2017 Uvira clashes
The 2017 Uvira clashes were a series of skirmishes between the National Coalition of the People for the Sovereignty of Congo (CNPSC) and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) supported by United Nations MONUSCO peacekeepers in and around the city of Uvira, in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The clashes were a result of the CNPSC coalition's rebellion that began several months earlier, in which the coalition declared its intent to capture the city.


2017 Uvira clashes, Background
The CNPSC coalition began a rebellion in 2017 after anticipated elections did not take place in the DRC. William Yakutumba, the coalition's leader, declared his intent to remove President Joseph Kabila from power via armed force. Uvira is the second-largest city in South Kivu, the main province where the coalition is based. The CNPSC had also previously stated their intentions to capture the city as part of their wider campaign to challenge the government. After scoring victories against the government in June and the months after, the CNPSC coalition would continue their momentum and advance on Uvira on September 27th.


2017 Uvira clashes, Clashes
In the early morning of September 27th, CNPSC forces under Ebu Ela Kitungano and René Itongwa advanced to positions 5 km outside of the city. Clashes with government forces erupted at 5 am, and continued throughout the day as rebel forces continued to move on the city. At around 3 pm, CNPSC forces entered Uvira, and heavy fighting erupted, with rebel forces briefly capturing Uvira's port. FARDC forces were reportedly overrun, but with the support of MONUSCO, eventually repelled the incursion.


2017 Uvira clashes, Clashes
Fighting continued at 5 am the next day, coinciding with a naval raid carried out by boats under the command of Saidi Ekanda. Government naval forces battled the CNPSC's boats for several hours, sinking one. MONUSCO mobilized attack helicopters to assist in fending off the attack. Within several hours, rebel forces were pushed back south, officially ending the clashes.


2017 Uvira clashes, Aftermath
After the attack, a large CNPSC meeting was held in Kazimia, the coalition's main headquarters until 2018. The meeting was used to discuss further collaboration within the coalition, as well as how the group would be structured. Additionally, the FARDC would launch an offensive in retaliation to this attack and the CNPSC's previous incursions, which would damage the coalition temporarily.


2017 Uzbek League
The 2017 Uzbek League was the 26th season of top level football in Uzbekistan since 1992. Lokomotiv Tashkent were the defending champions from the 2016 campaign.


2017 Uzbek League, Teams
Navbahor Namangan remained for the 2017 Uzbek League after winning in the relegation play-off match with Naryn. Obod Tashkent was promoted to the 2016 League as the 2015 First League winner. The draw for the 2016 season was held on 20 December 2016. The first matchday is scheduled for 3 March 2017.


2017 Uzbek League, Foreign players
The number of foreign players is restricted to five per USL team. A team can use only five foreign players on the field in each game.


2017 Uzbekistan Cup
The 2017 Uzbekistan Cup is the 25th season of the annual Uzbek football Cup competition.


2017 Uzbekistan Cup
The competition started on 19 March 2017, and ended in November 2017.


2017 Uzbekistan Cup
The cup winner is guaranteed a place in the 2018 AFC Champions League.


2017 Uzbekistan First League
The 2017 Uzbekistan First League was the 26th season of second level football in Uzbekistan since its independence in 1992. FK Yangiyer, Istiqlol Fergana, Neftchi Termez and Ghallakor-Barsa were promoted from the Second League. The draw was held on 1 February 2017 and first match was 1 April 2017.


2017 V de V Challenge Monoplace
The 2017 V de V Challenge Monoplace was a multi-event motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across Europe. The championship features drivers competing mainly in 2 litre Formula Renault single seat race cars that conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The season began at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 17 March and will finish on 5 November at Estoril after seven triple-header rounds.


2017 V de V Challenge Monoplace
Drivers compete in two classes depending on the type of car they drive. Those competing in the current Tatuus FR 2.0 2013 car, as well as the previous Barazi-Epsilon FR2.0–10 car, which are in use since 2010, are included in Class A. Old Formula Renault 2.0 machinery along with other cars such as Formula BMW and Formula Abarth encompass Class B.


2017 V de V Challenge Monoplace, Standings, Points system
Points are awarded following a complex system. Drivers receive a set of points according to their overall position in each race, as well as an additional set of points according to their position within the class their car belongs to. No separated standings for classes A and B are issued. The points distribution is as follows:


2017 V de V Challenge Monoplace, Standings, Points system
The total number of points scored in each round is multiplied by a coefficient, depending on the round. Only the best 19 results are counted towards the overall standings, whereas all results are valid towards the Gentlemen Drivers standings.


2017 V de V Endurance Series
The 2017 V de V Endurance Series was the third consecutive season for the GT, Touring Car and LMP3 classes of the V de V sanctioned series.


2017 V de V Proto Endurance Challenge
The 2017 V de V Proto Endurance Series was the sixteenth consecutive season for the Group CN based series sanctioned by V de V Sports.


2017 V.League 1
The 2017 V.League 1 (known as the Toyota V.League 1 for sponsorship reasons) season was the 61st season of the V.League 1, the highest division of Football in Vietnam. The season began on 7 January 2017 and ended on 25 November 2017. The season was twice interrupted due to the Vietnam Football Federation's decision to stop the league for 4 weeks due to the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and then again for 7 weeks for the 29th SEA Games.


2017 V.League 1, Changes from last season, Team changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2016 season.


2017 V.League 1, Changes from last season, Rule changes
There is no longer a play-off match this season, so there is only one direct relegation spot.


2017 V.League 1, Changes from last season, Names changes
In January 2017, Hà Nội T&T were renamed Hà Nội and QNK Quảng Nam were renamed Quảng Nam.


2017 V.League 1, Changes from last season, Stadium changes
SHB Đà Nẵng are going to use Hòa Xuân Stadium instead of Chi Lăng Stadium.


2017 V.League 1, 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.


2017 V.League 1, Teams, Foreign players
V.League teams are allowed to use two foreign players and one naturalised player. Hà Nội and Than Quảng Ninh are allowed to have four foreign players (at least one AFC player) to play AFC Cup.


2017 V.League 1, Positions by round
This table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve the chronological evolution, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for matchday 13, but then postponed and played between days 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for day 16.


2017 V.League 1, Awards, Annual awards, Dream Team
Vũ Văn Thanh (Hoàng Anh Gia Lai) Hoàng Văn Khánh (Sông Lam Nghệ An) Trần Đình Trọng (Sài Gòn F.C.) Đỗ Văn Thuận (Sài Gòn F.C.)


2017 V.League 1, Awards, Annual awards, Dream Team
Nguyễn Quang Hải (Hà Nội F.C) Nguyễn Huy Hùng (Quảng Nam) Nguyễn Hoàng Quốc Chí (Sanna Khánh Hòa) Đinh Thanh Trung (Quảng Nam)


2017 V.League 1, Awards, Annual awards, Dream Team
Errol Stevens (Hải Phòng F.C.) Nguyễn Anh Đức (Becamex Bình Dương)


2017 V.League 1, Attendances, By club
Updated to games played on 25 November 2017Source: Notes:† Teams played previous season in V.League 2


2017 V.League 2
The 2017 V.League 2 (referred to as  Sứ Thiên Thanh V.League 2 for sponsorship reasons) is the 23rd season of V.League 2, Vietnam's second tier professional football league. The season began on 11 February 2017 and finished on 26 July 2017. The season started with 7 clubs after the withdrawals of 3 clubs without any replaces.


2017 V.League 2, Changes from last season, Team changes
The following teams had changed division since the 2016 season.


2017 V.League 2, Changes from last season, Rule changes
There is only one promotion spot for the champion. Club finishing last will play a play-off match against the 4th-placed club of 2017 Second League.


2017 V.League 2, Results, Play-off match
Đồng Tháp won the match and remained in 2018 V.League 2.


2017 VBA season
The 2017 VBA season was the second season of the Vietnam Basketball Association. The regular season began on September 5, 2017 and end on November 5, 2017. The playoffs began on November 8, 2017 and ended on December 3, 2017, with the Thang Long Warriors beating the Cantho Catfish in 5 games to clinch their first VBA title.


2017 VBA season, Draft
The Thang Long Warriors selected Justin Young first in the inaugural VBA Heritage Player Draft.


2017 VBA season, Import players
Each team is allowed 2 heritage players and 1 foreign player.


2017 VCU Rams baseball team
The 2017 VCU Rams baseball team was the program's 47th  baseball season. It was their 5th season the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Rams began their season on February 17, 2017 with a 3–0 victory over Florida State.


2017 VCU Rams baseball team, Rankings
^ Collegiate Baseball ranks 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season. † NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season. * New poll was not released for this week so for comparison purposes the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.


2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team
The 2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2017 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 38th season of the university fielding a program. The Rams were be led by eighth-year head coach, Dave Giffard.


2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team
For the third straight season, the Rams reached the championship match of the Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament, but lost for the third straight time. The Rams fell 1-3 to UMass. Despite the loss the Rams earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. It was the program's first NCAA Tournament berth in four years. VCU were seeded 16th, giving the program their first seeding since 2012. The Rams lost in their opening NCAA Tournament match to Butler, 2-3.


2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team, Background, Previous season
The Rams team finished the 2016 season 8–9–4, 4–3–1 in A10 play to earn a berth into the 2016 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament. They defeated UMass and Dayton to advance to the A10 Championship, where they lost to Fordham. The Rams did not earn an at-large berth into the 2016 NCAA Tournament.


2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team, Review, Offseason
During the 2016-17 offseason, the Rams lost nine seniors to graduation. The most notable departure was four-year starter, Dakota Barnathan, who declared for the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. Barnathan was selected in the third round, with the 59th pick by FC Dallas. Barnathan was offered a trial with FC Dallas, and appeared in a couple preseason exhibitions with the club, but ultimately was not offered a contract. After leaving Dallas' camp, Barnathan signed on with second division, United Soccer League outfit, Swope Park Rangers, the reserve team of MLS-outfit, Sporting Kansas City. No other graduates signed professional contracts following their graduation.


2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team, Review, Offseason
In February 2017, the spring 2017 season schedule was announced, where VCU participated in several exhibition matches between March and May.


2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team, Review, Offseason
On November 13, 2017, VCU was announced as the 16th-overall seed in the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, making it the 10th time in program history the Rams qualified for the tournament.


2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team, MLS Draft
The following members of the 2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team were selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.


2017 VFL Women's season
The 2017 VFL Women's season was the second season of the VFL Women's (VFLW). The season commenced on 6 May and concluded with the Grand Final on 24 September 2017.


2017 VFL Women's season
The competition was contested by ten clubs with two changes from the inaugural season – Knox were replaced by the Box Hill Hawks (operated by the Hawthorn Football Club); and Geelong Magpies were replaced by the Geelong Cats.


2017 VFL season
The 2017 Victorian Football League season is the 136th season of the Victorian Football Association/Victorian Football League Australian rules football competition. The competition began on 8 April and concluded with the Grand Final on 24 September 2017.


2017 VFL season
The Grand Final was won by Port Melbourne, who defeated Richmond by 4 points at Etihad Stadium.


2017 VFL season, League membership
At the end of the 2016 season, AFL Victoria terminated the licence of the Frankston Football Club due to its financial position, which was no longer considered viable. The club had suffered a severe downturn in the profitability of its pokies licence over the previous few years, and by 2016 the machines were generating a loss for the club. The club terminated the pokies licence in May 2016, but by that time owed more than $1,500,000, both to the state gaming regulators and other creditors.


2017 VFL season, League membership
The club went into voluntary administration in August, and the club's VFL licence was terminated the following month, in the week after the VFL Grand Final. The club's immediate existence was saved when creditors, including the gaming regulators, agreed to waive more than 90% of the club's debt, and it came out of administration in late November 2016, but was still excluded from the 2017 season.


2017 VFL season, League membership
The club then embarked on a campaign to assure its long-term viability, which included signing up 1200 members and working to improve its relationship with the local leagues as a pathway for Mornington Peninsula footballers into state football. The club applied for and was re-granted its VFL licence for the 2018 season, meaning it missed only one season of football.


2017 VFL season, League membership
There had been an expectation over the previous few years that the Australian Football League's St Kilda Football Club would terminate its reserves affiliation with Sandringham at the end of 2016 and enter a stand-alone reserves team into the VFL. However, after renegotiations during 2016, a new rolling affiliation deal with no fixed term was signed the two clubs to begin in 2017.


2017 VFL season, League membership
The new deal changed the nature of the affiliation, expanding St Kilda's involvement in Sandringham's operation: this included removing a stipulation from the previous agreement that no more than 14 St Kilda listed players could play in Sandringham's senior team in any given match. The deal will also result in the club playing three games per year in St Kilda colours from the 2018 season at St Kilda's former home ground Moorabbin Oval.


2017 VFL season, League membership
The Casey Scorpions were renamed the Casey Demons, to co-brand the club with its AFL-affiliate, Melbourne. The club changed its guernsey design to match that of the Melbourne Football Club.


2017 VFL season, League membership
In the second season of the VFL Women's competition, the licence held by the North Geelong Football Club to operate the Geelong Magpies team was transferred to the AFL's Geelong Football Club, who rebranded the team as the Cats; the Knox Falcons left the competition; and, the Box Hill Football Club was granted a licence to enter the competition. The size of the VFL Women's thus remained at ten clubs.


2017 VL2
2017 VL2 is a micro-asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Apollo group. It was first observed by ATLAS at Mauna Loa Observatory on 10 November 2017, a day after it passed inside the orbit of Earth.


2017 VL2, Orbit and classification
2017 VL2 is an Apollo asteroid, the largest subgroup of near-Earth objects. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.9–1.5 AU once every 16 months (498 days; semi-major axis of 1.23 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.23 and an inclination of 12° with respect to the ecliptic. It is, however, not a Mars-crossing asteroid, as its aphelion of 1.51 AU is less than the orbit of the Red Planet at 1.666 AU.


2017 VL2, Orbit and classification, Close approaches
The object has a minimum orbital intersection distance with Earth of 180,000 km (0.0012 AU), which corresponds to 0.5 lunar distances. On 9 November 2017, it came within 0.31 lunar distances of the Earth (see diagrams).


2017 VL2, Physical characteristics
2017 VL2 has been estimated to measure between 6 and 32 meters in diameter, comparable to the Chelyabinsk meteor, which was also not observed before it hit the atmosphere over Russia in 2013. For an assumed albedo of 0.20, which is typical for the common S-type asteroids, 2017 VL2's  diameter would be likely 18 meters only.


2017 VL2, Physical characteristics
As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of this asteroid has been obtained from photometric observations. The object's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.


2017 VL2, Numbering and naming
This minor planet has not yet been numbered by the Minor Planet Center and remains unnamed.


2017 VMI Keydets football team
The 2017 VMI Keydets football team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. It was VMI's 127th football season. The Keydets were led by third-year head coach Scott Wachenheim. They played their home games at 10,000–seat Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium. This was VMI's fourth season as a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 0–11, 0–8 in SoCon play to finish in last place. This was VMI's fourth winless season and the first time they had gone winless since 2004.


2017 VMI Keydets football team, Game summaries, at Air Force
VMI opened the season with their first ever matchup against Air Force. It was the first time the program played a game in Colorado and the farthest west VMI has ever travelled. The game started off poorly for the visitors, as VMI allowed the Falcons to march down the field for an eight-play, 65-yard drive capped off by a 27-yard touchdown run by Tim McVey. Later in the first quarter, Air Force quarterback Arion Worthman found Geraud Saunders for a 57-yard touchdown strike that put the Falcons ahead 14–0.


2017 VMI Keydets football team, Game summaries, at Air Force
Air Force only piled on from there, as Worthman found Saunders in the endzone again to start the second, followed up by two rushing touchdowns in the final six minutes of the quarter, as the Falcons went into the locker room with a 35–0 advantage. More worrisome for the Keydets was that starting quarterback Austin Coulling was carted off the field in the second quarter after receiving a hit from Falcons safety Garrett Kauppila. Coulling did not return to the contest.


2017 VMI Keydets football team, Game summaries, at Air Force
Air Force continued to pile on the scoring in the second half, as Malik Miller punched it into the endzone from five yards out. Later, Nolan Eriksen added a three-yard rushing score, and the Falcon defense would preserve the shutout, winning 62–0. VMI struggled offensively all day, gaining only six first downs to Air Force's 32. The Keydets had only 55 rushing yards, compared to the Falcons' 473. VMI used three quarterbacks—Coulling, Duncan Hodges, and Reece Udinski—who combined to complete 10 of 19 passes for only 40 yards with one interception, by Udinski. The loss marked the sixth consecutive season-opening defeat for VMI.


2017 VMI Keydets football team, Game summaries, Catawba
VMI was hoping to earn their first win of the season over Division II-Catawba in their first meeting with the Indians since 1990. The game started off well for the Keydets, as running back Daz Palmer bursted up the middle on the team's first drive for a 56-yard score less than three minutes into the contest. From there, the game became a defensive grudgematch; the only other score of the half came on a 39-yard field goal by freshman kicker Grant Clemons at 10:28 of the second quarter, giving VMI a 10–0 advantage.


2017 VMI Keydets football team, Game summaries, Catawba
But the Indians managed to turn the tide early in the third, as the visitors concocted an eight-play, 91-yard touchdown drive that featured pass completions of 36 and 42 yards, punctuated with a one-yard plunge by Eamon Smart. After the rest of the third quarter went by without a score, Catawba took their first lead of the day with a 28-yard run by Kenyatta Greene less than two minutes in to the fourth. However, the Indians missed the extra-point, keeping it a three-point game.


2017 VMI Keydets football team, Game summaries, Catawba
From there, it was a back-and-forth affair. VMI quickly marched down the field but was stopped on third down in Indian territory, setting up another 39-yard field goal by Clemons, who had missed from forty yards earlier in the afternoon. But Catawba had the answer just four plays and 85 seconds later, as quarterback Patrick O'Brien hooked up with Sam Mobley for a 66-yard gain which took Catawba deep into Keydet territory. Then, the two found each other again in the endzone for a 13-yard score.


2017 VMI Keydets football team, Game summaries, Catawba
Down by seven, VMI responded again with a five-play touchdown drive that was capped off with a 26-yard run by Quan Mayers, evening the score at 20–20 with 7:32 to play. Catawba went three-and-out on their next possession, but VMI was unable to take advantage, failing to complete on a 3rd down in their own territory. This set up the would-be game-winning drive for the Indians, as O'Brien found Keyon West in the endzone from 25 yards out to put the visitors ahead 27–20. VMI had one final shot to tie it up, but on 3rd and 7 from VMI's 28-yard line, Coulling's pass was picked off by Jeremy Addison, preserving the Indians' upset win. The victory is believed to be Catawba's first over a Division I program.


2017 VR12
2017 VR12 is a sub-kilometer asteroid with a somewhat elongated and angular shape, approximately 160 meters (500 feet) in diameter. It is classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo or Amor group. The V-type asteroid has a rotation period of approximately 1.5 hours. It was first observed on 10 November 2017 by the 60-inch Pan-STARRS 1 telescope at Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii.


2017 VR12, Orbit and classification
It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.0–1.7 AU once every 1 years and 7 months (585 days; semi-major axis of 1.37 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.27 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic. 2017 VR12 is a V-type asteroid with a bright surface.


2017 VR12, 2018 flyby
2017 VR12 passed 0.0097 AU (3.76 lunar distances) from Earth on 7 March 2018, the closest approach by this asteroid currently known. It brightened to 12th magnitude, making it one of the brightest Near Earth asteroids of the year. It was observed by radar from Goldstone, Green Bank and Arecibo Observatory. Images revealed that 2017 VR12 is a slightly elongated and angular body with a size of approximately 160 by 100 meters.


2017 VR12, Physical characteristics
Images obtained at Green Bank and Arecibo observatories in 2018, revealed that 2017 VR12 is a slightly elongated and angular body with a size of approximately 160 by 100 meters.


2017 VR12, Physical characteristics, Rotation period
On 5 March 2018, a rotational lightcurve was obtained from photometric observations by astronomers at the Northolt Branch Observatories. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 1.5 hours with a brightness amplitude between 0.4 and 0.5 magnitude (U=n.a).


2017 VR12, Gallery
2017 VR12, imaged at Northolt Branch Observatories on 15 February 2018. The asteroid is visible at 17th magnitude at this point, at a distance of 10.4 million km (6.5 million mi) from Earth. The image is inverted (stars appear dark, the background appears light).


2017 VR12, Gallery
2017 VR12 on 26 February 2018. The asteroid is visible at 15th magnitude, at a distance of 4.8 million km (3.0 million miles) from Earth. The telescope is tracking the asteroid, causing stars to trail as the asteroid slowly moves across the sky.


2017 VR12, Gallery
2017 VR12 on 5 March 2018, two days before closest approach. The asteroid was 1.9 million km (1.2 million mi) from Earth at that time, visible at 13th magnitude.


2017 VR12, Gallery
Motion across the sky from north to south during the 6 hours around closest approach.


2017 VTB United League All-Star Game
2017 VTB United League All-Star was the inaugural All-Star event of the VTB United League as a part of the 2016–17 VTB United League. The event took place on February 11, 2017. The game was played at the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi, Russia. The game was played in a Russia Stars vs. the World Stars format. The Russian Stars won the game against the World Stars, by a score of 131:121. Andrey Vorontsevich was named the MVP of the game. Jānis Timma won the All-Star Game's slam dunk contest, and Sergey Karasev won the 3-Point Contest.


2017 VTB United League Playoffs
The 2017 VTB United League Playoffs were the concluding games of the 2016–17 VTB United League to determine the season champions. The Playoffs started on May 1, 2017. The champions or the runners-up of the Playoffs qualified for the 2017–18 EuroLeague (depending on the spot of automatically qualified CSKA Moscow).


2017 VTB United League Playoffs, Format
In the playoffs, a best-of-five games format is used. The team that wins the series will be the first team to win three games. The first two games will be played on the playing court of the four highest-place teams, the third game and, if necessary, the fourth, will be played  on the playing court of the next four highest-place teams and the fifth game, if necessary, will be played on the playing court of the four highest-place teams.


2017 VTV Awards
The 2017 VTV Awards (Vietnamese: Ấn tượng VTV - Điểm hẹn 2017) is a ceremony honouring the outstanding achievement in television on the Vietnam Television (VTV) network from August 2016 to July 2017. It took place on September 7, 2017 in Hanoi and hosted by Lại Văn Sâm & Thanh Vân Hugo.


2017 VTV Awards, Presenters/Awarders
Several winners was announced by the hosts Lại Văn Sâm & Thanh Vân Hugo, then the awarder only appeared to give the prize.


2017 VTV International Women's Volleyball Cup
The 2017 VTV Cup Championship is the 14th staging of the international tournament. The tournament will held in Hải Dương, Vietnam.


2017 VTV International Women's Volleyball Cup, Final standing
MB: 14 Ayaka Sugi, 15 Haruka Maruo, 17 Kasumi Nojima, 18 Mami YokotaOH: 1 Momoka Oda(C), 11 Misaki Yamauchi, 12 Arisa Inoue, 4 Nao Muranaga, 3 Yuka Imamura


2017 VTV9 – Binh Dien International Women's Volleyball Cup
The 2017 VTV9 - Binh Dien International Women's Volleyball Cup was the 11th staging . The tournament was held in Tây Ninh, Vietnam.


2017 VTV9 – Binh Dien International Women's Volleyball Cup, Pools composition
VTV Bình Điền Long An (Host) Altay VC  Yunnan  Thông tin LVPB


2017 VTV9 – Binh Dien International Women's Volleyball Cup, Pool standing procedure
Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 match points for the winner, 0 match points for the loserMatch won 3–2: 2 match points for the winner, 1 match point for the loser


2017 VW13
2017 VW13 is an Apollo near-Earth asteroid roughly 250 meters (820 feet) in diameter. It was discovered on 13 November 2017 when the asteroid was about 0.069 AU (10,300,000 km; 6,400,000 mi) from Earth and had a solar elongation of 110 degrees. Ten days earlier, on 3 November 2017, the asteroid had passed 0.02818 AU (4,216,000 km; 2,619,000 mi) from Earth, but only had a solar elongation of 65 degrees.


2017 VW13, 2001 Earth approach
Calculating the orbit backwards it is known that the asteroid made a close approach to Earth on 8 November 2001. The nominal (best-fit) solution shows that the asteroid passed about 0.001 AU (150,000 km; 93,000 mi) from Earth. But due to the uncertainties in the trajectory, the asteroid could have passed as far as 0.008 AU (1,200,000 km; 740,000 mi) from Earth. The observation arc is only 118 days, but as the observation arc becomes longer the precise distance of the 2001 approach will become better constrained.


2017 Vaahteraliiga season
The 2017 Vaahteraliiga season was the 38th season of the highest level of American football in Finland. The regular season took place between May 6 and August 27, 2017. The Finnish champion was determined in the playoffs, and at the championship game Vaahteramalja XXXVIII the Helsinki Roosters won their sixth consecutive championship, this time against the Wasa Royals.


2017 Vaitupu by-election
A by-election was held in the Vaitupu constituency in Tuvalu on 19 July 2017. It was triggered by incumbent MP Apisai Ielemia's dismissal from the seat by court order. It was won by political newcomer Isaia Vaipuna Taape.


2017 Vaitupu by-election, Background
Elected to the national Parliament as MP for Vaitupu in the 2015 general election, former Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia sat on the benches of the opposition to Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga's government. In May 2016, he was convicted for corruption and abuse of office, having been found to have accepted approximately 19,000 AUS $ from "Japanese and Taiwanese interests" into his personal bank account between late 2009 and mid-2010, when he had been Prime Minister. He was sentenced to one year in prison.


2017 Vaitupu by-election, Background
He appealed successfully against his conviction, but was not permitted to resume his seat in Parliament, as Speaker Otinielu Tausi issued a ruling that he was no longer qualified to sit. Upon judicial review of that ruling, Chief Justice Charles Sweeney found: "When The Hon. Apisai Ielemia commenced to serve his sentence on 6 May 2016, he became a person who was then disqualified from being elected as a member of Parliament". The judge specified that if Ielemia had, in the context of his appeal, sought "an order staying his sentence of imprisonment [before] he had commenced to serve it", then his seat would not have become vacant, as he would not have been imprisoned.


2017 Vaitupu by-election, Result
The by-election took place on 19 July 2017. Neither a full list of candidates nor specific results have been published. Candidate Isaia Taape, a "political newcomer", was elected with "a little over half the 1,100 votes, 41 votes ahead of Melton Paka Tauetia". He joined the benches of the governments parliamentary majority; the result thus constituting a government gain from the opposition.


2017 Valan International Antonov An-26 crash
On 14 October 2017, an Antonov An-26 transport aircraft of Valan International Cargo Charter crashed shortly before it was due to land at Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Four of the ten people on board were killed.


2017 Valan International Antonov An-26 crash, Aircraft
The accident aircraft was an Antonov An-26-100, registration ER-AVB, msn 3204. The aircraft had first flown in 1975.


2017 Valan International Antonov An-26 crash, Accident
The aircraft was operating a flight from Ouagadougou Airport, Burkina Faso to Félix Houphouët Boigny International Airport, Abidjan. It crashed on the coast of the Ivory Coast shortly before landing. It broke in two during the accident. It was carrying six Moldovan crew and four French Army personnel. Four crew were killed. One of the six  survivors was seriously injured. The aircraft had been chartered by the French Army and was operating in support of Operation Barkhane. The injured were transferred to the Port-Bouet camp for treatment. A thunderstorm was reported in the area at the time of the accident, about 08:30 local time (UTC).


2017 Valan International Antonov An-26 crash, Investigation
Authorities in the Ivory Coast opened an investigation into the accident. The Civil Aviation Authority of Moldova is assisting the investigation. The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were recovered from the wreckage of the aircraft.


2017 Valdosta State Blazers football team
The 2017 Valdosta State Blazers football team represented Valdosta State University as a member of the Gulf South Conference (GSC) during the 2017 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by second-year head coach Kerwin Bell and played their home games at Bazemore–Hyder Stadium in Valdosta, Georgia. Valdosta State compiled an overall record of 5–4 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a five-way tie for second in the GSC.


2017 Valdosta State Blazers football team, Schedule
Valdosta State announced its 2017 football schedule on March 17, 2017. The schedule consisted of four home games, five away games, and one neutral site game in the regular season. The Blazers hosted GSC foes Florida Tech, Mississippi College, North Alabama, and West Alabama and traveled to Delta State, Shorter, West Florida, and West Georgia.


2017 Valdosta State Blazers football team, Schedule
The Blazers were scheduled to travel to both non-conference games, which were against Albany State of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SAIC) a neutral site game against Fort Valley State, also from the SIAC.


2017 Vale of Glamorgan Council election
The 2017 Vale of Glamorgan Council election took place on Thursday 4 May 2017 to elect members of Vale of Glamorgan Council in Wales. There were 47 council seats available, across 23 wards. This was the same day as other United Kingdom local elections.


2017 Vale of Glamorgan Council election
The previous full council election took place on 3 May 2012.


2017 Vale of Glamorgan Council election, Election result
In winning 23 seats the Conservatives had a surprising resurgence, taking back the council from the previous coalition of Labour councillors and Llantwit First Independents. The Conservatives were one seat short of an overall majority. Labour-held wards such as Barry's Dyfan and Illtyd were taken by the Tories, as was the previous Plaid Cymru stronghold of Dinas Powys.


2017 Vale of Glamorgan Council election, Ward overview
[ a] Plaid Cymru had won a seat from Labour at a by-election on 2 August 2012[b] The Conservatives had won a seat from the Llantwit First Independents at a by-election on 26 March 2015[c] Cllr Mahoney was elected in 2012 for UKIP but re-designated himself as Independent in February 2016


2017 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2017 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix was the eighteenth and final round of the 2017 MotoGP season. It was held at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia on November 12, 2017.


2017 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix
In the MotoGP class, Dani Pedrosa took the victory after overtaking Johann Zarco on the final lap, while Marc Márquez clinched his fourth premier class title and sixth overall with a third place finish after rival Andrea Dovizioso crashed out. The victory would prove to be Pedrosa's last in MotoGP, as well as his final podium finish.


2017 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix
In the Moto3 class, this was the final race for both the Peugeot and Mahindra MGP3O chassis packages, as the teams that used those bikes, CIP, Ángel Nieto Team, and Redox PrüstelGP all switched to KTM for 2018.


2017 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race, MotoGP
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round eighteen has concluded.


2017 Valparaiso Crusaders football team
The 2017 Valparaiso Crusaders football team represented Valparaiso University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Dave Cecchini and played their home games at Brown Field. They competed in the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 6–5, 5–3 in PFL play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. The Crusaders had a winning season for the first time since 2003 and had five league wins for the first time since 1961.


2017 Valparaiso earthquake
The Valparaíso earthquake of April 2017 was a strong earthquake that shook the cities of Valparaíso and Santiago on Monday, April 24, 2017 at 18:38 local time and 21:38 UTC . Its epicenter was located off the coast of the Valparaíso Region and had a magnitude of 6.9 Mw. On the scale of Mercalli, the earthquake reached an intensity VII.


2017 Valparaiso earthquake
Before this seismic event there was an unusual increase in seismic activity (seismic swarm) that began on Saturday, April 22 and before the event of magnitude 6.9 more than 180 earthquakes (precursor earthquakes) had been recorded, being one of the most strong that of magnitude 6.0 of the dawn of the April 22, 2017.


2017 Valparaiso earthquake
Subsequent to this event, more than 1000 aftershocks have been recorded, including several earthquakes of magnitude greater than 5.0 and two earthquakes of magnitude 5.8 and 6.0 on Moment magnitude scale that occurred on Friday, April 28, 2017 at 12:30 and 13:05 local time respectively.


2017 Valparaiso earthquake, Modified Mercalli intensities for some localities
The earthquake was widely felt throughout the central zone of Chile and in at least two provinces of Argentina.


2017 Valparaiso earthquake, Modified Mercalli intensities for some localities
Intensities of the earthquake on the scale of Mercalli in Chile according to ONEMI.


2017 Valparaiso earthquake, Modified Mercalli intensities for some localities
Intensities of the earthquake on the scale of Mercalli in Argentina according to INPRES.


2017 Valparaiso earthquake, Earthquakes Foreshock
The first foreshock quake was recorded at 19:46 (local time) and 22:49 (UTC) on April 22, and had a magnitude of 4.8 Mw, with epicenter 32 km west of Valparaíso and 28.1 km deep.


2017 Valparaiso earthquake, Aftershock
After the earthquake more than 1000 aftershocks were registered, the largest one had a magnitude of 6.0 Mw, with an epicenter 14 kilometers south of Valparaíso and 25.9 kilometers deep.


2017 Valparaiso earthquake, Tectonic Summary
The April 24, 2017 M6.9 earthquake west of Valparaiso, Chile, occurred as the result of thrust faulting on or near the subduction zone interface between the Nazca and Pacific plates. At the latitude of this event, the Nazca Plate is moving towards the east-northeast at a velocity of 74 mm/year with respect to South America, and begins its subduction beneath the continent at the Peru–Chile Trench, 80 km to the west of the April 24 earthquake. The size, location, depth and mechanism of this event are all consistent with its occurrence on the megathrust interface in this region.


2017 Valparaiso earthquake, Tectonic Summary
While commonly plotted as points on maps, earthquakes of this size are more appropriately described as slip over a larger fault area. Events of the size of the April 24, 2017 earthquake are typically about 40x20 km in size (length x width).


2017 Valparaiso earthquake, Tectonic Summary
Chile has a long history of massive earthquakes, including the 2010 M 8.8 Maule earthquake in central Chile, which ruptured a ~400 km long section of the plate boundary immediately south of this 2017 event. The April 24, 2017 earthquake lies close to where the Juan Fernández Ridge enters the subduction zone, in a section of the plate boundary that ruptured in a M 8.0 earthquake in March 1985, and previously in the 1906 M 8.2 Valparaiso earthquake (reported by some to be as large as M 8.6).


2017 Valparaiso earthquake, Tectonic Summary
To the north of the Juan Fernandez Ridge, the subduction zone last ruptured in the M 8.3 Illapel earthquake in September 2015. This subduction zone also hosted the largest earthquake on record, the 1960 M 9.5 earthquake in southern Chile. Over the century prior to the April 24, 2017 earthquake, the region within 400 km of this event has hosted 19 M 7+ earthquakes.


2017 Valparaiso earthquake, Tectonic Summary
Prior to the April 24 M 6.9 event, the region immediately surrounding this earthquake hosted 9 other events of M 4.5 or larger over the preceding 2 days, including a M 5.9 earthquake on April 23, 2017. The 6.9 shock was also preceded by 4 seconds by a M~4 foreshock. Within an hour of the M 6.9 earthquake, 4 aftershocks of M 4.7-5.4 had been located.


2017 Valparaiso earthquake, Magnitude of the earthquake
This list includes information about the earthquake, which were measured by different seismological institutions worldwide.


2017 Valparaiso earthquake, Tsunami
The National Office of Emergency of the Interior Ministry declared a tsunami warning for the coasts of the Valparaíso and O'Higgins regions. A few minutes later, the National Tsunami Service of Chile (SNAM, by its initials in Spanish), dependent on the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy (SHOA, by its initials in Spanish), ruled out the probability of a tsunami off the coast of Chile. However, if the tsunami was generated, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) the maximum heights were; 16 cm in the city of Valparaíso and 10 cm in the commune of Quintero.


2017 Valur season
Knattspyrnufélagið Valur is an Icelandic athletic club based in Reykjavík, Iceland. In 2017, they competed in the following competitions: League Cup, Cup, Úrvalsdeild, UEFA Europa League, Super Cup.


2017 Vancouver International Film Festival
The 2017 Vancouver International Film Festival, the 36th event in the history of the Vancouver International Film Festival, was held from September 28 to October 13, 2017.


2017 Vancouver International Film Festival
The festival's opening gala film was Mina Shum's Meditation Park, and its closing gala was Todd Haynes's Wonderstruck; during the festival, a special gala was also dedicated to Guy Maddin's film The Green Fog, with its score performed live in the theatre by the Kronos Quartet.


2017 Vancouver Stealth season
The Vancouver Stealth are a lacrosse team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The team plays in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The 2017 season was the 18th in franchise history and the 4th season in Vancouver. The franchise previously played in Everett, Washington, San Jose, and Albany, New York.


2017 Vancouver Stealth season, Regular season, Final standings
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games PlayedW: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowedDifferential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game


2017 Vancouver Stealth season, Roster, Entry Draft
The 2016 NLL Entry Draft took place on September 26, 2016. The Stealth made the following selections:


2017 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season
The 2017 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season is the club's seventh season in Major League Soccer, the top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. Including previous iterations of the franchise, this is 40th season of professional soccer being played in Vancouver under a variation of the "Whitecaps" name.


2017 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season
Outside of MLS, the Whitecaps played in the knockout rounds of the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League, where they faced fellow MLS team the New York Red Bulls in the quarterfinals. Additionally, the team played in the 2017 Canadian Championship.


2017 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Major League Soccer, Regular season, Results
Last updated: October 22, 2017Source: Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won;  T = Matches tied;  L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference


2017 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, CONCACAF Champions League, 2016–17, Group stage
Group stage matches were played during the 2016 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season.


2017 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Playing statistics
Appearances (Apps.) numbers are for appearances in competitive games only including sub appearancesRed card numbers denote: Numbers in parentheses represent red cards overturned for wrongful dismissal.


2017 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season, Playing statistics
Source: (for players and positions) 00(for squad numbers) 00(for actual stats.)


2017 Vancouver municipal by-election
A municipal by-election was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on October 14, 2017. One empty seat on city council and all the seats on the Vancouver school board were filled.


2017 Vancouver municipal by-election
These elections were held outside the normal four-year schedule. Unlike in full elections, voters were only asked to elect one councillor and nine school board trustees rather than the full complement of elected municipal positions. The by-election was necessary for two reasons: the resignation of Vision Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs from City Council to become BC Premier John Horgan's chief of staff and the desire of the new provincial NDP government to reconstitute the Vancouver School Board, whose elected members had all been fired by the previous BC Liberal government.


2017 Vancouver municipal by-election
The school board election marked the first time a OneCity candidate was elected to any position in Vancouver's elected government.


2017 Vancouver municipal by-election, Background
The by-election was called to replace the single vacant council seat, due to Geoff Meggs' departure to take on the role of Premier John Horgan's chief of staff. The by-election was also meant to elect a new board of school trustees, who had been dismissed by provincial education minister Mike Bernier after failing to pass a balanced budget and allegations of workplace harassment arose.


2017 Vancouver municipal by-election, Nomination process, Non-Partisan Association
On September 6, 2017, the Non-Partisan Association held a nomination meeting to decide their representative for the lone Council position. Hector Bremner, the successful nominee, beat out former school trustee Penny Noble and former leader of the Cedar Party Glen Chernen. Candidates for the five school trustee positions were announced at the same time.


2017 Vancouver municipal by-election, Nomination process, Green Party
Pete Fry, who had unsuccessfully ran for Council in 2014, was the first confirmed nominee for council by any major political party in Vancouver. The Greens also nominated former incumbent Janet Fraser to run for re-election alongside Judy Zaichkowsky and Estrellita Gonzalez.


2017 Vancouver municipal by-election, Results, School Board trustees
(I) denotes incumbents prior to the dismissal of all nine School Board trustees by Education Minister Mike Bernier in October 2016.


2017 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team
The 2017 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team represents Vanderbilt University during the 2017 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Commodores play their home games at Hawkins Field as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. They are led by head coach Tim Corbin, in his 15th season at Vanderbilt. The Commodores would finish the regular season 33-21-1 overall, 15-13-1 in conference play and be invited to the 2017 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Vanderbilt would beat Clemson to win the Clemson Regional, before losing to #1 Oregon State in the Corvallis Super Regional.


2017 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team, Previous season
The Commodores had a hot start to the 2016 season, being ranked as high as #2 before compiling a 40-15 regular season record, going 18-12 in the SEC. The Commodores finished ranked #10 in the nation and earned a #6 seed in the 2016 Southeastern Conference tournament. The Commodores went 2-2 and were eliminated by Texas A&M, the eventual champions. Following the SEC tournament, the Commodores hosted a regional in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, part of the Louisville super regional. The season was marred by the death of freshman pitcher Donny Everett, who drowned the day before Vanderbilt was to take on Xavier University in their first regional game. Vanderbilt went 0-2 in the Nashville regional to end the season, falling to Xavier and Washington.


2017 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
The 2017 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Commodores played their home games at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee and compete in the East Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by fourth-year head coach Derek Mason. The team earned a final record of 5–7 (1–7 SEC) in a season notable for wins against Kansas State, then in the top 20, and Tennessee, but also for sizeable losses against SEC opponents Alabama (by 59 points), Georgia (by 31), and Missouri (by 28). The Tennessee win at Neyland Stadium was the Commodores' fourth in six games, a feat unequaled by VU in that rivalry since 1926.


2017 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Schedule
Vanderbilt announced its 2017 football schedule on September 13, 2016. The 2017 schedule consisted of 7 home games and 5 away games in the regular season. The Commodores hosted SEC foes Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Missouri, and traveled to Florida, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee.


2017 Vanderbilt Commodores football team, Schedule
The Commodores hosted three of their four non–conference games, against Alabama A&M from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Kansas State from the Big 12 Conference and Western Kentucky from Conference USA. Vanderbilt traveled to Middle Tennessee (also from Conference USA) and ended a five-game losing streak in opening games dating from 2012.


2017 Varsity Cup
The 2017 Varsity Cup was the 2017 edition of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-university rugby union competition featuring university sides in South Africa. The tournament – known as the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International for sponsorship reasons – was the tenth season of the Varsity Cup and was contested from 30 January to 17 April 2017.


2017 Varsity Cup, Competition rules and information
There were nine participating universities in the 2017 Varsity Cup. These teams played each other once over the course of the season, either home or away.


2017 Varsity Cup, Competition rules and information
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2017 Varsity Cup, Competition rules and information
The top four teams qualified for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finished first had home advantage against the team that received fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The winners of these semi-finals played each other in the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.


2017 Varsity Cup, Competition rules and information
The Varsity Cup tweaked the scoring system introduced in 2016; under the 2017 rules, tries could be worth five or seven points, depending on the point where the try-scoring move originated. If the try-scoring move originated in the opponents' half, it would count five points. If the move originated in the try-scoring team's own half, two bonus points were awarded and the try would be worth seven points.


2017 Varsity Cup, Teams
The following teams took part in the 2017 Varsity Cup competition:


2017 Varsity Cup, Standings
The top four teams qualified to the semi-finals. The first-placed team hosted the fourth-placed team and the second-placed team hosted the third-placed team. The higher-ranked semi-final winner then hosted the lower-ranked semi-final winner in the final.


2017 Varsity Cup, Standings
Points breakdown:* 4 points for a win* 2 points for a draw* 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less* 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match


2017 Varsity Cup, Standings, Round-by-round
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets:


2017 Varsity Cup, Matches
The following matches were played in the 2017 Varsity Cup:


2017 Varsity Cup, Players, Squads
The following squads were named for the 2017 Varsity Cup:


2017 Varsity Rugby
2017 Varsity Rugby was the 2017 edition of four rugby union competitions annually played between several university teams in South Africa. It was contested from 30 January to 17 April 2017 and was the tenth edition of these competitions.


2017 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Cup
The following teams competed in the 2017 Varsity Cup:  CUT Ixias,  Maties,  NMMU Madibaz,  NWU Pukke,  UCT Ikey Tigers,  UFS Shimlas,  UJ,  UP Tuks and  Wits. Wits were promoted from the 2016 Varsity Shield to return to the Varsity Shield competition after a two-year absence.


2017 Varsity Rugby, Varsity Shield
The following teams competed in the 2017 Varsity Shield:  CPUT,  Rhodes,  TUT Vikings,  UFH Blues,  UKZN Impi,  UWC and  WSU All Blacks.


2017 Varsity Rugby, Young Guns, Competition rules
There was nine participating universities in the 2017 Young Guns competition, the Under-20 sides of each of the nine Varsity Cup teams. These teams were divided into three regionalised pools and each team played every team in their pool twice over the course of the season, once at home and once away.


2017 Varsity Rugby, Young Guns, Competition rules
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by eight points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2017 Varsity Rugby, Young Guns, Competition rules
The top four teams overall qualified for the title play-off semi-finals.


2017 Varsity Rugby, Young Guns, Standings
The final standings for the 2017 Varsity Cup Young Guns were:


2017 Varsity Rugby, Young Guns, Matches
The following matches were played in the 2017 Varsity Young Guns competition:


2017 Varsity Rugby, Koshuis Rugby Championship, Competition rules
There was nine participating teams in the 2017 Steinhoff Koshuis Rugby Championship competition, the winners of the internal leagues of each of the nine Varsity Cup teams. These teams were divided into two pools (one with five teams and one with four teams) and each team played every team in their pool once over the course of the season, either at home or away.


2017 Varsity Rugby, Koshuis Rugby Championship, Competition rules
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by eight points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2017 Varsity Rugby, Koshuis Rugby Championship, Standings
The final standings for the 2017 Steinhoff Koshuis Rugby Championship were:


2017 Varsity Rugby, Koshuis Rugby Championship, Matches
The following matches were played in the 2017 Steinhoff Koshuis Rugby Championship competition:


2017 Varsity Shield
The 2017 Varsity Shield was the 2017 edition of the Varsity Shield, an annual second-tier inter-university rugby union competition featuring university sides in South Africa. The tournament – known as the FNB Varsity Shield presented by Steinhoff International for sponsorship reasons – was the seventh season of the Varsity Shield and was contested from 9 February to 10 April 2017.


2017 Varsity Shield, Competition rules and information
There were seven participating universities in the 2017 Varsity Shield. These teams played each other once over the course of the season, either home or away.


2017 Varsity Shield, Competition rules and information
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that scored four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams that lost a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by log points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2017 Varsity Shield, Competition rules and information
The top four teams qualified for the title play-offs. In the semi-finals, the team that finished first had home advantage against the team that received fourth, while the team that finished second had home advantage against the team that finished third. The winners of these semi-finals played each other in the final, at the home venue of the higher-placed team.


2017 Varsity Shield, Teams
The following teams took part in the 2017 Varsity Shield competition:


2017 Varsity Shield, Standings
The top four teams qualified to the semi-finals. The first-placed team hosted the fourth-placed team and the second-placed team hosted the third-placed team. The higher-ranked semi-final winner then hosted the lower-ranked semi-final winner in the final.


2017 Varsity Shield, Standings
Points breakdown:* 4 points for a win* 2 points for a draw* 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less* 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match


2017 Varsity Shield, Standings, Round-by-round
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets:


2017 Varsity Shield, Matches
The following matches were played in the 2017 Varsity Shield:


2017 Vegas eRace
The 2017 Visa Vegas eRace was a Formula E eSports race held at The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of the Sports Business Innovation Summit at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show on January 7, 2017. Unlike other races, the Vegas eRace did not count towards the 2016–17 season, and was not held on a real track. Ten sim racers—competitors who typically race in simulation racing video games—competed against the regular series drivers on a simulated course for a record-breaking total prize fund in eSports racing history of $1 million. The race itself was made up of two races: a 14-lap qualifying race for the slowest 20 qualifiers to determine positions 11 to 20 for the 20-lap main race. The first ten starting positions were decided by an earlier qualifying session that was divided into five groups of six cars.


2017 Vegas eRace
Dragon sim driver Bono Huis led every session that he participated in and won the race from pole position. Professional driver António Félix da Costa took victory in the qualification race shortly beforehand. Huis led most of the race until the mandatory virtual pit stops to change into a second car when Olli Pahkala of Mahindra moved into the lead. Pahkala held the position for the final five laps to finish first on the road, but he was penalized 12 seconds after it was discovered that a software bug enabled him to use FanBoost for longer than permitted. Second went to the highest-placed professional driver Felix Rosenqvist for Mahindra and Pakhala's penalty dropped him to third.


2017 Vegas eRace
Media reaction to the eRace was mixed. Those who were critical of the race panned its organization because multiple technical problems prompted a half hour delay of the main event, and one driver each was forced to respectively withdraw from both races due to simulator issues. Reviewers who wrote a positive review spoke of their feelings that the consequences of the event could lead to a professional eSports racing series and aid in rectifying accessibility problems, and for others to use it as an alternative career to traditional motor racing. After the eRace, some sim racers were adopted into the teams they were assigned to and aided their real-life development through car testing and advising.


2017 Vegas eRace, Background and preparations
Luis Pachon, the founder of the Madrid-based start-up company Cloud Sport, proposed the idea for an eRace in Las Vegas to Formula E (FE) CEO Alejandro Agag who quickly understood Pachon's intention and began work soon after. iRacing was reportedly an early contender for an association with FE, but the costs of laser scanning the track, and the lack of a wider benefit of putting in the effort of constructing the circuit, meant it was not cost effective.


2017 Vegas eRace, Background and preparations
In June 2016, Agag revealed the eRace plans to Reuters, and announced that it would be held as part of the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Prior to the announcement, FE had held (and currently hold) eRaces at all championship rounds where spectators compete against professional racing drivers in the eVillage of the hosting race track. The eRace was officially confirmed at the 2016 London ePrix the following month.


2017 Vegas eRace, Background and preparations
It was held as part of CES' Sport Business Innovation Summit, and took place at The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, on January 7, 2017, but the race did not count towards the 2016–17 championship, and no points were awarded. FE entered into a partnership with ELEAGUE for this event, which had commentary by Jack Nicholls and Dario Franchitti.


2017 Vegas eRace, Background and preparations
A total of 30 drove in the eRace: 20 FE competitors who composed the regular season grid, and ten sim racing drivers who qualified for the event by participating in a four-race elimination contest called the Road to Vegas Challenge from October 16 and December 4, 2016. The top two racers who qualified for the eRace were former Formula Ford 1600 driver Graham Carroll and iRacing world champion Greger Huttu. Each of the ten sim drivers was randomly drawn into the ten legitimate FE teams.


2017 Vegas eRace, Background and preparations
For real-world realism, every participant wore a flame-proof race suit, and utilized identical virtual cars with the sole change being the team liveries and personal numbers for identification purposes. Pit stops to virtually switch to a second car were mandatory. The race was regulated by FE's sporting director, and motorsport's world governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. The total prize fund was $1 million (the largest in eSports racing history), and was broadcast on the live streaming platform Twitch.


2017 Vegas eRace, Background and preparations
The layout of the 3.14-mile (5.05 km) long anti-clockwise track was designed by Cloud Sport and it was publicly unveiled on the morning of January 6. Drivers began on the South Las Vegas Boulevard and progressed past hotel and casino resorts such as the Luxor and the MGM Grand. Cloud Sport supplied and regulated the Playseat simulation equipment which operated on the racing video game rFactor 2. Thrustmaster TS-PC steering wheels and T3PA pedals were fitted to the equipment. All computers were sealed and approved by the stewards to ensure parity.


2017 Vegas eRace, Background and preparations
External ports were blocked to prevent anybody from plugging in personal components. Since no G-forces could be felt by drivers during the race, Cloud Sport remedied this by programming the vehicles to respond to the inertia created by sudden acceleration. This made for a realistic driving experience: vehicles tilted onto three wheels during sharp cornering, and the performance  of the cars deteriorated when they sustained damage.


2017 Vegas eRace, Background and preparations
The Vegas eRace was heavily promoted beforehand. FE's inaugural champion Nelson Piquet Jr. of NextEV NIO spoke of his excitement for the eRace and stated his belief FE combining the simulation and real-life racing worlds was a positive step: "I think this is going to be really fun with all the drivers together." Andretti driver Robin Frijns revealed his interest in how he would compare against sim drivers: "I don't really know what to expect, maybe the sim drivers or the fans are really good, maybe not, we don't know.


2017 Vegas eRace, Background and preparations
If all you do is race on simulators at home, then maybe they are pretty good!." Mahindra's Felix Rosenqvist said he felt the sim racers would have an advantage because of their experience but he felt it would not be as great after learning the circuit. Hans-Jürgen Abt, the team principal of Audi Sport ABT, felt the Vegas eRace was "a good example" of how the series was moving farther than other racing championships: "For more than six decades, we have been racing in motorsport on all of the world's race tracks—but this event is a total first for us."


2017 Vegas eRace, Practice and qualifying
Four practice sessions were held before the qualification race on January 7. The first session, held on January 6, lasted for half an hour, with sim drivers taking part, and the second identically timed session for the professional racing drivers was held fifteen minutes later. The final two sessions for sim and professional drivers took place on the morning of January 7; both ran for fifteen minutes. Bono Huis set the fastest time for Dragon in the combined opening practice session with a time of one minute and 28.456 seconds, half a second faster than anyone else.


2017 Vegas eRace, Practice and qualifying
His closest challenger was the highest placed professional driver Rosenqvist in second in front of third-placed Graham Carroll and Virgin's José María López in fourth. Piquet was fifth-fastest, ahead of António Félix da Costa in sixth. Sam Bird, Enzo Bonito, Olli Pahkala and Frijns rounded out the session's top ten fastest drivers. In the combined second practice session, Huis again topped the combined time sheets with a lap of 1 minute, 28.142 seconds, more than half a second quicker than the second-placed Frijns; Rosenqvist was third and Félix da Costa was fourth-quickest; Petar Brljak was fifth and Graham Carroll sixth. Pahkala placed seventh, Bonito eighth, David Greco ninth and López completed the top ten ahead of qualifying.


2017 Vegas eRace, Practice and qualifying
Saturday afternoon's 50 minute qualifying session was divided into five groups of six cars. The groups were determined by a lottery system and were permitted six minutes of on-track activity. The fastest five overall competitors in all five groups participated in a "Super Pole" session with one driver on the track at any time going out in reverse order from fifth to first. Each of the five drivers was limited to one timed lap and the starting order was determined by their' fastest times. (Super Pole from first to fifth, and group qualifying from sixth to tenth).


2017 Vegas eRace, Practice and qualifying
Huis continued to top every session throughout the eRace meeting and achieved pole position with a lap of 1 minute, 28.631 seconds. He was awarded an automatic award of $25,000 for the achievement. Huis was joined on the grid's front row by Rosenqvist whose fastest lap was two-tenths of a second slower. The rest of the top ten consisted of sim racers: Aleksi Uusi-Jaakkola was third and Graham Carroll fourth. Greco rounded out the top five super pole competitors. Pahkala, Patrik Holzmann, Huttu, Bonito and Alkesi Elomaa were sixth to tenth.


2017 Vegas eRace, Practice and qualifying
The rest of the field lined up as López, Félix da Costa, Frijns, Piquet and Lucas di Grassi, Ma Qinghua, Bird, Maro Engel, Jean-Éric Vergne, Jérôme d'Ambrosio, Daniel Abt, Sébastien Buemi, Mitch Evans, Stéphane Sarrazin, Loïc Duval, Nico Prost, Oliver Turvey, Adam Carroll, Petar Brjlak (who crashed during his run) and Nick Heidfeld.


2017 Vegas eRace, Practice and qualifying, Qualifying race
A 14-lap qualifying race contested by the slowest 20 drivers from group qualifying was held from 15:25 Pacific Standard Time (PST) (UTC+08:00) to determine positions 11 to 20 on the grid. D'Ambrosio did not begin the event because of technical problems with his racing pod. In a race where multiple crashes occurred, which meant several cars lost car bodywork parts, López led from the start until Félix da Costa closed up to him and overtook him on the outside at turn five.


2017 Vegas eRace, Practice and qualifying, Qualifying race
Félix da Costa led the remainder of the race to finish first and begin from 11th in the main race. López finished second and Frijns took third place. Outside the top three, Piquet secured fourth and was followed closely behind by Evans and Bird in fifth and sixth. Defending series champion Buemi took seventh ahead of di Grassi in eighth. The final two qualifiers were Di Grassi's teammate Abt and Duval in ninth and tenth.


2017 Vegas eRace, Main race
A special feature of FE is the "Fan Boost" feature, an additional 100 kW (130 hp) of power to use for six seconds in the driver's second car. The three drivers who are allowed to use the boost is determined by a fan vote. For the Vegas eRace, Pakhala, López and Greco were handed the extra power. The race was due to start at 16:05 PST, but multiple technical problems caused it to be delayed for half an hour, and its distance was reduced from 28 to 20 laps.


2017 Vegas eRace, Main race
Owing to a control issue that affected his simulator, di Grassi was unable to start the event. The exact number of viewers was not disclosed. When the race began from its standing start, Huis maintained the lead entering the first corner and began to expand a small lead over Rosenqvist in the opening laps who could not maintain the leader's pace. Towards the end of lap one, Holzmann clipped the outside wall out of the final corner, speared across the start/finish straight, and collected Félix da Costa, ending both drivers' chances of standing on the podium. Holzmann retired but Félix da Costa continued with light damage to his car. Piquet fell to 17th on the first lap, but returned to 14th place by lap seven. Bird on the other hand was running in sixth by the third lap.


2017 Vegas eRace, Main race
The mandatory virtual pit stops, during which all drivers needed to change into a second car, started at the end of lap seven when Bird entered the pit lane. Pahkala opted to bow out of a multi-car battle with Uusi-Jaakkola, Greco and Graham Carroll for third place at the end of the next lap to make his mandatory stop. Pahkala left with a clear track ahead of him, and since no other driver was close enough to impede his progress, he recorded a series of quick lap times.


2017 Vegas eRace, Main race
On the tenth lap, Graham Carroll got a run on Uusi-Jaakkola leaving the final corner and steered onto the inside line into the first turn chicane. Greco made it three abreast on the outside. He and Uusi-Jaakkola made contact, and the latter touched Graham Carroll's left-rear wheel. Two of the cars barrel rolled through the trackside catch fencing and into some palm trees. The cars glitched quickly and re-rendered themselves back onto the circuit. Uusi-Jaakkola and Greco had each lost one of their wheels and dropped several positions. Virtual racing technology allowed the trio to emerge unhurt from the crash and the safety car was not used.


2017 Vegas eRace, Main race
As the eRace progressed, race leader Huis made an error, allowing Rosenqvist to close to within less than two seconds of him. Huis and Rosenqvist made their pit stops together at the end of lap fifteen and emerged in second and third places. Pakhala lapped in the 1 minute, 24 second range, moving him to the front of the field, and requiring Huis and Rosenqvist to focus on battling for second position. With four laps remaining, Buemi dropped outside the top ten when Piquet overtook him for tenth. Ussi-Jaakkola and Bonito battled for fourth, which ended in the latter's favour in the last three laps. Pahkala was unchallenged for the rest of the eRace, and was first to cross the start/finish line. Huis held off Rosenqvist in the closing laps for second.


2017 Vegas eRace, Main race
After the podium ceremony, Huis and Dragon filed a complaint with the race stewards. An investigation of data shared by viewers on Twitter soon after the race determined that Pahkala had used FanBoost illegally for at about five laps as opposed to the maximum of five seconds because of a software bug. Hence, Pahkala had 12 seconds added to his race time and was demoted to third. Huis inherited the victory and Rosenqvist took second. Off the podium, Bonito took fourth ahead of the Finnish duo of Uusi-Jaakkola and Huttu. López, Bird, Abt and Piquet rounded out the top ten. Buemi, Elomaa, Frijns, Duval, Greco, Félix da Costa and Graham Carroll were the final classified finishers. Huis earned $200,000 for winning the race and Greco won $10,000 for recording the race's fastest lap.


2017 Vegas eRace, Post-race
Huis commented on the victory: "It's very exciting to be here, racing in conjunction with pro drivers during one of the most renowned tech forward events. And to be the ultimate grand victor with Faraday Future Dragon Racing is thrilling." Second-place finisher Rosenqvist stated that although the simulation racing environment was new to all the professional racing drivers, he expressed his hope of competing in future eRaces, adding: "In the end it worked out very well for me and I was up the at front in every session.


2017 Vegas eRace, Post-race
Luckily, in the final I started from the front row and had a very clean race with a long first stint, without any traffic, and I was able to cruise to the podium in P2." Despite his 12-second penalty for overusing FanBoost, Pahkala was sanguine, and said that he felt the simulation and real life racing worlds belong together and praised the development of motor racing eSport events, adding: "In the end, P3 was more than welcome for me. It's been a blast! I made some mistakes in the practice session preparation which cost me pace later on and P3 is more than fair for everyone with what happened."


2017 Vegas eRace, Post-race
Media reaction to the Vegas eRace was mostly positive. Kyle Patrick for GTPlanet praised the quality of competitiveness across the field: "Real drivers showed they could hang with the gamers on their own turf, which can only be a good thing for both sides moving forward." The correspondent for CNN wrote Huis was widely agreed to be "a deserving overall winner", and said that the eRace had further emphasized "the narrow margins between the FE drivers and sim racers" with five professional drivers finishing in the top ten.


2017 Vegas eRace, Post-race
Pat McAssey of New England Sports Network noted FE's partnership with ELEAGUE brought sim racing to a mainstream audience and argued that eSports can potentially solve accessibility issues as some people lack the capital to purchase a go-kart. He argued FE could aid the growth of eRacing and allow others to use it as an alternative career path to traditional motor racing. Writing for Alphr, Curtis Moldrich echoed similar statements, and believed the positive consequence of the Vegas eRace was a testament to FE's forward-looking philosophy. Although he stated his belief another eRace was unlikely to be repeated on a large scale, Autosport's Scott Mitchell called the event "an enormous middle finger to the traditionalists", and wrote of his feeling that it was "huge for a hidden part of motorsport that FE has taken that chance."


2017 Vegas eRace, Post-race
Other media outlets received the race more negatively. Luke Smith of NBC Sports wrote that Pahkala's penalty was "deeply embarrassing for all of those who looked to make the inaugural eRace such a success" and likened it to "Balance of Performance on steroids." He went on to say that the event had not been as smoothly as organizers wished, and there had been some skepticism over FE attempting to close the gap between the real-life and simulation worlds since the former is reliant on sensory input.


2017 Vegas eRace, Post-race
The Checkered Flag's Scott Douglas was more critical, writing that as a competition, the race was "a disappointment" since sim racers were expected to dominate, and its problems hurt the finishing order's credibility: "This undermined the race as a competition, and also did nothing to help the reputation of FE itself as its best drivers were so resoundingly beaten. It lacked any sense of real weight or drama, and tied in with the glitches affecting some of the drivers it didn't come anywhere near to producing the excitement of real racing." Writing for Ars Technica, Jonathan M. Gitlin felt short-changed as a result of spectating the eRace and noted the large number of complaints about the quality of the graphics in the Twitch stream.


2017 Vegas eRace, Legacy
Following the evemt, some of the competing sim racers were adopted into their respective teams, and aided in the real-life development of their cars through testing and advising, which according to FE's eSports manager Matt Huxley, indicated that their opinions were taken seriously.


2017 Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Tournament
The 35th Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Tournament 2017, was a wrestling event held in Istanbul, Turkey between 4 and 5 March 2017.


2017 Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Tournament
This international tournament includes competition men's Greco-Roman wrestling. This ranking tournament was held in honor of the Olympic Champion, Hamit Kaplan and Turkish Wrestler and manager Vehbi Emre.


2017 Veikkausliiga
The 2017 Veikkausliiga was the eighty-seventh season of top-tier football in Finland. IFK Mariehamn were the defending champions.


2017 Veikkausliiga
Fixtures for the 2017 season were announced on 19 January 2017. The season started on 5 April 2017 and ended on 28 October 2017.


2017 Veikkausliiga, Teams
PK-35 Vantaa were relegated to Ykkönen after finishing at the bottom of the 2016 season. Their place was taken by Ykkönen champions JJK.


2017 Veikkausliiga, Teams
FC Inter as 11th-placed team regained their Veikkausliiga spot after beating the second-placed Ykkönen team TPS 2–0 on aggregate in a relegation/promotion playoff.


2017 Veikkausliiga, Results
Each team plays three times against every other team, either twice at home and once away or once at home and twice away, for a total of 33 matches played each.


2017 Venetian autonomy referendum
The Venetian autonomy referendum of 2017 took place on 22 October in Veneto, Italy.


2017 Venetian autonomy referendum
The poll was not binding, but it might have consequences in terms of negotiations between the Italian government and Veneto as the regional government declared that it would ask for more devolved powers whether [if] the "yes" won. According to Mario Bertolissi, law professor and advisor to the regional government, the referendum would have "constituent power". Others considered it pointless while supporters of unitarianism in Italy counter-productive.


2017 Venetian autonomy referendum
As expected, the "yes" vote did succeed. Turnout was 57.2% and 98.1% of participants voted "yes".


2017 Venetian autonomy referendum, Background
The referendum date was announced in April 2017 by President of Veneto Luca Zaia after decades of debates and efforts by supporters of Venetian nationalism, which rose to prominence in the 1980s–1990s. Both in 1992 and 2000, the Constitutional Court had rejected proposals for similar referenda brought forward by the Regional Council of Veneto.


2017 Venetian autonomy referendum, Background
In 2014, Plebiscito.eu, a minor Venetist organisation and supposedly cross-party committee, organised an online unofficial independence referendum.


2017 Venetian autonomy referendum, Background
Following that episode, the Region tried to hold an official one by voting a related bill. In June 2015, the Constitutional Court ruled the independence referendum out as contrary to the Constitution, but it authorised one of the five autonomy referenda proposed by the Region ("Do you want further forms and special conditions of autonomy to be attributed to the Region of Veneto?"). Lombardy, Italy's most populous region neighbouring to Veneto on the east, held a similar referendum on 22 October.


2017 Venetian autonomy referendum, Background
Both Zaia and President of Lombardy Roberto Maroni were members of Lega Nord (LN) and more specifically of Liga Veneta and Lega Lombarda, respectively. The LN had always been a strong proponent of federal reform, but these referendums were supported also by the Five Star Movement, Forza Italia and more moderately the Democratic Party.


2017 Venetian autonomy referendum, Background
The Economist newspaper, which bet on the "yes" camp to prevail, also predicted that due to the perceived "anti-southern skew" of the vote the "national ambitions" of Matteo Salvini, LN federal secretary, would be negatively impacted by a resounding "yes" victory while Zaia could become the "future leader of the party". (However, Salvini not only remained party leader, but led the party to a success in the 2018 general election sand was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister in Conte Cabinet.)


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election
Constituent Assembly elections were held in Venezuela on 30 July 2017 to elect the members of the 2017 Constituent National Assembly (Spanish: Asamblea Nacional Constituyente; ANC). Unlike the 1999 Constituent National Assembly, which was assembled following a referendum, the 2017 election was convened by the presidential decree of President Nicolás Maduro.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election
Approximately two-thirds (364) of Assembly members were elected by municipal citizens while members of seven social sectors — including trade unions, communal councils, indigenous groups, farmers, students, and pensioners — elected the remaining one-third (181) of members. The new constitution proposed by the Constituent Assembly will be subject to approval by referendum. The opposition's refusal to contest the election meant that most candidates of the Constituent Assembly were likely to be supporters of the government. The upcoming regional and presidential elections may also be delayed from their planned dates under a new constitution since no timeline was given for the rewrite.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election
The decision to hold the election has been criticised by members of the international community. Over 40 countries along with supranational bodies, such as the European Union, Mercosur and the Organization of American States, condemned and failed to recognize the election, stating it would only further escalate tensions. President Maduro's allies — such as Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Russia, and Syria — discouraged foreign intervention in Venezuelan politics and congratulated the president.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Background
Following the death of former President Hugo Chávez, citizens suffered under a socioeconomic crisis under his successor, Nicolás Maduro, as rampant crime, hyperinflation and shortages diminished their quality of life. As a result of the ensuing crisis, political tensions culminated into a series of protests that occurred since 2014. As a result of discontent with the Bolivarian government, for the first time since 1999, the opposition was elected to hold the majority in the National Assembly following the 2015 parliamentary election.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Background, 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis
Following the 2015 National Assembly election, the lame duck National Assembly (consisting of Bolivarian officials) filled the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) with allies. The TSJ quickly stripped three opposition lawmakers of their seats in early 2016, citing alleged "irregularities" in elections, preventing an opposition supermajority in the National Assembly which would have been able to challenge President Maduro. The TSJ court then began to approve of multiple actions performed by Maduro and granted him more powers. In July 2016, the opposition walked out of Vatican-mediated dialogue between the Bolivarian government and the opposition, due to lack of progress towards releasing political prisoners or allowing a recall election; the opposition stated "We'll only sit down with the government again once they meet what was agreed on."


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Background, 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis
In October 2016, a recall referendum against President Maduro was cancelled by the National Electoral Council (CNE). The following days after the recall movement was cancelled, 1.2 million Venezuelans protested throughout the country against the move and demanded President Maduro to leave office. Protests in Caracas remained relatively calm while protests in other states resulted in clashes between demonstrators and authorities, leaving one policeman dead, 120 injured and 147 arrested.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Background, 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis
That day, the opposition gave President Maduro a deadline of November 4, 2016 to hold elections, with opposition leader Henrique Capriles stating, "today we are giving a deadline to the government. I tell the coward who is in Miraflores ... that on November 3, the Venezuelan people are coming to Caracas because we are going to Miraflores". Days later, on November 1, 2016, then National Assembly President and opposition leader, Henry Ramos Allup, announced the cancellation of November 3 march to the Miraflores presidential palace, with Vatican-led dialogue between the opposition and the government beginning. By December 7, 2016, dialogue halted between the two parties. Two months later on January 13, 2017, the Vatican declined to send a scheduled envoy for Vatican-mediated dialogue, a decision attributed to Maduro's failure to honor previous commitments made during the previous Vatican-mediated dialogues between the government and opposition.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Background, 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis
Since 2016 the TSJ had held the National Assembly to be in contempt of court for swearing in the three stripped legislators. On March 29, 2017, in a surprising move, the TSJ declared it was taking over the legislative powers of Assembly for "as long as the contempt situation persists". The Tribunal, mainly supporters of President Nicolás Maduro, also restricted the immunity granted to the Assembly's members, who mostly belonged to the opposition. The dissolution was termed as a "coup" by the opposition while the Organization of American States (OAS) termed the action as a "self-coup". The decision was condemned by some media outlets with analysts characterizing the move as a turn towards authoritarianism and one-man rule.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Background, 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis
On April 1, 2017, the TSJ reversed its decision, thereby reinstating the powers of the National Assembly. Public dissatisfaction with the decision persisted however, with the strengthening of the protests that year "into the most combative since a wave of unrest in 2014" resulting from the crisis.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Background, 2017 Venezuelan protests
Following the reversal of the rulings by the TSJ, the National Assembly prepared proceeding against the court and accused the court of not being separated from the executive, though Reuters noted that "the move by the opposition-led congress would only be symbolic because it remains powerless". Following the criticism of the TSJ's ruling by Attorney General Ortega, calls for her to be involved in a "Republican Moral Council, made up of the Prosecutor's Office, the Office of the Comptroller and the Office of the Ombudsman" to remove members of the TSJ were made. During protests on 4 April, opposition leaders announced that they would pursue the removal of the seven judges who signed the rulings against the National Assembly.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Background, 2017 Venezuelan protests
On 7 April, Ombudsman Tarek William Saab announced that Attorney General Ortega's vote would not be counted in a Republican Moral Council decision on TSJ judges, stating that he and Comptroller Manuel Galindo would not participate in proceedings against the TSJ.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Background, 2017 Venezuelan protests
Protests continued on for a month into May 2017, claiming 29 lives before President Maduro made a constitutional proposal. As of June 16, 2017 there have been 90 people killed in protests, most of whom were students.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Process, Proposal
Today, on May 1, I announce that I will use my presidential privileges as constitutional head of state in accordance with article 347, to convene the original constituent power so that the working class and the people can call a National Constituent Assembly.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Process, Proposal
On 1 May 2017 following a month of protests that resulted in at least 29 dead, President Maduro called for a constituent assembly that would draft a new constitution that would replace the 1999 Venezuela Constitution of his predecessor, Hugo Chávez. He invoked Article 347, and stated that his call for a new constitution was necessary to counter the actions of the opposition. Many countries consider that the election may be a bid by Maduro to stay in power indefinitely.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Process, Approval
On 22 May, the Republican Moral Council – which the opposition hoped would establish proceedings against TSJ judges – shared their approval of the National Constituent Assembly despite the absence of Attorney General Ortega, who had criticized the move, with Ombudsman Tarek William Saab stating that "The call to the National Constituent Assembly is a constitutional exit to the political situation that the country is living, in order to foster dialogue and coexistence of the country".


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Process, Approval
The following day, the head of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena, officially approved President Maduro's proposal for a Constituent Assembly shortly after TSJ judges began to speak out against the proposal, announcing that the internal elections would be held in late-July on an unspecified date, paving a way to replace Hugo Chávez's 1999 constitution. Maduro later explained that the National Constituent Assembly would be composed of 545 members – 364 of which would be chosen by municipal governments and 181 drawn from workers groups (79), retirees (28), communal council members (24), students (24), peasantry (8), fishermen (8), the disabled (5) and businessmen (5).


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Process, Approval
The opposition has criticized the selection of representatives by municipal governments because municipal elections had been delayed until after constituents were chosen for the assembly – with each vote being a "secret vote".


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Process, Stages
According to the Venezuelan Electoral Observatory, the CNE ignored in their electoral schedule 14 auditions, several stages of the process and ignored 70 of 100 mandatory previous activities of any election contemplated in the Organic Law of Electoral Processes (Lopre in Spanish).


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Process, Campaigning
At the rally, President Maduro criticized the governments of the United States, Mexico and Colombia and alleged that they attempted to intervene in Venezuela. President Maduro also ordered the opposition to participate in dialogue, stating "I propose that they abandon the insurrectional path and sit down to dialogue in the next few hours", warning his opponents that if they did not quickly participate, he would force dialogue through "constitutional law".


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Conduct
If there are 15,000 workers, all 15,000 workers must vote without any excuses ... Company by company, ministry by ministry, governorship by governorship, city hall by city hall, we're all going to vote for the Constituent Assembly.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Conduct
In the days leading to the election, workers of state-owned companies were warned that their jobs would be terminated the following day if they did not vote in the election. Furthermore, each worker was required to take another 10 voters to the elections, which would be tracked by the authorities. Management workers of state-run entities were threatened with being fired as well if they or their employees refused to vote.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Conduct
Many public workers remained conflicted due to the threat of being fired, knowing that their job benefits from the government would be cut and that their identity could be revealed in a similar manner to the Tascón List incident during the Venezuelan recall referendum in 2004. More than 90% of the workers did not obey the Bolivarian government's call to participate, which led to massive firings following the elections.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Conduct
The day before the election, some military vehicles carrying election materials were attacked and their contents were destroyed. Other voting areas were also destroyed to prevent voting. A candidate was killed the night before the election.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Conduct
On the morning of 30 July, President Maduro was the first to vote in the election. While scanning his Card of the Homeland during a public demonstration to show that the card could be scanned to see if an individual had already voted, a cell phone scanning his card read "The person does not exist or the card was canceled". Citizens of Caracas awoke to streets filled with barricades and various areas of protesters calling for democracy, with authorities responding to the demonstrations with force, firing tear gas at those gathered.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Conduct
By midday, Tibisay Lucena, the head of the CNE electoral body stated that "99% and more of the Venezuelan population is voting all over the country" and that Caracas had remained "calm", though media outlets observing polling areas at the time stated that turnout had been low. At about the same time, a bomb was detonated near a motorcycle convoy of the Bolivarian National Police, injuring seven officers.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Conduct
A leaked audio of Víctor Julio González, mayor of Santa Lucía in the Miranda state, said that he was worried that most of the polling stations were empty and the proposed participation had not been reached, asking for more voters to be mobilized. A leaked audio of Edison Alvarado, president of the Caracas Metro's worker union, voiced similar concerns, saying that according to the registry, only 300 workers voted and that he was "ashamed" to report such figure. Despite the empty streets and polling areas, the Bolivarian government extended voting hours, stating that there had still been large lines of voters still attempting to participate.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Conduct
Following the CNE's approval of the results, President Maduro immediately stated that a commission would be created "to act ex officio and to lift the parliamentary immunity of those who have to lift it", and criticized the National Assembly, Attorney General Ortega, the media and President of the United States, Donald Trump, stating "What the fuck do we care about what Trump says". By the end of the day, at least 10 people are killed in violent incidents during the election.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Conduct
Maduro vowed to pursue the opposition "with the virtually unlimited powers of a constituent assembly", vowing that opposition officials would be jailed, the opposition-led National Assembly elected in 2015 would be dissolved and that the Public Ministry of Venezuela headed by Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz, who broke ranks from Maduro's government, would be restructured.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Public opinion
An 8 May poll found that 73% of Venezuelans disagreed with Maduro's Constituent Assembly, with 79% believing that they live in some form of dictatorship (49% believe absolute dictatorship, 30% believe it is a mix of a dictatorship and democracy). According to a May 2017 poll by More Consulting, 68.8% of the Venezuelans reject the proposal, and 72.9% (with more than 20% who consider themselves chavistas) consider the government a dictatorship.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Public opinion
A poll taken by Hercon between 10–25 May 2017 found that 78.1% wanted Maduro out of office in 2017, 79.9% did not agree with the Constituent Assembly, 73.3% believed the CNE favored the ruling party (PSUV) and 75.5% thought that President Maduro started the Constituent Assembly proposal to establish a government similar to Cuba's.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Results
The first official announcement of preliminary results came when Tibisay Lucena, president of the National Electoral Council, announced that 8,089,230 persons voted, with a 41.53% turnout.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Results
In the early afternoon of the voting day before the official announcement, Julio Borges, the president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly declared that no more than two million people voted in the process, stating that the CNE would later officially claim that about 8.5 million voted.


2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Results
Smartmatic, the Venezuelan-owned company which provided the voting machines, stated that the results were tampered with by the CNE. The company said that the turnout was off by at least one million votes. Internal CNE documents obtained by Reuters revealed that only 3,720,465 votes had been cast by 5.30 p.m., though voting was extended to 7 p.m. and some centers are thought to have stayed open longer. Tibisay Lucena, president of the CNE, said that such allegations had been instructed from the United States. Information Minister Ernesto Villegas announced that the Constituent Assembly would further investigate the allegations.