Washington Park (Chicago park)

Washington Park (formerly Western Division of South Park, also Park No. 21) is a park between Cottage Grove Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive, (originally known as "Grand Boulevard") located at 5531 S. Martin Luther King Dr. in the Washington Park community area on the South Side of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. It was named for President George Washington in 1880. Washington Park is the largest of four Chicago Park District parks named after persons surnamed Washington (the others are Dinah Washington Park, Harold Washington Park and Washington Square Park, Chicago). Located in the park is the DuSable Museum of African American History. This park was the proposed site of the Olympic Stadium and the Olympic swimming venue for Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. Washington Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 20, 2004.
Planning.
Washington Park was conceived by Paul Cornell, a Chicago real estate magnate who had founded the adjoining town of Hyde Park. Cornell had lobbied the Illinois General Assembly to establish the South Park Commission. After his efforts succeeded in 1869, the South Park Board of Commissioners identified more than south of Chicago for a large park and boulevards that would connect it with downtown and the extant West Park System. Originally called South Park, the property was composed of eastern and western divisions, now bearing the names Jackson and Washington Parks and the Midway Plaisance. Cornell hired Frederick Law Olmsted and his partner, Calvert Vaux, to lay out the park in the 1870s. Their blueprints were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
When Olmsted first examined the property, he saw a field filled with bare trees and decided to maintain its character by creating a meadow surrounded by trees. His plan for the park called for sheep to graze as a means of keeping the grass short. Cornell convinced Olmsted to include sporting areas, although Olmsted wanted a more natural feel to the park, which included a lake. The Western division was renamed Washington Park in 1881.
Olmsted designed the park to have two broad boulevards cutting through it, making it part of Chicago's boulevard system. From Washington Park, one can take the Midway east to Jackson Park, Garfield Boulevard west to Chicago Midway International Airport, or Drexel Boulevard north to the central city.
Construction.
Horace William Shaler Cleveland executed the plans within the limitations of the financial setbacks from the fire (including the loss of tax rolls) and the 1873 depression. Olmsted's vision for Washington Park was generally realized. However, spending for the park was diverted after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. The loss of financial backing and difficulty in levying taxes after the fire meant that a water park could not be built on the property. From 1897 until the 1930s the park housed an impressive conservatory and ornate sunken garden designed by D. H. Burnham & Co. at 56th Street and Cottage Grove. The Washington Park Conservatory, like those of other city parks such as Humboldt and Douglas Parks, was torn down in the 1930s due to limited resources as a result of the Great Depression. This left Lincoln Park and Garfield Park as Chicago's main Conservatories.
One of the earliest improvements was the "South Open Green," a pastoral meadow with grazing sheep, also used as a ball field. Architect Daniel H. Burnham's firm designed the 1880 limestone round stables, the 1881 refectory, and the 1910 administrative headquarters for the South Park Commission. Other early attractions to the park included riding stables, cricket grounds, baseball fields, a toboggan slide, archery ranges, a golf course, Swimming pool, bicycle paths, row boats, horseshoe pits, greenhouses, a rose garden, a bandstand, a small zoo featuring six alligators, and a lily pond. The lily pond (pictured left) was a particularly enticing attraction because few had seen such a site. Today, the administrative building houses DuSable Museum of African American History. The park has retained its environmental appeal with continuing visionary support of the Burnham Plan which supported the maintenance of a park system.
Usage.
On December 6, 1879, former U.S. President Ulysses Grant took part in a tree planting ceremony in the park. A memorial boulder with a plaque (both of which have been removed from the park, along with the tree) commemorated the event. In the 1920s black semiprofessional baseball teams played at Washington Park. George Lott began playing tennis at the park.
At the southeast corner of the park, at 61st and Cottage Grove, Washington Park Race Track operated between 1883 and 1905. It was one of the largest and grandest horse racetracks of its time. A nine-hole golf course was built in the infield and several of its buildings survive today as part of the Park District. This includes the stables used by Chicago Police at 58th and Cottage Grove. The racetrack closed after Illinois outlawed gambling, and the name was transferred to a second track in Homewood, Illinois. (See the Washington Park Race Track Wikipedia site for photos and references.)
The USA Cross Country Championships were held in the park in 1933, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1970 and 1972.
Washington Park was a site of tension and conflict arising from the demographic changes resulting from the African American expansion into the neighborhood in the period following the First World War. The park has since 1961 hosted the DuSable Museum of African American History, a leader in the promotion of the history, art and culture of African American heritage.
2016 Olympic bid.
On September 21, 2006, Mayor Richard M. Daley announced that an Olympic Stadium was being proposed for Washington Park as part of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics (The International Olympic Committee requires cities have a dome with a seating capacity of at least 80,000 in order to be considered as summer Olympics hosts). The stadium would have seated 95,000 initially for the games, and would have been converted to a 10,000-seat below-ground arena for track-and-field and cultural events after the Olympics. The cost was estimated to be at least $300–400 million (USD). The plan replaced the initial dual stadium opening ceremony facility.
Additional details about the plan included new permanent hockey fields, use of Jones Armory, and new pedestrian juncture between the two halves of the park by tunneling part of Morgan Drive (55th). A later December 2008 plan added the olympic swimming venue to the park. The plan faced opposition from those holding the view that Washington Park's listing on the National Register of Historic Places could not have survived the execution of this Olympic plan. In addition to the opposition, the plan faced constraints because of the park's landmark status, which precluded federal money from being used to build a temporary stadium in the park. The October 2009 decision to award the 2016 Summer Games to Rio de Janeiro halted these plans.
Today.
Washington Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a United States Registered Historic District. Its National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Submission consisted of containing 15 contributing buildings, 28 contributing structures, and 8 contributing objects. Interesting sights in the Park include the DuSable Museum of African American History and its sculpture garden, the Lorado Taft sculpture Fountain of Time, and an architecturally distinctive National Guard armory. Washington Park is a social center of the South Side and hosts many festivals in the summer, including Chicago's best organized cricket league and the terminus of the Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic. It is also the host of the annual UniverSoul Circus which comes to the park each fall. The largest 16" softball league in Chicago is played there on Sundays (called "Sunday's Best Softball League"). There are 34 teams who play on 13 diamonds. There is also a weekday evening league.


Zhuhai Street Circuit

Zhuhai Street Circuit was the street circuit used in 1993, 1994 and 1995 in Zhuhai for motorsports events before the completion of the permanent Zhuhai International Circuit in 1996.
In 1993, only races run by the Hong Kong Automobile Association was held at the track. In 1994 and 1995, the BPR Global GT Series, Asian Formula 2000 and South East Asian Touring Cars Challenge were held at the circuit.
After completion of the Zhuhai International Circuit, the street circuit has been discontinued.
Facilities.
All the pits, paddock, VIP suites, guest stand and race control are situated at the start/finish straight at Jiu Zhou City.
Circuit route.
The circuit ran clockwise. The start/finish line is at Jing Shan Road (), at the end of the straight it turns right at 120 degrees into Hai Bin Road (), it follows the road until it reaches Ji Da Road ()where it turns 90degrees right. Then it turns 90degrees left to Jing Yuan Road () and then left again for Yuan Lin Road (). There it turns right and rejoins Hai Bin Road.
It then turns right for Jiu Zhou Road (), then another right for Jing Le Road (). After that is another 90degrees left turn for Yuan Lin Road before another sharp right for Jing Shan Road. It follows Jing Shan Road and then a slight right turn back to Jiu Zhou Road and the finish line.


Bruce Peninsula Multisport Race

The Bruce Peninsula Multisport Race is a multisport race with no navigational component, held on the Bruce Peninsula since 2011:. Racers follow a marked course on a combination of private and public land and race in multiple stages of paddling, mountain biking and trail running. The course is announced only to the racers on the morning of the race, is five stages long and approximately in length, and can be done solo, in teams of two, or as a relay race. There is also a sprint distance which is typically in length, as well as a children's race that takes place concurrent with the full distance. The event takes place annually on the second weekend in August and is based out of Wiarton, in Ontario, Canada.
The race is a qualifying stop on Adventure Racing Ontario's points series, which is a schedule of team-based adventure sport events taking place in the province of Ontario.
The 2020 race was canceled by organizers due to the COVID-19 pandemic with registrants given their choice of a credit for a future event or a partial refund. The race was also featured on the final episode of season 3 of the TV show Boundless.
Past Subaru Long Course Winners (full distance)
Past Suntrail Course Winners (sprint distance paddle-bike-run)
Past Paddle-Duathlon Winners (sprint distance paddle-bike-paddle)
Past Run-Duathlon Winners (sprint distance run-bike-run)
The fastest completion of the sprint distance (solo or team) is 1h 28min 2sec recorded by Steven Nadjiwon in 2015 and the fastest completion of the full distance (solo or team) is 5h 45min 12sec recorded in 2012 by Bob Miller, known from Team Canada Adventure on 's Team Canada Adventure.


Meir Daloya

Meir Daloya (; born December 7, 1956) is an Israeli former Olympic weightlifter. He was born in Israel, and is Jewish.
Weightlifting career.
He came in 8th in the 1981 World Weightlifting Championships, lifting 212.5 kg. The following year he came in 11th in the 1982 World Weightlifting Championships, lifting 217.5 kg.
He competed for Israel at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles at the age of 27, in Weightlifting--Men's Flyweight (52 kg). He came in 9th, after lifting 215 kg (473 pounds). When he competed in the Olympics, he was 5-1 (156 cm) tall, and weighed 115 lbs (52 kg).


Zefania Carmel

Zefania Carmel (born December 21, 1940, in Baghdad, Iraq; died September 1980) was an Israeli yachting world champion.
Yachting career.
Carmel partnered with Lydia Lazarov to win the Israeli yachting championship in 1966 in the 420-Class. They won the world championships in the Team 420 Non-Olympic Sailing Class in 1969. Carmel won the individual Israeli yachting championship in 1970.
Death.
Carmel drowned during training in September 1980.
Hall of Fame.
Carmel was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1982.


Matthew Mitcham

Matthew John Mitcham OAM (born 2 March 1988) is a retired Australian diver and trampolinist. As a diver, he was the 2008 Olympic champion in the 10 m platform, having received the highest single-dive score in Olympic history. This made him the first openly gay athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. He is also the first Australian male to win an Olympic gold medal in diving since Dick Eve at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Career.
Mitcham originally competed as a trampoline gymnast. He was spotted by Wang Tong Xiang, who is a coach at the Australian Institute of Sport Diving Program, while at the Chandler Aquatic Centre in Brisbane's suburbs, and Mitcham continued with both diving and trampolining for several years.
As a trampolinist, Mitcham represented Australia at the World Junior Championships in 1999 and 2001, winning the double mini-tramp event. He also competed at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in 2003, finishing sixth.
From 2002 through 2004, Mitcham was a national junior champion in diving, winning the events in which he competed. Mitcham competed at the 2002 World Junior Diving Championships, where he placed 11th in the springboard, 5th in the 3 m and 16th in the 10 m platform. In 2004, he won the silver medals in the 1 m, 3 m synchronised, and 10 m platform events at the World Junior Championships. At the 2004 Junior Nationals, he won the 1 m, 3 m, and 10 m and 3 m synchro titles. At the 2004 Olympic Trials, he placed 3rd on the 3 m and 10 m individual events, 2nd on the 3 m and 10 m synchro events, and did not qualify for the Olympic team. In 2005, Mitcham won his first senior national title. He competed at the Australian Olympic Youth Festival, where he won the silver medal in the 1 m with a score of 508.35, and won the 3 m, 10 m and 3 m synchro (with Scott Robertson) titles with scores of 565, 555.8, and 316.23 respectively. At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, he placed 12th on the 10 m platform with a score of 560.73.
In 2006, Mitcham competed in the German Grand Prix event, placing 16th on the 3 m and 6th on the 10 m, and at the US Grand Prix at Fort Lauderdale, placing 8th on the 3m springboard. At the Canada Cup he placed 26th on the 3 m and won the bronze medal on the 10 m platform. He represented Australia at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, where he competed in the 1 m, 3 m, and 10 m events. He placed 4th in the 3 m and the 3 m synchro with Robertson, and 5th on the 1 m and 10 m events.
Taking a break from the sport in 2006, he returned in 2007 and started to train under current coach Chava Sobrino at the New South Wales Institute of Sport. In 2008 Mitcham won the 1 m, 3 m and 10 m individual events at the Australian Nationals. Later that year he won the 2008 Diving Grand Prix event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
2008 Summer Olympics.
Mitcham represented Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 10 m platform and the 3 m springboard events. He placed 16th on the 3 m springboard and did not qualify for the final. He qualified in second position for the semi-final and final of the 10 m platform event. After experiencing mixed success in his first five dives in the final, Mitcham entered the final round of dives in second place, 34 points behind Chinese diver Zhou Lüxin. After Zhou performed his worst dive of the final and scored 74.80, Mitcham still needed to score 107.30, a very high score on the platform, to win the gold. However, his near-perfect final dive drew four perfect 10 scores from judges and achieved a score of 112.10, the highest single-dive score in Olympic history. He finished with an overall score of 537.95 to defeat Zhou, who finished with an overall score of 533.15, to win Australia's second diving medal of the Games. His win prevented China from claiming a clean-sweep of all diving gold medals at the Olympic Games. He is the first Australian male to win an Olympic gold medal in diving since Dick Eve in 1924.
Mitcham's medal was followed by the Australia Post issuing a 50-cent stamp of him.
2009 and beyond.
Following his victory at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Mitcham placed fourth in his next major contest on the 10-metre platform, the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome. He was beaten narrowly by Zhou Lüxin, the Chinese diver he'd beaten in the Olympics final, while British youngster Tom Daley took home the championship.
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Mitcham won four silver medals, partnering fellow Australian diver Ethan Warren to come runner-up in the synchronized events in both the 3 and 10-metre. In the 1 metre springboard final he lost to Canadian Alexandre Despatie. In his specialist event, the 10-metre platform, he again lost to Tom Daley.
As outlined in his 2012 autobiography, Mitcham commenced use of recreational methamphetamine in 2011, becoming addicted to the substance and subsequently recovering with the assistance of Narcotics Anonymous. Mitcham is quoted as saying "I had still failed to achieve my childhood dream of becoming the best in the world at something," and so had turned to drug use. Australian Olympic Committee officials, in November 2012, stated that they had been unaware of the drug use (which occurred prior to the London 2012 Summer Olympics), but welcomed Mitcham's recovery.
In December 2011, Mitcham returned from an abdominals injury to win the Australian 10-metre platform with 480.05 points putting his Olympic dreams back on track. Not only did Mitcham achieve this accolade, he was also named Male Diver of the Year 2012.
Mitcham placed 13th in the semifinals of the 10m event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, narrowly missing the mark to qualify for the finals.
In November 2012, he published an autobiography entitled "Twists and Turns". This was originally only available in hard copy in Australia and as a e-book internationally, and a paperback version was released internationally on 2 July 2013.
In 2013, Mitcham performed as an MC during the Melbourne Cabaret Festival, and they subsequently assisted him to turn his autobiography into a cabaret show. After a successful crowdfunding campaign in December 2013, the show premiered at the 2014 Fringe World festival in Perth. The show has toured Australia and notably featured in the 2015 Sydney Mardi Gras festival.
In 2013, Mitcham became a judge on the Australian diving show "Celebrity Splash!", alongside Greg Louganis and Alisa Camplin. The show's ratings were low by the end of the season, and it was cut short.
In 2015, Mitcham will again appear in a Seven Network reality show, as a contestant in the fifteenth season of Dancing with the Stars. Mitcham announced his retirement from diving at the beginning of 2016 to focus on his showbiz career.
Personal life.
Mitcham was born in Brisbane but lives and trains in Sydney. He publicly came out as gay in 2008 to the "Sydney Morning Herald" when they were profiling Olympic hopefuls. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he was also featured on the cover of the international gay publication "The Advocate" in August 2008 and March 2009, as well as the cover of Australian gay publication "DNA". Mitcham's then boyfriend, Lachlan Fletcher, attended the 2008 Summer Olympics as a spectator. His trip was sponsored by a grant from Johnson & Johnson's Athlete Family Support Program.
Mitcham gained media coverage in Australia as reporters thought he was the first Australian to compete at the Olympic Games as an openly gay man at the time of his competition. However, Craig Rogerson, the Australian diver, had publicly announced he was gay before the 1996 Summer Olympics, as had Mathew Helm, the Australian diver who won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the men's 10m platform. Other notable gay Australian Olympians include Ji Wallace, who competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in the inaugural trampoline event; however, he came out after the Games, as well as Daniel Kowalski and Ian Thorpe.
Prior to his 10m platform win, Outsports.com reported Mitcham to be one of only ten openly gay athletes competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Mitcham has said when asked to comment on his coming out: "I don’t see sexuality as influencing my beliefs or opinions or perceptions of anybody, whether they’re gay, straight, bi, trans, experimental, I don’t care. I see it as a very uninfluential factor in people." Mitcham has said that after the Beijing Olympics, he received many letters from gay teenagers, "and that was really nice, really humbling".
In 2009 and 2010, Mitcham was selected by readers of samesame.com.au as one of the 25 most influential gay Australians.
On 3 June 2019, he announced his engagement to his British boyfriend Luke Rutherford after being together for seven months, they married on 22 February 2020.
Sponsorship.
Despite his diving achievements, Mitcham struggled to attract corporate sponsorship. In "The Advocate", an editor said, "What's a guy to do when he's got the gold, the fame, the man - but no big-time endorsements?" In 2009, Mitcham secured financial support from the Australian telecommunications provider Telstra.
In March 2010, Matthew Mitcham was announced as the new face of "Funky Trunks" and has appeared on advertising campaigns across Australia, Europe and the United States. He is also a spokesman and "swimwear ambassador" for the brand.
Other appearances.
In 2009, Matthew Mitcham was the Chief of Parade of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras after being declared the 2008 Australian Sports Performer of the Year. In February and March 2010, Mitcham appeared in the second season of "Rexona Greatest Athlete Australia" reality television series in which 8 of Australia's most popular sports athletes compete in 8 episodes in various challenges to win the "best athlete" award. He also announced taking part in the Cologne 2010 Gay Games in Germany. He was seen promoting the Games. The event featured 35 sports, as well as community and cultural events. He competed in an episode of Australian game show "Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation", representing 'Gen Y' with comedian Josh Thomas. He appeared in an episode of Celebrity Come Dine With Me Australia with entertainer Maria Venuti, presenter Sophie Falkiner and X Factor Presenter Luke Jacobz who battled it out to win $2000 for their charity. In March 2015, he starred in 'Are You Ready For Freddie', a tribute video to Freddie Mercury organised by the Sydney Mardi Gras. The video went viral, reaching more than 1.3 million views.


CAF Champions League

The CAF Champions League is an annual continental club football competition run by the CAF. The top club sides from Africa's football leagues are invited to participate in this competition. Due to sponsorship reasons, the official name is Total CAF Champions League, with Total Champions League also in use.
The winner of the tournament earns a berth for the FIFA Club World Cup, a tournament contested between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations, and also faces the winner of the CAF Confederation Cup in the following season's CAF Super Cup.
Al Ahly is the most successful club in the competition's history, having won the tournament nine times. Egyptian clubs have accumulated the highest number of victories, winning the title 15 times.
History.
Early years.
Starting life as the 'African Cup of Champions Clubs' in 1964, the first team to lift the trophy was Cameroonian side Oryx Douala, who beat Stade Malien of Mali 2–1 in a one-off final.
There was no tournament held the following year, but the action resumed again in 1966, when the two-legged ‘home and away’ final was introduced, which saw another Malian team AS Real Bamako take on Stade d'Abidjan of the Côte d'Ivoire. Bamako won the home leg 3–1 but it all came apart for them in the away game in Abidjan as the Ivorians went on to win 4–1 to take the title 5–4 on aggregate.
In 1967 when Ghana's Asante Kotoko met the DRC's TP Mazembe, both matches ended in draws (1–1 and 2–2 respectively). CAF arranged a play-off, but the Ghanaians failed to appear and the title was handed to Mazembe, who went on to win the title again the following year.
However, the Ghanaians got their revenge in 1970, when Kotoko and Mazembe once again met in the final. Once again, the first game ended 1–1, but against expectation the Ghanaians ran out 2–1 winners in their away game to lift the title that had eluded them three years earlier.
The 1970s saw a remarkable rise in the fortunes of Cameroonian club football, which created the platform of success enjoyed by Cameroonian football at international level today.
Between 1971 and 1980 Cameroonian teams won the cup four times, with Canon Yaoundé taking three titles (1971, 1978 and 1980) and US Douala lifting the cup in 1979. In between the Cameroonian victories the honor was shared with another team enjoying a golden age, Guinean side Hafia Conakry, who won it three times during this period (1972, 1975 and 1977).
Developments since 1997.
Apart from the introduction of the away goals rule (in which the team wins which has scored more goals playing ‘away’ if there is a tie in the aggregate score line over the two legs), very little changed in this competition until 1997. In this year, CAF took the bold step to follow the lead established a few years earlier in UEFA by creating a league stage in the tournament and changing the name to the CAF Champions League. CAF also introduced prize money for participants for the first time. With a purse of US$1 million on offer to the winners and US$750,000 to the losing finalist, the new Champions League became the richest club competition in Africa.
In the new format, the league champions of the respective CAF member countries went through a series of preliminary rounds until a last 16 stage. The 8 winners of this round were then drawn into two mini-leagues of 4 teams each, with each team playing each other on a home and away basis. At the end of the league stage, the top two teams in each group meet in the semifinals, with the winners going through to contest the finals. In 2017, the group phase was expanded from 8 to 16 teams and the mini-leagues from 2 to 4 and the addition of one extra knock-out round.
Since its inception, clubs from North Africa have been more dominant in the competition, with nearly 80% of Champions League's title in Africa went to this region. Nonetheless, in 2010, TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo became the first club to repeat as champions on two occasions. Their first pair of wins came in 1967 and 1968, before repeating the feat again in 2009 and 2010.
Structure and qualification.
In 1997 the CAF Champions League replaced the previous pan-African competition, the "African Cup of Champions Clubs"; this had run from 1964–1996.
The competition is open to the winners of all CAF-affiliated national leagues, as well as the holder of the competition from the previous season. From the 2004 competition the runner-up of the league of the 12 highest-ranked countries also entered the tournament creating a 64-team field. This was in response to the merging of the CAF Cup, the secondary pan-African club competition where the league runners-up would previous play, with the CAF Cup Winners' Cup to create the CAF Confederation Cup. The 12 countries would be ranked on the performance of their clubs in the previous 5 years.
The Champions League operates as a knockout competition, with a final group stage, with each tie (including the final) played over two legs – home and away. There are 2 knockout stages: the preliminary stage and the first round (32 teams). The 16 teams knocked out of the first round are entered into the Confederation Cup to play against the final 16 teams in that competition. After the first round, the last 16 teams are split into four groups of 4. The winner and runner-up in these groups are sent to play in a quarter-final and the possibility to play semi-finals, in chase of victory, for the chance of contesting the final.
Sponsorship.
In October 2004, MTN has contracted a four-year deal to sponsor African football's major competitions. This agreement, which worthed US$12.5 million, was the biggest sponsorship deal in African sporting history at that time.
In July 2009, Orange has signed an eight-year deal to sponsor African football's major competitions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but CAF previous year put a value of €100 million for a comprehensive and long-term package of its competitions when it opened tenders for a new sponsor. The deal included the African Nations Cup, the CAF Champions League, the CAF Confederation Cup, the CAF Super Cup, the African Nations Championship and the African Youth Championship.
In July 2016, Total secured an eight-year sponsorship package from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to support ten of its principal competitions, including the Africa Cup of Nations (renamed the Total Africa Cup of Nations).
Current Sponsors:
Prize money.
1997–2008.
In 1997, the CAF introduced prize money for the eight participants in group stage for the first time in a club competition in Africa.
2009–2016.
In 2009, the CAF had increased prize money to be shared between the Top 8 clubs as follows:
2017–2020.
The CAF has increased prize money to be shared between the Top 16 clubs starting from 2017 to 2020.


GT Cube

GT Cube is a racing video game sequel to GT Advance 3: Pro Concept racing released in 2003 by MTO for GameCube. The game was later re-released as GT Pro Series for Wii in 2006.


Speedboat


Hooters Road Trip

Hooters Road Trip is a racing video game for PC and PlayStation platforms released in 2002. It was produced by Hoplite Research, a company founded by former playtester Manny Granillo. It is built around the license of the Hooters restaurant chain, featuring both real life and computer-generated images and video footage of its iconic "Hooters Girl" waitresses.
Reception.
"Hooters Road Trip" received "unfavorable" reviews on both platforms according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. "Game Informer" rated this game as one of the worst games ever made, and it was one of the last games released for the original Sony PlayStation.


Ilana Berger

Ilana Berger (; born 1965) is a Mexican-born Israeli professional tennis player.
Berger reached her highest individual ranking on the WTA Tour on August 10, 1992, when she became # 149 in the world. On 25 November 1991, she peaked at world number 153 in the doubles rankings.
Biography.
Ilana Berger was born on December 31, 1965, in Mexico City, Mexico. She started playing tennis at the age of 7.
Tennis career.
In the late 1980s, after serving for two years in the Israel Defense Forces, Berger became a professional tennis player. She won 7 singles titles in the ITF Women's Circuit. Berger won 12 Maccabiah Games Medals during her career, including gold, a few of them already as a "veteran" while playing Mixed Doubles with Shlomo Glickstein.
Berger was elected as one of 3 best players in Israel's history in the celebrations of Israel's first 50 years.
Berger was Israel's Women's National Champion 5 years.
Berger competed for Israel at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
Berger represented Israel in 26 meetings in the Federation Cup from 1986–92, going 19–21.
Journalism career.
At the age of 26, she decided to study literature and journalism. She worked 7 years as a sports correspondent for "Haaretz". She coaches tennis privately and is a freelance sports journalist. Today she is chief editor of the internet site of Tel Aviv University Sports Center.


Kisumu Telkom F.C.

Kisumu Telkom is a Kenyan football club based in Kisumu. The club was formerly known as Kisumu Postal, the name was changed in 1998. They were a member of the top division in Kenyan football. Their home stadium is Moi Stadium. The club relegated from Kenyan Premier League after 2005–2006 but the next season did not take part in Nationwide League, the second tier league in Kenya.
The club is owned by Telkom Kenya.


David Friedgood

David Friedgood (born 11 July 1946, in Cape Town) is a South African–British chess master.
He won South African Chess Championship in 1967, 1971 and 1973. He shared 7th at Caorle 1972 (zonal).
Friedgood represented South Africa in Chess Olympiads at Tel Aviv 1964, Lugano 1968, Siegen 1970, and Nice 1974. He won an individual gold medal on fourth board at Tel Aviv 1964 (final D).
He was a member of two Great Britain teams which won the World Chess Solving Championship, in 1986 with Graham Lee and Jonathan Mestel, and in 2007, with John Nunn and Jonathan Mestel.


Derek Ho

Derek Ho (September 26, 1964 — July 17, 2020) was a Hawaiian Chinese surfer who won the world surfing championship in 1993. Ho was born in Kailua, Hawaii. He began surfing at the age of three, and won the world title at age 29, making him the first Native Hawaiian world champion. Derek Ho was the brother of Michael Ho, another champion surfer, and the first cousin of Don Ho, the Hawaiian singer. He was the uncle of professional surfers Mason Ho and Coco Ho.
On July 17, 2020, Ho was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack; he subsequently fell into a coma and died late that afternoon.


Mary Ellen (Dude) Barton

Dude Barton (January 14, 1924 – May 10, 2019) was an American cowgirl. She was born Mary Ellen to Wilburn Barton and Ella Orr Barton. She was the granddaughter of Al Barton, an early cowboy and rancher of the area. She was the last child born of the family, and grew up on the family ranch on the North Pease River east of Flomot, Texas. She had learned how to handle horses and mules while doing farm and ranch work in her youth. Dude loved playing basketball but entered her first rodeo competition at age 15 in 1939 at a local contest in Matador.
One author states, "Dude Barton began her rodeo career in calf roping, winning at local and area contests as well as the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show and the Tri-State Girl's rodeo in Amarillo, Texas. She won many saddles and spurs and titles until she retired from rodeoing in 1951 (to concentrate on raising Quarter Horses.)" Rodeos Barton had competed in during her career included the towns of: Spur, Matador, Roaring Springs, Floydada, Memphis, Wichita Falls, Amarillo and Ft. Worth among others. In 1947 she was elected to be Vice President of the Girls Rodeo Association during its first year. On June 23, 1984, Barton was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame at Hereford, Texas. Today the museum is located in Ft. Worth and has been presented with the saddle that Barton won at the Tri-State Rodeo in Amarillo in the forties.


Maya Belenkaya

Maya Petrovna Belenkaya (; born 1 May 1931) is a former Soviet figure skater. With her partner Igor Moskvin, she became a three-time Soviet national champion (1952–1954).
Personal life.
Maya Belenkaya was born on 1 May 1931 in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg). A resident of the city throughout her whole life, she survived the Siege of Leningrad and was awarded the Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad".
Career.
Belenkaya started skating at the age of 12 at the Pioneers Palace. Her first coach was A. Zhdanov. She competed both in singles and pairs.
Belenkaya and Igor Moskvin won their first national medal, silver, in 1950. After another silver in 1951, they took gold for three consecutive years from 1952 to 1954 and then placed second behind Lidia Garasimova / Yuri Kiselev for the next two years. In 1956, Belenkaya/Moskvin were sent to their first and only European Championships and finished 11th at the event in Paris. In 1957 and 1958, they finished third at the Soviet Championships, behind Nina Zhuk / Stanislav Zhuk and Ludmila Belousova / Oleg Protopopov.
After retiring from competition, Belenkaya coached numerous singles and pairs skaters to national titles, most notably Alexei Mishin and Liudmila Smirnova / Andrei Suraikin.


Norma Sahlin

Norma Lee Sahlin (September 9, 1927 – June 22, 2005) was a figure skating coach and a national level competitor.
Sahlin was born in Ionia, Michigan. She started skating in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan under coach Pierre Brunet. She later moved to Chicago to train under Bill Swallender. She competed in pairs with Wally Sahlin. They won the junior title at the 1947 Midwestern Sectional Championships. The pair skated with the Ice Follies for three seasons, before decided to live in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They also have a son, Michael, who with his partner won the junior pairs title at the 1972 Midwestern Sectional Championships, 25 years after his parents.
Sahlin coached Charles Tickner to win the 1978 World Figure Skating Championships, bronze at the 1980 World Figure Skating Championships, and bronze at the 1980 Winter Olympics. She also coached Barbara Brown and Doug Berndt at the 1972 Winter Olympics. Other students included Tom Zakrajsek for seven years and Jill Trenary for eighteen months. In total she coached students at seven World Championships.
She and her husband, Wally Sahlin, were inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2004. Other awards include:


2003 International Rules Series

The 2003 International Rules Series was the 10th annual International Rules Series and the sixth time a test series of international rules football has been played between Australia and Ireland since the series resumed in 1998.
Despite both teams each winning a match, the series was won by Australia on an aggregate score line of 101−94 points. In doing so, the Australians recorded their third series win in the two-test format, their first consecutive series win following their seven-point aggregate win in 2002 and their first ever series victory on home soil. The series was regarded as a commercial success, generating popular media interest and a sell-out crowd for the first test at Perth's Subiaco Oval.
Series overview.
John O'Keefe returned as Ireland manager/coach, whilst three-time All-Australian player Garry Lyon returned for his third consecutive series as Australian coach. The first test at Subiaco Oval was an entertaining affair, with the visitors bursting out of the blocks in the first quarter, taking a 25−11 point lead thanks mainly to a superb goal from debutant Benny Coulter in the 5th minute after Dessie Dolan did well to release the ball in the course of being grounded. The second quarter was a tighter affair, with the Australian tactic of the long ball toward the net paying dividends; resulting in some fine overs from full-forward Barry Hall and leaving scores at 32−27 in favour of Ireland at half time. A frenetic third quarter ultimately went the way of the Australians, with poor shooting from the Irish forwards being compounded by two brilliant goals from Australia - one from a quick thinking Brad Johnson who shot low into the net and the other coming as a result of a penalty for a trip to Chris Johnson. Trailing 47-41 at the final break, things got worse for the Irish when Australian captain Shane Crawford was allowed to run in on goal and with no Irish defender in sight, the fair-haired centre calmly slid the ball into the net to catapult his side into a comfortable 56−43 point lead. Ireland failed to get much closer from there and if it was not for a terrific save from Enda Murphy in the final minute the margin could have been greater. Australia won 56−46.
Needing to reverse a 10-point deficit to win a fourth series since its resumption in 1998, all looked rosy for Ireland early on in the second test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the visitors storming to a 22−4 point quarter time lead. The bulk of the work in the first quarter was done by the likes of Steven McDonnell and Brian McDonald, the former scoring both an over and a goal and the latter netting Ireland's second six-pointer soccer-style after a delicious Benny Coulter cross to the 14-metre goal square. The Australians required decisive action in the second quarter and it was Brent Harvey and Rohan Smith who provided with terrific overs inside the opening seven minutes of the quarter. In tricky conditions and in a low-scoring contest, Ireland's Padraig Joyce scored an over from a free to leave the visitors looking the goods at 30−15 with two quarters to play. A crucial off the ball foul on Harvey was spotted by the umpire early in the third quarter, which resulted in a successful penalty goal for the North Melbourne midfielder. Now ahead on aggregate, the Australians though reverted to sloppy disposal and the Irish responded with another Joyce over and some dominant midfield and scoring play from Steven McDonnell; Irish GAA publication "Hogan Stand" writing the Armagh ace popped everywhere and his workrate and ability to make marks throughout the third quarter was crucial in keeping Ireland on top. Trailing 44−27 with a quarter to play and down by 7 on aggregate, the Australians superior fitness levels came to the fore at the pivotal moment. Barry Hall, who had been rarely sighted for the first three quarters, could not be kept quiet all night and was a central figure in the final quarter comeback, kicking the first over for the term and running roughshod over the tiring Irish defence. McDonnell soon replied to a David Wirrpanda over for Ireland, yet it was Nathan Brown who showed his leadership and class by notching three crucial overs for Australia, his first coming in the 12th minute from an acutely angled sideline free before his fisted effort (15th) and opportunist strike (17th) conspired to cut Ireland’s lead to just three points, 47 to 44. This proved to be the decisive blow for Ireland, who in the closing stages could only manage a behind to keep Australia at bay and take a consolation test victory by 48 points to 45. The result left Australia to celebrate a 101−94 point aggregate victory, the home side claiming their first ever series victory on home soil. Brent Harvey was awarded the Jim Stynes Medal for Australia.
Squads.
"Source: '2011 International Rules Series AFL Record, p 43'
Australia

Shane Crawford (C), Leo Barry, Mark Bickley, Clint Bizzell, Nathan Brown,

Jarred Crouch, Barry Hall, Brent Harvey, Paul Hasleby, Lenny Hayes,

Glen Jakovich (GK), Brad Johnson, Chris Johnson, Brett Kirk, Robert Murphy,

Matthew Pavlich, Luke Power, Jade Rawlings, Matthew Scarlett, Chad Fletcher,

Adam Simpson, Rohan Smith, Daniel Wells, David Wirrpanda, Matthew Carr
Ireland

Graham Canty (C), Joe Bergin, Paddy Christie, Kevin Cassidy, Colin Corkery,

Benny Coulter, Dessie Dolan, Gary Cox, Cathal Daly, Thomas Freeman,

Joe Higgins, Kevin Hughes, Padraig Joyce, Stephen Kelly, Tom Kelly,

Sean Martin Lockhart, Anthony Lynch, Cormac McAnallen, Brian McDonald,

Steven McDonnell, Kieran McGeeney, Paul McGrane, Enda Murphy,

Ciaran McManus, Odhran O'Dwyer, Shane Ryan


UNSW Killer Whales

The University of New South Wales Killer Whales Water Polo Club is an Australian club water polo team that competes in the National Water Polo League. They are a women's team and are based at University of New South Wales.


Yakov Toumarkin

Yakov Yan Toumarkin Zhuravlev (; born 15 February 1992) is an Russian-born Israeli Olympic backstroke swimmer. In 2010, he was the European Junior Swimming Champion in the 100-meter backstroke.
Swimming career.
In July 2010, Toumarkin won a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke (55.20) and a bronze medal in the 200 m backstroke (2:01.14) at the 2010 European Junior Swimming Championships.
In August 2010, representing Israel at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, he won the silver medal in the Boys' 100-meter backstroke, finishing a tenth of a second behind the gold medalist at 55.28 seconds. Toumarkin also won a silver medal in the Boys' 200 meter backstroke, at 1:59.39. It was the third-best-time ever for an Israeli, after times of Guy Barnea and Yoav Gat, and an Israeli youth record.
In November 2010, Toumarkin set the Israeli short course (25 m) record in the 200 meter backstroke (1:53.46) at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
In July 2011, at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in the 200-meter backstroke in Shanghai, China, he set a new Israeli long course (50 m) swimming record (1:58.21 minutes). Toumarkin said: "I managed to put all of the pressure out of my mind, and just pretended I was competing in a club competition in Israel."
He thereby qualified to represent Israel at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Toumarkin competed for Israel at the 2012 Olympics in the Men's 200 m backstroke and Men's 100 m backstroke.
In August 2015, he set the Israeli national record in the 200m backstroke with a time 1:55.96 minutes while winning the gold medal, and won a gold medal in the 100m backstroke with a time of 53.96 seconds. At the 2015 European Short Course Swimming Championships, he set the 100 IM Israeli national record with a time of 52.75.
Toumarkin competed for Israel at the 2016 Olympics in the Men's 200 m backstroke and Men's 100 m backstroke.
He swam for Israel at the 2017 Maccabiah Games, winning the men’s 200m backstroke in a time of 2:00.17.


Uncle Wiggily (board game)

Uncle Wiggily Game is a track board game based on a character in a series of children's books by American writer Howard Roger Garis. The game is of the "racing" variety in the style of the European "Goose Game". Players advance along the track from Uncle Wiggily's Bungalow to Dr. Possum's House. There is no optimal strategy involved as play entirely rests upon a random drawing of the cards. The game was first published by Milton Bradley in 1916 and has seen several editions with minor modifications over the years. "Uncle Wiggily" remains one of the first and favorite games of childhood, and, with "Candy Land", is considered a classic juvenile American board game.
History.
Howard R. Garis created the character "Uncle Wiggily Longears" for a children's book in 1910. The game based on the children's story was first introduced by the Milton Bradley Company in 1916. Milton Bradley modified the game in 1923, 1949, and 1955. In 1947, the game cost $.67.
Parker Brothers obtained the rights to "Uncle Wiggily" in 1967. However, in 1989 both Milton Bradley Company and Parker Brothers reintroduced different versions of the same game. Hasbro now owns both the Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley rights. The game is currently published by Winning Moves Games USA.
The number of spaces on the track, the number of decks of cards, and the number of cards have all fluctuated through the years with the various editions published. The game board has been illustrated several times. The counters have been produced in both painted wood and colored plastic figurines of Uncle Wiggily. The board game in the 1950s had six painted metal (probably zinc) counters.
Play.
The folding center-seamed game board illustrated with characters and scenes from the books is opened and placed upon a flat surface. The two decks of cards are shuffled independently and both placed within reach of the players. Each player selects one of the four counters and places it on Uncle Wiggily's Bungalow in the lower left hand corner of the game board. The order of play is determined.
The first player draws a card from the yellow deck. He follows the card's directions (which are set in lines of rhyming verse) for advancing his counter along the track, or, if instructed, draws a card from the red deck and follows its instruction. In general, the yellow cards either have the player advance a number of spaces or draw a red card, (e.g., "Peetie Bow Wow helps Uncle Wiggily along four hops") which can either direct the player to move a higher number of spaces forward (up to 15) or move up to five spaces backward.
Should the player's counter land upon a space that directs him to move further, he obeys its instruction. Play continues in a similar fashion until one player reaches Dr. Possum's House at the end of the track in the upper right hand corner of the game board.


2004 International Rules Series

The 2004 International Rules Series was the 11th annual International Rules Series and the seventh time a test series of International rules football has been played between Ireland and Australia since the series resumed in 1998.
The series was won by Ireland, who won both test matches by comfortable margins and recorded their sixth overall series victory. The series was the first to be played under the new trophy name of the Cormac McAnallen Cup, after the Tyrone team captain, whose death that year from a heart condition came after he had represented Ireland in the previous three series.
Series overview.
Garry Lyon returned for what would be his fourth and final series as coach of the Australian side, whilst Pete McGrath replaced John O'Keefe as manager of Ireland. The Australian selection panel was forced into many last minute team changes, with 17 of the original 24 selected players drawn largely from the All-Australian team forced to withdraw due to injury or fatigue. Regardless, it remained a very strong line-up, with 18 of the 26-man squad finishing in the top six of their club's best-and-fairest count that year. Australia warmed up for the series with an impressive 14-point win over a Dublin clubs side, winning 55-41.
The first test match at Croke Park was dominated by Ireland, with a hat-trick of overs from Dessie Dolan and some brilliant combination play between Stephen McDonnell and Benny Coulter resulting in a goal to the latter helping Ireland take a 28-5 lead at quarter time, the Australians lacking the familiar physical touch they had come to be renowned for. Trailing 36-10 mid-way through the second quarter, the Australian cause was left in dire straits when Mattie Forde cut through the middle like knife through butter before skilfully slipping the ball along the ground past the diving Mal Michael in the Australia goal. Ireland led 43-13 at half time. A more competitive Australian side emerged from the tunnel after half time, and two early overs from Nathan Brown and Nick Riewoldt narrowed the margin slightly. Ireland responded with overs of their own from Padraig Joyce and Dolan again, yet the decisive moment came with a goal to Joyce which left the visitors trailing 57-31, only moments after a Nathan Brown Australian goal appeared to get the visitors back in the contest. Although the likes of James Hird and Jason Johnson tried hard for Australia in the midfield and managed some consolation overs, it was the Irish players who ran out the game better, overs going to Sean Cavanagh and Tadgh Kennelly to conclude at 77-41 in Ireland's favour.
The second test was a far more competitive affair, a brilliant lightning quick first quarter being punctuated with a pre-game brawl and a canine intrusion on the pitch, much to the comic relief of the spectators. Journalists noted how the Australian physicality returned with some more vigorous tackling for much of the game and it appeared to pay dividends. Despite captain Hird and Ireland's Joe Bergin being sent off as part of the pre-match/early-match fighting, the Australians skipped away to 9-0 lead mid-way through the quarter thanks to some sharp shooting from forward targets Brown and Riewoldt. Ireland though absorbed the Australian pressure and eventually got their running game going, and a frenetic opening quarter finished with some classy scores to Cavanagh and Kennelly. Locked at 12-12 with three quarters to play, the Australians upped the ante in the second quarter, Brown not missing an opportunity up forward and Luke Ball being very unlucky not to score a major six-pointer to stretch the Aussie lead. At half time it was the Australians leading 26-23. The third quarter proved to be the Achilles heel for Australia, early third quarter overs to Joyce and Coulter giving the homesters the lead for the first time in the match. Austinn Jones and Dolan traded overs, yet a crucial goal mid-way through the quarter by arguably Ireland's best player - Padraig Joyce - gave Ireland an insurmountable 44-35 lead with one quarter to play. Brown continued playing out of his skin in the fourth quarter, notching his seventh over at the halfway mark and being cruelly denied a goal by a decisive Irish block in the dying moments, yet he was the only bright spot in a disappointing tour for Australia. For Ireland, the likes of Alan Brogan and Eoin Brosnan scored overs to push out the lead into double figures and the final two minutes were played out with little resistance from the visitors, leaving captain Joyce to lift the Cormac McAnallen Cup with a 55-41 test match win, an aggregate score of 132-82. Stephen Cluxton's solid performance in goal earned him the medal for Irish player of the series, whilst the majestic Nathan Brown of Australia deservedly won the Jim Stynes Medal.
Squads.
"Source: "2011 International Rules Series AFL Record, p 43 & Footy Stats""
Ireland
Padraig Joyce (C), Joe Bergin, Alan Brogan, Graham Canty, Sean Cavanagh,
Stephen Cluxton (GK), Brendan Coulter, Brian Cullen, Dessie Dolan, Mattie Forde,
Paul Galvin, David Heaney, Tom Kelly, Tadgh Kennelly, Sean Martin Lockhart,
Ciaran McDonald, Steven McDonnell, Martin McGrath, Brian McGuigan, Declan Browne
Ciaran McManus, James Nallen, Sean Og O'hAilpin, Setanta O'hAilpin, Eoin Brosnan
Australia
James Hird (C), Luke Ball, Craig Bolton, Jude Bolton, Joel Bowden,
Nathan Brown, Cameron Bruce, Joel Corey, Jared Crouch, Nick Dal Santo,
Alan Didak, Andrew Embley, Brad Green, Robert Hadrill, Max Hudghton,
Austinn Jones, Jason Johnson, Brett Kirk, Adam McPhee, Mark McVeigh,
Mal Michael (GK), Brady Rawlings, Nick Riewoldt, Dean Solomon, Michael Braun


Alex Blackwell

Alexandra Joy Blackwell (born 31 August 1983) is a former professional cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia as a specialist batsman. In October 2017, she made her 250th international appearance for the Australian women's cricket team. In November 2019, she announced her retirement from cricket, after a career that spanned eighteen years. Her identical twin sister Kate has also played for Australia.
Blackwell made her senior debut for New South Wales in the 2001–02 Women's National Cricket League (WNCL). Playing in the middle-order she had little to do as the opposition bowlers struggled to penetrate the New South Wales batting line-up. Blackwell made 33 runs at 33.00 in her debut season as New South Wales won the WNCL. The following season, she batted higher up the order and made 212 runs at 30.28, and was selected for the national team at the end of the season with a WNCL career total of only 245 runs. Making her international debut in 2002–03 in a quadrangular One Day International (ODI) tournament, she had few opportunities with the bat, scoring 54 runs at 27.00 but was unexpectedly successful with the ball, taking a total of 4/34 despite only having one previous wicket at senior level. She made her Test debut in a two-match series against England immediately afterwards, hitting a half-century in the latter fixture. Alex Blackwell is the 142nd woman to play Test cricket for Australia.
Over the next two years, Blackwell was inconsistent at international level and was in and out of the team due to poor performance. However, she was able to maintain her position for the 2005 World Cup in South Africa, playing in all but one match as Australia won the tournament without a loss. Playing in the middle-order, she was not required to bat often as the opposition rarely broke through the Australian batting, making 67 runs at 33.50. Her 53 against New Zealand was her first half-century in ODIs. However, Blackwell made only 48 from four Test innings during the subsequent tour of England and was unable to cement her place in the Australian team. Blackwell had a prolific 2005–06 WNCL season, scoring 411 runs including her maiden century, but was unable to translate her good domestic form into results for Australia, making only 83 runs in four innings against India at the end of the season.
After missing the first half of the 2006–07 season due to injury, Blackwell had a stint for Otago in New Zealand's State League, scoring 315 runs at 52.50. However, her international form remained poor and she was dropped midway through an ODI tournament in India after making 54 runs in four innings. She earned a recall midway through the subsequent Rose Bowl series against New Zealand. Blackwell established herself at international level in 2007–08. After making 291 runs at 41.57 in the WNCL, she broke through for her maiden ODI century in the home series against England. She made another fifty later in the series, followed by consecutive half-centuries against New Zealand, ending the international season with 389 runs at 43.22.
After playing in the Women's County Championship in England in 2008, Blackwell made 255 runs at 85.00 with a century and two fifties as Australia swept India 5–0 at home at the start of the 2008–09 season. She continued her strong form in the WNCL, scoring 372 runs at 62.00. Blackwell made consecutive fifties in the two warm-up matches and then scored 190 runs at 38.00 as Australia came fourth in the 2009 World Cup. She had a poor ODI tour of England, making single-figure scores in all five matches, before returning to Australia to score 489 runs at 61.12 in the WNCL, including two centuries, as New South Wales won for the fifth consecutive time, and making 191 runs at 47.75 in the T20 tournament.
Blackwell led Australia in the Rose Bowl series in early-2010 after regular captain Jodie Fields was sidelined due to injury. They won all eight ODIs but lost all five T20 internationals. Blackwell made 235 runs at 33.57 including two fifties.
In February 2018, she announced her retirement from international cricket, but would continue to play in the Women's Big Bash League. In November 2018, she was named in Sydney Thunder's squad for the 2018–19 Women's Big Bash League season.
Early years.
Blackwell was born in Wagga Wagga, but raised in Yenda, a small rural town outside of Griffith, New South Wales. She and her identical twin sister Kate attended Barker College on the North Shore of Sydney as boarders.
In March 2000, Blackwell was called into the New South Wales team for the Under-17 interstate competition. In the first match, she took 3/7 and was not required to bat in a ten-wicket victory over Victoria Blue. Her top-score for the tournament came in the sixth match against Western Australia, when she scored 57 not out. New South Wales won all of their eight matches to claim the competition and Blackwell ended with 149 runs at 37.25 and seven wickets at 17.00.
Domestic debut.
During the 2001–02 season, Blackwell made her senior debut for New South Wales. In her first match against Queensland, she bowled two expensive overs, conceding 18 runs, and was not required to bat as New South Wales won by six wickets. Batting in the middle-order, often lower than the top-six, Blackwell as only required to bat once in her first four matches, making nine not out in the second match against Queensland and being at the crease when the six-wicket win was registered. The season was interrupted by the national Under-19 competition, and Blackwell was prominent with both bat and ball as New South Wales won all of their six matches. Apart from one duck, Blackwell reached 30 in her remaining five innings to aggregate 207 runs at 41.40. She also took 11 wickets at 9.36. In five of the six matches, she scored at least 30 and took two or more wickets. Blackwell returned to senior duty and again had little to do in the lower order as her state's leading batsmen encountered little difficulty with opposition bowlers. New South Wales defeated Victoria in both round-robin matches and beat them again in the finals series 2–0 to win their sixth consecutive national title. Blackwell was at the crease, unbeaten on 12, as New South Wales reached their target in the second match with four wickets in hand, having not been required to bat in the seven-wicket win in the first final the day before. Blackwell played in eight matches but was only required to bat four times for a total of 33 runs at 33.00 and bowled seven overs without success.
At the end of the season, Blackwell was selected for the Australia Youth team that played New Zealand A. She made 76 runs at 19.00 in four matches with a highest score of 32 and took a total of 1/43 from 11 overs. This was followed by a match against the senior New Zealand team. Blackwell took 1/18 and scored 2 in a 21-run defeat.
In 2002–03, Blackwell played in her first full season in the WNCL, taking to the field in all 10 of New South Wales' matches. After not being trusted to bat at No. 7 or higher in the first match of the season, which New South Wales won, Blackwell was unbeaten on 17 when they lost to South Australia in the second match of the double-header the next day, having been attacked and conceded 23 runs from two overs in South Australia's innings. Blackwell made her maiden half-century at senior level in the next match, scoring 74 not out to guide her state of a five-wicket win over Victoria. She then made three single-digit scores before rediscovering form in the last two round-robin matches against Western Australia, making 36 and 38. New South Wales won six matches of their eight matches and faced Victoria in the final. Blackwell made only 14 and 17 as New South Wales lost both of the finals, ending their run of six WNCL titles in a row. In the second final, she took her maiden wicket at senior level, but her sporadic bowling was otherwise unsuccessful, conceding 45 runs in 8 overs for the season. Blackwell ended the season with 212 runs at 30.28.
International career.
International debut.
At the end of the season, Blackwell was called into the national team for a quadrangular ODI tournament held in Lincoln in New Zealand. In addition to the hosts and Australia, England and India were also competing. Each team played two matches against the other three teams in the round-robin phase. Blackwell made her debut in Australia's second match, against England, but neither batted nor bowled in a seven-wicket win. In the next match, against India, she scored 27 before being run out and had unexpected success as a bowler, taking 2/8 from six overs in a 59-run win. She was left out of Australia's fourth match, against England, but returned for the last two qualifying matches. She took 2/18 against India before making six not out as the winning runs were scored against the hosts. In the final, she made 21 as Australia scored 214 and defeated the hosts by 109 runs. Blackwell ended her first international series with 54 runs at 27.00 and four wickets at 8.50 at an economy rate of 2.61. The success with the ball is something she has not repeated. In seven years since, she had only taken two more wickets at international level. Alex Blackwell is the 97th woman to play One Day International cricket for Australia.
Australia then hosted England in two Tests. Blackwell made her debut at the Gabba in Brisbane. In a low-scoring match, she bowled 11 overs including six maidens, registering figures of 0/9 as the tourists made 124 batting first. Blackwell then came in at 4/40 and made four from 14 balls in her maiden Test innings before being dismissed by Laura Newton, precipitating a collapse of 6/28 as Australia fell to be all out for 78. After England was all out for 92, Blackwell came to the crease with the score at 4/104, with 35 runs still needed for victory. She and Michelle Goszko batted slowly, adding seven runs in nine overs before the latter was out. Blackwell was then joined by Julie Hayes, who scored 18 of the remaining 28 runs required for victory. Blackwell was nine not out and was at the crease when the winning runs were registered with five wickets in hand, having batted for 85 balls in 85 minutes. Despite her circumspect batting, Blackwell was retained for the Second Test at Bankstown Oval in Sydney. Australia batted first and Blackwell came in at 4/90. Soon after, her partners Mel Jones and Hayes fell in quick succession as Australia lost 3/13 to be 6/103. Blackwell then added 21 with Cathryn Fitzpatrick before the former was out for 13; this triggered a collapse of 4/10 as Australia were all out for 134. Blackwell came in at 4/49 with Australia still four runs behind in the second innings. She added 136 in 226 minutes for the fifth wicket with Lisa Sthalekar before being dismissed for 58, having hit six boundaries from 236 balls. In pursuit of a target of 206, England reached 6/133 when time ran out. Blackwell did not bowl in the match.
Blackwell played in all of New South Wales' 11 matches in the 2003–04 WNCL, scoring 183 runs at 26.14. In the fourth match of the season against South Australia, she made an unbeaten 70 in a vain attempt to secure victory in the run-chase as her state were bowled out and fell to a ten-run defeat. She was then run out twice for 26 and 23 in the two matches against reigning champions Victoria, as New South Wales tied one match and lost the next by four wickets. It was two of three instances in which Blackwell was run out during the season. New South Wales had a chance for redemption in the finals against Victoria. Blackwell made a duck—her third single-digit score in as many matches—in the first final, which the titleholders won by six wickets. In the next two matches, she was unbeaten on 13 and 16 and at the crease when the winning runs were brought up. New South Wales won the second final by five wickets and scraped home in the deciding match by three wickets to regain the WNCL title. Blackwell's sporadic bowling—26 overs in total—yielded one wicket at 118.00 at an economy rate of 4.37.
Inconsistency at international level.
Blackwell retained her position in the national team for the Rose Bowl series, which consisted of three matches each in New Zealand and then Australia. She played in only the third match in New Zealand and did not bat in the seven-wicket win, before being omitted for the first match at home. She was recalled for the second match and made 15 not out in a 40-run win, before her unbeaten 22 guided Australia to a four-wicket win in the final match at Bellerive Oval, as the hosts took out the series 5–1.
In the first four matches of the 2004–05 WNCL, Blackwell made 54 and 27 in her only innings as the opposition bowlers failed to penetrate the New South Wales top-order in the other two matches. The defending champions won all four matches before the season was adjourned when the national team travelled to India in December for seven-match bilateral ODI series. Blackwell scored two in a 14-run win in the opening match in Mysore and was dropped for the next match. She was recalled for the third match in Mumbai, run out for a duck in a six-wicket defeat. The tourists won the next two matches to seal the series, but Blackwell was not prominent. She was not required to bat in the third match and was run out for 13 in the next. She made 19 in the sixth ODI and was dropped for the final match of the tour, ending the series with 34 runs at 8.50.
2005 World Cup.
Blackwell returned to Australia needing a strong end to the WNCL season to ensure selection for the 2005 World Cup in South Africa. In the four remaining round-robin matches, she made 96 runs in four innings, half of these coming in a five-wicket win over Queensland. New South Wales met Victoria in the finals. Blackwell was not required to bat in a seven-wicket win in the first match before making 13 and 24 as the reigning champions were dismissed for 71 and 109, losing the last two matches by five wickets and 50 runs respectively. Blackwell ended the season with 214 runs at 26.75 and this was enough to secure retention in the national team despite her poor results during the Indian tour. The Australians hosted New Zealand for three Rose Bowl ODIs in the western coastal city of Perth before the teams crossed the Indian Ocean to reach South Africa. Blackwell was not productive in the trans-Tasman matches. She made six and took 1/8 in the first match, and was then run out for 27 in the next game. She was omitted for third match.
In the first match of the World Cup, Blackwell was persevered with by the selectors; she did not bat as England made 7/169 before rain ended the match. This was followed by an encounter with New Zealand. Blackwell scored 53 in Australia's 7/174, helping to set up a 32-run win. In the third match against the West Indies, she was run out for a duck in a 79-run win, and was dropped for the 97-run win over the hosts. The group stages ended with two easy victories. Blackwell took 1/8 from two overs, her last international wicket, as Australia dismissed Sri Lanka for 57. Since then she has bowled only 47 balls in senior matches. She was not required to bat as Australia reached their target with eight wickets in hand. The match against Ireland was similar as Australia achieved the target of 67 with all wickets intact. The final pool match against India was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to inclement weather, and Australia met England in the semi-finals. Blackwell scored 10 not out, helping to complete the closing stages of a five-wicket win. In the final against India, she came in towards the end of the innings and made four not out as Australia amassed 4/215. Australia bowled India out for 117 to win by 98 runs. Blackwell ended the tournament with 67 runs at 33.50.
In the northern hemisphere summer of 2005, Australia toured England. They started with a stopover in Ireland, and only the second of the three ODIs went ahead; the other two matches were washed out by persistent rain. Blackwell made four not out as Australia made 3/295 and took a 240-run win.
Australia played two Tests in England. In the First Test at County Ground in Hove, Sussex, Blackwell batted at No. 5 and played alongside identical twin sister Kate, who was making her Test debut. She struggled in both innings, making five and nine and scoring at a strike rate of 20 or less in both innings. After taking an 82-run lead, Australia set the hosts a target of 306. Blackwell took two catches, her first at Test level, removing Claire Taylor and Jenny Gunn as the hosts ended on 7/172 to salvage a draw. In the Second Test at New Road, Worcester, Blackwell made 20 and 14 as Australia ceded a 158-run first innings lead and eventually lost by six wickets after Blackwell's fall in the second innings left them at 5/46, still 112 runs in arrears. She ended the series with 48 runs at 12.00.
Blackwell had mediocre results in the five ODIs, scoring 5, 27, 17 not out, 21 not out and 14 as Australia won 3–2. She ended the series with 84 runs at 28.00. Blackwell then played in Australia's inaugural Twenty20 international at the County Ground, Taunton, only the second international match in the history of the new format. She was not required to bat as Australia won with seven wickets in hand.
Having failed to establish herself at international level in 2005, Blackwell started the 2005–06 WNCL season strongly, scoring 61 in the first match of the campaign, a seven-wicket win over Western Australia. The next day she made 130, her maiden WNCL century, setting up a 118-run win against the same team. She then top-scored with 86 in the next match against Queensland, scoring more than half of the runs in a successful run-chase of 3/161. After a run of three scores of 10 or less, Blackwell made 36 and 30 as New South Wales won both matches against Victoria in their last double-header of the season. New South Wales won seven of their eight matches to qualify for the finals against Queensland. In the first match, she scored 50 as New South Wales reached their target of 175 with eight wickets in hand, having earlier taken two catches. She made only three in the next match as New South Wales fell for 154 and lost by three wickets, before scoring 10 as her state made 146 and won by two runs to claim the WNCL. Blackwell ended the season with 411 runs at 38.36.
After her strong WNCL season, Blackwell was retained for the series against India in Adelaide at the end of the Australian summer. Opening the batting, she made a 17-ball duck in the one-off Test at the Adelaide Oval, which Australia won by an innings. Blackwell took three catches but made only one in the first ODI. She only made 19 in the next match but was retained for the third and final ODI, top-scoring with an unbeaten 63 in a nine-wicket win. She ended the series with 83 runs at 41.50.
Blackwell missed the five-ODI Rose Bowl series at home and the first four WNCL matches of the 2006–07 season due to injury. She returned for the final four round-robin matches and made 42, 17, 74 and 4 as New South Wales won all four matches. She was not effective in the three finals against Victoria, making a duck in a one-wicket win in the first match before scoring one as Victoria levelled the series with an eight-wicket triumph the following day. In the deciding match, she made 20 as New South Wales reached their target of 206 with three wickets in hand. Blackwell ended the season with 158 runs at 22.57.
During gaps in New South Wales' schedule, Blackwell travelled across to New Zealand for three weekends of domestic one-dayers for Otago. In her debut for the team, she struck an even 100 in a 162-run win over Northern Districts. She added 79 in a 182-run victory the following day. After making 27 and 31 against Auckland, Blackwell ended her stay with 1 and 77 against Canterbury; Otago lost both matches. She ended with 315 runs at 52.50 in her six-match stint.
After the end of the Australian season, Blackwell was selected for the ODI team for a four-nations tournament in Chennai, India. In addition to the hosts and Australia, New Zealand and England were also participating, and each team played each other twice in round-robin phase. In the first match, she made 25 in a six-wicket defeat against New Zealand, who took 41 runs without loss from her four overs en route to a six-wicket win. Blackwell then made 11 in a three-wicket loss to the hosts, leaving Australia in danger of missing the final. She was retained but made a duck and 18 as Australia won their next two matches against England and New Zealand. Blackwell was then omitted from the two remaining round-robin matches and the final, which Australia won by six wickets. She ended the tournament with 54 runs at 13.50.
Blackwell was retained in the Rose Bowl series held in tropical Darwin in July 2007, the middle of the southern hemisphere winter. After watching the first two matches from the sidelines, she was called into the team for the third match where she made an unbeaten 44 to see Australia to a six-wicket win. She made 4 and 27 in the two remaining matches, ending the series with 75 runs at 37.50 as Australia prevailed 3–2.
Blackwell started the 2007–08 WNCL season strongly, scoring half-centuries in each of the first four matches, all of which were won by New South Wales. She made 75 not out and 52 against South Australia, followed by 60 and 55 against Victoria. The results in each of the two double-headers were identical; New South Wales won the first match by seven wickets before prevailing the next day by 25 runs. Blackwell made 42 in the penultimate round-robin match but otherwise failed to reach double figures in the last four matches. New South Wales qualified in first place for the final against South Australia after winning seven of their eight matches and were awarded the title after the decider was washed out. Blackwell scored 291 runs at 41.57. In her only T20 innings, Blackwell made 37 not out in an eight-wicket win over Western Australia.
Established international cricketer.
The domestic competition was followed by two international series against England and New Zealand. Blackwell made 10 as Australia won the T20 international against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by 21 runs. In the ODIs that followed, drawn 2–2, Blackwell established herself at international level. After scoring 11 in an Australian defeat in the first ODI, she struck 101—her maiden ODI century—the next day at the MCG to set up an 84-run win. After making five as England took a 2–1 series lead, Blackwell made 61 in the final match to help set up a series-levelling 41-run win. She ended the series with 178 runs at 44.50. In the one-off Test at Bowral, Blackwell opened the innings. She made one as Australia batted first and reached 154 in their first innings before conceding a 90-run first innings lead. In the second innings, she made 24 before being bowled for the second time in the matches by pace bowler Isa Guha as the tourists won by six wickets in hand.
The Australians then headed to Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, New Zealand, for a T20 international and five ODIs. Blackwell made 15 and took two catches as the hosts won the T20 by four wickets. She then made 44 of 5/189 to help secure a 63-run win in the first ODI. In the next two matches, she made seven twice, as the hosts claimed both matches to take the series lead. Australia thus needed to win the remaining two matches. In the fourth match, Blackwell made 61 in an Australian win by six runs. In the final match, she made 91 to help steer Australia to their target of 250 and a series-clinching eight-wicket win. Blackwell ended the series with 211 runs at 42.20. For the whole international season, she scored 389 runs at 43.22 to establish herself at international level.
During the 2008 Australian winter, Blackwell travelled to England for a domestic season in the northern hemisphere summer, playing for Berkshire in the county competition, and Rubies in the Super Fours. Blackwell failed to capitalise on her starts for the county, registering scores of 41, 22, 0, 39 and 30 in her five one-day innings for a total of 132 runs at 26.40. It was a similar story in four one-dayers for Rubies, making 58 runs at 14.50 with a best of 26. Blackwell had little impact in the T20s for Rubies, making four and a duck.
The 2008–09 Australian season started with a tour by India. Blackwell started with 0/14 from her only over and scored 14 in a six-wicket win in the T20 match. She was prominent as the hosts completed a 5–0 clean sweep of the ODIs. In the first match at Hurstville Oval, she made 75 in an eight-wicket win. After making eight and one not out in the next two matches, Blackwell made 106 not out, setting up a 118-run win in the fourth match at Manuka Oval. She ended the series with 65 run out in the seven-wicket win in the final match. Blackwell aggregated 255 runs at 85.00 for the series.
Blackwell had a slow start to the WNCL, failing to pass 22 in her first three innings; she made an unbeaten 50 in an eight-wicket win over Western Australia, and then struck an unbeaten 101 as New South Wales made 1/176 to defeat South Australia by nine wickets. The next day, she made 75 but it was not enough to prevent a 39-run loss against the same team. In the two final round-robin matches against Victoria, she made 70 not out in a nine-wicket win, her fourth consecutive score above 50. The streak ended with 22 in a three-wicket win the next day, and New South Wales hosted the final the following week against the same team. Blackwell made only three as New South Wales made 4/120 to win by six wickets. She ended the season with 372 runs at 62.00.
2009 World Cup and World Twenty20.
After the WNCL ended, the Australians headed to New Zealand for the Rose Bowl series. Blackwell made 10 and 9 in the first two matches as Australia went 2–0 down. She then made 59 and 37 in the next two matches as Australia levelled the series; the fifth and final match was washed out. The teams returned to Australia for the World Cup. In two warm-up matches against England and Sri Lanka, Blackwell made 91 not out and 56 retired; Australia won the matches by 25 and 230 runs respectively.
In the opening match of the World Cup campaign, Blackwell made four as Australia fell short of their target on the Duckworth-Lewis method. Australia then needed to win their two remaining group matches to reach the Super Six phase. Blackwell made 22 and took three catches as Australia defeated South Africa by 61 runs. She then scored 46 not out in a 47-run win over the West Indies. In the first Super Six match, against India, Blackwell scored 54 as Australia made 7/218, falling 17 runs of their target. She then made seven run out in the win over Pakistan by 107 runs. She made 38 not out in Australia's final Super Six match against England, and although the hosts won by eight wickets, it was not enough for them to place in the top two in the standings and qualify for the final. In the third-place playoff against India, Blackwell made 19 in a three-wicket defeat.
Blackwell ended the tournament with 190 runs at 38.00.
Blackwell was selected for Australia's team for the inaugural Women's World Twenty20 held in England in 2009. The Australians hosted New Zealand for a three-match series in tropical Darwin at the beginning of June before the World Cup, and Blackwell played in all the matches, making 11 not out and 10 in her two innings. Australia took the series 2–1.
After arriving in England, Blackwell made 19 in Australia's 8/123, which New Zealand surpassed with nine wickets in hand. She was not required to bat in an eight-wicket win over the West Indies. Blackwell then 40 not out as Australia defeated South Africa by 24 runs.
This put Australia into the semi-final against England. Blackwell made five before England overhauled Australia's score of 5/163 to reach the final, which they won. She ended the tournament with 64 runs at 32.00.
Blackwell and the Australians stayed in England for a bilateral series against the hosts, who were the reigning world champions in both ODIs and T20s, after the end of the World Twenty20. In the one-off T20 match, she made 18 as Australia upset England by 34 runs. She played in all five ODIs, and had a torrid time against the English bowling, scoring 7, 3, 0, 0 and 5. She started with a 38-ball 7 in Chelmsford and had a series of slow-scoring single-digit innings, ending the series with a strike rate of 19.73.
England won all the ODI matches except the last, which was washed out. Blackwell played in the one-off Test match at County Road in Worcestershire. Blackwell opened and made a fourth-ball duck as Australia fell to 5/28 in their first innings before recovering to make 309. After the tourists had taken a 41-run lead, Blackwell made 68 as Australia made 231 to set the hosts a target of 273. Blackwell and opening partner Nitschke put on 49 before the latter was out for 25. Blackwell then added 81 in 21 overs with Rolton before the latter was dismissed, leaving the score at 2/130. She was then out at 3/150 after hitting six fours and a six from 135 balls, sparking a collapse of 8/81. The match was drawn as the hosts ended at 3/106.
Heavy WNCL scoring and national captaincy.
After making single-figure scores in consecutive matches, Blackwell struck an unbeaten 121, scoring more than half the runs in an eight-wicket win over the Australian Capital Territory in the third match of the season. After making 37 and 39 in the pair of matches against Victoria, she was prominent in the double-header against Western Australia, scoring 138 to set up a 127-run win, before making an unbeaten 61 the next day in a ten-wicket win. In the final, Blackwell top-scored with 54 as New South Wales batted first and made 9/206. They then dismissed the Victorians for 147 to seal a 59-run win. Blackwell ended the WNCL with 489 runs at 61.12.
A T20 domestic tournament was introduced, and Blackwell was prolific in the six qualifying matches, scoring 31 not out, 32, 30, 41, 33 not out and 24 not out. New South Wales won all of the round-robin matches except the fixture against Victoria. The two teams met again in the final, and Blackwell failed for the only time in the competition, making a duck as New South Wales fell for 75 in pursuit of 128 for victory.
After the series, Blackwell led Australia in the Rose Bowl series against New Zealand due to an injury to incumbent captain Jodie Fields. The campaign started with five ODIs in Australia. In the first two matches, held at the Adelaide Oval, she made 51 and 34 as the hosts won by 115 runs and six wickets respectively. The last three matches of the series were held at the Junction Oval in Melbourne. In the third ODI, Blackwell top-scored with 92 as Australia took a 102-run win and sealed the series. She was not required to bat in the ten-wicket win in fourth match and made one as Australia took a 5–0 whitewash with a comfortable 103-run win in the final ODI. Blackwell ended her first series as captain with 178 runs at 44.50.
The ODIs were followed by three T20s at Bellerive Oval in Hobart and two more in New Zealand at the start of the second phase of the bilateral contests. Blackwell played in every match and Australia was whitewashed. The three matches in Hobart were closely fought; Blackwell made 11, top-scored with 40, and added 26 as New Zealand won by two, one and seven runs respectively. The hosts won the last two matches in New Zealand convincingly by 59 and 17 runs; Blackwell made 9 and 8 as the Australians were bowled out for 73 and 98. She ended the series with 94 runs at 18.80.
Australia then swept New Zealand 3–0 in the ODIs in New Zealand. In the first match, Blackwell made five as Australia came closest to defeat in the ODIs, scraping home by two wickets. She made 8 and 44 in last two matches in Invercargill to complete the clean sweep. In all the ODIs she made 235 runs at 33.57. Blackwell had thus led Australia to eight consecutive ODI wins over New Zealand.
2010 World Twenty20 triumph.
Blackwell led the team at the 2010 World Twenty20 in the West Indies and captained in every match after Fields was again forced out by injury. She batted at No. 4 in all but one match. In the first warm-up match against New Zealand, she opened the bowling with her occasional medium pace, and took 1/29 from her four overs, dismissing the opposing captain and opener Aimee Watkins. She then came in at No. 4 and top-scored with 44 from as many balls as Australia lost by 18 runs. In the last warm-up match, she made 35 not out from 21 balls and featured in a 55-run partnership from 40 balls with Jess Cameron. She did not bowl herself as the Australians defeated Pakistan by 82 runs.
Australia were grouped with defending champions England, South Africa and the West Indies. In the first match against England, Blackwell ran out Holly Colvin to end the innings with 15 balls unused. In pursuit of 105 for victory, Australia were 2/10 when Blackwell came to the crease. She made 7 from 14 balls in a partnership of 34 from 33 balls—Australia's largest of the match—with Leah Poulton. However, their dismissals in consecutive overs started a collapse of 5/19 from 34 balls. However, Australia recovered, and Rene Farrell was run out going for the winning run from the third last ball available, leaving the scores tied.
A Super Over eventuated, and both teams ended with 2/6 after both suffered run outs in an attempt to secure a seventh run on the final ball. Australia was awarded the match because they had hit more sixes in the match—Jess Cameron scored the solitary six.
In the next match against South Africa, Blackwell made 9 from 14 balls, the only Australian in the first seven batting positions to score at less than a strike rate of 133.33. A sudden collapse saw Australia lose 6/16 including the last four wickets for four runs to be all out for 155 with three balls unused. They eventually completed a 22-run win. In the final group match, Blackwell top-scored with 28 from 26 balls, and batted through most of the innings, although she only faced a small minority of the 74 balls delivered during her time at the crease, as Australia finished on 7/133. She had put on 22 runs in 16 balls with Sthalekar. She caught Shanel Daley from the bowling of Sthalekar as Australia won by nine runs to finish the group stage unbeaten at the top of their quartet.
Australia went on to face India in the semi-final. Blackwell ran out opposing captain and all rounder Jhulan Goswami, one of three wickets to fall in the 17th over bowled by Ellyse Perry. Australia were set a target of 120, and Blackwell promoted herself to No. 3 after opener Elyse Villani fell for a duck in the first over. Blackwell and Nitschke counter-attacked, and scored the next 50 runs in 40 balls, before Nitschke was out to end a stand of 74 runs in 60 balls. Blackwell reached her fifty in 37 balls and was eventually out for 61 from 49 balls with 17 runs still required from 28 balls for victory. The Australians reached their target with seven wickets and seven balls to spare, and Blackwell was named the player of the match.
In the final against New Zealand, Blackwell elected to bat, but New Zealand started more effectively. Nitschke and Villani were out in consecutive overs and Blackwell came in at 2/14 in the fourth over. After being unable to score from her first six balls, Blackwell was then dismissed for a duck from her seventh delivery, cutting Nicola Browne into the hands of Sophie Devine in the gully, leaving the score at 3/20 in the sixth over. The Australians eventually reached 8/106 from their 20 overs.
New Zealand started their chase solidly, but in the fourth over, the tide began to turn when but their captain Aimee Watkins pulled Clea Smith and the catch was taken by a leaping Blackwell at midwicket. In the next over Blackwell ran out Sara McGlashan for 1, after the latter had been in a mix-up with Suzie Bates, leaving New Zealand at 2/19. Later, Blackwell caught Rachel Priest from Nitschke to leave New Zealand at 5/36 after 11 overs, leaving them with 71 runs to score from the last 54 balls. Australia went on to win by three runs.
2015 Ashes.
In June 2015, she was named as one of Australia's touring party for the 2015 Women's Ashes in England.
2017–18 season.
Blackwell was in Australia's squad for the Women's Ashes. In the first WODI of the series she came to the crease when Australia were 4/87, still requiring 144 runs for victory. She batted for the rest of the innings, getting to a total of 67 and steering Australia to victory in the final over of the match. In the third WODI of the series, she played in her 250th international match for Australia Women.
Retirement.
In February 2018, Alex Blackwell announced her retirement from international and state career. She featured in 251 games across all three formats in a career spanning for 15 years.
Personal life.
Blackwell came out as lesbian in 2013, becoming the second international player to come out during their playing career after England's Steven Davies. Her partner is fellow cricketer Lynsey Askew.


Toppserien

The Toppserien is the top level of women's association football in Norway. It was founded in 1984.
History.
Women's league football was introduced on a county basis in 1977. These leagues acted as qualification for the regional (South) league in 1979. Regional leagues were in operation until the formation of the First Division 1984, when the league was divided into three regions, Group Eastern-Norway ("Østlandet"), Group Western-Norway ("Vestlandet"), and Group Mid-Norway ("Trøndelag"). No teams from Northern-Norway ("Nord-Norge") played, however. The winners of the three groups met each other for a play-off. Regional leagues for women had been played before 1984, and a championship play-off had been done between the winners of Mid-Norway and Eastern-Norway in 1983 (Trondheims-Ørn beat Setskog 2-1), but this championship was considered unofficial by the Football Association of Norway. In 1986, a group for Northern-Norway was added, and in 1987, the groups and play-off matches were dropped, and one single league with teams from all over the country was played.
The league was known as 1. divisjon (Norwegian for "1st Division") from 1984 to 1995, the Eliteserien (Norwegian for "The Elite League") from 1996 to 1999, and the Toppserien (Norwegian for "The Top League") from 2000.
Traditionally, Trondheims-Ørn and Asker was the two power-houses of Toppserien, with 7 and 6 championship wins respectively. Trondheims-Ørn finished in the top three 16 out of 23 times from the beginning in 1984 to their current last medal in 2006. In 1998, Asker managed the almost unthinkable, winning every single one of their 18 league games that season (Asker didn't win the double that season, however, as the club was knocked out of the semi-finals of the cup by Trondheims-Ørn). However Asker FK, the women's team within Asker Fotball, became bankrupt at the end of 2008 and most of the players were transferred to a new team within the nearby Stabæk IF, named Stabæk FK (FK = Fotball Kvinner (Football Women)). Asker finished among the top three 18 out of the 25 seasons the club existed. The new Stabæk team began playing in the Toppserien from the 2009 season and won the league in 2010 and 2013. Røa won Toppserien five times from 2004 to 2011. Lillestrøm SK Kvinner won six consecutive titles from 2014 to 2019.
The league.
The league currently consists of 12 teams, which play each other 2 times (home and away), for a total of 22 matches. The season lasts from April to October. Teams are ranked by:
List of champions.
Below is a list of the gold, silver and bronze medalists in the Toppserien since its beginning in 1984. The Norwegian Women's Cup has been played since 1978. From 1984 to 1995 the name of the league was 1. divisjon ("First Division"), and between 1996 and 1999 the name was Eliteserien ("The Elite League", a generic name) before getting its current name, Toppserien in 2000.
From 1984 to 1985, the league was divided into three sections, and after the inclusion of teams from Northern Norway there was four sections in 1986, with the championship decided through a play-off. Since then it has been a round-robin decided through a league table.
Winner by year.
The following medals have been awarded:
Winners by club.
The following clubs have won the top division in Norwegian football since 1984.
1 = In 2008 Stabæk was handed the license to play in the top league, and also took over the best players from Asker, because of financial problems in the latter. But the rest of Asker remains, and they still have their top female team - in league three. Therefore, Stabæk is not to be considered the successor of Asker.

2 = Athene Moss was Sprint/Jeløy successor, so one bronze as Athene Moss in 1998 is included.

3 = LSK Kvinner is the successor of Setskog/Høland and Team Strømmen.

4 = Rosenborg is the successor of Trondheims-Ørn.


2007 FIA GT Championship

The 2007 FIA GT Championship was the 11th season of FIA GT Championship auto racing. It was a series for Grand Touring style cars competing in two classes, GT1 and GT2, the latter being less powerful and more closely related to road-going models. Cars from National Championships (Group 2) and GT3 cars (Group 3) were also allowed to compete, but were not eligible to score championship points. The series began on 25 March 2007 and ended 21 October 2007 after 10 races.
The GT1 Drivers Championship was won by Thomas Biagi driving a Maserati MC12 GT1 for the Vitaphone Racing Team and the GT1 Teams Championship by the Vitaphone Racing Team.
Schedule.
The Brazilian Mil Milhas endurance race was originally announced by the SRO as being part of the 2007 season, but instead became part of the Le Mans Series schedule.
Rule changes.
The following rules were changed between the 2006 season and 2007.
Entries.
GT1.
A † symbol and gray background denotes an entry and driver competing in the Citation Cup.
Teams' Championship.
Points are awarded to the top 8 finishers in the order of 10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 except at the Spa 24 Hours, where half points are also granted for the leaders after 6 and 12 hours. All results obtained by a maximum of two cars per team were taken into account.
Manufacturers' Cup.
The Manufacturers’ Cups were awarded taking into consideration all results obtained by the four best classified cars of each manufacturer, in each category, at each event. Points are awarded to the top 8 finishers in the order of 10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 except at the Spa 24 Hours.
Drivers' Championship.
Points are awarded to the top 8 finishers in the order of 10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 except at the Spa 24 Hours. Drivers who do not drive the car for a minimum distance do not score points.
Citation Cup standings.
The Citation Cup was contested by non-professional drivers competing in GT1 cars. It was limited to eight rounds, with Zhuhai and Spa not included.


Junior World Fencing Championships

The Junior World Fencing Championships are an annual international fencing competition held by the International Fencing Federation for athletes up to 20 years old. They are organised at the same time and venue as the Cadet World Championships held for athletes up to 17 years old.
The first Junior World Fencing Championships were held in Nîmes, France in 1950. Team events have been held since 1998. Women compete in foil since 1955, in épée since 1989, and in sabre since 1999.
Medal table (only gold).
"Including 1982–2021."