2013 USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Classification leadership
There is also a classification for teams. In this classification, the times of the best three cyclists per stage are added, and the team with the lowest time is the leader.


2013 USA Sevens
The 2013 USA Sevens was the tenth edition of the USA Sevens tournament, and the fifth tournament of the 2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series. The host stadium was the Sam Boyd Stadium in the Las Vegas-area community of Whitney, Nevada.


2013 USA Sevens
South Africa won the title by defeating New Zealand 40–21 in the final.


2013 USA Sevens, Format
The teams were divided into pools of four teams, who played a round-robin within the pool. Points were awarded in each pool on a different schedule from most rugby tournaments—3 for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 for a loss. The top two teams in each pool advanced to the Cup competition. The four quarterfinal losers dropped into the bracket for the Plate. The Bowl was contested by the third- and fourth-place finishers in each pool, with the losers in the Bowl quarterfinals dropping into the bracket for the Shield.


2013 USA Women's Sevens
The 2013 USA Women's Sevens – the first edition of the component of the IRB Women's Sevens World Series tournament USA Women's Sevens designed for the female national teams in the Rugby 7s. It was held between February 1 to 2, 2013 for BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston as it was the second stop of the 2012–13 IRB Women's Sevens World Series.


2013 USA Women's Sevens
England took home their first win of the season after defeating the host USA 29–12.


2013 USA Women's Sevens, Format
The teams were drawn into three pools of four teams each. Each team played everyone in their pool one time. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the Cup/Plate brackets. The bottom two teams from each group went to the Bowl brackets.


2013 USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series
The 2013 USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Champ Car Series season was the 42nd season of the USAC Silver Crown Series. The series began with the Sumar Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track on April 28, and ended on September 21 at the Four Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway. Bobby East began the season as the defending champion retained his title.


2013 USAFL National Championships
The 2013 USAFL National Championships was the 17th installment of the premier United States annual Australian rules football club tournament. The tournament was held in Austin, Texas from 19 to 20 October. The National Champions from the men's competition were the Austin Crows and from the women's competition the champions were the Denver Bulldogs.


2013 USARL season
The 2013 USARL season was the third season of the USA Rugby League (USARL). The 2013 season kicked off on Saturday, June 1, and ended with the Championship Final on Saturday, August 24, in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Fight won a double, capturing their second USARL major premiership and their first USARL minor premiership.


2013 USARL season, Teams
The USARL had planned to split 8 teams into 2 conferences to reduce travel costs. However, Oneida FC and the New Haven Warriors folded shortly before the beginning of the season, leaving the league with just 6 teams. Given the reduced number of teams, the USARL decided to retain the single table structure.


2013 USARL season, Regular season
Teams qualified for the playoffs based on points, with a win counting for 2 points, a draw for 1, and a loss for 0. There were no bonus points for tries or close losses. Tiebreaker order was (1) head-to-head points, (2) head-to-head aggregate score, and (3) overall point differential.


2013 USARL season, Regular season
The Fight outscored the Axemen 60–58 in aggregate over their two matches, giving the Fight the minor premiership. The Slayers qualified for fourth place over the Thirteens on point differential.


2013 USARL season, Playoffs
The playoffs consisted of a two-round single-elimination tournament. The four teams with the most points competed in a semi-final round, with the two winners going on to the Championship Final. In the semi-final round, the first-place team hosted the fourth-place, and the second-place team hosted the third-place.


2013 USASA Region I National Cup
The 2013 USASA Region I National Cup will be a qualifying tournament to determine which clubs from the first region of the United States Adult Soccer Association will qualify for the first round proper of the 2013 U.S. Open Cup.


2013 USASA Region I National Cup
Two teams from Region I will qualify for the U.S. Open Cup in May. The winner will then qualify for the National Finals.


2013 USASA Region I National Cup, Bracket
≈ NY originally won 1-0 but there was an issue at the league level that caused the decision to replay the game. ° The Screaming Eagles were disqualified due to fielding ineligible players. The Aegean Hawks were advanced in their place.


2013 USASA Region II National Cup
The 2013 USASA Region II National Cup is a qualifying tournament that will determine which clubs from the second region of the United States Adult Soccer Association qualified for the first round proper of the 2013 U.S. Open Cup. The Region II National Cup's first round matches took place on 6 April 2012 with the 2nd round match taking place on 20 April 2012.


2013 USASA Region II National Cup, Bracket
°The Dearborn Stars advanced after a successful protest about the size of the field in Kansas. KC Athletics originally won the match 1–0. KC Athletics withdrew from the competition when a reply of the match was ordered to happen in Chicago.


2013 USASA Region III National Cup
The 2013 USASA Region III National Cup is a qualifying tournament that will determine which clubs from the third region of the United States Adult Soccer Association qualify for the first round proper of the 2013 U.S. Open Cup. The Region III National Cup's group matches took place on 12–13 April 2013 with the semifinals taking place on 14 April 2013.


2013 USASA Region IV National Cup
The 2013 USASA Region IV National Cup is a qualifying tournament that will determine which clubs from the fourth region of the United States Adult Soccer Association qualify for the first round proper of the 2013 U.S. Open Cup. The Region IV National Cup will take place 19–20 April 2013 with the final taking place on 21 April 2013.


2013 USASA Region IV National Cup, Matches
The group winners will advance to the US Open Cup.


2013 USC Trojans football team
The 2013 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. They played their home games at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and were members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 10–4, 6–3 in Pac-12 play to finish in a tie for second place in the South Division. They were invited to the Las Vegas Bowl where they defeated Fresno State.


2013 USC Trojans football team
Head coach Lane Kiffin, who was in his fourth year, was fired on September 29 after a 3–2 start to the season. He was replaced by interim head coach Ed Orgeron. At the end of the regular season, Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian was hired as the new head coach beginning in 2014. This prompted Orgeron to resign before the bowl game. Clay Helton led the Trojans in the Las Vegas Bowl.


2013 USC Trojans football team, Personnel, Coaching staff
Lane Kiffin started the season as the Trojans' head coach, but was fired on September 29 after a 3–2 start. Ed Orgeron became the interim head coach, and went 6–2. He resigned on December 3 after it was announced that Steve Sarkisian was hired to be the permanent head coach.


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Washington State
2nd quarter scoring: USC – Cody Kessler 4-yard run (Andre Heidari kick); WSU – Damante Horton 70-yard interception return (Andrew Furney kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
Head Coach Lane Kiffin was fired after this game upon returning to Los Angeles with the team on September 29, 2013


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Arizona
Interim head coach Ed Orgeron takes over the program for USC.


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
1st quarter scoring: USC – Silas Redd 1-yard run (Andre Heidari kick); ND – Troy Niklas 7-yard pass from Tommy Rees (Kyle Brindza kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
2nd quarter scoring: USC – Heidari 22-yard field goal; ND – TJ Jones 11-yard pass from Rees (Brindza kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Utah
1st quarter scoring: UTAH – Andy Phillips 42-yard field goal; USC –  Nelson Agholor 30-yard pass from Cody Kessler (Andre Heidari kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Utah
2nd quarter scoring: USC – Heidari 35-yard field goal; USC – Heidari 38-yard field goal; USC – Heidari 28-yard field goal


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, California
1st quarter scoring: USC – Nelson Agholor 75-yard punt return (Andre Heidari kick); USC – Silas Redd 12-yard pass from Cody Kessler (Heidari kick); USC – Javorius Allen 43-yard run (Heidari kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, California
2nd quarter scoring: CAL – Kenny Lawler 4-yard pass from Jared Goff (Vincen D'Amato kick); CAL – Darius Powe 24-yard pass from Goff (D'Amato kick); USC – Allen 57-yard pass from Kessler (Heidari kick); USC – Josh Shaw 14-yard punt return (Heidari kick); USC – Agholor 93-yard punt return (kick missed)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, California
3rd quarter scoring: USC – Allen 79-yard run (Heidari kick); USC – Ty Isaac 4-yard run (Heidari kick); CAL – Khalfani Muhammad 7-yard run (D'Amato kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, California
4th quarter scoring: USC – Isaac 37-yard run (Heidari kick); CAL – Lawler 4-yard pass from Goff (D'Amato kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
1st quarter scoring: USC – Soma Vainuku 1-yard pass from Cody Kessler (Andre Heidari kick failed); STAN – T. Gaffney 35-yard run (C. Ukropina kick); USC – Javorius Allen 1-yard run (Marqise  Lee pass from Kessler)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
2nd quarter scoring: USC – Heidari 23-yard field goal;  STAN – Ukropina 27-yard field goal


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Stanford
3rd quarter scoring: STAN – Gaffney 18-yard run (Ukropina kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
Last season, the Bruins defeated the Trojans 38–28 in the Rose Bowl.


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
1st quarter scoring: UCLA – Myles Jack 3-yard run (Ka'imi Fairbairn kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
2nd quarter scoring: UCLA – Eddie Vanderdoes 1-yard run (Fairbairn kick); USC – Javorius Allen 11-yard run (Andre Heidari kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
3rd quarter scoring: UCLA – Brett Hundley 12-yard run (Fairbairn kick); USC – Xavier Grimble 22-yard pass from Cody Kessler (Heidari kick); UCLA – Hundley 5-yard run (Fairbairn kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, UCLA
4th quarter scoring: UCLA – Paul Perkins 8-yard run (Fairbairn kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Fresno State (Las Vegas Bowl)
Tracy Jones of the American Athletic Conference is the referee.


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Fresno State (Las Vegas Bowl)
1st quarter scoring: USC – Marqise Lee 10-yard pass from Cody Kessler (Andre Heidari kick); FS – Isaiah Burse 8-yard pass from Derek Carr (Colin McGuire kick blocked); USC – Nelson  Agholor 40-yard pass from Kessler (Heidari kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Fresno State (Las Vegas Bowl)
2nd quarter scoring: USC – Agholor 17-yard pass from Kessler (Heidari kick); USC – Javorius Allen 24-yard run (Heidari kick); USC – Lee 40-yard pass from Kessler (Heidari kick)


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Fresno State (Las Vegas Bowl)
3rd quarter scoring: FS – Davante Adams 23-yard pass from Carr (McGuire kick); USC – Heidari 39-yard field goal


2013 USC Trojans football team, Game summaries, Fresno State (Las Vegas Bowl)
4th quarter scoring: FS – Derron Smith 41-yard interception return (McGuire kick) ; USC – Allen 1-yard run (Heidari kick)


2013 USL Pro season
The 2013 USL Pro season is the 27th season of third-division soccer in the United States, and is the third season of the United Soccer Leagues' (USL) PRO professional competition. The number of teams increased from eleven to thirteen with Phoenix FC and VSI Tampa Bay FC joining the league as expansion franchises.


2013 USL Pro season, Teams, Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2013 USL Pro season, Teams, MLS–USL Pro Alliance
On January 23, 2013, USL Pro announced an alliance with Major League Soccer. For the 2013 season, four MLS teams will affiliate with USL Pro teams in lieu of participating in the MLS Reserve League system. These MLS clubs will loan at least four of their reserve players to their USL Pro affiliate club for development purposes.


2013 USL Pro season, Teams, MLS–USL Pro Alliance
All USL Pro teams played two matches each with the remaining MLS Reserve League teams. Those matches counted toward the USL Pro standings, giving each team a total of 26 games.


2013 USL Pro season, Teams, MLS–USL Pro Alliance
USL Pro teams played MLS Reserve teams as listed below. Except for Antiqua Barracuda (who played two MLS reserve teams on the road), each set was a home-and-away arrangement.


2013 USL Pro season, Teams, MLS–USL Pro Alliance
USL Pro teams compiled an 11 Win, 9 Tie and 6 Loss record against MLS Reserve Teams in 2013.


2013 USL Pro season, Teams, Player transfers
For full article, see List of USL Pro transfers 2013.


2013 USL Pro season, Playoffs
The 2013 USL PRO Playoffs will include the top eight finishers in the table, with the quarterfinals (No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, etc.) set for the weekend of August 23–25. The semifinals featuring the four remaining teams will be played the following weekend, with the 2013 USL PRO Championship set for the weekend of September 6–8. All playoff rounds feature a single-game knockout format and teams will not be re-seeded following each round.


2013 USL Pro season, All-League Teams, First Team
F: José Angulo (PIT), Dom Dwyer (ORL), Sainey Touray (HAR)M: Matt Dallman (PIT), Joseph Ngwenya (RIC), Jamie Watson (ORL)D: Colin Falvey (CHB), Henry Kalungi (RIC),  Rob Valentino (ORL), William Yomby (RIC)G: Andrew Dykstra (RIC)


2013 USL Pro season, All-League Teams, Second Team
F: Gibson Bardsley (DAY), Matt Fondy (LAB), Lucky Mkosana (HAR)M: Michael Azira (CHB), George Davis IV (LAB), Jorge Herrera (CHE)D: Danny Earls (ROC), Josh Rife (TAM),  Andrew Marshall (PIT), Daniel Steres (WIL)G: Nick Noble (HAR)


2013 USL W-League season
The 2013 W-League season is the 19th season of the league's existence, and 10th season of second division women's soccer in the United States. The regular season started on May 11 and ended on July 14.


2013 USL W-League season, Standings
As of 7/14/2013   2013 W-League Champion  2013 Division Title  2013 Playoff Team


2013 USL W-League season, Playoffs
Nine teams qualified for the postseason with one champion advancing from each conference to the 2013 W-League Championship, to be held at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.


2013 USL W-League season, All-League and All-Conference Teams, Northeastern Conference
F: Jessica Fuccello (NJW), Grace Hawkins (LIR), Shan Jones (VIR) * M: Esther Anyanwu (VIR), Amber Stobbs (WAS), Alicia Tirelli (NJW)D: Rachel Breton (NJW), Gabby Charno (LIR),  Meghan Cox (WAS), Jessica Kalonji (VIR)G: Lauren Vetock (VIR)


2013 USL W-League season, All-League and All-Conference Teams, Southeastern Conference
F: Emilie Fillion (DDL), Savannah Jordan (ATL) *, Cherie Sayon (ATL)M: Stacy Bishop (TAM), Leah Fortune (CHR), Amanda Naeher (CHR)D: McCallie Jones (CHR), Blakely Mattern (CAR) *,  Meghan Scharer (DDL), Ashley Swinehart (CAR)G: Elizabeth Hull (CAR)


2013 USL W-League season, All-League and All-Conference Teams, Central Conference
F: Nkemjika Ezurike Nathalie (LAV), Emily Gielnik (OTT), Furtuna Velaj (TOR)M: Chantelle Campbell (LAV), Catherine Charron-Delage (LAV), Alyscha Mottershead (OTT) * D: Kathryn Acton (LON) *, Kadeisha Buchanan (TOR),  Diamond Simpson (KWU), Shelina Zadorsky (OTT)G: Genevieve Richard (LAV) *


2013 USL W-League season, All-League and All-Conference Teams, Western Conference
F: Ana Borges (SCL), Danica Evans (COL), Kristen Hamilton (CRW) * M: Melissa Busque (SEA) *, Sarah Killion (PAB), Ashley Nick (PAB) * D: Sasha Andrews (PAB), Rachel Daly (LAS),  Danielle Johnson (BAB) *, Brooke Spence (COR) * G: Erin McNulty (SEA)


2013 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
The 2013 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team represented University of Santo Tomas in the 76th season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The men's basketball tournament for the school year 2013-2014 began on June 29, 2013 and the host school for the season was Adamson University.


2013 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
The Tigers, who at one point in the season were at sixth place in the standings with a 4-5 record finished fourth at the end of the double-round eliminations with eight wins against six losses. They made it to the finals for the second straight year after defeating top-ranked National University in a repeat of last year's final four match with the Bulldogs holding a twice-to-beat advantage. UST made history by becoming the first fourth-seeded team in the UAAP to reach the finals.


2013 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team
They lost to La Salle in a best-of-three series. The Tigers who were facing the Green Archers in the finals for the first time since 1999, had snapped La Salle's nine-game winning streak by a single point Game One victory at 73-72. The Archers went on to win the next two games for the title with Game Three going into overtime.


2013 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Injuries
The Growling Tigers' season was plagued with injuries. Team captain Jeric Teng was leading in statistical points early in the tournament before suffering a slight labral tear on his shoulder. The injury which required the aid of crutches sidelined him for five games. Teng returned in the second round but got injured again after playing just one game when he sustained a pulled hamstring. He was fully recovered in time for the playoffs and was able to play in all of the team's final four and championship games.


2013 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Injuries
Aljon Mariano had played the whole season while nursing an ankle injury while Kevin Ferrer suffered a fractured cheek bone from an elbow hit during a game against the UE Red Warriors. The injury required the use of a protective mask during games and corrective eye glasses outside games for a period of two months.


2013 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Injuries
Returning point guard Pipoy Marata and rookie Joco Macasaet both suffered ACL injuries, while Brian So who was also a rookie had a lateral collateral ligament stress. All three players did not finish the season.


2013 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team, Schedule and results
UAAP Season 76 men's basketball tournaments started on 29 June 2013. Games are played in a double round-robin schedule.


2013 UT Martin Skyhawks football team
The 2013 Tennessee–Martin Skyhawks football team represented the University of Tennessee at Martin during the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Jason Simpson and played their home games at Graham Stadium. They were a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 7–5, 5–3 in OVC play to finish in a for third place.


2013 UTEP Miners football team
The 2013 UTEP Miners football team represented the University of Texas at El Paso in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the first year for head coach Sean Kugler both with UTEP and overall. He replaced retiring Mike Price after 9 years with UTEP (2004–2012) and 43 years as a head coach overall. They were a member of the West Division of Conference USA. The Miners played their home games in El Paso, Texas at the Sun Bowl Stadium. UTEP averaged 28,375 fans per game.


2013 UTSA Roadrunners football team
The 2013 UTSA Roadrunners football team represented the University of Texas at San Antonio in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the third season for football at UTSA and their first as members of the Conference USA in the West Division. Larry Coker returned as the team's head coach for a third season. The Roadrunners played their home games at the Alamodome. A popular battle cry, "We'll go 99," surfaced after the New Mexico game in which UTSA drove the ball 99 yards to score a touchdown and seal the win.


2013 Uasin Gishu local elections
Local elections were held in Uasin Gishu to elect a Governor and County Assembly on 4 March 2013. Under the new constitution, which was passed in a 2010 referendum, the 2013 general elections were the first in which Governors and members of the County Assemblies for the newly created counties were elected.


2013 Ukrainian Amateur Cup
The 2013 Ukrainian Amateur Cup was the eighteenth annual season of Ukraine's football knockout competition for amateur football teams. The competition started on 21 August 2013 and concluded on 2 November 2013.


2013 Ukrainian Amateur Cup
The cup holders FC Nove Zhyttia Andriivka were defeated by SC Chaika Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in semifinals.


2013 Ukrainian Cup Final
The 2013 Ukrainian Cup Final is a football match that was played at the Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv, on 22 May 2013. The match was the 22nd Ukrainian Cup Final and was contested by the champions of Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk and Chornomorets Odesa. This was the third time that the final match had returned to Kharkiv.


2013 Ukrainian Cup Final
Since Shakhtar had qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League, Chornomorets would then qualify for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. During the draw for the semi-finals, the matchup Shakhtar Donetsk–Sevastopol was identified as the home team for the final.


2013 Ukrainian Cup Final, Road to Kharkiv
As Ukrainian Premier League members Shakhtar Donetsk and Chornomorets Odesa did not have to go through the qualification phase of the competition.


2013 Ukrainian Cup Final, Previous encounters
This was the first Ukrainian Cup final between the two teams. The two teams also met in the semi-finals in 2007–08, 2003–04 and 1994–95. On all three occasions, Shakhtar was victorious.


2013 Ukrainian Cup Final, Previous encounters
Chornomorets had appeared only twice in a Cup final winning on both occasions and their opponents Shakhtar had appeared in 12 Cup finals, winning eight of them.


2013 Ukrainian Cup Final, Television
As last year, the match was broadcast on ICTV in Ukraine.


2013 Ukrainian Figure Skating Championships
The 2013 Ukrainian Figure Skating Championships took place on December 18–21, 2012 in Kiev. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing on the senior level. The results may be used as part of Ukraine's selection process for the 2013 World Championships and 2013 European Championships.


2013 Ukrainian Figure Skating Championships
The junior-level event was held from January 31 to February 2, 2013.


2013 Ukrainian Football Amateur League, Teams, Withdrawn
List of clubs that took part in last year competition, but chose not to participate in 2013 season.


2013 Ukrainian Super Cup
The 2013 Ukrainian Super Cup became the tenth edition of Ukrainian Super Cup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Ukrainian Top League and Ukrainian Cup competitions.


2013 Ukrainian Super Cup
The match was played at the Chornomorets Stadium, Odesa, on 10 July 2013, and contested by league winner Shakhtar Donetsk and cup runner-up Chornomorets Odesa. Shakhtar won it 3–1.


2013 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship
The 2013 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship was that year's installment of the annual Ulster Senior Club Football Championship which is administered by Ulster GAA. The holders were Crossmaglen Rangers of Armagh, having defeated Kilcoo of Down in the 2012 final. The winning team receives the Séamus McFerran Cup and advances to represent Ulster in the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship.


2013 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship, Competing teams
Each county in Ulster holds its own County Championship. The winner of the nine championships qualify for the Ulster Club Championship.


2013 Ulster Senior Football Championship
The 2013 Ulster Senior Football Championship was the 125th installment of the annual Ulster Senior Football Championship held under the auspices of the Ulster GAA. Donegal were the defending Ulster and All-Ireland champions and were aiming for their third consecutive provincial title.


2013 Ulster Senior Football Championship
The final of the competition was contested by two teams from south of the border for the first time since 1983. This was confirmed when Donegal defeated Down in the first semi-final, with the second semi-final between Monaghan and Cavan still to play. Monaghan won that semi-final and went on to win their first Ulster title in 25 years when they overcame Donegal on a scoreline of 0-13 to 0-7 in Clones. They had previously lost finals in 2007 and 2010. They received the Anglo-Celt Cup, and automatically advanced to the quarter-final stage of the 2013 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.


2013 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
The 2013 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship was the 68th installment of the annual Ulster Senior Hurling Championship held under the auspices of the Ulster GAA. Antrim were the defending champions, and secured their twelfth consecutive title in a much delayed final played against Down on 2 February 2014.


2013 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
The delays, which arose from a fixture clash caused by a semi-final draw between Down and Derry, and exacerbated by a ban on inter-county training in the winter of 2013, was heavily criticised for undermining the competition. The winners, Antrim, in fact never played a single match of the 2013 Championship in 2013, having progressed automatically to the final.


2013 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
As the Ulster championship is of a lower standard than its Leinster and Munster counterparts, there was no entry from the Ulster Championship to the All-Ireland Championship proper. Antrim will instead enter that competition through the preliminary round of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship.


2013 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
The other Ulster teams are not eligible, and took part in the Christy Ring Cup, the second tier All-Ireland hurling championship, Down winning the competition.


2013 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, Bracket
The draw for the Ulster championship is seeded, and takes place in a single elimination format. Antrim receive a bye to the final, Derry to the semi-final.


2013 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, Box scores, Final
The final was originally scheduled for 7 July 2013 but was postponed to allow the semi-final replay between Down and Derry to take place on that day. The final was re-scheduled for 3 November 2013, and finally 2 February 2014.


2013 Under 21 Men's Australian Championships
The 2013 Under 21 Men's Australian Championships was a men's field hockey tournament held in the Queensland city of Brisbane.


2013 Under 21 Men's Australian Championships
Queensland won the gold medal after defeating New South Wales 3–2 in the final. Victoria won the bronze medal by defeating South Australia 3–1 in the third and fourth playoff.


2013 Under 21 Men's Australian Championships, Competition format
The tournament is played in a round robin format, with each team facing each other once. Final placings after the pool matches determine playoffs.


2013 Under 21 Men's Australian Championships, Competition format
The bottom four teams play in the classification round. Two crossover matches are played, with the fifth placed team playing the eighth place team and the sixth placed team facing the seventh placed team. The winners of the crossover matches progress to the fifth and sixth place playoff, while the losers contest the seventh and eighth place playoff.


2013 Under 21 Men's Australian Championships, Competition format
The top four teams contest the medal round. Two semi-finals are played, with the first placed team taking on the fourth placed team and the second placed team taking on the third placed team. The winners progress to the final, while the losers contest the third and fourth place playoff.


2013 Under 21 Women's Australian Championships
The 2013 Under 21 Women's Australian Championships was a women's Field Hockey tournament held in the Northern Territory city of Darwin.


2013 Under 21 Women's Australian Championships
Queensland won the gold medal after defeating New South Wales 2–1 in a penalty shoot-out following a 1–1 draw. South Australia won the bronze medal by defeating Australian Capital Territory 1–0 in the third and fourth playoff.


2013 Under 21 Women's Australian Championships, Competition format
The tournament is played in a round robin format, with each team facing each other once. Final placings after the pool matches determine playoffs.


2013 Under 21 Women's Australian Championships, Competition format
The bottom four teams play in the classification round. Two crossover matches are played, with the fifth placed team playing the eighth place team and the sixth placed team facing the seventh placed team. The winners of the crossover matches progress to the fifth and sixth place playoff, while the losers contest the seventh and eighth place playoff.


2013 Under 21 Women's Australian Championships, Competition format
The top four teams contest the medal round. Two semi-finals are played, with the first placed team taking on the fourth placed team and the second placed team taking on the third placed team. The winners progress to the final, while the losers contest the third and fourth place playoff.


2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship
The 2013 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-19 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa.


2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group A
There are seven participating teams in the 2013 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship Group A. These teams will play each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.


2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group A
Teams will receive four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points are awarded to teams that score 4 or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lose a match by 7 points or less. Teams are ranked by points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group A
The top 4 teams will qualify for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finish first has home advantage against the team that finish fourth, while the team that finish second has home advantage against the team that finish third. The winners of these semi-finals will play each other in the final, at the same venue as the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division Final.


2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group A
The bottom team in Group A will play a play-off game at home against the winner of the Group B final for a place in Group A in 2014.


2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group B
There are eight participating teams in the 2013 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship Group B. These teams will play each other once over the course of the season, either at home or away.


2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group B
Teams will receive four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points are awarded to teams that score 4 or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lose a match by 7 points or less. Teams are ranked by points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group B
The top 4 teams will qualify for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finish first has home advantage against the team that finish fourth, while the team that finish second has home advantage against the team that finish third. The winners of these semi-finals will play each other in the final, at the same venue as the 2013 Currie Cup First Division Final.


2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group B
The winner of the final will play a play-off game away from home against the bottom team in Group A for a place in Group A in 2014.


2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, Teams, Team Listing
The following teams will take part in the 2012 ABSA Under-19 Provincial Championship competition:


2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship
The 2013 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship will be contested from 12 July to 26 October 2013. The tournament will feature the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa.


2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group A
There are seven participating teams in the 2013 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship Group A. These teams will play each other twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.


2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group A
Teams will receive four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points are awarded to teams that score 4 or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lose a match by 7 points or less. Teams are ranked by points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group A
The top 4 teams will qualify for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finish first has home advantage against the team that finish fourth, while the team that finish second has home advantage against the team that finish third. The winners of these semi-finals will play each other in the final, at the same venue as the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division Final.


2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group A
The bottom team in Group A will play a play-off game at home against the winner of the Group B final for a place in Group A in 2014.


2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group B
There are eight participating teams in the 2013 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship Group B. These teams will play each other once over the course of the season, either at home or away.


2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group B
Teams will receive four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points are awarded to teams that score 4 or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lose a match by 7 points or less. Teams are ranked by points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group B
The top 4 teams will qualify for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finish first has home advantage against the team that finish fourth, while the team that finish second has home advantage against the team that finish third. The winners of these semi-finals will play each other in the final, at the same venue as the 2013 Currie Cup First Division Final.


2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Competition, Group B
The winner of the final will play a play-off game away from home against the bottom team in Group A for a place in Group A in 2014.


2013 Under-21 Provincial Championship, Teams, Team Listing
The following teams will take part in the 2013 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship competition:


2013 UniCredit Czech Open
The 2013 UniCredit Czech Open was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the 20th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2013 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Prostějov, Czech Republic between 3 and 9 June 2013.


2013 UniCredit Czech Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2013 UniCredit Czech Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received entry as alternates into the singles main draw:


2013 UniCredit Czech Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2013 UniCredit Czech Open – Doubles
Hsieh Cheng-peng and Lee Hsin-han were the defending champions but decided not to participate. Nicholas Monroe and Simon Stadler defeated Mateusz Kowalczyk and Lukáš Rosol 6–4, 6–4 in the final to win the title.


2013 UniCredit Czech Open – Singles
Florian Mayer was the defending champion but lost in the second round. Radek Štěpánek defeated Jiří Veselý in an all-Czech final 6–4, 6–2 to capture the title.


2013 Union budget of India
The Union Budget of India for 2013–2014 was presented by Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram on 28 February 2013, 11 AM.


2013 United Bowl
The 2013 United Bowl was the fifth title game of the Indoor Football League (IFL). It was played on June 29, 2013, at the Sioux Falls Arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The top seed in the United Conference, the Sioux Falls Storm, defeated the top seed in the Intense Conference—the Nebraska Danger—by a score of 43–40.


2013 United Football League
The 2013 United Football League was the fourth season of the UFL since its establishment as a semi-professional league in 2009.


2013 United Football League
Global FC are the defending champions, having won the previous Division 1 of the 2012 United Football League season. The season features 9 teams from the 2012 United Football League Division 1 and one new team promoted from the 2012 United Football League Division 2. Pachanga Diliman replaced the relegated Navy.


2013 United Football League
The 2013 Division 1 league play kicked off on February 5, 2013  while the Division 2 scheduled to kick off its first match between Dolphins United and Cebu Queen City United on February 9, 2013 at the Emperador Stadium  but Cebu Queen City United did not show up in the game time.


2013 United Football League
Stallion FC clinched the United Football League Division 1 championship after Kaya came away with a 3-2 victory against Global at the Emperador Stadium in Mckinley Hill in Taguig June 13, 2013.


2013 United Football League, Teams
Ten teams in Division 1 and Division 2 contest for this years' league title. Pachanga Diliman from 2012 UFL Division 2 to replace relegated Navy. Two 2012 UFL Division 2 sides Manila Lions and Sunken Garden United did not participate in this year's league contest after they finished 11th and 12th spot respectively in 2012 league season.


2013 United Football League, Teams
On March 1, 2013, the UFL management has officially ruled out Cebu Queen City United from participating after the club apparently withdrawn  when the club’s request for home games was turned down by the league.


2013 United Football League, Promotion-relegation playoffs
Philippine Army, the 9th-placed team of Division 1 will face the 2nd-placed 2013 UFL Division 2 side Union Internacional Manila in a two-legged playoff. The winner on aggregate score after both matches will earn a spot in the 2014 UFL Division 1.


2013 United Football League, Promotion-relegation playoffs
Philippine Army won 8–4 on aggregate and retained its United Football League Division 1 spot for the 2014 season.


2013 United Football League, Season Awards, Team Awards
The following teams are awarded by the United Football League in the ceremony.


2013 United Football League, Season Awards, Individual awards
The following players are awarded by the United Football League Committee in the ceremony.


2013 United Kingdom budget
The 2013 United Kingdom budget was delivered by George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on Wednesday 20 March 2013.


2013 United Kingdom budget
It was the fourth budget of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government that was formed after the 2010 general election, and also the fourth to be delivered by Osborne.


2013 United Kingdom budget
Its key points included an increase in the personal allowance, a reduction of the rate of corporation tax, a freeze of the rate of fuel duty, and the cancellation of the duty escalator on beer.


2013 United Kingdom budget, Key measures, Taxes and revenue
The personal allowance each UK employee is entitled to earn before income tax is levied was increased for the third consecutive budget, to £10,000, from 2014. The increase had been planned to become effective in 2015 but was brought forward one year.


2013 United Kingdom budget, Key measures, Taxes and revenue
Before the 2012 budget, the rate of corporation tax in the UK was 26%. In his 2013 budget, Osborne announced another reduction in the rate in 2015 to 20%. The reductions would be offset by the bank levy.


2013 United Kingdom budget, Key measures, Taxes and revenue
New employment allowances will cut National Insurance bills for all UK firms, and 450,000 small businesses should pay no employer NI. Tax reliefs were also announced for investment in social enterprises, and Osborne axed a stamp duty on shares traded on growth markets such as the Alternative Investment Market.


2013 United Kingdom budget, Key measures, Taxes and revenue
Osborne cancelled an increase in fuel duty that had been planned for September 2013, and also cancelled a 3p increase in duty on beer planned for April 2013, instead cutting the beer duty by 1p from 24 March 2013. The duty escalator on beer was also cancelled, but remains in place for wine, spirits and cider. Duties on cigarettes were unchanged.


2013 United Kingdom budget, Key measures, Taxes and revenue
Tax incentives were announced for ultra low-emission vehicles and for investment in shale gas.


2013 United Kingdom budget, Key measures, Taxes and revenue
The Staffordshire Potteries industry will be exempt from the Climate Change Levy.


2013 United Kingdom budget, Key measures, Benefits and expenditure
An additional £15 billion of investment was announced for infrastructure such as roads, railways, power stations, and major construction projects by 2020.


2013 United Kingdom budget, Key measures, Benefits and expenditure
Cuts of around 1% were announced to many government departments' budgets, except the Department for Health and Department for Education.


2013 United Kingdom budget, Key measures, Benefits and expenditure
The income from fines arising out of the Libor scandal shall be given to soldiers' charities. Military wages would also be exempt from limits on progression pay rises imposed on the public sector.


2013 United Kingdom budget, Economy
Osborne stated that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted that the UK would not enter recession again in 2013. The OBR cut its forecast for economic growth in 2013 to 0.6% from 1.2%. It forecast growth to be 1.8% in 2014, 2.3% in 2015, 2.7% in 2016, and 2.8% in 2017.


2013 United Kingdom budget, Economy
The OBR predicted government borrowing of £121 billion in 2013 and £120 billion for 2014. Government debt as a share of gross domestic product was forecast to increase from 75.9% in 2013 to 85.6% in 2016.


2013 United Kingdom budget, Economy
The majority of the other business tax changes announced impact small businesses, now receiving the benefits of the National Insurance Contribution. SMEs will also benefit from a certain number of reliefs such as capital gains relief on Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes and stamp duty relief from trading AIM-listed shares, which will help them raise capital. As for larger companies, the advantages of the new budget and incentives will be focused on Research and Development.


2013 United Kingdom local elections
The 2013 United Kingdom local elections took place on Thursday 2 May 2013. Elections were held in 35 English councils: all 27 non-metropolitan county councils and eight unitary authorities, and in one Welsh unitary authority. Direct mayoral elections took place in Doncaster and North Tyneside. These elections last took place on the 4 June 2009 at the same time as the 2009 European Parliament Elections, except for County Durham, Northumberland and the Anglesey where elections last took place in 2008.


2013 United Kingdom local elections
The BBC's projected national vote share (PNV) put Labour on 29%, the Conservatives on 25%, UKIP on 23% and the Liberal Democrats on 14%. Elections analysts Rallings and Thrasher estimated 29% for Labour, 26% for the Conservatives, 22% for UKIP and 13% for the Liberal Democrats.


2013 United Kingdom local elections
On the same day a parliamentary by-election took place in the North East constituency of South Shields following the departure of David Miliband, with the Labour Party retaining the seat.


2013 United Kingdom local elections, Criteria to vote
All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) aged 18 or over were entitled to vote in the local elections. Those temporarily away from their ordinary address (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital) were also entitled to vote in the local elections, as were those who had moved abroad and registered as overseas electors.


2013 United Kingdom local elections, Record choice
The UK Independence Party and the Green Party stood record numbers of candidates.


2013 United Kingdom local elections, Results
Labour and UKIP made substantial gains, but the Conservatives won the most councillors and retained control of most councils. The BBC published projected national vote shares, adjusting for which regions are holding local elections and extrapolating to the national situation. These were Labour 29%, Conservatives 25%, UKIP 23% and the Liberal Democrats 14%. This is the lowest figure for the Conservatives since 1982 and the lowest ever figure for the Liberal Democrats. It is also the first time that none of the three main parties in the Commons has scored 30% or more. Rallings & Thrasher separately calculated a projected national vote share of Labour 29%, Conservatives 26%, UKIP 22% and the Liberal Democrats 13%.


2013 United Kingdom local elections, Results
The actual votes received were Conservative 34.3%, Labour 21.1%, UKIP 19.9%, Lib Dem 13.8% and Green 3.5%.


2013 United Kingdom local elections, Results
Overall, in England, the Conservatives saw 1116 councillors elected (down 335), Labour 538 (up 291), the Liberal Democrats 352 (down 124), independents 165 (up 24), UKIP 147 (up 139), the Greens 22 (up 5), Residents Associations 12 (up 2), Mebyon Kernow 4 (up 1), the Liberal Party 3 (up 1) and Independent Community and Health Concern 2 (no change). The BNP won no seats (down 3).


2013 United Kingdom local elections, England, Non-metropolitan county councils
All 27 county councils for areas with a two-tier structure of local governance had all of their seats up for election. These were first-past-the-post elections in a mixture of single-member and multi-member electoral divisions.


2013 United Kingdom local elections, England, Non-metropolitan county councils
†The Conservatives won control of the council in the 2009 elections but lost their majority during its term.


2013 United Kingdom local elections, England, Unitary authorities
Eight single-tier unitary authorities held elections. Seven of these had all of their seats up for election, whilst one, Bristol, elected a third of its seats. These are first-past-the-post elections in a mixture of single-member and multi-member wards.


2013 United Kingdom local elections, England, Mayoral elections
Two elections for directly elected mayors were held, who act as council leader. These are elected using the Supplementary Vote system. Hartlepool's referendum in November 2012 resulted in the post being abolished from May 2013.


2013 United Kingdom local elections, Wales
In Wales, a single council, the Isle of Anglesey, was up for election. This election was postponed in 2012, when all other Welsh councils were elected, in order to allow an electoral review to take place for the council.


2013 United Malays National Organisation leadership election
A leadership election was held by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party on 19 October 2013. It was won by incumbent Prime Minister and President of UMNO, Najib Razak.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference
The United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP19 or CMP9 was held in Warsaw, Poland from 11 to 23 November 2013. This is the 19th yearly session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 19) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 9th session of the Meeting of the Parties (CMP 9) to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The conference delegates continue the negotiations towards a global climate agreement. UNFCCC's Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres and Poland's Minister of the Environment Marcin Korolec led the negotiations.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference
The conference led to an agreement that all states would start cutting emissions as soon as possible, but preferably by the first quarter of 2015. The term Intended Nationally Determined Contributions was coined in Warsaw upon a proposal from Singapore. The Warsaw International Mechanism was also proposed.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Background
Several preliminary and actual agreements were at the forefront of the talks, including: unused credits from phase one of the Kyoto Protocol, improvements to several UNFCCC action mechanisms, and a refinement of the measurement, reporting, and verification of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Delegates are to focus on the potential conditions of a final global climate change agreement expected to be ratified in 2015 at the Paris Conference.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Location and participation
The location of UNFCCC talks are rotated by regions throughout United Nations countries. In 2013 Warsaw, the capital and largest city in Poland, was chosen to represent the Eastern European Group in the COP 19 Presidency.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Location and participation
The choice of Poland has been criticised by environmental organizations, including Greenpeace, because of the country's lack of commitment to reduce its use of fossil fuels and increase use of renewable energy. As of 2013, 88% of Poland's electricity is sourced from coal, as compared to the global average of 68% electricity from fossil fuels. Its officials have been blocking EU proposals to more effectively act against global warming. Standing alone against the other EU member states, in 2011 Poland blocked the proposed emission targets for 2050, and its environment minister Marcin Korolec (president of the conference) declared himself sceptical about the EU's strategy of leading by example.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Location and participation
Over 10,000 participants from 189 countries registered to attend the conference, but only 134 ministers announced participation. Four countries that are among the most vulnerable to climate change were represented by their president or prime minister: Tuvalu, Nauru, Ethiopia and Tanzania. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk dismissed Korolec in preference for a politician who would be better able to deliver a "radical acceleration of shale gas operations" in the country. However, he said that Korolec would remain the government's plenipotentiary for the conference.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations
The overarching goal of the conference is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to limit the global temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius above current levels. According to the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Christiana Figueres,


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations
Clean energy, and specifically the financing and technology transfer of renewables in developing countries, will be of main importance during the conference. The Indian Minister of the Environment stated before the talks that “the most important milestone would be climate finance and capitalisation of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which has not happened at all...


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations
Developed countries that made a commitment earlier have now started talking of alternative sources of funding - whereas in our view these are commitments of the parties to the COP.”    Agreements in the Copenhagen round ostensibly formalized $US 100 billion to the Clean Energy Fund by 2020 to assist developing countries in energy development, whereas only $US 7.5 million had been committed as of June 2013.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations
Australia has support from Britain and others to head off demands for compensation payments to countries hit by damage they blame on climate change, sparking anger at a global summit meant to strike a deal this weekend. Acting on Tony Abbott’s edict to avoid any new financial commitments, Australian negotiators have held out against calls to support the “loss and damage” payments sought by poorer countries


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations
Technology transfer and sharing of intellectual property between industrialised and developing countries will be a major concern in the Warsaw talks. Historically, these discussions have been stalled due to disagreements over the price and sharing mechanisms surrounding intellectual property, and thus new approaches are expected in the Warsaw conference.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations
A stalemate surrounding the talks has been the insistence of the United States delegates on China and India conforming to binding reduction commitments - whereas Chinese and Indian delegates argue that funding from industrialised countries is needed before such emissions cuts can be executed without impacting GDP growth rates. India and Saudi Arabia blocked an agreement which could prevent the release of up to 100 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 2050. A key paragraph in a draft resolution that would have accelerated international cooperation under the Montreal Protocol was reportedly deleted at the last minute.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations
The deaths, injuries and destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan were brought to attention during the opening day talks. In response to the typhoon and to climate change damage in general, Naderev "Yeb" Saño, the lead negotiator of the Philippines delegation, received a standing ovation for announcing:


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations
In solidarity with my countrymen who are struggling to find food back home, I will now commence a voluntary fasting for the climate, this means I will voluntarily refrain from eating food during this COP, until a meaningful outcome is in sight.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations
On 21 November, the first Cities and Sub-national Dialogue took place. This consisted of selected ministers, mayors and sub-national leaders and  civil society representatives discussing mitigation and adaptation at a local scale.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations, Walkouts
The G77 and China bloc led 132 poor countries in a walk out during talks about “loss and damage” compensation for the consequences of global warming. Poor countries have demanded that the developed world give them $100 billion annually by 2020. Activists and poor countries accused Australian diplomats of not taking the talks seriously. The country did not send high-ranking officials to the UN summit, saying that they would be busy repealing the country's contentious carbon tax.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations, Walkouts
The carbon tax is bad for the economy and it doesn’t do any good for the environment, Prime Minister Tony Abbott told The Washington Post. Despite a carbon tax of $37 a ton by 2020, Australia’s domestic emissions were going up, not down. The carbon tax was basically socialism masquerading as environmentalism, and that’s why it’s going to get abolished.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations, Walkouts
On the last day of the conference WWF, Oxfam, ActionAid, the International Trade Union Confederation, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace walked out of the conference. Greenpeace spokesman Gregor Kessler, however, said that they would not leave the city but would "follow the discussions from the outside. We will not be part of the internal discussions."


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations, Walkouts
Oxfam' Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said: "[Governments] must...come back in 2014 ready for meaningful discussions on how they will deliver their share of the emissions reductions which scientists say are needed and their share of the money needed to help the poorest and most vulnerable countries adapt." All six issued a statement that read: "Organisations and movements representing people from every corner of the Earth have decided that the best use of our time is to voluntarily withdraw from the Warsaw climate talks. The Warsaw climate conference, which should have been an important step in the just transition to a sustainable future, is on track to deliver virtually nothing."


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations, Conclusion
The conference ran beyond the scheduled end date of 22 November by a day before some consensus was reached. Member states agreed to work towards curbing emissions as soon as possible, with an idea date targeted at the first quarter of 2015.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Negotiations, Conclusion
Talk however continued on the aid that developed countries would pay to help emissions cuts by developing countries. Having previously promised US$100 billion a year after 2020 from the US$10 billion a year between 2010 and 2012, they resisted calls to set targets for the rest of the decade. The draft resolution of the conference, though, only mentioned setting "increasing levels" of aid. Further the Warsaw Mechanism was proposed, which would provide expertise, and possibly aid, to developing nations to cope with loss and damage from such natural extremities as heatwaves, droughts and floods and threats such as rising sea levels and desertification.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Criticism, Organisers
The organizers of COP19 were strongly criticised for posting comments in an online blog in the lead-up to the conference about the purported advantages of ice melting in the Arctic, stating that "we may build new drilling platforms and retrieve natural resources hidden below the sea bed", as well as "chasing the pirates, terrorists and ecologists that will come to hang around". The bloggers subsequently responded: "Our recent entry on north-west passage was widely discussed but unfortunately misunderstood. The readers considered the forthcoming, bitter, but unfortunately possible scenario as [an] option we like. We do not. But how to react to the featured situation? Should we be silent? We are glad, that the topic caused so much interest and discussion, because the matter is really very serious."


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Criticism, Organisers
Organizers from the Ministry of the Economy in Poland were also strongly criticised for co-hosting an event with the World Coal Association alongside the UNFCCC talks. This has been seen as a provocation against changing the energy source mix in Poland.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Criticism, Organisers
The dismissal of the conference president Marcin Korolec from his cabinet position as minister of environmental during the negotiations has been seen by delegates as a further sign of Poland's lack of commitment to progress global action on global warming. Prime minister Donald Tusk stated that the dismissal had to do with the need for "radical acceleration of shale gas operations".


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Criticism, Industrialised countries
The International Energy Agency has continually urged industrialised countries to reduce fossil fuel subsidies. It is expected that these subsidy actions will not be addressed.


2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Criticism, Industrialised countries
Several countries attending the COP 19 have been criticised for poor performance on stated environmental pollution targets. While the United States reduced its emissions of CO2 in 2012 by 11.8 percent compared to 2005, the largest reduction of any country, others have not done so well.


2013 United Nations Security Council election
The 2013 United Nations Security Council election was held on 17 October 2013 during the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The Assembly elected Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia for five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 2014. The following day, Saudi Arabia announced that it was declining the seat, accusing UNSC of using "double standards" and being unable to resolve important issues in the Middle East. A second round of voting therefore took place on 6 December, in which Jordan was elected to the council in lieu of Saudi Arabia.


2013 United Nations Security Council election
This was the first time Chad and Lithuania were elected members of the Security Council.


2013 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
The Security Council has 15 seats, filled by five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. Each year, half of the non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. A sitting member may not immediately run for re-election.


2013 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
In accordance with the rules whereby the ten non-permanent UNSC seats rotate among the various regional blocs into which UN member states traditionally divide themselves for voting and representation purposes, the five available seats are allocated as follows:


2013 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
To be elected, a candidate must receive a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. If the vote is inconclusive after the first round, three rounds of restricted voting shall take place, followed by three rounds of unrestricted voting, and so on, until a result has been obtained. In restricted voting, only official candidates may be voted on, while in unrestricted voting, any member of the given regional group, with the exception of current Council members, may be voted on.


2013 United Nations Security Council election, Rules
The five members are expected to serve on the Security Council for the 2014–15 period.


2013 United Nations Security Council election, Candidates, Asia-Pacific group
An Arab state is due to take a seat on account of the custom of rotation of the unofficial "Arab seat" between the Arab states belonging to the African and Asian groups and the expiry of the term of the previous Arab member, Morocco,whose term expires in 2013.


2013 United Nations Security Council election, Candidates, Asia-Pacific group
Saudi Arabia Jordan — Declared candidacy after Saudi Arabia declined its election to the Council


2013 United Nations Security Council election, Candidates, Eastern European group
Lithuania Georgia — Withdrew on 30 April 2013 for diplomatic and financial reasons


2013 United Nations Security Council election, Results
There were 191 secret ballots cast in each segment of the vote.


2013 United Nations Security Council election, Results, African and Asia-Pacific Groups, Rejection
Following the vote, Saudi Arabia, despite winning, declined to take the seat citing the UNSC's "double standards" in being allegedly ineffective in regards to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, nuclear disarmament in the Middle East and putting an end to the Syrian civil war. This was the first time a state had rejected a Security Council seat. Saudi Arabia's refusal of the seat surprised both United Nations diplomats and some observers inside the country, where the announcement of the election had been received favorably. The Gulf Cooperation Council supported Saudi Arabia's bid.


2013 United Nations Security Council election, Results, African and Asia-Pacific Groups, Rejection
In addition, Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan suggested a distancing of Saudi Arabia–United States relations as a result of the same issue over the Syrian civil war, amongst other reasons. On 12 November, Saudi Arabia formally declined the seat, advising the Secretary-General that it "would not be in a position to take the seat on the Security Council to which it was elected."


2013 United Nations Security Council election, Results, African and Asia-Pacific Groups, Day 2
A second vote was held on 6 December to fill the vacancy created by the rejection of Saudi Arabia to take the seat it was elected to. Prior to the vote, the General Assembly honoured Nelson Mandela, who had died the previous day. There were 185 ballot papers.


2013 United States Grand Prix
The 2013 United States Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race that was held at the Circuit of the Americas on 17 November 2013. The race was the eighteenth round of the 2013 season, and marks the second running of the United States Grand Prix in Austin. The race was won by Red Bull-Renault's Sebastian Vettel, for his eighth consecutive win, a new F1 record for consecutive wins within a single season.


2013 United States Grand Prix, Report, Background, Driver changes
Kimi Räikkönen announced a week before the Grand Prix that he would be missing the final two races of 2013, in order to have back surgery. He had wanted to delay the operation until the off-season, but suffered increasing discomfort over the previous races. Räikkönen's decision meant that the previous race was his last race competing for Lotus, having agreed to join Ferrari for the 2014 season. His place was taken by Heikki Kovalainen, who signed a two-race deal with the team.


2013 United States Grand Prix, Report, Background, Tyres
Like the previous United States Grand Prix, tyre supplier Pirelli will bring its orange-banded hard compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the white-banded medium compound tyre as the softer "option" tyre.


2013 United States Grand Prix, Report, Free practice
Jenson Button was given a three-place grid penalty for the race, after overtaking under red flags during the opening practice session. Charles Pic was given a five-place penalty for the race after Caterham changed the gearbox in his car.


2013 United States Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
Esteban Gutiérrez and Max Chilton were given penalties for impeding other drivers in the first qualifying session. Gutiérrez, who blocked Pastor Maldonado was handed a ten-place grid penalty; Chilton will have to serve a drive-through penalty within the first five laps of the race after he impeded both Maldonado and Adrian Sutil.


2013 United States Grand Prix, Report, Race
At the start, Sebastian Vettel led away but soon after the safety car was deployed after Pastor Maldonado and Adrian Sutil collided, sending the latter into the barriers. At the restart on lap 5, Vettel quickly built up his lead and was never uncontested en-route to his 8th consecutive victory, taking the fastest lap with 2 laps remaining. Behind him Lotus driver Romain Grosjean held off Vettel's teammate, Mark Webber, for 2nd.


2013 United States Grand Prix, Report, Post-race
Jean-Éric Vergne was given a 20-second penalty for a collision with Esteban Gutiérrez on the final lap of the race. He moved down from 12th to 16th as a result.


2013 United States Grand Prix, Classification, Race
Notes:  – Jean-Éric Vergne was penalised 20 seconds post-race for colliding with Esteban Gutiérrez.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections
These six off-year races featured special elections to the 113th United States Congress to fill vacancies due to resignations or deaths in the United States House of Representatives. Two were due to Congressmen taking seats in the United States Senate, one resigned to take jobs in the private sector, one resigned to take a job in the public sector, and one resigned due to an impending federal indictment regarding misuse of campaign funds.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, Summary
All six seats were held by the party of the incumbent.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, Illinois's 2nd congressional district
Jesse Jackson, Jr. resigned on November 21, 2012, following a months-long battle with bipolar disorder and due to being subject to a federal investigation over the possible misuse of campaign funds. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn first scheduled the primary elections for February 26, coinciding with municipal primary elections, and initially set the general election for March 19. However, legislation was enacted at Quinn's request to allow the general election to coincide with municipal general elections held on April 9.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, Illinois's 2nd congressional district
Democratic nominee Robin Kelly defeated Republican nominee Paul McKinley on April 9, 2013, taking 71 percent of about 82,000 votes cast. Kelly was sworn into Congress on April 11, 2013.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, South Carolina's 1st congressional district
On December 17, 2012, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced the appointment of incumbent Republican Tim Scott to the United States Senate to replace the resigning Jim DeMint. Scott's resignation from Congress became effective January 2, 2013 and Haley ordered the special election to replace him on the same day, with primary election being held on March 19, with runoffs on April 2 and the general election on May 7.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, South Carolina's 1st congressional district
On March 19, 2013, former Gov. Mark Sanford, who held the seat from 1995 to 2001, with 36 percent, and former Charleston County Councilman Curtis Bostic, with 13 percent, placed in the top two of a 16-person field, advanced from the Republican primary to a runoff on April 2, 2013. Sanford defeated Bostic in the runoff with 57 percent of over 46,000 votes cast.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, South Carolina's 1st congressional district
On May 7, 2013, Sanford defeated Democratic nominee Elizabeth Colbert Busch, sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, taking 54 percent of over 140,000 votes cast. Sanford was sworn into Congress on May 15, 2013.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, Missouri's 8th congressional district
On December 3, 2012, incumbent Republican Jo Ann Emerson announced her intention to resign from Congress, which became effective on January 22, 2013, to become the CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in March 2013. State law allows the Republican and Democratic parties to select their own nominees without a primary. Gov. Jay Nixon set the date for the special election to be June 4, 2013. Missouri state representative Jason Smith was chosen as the GOP candidate on February 9, 2013. The Missouri Democratic Party chose state representative John Hodges as its nominee on February 16, 2013.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, Missouri's 8th congressional district
Also on the Special General Election Ballot were Libertarian Party nominee Bill Slantz and Constitution Party nominee Doug Enyart. Smith was easily elected on June 4, 2013, taking 68 percent of the vote and was sworn-in by House Speaker John Boehner on June 5, 2013 in a ceremony that was attended by most of Missouri's Congressional Delegation, Emerson and Missouri's Republican senator Roy Blunt.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, Massachusetts's 5th congressional district
On June 25, 2013, 19-term incumbent Democrat Ed Markey defeated Republican Gabriel Gomez in the special election to fill the remaining 18-months of the unexpired term of the Class II United States Senate seat caused by senator John Kerry's confirmation as Secretary of State. Markey resigned from the House of Representatives on July 15, 2013. The special election was scheduled for December 10, 2013. Its primary elections took place on October 15. The Democrat is state senator Katherine Clark and the Republican is lawyer Frank Addivinola.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, Massachusetts's 5th congressional district
Clark defeated Addivinola on December 10, 2013, with 66 percent of the vote and was sworn-in by Boehner on December 12, 2013.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, Alabama's 1st congressional district
On May 23, 2013, incumbent Republican Jo Bonner announced his intention to resign from Congress to become the vice chancellor of government relations and economic development with the University of Alabama System., with his resignation becoming effective at midnight on August 15, 2013. This was later moved up to August 2. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley set the dates for the special election. Primary elections were held on September 24. The Democratic primary was won by Burton LeFlore, a real estate agent, with 70.2% of the vote.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, Alabama's 1st congressional district
On the Republican side, the top two vote-getters in the primary, Bradley Byrne, a former state senator, and Dean Young, a businessman, advanced to a runoff on November 5. Byrne won the runoff, thus becoming his party's nominee. Byrne then went on to win the general election on December 17 by a wide margin.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, Louisiana's 5th congressional district
On August 6, 2013, six-term incumbent Republican Rodney Alexander announced plans to not seek a 7th term, citing the partisan gridlock in Congress. On August 7, 2013, Alexander announced that he would not serve the remaining time left in his term and would instead resign effective September 26, 2013, and became the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs under Governor Bobby Jindal. On August 8, 2013, Jindal issued an executive order setting the dates for the special election with the primary being held on October 19, 2013, and the general election on November 16, 2013. Louisiana operates under a jungle primary where candidates do not run for the nominations of individual parties but all run on one ballot and the top two vote getters advance to the general election.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, Louisiana's 5th congressional district
On October 19, 2013, state senator Neil Riser (with 31.97 percent) and businessman Vance McAllister (with 17.79 percent), both Republicans, advanced to the general election, which was held on November 16.


2013 United States House of Representatives elections, Louisiana's 5th congressional district
On November 16, 2013, McAllister defeated Riser in the run-off with 60 percent of the vote, and was sworn-in by Boehner on November 21, 2013.


2013 United States Junior Curling Championships
The 2013 United States Junior Curling Championships were held from January 26 to February 2 at the Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland, Massachusetts. The winners of the championships will represent the United States at the 2013 World Junior Curling Championships in Sochi, Russia.


2013 United States Junior Curling Championships, Men, Round Robin Results
All draw times are listed in Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5).


2013 United States Junior Curling Championships, Women, Round Robin Results
All draw times are listed in Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5).


2013 United States Men's Curling Championship
The 2013 United States Men's Curling Championship was held from February 9 to 16 at the Cornerstone Community Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was held in conjunction with the 2013 United States Women's Curling Championship. The winning team will represent the United States at the 2013 World Men's Curling Championship in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The championship also acted as a qualifier to the 2014 United States Olympic Curling Trials, awarding qualifying spots to the winners and runners-up of the championship.


2013 United States Men's Curling Championship, Road to the Nationals
A total of ten teams qualified to participate in the men's national championship through the High Performance Program, through the World Curling Tour Order of Merit, or through a challenge round.


2013 United States Men's Curling Championship, Teams
Ten teams participated in the national championship. The teams are listed as follows:


2013 United States Men's Curling Championship, Round robin results
All draw times are listed in Central Standard Time (UTC−6).


2013 United States Men's Curling Championship – Qualification
Qualification for the 2013 United States Men's Curling Championship consisted of three different paths. Four teams qualified directly through the High Performance Program or the Order of Merit system. The number of the remaining entrants to the national championships was cut down to six teams through a challenge round held in early January.


2013 United States Men's Curling Championship – Qualification, Qualification system
Teams qualified to participate in the men's national championship through the High Performance Program, through the World Curling Tour Order of Merit, or through a challenge round.


2013 United States Men's Curling Championship – Qualification, Qualification system, Automatic qualification
Two spots in the nationals were awarded to two teams on the United States Curling Association's High Performance National Program, established as an invitation-based program for the development of the top curling teams in the United States. The teams qualified through the High Performance Program were those skipped by Pete Fenson and Heath McCormick. Two more spots were awarded to the top two men's teams on the World Curling Tour Order of Merit standings table following the conclusion of the Iron Trail Motors Shoot-Out.


2013 United States Men's Curling Championship – Qualification, Qualification system, Automatic qualification
If one or both of the top teams were already qualified for the nationals through the High Performance Program, the spot or spots would have been awarded to the team with the next highest position on the Order of Merit. The teams qualified through the Order of Merit were those skipped by Tyler George and John Shuster.


2013 United States Men's Curling Championship – Qualification, Qualification system, Challenge Round
The remaining six spots in the nationals will be awarded to the teams that earn qualification spots through the challenge round. The challenge round was held in a triple knockout format, and was an open registration event. The teams that entered the challenge round were seeded through a strength of field ranking and through a peer ranking. The strength of field ranking was based on players' participation and performance in national championships and world championships. The seedings influenced the draw of the triple knockout event.


2013 United States Men's Curling Championship – Qualification, Challenge Round
The challenge round for the men's nationals was held from January 2 to 6 at the Hibbing Curling Club in Hibbing, Minnesota. The teams skipped by Craig Brown, Greg Persinger, Ryan Lemke, Brady Clark, Mike Farbelow, and Todd Birr advanced from the challenge round to the nationals.


2013 United States Mixed Doubles Curling Championship
The 2013 United States Mixed Doubles Curling Championship was held from December 6-9, 2012 at the Capital Curling Club in Bismarck, North Dakota. Maureen Stolt and her husband Peter Stolt won the tournament, earning the right to represent the United States at the 2013 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Fredericton, New Brunswick.


2013 United States Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, Round robin, Standings
The 17 teams were split into three pools; each pool played a round robin and at the end the top two teams advanced to the playoffs. The standings at the end of the round robin phase were:


2013 United States Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, Playoffs
The playoffs consisted of a 6-team bracket with the top two teams receiving byes in the quarterfinals.


2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials
The 2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials was held from November 10 to 17, 2013 at the Scheels Arena in Fargo, North Dakota. The trials were held to determine the women's team that will represent the United States at the curling tournament at the 2014 Winter Olympics and the men's team that will represent the United States at the qualification event for the 2014 Winter Olympics curling tournament.


2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials, Road to the Trials
Teams on the men's and women's sides will qualify to the Olympic Trials in one of two ways. Teams will be able to qualify directly to the Trials by finishing in either first or second place at the 2012 and 2013 National Curling Championships, or they will qualify indirectly through selection by the United States Curling Association's High Performance Program (HPP) Selection Committee. The HPP Selection Committee's selections will be based on prior performance at World and National Championships, Order of Merit rankings, and performance in World Curling Tour events in the three years preceding the Trials (2011–2013).


2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials, Road to the Trials
For the men's tournament, a maximum of five teams will compete for the right to represent the United States at the qualification event for the Winter Olympics. The first and second placed teams from the 2012 National Championships and from the 2013 National Championships will qualify directly for the Trials. In the event that both of the directly qualifying teams from the 2013 National Championships already qualified via the 2012 National Championships, giving a total of two directly qualified teams, the HPP Selection Committee will select two additional teams to compete in the Trials, making a total of four teams.


2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials, Road to the Trials
In the event that one of the directly qualifying teams from the 2013 National Championships already qualified via the 2012 National Championships, giving a total of three directly qualified teams, the selection committee will select one additional team to compete in the Trials, making a total of four teams.


2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials, Road to the Trials
However, if there are two or more American teams that have placed within the top twenty of the Order of Merit, and if at least one of those two teams has not earned a qualification spot in the Trials, the selection committee will choose two additional teams, bringing the total to five teams. If none of the aforementioned scenarios applies, which would imply a total of four directly qualifying teams, the selection committee will choose one additional team to compete in the Trials, bringing the total to five teams.


2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials, Road to the Trials
For the women's tournament, a total of four teams will compete for the right to represent the United States at the Winter Olympics. The first and second placed teams from the 2012 National Championships will qualify directly for the Trials. The first placed team from the 2013 National Championships will likewise qualify directly for the Trials. In the event that the first placed team from the 2013 National Championships has already qualified for the Trials via the 2012 National Championships, the second placed team will qualify for the Trials.


2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials, Road to the Trials
In the event that the second place team from the 2013 National Championships has also already qualified for the Trials via the 2012 National Championships, the selection committee will select two additional teams to compete in the Trials. Otherwise, if there is a directly qualifying team from the 2013 National Championships, the selection committee will select one additional team to compete in the Trials.


2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials, Men, Round Robin Results
All draw times are listed in Central Standard Time (UTC−6).


2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials, Men, Final
The final round will be between the top two teams at the end of the round robin. The teams will play a best-of-three series.


2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials, Women, Round Robin Results
All draw times are listed in Central Standard Time (UTC−6).


2013 United States Olympic Curling Trials, Women, Final
The final round was between the top two teams at the end of the round robin. The teams played a best-of-three series.


2013 United States Senate elections
There were two special elections to the United States Senate in 2013; ordered by election date:


2013 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts (Special)
A special election was held June 25, 2013 to fill the Class 2 seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2015.


2013 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts (Special)
The vacancy that prompted the special election was created by the resignation of Senator John Kerry, in order to become U.S. Secretary of State. On January 30, 2013, Governor Deval Patrick chose his former Chief of Staff Mo Cowan to serve as interim U.S. Senator. Cowan declined to participate in the election. A party primary election was held April 30 to determinate the nominees of each party for the general election. The Massachusetts Democrats nominated congressman Ed Markey, while the Massachusetts Republicans nominated Gabriel E. Gomez, a businessman and former Navy SEAL.


2013 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts (Special)
The special primary elections took place on April 30. Democratic Congressman Ed Markey and Republican businessman Gabriel E. Gomez won their respective primaries.


2013 United States Senate elections, New Jersey (Special)
A special election was held October 16, 2013 to fill the Class 2 seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2015. The vacancy resulted from the death of five-term Democrat Frank Lautenberg on June 3, 2013. In the interim, the seat was held by Republican Senator Jeffrey Chiesa, who was appointed on June 6, 2013 by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to serve until the elected winner was sworn in. At the time of his appointment, Chiesa, then New Jersey's Attorney General, announced that he would not be a candidate in the special election.


2013 United States Senate elections, New Jersey (Special)
Following Lautenberg's death, there was a great deal of speculation and controversy over when a special election would or could be scheduled, but the following day, June 4, 2013, Christie announced that the primary would take place on August 13, 2013, and the special election on October 16, 2013. Christie was criticized for scheduling a separate election for Senate when a gubernatorial election was already taking place in November. In the primary elections, the Republicans nominated former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan and the Democrats nominated Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Booker led in every opinion poll and the race was called for him at approximately 9:45pm EDT on October 16, 2013. Booker resigned as Mayor of Newark and was sworn in on October 31, 2013 to become the junior U.S. Senator from New Jersey.


2013 United States Senate elections, New Jersey (Special)
The special primary elections took place on August 13. Former Republican Mayor of Bogota Steve Lonegan and Democratic Mayor of Newark Cory Booker won their respective primaries. They faced off against six Independent/Third Party candidates in the October 16, 2013 general election.


2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts
The 2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was held on June 25, 2013, in order to fill the Massachusetts Class 2 United States Senate seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2015.


2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts
The vacancy that prompted the special election was created by the resignation of Senator John Kerry, in order to become U.S. Secretary of State. On January 30, 2013, Governor Deval Patrick chose his former chief of staff Mo Cowan to serve as interim U.S. Senator. Cowan declined to participate in the election. A party primary election was held on April 30 to determinate the nominees of each party for the general election. The Massachusetts Democrats nominated U.S. Representative Ed Markey, while the Massachusetts Republicans nominated Gabriel E. Gomez, a businessman and former Navy SEAL.


2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts
The race drew remarks from the media, because of its potential similarity to the 2010 special election, when Republican state senator Scott Brown upset the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. However Gomez trailed Markey in every opinion poll taken, and Markey defeated him by a 10.2 percentage point margin despite low turnout.


2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, Background
The incumbent senator, John Kerry (Democratic), was nominated to serve as U.S. Secretary of State by President Barack Obama on December 21, 2012. He was confirmed by the Senate on January 29, 2013, and in a letter to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Kerry announced his resignation from the Senate effective February 1. Kerry was sworn in as secretary of state on the same day.


2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, Background
Patrick's former chief of staff Mo Cowan was appointed to replace Kerry in the Senate on the same day and immediately ruled himself out of the special election. The special primary elections took place on April 30. Democratic U.S. Representative Ed Markey and Republican businessman Gabriel E. Gomez won their respective primaries.


2013 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, Democratic primary
U.S. Representatives Ed Markey and Stephen F. Lynch both announced campaigns for the open seat. Markey was perceived as more left-wing than Lynch.


2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey
The 2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey was held on October 16, 2013 to fill the New Jersey United States Senate Class 2 seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2015.


2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey
The vacancy resulted from the death of five-term Democratic senator Frank Lautenberg on June 3, 2013. New Jersey governor Chris Christie appointed Republican Jeffrey Chiesa to the seat as a placeholder; Chiesa announced at the time of his appointment that he would not be a candidate in the special election.


2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey
The primary elections were won by Republican former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan and Democratic Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Booker defeated Lonegan on October 16, 2013. Booker resigned as Mayor of Newark on October 30, 2013 and was sworn in on October 31, 2013 as the junior U.S. Senator from New Jersey.


2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey, Background
The vacancy resulted from the death of five-term Democratic senator Frank Lautenberg on June 3, 2013. On June 4, 2013, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced that a primary election to fill the vacancy would take place on August 13, 2013 and that a special election would follow on October 16, 2013. Democrats and Republicans interested in running in the special primary were given six days, until June 10, to collect 1,000 signatures in order to appear on the special primary ballots.


2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey, Background
Christie was criticized for spending millions of dollars to hold a separate election for Senate, despite the gubernatorial election already being scheduled for November. It was thought that Christie took this action to benefit himself politically, believing that likely Democratic nominee Cory Booker's presence on the ballot would inspire higher turnout from minority voters who would also vote for Christie's Democratic gubernatorial opponent, Barbara Buono.


2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey, Background
On June 6, 2013, Christie appointed Republican Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa to fill the Senate vacancy; Chiesa announced that he would not be a candidate in the special election.


2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey, Background
On June 13, 2013, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court unanimously rejected the Democrats' challenge, which was brought by Somerset County Democratic chairwoman Marguerite M. Schaffer, to force Christie to change the special election date in October to the general election on November 5. They ruled "the Legislature has delegated broad authority to the State's governor" to set the election date. On June 20, 2013, the New Jersey Supreme Court declined to hear a follow-up challenge to the special election date.


2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey, Background
Democratic state senator Shirley Turner, of Lawrenceville, New Jersey introduced legislation to move the general election on November 5 for all statewide offices, including governor, to the same date, October 16, as the U.S. Senate special election. This legislation was introduced in order to avoid spending an additional $12 million for a separate U.S. Senate election in October in addition to the general statewide election in November. A bill, A4237, passed both legislative houses on June 27, 2013.


2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey, Background
Another bill, A4249, allowing eligible voters who cast ballots on October 16 for senator to also vote early for the November general election, finally passed both legislative houses on June 27. Both bills were sent to Governor Christie for approval or veto with little expectation that either would be signed by Christie into law. The governor vetoed both bills on September 9, 2013.


2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey, Background
The Christie administration looked into contingency plan options for additional state workers, transportation resources, voting machines and associated hardware, and skilled voting machine technicians in order to avoid any potential conflicts due to the short time span of 20 days between the special election and the general election. Use of any of these options would increase the cost of $12 million for the October election, which would be in addition to $12 million for the August primary, that were both estimated by the New Jersey Office of Legislative Services.


2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey, Background
Contingency plans would be needed due to potential scheduling and logistical conflicts in the use of the same voting machines for both elections. New Jersey state law requires voting machines to be locked down for 15 days after an election, in case a defeated candidate seeks a recount. Voting machines would also need to be set up several days in advance of the general election. The state has made arrangements to reimburse by December 31, 2013 all necessary expenses after an audit of submitted election costs by each of the County Boards of Elections.


2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey, Special election
Booker enjoyed advantages over Lonegan in fundraising and name recognition. However, he was scrutinized regarding "his personal finances and the terms of his departure from law firm Trenk DiPasquale; the viability of his video startup, Waywire, and the investors behind it; and his behavior on Twitter, including messages to an Oregon stripper". Booker "also drew criticism from the left over his progressive credentials." Booker painted Lonegan as a "tea-party extremist", while Lonegan questioned Booker's performance as Mayor of Newark.


2013 United States Senate special election in New Jersey, Special election, Results
Booker defeated Lonegan on October 16, 2013. Booker resigned as Mayor of Newark on October 30, 2013 and was sworn in on October 31, 2013 as the junior U.S. Senator from New Jersey.


2013 United States Women's Curling Championship
The 2013 United States Women's Curling Championship was held from February 9 to 16 at the Cornerstone Community Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was held in conjunction with the 2013 United States Men's Curling Championship. The winning team will represent the United States at the 2013 World Women's Curling Championship in Riga, Latvia. The championship  also acted as a qualifier to the 2014 United States Olympic Curling Trials, awarding a qualifying spot to the winners of the championship.


2013 United States Women's Curling Championship, Road to the Nationals
A total of ten teams will be able to participate in the women's national championship by qualifying through the High Performance Program, through the World Curling Tour Order of Merit, or through a challenge round.


2013 United States Women's Curling Championship, Teams
There will be ten teams participating in this year's national championship. The teams are to be announced.


2013 United States Women's Curling Championship, Round robin results
All draw times are listed in Central Standard Time (UTC−6).


2013 United States Women's Curling Championship – Qualification
Qualification for the 2013 United States Women's Curling Championship consists of three different paths. Four teams qualified directly through the High Performance Program or the Order of Merit system. The number of the remaining entrants to the national championships will be cut down to six teams through a challenge round held in mid-January.


2013 United States Women's Curling Championship – Qualification, Qualification system
Teams will qualify to participate in the women's national championship through the High Performance Program, through the World Curling Tour Order of Merit, or through a challenge round.