China Badminton Super League

The China Badminton Super League (CBSL) () is the prime National team competition for badminton players in China. The China Badminton Super League was re-launched in 2009 after a failing attempt seven years earlier.
Liu Fengyan, director of the Table Tennis and Badminton Administration Center under China's State General Administration of Sport, announced the re-launch during the 50th anniversary meeting of the Chinese Badminton Association.
The China Badminton Super League (CBSL) has welcomed huge sponsorship deals hereby attracting top players from China and abroad to the participating teams.
Format.
The China Badminton Super League is a mixed team event, like the Sudirman Cup. After the inaugural first season the league was divided into two round-robin stages and then a final elimination stage. The clubs will be placed according to points accumulated by the end of this stage. After the inaugural season eight clubs were selected. Later from 2012 twelve clubs participated divided into two round-robin groups of each six clubs and from 2015 on the competition was back to eight teams.
In the round-robins, each of the participating clubs will be playing against every other club twice, once on their home courts, and the other on their opponent's.
Next, in the elimination stage, the first four ranking teams in the round-robins will be placed in a group, equaling to the semi-final. At first the bottom four were also placed in another group, fighting for a better placing from among fifth to eighth spot. Like in the round-robins, at first the semi-finalists had to play twice, once in each club's home courts. An extra round would be played if the teams end up with a tie. But from 2015 on a single semi-final tie was played. Also once a team had already won the first three matches in a tie, each game in the following matches would only be played to 11 points instead of 21. Later this was also eliminated when a tie was decided in the final stages no further match was played.
From the 2013 season the CBSL competition rules were significantly changed. First, the 21-point games was scrapped in favor of a greatly scaled down 11-point system in order to reduce the duration of each competition to meet the requirement of live telecasts. By this means, the CBSL organization committee was able to convince sports channel CCTV to broadcast some focus competitions both in the group and knock-out stages. With live telecasts, commercial prospects for the CBSL seem much brighter and this may have attracted more and more financial supports from business enterprises. The scoring change had also created more uncertainty and suspense for each match.
Second, they introduced mixed three-on-three into the team competition. 3-on-3 was originally used as a training drill inside national team to enhance the reaction speed of doubles players. With three players on each side, the speed and pace of the match is very quick and exciting. From 2013 till 2015 each competition included 5 matches: men's singles, women's singles, and mixed 3-on-3 match which were fixed, while another two matches alternated among men's doubles, mixed doubles and women's doubles.
A third alteration was the addition of one amateur men's doubles match before the start of each competition. In an attempt to increase public involvement and interaction with the CBSL, the players were selected from local amateur events. As members of the clubs they were rewarded with some training courses. By playing in the CBSL events, the players could earn points of CBA amateur ranking system or even prizes if their performances were good enough.
From 2015 on the above-mentioned changes were turned around again by the organizers of the CBSL to the normal Sudirman Cup format and the normal 21 point scoring system.
2009 season.
2009 was the inaugural season for the China Badminton Super League.
Only in this first season a total of 14 teams participated in the preliminary qualification stage. Ultimately only 8 of these teams then took part in the main stage of the CBSL.
The 14 teams originally taking part in the preliminary rounds in the first 2009 season were:
The top teams of each of the four groups entered the semi-finals. The four teams that went to the semi-finals were 81 Chivas, Jiangsu Yonex, Hubei and home-team Guangzhou where the ties took place. In the first semi-final, Jiangsu beat Hubei 3-0. In the second semi-final 81 Chivas beat Guangzhou 3-0. In the final the strong and powerful Jiangsu Yonex team beat 81 Chivas with 3-0. The 2009 CBSL championship team of Jiangsu Yonex included top players like Wang Shixian, Tao Jiaming, Sun Xiaoli, Cheng Shu, Tang Jinhua, Li Yu, Zhi Luoliang, Cai Yun, Xu Chen and Lu Lan.
Based on the results of the inaugural first year's CBSL competition, 8 clubs were selected to play in the next 2010 China Badminton Club Super League in a new home and away system.
2010 season.
The 2010 season started with a round-robin system for the 8 participating teams.
There were a few unique rules in the China Badminton Super League from 2010:
1. Teams placed fourth and fifth at the end of the round-robins had to fight in a PK round where the winner proceeded as the fourth team, joining the semi-final match, while the loser fell to the fifth-to-eighth placing group.
2. The first-placing team in the round-robins will pick a semi-final opponent from either the third or fourth placing team. While the winners proceed into the finals, the defeated team with a higher placing in the round-robins will be placed third, and the lower one placed fourth. Aside from that, the seventh-placing team in the round-robins will also pick an opponent from the teams placed fifth and sixth. The four teams in this group will only play one elimination match each. The two winning teams will be placed fifth and sixth according to their placing in the round-robins, and the defeated teams placed seventh and eighth under the same rule.
3. The team placed eighth at the end of the league will play a match against the champion of the National A-Grade One League, where the winner earns a chance to play in the coming China Super League with the loser dropping-out.
The composition of the players from each team in the 2010 China Badminton Super League are shown below;
Guangzhou:
Doubles: Guo Zhendong, Hong Wei, Gan Zhaolong, Zhang Jinkang, Zhang Jiewen, Zhong Qianxin
Singles: Wang Zhengming, Liu Xin
Hubei:
Doubles: Yu Yang, Wang Xiaoli, Rao Yuqiang, Ding Yang, Li Rui, Zhao Yunlei, Li Junyang
Singles: Li Wen, Wen Kai, Chen Yuekun
Hunan:
Doubles: Zheng Bo, Tian Qing, Xia Huan, Chai Biao, Zhang Wen, Liu Peixuan, Bao Yixin
Singles: Shi Xiaoqian, Bao Chunlai, Chen Xiaojia
Jiangsu:
Doubles: Tang Jinhua, Cheng Shu, Cai Yun, Xu Chen, Tao Jiaming, Sun Xiaoli
Singles: Lu Lan, Wang Shixian, Chen Jin, Li Yu, Qiu Yanbo
Bayi BC - PLA (Chinese People's Liberation Army):
Doubles: He Hanbin, Feng Chen, Pan Pan, Li Xuerui, He Hangqing, Li Gen
Singles: Lin Dan, Jiang Yanjiao
Zhejiang:
Doubles: Sang Yan, Zhang Nan, Zhang Yawen, Zhou Hui
Singles: Wang Lin, Du Pengyu, Huang Yuxiang
Qingdao:
Doubles: Qiu Zihan, Ma Jin, Du Jing, Fu Haifeng, Shen Ye, Luo Yu
Singles: Zhou Wenlong, Wang Xin, Liu Jingru
Shanghai:
Doubles: Chen Zhiben, Xie Jing, Liu Yingchun, Yu Hao, Yu Junjie, Shi Hong, Hu Minyu
Singles: Chen Long, Wang Yihan, Zhu Lin, Lu Qicheng
After almost two months of playing, the year's 2010 Chinese Badminton Super League came to an end. The year's two finalists were Qingdao and Hunan. Qingdao was expected to be in the final as they finished in the top 3 after the second round robin stage. In the semi finals against Jiangsu, they were defeated 3:2 whereas Qingdao won by a bigger margin at home, 3:0. As each club won once, they had to play a rubber tie and Qingdao defeated Jiangsu 3:0 to advance to the final.
In the other semi-final, Hunan, the dark horse, defeated Bayi BC, the 81st post of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (the strongest club led by Lin Dan and Jiang Yanjiao). Chinese People's Liberation Army was ranked first after the second round robin stage. In the semi-finals, Hunan lost to Chinese People's Liberation Army 1:3 at home whilst Chinese People's Liberation Army lost to Hunan 2:3 at home. As each club won once, they also had to play a tie. At last, Hunan defeated Chinese People's Liberation Army 3:1 with the absence of Lin Dan in the tie. Qingdao beat Hunan 3:2 in the first leg of the final. After also winning the second leg of the final of the China Badminton Super League with a convincing 3:1 win from Qingdao over Hunan, the 2010 championship title was sealed. Shanghai ended up as the weakest team during the 2010 league as they never won a tie. They lost 18 out of 18 matches they had played. According to league regulations, Shanghai had to compete with the champion of the Badminton League One to decide whether they still could stay and play in next year's Chinese Badminton Super League.
Final Team ranking 2010 CBSL:
1st – Qingdao – GOLD,
2nd – Hunan – SILVER,
3rd – Jiangsu, & (Bayi BC) PLA - Chinese People's Liberation Army – (both teams) BRONZE,
5th – Zhejiang,
6th – Guangzhou,
7th – Hubei,
8th – Shanghai – had to play for relegation
2011 season.
The 2011 CBSL season started with the round-robin system for the 8 participating teams. The composition of the players from each team in the 2011 China Badminton Super League are shown below:
Shanghai Zi Wei Ke Badminton Club
JiangSu Yonex Badminton Club
ZheJiang Yin Jiang Badminton Club
Wuhan Autocity Badminton Club
Hunan Xiangcai Securities Badminton Club
QingDao Beer Badminton Club
Guangzhou Yueyu Badminton Club
Bayi Dongling Refinery Badminton Club
The China League's defending champion, Qingdao Beer took on the previous year's runner-up Hunan Xiangcai Securities in the 2011 final battle. According to the league's regulations, a team is declared champion if placed top of the list twice at the end of both cycles. If a different team grabs the first place in the second cycle, the team with a higher ranking within top four in the other cycle wins.
With a #1 finish in the first cycle, the Qingdao versus Hunan match was the utmost deciding match for the former team, who were still fighting for the last ticket into the top four of the second cycle, hoping to grab the final victory of the league. If first cycle's runner-up Hunan had won, it would have been a taste of victory for them instead, while Qingdao would have fallen off to the 7th place in the cycle, ending the season only as the second runner-up.
Hunan, on the other hand, who ended up second in both cycles, became the league's runner-up again as they did last year. While Bayi, the club under the lead of Lin Dan shared the same luck, ending up as the second runner-up yet again.
Final results:
1st (Winner): QINGDAO Beer - GOLD,
2nd (Runner-up): HUNAN Xiangcai Securities - SILVER,
3rd (2nd Runner-up): BAYI Dongling Refineries - BRONZE,
4th place: WUHAN Hubei Autocity,
5th place: ZHEJIANG Yinjiang,
6th place: GUANGZHOU Yueyu,
7th place: JIANGSU Yonex,
8th place: SHANGHAI Zi Wei Ke
2012 season.
The 2012 CBSL season started with a new round-robin system for a total of 12 participating teams. The teams were divided into a North Group and a South Group of relatively even strength by order of 2011 ranking. After each six-team groups has played two round-robin iterations (home and away) from August 25 till October 13, 2012, the final stages took place in a play-off format from November 1 till December 9, 2012. The top four finishers in each group advanced into the play offs in a knockout format, home and away, plus tie-breaker if necessary.
The composition of the players from each team in the 2012 China Badminton Super League are shown below:
Shanghai Zi Wei Ke Badminton Club
Beijing Guanyu Badminton Club
Guangdong Oppein Badminton Club
JiangSu Development Badminton Club
ZheJiang Yin Jiang Badminton Club
Wuhan Union Real Estate Badminton Club
Shenyang Machine Tool Badminton Club
Hunan Xiangyu Badminton Club
QingDao Beer Badminton Club
Guangzhou Yueyu Badminton Club
Sichuan Chuanwei Badminton Club
Bayi Dongling Group Badminton Club
Eventually Guangzhou Yueyu Badminton Club became the winner of the 2012 China Badminton Super League. The first best-of-5 final play-off tie between Guangzhou and 2 times champion, powerhouse Qingdao Beer Badminton Club, was played on December 6 at Guangzhou's home court and won by the home team with 3:1. The second tie was held on December 8 and transferred to defending champion Qingdao club's home court. Guangzhou Club also took the second tie with a 3:2 victory and became champions of the 2012 China Badminton Super League.
2013–14 season.
At the start of the 2013 season the CBSL competition rules have been significantly changed. First, the 21-point games have been scrapped in favor of a greatly scaled down 11-point system in order to reduce the duration of each competition to meet the requirement of live telecasts.
Second, they introduced mixed three-on-three into the team competition. 3-on-3 was originally used as a training drill inside the China national team to enhance the reaction speed of doubles players. With three players on each side, the speed and pace of the match is very quick and exciting. Now each competition include 5 matches: men's singles, women's singles, and mixed 3-on-3 match are fixed, while another two matches alternating among men's doubles, mixed doubles and women's doubles.
A third alteration is the addition of one amateur men's doubles match before the start of each competition. The players are selected from local amateur events. As members of the clubs they were rewarded with some training courses. By playing in the CBSL events, the players could earn points of CBA amateur ranking system or even prizes if their performances are good enough.
The composition of the players from each of the twelve participating teams in the 2013 China Badminton Super League are shown below:
Shanghai Huangpu Badminton Club
Guangdong Century City Badminton Club
Guangdong Badminton Club
JiangSu Xiongwei Jianshe Badminton Club
ZheJiang Yin Jiang Badminton Club
Hubei Badminton Club
Liaoning Badminton Club
Hunan Xiangyu Badminton Club
Qingdao Zuanshi Xianfeng Badminton Club
Guangzhou Yueyu Badminton Club
Xiamen Defang Badminton Club
Bayi Dongling Group Badminton Club
The 2013–14 edition of CBSL was run from September 28, 2013 to June 5, 2014.
The match dates were set to avoid conflict with BWF Super Series, BWF Super Series Masters Finals, and BWF Grand Prix Gold events. Twelve teams were competing in total, including ten CBSL teams from the previous season, plus two strong newcomers Xiamen and GuangDong Century City. The regular season was played in a double round robin systems with the twelve teams divided in two groups. In the Play-offs the top two from each group played to decide 1-4 in a knock-out format; then 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 for other placements; the last two teams were relegated to the First Division Badminton League One. The semi-finals were contested between GuangZhou and GuangDong Century City on one side and Jiangsu and Xiamen on the other side. Eventually the final ties were played between Xiamen and GuangDong Century City with GuangZhou and Jiangsu fighting for 3rd place. In the 1st leg of the final, GuangDong Century City beat Xiamen Defang 3:1 with Chen Long winning the only match for XDF against Tian Houwei of GDCC in two straight sets. In the 2nd leg of the final, GuangDong Century City again beat Xiamen Defang 3:1 to emerge China Super League champion 2013–14 having won two of the "best of three" team match-ups. 3rd place went to Guangzhou Yueyu Weihao who defeated Jiangsu Xiongwei Jiangshe 3:1.
2014–15 season.
In the 2014–15 season a match was decided by a best 3 of 5 games to 11-point score. There were no breaks within each game but there were breaks of less than 60 seconds between each games. The mixed team format continues. There are again 12 teams divided into 2 groups of 6.
The first stage was a double round robin. The top 2 teams in each group entered the knock out stage.
The composition of the players from each of the twelve participating teams in the 2014–15 China Badminton Super League are shown below:
Sichuan Jinli Zhiye Badminton Club
Guangdong Century City Badminton Club
Guangdong Badminton Club
JiangSu Badminton Club
Zhejiang Jingti Badminton Club
Guangxi Hande Badminton Club
Liaoning Badminton Club
Hunan Jiangwan Badminton Club
Qingdao Hezhan Renzhou Badminton Club
Guangzhou Yueyu Badminton Club
Xiamen Defang Badminton Club
Bayi Badminton Club
The 12 teams were divided by drawing of lots into the Red and the Blue Divisions.
In the Red group were: Guangdong Century City, Jiangsu Wande Recreation, Hunan Jiangwan Group, Guangdong Club, Liaoning Yixing, and Guangxi Hande.
In the Blue group were: Xiamen Defang, Guangzhou Yueyu, Zhejiang Jinti, Bayi, Qingdao Hezhan Renzhou, and Sichuan Jinli Zhiye.
The preliminary group competition was from 27 December 2014 till 2 February 2015, the knockout stage and playoffs commenced from 13 June till 29 June 2015. The Semi-final matches were played between Xiamen DeFang and GuangDong Century City and between Qingdao and Hunan. Eventually the XIAMEN Team became champion by beating the Qingdao team in the Final ties.
2015–16 season.
In the 2015–16 season the format changed back to the normal Sudirman Cup format and only eight teams participated. Also the score in each match was back to best of three games and the 21 point system. The Final was scheduled for 31 January 2016, on a Sunday. Total prize money for this edition amounted to RMB 11.4 million. The Champion took RMB 4 million.
The composition of the players from each of the eight participating teams in the 2015–16 China Badminton Super League are shown below:
Guangdong Century City Badminton Club
JiangSu Nantong Sanjiang Badminton Club
Zhejiang Jingti Badminton Club
Benxi Zhihui Shanshui Cheng Badminton Club
Hunan Jiangwan Group Badminton Club
Qingdao Capital Airlines Badminton Club
Guangdong Qiao Xing Group Badminton Club
Xiamen Defang Badminton Club
After the completion of the 14 round-robin home and away matches, the top four teams that emerged were 1st Xiamen, 2nd Qingdao, 3rd Hunan, and 4th Zhejiang. These four teams played the semifinals. After 14 rounds and 56 matches played in the round robin stage, the results were:
The draw of the semi-final match fixtures was as follows:
On 29 January 2016, Friday - Xiamen Defang versus Hunan Jiangwan Group
On 30 January 2016, Saturday - Qingdao Capital Airline versus Zhejiang Jiangwan Group
In the first semifinal on 29 January 2016, Hunan Jiangwan Group upset the favorite Xiamen Defang team with a 3:0 defeat. In the other semifinal played on 30 January 2016, Qingdao Capital Airline edged out Zhejiang Jinti 3:2 to earn themselves a place in the final for a shot at the RMB 4 million prize money. In the 3rd place playoff on January 31, 2016, Xiamen Defang suffered another setback losing the bronze medal to Zhejiang Jinti 0:3
On January 31, 2016 at the end of the 2015–16 season of the China Badminton Club Super League, the finals were held in the Jinjiang Zuchang Stadium. The Qingdao Capital Airlines team won with a total score of 3:1 victory over the Hunan Jiangwan team to take the 2015–16 Champions League trophy and the RMB 4 million prize money.
2016–17 season.
The 2016–17 edition of the CBSL runs from 6 December 2016 until 14 January 2017 for the preliminary stage. The playoff for the top four teams will take place later in 2017.
The CBSL is now one of the high-end professional leagues in China among the different sports. It is organized by the China National Table Tennis and Badminton Centre and the Chinese Badminton Association (CBA). In the 2016–17 season a total of eight teams representing some of the established professional clubs across China were participating.
Similar to the previous edition in 2015–16, the eight teams played home and away round-robin matches in each tie comprising Men's Singles, Women's Singles, Men's Doubles, Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles in the preliminaries from which the top four teams emerged to the play-off knockout stage to determine the top four positions, while the rest were placed from 5th to 8th based on their preliminary rounds results.
For the preliminaries, all five matches were played, however, in the playoffs, to make it more interesting and keep the outcome in suspense, the order of play was rotated randomly. The matches were played again to the normal best of three games to 21 points.
As none of the teams was relegated (demoted) in the previous edition, the same eight teams as in the 2015–16 season were fielded, namely, Xiamen Defang, Liaoning Zhongrun, Jiangsu An Nier, Zhejiang Jingti, Hunan Hualai, Qingdao Renzhou, Guangzhou Yueyu, Guangdong Shiji Cheng.
The opening round were played on the 6th of December 2016.
The composition of the players from each team in the 2016–17 China Badminton Super League are shown below;
Qingdao Renzhou Badminton Club
Hunan Hualai Badminton Club
Zhejiang Jingti Badminton Club
Xiamen Defang Badminton Club
Guangzhou Heyuan Nong Shang Yinhang (Yueyu) Badminton Club
Jiangsu An Nier Badminton Club
Guangdong Shiji Cheng Century City Badminton Club
Liaoning Zhongrun Badminton Club


International Kabaddi Federation

The International Kabaddi Federation is the international governing body of Kabaddi. Its membership comprises 31 national associations. The federation was formed in 2004. The founder and current president is Janardan Singh Gehlot from India. The other office bearers were: Mohammed Ali Pour (Iran), Khana Jawa (Japan), Veerawat (Thailand), Yoon Yeong Hak (South Korea), Ashok Das (United Kingdom); (Vice-president), Nisar Ahmed (Germany); (Secretary), R.M. Sunderashan (Malaysia); (Treasurer), Jaya Shetty (India); (CEO), Shankarrao Salvi (India); (Adviser).
Members.
The following countries are members of the International Kabaddi Federation:
The non-member countries who have their national team are:
Current IKF Rankings.
Points are calculated after every match by the formula:
10*(total number of kabaddi nations – rank of the opponent)+(score difference)
The top 10 teams according to the International Kabaddi Federation:


Prague Skate

The Prague Skate (sometimes titled Golden Skate; from 1994: Czech Skate) is an international figure skating competition. It was a senior event from the 1960s to 1997, usually held in November or December in Prague. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating. Since 1999, it is organized in some years as part of the ISU Junior Grand Prix series.


Mette de Neergaard

Mette de Neergaard (born 6 November 1991 in Copenhagen) is a Danish curler. She is currently the alternate player on the Lene Nielsen rink which will represent Denmark at the 2014 Winter Olympics.


Streetbeefs

 <ns>0</ns>
 <id>67562453</id>
 <revision>
 <id>1021156840</id>
 <parentid>1021156317</parentid>
 <timestamp>2021-05-03T06:18:03Z</timestamp>
 <contributor>
 <username>Benjaminikuta</username>
 <id>24026850</id>
 </contributor>
 <minor />
 <model>wikitext</model>
 <format>text/x-wiki</format>
Streetbeefs (or StreetBeefs or Street Beefs) is a backyard fighting club and YouTube channel founded in 2008 that hosts fighting such as boxing and mixed martial arts. Chris "Scarface" Wilmore hosts the events at various locations on the east coast. They have fighters of varied skill levels, but they're noted for providing an avenue for inexperienced fighters outside of more formal amateur competitions. Since there is no admission fee, and no payment, it's not regulated by the state athletic commission. Wilmore originally started the organization to help settle disputes and provide an alternative to more dangerous forms of street violence. When they started, they had no medical professionals present, but now they have a registered nurse. The 2016 documentary "Guns to Gloves" features Wilmore telling his story.


Federico Mociulsky

Federico Mociulsky (born 15 July 1989 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine professional association football player contracted to Deportivo Roca.
Early life.
Mociulsky's paternal grandfather, Leon, was part owner of the club in 1958. His uncle, Dr. Ernesto Mociulsky, was also a stockholder in the club during the 1980s.
Professional career.
Nicknamed "The Russian", Mociulky was promoted to the first team for training in 2007.
In 2011, he left Argentina and joined Hapoel Ashkelon in Israel on trial. Being Jewish, Mociulky would not count as a foreign player in Israel. His trial was unsuccessful at Ashkelon, so he went to Hapoel Ra'anana in hopes of securing a contract. Actually, he plays in Deportivo Roca.


Alexander Koblencs

Alexander Koblencs (, ; 3 September 1916, Riga – 9 December 1993, Berlin) was a Latvian chess master, trainer, and writer. He is best known as the trainer of the 1960-61 World Champion Mikhail Tal.
In 1935, he took 4th place in Rosas (Salo Flohr won). In 1936, he took 5th in Reus (Esteban Canal and Silbermann won). In 1937, he won, ahead of Lajos Steiner, in Brno with 9/11. In 1938, he took 5th in Milan (Erich Eliskases and Mario Monticelli won). In 1939, he tied for 13-14th in Kemeri-Riga (Flohr won).
Koblencs won the Latvian Championship four times (1941, 1945, 1946, 1949). Although he took 2nd, behind Vladimir Alatortsev in 1945, and behind Mark Taimanov in 1949, both were off contest (hors concours). In June 1944, he took 2nd, behind Voldemārs Mežgailis, in Udelnaya (Latvian SSR ch.). In 1944/45, he took 2nd, behind Paul Keres, in Riga (Baltic Chess Championship). In 1945, he took 14th in Moscow (14th USSR-ch). In October/November 1945, he tied for 3rd-4th in Riga (Baltic Republics ch., Vladas Mikėnas won). In June/July 1946, he tied for 6-8th in Vilnius (Baltic Rep. ch, Yuri Averbakh won). In 1961, he took 3rd in Palanga (Baltic Rep. ch, Iivo Nei won).
As a trainer, he started to work with young Mikhail Tal in 1949, and coached him through his meteoric rise from the mid-1950s. Most prominently, he coached him in his World Chess Championship matches in 1960 and 1961 against Mikhail Botvinnik.
He also coached the team of the Soviet Union (e.g., 1956 in Moscow and 1960 in Leipzig).
Koblencs is also well known as a writer of chess books, many of which have been translated, in particular into German. For several years, he was the editor of the Latvian chess magazine "Šahs" and of the German chess magazine "Schach-Journal".


Norman Gordon

Norman Gordon (6 August 1911 – 2 September 2014) was a South African cricketer who played in five Test matches during the 1938–39 South African cricket season.
He was born in Boksburg, Transvaal. He is the only male Test cricketer to live beyond 100 years of age. Gordon became the oldest-ever Test cricketer on 23 March 2011, when he surpassed New Zealander Eric Tindill, who died on 1 August 2010, approximately four months before his 100th birthday.
Personal life.
Gordon was Jewish, and was born in Boksburg, Transvaal.
Cricket career.
Gordon played first-class cricket for Transvaal from 1933–34 as a right-handed fast bowler and a tail-end right-handed batsman.
He made his Test debut against England in December 1938, playing every Test of the five-match series. In the first Test, he took his best Test match figures of 7–162, including 5–103 in the first innings. He was stumped by Les Ames off the bowling of Tom Goddard for a first-ball duck in the drawn match. In the second match he took 5–157 in England's only innings, but was again stumped by Ames off the bowling of Goddard for 0 in another drawn match.
In the third match, Gordon took 2–127 in England's only innings and was out for 1 and 0, falling to Ken Farnes and Hedley Verity as England won by an innings and 13 runs. In the fourth match, he took 2–47 and 3–58 but did not bat in the drawn Test. In the final Test Gordon took match figures of 1–256 and was not out in each innings, scoring 0 and 7. This match was the famous Timeless Test, which took 10 days and was eventually declared a draw by agreement between the teams. It was Gordon's final Test match.
He took his best innings figures of 6–61, followed by 3–86 in the second innings, for Transvaal against Natal at Johannesburg in 1939–40. He continued playing for Transvaal until the 1948–49 season.
Later life.
Gordon ran a sports shop in central Johannesburg. He was the last living male to have played Test cricket before World War II. He turned 100 in August 2011 and lived in central Johannesburg. Following his death, he was succeeded as the oldest living first-class cricketer by John Manners.


Betty Callaway

Betty Daphne Callaway-Fittall, MBE (née Roberts; 22 March 1928 – 27 June 2011) was an English figure skating coach who specialised in ice dancing. She was best known as the coach of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, the 1984 Olympic champions, and also trained 1980 world champions Krisztina Regőczy and András Sallay, and 1972 European champions Angelika and Erich Buck.
Early life.
Betty Daphne Roberts was born in Reading, Berkshire on 22 March 1928, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Roberts. She grew up in London, where she attended a convent school. She originally wanted to become a ballet dancer and applied to the Royal Ballet School, but was turned down because they considered her too tall. She later developed an interest in ice skating and took lessons at the Queens Ice Rink in Bayswater.
She joined the Blackpool Pleasure Beach ice show as a performer at the age of 16, where she met her future husband Roy Callaway, a principal skater there.
Career.
In 1950 Callaway and Roy, now married, became skating coaches at Richmond Ice Rink in Twickenham. Callaway's pupils included Princess Anne who took lessons over three winters; Prince Charles also took lessons for approximately six weeks during a school holiday. The competitive skaters she trained included Yvonne Suddick and Roger Kennerson, who were three times medallists at the European Championships.
Callaway became the national ice dancing trainer for West Germany in 1969, where she coached Angelika and Erich Buck to gold at the 1972 European Championships. After returning to the UK she coached Hungarian couple Krisztina Regőczy and András Sallay, who were world champions and Olympic silver medallists in 1980.
In 1978 Callaway began working with Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who had previously been coached by Janet Sawbridge. Torvill and Dean dominated ice dancing between 1981 and 1984, winning four consecutive World Championships and gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, where they received 12 maximum 6.0 marks for their free programme. They retired from amateur competition to turn professional after the Olympics, and Callaway stepped down as their coach. She was appointed MBE for services to ice dancing later that year.
For the 1993–94 season Torvill and Dean returned to amateur competition following a change in the rules which allowed former professional skaters to regain amateur status, and teamed up with Callaway once again. They won the 1994 European title and took the bronze medal at the Lillehammer Olympics.
During the 1990s Callaway coached Marika Humphreys, who won the British National Championships five times with various partners,
and the Lithuanian couple Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas.
Personal life.
She married Roy Callaway (1917–2014) in 1949. The couple divorced in 1975, and in 1978 she married British Airways captain William Fittall. She was widowed in 1988 when Fittall died in a house fire. She was later reconciled with Roy Callaway and they remarried in 2003, remaining together until her death.
Callaway was found dead at her home in Seer Green, Buckinghamshire on 27 June 2011. She had sustained a head injury thought to have resulted from a fall, and had been drinking according to toxicology reports. An inquest in September 2011 recorded a verdict of accidental death.


JWP Junior Championship

The JWP Junior Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. It was introduced on June 16, 1995, when Candy Okutsu defeated Hiromi Sugou and Hiromi Yagi in a three-way match to become the inaugural champion.
On June 17, 2007, the reigning JWP Junior Champion Arisa Nakajima won the Princess of Pro-Wrestling (POP) Championship on the JDStar promotion's second to last event. Though the two titles were technically not unified, they were defended together from this point onward. The titles remained together in JWP for nearly a decade before it was announced on February 8, 2017, that the promotion was shutting down. As a result, the two titles would once again be separated with the JWP title remaining with the promotion's production company, while the POP title moved on to Command Bolshoi's follow-up promotion to JWP. It is currently unknown whether the JWP producers plan to stay in the professional wrestling business.
The JWP Junior Championship was originally meant for wrestlers with less than four years of experience in professional wrestling, but in June 2010, the limit was raised to five years. In May 2012, the experience limit was lowered back down to four years. The title was vacated eight times; five times due to the reigning champion surpassing the experience limit.
Like most professional wrestling championships, the title was won as a result of a scripted match. There were thirty-one reigns shared among twenty-six different wrestlers. The title was retired on April 2, 2017, when JWP Joshi Puroresu went out of business. That same day, Yako Fujigasaki won the final match contested for the JWP Junior Championship by making her second successful defense against Saori Anou.
Reigns.
Candy Okutsu was the first champion in the title's history and Yako Fujigasaki the final. She also shares the record for most reigns with Arisa Nakajima, Hiromi Yagi, Rabbit Miu and Rydeen Hagane, with two. Kaori Yoneyama only reign holds the record for the longest reign, at 771 days, while Okutsu's second reign holds the record for the shortest reign at less than one day. Overall, there were thirty-one reigns shared among twenty-six different wrestlers.


Jacky Ickx corner


Deanna Gumpf

Deanna Gumpf is an American softball coach who is the current head coach at Notre Dame.
Early life and education.
Gumpf was born in La Palma, California. She attended the University of Nebraska where she studied business management while being a member of the softball team.
Coaching career.
Notre Dame.
Gumpf has been the head coach for Notre Dame since the 2002 softball season. She has led Notre Dame to 21 consecutive NCAA regional appearances. She is the all-time winningest softball coach in Notre Dame softball history. She is one of two coaches in Notre Dame athletics history to win more than 750 games as the leader of their program.
Personal life.
Gumpf lives with her husband John and two children Brady and Tatum.
Head coaching record.
College.
References:
References.
Molly Carney


List of WDF tournaments

The World Darts Federation recognise many darts tournaments each year including major titles such as the Lakeside World Professional Championship and the Winmau World Masters. Through 2007, the WDF had held four majors which constituted the Grand Slam, until the Topic International Darts League and Bavaria World Darts Trophy were cancelled in 2008 following the withdrawal of the Dutch broadcasters SBS 6, when it was announced that PDC players, including Raymond van Barneveld, Jelle Klaasen, and Michael van Gerwen would not be competing.
Tournaments.
Tournaments listed below are recognised by the WDF and ranked accordingly to their point allocation system but are not organised or run by them they are staged by WDF member associations, councils federations and organisations. The only tournaments organised and operated by the WDF are the international Majors such as the WDF World Cup which is held every two years and the continental championships the WDF internationals and the Welsh Open they operate similar to the International Tennis Federation who only stages Grand Slam events.
Tournament levels and points allocation.
A player's WDF Ranking is based on the total points they have accrued over the previous 12-month period that run from December to December according to the tournament schedule from the following 85 tournaments:
Ranking method.
Since the formation of the WDF rankings in 1974 the method used to calculate a player's ranking points has changed several times.
Notes: The WDF international tournaments have six categories for both men and women (singles, pairs and teams)
Current points distribution.
"Points are currently awarded as follows:"
Other international events.
Six Nations Cup
Former events.
Notes: As of 2016 category 4 events have ceased.


ASC Police

Association Sportive et Culturelle de la Police () is a Mauritanean football club based in Nouakchott. The club plays in the Mauritanean Premier League, which it won in 1981.
Stadium.
Currently the team plays at the 10,000 capacity Stade Olympique (Nouakchott).


Pico Rivera Sports Arena

The Pico Rivera Memorial Sports Arena is a multipurpose arena located in Pico Rivera, California in the United States. It can seat a range of 5000 to 6250 patrons, depending on the event configuration.
About.
The arena is used for concerts, rodeos, professional wrestling and boxing. Notably, it used to host Circus Vargas during their tour of the West Coast. Famous for hosting many presentations of Antonio Aguilar, a Regional Mexican singer, and his family. Adjacent to Bicentennial Park is the 6,000 seat Sports Arena. Famous for its Mexican rodeos (charreadas & jaripeos) and Latin entertainment, the Pico Rivera Sports Arena is a popular recreation spot for the Los Angeles area Hispanic community. This facility was built in 1979 and is reputed to be the largest Mexican rodeo ring in the country. An average of 25 shows, preceded by a traditional Mexican rodeo, are held at the Sports Arena every year.
As a concert venue, the Pico Rivera Sports Arena can seat up to 6,250. With a diameter arena floor, the arena is modeled after a Mexican rodeo ring. The arena, located at Bicentennial Park, is dedicated to Pico Rivera residents who fought for and served the United States during every war up to the Vietnam War.


Distancing

Distancing is the appropriate selection of distance between oneself and a combatant throughout an encounter. Distancing is significant in an altercation as it determines both attack and defence options for all parties involved. Timing and tactics are also important elements of combat which are often used in conjunction with distancing by experienced martial artists.
Distancing is an important concept in all combative sports and arts. It applies to both un-armed and armed combat. In a martial sense, armed combat takes the form of traditional weapons practice. Given the enormous variety of martial arts weapons in addition to the various ranges of un-armed combat, it is possible to divide distancing up into many sub-distances or ranges. Indeed, many martial arts have their own uniques expressions for various distances or ranges derived from those they specialise in.
Distances may be divided up in a number of ways which include various combinations of major and sub-ranges. Although many styles train practitioners at varying ranges, most styles specialise in one or two major sets of ranges.
In a general, most arts describe each of the following ranges (from longest to shortest):
In addition, a great many sub-ranges may be included. One example is the division of the punching range into:
All other ranges may also be subdivided in a similar manner.
Many martial arts focus on specific distances. Examples of this are as follows:


2003 Euro Formula 3000 Series

The 2003 Euro Formula 3000 Series was scheduled over 10 rounds and contested over 9 rounds. 10 different teams, 26 different drivers competed. All teams raced with Lola T99/50 chassis with Zytek engines.
Race calendar.
The season was scheduled to start at Autódromo do Estoril on 27 April, but the round was cancelled by promoter.


Zvi Moisescu

Zvi Moisescu (13 September 1939 - 4 January 2013) was a Romanian-Israeli footballer who played as a defender.
International career.
Zvi Moisescu played six games at international level for Israel. Three games were at the 1960 Asian Cup, and two at the 1962 World Cup qualifiers. He also appeared twice for Israel's Olympic team at the 1960 Summer Olympics qualifiers.
Honours.
Maccabi Netanya
Israel


John H. Russell Jr.

John Henry Russell Jr. (November 14, 1872 – March 6, 1947) was a major general and 16th Commandant of the Marine Corps.
His only child was Brooke Astor, a noted philanthropist, who lived to be 105.
Early life.
Russell was born on November 14, 1872 in Mare Island, California, the son of Rear Admiral John Henry Russell (1827–1897). He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy by President Grover Cleveland in May 1888 and graduated from the Academy in June 1892 and after two years at sea. He passed his final examinations and was transferred to the Marine Corps as a second lieutenant on July 1, 1894.
Upon appointment as an officer in the Marine Corps, he attended the School of Application at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., graduating in 1895. He was retained for another year at the School to conduct a class for noncommissioned officers.
Career.
Early career.
In 1896, he joined , North Atlantic Squadron, serving on board until after the Spanish–American War. The Commanding Officer of the vessel addressed a letter to the Secretary of the Navy commenting favorably on the conduct and performance of duty of John H. Russell in action and recommending recognition thereof by the Navy Department.
He next performed duty on Guam and upon his return to the United States was placed in charge of the School of Application for Officers at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. Following this tour of duty, and also duty at several navy yards, he was ordered to command the Marine Detachment, , remaining on board from September 1902 to March 1904. His next shore duty was in command of the school for young officers established at the Marine Barracks, Annapolis, Maryland. In 1906, he was transferred to the Marine Barracks, Naval Station, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii. From that duty he was ordered to Camp Elliott, Panama Canal Zone, to command the Marines at that station.
In September 1908, he joined the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, for duty as a member of the staff of that college, remaining there until 1910, and it was during this tour of service that the "applicatory method" of instruction was put into effect.
He commanded the Marine Detachment, American Legation, Peking, China, from November 14, 1910 to April 30, 1913. The change in the Chinese government from an empire to a republic, which took place during this period, and the attendant disorders in and around Peking made this tour of duty particularly interesting and difficult.
Upon his return to the United States, he was assigned duty in the Office of Naval Intelligence, Navy Department, where he served until 1917, with the exception of a tour of duty (temporary) from April 30 to December 5, 1914, commanding the 2d Battalion, 3d Regiment, U.S. Marines at Verz Cruz, Mexico, being detached to the U.S. Army during the period.
West Indies service.
Early in March 1917, he assumed command of the 3rd Regiment, with headquarters in Santo Domingo City, Dominican Republic, and within a short period of time he was detached and ordered to command the 4th Regiment of Marines with headquarters at Santiago de los Caballeros, where he remained until October 1917, when he was detached and ordered to the Republic of Haiti to command the Marine Brigade serving in that country. He served in that capacity until December 7, 1918.
His repeated efforts for a transfer to detachments serving in France during World War I were finally successful, but delay in arrival of his relief in Haiti did not permit transfer from Port-au-Prince until after the Armistice was signed.
Upon arrival in Washington, he was ordered to duty in command of the "Planning Section" at Headquarters Marine Corps and served in that capacity until September 1919, when he again was ordered to duty in Haiti to command the 1st Brigade of Marines, serving in that capacity until February 1922, when, upon the unanimous recommendation to the President by the U.S. Senate Committee that had been investigating affairs in Haiti, he was appointed American High Commissioner to Haiti with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary. Maj. Gen. Russell served with distinction in Haiti as High Commissioner until November 1930.
Later career.
Upon his return to the United States, he was assigned to duty as Commanding General, Marine Corps Base, San Diego, California, and was transferred to command the Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia, in December 1931. He was detailed as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps at Headquarters Marine Corps in February 1933. Major General Russell was appointed Commandant of the Marine Corps on March 1, 1934, and remained in that position until his retirement December 1, 1936.
During Major General Russell's tenure as Commandant of the Marine Corps, the old system of seniority promotions of officers was changed to that of advancement by selection; the 1st Marine Brigade was withdrawn from Haiti; the Fleet Marine Force assumed a new importance; the Reserves were given more attention; and the number of ships carrying Marine detachments continued to increase.
Retirement.
Major General Russell retired after 42 years of commissioned service and continued in an active career as a military journalist.
He was a hereditary member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States in succession to his father.
Personal life.
While stationed at the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C., he married Mabel Cecile Hornby Howard (1879–1967) on June 12, 1901. Together, they had one child:
Russell died in Coronado, California, on March 6, 1947 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Namesakes.
The guided missile destroyer (DDG-59) was named for him and his father.
Russell Avenue at the west end of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego parade deck was named for General Russell.
Awards and decorations.
In addition to numerous letters of commendation on his excellent performance of duty during his long and varied career, Maj. Gen. Russell was awarded:
Navy Cross citation.
Citation:
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Colonel John Henry Russell (MCSN: 0-854), United States Marine Corps, for distinguished service in the line of his profession in able administration of the First Provisional Brigade of Marines in Haiti, and for wisdom and tact in all his dealings with the officials of the Haitian Government and people.


Giovanni Di Veroli

Giovanni Di Veroli (11 August 1932 – 1 June 2018) was an Italian professional footballer who played for Lazio, as a defender. Di Veroli was Jewish and began his career with Blue Star, a Jewish sports team.


Henri Rang

Henri Rang (June 8, 1902 in Timișoara – December 25, 1946) was a Romanian horse rider who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1936 he and his horse "Delfis" won the silver medal in the individual jumping competition.


Loren LaPorte

Loren LaPorte is an American softball coach who is the current head coach at James Madison.
Coaching career.
James Madison (asst.).
On July 31, 2012, LaPorte was announced as an assistant coach of the James Madison softball program.
James Madison (Head coach).
On September 14, 2017, Loren LaPorte was promoted to head coach of the James Madison softball program after the departure of Mickey Dean who left for Auburn.


Eden Sharav

Eden Sharav (; born 30 April 1992) is an Israeli-Scottish professional snooker player.
Career.
Amateur.
In 2011 Sharav won the Pontins "Star of the Future" event aged 19 beating fellow Scotsman Ross Muir 4–0 in the final in Prestatyn. A few months later as an amateur, Sharav reached the last 16 stage of his tournament debut in the Players Tour Championship, beating professionals, Liang Wenbo 4–0, Adam Duffy 4–1 and Gary Wilson 4–2, before a 4–0 defeat to Marcus Campbell. He then entered Q School in 2014, with the aim to win a two-year professional tour card. He was unsuccessful, losing in the final rounds of both events to Tian Pengfei and Michael Leslie. He was though able to enter in all of the ranking tournaments as a top-up player for the 2014–15 season due to his strong Q School performances. He qualified for the venue stages of the 2014 International Championship and 2015 Indian Open, losing in the first round of both. He then entered Q School at the end of the season.
Professional.
In the first event of Q School, Sharav reached the final round and made breaks of 103 and 83 and against Adam Duffy and won 4–3, a win which gave Sharav to a two-year card to the World Snooker Tour for the 2015–16 season and 2016–17 seasons. He won a match as a professional at the first attempt by beating Andrew Milliard 5–3 in the 2015 Australian Goldfields Open qualifiers.<ref name="2015/16"></ref>
Sharav could not qualify for any ranking event in the 2015–16 season outside of the UK Championship and Welsh Open for which he gained automatic entry. At the UK he came back from 5–2 behind against Alan McManus to level at 5–5. Sharav got the snooker he needed in the decider, but McManus potted the blue to win in a match that finished at 1:30am. At the Welsh Open he lost 4–2 to Jack Lisowski in the first round.
A 4–1 win over Sean O'Sullivan saw Sharav qualify for the 2016 Indian Open where he was defeated 4–0 by Stuart Carrington. He overcame Nigel Bond 6–3 to play in the International Championship and lost 6–3 to John Higgins in the first round. Sharav eliminated Oliver Lines 4–1 in the first round of both the Northern Ireland Open and the Welsh Open, but was then eliminated in the second round 4–0 by Yan Bingtao and 4–1 by Robert Milkins respectively. Sharav qualified for the China Open by overcoming Jamie Jones 5–3 and whitewashed Ross Muir 5–0 in the first round, before being unable to pick up a frame in a 5–0 loss to Judd Trump. Sharav finished the year outside the top 64 in the world rankings, but has secured a new tour card by taking the seventh spot out of eight on the one-year ranking list.


Universal Basketball Association

The Universal Basketball Association (UBA) is a semi-professional men's basketball minor league in the United States that began play in 2009. The league typically play a Spring season schedule.
Teams are split into geographical divisions, from Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.
History.
UBA announced the addition of an Eastern division scheduled to begin in 2015. Teams are based in North Carolina.


Alex Hua Tian

Alex Hua Tian (; born 25 October 1989) is an equestrian sportsman who competes in eventing for China.
Early life.
Hua Tian was born in London to a Chinese father and a British mother. He has a brother, called Jamie Hua Ming. The family lived in Beijing, before moving to Hong Kong. Hua Tian started riding aged four. His family moved to Wiltshire when he was 11, where Hua Tian attended Chafyn Grove School followed by Eton College.
Career.
Hua Tian was the only Chinese event rider competing internationally between 2006 and 2016. He took a year out of his studies at Eton to prepare for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He qualified four horses between October 2007 and May 2008. Although as a host nation competitor he only needed to achieve a minimum standard, he qualified in his own right through the rankings as the youngest ever Olympic event rider. In mid-2008 he achieved a ranking of 21st in the world. The equestrian industry in China has grown since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing to be the 3rd largest leisure pursuit among the elite in China.
He was coached by the former world champion Clayton Fredericks and his wife Lucinda Fredericks, who won the Burghley Horse Trials 2006 and Badminton Horse Trials 2007, at their base in Wiltshire, and by Jane Gregory, British Olympic Dressage Team 1996 and 2008.
Having returned to Eton to complete his studies, Hua Tian won a place at Bristol University to study Aerotechnology Engineering, which he postponed for three years to concentrate on working toward competing in London 2012. At the 2009, Blenheim International Horse Trials, Hua Tian won the Best under-25 Prize and qualified for the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, September 2010. In November 2009, he won the inaugural HSBC Rising Star Award, presented to him in Copenhagen by Princess Haya, President of the International Equestrian Federation at the 'Oscars of Equestrian Sport'.
In 2014, Hua Tian won a silver medal at the Incheon Asian Games riding Temujin, owned by Edwina Qu Ye.
Hua Tian qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio with horses Harbour Pilot C and Don Geniro. He placed 8th with Don Geniro.
In 2018 he won a bronze medal at the Jakarta Asian Games riding PSH Convivial.
In 2019 he was a member of the first Chinese eventing team to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.


Sport in Israel

Sport in Israel plays an important role in Israeli culture and is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport. The most popular sports in Israel have traditionally been Association football and basketball - with the latter being considered the national sport - in both of which Israeli professional teams have been competitive internationally. Israel is an international center for Jewish sport around the world and since 1932 the Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event for Jewish athletes, is held in the country. Despite Israel's location in the Asian continent, the Israeli sports associations in various sports belong to the European associations due to the refusal of many Arab Asian countries to compete with Israeli athletes.
The government's support and budgeting of sports in Israel is relatively low in comparison to other western countries. However, many Israeli athletes and teams managed to gain international success. The Israeli national basketball team has won 2 gold medals in the Asian Games and 1 silver medal at the European Championship, and basketball club Maccabi Tel Aviv is considered one of the best teams in Europe with 6 European titles. The Israeli national football team has won the AFC Asian Cup and the Israel Davis Cup team reached the semifinal of the 2009 Davis Cup. At the Olympic Games, Israel has won 9 medals.
History.
Jewish physical fitness was promoted in the 19th century by Max Nordau and his concept of Muscular Judaism. The Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event for Jewish athletes inaugurated in 1932 is held every fours years.
In 1964, Israel hosted and won the AFC Asian Cup. In 1970, the Israel national football team qualified for the FIFA World Cup, which was considered a major achievement for Israeli football. Israel was excluded from the 1978 Asian Games due to Arab pressure.
Major sports.
Football.
Football (soccer, , "Kaduregel") is the most popular sport in Israel. The sport is under the jurisdiction of the Israel Football Association. It joined the Asian Football Confederation in 1954, but was expelled in 1974 due to political pressure from Arab and Muslim members in the context of the Arab–Israeli conflict. It was admitted to UEFA as an associate member in 1992 and as a full member in 1994, therefore their teams compete as part of Europe in all international competitions.
The matches that draw the largest crowds are those of the Israeli Premier League. In 1967, Hapoel Tel Aviv became the first club to win the Asian Club Championships. In the 2001–02 UEFA Cup Hapoel reached the quarter-finals after knocking out Chelsea, Lokomotiv Moscow and Parma.
Israeli teams were also qualified five times to the UEFA Champions League group stage, including Maccabi Haifa in the 2002–03 and 2009–10 seasons, Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 2004–05 and 2015–16 seasons and Hapoel Tel Aviv in the 2010–11 season.
The Israel national football team hosted and won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup and qualified for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Mexico. Mordechai Spiegler scored in a 1–1 draw against Sweden. Israel's Olympic football team qualified for the 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1976 Summer Olympics both times reaching the quarter finals. Israel's highest FIFA ranking was 15th in November 2008.
Famous matches of the Israeli football team include the 3–2 win in France in the 1994 world championship qualifying games, which ended up disqualifying the French team from the championship in the United States, the defeat of Austria 5–0 in 1999 during Euro 2000 qualifications, and a 2–1 win over Argentina in a friendly match in 1998, a game played in Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem.
Successful Israeli players who also played outside Israel include Eli Ohana, Giora Spiegel, Ronny Rosenthal, Avi Cohen, Eyal Berkovich, Haim Revivo, Dudu Aouate and Yossi Benayoun.
Notable Israeli players have included:
Basketball.
Basketball (כדורסל, "Kadursal") is the second most popular sport in Israel. Hapoel Jerusalem, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv dominate the domestic league and are among the top teams in Europe. Maccabi Tel Aviv has won the European championship 6 times, in 1977, 1981, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2014. Hapoel Jerusalem won the Eurocup in 2004.
The Israel national basketball team has participated 23 times in the European Championship. Their best achievements were a silver medal in Eurobasket 1979, and 5th place in 1953 and 1977. The national team also played in two World Championships and once in the Summer Olympic Games.
Israeli basketball is known for its national under-20 team, winning silver medals twice, in 2000 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship and 2004, and finishing 4th twice (1994, 2005), 5th (1992), and 6th (2007).
Israel U-20 also took place in the U-21 World Championship, finishing twice in 7th place (2001,2005), and 6th place (1993).
Israeli player Omri Casspi previously played in the NBA. Gal Mekel, previously played in the NBA and Shay Doron previously played in the WNBA. David Blatt coached the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers. Other notable Israeli basketball players have included:
Swimming.
Israel Swimming Association is the major swimming federation in Israel. Swimming is popular in Israel's many beaches along the Mediterranean coast, the Sea of Galilee, in the Red Sea at the shores of Eilat, in the Dead Sea and in swimming pools. Famous Israeli swimmers include Eithan Urbach, Michael Halika, Gal Nevo, Yoav Gath, Yoav Bruck, Vered Borochovski, Amit Ivry, and Anna Gostomelsky. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Israel's team qualified to the final of the prestigious Men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay. Uri Bergman won 12 gold medals at the Paralympic Games, and other paralympic swimmers such as Izhak Mamistvalov and Keren Leibovitch won several gold medals as well.
Rowing.
Rowing is a growing sport in Israel, and has seen a major breakthrough in recent years. Dani Fridman, Israel Champion, is currently ranked 10th in the world, and Moran Samuel is Israel's 1st rowing world champion (paralympic). Samuel, won her first Paralympic bronze medal, after coming 3rd at the Rio 2016 Summer Paralympics. Other Rio 2016 participants are Yulia Chernoy and Reuven Magnagey, who rowed together in a double scull boat and finished 9th.
The Daniel Rowing Centre in Tel Aviv is Israel's prime training facility, and the home of the national Olympic and Paralympic squad. The sport is practiced in Tel Aviv Yarkon River, Kishon Port of Haifa and Tiberius Sea of Galilee.
Other prominent athletes are Oleg Gonorovski, Tomer Shvartsman, Roni Iuster and Diana Egerton-Warburton.
The Israeli Rowing Federation is an active member of the International Rowing Federation – FISA.
Tennis.
Highly ranked players include Shlomo Glickstein (world ranked #22 at his peak), Amos Mansdorf (ranked #18 at his best), Dudi Sela (ranked #29 at his best), Anna Smashnova (ranked #15 at her best), Shahar Pe'er (ranked #11 at her best) as well as the doubles team of Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich (world #5 team in 2006 and 2008 Australian Open champions) - all of whom have trained at the Israel Tennis Centers. Since 2008, both men's and the women's teams have qualified for the top groups in the world - the men are in the Davis Cup world group, and the women are in the Fed Cup world group I. In December 2012, 12-year-old Yshai Oliel of Ramla, Israel, won the 51st Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship for his age group.
Track and field.
Track and field athletics in Israel are mainly focused around the Maccabiah Games and the international Olympic Games, where Israel has achieved notable successes during its short history. The Soviet-born Aleksandr Averbukh is by far the most successful Israeli track and field athlete, having won three gold medals in the pole vault at European championships (2000 — indoor, 2002 and 2006) as well as two medals at the World championships (1999 and 2001).
Marathons.
Long distance running is popular in Israel. The Tiberias Marathon , Tel Aviv Marathon, and the Jerusalem Marathon take place annually in January, February, and March respectively. Another half marathon is held annually at Ein Gedi, near the Dead Sea. There are various other shorter distance races over the course of the year through very different regions and terrains.
Chess.
While chess, as an intellectual sport, has always been played in Israel, the arrival of large numbers of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s brought many chess grandmasters to Israel and increased interest in the game. Boris Gelfand is the 2009 World Cup winner.
Minor sports.
American football.
The center of American football in Israel is the Kraft Family Stadium in Jerusalem. Currently, there are 4 leagues playing Flag Football. The WAFI which has 13 teams: high school level which has 12 teams and a youth team, all under the association of The AFI. There're also 3 leagues playing tackle-football: a junior high football league (which has donated equipment), a high school league - IHFL and an adult's league - IFL (Israeli Football League). The IFL has 11 teams coming from Jerusalem, Petah Tikva, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beersheba and Ramat HaSharon. The game is mainly played by ex-pats from America, South Africa, England and France. The largest league in 2007 was men's contact who competed in the annual Holyland Bowl championship. Some 1000 players are involved in weekly football activities.
In 2015 the Israel national American football team had their first international game, in the qualifier for the European Championship.
Baseball.
Baseball was first introduced into the region on July 4, 1927, when baseball equipment was distributed at the Sephardic Orphanage in Jerusalem.
The Israel Baseball League, managed by Larry Baras, was established in 2007. It was the first professional baseball league in the Middle East. In its first and only season it had six teams that played in three stadiums. The first and only champions were the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox managed by Ron Blomberg.
The Israel national baseball team applied, unsuccessfully, to participate in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. They were subsequently invited to participate in the newly created qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic. During the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier Israel qualified for the main tournament and finished in sixth place.
Team Israel won the 2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool in early July 2019 in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, winning all five of its games. It thus advanced to the playoffs against Team Lithuania in the 2019 Playoff Series at the end of July 2019 for the last qualifying spot for the 2019 European Baseball Championship. Israel won the best-of-three playoff series 2–0, and thereby qualified for the 2019 European Baseball Championship.
In Round 1 of the 2019 European Baseball Championship, Israel went 4–1. The team thereby advanced to the Championship's eight-team playoffs. In the Championship playoffs, Israel defeated Team France in the quarterfinals, lost to Team Italy in the semi-finals, and came in fourth.
Because Team Israel finished in the top five in the 2019 European Baseball Championship, it earned the right to participate in the 2020 Olympics qualifiers Africa/Europe Qualifying Event. As the winner of that tournament it qualified to be one of the six national teams that will compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Every member of the 24-member Team Israel that competed to qualify in the Olympics was Israeli, with four of the players native-born. The others made "aliyah" to Israel, under Israel's Law of Return, which gives anyone with a Jewish parent or grandparent or who is married to a Jew the right to return to Israel and be granted Israeli citizenship.
Boxing.
In Israel, boxing is not just a sport but an educational vehicle for helping young people overcome prejudices. The Israel Boxing Association (IBA) operates certified gyms in cities throughout the country, with 1,800 active members from Arab villages and Ethiopian and Russian immigrant population centers. Boxers as young as 11 train and participate in matches organized by the association. Israeli Yuri Foreman is a former World Boxing Association super welterweight champion. Roman Greenberg is currently International Boxing Organization's (IBO's) Intercontinental heavyweight champion. Hagar Finer is the WIBF champion bantamweight.
Adi Rotem of Tel Aviv is the current world champion in Thai boxing in the under-52 kilogram class. Ilya Grad is considered one of the eight best amateur Thai boxers in the world. In February 2012, Grad won the WCK international title in China and was permitted to enter Malaysia, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, on an Israeli passport. Ido Pariente is an Israel lightweight Pankration World Champion.
Canoeing.
Michael Kolganov, a Soviet (Uzbek)-born Israeli sprint canoer, has been a world champion and won an Olympic bronze in the K-1 500-meter.
Cricket.
Israel became an associate member of the ICC in 1974. Israel competed in the 1979 ICC Trophy, the inaugural edition of what is now the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, but failed to get past the first round. They also failed to progress beyond the first round in the 1982 and 1986 tournaments.
They reached the plate competition of the ICC Trophy in 1990 and 1994 and in 1996 competed in their first European Championship in Denmark, finishing eighth in the eight team tournament.
In the 1997 ICC Trophy in Malaysia, they faced political demonstrations throughout the tournament from the Islamic Party of Malaysia. They were the first Israeli sports team to play in the country and finished in 21st place.
In 1998, they finished ninth in the European Championship ahead of only Gibraltar and the following year travelled to Gibraltar to take part in a quadrangular tournament also involving France and Italy.
Israel have been playing in Division Two of the European Championships since 2000, finishing fifth in 2000, fourth in 2002, sixth in 2004 and seventh in 2006.
In November 2007, Israel were defeated in a relegation match against Croatia, in the first international cricket game played in Israel. The loss meant that they were relegated from Europe Division Two to Europe Division Three. In 2009 they were re-promoted to second division with a win over Croatia.
At the 2016 ICC Europe Division Two tournament Israel finished fourth, behind Germany, Sweden, and Spain
Curling.
Israel national men's curling team has been competing as part of the European playdowns since 2014. Israel has sent teams to the world mixed, world mixed doubles and world men's seniors competitions as well.
Equestrian.
Notable Israeli equestrians include:
Fencing.
Notable Israeli fencers have included:
Figure skating.
Israel has one regulation ice rink, located in Metulla, a city on the Lebanese border. Israel has been sending teams to the Winter Olympics since 1994. In 2002, Galit Chait (world championship bronze medalist) and Sergei Sakhnovski (world championship bronze medalist) finished sixth in ice dancing. Alexandra Zaretski, Belarusian-born Israeli, ice dancer, Olympian, and Roman Zaretski, Belarusian-born Israeli, ice dancer, Olympian a brother and sister ice-dancing pair, came in ninth in the 2008 world championships and first in the 2009 World University Games.
Other notable Israeli skaters include:
Golf.
Israel has a single 18-hole golf course named Caesarea Golf & Country Club and located in the town of Caesarea and a smaller 9 hole course called Gaash Golf Club located at kibbutz Ga'ash. Notable Israeli golfers include Rami Asayag, Asher Iyasu and world blind golfing champion Zohar Sharon. Laetitia Beck has won the Israeli Championship five times, including for the first time when she was 12 years of age, and won gold medals in golf in both the 2009 and 2013 Maccabiah Games, and is the first Israeli to compete in an LPGA Tour tournament.
Gymnastics.
Israeli gymnast Neta Rivkin won a silver medal in the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships held in Minsk in 2011, to become the first gymnast of the country to win a medal at the European Championships. Rivkin also won the first world medal for Israel in rhythmic gymnastics at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships held in Montpellier, France in 2011, and she won the bronze medal at the hoop final. The Israeli rhythmic gymnastic group also won the bronze medal at the event final of 3 ribbons and 2 hoops at the World Championships in Montpellier.
Linoy Ashram became the first Israeli rhythmic gymnast to win an individual all-around medal at the 2017 World Championships. She is the most decorated Israeli rhythmic gymnast, with 6 silver and 5 bronze medals at the World Championships (2017, 2018, 2019), 2 bronze medals at the 2017 European Championships and 2 gold and 2 silver medals at the 2019 European Games and recently at the 2020 European Championships, she won the gold medal in the Individual All-Around Event making her the first Israeli to win an All Around gold medal in the European Championships.
In 2013, Alexander Shatilov won a gold medal at the European championship in gymnastics in Moscow, Russia. In 2017, Artem Dolgopyat, an Israeli artistic gymnast, won a silver medal at the World Championships.
Handball.
Israel's national handball team participated in the 2002 European Men's Handball Championship in Sweden. Local power Hapoel Rishon Lezion qualified for the quarterfinals of the EHF Champions League in 2000.
Ice hockey.
Ice hockey started in Israel in 1986 when the first rink opened in Kiryat Motzkin. Israel has a following of over 1,000 ice hockey players. Israel took part in the 2007 Ice Hockey Division II World Championships.
Notable players have included:
Lacrosse.
Lacrosse is the country's fastest growing sport.
The Israel men's national lacrosse team has competed in the European Lacrosse Championships in 2012 finishing in 8th place, and in 2016 finished 2nd. Additionally they finished 7th at the World Lacrosse Championship in 2014.
Domestically, there are two men's clubs and one women's club that operate within Israel.
Martial arts.
Capoeira clubs operate in various locations in Israel.
Krav Maga is taught to most citizens in the army, and practiced recreationally throughout the country. The Association of Martial Arts in Israel is chaired by Hamad Amar, an Israeli Druze member of the Knesset. Nili Block is a world champion kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter. Yulia Sachkov is a world champion kickboxer.
Judo is one of the three sports in which Israeli athletes have won Olympic medals. In 2013, Yarden Gerbi won a gold medal at the Judo World Championships, and in 2016 she won a bronze medal at the Olympics. Other notable Israeli judokas include:
Motorsport.
The Israel Motor-Sport Association was founded in 1990. It has organised rally, autocross, rallycross and drag racing competitions.
Auto racing was legalized in 2011. A 1.5 km permanent racetrack was opened in Port of Eilat, where Formula Israel competitions are held.
Notable Israeli drivers include Chanoch Nissany (Formula One test-driver), Roy Nissany and Alon Day.
Netball.
Netball was introduced in Israel in 1999 by Jodi Carreira. Today there are clubs in Raanana, Modi'in, Jerusalem, Kfar Etzion and Tel Aviv, all of which have teams participating in the Israel National Netball League. Israel Netball has sent senior and junior teams to international events, culminating in its first international win in Ireland in June 2008. The netball tournament of the Maccabiah has been hosted by Israel Netball since 2001. Currently ranked 36, Israel is a member of the International Netball Federation (INF) and of Netball Europe (NE).
Rugby.
Rugby union is a minor sport brought to the country by British soldiers during the Mandate era. The first game post-independence was in 1951, organized by Leo Camron. A wave of immigration from English speaking countries, and France, since 1967 renewed interest in the sport, particularly in areas with large English-speaking populations such as Ra'anana and Jerusalem. A national league was set up in 1972, and the Israel Rugby Union (now Rugby Israel) formed in 1975. Israel's first international match was away to Switzerland on 25 May 1981, and ended 9–9. The Israel Union joined the International Rugby Board in 1988. Rugby union has also featured at the Maccabiah Games since 1981. Israel has entered the Rugby World Cup Sevens.
The women's rugby league in Israel consists of two teams in Tel Aviv, two in Haifa and one each in Jerusalem, Galilee and Ra’anana. An eighth club is scheduled to open in Beersheba in October 2019.
Softball.
The Israel Softball Association (fastpitch) was established in 1979 by a group of immigrants from North and South America. The Israel Softball Association is a registered Non Profit Organization which is recognized by the Sports Authorities in Israel and is a member of "Ayelet" - the Israeli Association of Non-Olympic Competitive Sports.
The activities conducted by the Israel Softball Association have assisted in the social integration of immigrants countrywide, and today its members also include many native Israelis.
The Association consists of 10 men's teams Divided into A Pool and B Pool, 3 women's teams,21 junior boys teams and 4 junior girls teams.
The Israeli National Teams represent the country in European Championships and other International Competitions.
Windsurfing.
Israeli windsurfer Gal Fridman won two Olympic medals, gold and bronze, and was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Israeli windsurfer Shahar Tzuberi won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In March 2012, Israeli windsurfer Lee Korzits won the women's RS-X title in the Sailing World Championships for the third time in a row. Israeli windsurfer Katy Spychakov won a silver medal in the Women's , and was an U21 winner in the Women's 2019 RS:X World Championships.
Wrestling.
Seven Israeli wrestlers competed at the 2010 Senior European Championship in Baku. Four were Greco-Roman wrestlers while the others were freestyle. Gotsha Tzitziashvily competed at the Summer Olympics in Athens. He held the world championship title in the 84-kilogram weight class in 2003.
Stand Up Paddle Boarding.
Stand Up Paddle boarding or SUP is becoming increasingly popular in Israel. A very accessible lifestyle sport on flat water there are many expeditions available such as the '4 Seas in 4 days'. SUP Surfing is also very popular in Israel and it can offer some world class conditions.
Maccabiah Games.
The Maccabiah Games are an international Jewish athletic event, similar to the Olympics, held every four years in Israel. The first games were held in 1932.
Boycotts and violence against Israeli sportsmen.
Israeli athletes and teams are barred from some competitions. In addition, in many worldwide competitions, such as the Olympics, some Arab and Muslim competitors avoid competing against Israelis. Some countries even force their athletes not to compete against Israelis or in Israel. Mushir Salem Jawher, a Kenyan-born marathoner, lost his Bahraini citizenship after competing in the Kinneret Marathon in Israel.
Integration of Arab citizens in sports.
Despite the country's political problems, Arab sportsmen have always been full participants in Israeli sports teams, contributing to Israel's success in the international arena, also playing in the Israel national football team. They include Rifat (Jimmy) Turk, Najwan Ghrayib, Walid Badir, Salim Toama, Abbas Suan and more. Another Israeli Arab, Johar Abu Lashin, born in Nazareth, was an IBO Welterweight champion.
Olympic Games.
Israel has won nine Olympic medals. Gal Fridman won Israel's first Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Sports media.
Television, radio, newspapers and news web sites discuss Israeli sports.
In 2010, Israel sports radio, the country's first English-language all-sports talk radio station, was established, covering Israeli and American sports.
The main football leagues air on Sport 1, Sport 2 (both owned by Charlton Broadcasting Company) and Sport 5. Other sports channels include Eurosport and Fox Sports.
Facebook page, Follow Team Israel, shares the news of Israeli sport to the world.


Andrea Lynch

Andrea Joan Caron Lynch (born November 24, 1952) is a British former track and field sprinter who competed mainly in the 100 metres. A two-time Olympian, the peak of her career was becoming a bronze medallist in the 100 m at the 1974 European Championships and a double silver medallist in the 100 m and 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games. A former British record holder in the 100 m, she has a hand-timed best of 10.9 seconds in 1974 and an auto-timed best of 11.16 secs in 1975. Her 200 metres best is 23.15 secs in 1975.
Career.
Born in Barbados, she moved to England with her family at a young age. She would later apply to represent the country of her birth for the 1970 British Commonwealth Games, but decided to compete for Britain after she failed to receive a response. She proved herself as a young sprinter for Britain, winning at the English Schools' Athletics Championships over 100 m in 1970 and over 200 metres in 1971. She was the 100 m winner at the 1970 British Schools International Match. Her first major medal came at the 1970 European Athletics Junior Championships, being 100 m silver medallist behind Poland's Helena Kerner.
In 1974 she equalled the world record for the 60 metres, running 7.2 seconds. She had some of her greatest successes in that indoor event, winning the gold medal at the 1975 European Athletics Indoor Championships, having previously won a silver at the competition in 1974.
Lynch represented Great Britain at the Olympics in 1972 and 1976. In her first appearance, while still a teenager, she was a semi-finalist in the 100 m and was seventh in the 4 × 100 metres relay. Returning four years later, she made the Olympic 100 metres final and placed seventh, as well as making the relay final.
The following year she was runner-up to Renate Stecher at the 1975 European Cup and took her last major individual medals at the 1977 Universiade (a 100 m silver and 200 m bronze). Her only global level medal came with the European relay team at the 1977 IAAF World Cup, where she teamed up with national rival Sonia Lannaman and West Germany's Annegret Richter and Elvira Possekel to claim the gold.
At national level she won three 100 m title at the AAA Championships and three 60 m titles at the AAA Indoor Championships (1973, 1975 and 1976). She was runner-up in both 100 m and 200 m to Sonia Lannaman at the inaugural 1977 UK Athletics Championships. She also competed as a guest at the Scottish Athletics Championships in 1972 and won both short sprints.
After retiring from competitive athletics, she remained involved with the sport and took up sprint coaching, including top ranked national junior sprinter Kyle Reynolds-Warmington at Belgrave Harriers.
She was formerly married to Canadian Olympic sprinter Brian Saunders.


List of Jewish American sportspeople

This is a list of notable Jewish American sportspeople. For other Jewish Americans, see Lists of Jewish Americans; for sportspeople from other countries, see List of Jews in sport.
Baseball.
Players.
It is often stated incorrectly that Hall of Famer Rod Carew converted to Judaism, although it is true that he married a Jewish woman and they raised their children as Jews. This misconception was most famously perpetuated in two works:
Basketball.
Bruce Pearl, College Basketball Coach for Auburn Tigers (2019 Final Four)


VintageAirRally

The VintageAirRally (also known as Vintage Air Rally) is a biennial vintage airplane rally across thousands of miles of challenging terrain, created by Sam Rutherford. The first VintageAirRally entitled the Crete2Cape was completed on 17 December 2016 with the arrival of the teams in Cape Town, South Africa.
The aim is to run rallies that are available to all, regardless of nationality, personal circumstances or any other factor.
The Crete2Cape Edition (2016).
The Crete2Cape edition of the VintageAirRally covered the Eastern side of the African continent, traversing Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe, Botswana, & South Africa. The Rally ran from 12 November 2016 to 17 December 2016 covering over 8,000 miles.
The Buzet Edition, Belgium (2017).
The Belgian edition of the VintageAirRally ran around southern Belgium on 20 May 2017. The rally route took in 3 airfields and microlight strips with teams of cars and biplanes in competition.
It ran again in Belgium on 16 September 2017, and it is planned to have a third edition in 2021.
The Montreal Edition (2017).
The Montreal edition of the VintageAirRally ran on 1 July 2017. The rally route took in several airfields and bush strips around the city.
The Dunkirk2Dover (2022).
This edition of the VintageAirRally will run 9–12 May 2022. The rally route starts at Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airport and stops at Walmer Aerodrome and Walmer Castle en route for the FINISH at Chilston Park. An Airco DH.9 will be the first aeroplane to land at Walmer Aerodrome since 1919 (the last plane out was a DH9).
The Zoute Air Trophy at Knokke-Heist (2018).
This VintageAirRally Beach STOL Competition ran 14–17 June 2018 at Knokke-Heist in Belgium.
It has been named the Zoute Air Trophy, and is planned to become an annual event.
The beach was converted into an temporary international airport, historically linking back 50 years to Knokke-Zoute Airfield. https://www.hln.be/regio/knokke-heist/wereldprimeur-strand-als-internationale-luchthaven~a7ec3804
The Ushuaia2USA Edition (2024).
The Ushuaia2USA edition of the VintageAirRally will run from the southernmost tip of South America to North America in the last quarter of 2024. Leaving Ushuaia Argentina on 1 November, arriving in United States on 14 December. The route takes in 19 countries in South America and Central America. This will be the first edition of the VintageAirRally where there is no entry fee for the teams - all costs are covered by the sponsors. This will allow access to those to whom previously taking part was impossible.


Mike Harris (curler)

Michael R. Harris (born June 9, 1967 in Georgetown, Ontario) is a Canadian curler. Harris led his team to win the silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Curling career.
Relatively unknown due to the shadows cast out of Ontario in the form of superstars Russ Howard, Ed Werenich and Wayne Middaugh, and having not qualified to a Brier out of Ontario yet, Harris rose to stardom when he skipped his team of Richard Hart, Collin Mitchell and George Karrys to a win at the Canadian Olympic trials in 1997, qualifying the team for the 1998 Winter Olympics. They would defeat the favored Kevin Martin 6-5 in the trials final, after a 7-2 round robin record had the team sole 1st and a direct bye to the final.
At the Olympics, Harris' team dominated throughout, while other pre-Olympic favourites such as reigning World Champions Sweden (skipped by Peja Lindholm) and reigning World silver medalist and European Champions Germany (skipped by Andy Kapp) struggled and were never in playoff contention. Harris lost only one game in the round-robin (a meaningless final game to three-time World Champion and 1988 Olympic Gold medalist Eigil Ramsfjell, skipping Norway). They would win their semi final over the U.S team skipped by Tim Somerville 7-1, in a game conceded after 8 ends, before losing in a major upset in the gold medal final against the surprise finalists, Team Switzerland skipped by Patrick Hürlimann, who they had easily beaten 8-3 in the round robin. Harris was ill during the final game, which many attribute to why they had lost. He shot at only 25% in the final, and even had to take several short breaks on the sideline throughout due to lack of physical energy. However, he was not the only one to struggle in the gold medal game, third Richard Hart shot only 58% and second Collin Mitchell an uncharacteristic 73% (though lead George Karrys was stellar at 98%).
Prior to the Olympics, Harris' only claim to fame on the national curling scene had been a 6-5 record at the 1986 Canadian Junior Men's Curling Championship and a 4-7 record at the 1989 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship. After the 1998 Olympics, Harris skipped a team to the 2004 Nokia Brier where they finished 6-5.
Harris continues to curl competitively, and is now also a curling commentator for the CBC and a golf professional. Mike recently played a large role in the Telus Skins Game, where he coordinated the Pro-Am tournament.


Monaco race results

Race results from the automobile and motorcycle races contested at the Circuit de Monaco in the Principality of Monaco.
Monaco Grand Prix.
"A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship."
"A yellow background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war European Championship."
Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three.
"Note: A pink background denotes a Formula Junior race."


Cecil Patteson Nickalls

Cecil Patteson Nickalls, D.S.O. (14 October 1877 – 7 April 1925) was a Colonel in the Royal Field Artillery. He was a champion polo player, and a champion rugby player, who took his own life with a gun on 7 April 1925.
Early life.
He was born on 14 October 1877 in Kent, England to Sir Patteson Nickalls. His siblings were, Patteson Womersley Nickalls and Morres Nickalls. He was educated at Rugby School.
Career.
In the 1890s he played cricket. He scored 109 at Lord's Cricket Ground against Marlborough for Rugby in 1894.
He was on the British team that won the International Polo Cup at the Hurlingham Club in 1902 with his brother Patteson Womersley Nickalls, Frederick Maitland Freake, Walter Selby Buckmaster, George Arthur Miller and Charles Darley Miller. He played on the English team against Ireland in 1905 and 1911.
He served as a captain in the Royal Field Artillery in World War I. He was awarded the DSO and wounded.
Personal life.
He married Olivia Mary Miller in 1904 in Rugby, England, and had two children, Cecily Maud Nickalls (died 14 May 1999) and Mary Olivia Nickalls.
Death.
Nickalls committed suicide with a gun on 7 April 1925 in Rugby, England.


Matthew Hall (figure skater)

Matthew Hall (born 1970) is a Canadian figure skater. He is the 1989 bronze medalist at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships as well as the 1989 Canada Games. He trained at the Mariposa School of Skating.
Hall was one of the first elite level athletes to come out as gay while still competing. He made his sexual orientation public in 1992.


Modern Pentathlon World Cup

Modern Pentathlon World Cup is an annual series of modern pentathlon competitions organised by the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM). Competitions are held in a number of countries and each series culminates in a World Cup Final. It is the top level annual series for the sport.
The 2010 edition had its world cup final in Moscow and the 2014 series has its final in Sarasota Bradenton.


Aleksandr Rumyantsev

Aleksandr Vadimovich Rumyantsev (; born 5 December 1986) is a Russian speed skater.
Career.
Rumyantsev competed at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics for Russia. In 2010, he was disqualified in the 5000 metres, and was 13th in the 10000 metres. In 2014, he finished 11th in the 5000 metres. He was also a part of the Russian team pursuit squad, losing to South Korea in the quarter-finals, then losing to Norway in final C, finishing 6th.
As of September 2014, Rumyantsev's best performance at the World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships is 6th, in the 2011 team pursuit. His best individual finish is 9th, in the 2013 10000 m. His best finish at the World Allround Speed Skating Championships is 22nd, in 2009.
Rumyantsev made his World Cup debut in December 2007. As of September 2014, Rumyantsev has one World Cup victory, as part of the Russian team pursuit squad at Moscow in 2010–11 He also has an individual medal, a bronze in a 5000 m race at Heerenveen in 2013–14. His best overall finish in the World Cup is 8th, in the 5000 & 10000 m in 2013–14.
On 24 November 2017, Rumyantsevs' results from the 2014 Winter Olympics were disqualified for a doping violation.


T-Street

T-Street is a beach in San Clemente, California a short distance south of the town pier. It is a favored location of the local waterpeople for surfing and bodyboarding.
Background.
T-street is a break from a small reef at the end of the stairs that cross the railroad tracks. It got its name from Trafalgar Canyon that runs from El Camino Real nearly all the way to the water. It is located approximately south of the San Clemente Pier.


International Association of Ultrarunners

The International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) is the world governing body of ultra running, race events longer than the marathon distance of 42.2 km. It regulates and sanctions the World Championships for various ultramarathon distances, and tracks world records in ultra distance races approved by IAU. IAU operates under the patronage of the World Athletics and follows World Athletics rules.
Events.
IAU events include:


NISC Softball Tournament