed with because he felt he could have won the race. He remained in third place in the standings, 30 points adrift of Lorenzo. Andrea Dovizioso completed the podium, taking Yamaha Tech 3's, and his, first podium of the season. Dovizioso described the good result as a "beautiful" moment.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Race
He was closely pursued by Stoner at the end of a race, whose fourth-place finish was his first off the podium in 2012. Stoner conceded that the decision to use the harder tyres instead of the soft was a wrong one because it cost him too much time at the start of the race. Cal Crutchlow's fifth place left him behind his teammate in the championship, but was a good result nonetheless. Crutchlow said the result could have been better if a "lack of experience" hadn't lead to him being conservative at the beginning of the race.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, MotoGP, Race
Álvaro Bautista finished the race in sixth position, ahead of Valentino Rossi on the improving Ducati bike. Stefan Bradl finished eighth, where he had started, and Nicky Hayden finished ninth. The Yamaha team stated that they were pleased with Ben Spies' performance, despite his fall near the start of the race – he finished in tenth place. The Ducati riders of Barberá and Abraham finished in eleventh and twelfth, ahead of the top finishing CRT rider of Aleix Espargaró (who simultaneously became the highest ranking CRT rider in standings). Michele Pirro and Randy de Puniet, Espargaró's teammate, completed the points in fourteenth and fifteenth. The other five classified riders were Ellison, Pasini, Hernández, Petrucci and Silva; Edwards was not classified as he finished in the pitlane, one lap down.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, Moto3
KTM rider Sandro Cortese entered the event leading the Riders' standings on total of 67 points. 12 points behind him was his championship rival, the FTR Honda of Maverick Viñales. The Kalex KTM of Luis Salom was third in the standings, six points behind Viñales. In the Manufacturers' standings, FTR and KTM were joint in the lead, each with a total of 68 points. Kalex had accumulated the third highest total of 56 points.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, Moto3
In qualifying for the race, Maverick Viñales took his second pole position of the season, and his second in succession, by setting a time nearly three-tenths faster than the rest of the field. Zulfahmi Khairuddin became the first Malaysian to ever achieve a front row start in a motorcycle Grand Prix, when he set the second fastest time for KTM. The winner of the previous race, and Viñales' FTR Honda teammate, Louis Rossi, took the final front row spot of third place. Sandro Cortese qualified fourth after suffering a heavy crash in that morning's practice session.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, Moto3
He suffered heavy bruising to his right hand, and had to have blood drained during the session. Fifth place went to Miguel Oliveira, the Suter rider, who was at the centre of drama late on in the session, as his swift move across the track took out Alan Techer and Brad Binder. None of the riders were hurt in the incident. The second row was completed by Binder's teammate Luis Salom, who like Viñales and various other riders, was in front of his home crowd. Alexis Masbou qualified seventh for his 100th Grand Prix start. Efrén Vázquez, Héctor Faubel and Álex Márquez completed the top ten. Romano Fenati, winner of the Spanish Grand Prix earlier in 2012, had a disappointing session, and could only manage thirteenth. All 34 riders successfully set a lap time, and all started the following day's race.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Report, Moto3
In the warm up session, on the day of the race, Viñales once again set the fastest time, with Rossi second and Vázquez third, albeit seven-tenths off the pace.


2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round five has concluded.


2012 Catalan regional election
The 2012 Catalan regional election was held on Sunday, 25 November 2012, to elect the 10th Parliament of the autonomous community of Catalonia. All 135 seats in the Parliament were up for election. It was a snap election, announced on 25 September by President Artur Mas following the pro-independence demonstration in Barcelona on 11 September—the National Day of Catalonia—and the failed talks between President Mas and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to give greater fiscal autonomy to Catalonia.


2012 Catalan regional election
Despite Artur Mas campaigning to win an absolute majority of seats, Convergence and Union (CiU) suffered an electoral setback which had went largely unnoticed by opinion polls. The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) also fared poorly, obtaining fewer seats than pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and ending up as the third parliamentary force overall. In turn, ERC regained much of the strength it had loss in the 2010 election and became the main parliamentary opposition party for the first time. The People's Party (PP) and Citizens (C's) benefitted from the electoral polarization between the pro-independence and anti-independence blocs, scoring their best results until then, with 19 and 9 seats, respectively. The Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) also entered the Parliament for the first time.


2012 Catalan regional election, Overview, Electoral system
The Parliament of Catalonia was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Catalonia, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.


2012 Catalan regional election, Overview, Electoral system
As a result of no regional electoral law having been approved since the re-establishment of Catalan autonomy, the electoral procedure came regulated under Transitory Provision Fourth of the 1979 Statute, supplemented by the provisions within the Organic Law of General Electoral Regime. Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in Catalonia and in full enjoyment of their political rights.


2012 Catalan regional election, Overview, Electoral system
Amendments to the electoral law in 2011 required for Catalans abroad to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote (Spanish: Voto rogado). The 135 members of the Parliament of Catalonia were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, with each being allocated a fixed number of seats: 85 for Barcelona, 17 for Girona, 15 for Lleida and 18 for Tarragona.


2012 Catalan regional election, Overview, Electoral system
The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.


2012 Catalan regional election, Overview, Election date
The term of the Parliament of Catalonia expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. The regional president was required to call an election fifteen days prior to the date of expiry of parliament, with election day taking place within from forty to sixty days after the call. The previous election was held on 28 November 2010, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 28 November 2014. The election was required to be called no later than 13 November 2014, with it taking place up to the sixtieth day from the call, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Monday, 12 January 2015.


2012 Catalan regional election, Overview, Election date
The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of Catalonia and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since a previous one under this procedure. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.


2012 Catalan regional election, Background
In the 2010 election, Convergence and Union (CiU) was returned to power after 7 years in opposition, as a result of the electoral collapse of all three parties comprising the "Catalan tripartite" government (Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV). Newly-elected Catalan president Artur Mas was able to govern comfortably thanks to his party's large parliamentary representation allowing for punctual support of several parties on different issues, in what was known as a policy of "variable geometry".


2012 Catalan regional election, Background
In 2011, CiU signed several agreements with the People's Party (PP) in order to pass the 2011 and 2012 budgets, as well as for the approval of several spending cuts. In spite of this, the relationship between both parties quickly deteriorated after the 2011 general election, as a result of Mas asking new Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy for greater fiscal autonomy for Catalonia.


2012 Catalan regional election, Background
On 11 September 2012, a massive pro-independence demonstration marked the Catalan political agenda and re-opened the debate about the right to hold a referendum on the independence of Catalonia, as well as the debate about the feasibility of an independent Catalan state and its integration into the European Union. On 25 September 2012, President Artur Mas announced a snap regional election to be held on 25 November and argued, referring to the demonstration, that "this election will not be held to help a party to perpetuate itself in power.


2012 Catalan regional election, Background
It will be held so that the whole of the Catalan population decides democratically and peacefully what will their future be as a nation." President Mas signed the decree to officially call the Catalan election on 1 October. Mas' move was criticized as an attempt to try to funnel the popular support for independence seen in the September demonstration into an absolute majority of seats in the election.


2012 Catalan regional election, Parliamentary composition
The Parliament of Catalonia was officially dissolved on 2 October 2012, after the publication of the dissolution decree in the Official Journal of the Government of Catalonia. The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of dissolution.


2012 Catalan regional election, Parties and candidates
The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.


2012 Catalan regional election, Parties and candidates
Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:


2012 Catalan regional election, Opinion polls
The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font. 68 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Catalonia.


2012 Catalan regional election, Opinion polls
Poll conducted after legal ban on opinion polls  Exit poll


2012 Catalans Dragons season
This article details the Catalans Dragons rugby league football club's 2012 season. This is the seventeenth season of the Super League era.


2012 Catalunya GP2 and GP3 Series rounds
The 2012 Catalunya GP2 Series round was a GP2 Series motor race held at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain on 12 and 13 May 2012 as the fourth round of the 2012 GP2 Series season. The weekend also saw the first round of the 2012 GP3 Series season.


2012 Catalunya GP2 and GP3 Series rounds
After qualifying down in fifth place, the GP2 feature race was won by Giedo van der Garde, with reverse pole man Luiz Razia taking the win at the sprint race. Meanwhile, the first GP3 feature race of the season was won by Mitch Evans with Conor Daly winning the sprint race the next day.


2012 Catalunya GP2 and GP3 Series rounds
The weekend also saw the GP3 Series introduce the points system used by Formula One since 2010 for the feature race, with points awarded to the top ten drivers and twenty-five points awarded to the race winner. The points for the sprint race were changed too, with the winner receiving fifteen points and the top eight drivers scoring points. The points for pole and the fastest lap were doubled too.


2012 Categoría Primera A season
The 2012 Categoría Primera A season (officially known at the 2012 Liga Postobón season for sponsorship reasons) was the 65th season of Colombia's top-flight football league.


2012 Categoría Primera A season, Format
Both the Apertura and Finalización had an identical format. Each championship was divided into three stages. The First Stage was contested on a home-and-away basis, with each team playing the other teams once and playing a regional rival once more. The top eight teams after eighteen rounds advanced to a semifinal round, of two groups of four playing once more on a home-and-away basis. The winner of each semifinal group advanced to the final of the tournament, which was played as a double-legged series. The winner of the final was declared the tournament champion and participated in the 2013 Copa Libertadores.


2012 Categoría Primera A season, Torneo Apertura, First Stage
The First Stage began on January 27 and consisted of eighteen rounds and a series of regional rivalries on the ninth round. The top eight teams out of this stage advanced to the Semifinals. The first stage ended on May 27.


2012 Categoría Primera A season, Torneo Apertura, Semifinals
The Semifinal stage began on June 13 and ended on July 8. The eight teams that advanced were sorted into two groups of four teams. The winner of each group advanced to the finals.


2012 Categoría Primera A season, Torneo Finalización, Semifinals
The Semifinal stage began on November and ended on December. The eight teams that advanced were sorted into two groups of four teams. The winner of each group advanced to the finals.


2012 Categoría Primera A season, Relegation
A separate table is kept to determine the teams that get relegated to the Categoría Primera B for the next season. The table includes an average of all first stage games played for the current season and the previous two seasons.


2012 Categoría Primera A season, Relegation
Rules for classification: 1st average; 2nd goal difference; 3rd number of goals scored; 4th away goals scored.


2012 Categoría Primera A season, Aggregate table
An aggregate table including all games that a team plays during the year; is used to determine the First Stage berths to both the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana. The best-placed non-champion will go to the first stage of the 2013 Copa Libertadores and the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best-placed non-champions will go to the first stage of the 2013 Copa Sudamericana. Atlético Nacional is already qualified to the 2013 Copa Sudamericana as the champion of the 2012 Copa Colombia.


2012 Categoría Primera B season
The 2012 Categoría Primera B season is the 23rd season since its founding and is officially called the 2012 Torneo Postobón for sponsorship reasons.


2012 Categoría Primera B season, Format
The season will consist of two tournaments: the 'Torneo Apertura' and the 'Torneo Finalización'. Each tournament will have an identical format of eighteen rounds with a round of regional derbies in the ninth round. At the end of the first eighteen rounds, the eight best-placed team will advance to the Semifinal round where teams will be sorted into groups and play a short double Round-robin tournament group stage. The winner of each group will advance to the Final round, which will consist of two legs. The winner will advance to the season final at the end of the Torneo Finalización.


2012 Categoría Primera B season, Torneo Apertura, Semifinals
The Semifinal stage began on May 30 and ended on June 23. The eight teams that advanced were sorted into two groups of four teams. The winner of each group advanced to the finals.


2012 Categoría Primera B season, Torneo Finalización, Semifinals
The Semifinal stage began on October 20 and ended on November 18. The eight teams that advanced were sorted into two groups of four teams. The winner of each group advanced to the finals.


2012 Categoría Primera B season, Promotion/relegation Playoff
As the second worst team in the relegation table, Cúcuta Deportivo had to play a two-legged tie against América de Cali, the 2012 Categoría Primera B runner-up. As the Primera A team, Cúcuta will play the second leg at home. The winner will be determined by points, followed by goal difference, then a penalty shootout. The winner will be promoted/remain in the Primera A for the 2013 season, while the loser will be relegated/remain in the Primera B.


2012 Caymanian electoral system referendum
A referendum on changing the electoral system was held in the Cayman Islands on 18 July 2012. Voters were asked whether they wish to change the electoral system from one using multi-member constituencies to one with single member constituencies. Although the proposal was approved by a majority of those voting, the quorum of half of registered voters voting in favour was not met.


2012 Caymanian electoral system referendum, Background
The ruling United Democratic Party (UDP) had promised to hold a referendum on the change to the system alongside the general elections in 2013. However, a citizens' initiative group sought an earlier vote so that the new system would be in place for the 2013 elections. The group began collecting the 3,800 signatures required (25% of registered voters) to force a referendum, but as they were close to passing 3,000 signatures, on 11 April 2012 the UDP chose to hold the referendum on an earlier date. On 10 May the Legislative Assembly confirmed the format of the referendum.


2012 Caymanian electoral system referendum, Background
Under article 69 of the constitution, a referendum was only binding if a majority of the 15,161 registered voters vote in favour. Voting was held between 07:00 and 18:00, and referendum day was made a public holiday by the government.


2012 Caymanian electoral system referendum, Results
Do you support on electoral system of single-member constituencies with each elector being entitled to cast only one vote?


2012 Caymanian electoral system referendum, Aftermath
Although the Elections Office had said that the government should take a majority vote that failed to pass the quorum as advisory, Premier McKeeva Bush announced after the referendum that he would not do so.


2012 Cedar Rapids Titans season
The 2012 Cedar Rapids Titans season was the first for the indoor American football team that played its inaugural season in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team played their home games at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.


2012 Cedar Rapids Titans season
In August 2011, it was announced that the Cedar Rapids Titans would become an expansion team of the Indoor Football League for the 2012 season. Titans' General Manager Chris Kolalis stated, "We believe that Cedar Rapids is a fantastic market to bring a team into. We hope to promote economic development and be a part of the growth of the community by being active and giving back to the fans." The team also announced that they would play their home games at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, with the intentions to play in the newly renovated, U.S. Cellular Center in 2013.


2012 Cedar Rapids Titans season
On November 18, 2011, the Titans hired former NFL player, Kyle Moore-Brown, as the first coach in franchise history. They won their inaugural game on March 3, 2012 with a 32-13 win over Lehigh Valley Steelhawks.


2012 Central American Championships in Athletics
The 23rd Central American Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio de Atletismo del Instituto Nicaragüense de Deportes in Managua, Nicaragua, between June 15-17, 2012.


2012 Central American Championships in Athletics
A total of 44 events were contested, 22 by men and 22 by women.


2012 Central American Championships in Athletics, Team trophies
Costa Rica won the overall team trophy and the teamtrophy in the men's category. Panama won the team trophy in the women'scategory


2012 Central American Junior and Youth Championships in Athletics
The 2012 Central American Junior and Youth Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio Nacional Flor Blanca "Magico Gonzalez" in San Salvador, El Salvador, between May 25–27, 2012. Organized by the Central American Isthmus Athletic Confederation (CADICA), it was the 25th edition of the Junior (U-20) and the 20th edition of the Youth (U-18) competition. A total of 83 events were contested, 42 by boys and 41 by girls. A total of 20 newchampionship records were set. Overallwinner on points was  Costa Rica.


2012 Central American Junior and Youth Championships in Athletics, Team trophies
The placing table for team trophy awarded to the 1st place overall team (boys and girls categories) was published.


2012 Central American Junior and Youth Championships in Athletics, Participation
A total number of 301 athletes and officials were reported to participate in the event.


2012 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics
The 19th Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships were held in the Estadio Jorge "Mágico" González in San Salvador, El Salvador, between 29 June and 1 July 2012. The event was open for athletes from the invited countries, that are members of the Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation (CACAC), in two categories (newly defined in 2012): Junior A Category: 18 to 19 years as of 31 December 2012 (born either 1993 or 1994), and Junior B Category: 14 to 17 years as of 31 December 2012 (born in 1995, 1996, 1997, or 1998). By IAAF standards, Junior A is equal to Junior, while Junior B is equal to Youth.


2012 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics
There were numerous changes as compared to the last competition held in 2010:The 17-year-old athletes competed in the Junior B category (rather than JuniorA). 2000 metres steeplechase was replaced by 3000 metres steeplechase in thefemale Junior A category. 110 metres hurdles replaced 100 metres hurdles, and10,000 metres racewalk replaced 5000 metres racewalk in the male Junior Bcategory.


2012 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics
And finally, in the female Junior B category, 3000 metres, 2000metres steeplechase, pole vault, and hammer throw (3 kg) were held for the first time, while 1500 metres replaced 1200 metres, 400 metres hurdlesreplaced  300 metres hurdles, 5000 metres racewalk replaced 4000 metres racewalk, and new implements for shot put (3 kg rather than 4 kg) and javelin(500 g rather 600 g) were used.


2012 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics
In the Junior A category, a lot of athletes were preparing for the 14th World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain on 10–15 July 2012.


2012 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics, Medal summary
The results are published. Events marked as "Exhibition" did not meet the official conditions with respect to the minimum number of participants (“not less thanfive (5) competitors of three (3) countries”).


2012 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics, Medal summary
Complete results can also be found on the World Junior Athletics History website.


2012 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics, Medal table
The published medal count is based on 77 events, and does not include the events indicated above as exhibition.


2012 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics, Participation (unofficial)
Different numbers were published. One source announces 526 athletes from 28countries. Another source reports the participation of 652 athletes and officials. This is in agreement with the officially published team roster, comprising 521 athletes and 131 officials from 29 countries. Working through the results, an unofficial count yields the number of about 467 athletes (203 junior, 264 youth) in the start list. Following, the numbers in brackets refer to (athletes in published team roster/athletes in start list):


2012 Central Arkansas Bears football team
The 2012 Central Arkansas Bears football team represented the University of Central Arkansas in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bears were led by 13th year head coach Clint Conque and played their home games at Estes Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 9–3, 6–1 in Southland play to share the conference championship with Sam Houston State. Due to their victory over Sam Houston State, the Bears received the Southland's automatic bid into the FCS Playoffs where they lost in the second round to Georgia Southern.


2012 Central Arkansas Bears football team, Media
All Central Arkansas games can be listened to on KHLR 106.7 FM and are streamed online through the station's website.


2012 Central Arkansas Bears football team, Game summaries, #3 Sam Houston State
The 7th meeting between the Bearkats and the Bears will provide one team with the series lead. Currently the two are 3-3 in head-to-head matches with the Bears having won the first 3 matches and the Bearkats having won the past 3.


2012 Central Arkansas Bears football team, Game summaries, Stephen F. Austin
The Bears look to build on last years win and build upon the 4-2 record they have against the Lumberjacks. However, the Lumberjacks have recent history on their side, having won the 2009 and 2010 matches.


2012 Central Arkansas Bears football team, Game summaries, Nicholls State
The Bears have never lost to the Colonels at home, owning a 3-0 record and a 4-2 series lead overall. The Bears have also won 3 straight in the series and 4 of the last 5 games.


2012 Central Arkansas Bears football team, Game summaries, McNeese State
The Bears own a 3-3 record against the Cowboys. However, they have won two games in a row and 3 of the last 4 to even the series.


2012 Central Arkansas Bears football team, Game summaries, Lamar
The Cardinals head to Conway, Arkansas for the second match against their SLC rival, the Bears. Currently Central Arkansas leads the series 1-0.


2012 Central Arkansas Bears football team, Game summaries, Southeastern Louisiana
The team the Bears have had the most success against in the SLC is the Lions. The Bears own a 4-1 series advantage and have won two straight as they head into this 2012 contest.


2012 Central Arkansas Bears football team, Game summaries, Northwestern State
SLC play ends with the match against the Demons. The rivalry has been unexpectedly close, with the Bears hold a 3-2 series advantage. After winning in 2011, the Bears hope to make it two consecutive wins.


2012 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football team
The 2012 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football team represented Central Connecticut State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by seventh year head coach Jeff McInerney and played their home games at Arute Field. They are a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 2–8, 2–5 in NEC play to finish in eighth place.


2012 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football team, Schedule
Monmouth game on November 3 cancelled due to effects from Hurricane Sandy.


2012 Central Hockey League All-Star Game
The 2012 Central Hockey League All-Star Game was held on January 11, 2012, at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, Arizona, home of the Arizona Sundogs, in the 2011–12 CHL season. The Sundogs lost 6–4 to the CHL's All-Stars.


2012 Central League Climax Series
The 2012 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) consisted of two consecutive series, Stage 1 being a best-of-three series and Stage 2 being a best-of-six with the top seed being awarded a one-win advantage. The winner of the series advanced to the 2012 Japan Series, where they competed against the 2012 Pacific League Climax Series (PLCS) winner. The top three regular-season finishers played in the two series. The CLCS began on with the first game of Stage 1 on October 13 and ended with the final game of Stage 2 on October 22.


2012 Central Michigan Chippewas football team
The 2012 Central Michigan Chippewas football team represented Central Michigan University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Dan Enos and played their home games at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. They were a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They concluded the season with 7–6 overall, 4–4 MAC, and won the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl over Western Kentucky.


2012 Central Oklahoma Bronchos football team
The 2012 Central Oklahoma Bronchos football team represented the University of Central Oklahoma in the 2012 NCAA Division II football season, the 107th season of Broncho football. The team was led by first year head coach and UCO alumn, Nick Bobeck. They played their home games at Wantland Stadium in Edmond, Oklahoma. This was the Bronchos first year as a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA).


2012 Central Oklahoma Bronchos football team
The season began play began with loss to Missouri Southern State at home on August 30, and ended with loss at home to rival Northeastern State on November 10 The Bronchos finished the season 2-8. Each game of the Bronchos 2012 season was a matchup against conference opponents. The Central squad finished the season with both a conference and overall record of 2-8.


2012 Centrobasket
The 2012 Men's Central American and Caribbean Basketball Championship, also known as 2012 Centrobasket, was the regional championship of FIBA Americas for Central America and Caribbean subzone, played June 18–24, 2012. The top four teams qualified for the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship.


2012 Centrobasket, Final ranking, Suspension of Panama
In 2013, FIBA suspended the Panamanian Basketball Federation "for many problems that Panama has been going through for several years due to conflicts of interest between two Directives that manifest hold the same authority," as announced by FIBA Secretary-General Patrick Baumann. This means Panama's "national teams and clubs and referees, cannot participate in any international competition."


2012 Centrobasket Women
This page shows the results of the 2012 Centrobasket Championship for Women, which was held in the city of Morovis, Puerto Rico from June 12 to June 16, 2012.


2012 Ceredigion County Council election
An election to Ceredigion County Council was held on 3 May 2012 along with elections to 20 of the other 21 local authorities in Wales (all except Anglesey), community council elections in Wales and other elections elsewhere in the United Kingdom. It was followed by the 2017 election.


2012 Ceredigion County Council election
All 42 council seats were up for election. The previous council was controlled by Independents in coalition with the Liberal Democrat group and the single Labour member. Since 2008, there had been two by-elections in Aberystwyth, Rheidol and Ciliau Aeron which were both won by Plaid Cymru. The composition of the council prior to the elections was:


2012 Ceredigion County Council election
Councillors elected in this election are to serve an extended five-year term, after local government minister Carl Sargeant announced the next elections would be moved from 2016 to 2017 to avoid clashing with the next Welsh Assembly election in 2016 (which in turn had been delayed a year to avoid clashing with the next general election).


2012 Ceredigion County Council election, Election results: overview
Following the election, no party was left with a majority (22 seats) on the council. Plaid Cymru won a total of 19 seats, the Liberal Democrats won 7, Labour retained their single member, and the remaining seats were won by Independent candidates.


2012 Ceredigion County Council election, Election results: overview
The leader of the Independent group on the council - Keith Evans - lost his seat to Plaid Cymru. As a result, Ray Quant (Councillor for Borth) was elected as the leader of a group of 12 of the independent councillors. Negotiations were held between the various groups, and eventually a coalition between Plaid Cymru, the one Labour councillor and a number of independent councillors was agreed upon. The Liberal Democrat group now form the opposition.


2012 Ceredigion County Council election, Candidates
For a total of 42 seats, Plaid Cymru were fielding 34 candidates, the Liberal Democrats were fielding 28 candidates, 22 candidates were standing as Independents, the Conservatives were fielding 21 candidates, while Labour were fielding just one. The Green Party were not fielding any candidates in this election, compared to two candidates in 2008.


2012 Ceredigion County Council election, Ward results
Asterisks denote incumbent Councillors seeking re-election. Vote share changes compared with corresponding 2008 election.


2012 Cerezo Osaka season
The 2012 Cerezo Osaka season is Cerezo Osaka's 3rd consecutive season, 14th season overall in J.League Division 1 and 40th overall in the Japanese top flight. It also includes the 2012 J.League Cup and the 2011 Emperor's Cup. 2012 is Sérgio Soares's first season at Cerezo after Levir Culpi left at the end of last season.


2012 Cerezo Osaka season, Players, Current squad
As of December 18, 2010Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Cerezo Osaka season, Players, 2011 season transfers
In WinterNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Cerezo Osaka season, Players, 2011 season transfers
Out WinterNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Challenge Bell
The 2012 Challenge Bell was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 20th edition of the Challenge Bell, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2012 WTA Tour. It took place at the PEPS de l'Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada, from September 11 through September 17, 2012.


2012 Challenge Bell, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Challenge Bell, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 Challenge Bell, Champions, Doubles
Tatjana Malek /  Kristina Mladenovic def. Alicja Rosolska /  Heather Watson, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(6–8), [10–7]


2012 Challenge Bell – Doubles
Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears were the defending champions, but decided not to participate this year.


2012 Challenge Bell – Doubles
Tatjana Malek and Kristina Mladenovic won the title, defeating Alicja Rosolska and Heather Watson 7–6(7–5), 6–7(6–8), [10–7] in the final.


2012 Challenge Bell – Singles
Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Mona Barthel.


2012 Challenge Bell – Singles
Kirsten Flipkens won her maiden WTA singles title, defeating Lucie Hradecká 6–1, 7–5 in the final.


2012 Challenge Casino de Charlevoix
The 2012 Challenge Casino de Charlevoix was held from November 22 to 25 at the Aréna de Clermont and the Club de curling Nairn in Clermont, Quebec as part of the 2012–13 World Curling Tour. The event is being held in a triple knockout format, and the purse for the event is CAD$37,000, of which the winner will receive CAD$12,000. In the final, Peter de Cruz of Switzerland defeated Brad Jacobs of Ontario in an extra end with a score of 6–5.


2012 Challenge Chateau Cartier de Gatineau
The 2012 Challenge Chateau Cartier de Gatineau was held from October 25 to 28 at the Centre Sportif Robert-Rochon in Gatineau and at the Buckingham Curling Club in Buckingham, Quebec as part of the 2012–13 World Curling Tour. The men's event was held in a triple knockout format, while the women's event was held in a round-robin format. The purse for the men's event was CAD$40,000, of which the winner, Mark Dacey, received CAD$10,000. The purse for the women's event was CAD$11,500, of which the winner, Julie Reddick, received CAD$3,500.


2012 Challenge Chateau Cartier de Gatineau
In the men's final, Mark Dacey defeated Brad Gushue with a score of 7–6, while in the women's final, Julie Reddick defeated Cathy Auld with a score of 8–4.


2012 Challenge Cup
The 2012 Challenge Cup (also known as the Carnegie Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 111th staging of the most competitive European rugby league tournament at club level and was open to teams from England, Wales, Scotland and France. It began its preliminary stages in January 2012.


2012 Challenge Cup
Wigan Warriors were the reigning champions, but lost 28 - 39 to Leeds Rhinos in the semi final, who avenged last season's final defeat. However, they went on to lose their third consecutive final, the second of which to the Warrington Wolves 18 - 35.


2012 Challenge Cup, Preliminary round
A total of 44 teams played a Preliminary Round tie. The clubs involved included 22 NCL Divisions 1 and 2, 5 regional league winners, the Yorkshire and Lancashire County Cup winners, 1 Cumberland ARL nomination and the British Police. Also in the draw were the Scottish champions and a Welsh representative, 4 teams from the 2011 Rugby League Conference National, 6 Student teams and a North West League representative.


2012 Challenge Cup, Preliminary round
The Draw for the Preliminary and First Round were made on 19 December 2011.


2012 Challenge Cup, Round 1
The 22 winners from the preliminary round then progress to the First Round where 11 games were drawn. Due to the amount of postponed matches, ties (other than Egremont v Leeds Met and Castleford Lock Lane v Sharlston) were played a week later on 25 February.


2012 Challenge Cup, Round 2
The 11 First Round winners then progressed to Round Two where they met the 14 National Conference League Premier teams and the three Armed Forces teams who entered at this stage to total 28 teams to be drawn into 14 games.


2012 Challenge Cup, Round 2
The Draw for the Second Round were made on 27 February 2012 aboard HMS Illustrious and was carried out by Commanding Officer, Captain Martin Connell, who drew the home teams and the away teams were pulled out by England Head Coach Steve McNamara.


2012 Challenge Cup, Round 2
The second round ties were played on the weekend of 10 and 11 March.


2012 Challenge Cup, Round 3
A total of 14 community clubs would progress to Round Three, where they would be joined by the Co-operative Championships clubs as well as Toulouse Olympique and Lézignan Sangliers.


2012 Challenge Cup, Round 3
Cumbrian Rugby League stars Sol Roper and Rob Purdham conducted the draw for the third round of the Carnegie Challenge Cup at Whitehaven's Recreation Ground on 13 March. Roper, a scrum-half who played in two Wembley finals with Workington Town in 1955 and 1958, drew the home teams and former Whitehaven and London Broncos player Purdham drew the away teams.


2012 Challenge Cup, Round 3
A. Game switched to Recreation Ground (Whitehaven) B. Game switched to Rapid Solicitors Stadium (Wakefield)C.  Game switched to Cougar Park (Keighley) D.  Game switched to Bigfellas Stadium (Featherstone)E.  Game switched to Spotland (Rochdale)F.  Game switched to The Shay (Halifax)


2012 Challenge Cup, Round 4
The draw for Round 4 took place at 8.50pm on 26 March 2012 and was conducted by Challenge Cup winners Andy Gregory and Lee Crooks. The games took place over the weekend of 13, 14 and 15 April 2012 with BBC Sport showing the tie between Widnes Vikings and St. Helens and for the first time Sky Sports televised the Featherstone Rovers v Castleford Tigers.


2012 Challenge Cup, Round 5
The draw, which took place at 3:00pm on 16 April 2012 had an Olympic and Paralympic theme with the last 16 teams drawn by two athletes who were hoping for medal success at London 2012, Johanna Jackson and Louis Speight. Round 5 took place over the weekend of 28 and 29 April 2012,


2012 Challenge Cup, Quarter finals
The quarter finals took place over the weekend of 12 and 13 May 2012. Two games were shown live on the BBC and one on Sky Sports. The draw took place on 1 May 2012 at 8:20am BST, and was broadcast on BBC 5 Live.


2012 Challenge Cup, Semi finals
The semi-finals took place on 14 and 15 July 2012 at neutral venues and both games were televised by the BBC. The draw took place on 13 May after the Catalans-Warrington match on BBC Two with the draw made by Ian Millward and Brian Noble


2012 Challenge Cup, Semi finals
Note:A. Match originally scheduled for 17:30 kick-off, but was delayed by 15 minutes due to BBC's coverage of Scottish Open golf over-running.


2012 Challenge Cup, Final
The final was played on 25 August 2012 at Wembley Stadium with a 14:30 kick off time and was shown live on BBC One. The game was a repeat of the 2010 Challenge Cup final, where Warrington beat Leeds 30–6. In the final the Warrington Wolves won the Challenge Cup for a third time in four years, beating Leeds 35–18.


2012 Challenge Cup, Final
Warrington: Brett Hodgson, Chris Riley, Ryan Atkins, Stefan Ratchford, Joel Monaghan, Lee Briers, Richie Myler, Garreth Carvell, Mickey Higham, Chris Hill, Trent Waterhouse, Ben Westwood, Ben HarrisonReplacements: Adrian Morley (c), Michael Monaghan, Paul Wood, Tyrone McCarthy Coach: Tony SmithTries: Monaghan, Waterhouse, Riley, Atkins, McCarthy, Hogdson. Goals: Hodgson (5).


2012 Challenge Cup, Final
Leeds: Zak Hardaker, Ben Jones-Bishop, Kallum Watkins, Carl Ablett, Ryan Hall, Kevin Sinfield (c), Stevie Ward, Kylie Leuluai, Rob Burrow, Jamie Peacock, Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Brett Delaney, Ryan BaileyReplacements: Ian Kirke, Shaun Lunt, Darrell Griffin, Jimmy Keinhorst Coach: Brian McDermottTries: Kirke, Watkins (2) Goals: Sinfield (3).


2012 Challenge Cup, UK Broadcasting rights
The tournament was jointly televised by the BBC and Sky Sports on the first of their five-year contracts.


2012 Challenge Cup, UK Broadcasting rights
Sky Sports televised the Round 4 match between Featherstone Rovers and Castleford Tigers on 12 April 2012 and the Round 5 match between Featherstone Rovers and Wigan Warriors on 27 April 2012 as well as a quarter final.


2012 Challenge Cup Final
The 2012 Challenge Cup Final was the 111th cup-deciding game of the rugby league 2012 Challenge Cup Season. It was held at Wembley Stadium in London on 25 August 2012, kick off 14:30. The final was contested by Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves. The game saw Leeds beat Warrington by 35 points to 18.


2012 Challenge Cup Final, Background
The 2012 Challenge Cup Final would be Leeds Rhinos third consecutive Challenge Cup Final which included a 30–6 defeat to opponents Warrington Wolves in the 2010 Final. Apart from 2010, the only other time these two sides had faced each other in the final was during the 1935–36 Challenge Cup where Leeds won 18–2. The 2012 Final would be Warrington's sixth final and Leeds's eleventh. This would be the first of two major finals these two teams would contest in the 2012 season with the teams also competing in the 2012 Super League Grand Final.


2012 Challenge Cup Final, Route to the final, Leeds Rhinos
As a 2011 Super League team, Leeds entered in at the fourth round, drawing Super League side Wakefield Trinity, beating them by 38 points to 18. The fifth round saw Leeds face Super League opposition again, beating Salford Red Devils, 26 points to 10. The quarter finals saw them face Championship side Leigh Centurions, thrashing them 60 points to 12. Finally, the semi-finals saw the Rhinos draw rival club, and eventual Super League league leaders, Wigan Warriors, beating them 39 points to 28.


2012 Challenge Cup Final, Route to the final, Warrington Wolves
As a 2011 Super League team, Warrington also entered in at the fourth round. A fourth round victory over Championship side Keighley Cougars saw them progress to the fifth round where a beat Super League side Bradford Bulls 32 points to 16. The Wolves faced London Broncos in the quarter finals, thrashing them 50 points to 14. Finally, Warrington faced Huddersfield Giants in the semi-finals, thrashing them by 33 points to 8.


2012 Challenge Tour
The 2012 Challenge Tour was a series of professional golf tournaments collectively known as the Challenge Tour.


2012 Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is Europe's official developmental tour and is organised by the PGA European Tour. It was introduced in 1986 and was originally called the Satellite Tour, before being renamed with its present title in 1990.


2012 Challenge Tour, Tournament schedule
The 2012 schedule is set out below. The numbers in brackets after winners' names show the player's total number of wins on the Challenge Tour including that event. It is rare for someone to accumulate many wins on the Challenge Tour because success at this level soon leads to promotion to the European Tour.


2012 Challenge Tour graduates
This is a list of players who graduated from the Challenge Tour in 2012. The top 21 players on the Challenge Tour's money list in 2012 earned their European Tour card for 2013.


2012 Challenge Tour graduates
* European Tour rookie in 2013T = Tied   The player retained his European Tour card for 2014 (finished inside the top 110). The player did not retain his European Tour card for 2014, but retained conditional status (finished between 111 and 145). The player did not retain his European Tour card for 2014 (finished outside the top 145).


2012 Challenge Tour graduates
Broberg earned a direct promotion to the European Tour after his third win of 2012 in August. Because Carlsson had also finished 93rd in the Race to Dubai, the graduating places were extended by one. The players ranked 17th through 21st were placed below the Qualifying School graduates on the exemption list, and thus could improve their status by competing in Qualifying School. Morten Ørum Madsen improved his status in this way. Hartø, Wakefield, Stal, and Brooks regained their cards for 2014 through Q School.


2012 Challenge Trophy
The 2012 Challenge Trophy was hosted in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In the final Royal-Sélect de Beauport (Quebec) defeated Edmonton Scottish (Alberta).


2012 Challenger ATP de Salinas Diario Expreso
The 2012 Challenger ATP de Salinas Diario Expreso was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the 17th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Salinas, Ecuador between February 27 and March 4 2012.


2012 Challenger ATP de Salinas Diario Expreso, ATP entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Challenger ATP de Salinas Diario Expreso, Champions, Doubles
Martín Alund /  Horacio Zeballos def. Ariel Behar /  Carlos Salamanca, 6–3, 6–3


2012 Challenger ATP de Salinas Diario Expreso – Doubles
Facundo Bagnis and Federico del Bonis were the defending champions, but did not participate this year. Martín Alund and Horacio Zeballos won the final 6–3, 6–3 against Ariel Behar and Carlos Salamanca.


2012 Challenger ATP de Salinas Diario Expreso – Singles
Andrés Molteni was the defending champion, but he lost in the first round. Guido Pella won the title, defeating Paolo Lorenzi 1–6, 7–5, 6–3 in the final.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby
The 2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 19th edition, for men, and 2nd edition, for women, of the tournament and part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour and the 2012 ITF Women's Circuit, offering totals of $50,000, for men, and $25,000, for women, in prize money. It took place in Granby, Quebec, Canada between July 16 and July 22, 2012.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby, Men's singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby – Men's Doubles
Karol Beck and Édouard Roger-Vasselin were the defending champions but decided not to participate. Philip Bester and Vasek Pospisil won the title, defeating Yuichi Ito and Takuto Niki 6–1, 6–2 in the final.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby – Men's Singles
Édouard Roger-Vasselin was the defending champion but decided not to participate. Vasek Pospisil defeated Igor Sijsling in the final 7–6(7–2), 6–4.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby – Women's Doubles
Sharon Fichman and Sun Shengnan were the defending champions, but Sun decided not to participate this year.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby – Women's Doubles
Fichman partnered with Marie-Ève Pelletier and successfully defended her title, defeating Shuko Aoyama and Miki Miyamura 4–6, 7–5, [10–4] in the final.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby – Women's Singles
Stéphanie Dubois was the defending champion, but lost in the final 6–2, 5–2, retired to Eugenie Bouchard.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Rimouski
The 2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Rimouski was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 6th edition of the tournament and part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour, offering a total of $35,000 in prize money. It took place in Rimouski, Canada between March 19 and March 25, 2012.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Rimouski, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Rimouski – Doubles
Treat Conrad Huey and Vasek Pospisil were the defending champions but Huey decided not to participate. Pospisil played alongside Adil Shamasdin, reaching the quarterfinals. Tomasz Bednarek and Olivier Charroin won the title, defeating Jaan-Frederik Brunken and Stefan Seifert 6–3, 6–2 in the final.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Rimouski – Singles
Vasek Pospisil won the title by defeating Maxime Authom 7–6(8–6), 6–4 in the final.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Saguenay
The 2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Saguenay was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 7th edition of the tournament and part of the 2012 ITF Women's Circuit, offering a total of $50,000 in prize money. It took place in Saguenay, Quebec, Canada between October 22 and October 28, 2012.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Saguenay, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Saguenay – Doubles
Tímea Babos and Jessica Pegula were the defending champions, but Babos chose not to participate. Pegula partnered up with Eugenie Bouchard, but they lost in the Quarterfinals to Macall Harkins and Nicole Rottmann.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Saguenay – Doubles
Gabriela Dabrowski and Alla Kudryavtseva won the title with a 6–2, 6–2 win over Sharon Fichman and Marie-Ève Pelletier.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Saguenay – Singles
Tímea Babos was the defending champion, but chose not to participate.


2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Saguenay – Singles
Madison Keys won the title defeating Eugenie Bouchard in the final 6–4, 6–2.


2012 Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil
The 2012 Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the eighth edition of the tournament, which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Guayaquil, Ecuador between 5 and 10 November 2012.


2012 Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry as a special exempt into the singles main draw:


2012 Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil – Doubles
Júlio César Campozano and Roberto Quiroz were the defending champions but Quiroz decided not to participate. Campozano played alongside Emilio Gómez, but they lost in the first round. Martín Alund and Facundo Bagnis won the title, defeating Leonardo Mayer and Martín Ríos-Benítez 7–5, 7–6(7–5) in the final.


2012 Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil – Singles
Matteo Viola was the defending champion but decided not to participate. Leonardo Mayer won the title after defeating Paolo Lorenzi 6–2, 6–4 in the final.


2012 Challenger La Manche
The 2012 Challenger La Manche was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the 19th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Cherbourg, France between February 27 and March 4 2012.


2012 Challenger La Manche, ATP entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Challenger La Manche, ATP entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received entry as a special exempt into the singles main draw:


2012 Challenger La Manche, Champions, Doubles
Laurynas Grigelis /  Uladzimir Ignatik def. Dustin Brown /  Jonathan Marray 4–6, 7–6(11–9), [10–0]


2012 Challenger La Manche – Doubles
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Renavand were the defending champions, but lost in the first round. Laurynas Grigelis and Uladzimir Ignatik won the title, defeating Dustin Brown and Jonathan Marray 4–6, 7–6(11–9), [10–0] in the final.


2012 Challenger La Manche – Singles
Grigor Dimitrov was the defending champion but decided not to participate. Josselin Ouanna won the title, defeating Maxime Teixeira 6–3, 6–2 in the final.


2012 Challenger of Dallas
The 2012 Challenger of Dallas was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the 14th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Dallas, United States between 6 and 12 February 2012.


2012 Challenger of Dallas, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Challenger of Dallas, Champions, Doubles
Chris Eaton /  Dominic Inglot def. Nicholas Monroe /  Jack Sock, 6–7(6–8), 6–4, [19–17]


2012 Challenger of Dallas – Doubles
Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram were the defending champions but decided not to participate.


2012 Challenger of Dallas – Doubles
Chris Eaton and Dominic Inglot won the title, defeating Nicholas Monroe and Jack Sock in the final, 6–7(6–8), 6–4, [19–17].


2012 Challenger of Dallas – Singles
Alex Bogomolov Jr. was the defending champion but decided not to participate.


2012 Challenger of Dallas – Singles
Jesse Levine won the title, defeating Steve Darcis in the final, 6–4, 6–4.


2012 Challengers Cup
The 2012 Challengers Cup is South Korea's league cup competition for the Challengers League clubs. 2012 edition was second season of Challengers Cup. The competition was begun on 28 July 2012, and ended on 4 August 2012.


2012 Challengers League
The 2012 Challengers League was the sixth season of the Challengers League. Playoff systems were used as the same as last season and league was divided two groups and play with home and away each other, with the winners of each stage and the two runners-up advancing to the post-season championship playoffs.


2012 Challengers League, Competition format
The 2012 season run from March 5 through October 22. The 18 teams in the league are divided into the Group A and Group B — nine in the Group A, nine in the Group B. Each team competes against the other team in same group twice, home and away, the other group's team once, home or away, for a total of 25 games. The two group winners and two runners-up qualify to the Championship playoff.


2012 Challengers League, League standing, Group A
League standing is calculated by group A result (16 round) plus inter league (9 round) result.


2012 Challengers League, League standing, Group B
League standing is calculated by group A result (16 round) plus inter league (9 round) result.


2012 Champion Hurdle
The 2012 Champion Hurdle was a horse race held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Tuesday 13 March 2012. It was the 82nd running of the Champion Hurdle.


2012 Champion Hurdle
The winner was The Festival Goers Rock On Ruby, a seven-year-old gelding trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Noel Fehily. The victory was the first in the race for owner, trainer and rider. Rock On Ruby was trained at Nicholls' satellite stable at Seaborough in Dorset, rather than his main yard at Ditcheat in Somerset, and much of the training was done by Harry Fry.


2012 Champion Hurdle
Rock On Ruby won by three and three quarter lengths from Overturn. Two previous winners of the race, Hurricane Fly and Binocular finished third and fourth. All ten of the runners completed the course.


2012 Champion Stakes
The 2012 Champion Stakes was the 136th running of the Champion Stakes horse race. It was run over one mile and two furlongs at Ascot Racecourse on 20 October 2012.


2012 Champion Stakes, Full result
* The distances between the horses are shown in lengths


2012 Champion Stakes, Form analysis, Previous Group 1 wins
Group 1 victories prior to running in the 2012 Champion Stakes:


2012 Champions League Twenty20
The 2012 Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) was the fourth edition of the Champions League Twenty20, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament. It was held in South Africa from 9 to 28 October 2012. This edition was significant for being the first to feature a Pakistani team.


2012 Champions League Twenty20
This was the first season to have Karbonn Mobiles as the title sponsor. They replaced Nokia, who withdrew from their four-year deal after just one year.


2012 Champions League Twenty20
The Sydney Sixers emerged the winners of the tournament, defeating the Highveld Lions in the final.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Background, In Twenty20 cricket
Since the previous edition, three Test-playing nations introduced new premier Twenty20 tournaments. Australia created the Big Bash League, which began in December 2011. Compared to the previous KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, it has city-based franchise teams, more matches and allows two overseas players in the team. It was very well received with high attendance and good television viewership. The inaugural season of the Sri Lanka Premier League was held in August 2012 and also featured new privately owned city-based franchise teams and participation from overseas players. Sri Lanka's previous Twenty20 tournament had a low profile and a primary focus on providing opportunities for players. Bangladesh, the lowest ranked in Test cricket, created the Bangladesh Premier League, their first premier Twenty20 tournament, in February 2012. However, their teams were not considered for the CLT20.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Background, In Twenty20 cricket
Other nations made no major changes to their tournaments. South Africa's MiWay T20 Challenge included a new team to give exposure to more players but was disbanded after the season.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Background, In Twenty20 cricket
In the four weeks directly preceding the CLT20, the only international cricket played was in the Twenty20 format, including the 2012 ICC World Twenty20, which ran for 20 days and ended 2 days before the CLT20 started.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Background, Team preparation
As preparations for the tournament, the Trinidad and Tobago team will play two Twenty20 competitions, both held at their home ground of Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. They competed in the "Twenty20 for 50" competition, held 24 to 26 August and also involving Jamaica and two all-star teams—the Daren Ganga XI and the Brian Lara XI. T&T won the competition and all their matches. From 6 to 8 September, T&T will play the "Asia vs the Caribbean" tournament also involving the national teams of Barbados, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. T&T, Afghanistan and Bangladesh were tied first with two wins each but came third on net run rate. The T&T government also offered $5 million in funding to prepare the team for the tournament.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Background, Team preparation
During the Sialkot Stallions' preparations, they encountered issues when the Pakistan Cricket Board appointed Naushad Ali to replace Naeem Akhtar as team manager. The team were unhappy with the decision as Akhtar had held the position for a long time and knew the team well. The decision affected team morale and their preparations. The PCB then replaced Ali with Zaheer Abbas.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Format
The tournament will feature a qualifying stage, introduced in the 2011 edition. As with all previous editions, the tournament format was changed: only two teams qualify from the qualifying stage to the group stage.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Format
Six teams participate in the qualifying stage, from which two teams advance to the group stage to join eight direct entrants. The top four teams from the group stage advance to the knockout stage. The qualifying and group stages have the teams divided into two equal groups, with each playing a round-robin tournament, and the top two teams of each group advance to the next stage. The knockout stage consists of two semi-finals, with the top team of one group facing the second from the other. The winners of the semi-finals play the grand final to determine the winners of the competition.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Format, Prize money
Same as previous editions, the total prize money for the competition is US$6 million. In addition to the prize money, each team receives a participation fee of $500,000. The prize money will be distributed as follows:


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Qualification
This tournament will feature a team from Pakistan for the first time. Pakistan's participation had not been considered for past editions of the tournament due to the hostility between India and Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The attacks were also responsible for the cancellation of the planned first edition of the tournament in 2008, for which a Pakistan team had qualified.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Qualification
Representation from Australia changes to teams from the Big Bash League, which replaced their previous premier Twenty20 tournament and features new city-based teams instead of the previous first-class teams. Similarly, representation from Sri Lanka changes to teams from the Sri Lanka Premier League, which features franchise teams. While the 2011 edition had the fourth-placed Indian team play the qualifying stage, this year's team, the Mumbai Indians, directly qualified for the main tournament on account of being the defending champions.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Teams
This edition will not feature the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who participated in all the previous editions. The New South Wales Blues, who won the 2009 tournament, no longer play Twenty20 cricket. However, the Sydney Sixers contain many former Blues players in their squad, including nine who were in the Blues' squad from the 2011 tournament.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Squads
As with previous editions, several players qualified for the tournament with multiple teams, allowing them to play for the teams of their choosing. Should a player decline the option of playing for his "home" team, his chosen team must pay the "home" team a compensation fee of $150,000. Nine players were nominated in preliminary squad of more than one team and all of them chose to play for their Indian Premier League teams. As a result, teams lost players who helped them qualify for the tournament.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Squads
Amongst these teams, Trinidad and Tobago were very determined to have Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine represent them (their national team) instead of their IPL teams. The T&T government offered to match the higher match fees given by the IPL teams as compensation. In June, T&T sports minister Anil Roberts announced that the players wanted to play for T&T and were close to signing memorandums of understanding. All three players eventually chose to play for their IPL teams despite their efforts.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Venues
The organisers originally considered hosting the tournament at five venues across India: Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and New Delhi. This was later changed due to the possibility of monsoons and Durga Puja celebrations and the organisers chose South Africa as the host. The teams that qualified through the Indian Premier League were opposed to this idea as it would likely affect their revenue, which is dependent on television viewership. The venues are: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Centurion and Durban.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Criticism and controversy
The changes to the tournament format were met with criticism from the Trinidad and Tobago team. The changes resulted in the Mumbai Indians receiving a spot in the group stage previously given to a team from the qualifying stage, leaving Trinidad and Tobago with a lesser chance of advancing to the group stage. The Mumbai Indians were given the spot on account of being the defending champions. The eight teams receiving direct entry are all from India, Australia and South Africa, the three countries arranging the tournament. These teams were selected instead of Trinidad and Tobago despite their good performances in past editions and their win-loss record—the best in the history of the tournament.


2012 Champions League Twenty20, Criticism and controversy
On 28 August, Lalit Modi, the former chairman of both the IPL and the CLT20, claimed on Twitter that the Board of Control for Cricket in India were "arm twisting" to make Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine play for their IPL teams instead of their national team of Trinidad and Tobago. Modi claimed the BCCI threatened to withdraw Trinidad and Tobago's invitation to participate in the tournament and threatened the players with their IPL contracts.


2012 Champions League Twenty20 squads
This is a list of the squads that qualified for the 2012 Champions League Twenty20.


2012 Champions League Twenty20 squads, Delhi Daredevils
Ahead of the tournament, Mahela Jayawardene was named the captain after Virender Sehwag stepped down from the position. Sehwag had captained the team for four of the past five years.


2012 Champions League Twenty20 squads, Hampshire Royals
Hampshire were able to include Shahid Afridi in their squad as he was registered with the team, despite him having not played any matches in the 2012 Friends Life t20 due to visa issues. From the domestic tournament, Hampshire were unable to have Neil McKenzie and Simon Katich due to them having qualified with other teams.


2012 Champions League Twenty20 squads, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago are without Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine, who all elected to play for Indian teams.


2012 Champions League Twenty20 squads, Yorkshire Carnegie
Yorkshire's overseas player David Miller may only be available for their first match due to commitments in South African domestic cricket. Yorkshire were unable to include Andrew Hodd due to him only being on loan from Sussex and having not played any Twenty20 matches for Yorkshire.


2012 Champions Tour
The 2012 Champions Tour was the 33rd season for the golf tour now known as PGA Tour Champions since it officially began in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour. The season consisted of 24 official money events with purses totaling $$46,700,000, including five majors. Bernhard Langer topped the end-of-season money list, winning $2,140,296. Eight golfers won two tournaments each. Fred Couples led the tour in scoring average. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.


2012 Champions Tour, Tournament results
The following table shows all the official money events for the 2012 season. "Date" is the ending date of the tournament. The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on the tour up to and including that event. Senior majors are shown in bold. No golfer won on his Champions Tour debut this season.


2012 Championship 1
The 2012 Championship 1 was a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in England and Wales, the third tier of the sport in the country. For one season only, the top four teams (Barrow Raiders, Doncaster, Whitehaven and Workington Town) were promoted to the 2013 Rugby Football League Championship, while the champions of the division were decided by a six-team play-off, which was won by Doncaster, who beat Barrow 16–13 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.


2012 Championship 1
There was no relegation from this league as it is the lowest tier of professional rugby league. All of the teams competed in the 2012 Challenge Cup and the 2012 National League Cup.


2012 Championship 1, 2012 structure
The competition featured mainly the same teams as it did in 2011. The exceptions being that the Swinton Lions and the Keighley Cougars were both promoted to compete in the 2012 RFL Championship. The Barrow Raiders were relegated from the 2010 RFL Championship, while the North Wales Crusaders enter the division following the collapse of the Crusaders, who lost a Super League licence for the 2012 season.


2012 Championship 1, Season table
This table is correct as of 2 September 2012. Source:  and .


2012 Championship 1, Season table
Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference.


2012 Championship 1, Season results
The regular league season sees the 10 teams play each other twice (one home, one away) over 18 matches. The top six teams at the end of the regular season goes through to the play-offs to determine the winners of Championship 1.


2012 Championship 1 season results
This is a list of the 2012 Championship 1 season results. Championship 1 is the third-tier rugby league competition in the United Kingdom. The 2012 season started on 11 March and ends on 30 September with the Grand Final at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington.


2012 Championship 1 season results
The 2012 season consists of two stages. The regular season was played over 18 round-robin fixtures, in which each of the fourteen teams involved in the competition played each other once at home and once away. In the Championship, a win was worth three points in the table, a draw worth two points apiece, and a loss by less than 12 points during the game earned one bonus point. Defeats by more than 12 points yielded no points.


2012 Championship 1 season results
For one year only, the top four teams at the end of the regular season, Barrow Raiders, Doncaster, Whitehaven and Workington Town, are promoted to the 2013 RFL Championship, as part of an expanded 14-team division. However, the champions of the division will be decided through the second stage of the season, the play-offs. The top six teams in the table contest to play in the Grand Final, the winners of which will be crowned champions.


2012 Championship 1 season results, Play-offs
The play-offs commence following the conclusion of the regular season and include the top six sides from the league and uses a top 6 play-off system, culminating in the grand final at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington, home of Super League side Warrington Wolves.


2012 Championship 1 season results, Notes
A. Match originally scheduled for 13 May but postponed due to health and safety reasons B. Match rescheduled from 20 May due to Gateshead reseeding pitch C.  Match rescheduled from 5 August due to waterlogged pitch D.  Match originally scheduled for 15:00 but kick-off delayed by an hour


2012 Championship Cup
The 2012 Championship Cup, (known for commercial reasons as the Northern Rail Cup), was the 11th season of the rugby league football competition for clubs in Great Britain's Co-operative Championship and Championship One.


2012 Championship Cup
In the final staged at Bloomfield Road in Blackpool, Halifax defeated Featherstone Rovers 21-12 to claim the trophy.


2012 Championship Cup, Format
The twenty teams were split up into two pools. Each team played two home games and two away games against teams in their pool. The top four teams in each pool following the conclusion of the group stage fixtures then progressed into an open draw for the knock-out quarter-final stage. The competition started on February 5.


2012 Championship Cup, Format
Toulouse Olympique competed in this competition despite withdrawing from the Co-operative Championship. All the teams from the Championships competed except for the newly reformed North Wales Crusaders.


2012 Championship Cup, 2012 Competition Results, Pool 1, Pool 1 Qualification Table
Source: Northern Rail Cup Table – The RFL Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference. Competition Points: For win = 3; For draw = 2; For loss by 12 points or fewer = 1


2012 Championship Cup, 2012 Competition Results, Pool 2, Pool 2 Qualification Table
Source: Northern Rail Cup Table – The RFL Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference. Competition Points: For win = 3; For draw = 2; For loss by 12 points or fewer = 1


2012 Championship League
The 2012 Championship League was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament that was played from 9 January to 22 March 2012 at the Crondon Park Golf Club in Stock, England.


2012 Championship League
Matthew Stevens was the defending champion, but he was eliminated in group four.


2012 Championship League
Ding Junhui won in the final 3–1 against Judd Trump and earned a place in the 2012 Premier League Snooker.


2012 Championship League, Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2012 Championship League, Group one
Group one matches were played on 9 and 10 January 2012. Judd Trump was the first player to qualify for the final group.


2012 Championship League, Group two
Group two matches were played on 11 and 12 January 2012. Shaun Murphy was the second player to qualify for the final group.


2012 Championship League, Group three
Group three matches were played on 23 and 24 January 2012. Neil Robertson was the third player to qualify for the final group.


2012 Championship League, Group four
Group four matches were played on 25 and 26 January 2012. Mark Davis was the fourth player to qualify for the final group.


2012 Championship League, Group five
Group five matches were played on 6 and 7 February 2012. Barry Hawkins was the fifth player to qualify for the final group.


2012 Championship League, Group six
Group six matches were played on 8 and 9 February 2012. Mark Allen was the sixth player to qualify for the final group.


2012 Championship League, Group seven
Group seven matches were played on 19 and 20 March 2012. Ding Junhui was the last player to qualify for the final group.


2012 Championship League, Final group
The matches of the final group were played on 21 and 22 March 2012. Ding Junhui has qualified for the 2012 Premier League.


2012 Championship League Darts
The 2012 Championship League Darts was the fifth edition of a darts competition — the Championship League Darts. The competition was organised and held by the Professional Darts Corporation, with the 2012 edition having a prize fund over £200,000.


2012 Championship League Darts
The format of the tournament is similar to the Premier League Darts tournament, also organized by the PDC, except it is contested by a larger pool of players who were divided into a number of groups.


2012 Championship League Darts
Every match could be watched on one of the fifty-three bookmaker websites who broadcast the competition. The tournament was available globally through the internet, except in the United States of America where it could not be shown for legal reasons.


2012 Championship League Darts
Phil Taylor won his third Championship League title be defeating Simon Whitlock 6–4 in the final.


2012 Championship League Darts, Format
The first group consisted of the top eight players from the PDC Order of Merit who were available for the competition. These eight players played each other over the course of a day, receiving two points for each win. All matches were contested over a maximum of 11 legs with a player winning the match on reaching 6 legs. After all players had played each other, the four players with the most points progressed to the semi-finals with the winners of those matches progressing into the final.


2012 Championship League Darts, Format
The winner of the final progressed to the winners group which took place at the end of the competition. The runner-up, losing semi-finalists and the players finishing fifth and sixth moved into group two, where they were joined by the next three players in the Order of Merit. The format of the second group was the same as the first group with players moving into the third group. In total there were 8 groups before the final group took place.


2012 Championship League Darts, Format
This format ensures that all players who do not win the group or finish in the last two positions have another chance to qualify for the winners group.


2012 Championship League Darts, Prize money
The Championship League Darts awards prize money per leg won, as well as to the eventual winner, runner-up and semi-finalists of the entire tournament. The amount of prize money awarded per leg won is: