Syd Nomis

Sydney Nomis (15 November 1941 – 16 June 2018) was a South African national rugby union player who until 2001 held the record for most consecutive matches (25) played for the Springboks. Nomis is best remembered for tries that he scored against France in 1968 and the All Blacks in 1970.
Along with Okey Geffin, Nomis is considered one of the greatest Jewish rugby players of all time, and is a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 1999.
Early career.
Nomis played club rugby for Wanderers in Johannesburg, in a league that included Iscor, Diggers, Vanderbijlpark and Police teams. He recalled in a 2008 interview with Dave Gemmell how hard and dirty the game had been. He revealed that while playing club rugby he also occasionally received slurs, with opponents calling him a "Blerrie Jood" [Afrikaans for "Bloody Jew"]. Nomis remembered injuring one such player to the extent that he had to be carried off the field. "If you played rugby then, that was how it was played, there was no other way ... club rugby was almost harder than international rugby." Nomis said that he only experienced anti-Semitism at club level. But "after the game we would have a beer together and we would be big mates." And national rugby official Danie Craven at the time believed that selecting a Jew and a policeman brought luck to the Springbok team.
In 1961, and again in 1962, Nomis was selected to play for the Quaggas, an invitational South African team styled after the Barbarians. He spent his provincial rugby career at the Transvaal Rugby Union, for whom he was first selected in 1963.
Springbok career.
Uncapped tours.
Nomis played 29 uncapped matches on tours with national sides, including the 1965 Springbok tours to Australia and New Zealand, and the 1966 Gazelles outing to Argentina (which included a game against Chile).
In 1965 Nomis was selected at centre alongside John Gainsford for the side that left for Australia under coach Johan Claassen. The Melbourne newspaper "The Age" was impressed with Nomis' and Gainsford's "incredible acceleration" during a 52–6 Springbok victory over Victoria at Olympic Park's no. 2 oval on 12 June. Apart from a solitary win against New Zealand, the Springboks lost five out of six test matches on the rain-sodden tour, and was judged by "The New Zealand Herald"'s Terry McLean to be the worst South African team to face the All Blacks. Matters were not helped by South African prime minister H F Verwoerd's announcement during the tour that Māoris would not be allowed to play in South Africa if selected for the 1967 All Black tour to that country.
In 1966 Nomis was chosen to represent a South African under-25 side known as the Gazelles on their tour to Argentina. He did not play in the two "tests" against the Argentinian national side, but did score 5 tries in 7 other matches, including two against Cordoba on 24 August.
Test matches.
In addition to his uncapped matches, Nomis was capped 25 times for a total of 54 appearances in the green and gold. Although selected 22 times for the Springboks on the wing, Nomis' first three test appearances were at centre.
For his debut test against France at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town on 12 August 1967, Nomis was chosen at centre – a position he retained for three consecutive tests. The French tour was organized by Danie Craven, then-President of the South African Rugby Union, to replace a New Zealand tour, which had been cancelled by New Zealand after the South African government refused to allow Māori members entry. The French were Five Nations champions that year. Nomis replaced centre John Gainsford, who had occupied the position for 33 tests between 1960 and 1967. Gainsford sent him a telegram that read: " 'Like I’m sad man – like I’m glad man – play well. John Gainsford' ".
For the first test at Newlands on 13 July 1968 against Tom Kiernan's touring British and Irish Lions he was switched to wing, where he played for the rest of his international career.
Nomis was selected for what became known as the Springbok "demo tour" of 1969 to 1970 to the United Kingdom. Continuous disruptions on and off the field by thousands of anti-apartheid demonstrators and associated strikes of service personnel created constant tension within the touring party. These protests were part of a global movement organized by South Africans like Peter Hain and Dennis Brutus to isolate South Africa's all-white sports teams due to their racial selection policies.
Nomis fainted at an after-match reception at the Angel Hotel in Cardiff and was hospitalized for a night. His wife was pregnant at the time. " 'You never knew if there might be a guy in the stands with a gun or something, it was frightening. You think, ‘Jeez am I going to get home to see my firstborn?' " During the subsequent tour by the All Blacks to South Africa in the last half of 1970, Nomis tried to let the New Zealand players know that he did not vote for the apartheid government.
Two famous tries.
Nomis scored one of his six test career tries against the French on a cold 16 November 1968 at the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes, northwest of Paris. Before 24,000 spectators Nomis helped his team beat France 16–11 by virtually crawling "across the tryline to score". The try came after Mannetjies Roux was tackled and Nomis kicked the loose ball into the in-goal area. As he ran to dot down, his legs cramped and he fell down. After repeatedly falling down from cramp and getting up again, he managed to score the try. He later discovered that in commentary on the match South African radio broadcaster Charles Fortune had credited Roux with the try.
During the first test on 25 July 1970 against the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Nomis scored the try most often associated with him. Intercepting a pass from All Black Wayne Cottrell to his captain, Brian Lochore, Nomis raced down the field, accompanied by the passionate shouting of "Siddie! Siddie! Siddie! And he scores!" by Afrikaans radio commentator Gerhard Viviers. Former Springbok captain Morne du Plessis later thanked Viviers for the " 'try you and Syd Nomis scored' ". The Springbok side won the test 17–6.
The McCormick incident.
On 8 August 1970 at Newlands in the second test against the touring side Nomis was felled by All Black fullback Fergie McCormick. Nomis had kicked the ball over McCormick's head and tried to run around him. McCormick spun around and hit Nomis in the mouth with his elbow, knocking out two teeth and loosening several others. Referee Wynand Malan, a dentist, straightened Nomis' teeth on the field. Although he had lost consciousness briefly, Nomis stayed on to finish the game with a bleeding mouth. He later described the test as " 'the dirtiest game of rugby I have ever seen or been involved in' ".
The Johannesburg newspaper The Sunday Times claimed that film of the clash showed it to be accidental. Nomis still dismisses the claim, pointing out that in McCormick's autobiography the fullback said that he would have done anything to stop Nomis. McCormick was "one of the dirtiest rugby players I ever played against," Nomis said in a 2008 interview.
The Springboks targeted McCormick in the third test, played at Newlands. Nomis kicked the ball high towards McCormick, and "Jan Ellis, Piet Greyling and Hannes Marais all hit him at the same time", recalled Nomis. He and McCormick also came to blows, with Nomis punching McCormick several times before being stopped by the referee. At the cocktail reception after the game the referee asked Nomis: " 'Did I give you enough time?' ".
For the fourth test Nomis was provided with a gum guard to protect his damaged teeth, which had been reinserted into his mouth. For this reason Nomis believes that he may have pioneered the use of gum guards by rugby players.
Nomis' last international game, at the age of 30, was against England at Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg. During his career Nomis was offered contracts to play rugby league with Wigan (where his wife's parents lived) and Oldham. Nomis said that Wigan's offer was "half-hearted", while Oldham would not agree to his financial terms and so their offer collapsed.
Later life.
After retiring from rugby Nomis worked in the clothing industry for twenty years before switching to the security industry.
During a visit to Switzerland in September 2010, Nomis developed life-threatening blood clots in his left leg, which had to be amputated above the knee.
Nomis died as the result of a heart attack on 16 June 2018 in Johannesburg.


Adam Henrich

Adam Henrich (born January 19, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player.
Henrich was drafted as the 60th overall selection in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was Tampa Bay's first selection of the draft. Henrich has also played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Springfield Falcons and Norfolk Admirals. Overall, he has played on 13 teams in 7 leagues in his hockey career.
Playing career.
Henrich played for Team Canada at the 1997 Maccabiah Games and the 2013 Maccabiah Games, where they won a gold medal.
Henrich played minor hockey in Greater Toronto, where he was a member of the provincial champion peewee Toronto Marlies in 1998, on a team that included Rick Nash.
Henrich was drafted in the first round, seventh overall by the Brampton Battalion in the 2000 OHL Priority Selection. Henrich subsequently enjoyed a successful junior career playing four seasons for the Battalion. He tied four Battalion playoff records, including most games played (32) and most power-play goals (4) in a career. His 98 career Battalion goals rank fifth all time behind only Wojtek Wolski, Cody Hodgson, Raffi Torres and Luke Lynes.
Ahead of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Henrich was ranked 23rd by NHL Central Scouting. As a result, he was among a group of top prospects invited to the NHL Draft Combine. At the Draft on June 22, Henrich was selected in the second round, 60th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Henrich had his strongest year for the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League in the 2007–08 season.
Personal life.
Henrich comes from a family of athletes. He has an older brother, Michael Henrich, who was drafted 13th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.
Henrich is Jewish. Henrich has been an advocate for Israeli hockey and the Israel Ice Hockey Federation.


2009 European Drift Championship season

The 2009 European Drift Championship season is the third season of the European Drift Championship. The championship was won by Mark Luney after he narrow snatched the title from the then championship leader, Phil Morrison.


Mixed martial arts clothing

MMA clothing refers to the sportswear worn in mixed martial arts (MMA) competition and training, and branded fashion clothing related to the mixed martial arts scene. As MMA becomes a mature sport, brands dedicated to it have worked toward specializing clothing that improve an MMA athlete's training and competition.
Overview.
MMA gloves and MMA shorts (similar to the shorts worn in boxing and Muay Thai) are the only piece of clothing allowed to be worn during professional MMA competitions. This type of clothing is often referred to as fightwear to differentiate it from MMA fashion clothing which includes t-shirts, hoodies, caps and hats.
However, Amateur MMA, regulated by International Mixed Martial Arts Federation, requires shin-instep.
There are various types of MMA fightshorts, including board shorts, shorts which extend halfway down the thigh, shorts which extend only slightly down the thigh and gladiator shorts which feature slits in the sides of the legs. Common brands include Fairtex, Bad Boy, Venum, Habrok, NearFall, TapouT, VENDETTA, Sprawl, Silver Star, Hayabusa, TCB Fightwear, Jaco, POSS-MMA, Hitman Fight Gear, Dethrone Royalty, RYU and Ground Game.
Several clothing brands have developed their own lines of MMA apparel including Affliction Clothing, No Fear, Eckō Unltd. and Emerson Brand Apparel.
The overall revenues of sales of MMA clothing come to hundreds of millions of dollars a year, with both TapouT and Affliction recording sales in excess of $100 million.
Mixed Martial Arts Shorts.
The Unified Rules of MMA provide clear guidelines around the shorts used during professional and amateur MMA bouts. These rules have provided a benchmark for apparel companies to design and develop training and competition shorts for mixed martial arts and related sports. MMA shorts have now evolved from regular board shorts or biking shorts. They now much more specialized and provide several features to improve comfort, range of motion and flexibility, and additional characteristics that improve a fighter's ability during practice and competition.
Mixed Martial Arts Shirts.
Most MMA fighters used specialized compression shirts, called Rash guards, to train. Rash guards are not regular compression shirts. Ground training techniques have required that these shirts provide reinforced seams and stitching, with additional panels to support the additional stress placed on the shirt during training while continuing to provide the benefits provided by regular compression shirts.
In addition to rash guards, several promotions like the UFC, regularly provide sponsors with the ability to advertise their brands using t-shirts during the weigh-in events and competition. These shirts have been title as "Walk-out" shirts by many, because they are used by a fighters while being presented for their fight as they walk towards the cage. These shirts are sold to the public as a means for the fans to support their favorite fighters.
Fighters are required by the UFC to wear Reebok branded clothing during walkout.


China League Two

The Chinese Football Association Division Two League (Simplified Chinese: 中国足球协会乙级联赛), or China League Two, is the third tier league of the People's Republic of China. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association. Above the League Two is the premier league - the Chinese Super League and the League One.
The league below China League Two is the Chinese Champions League.
There are two groups in League Two, northern and southern. The top four teams from each group enter the promotion play-off after each regular season. Harbin Yiteng and Chongqing F.C. reached promotion play-off final in 2011 and the two clubs were promoted to League One. In 2011, China League Two 3rd-placed team faced 2011 China League One last-placed team for a play-off match. Fujian Smart Hero Leephick which was the 3rd-placed team of 2011 China League Two has won this match against the 2011 China League One last-placed team Guizhou Zhicheng Toro and earned a spot in the 2012 China League One.


Moe Herscovitch

Moe 'Montgomery' Hart Herscovitch (October 27, 1896 – July 22, 1969) was a Canadian middleweight and welterweight boxer who competed in the early 1920s. He was also a prominent rugby football player in Montreal.
Early life.
Born in Romania to Jewish parents, Vetra 'William' and Anna Herscovitch, he emigrated with his family to Montréal, Canada. He Anglicized his given name to 'Montgomery,' but was known to everyone as 'Moe.'
Although short in stature at 5' 6", he was incredibly athletic. He played football with the Montreal Football Club of the Inter-Provincial Rugby Union until 1915 when it was disbanded due to the increasing hostilities of World War I.
Service in WWI.
Eager to do his part in WWI, Herscovitch joined the 66th Battery, Canadian Expeditionary Forces. A gunner, while posted overseas he took up the sport of boxing, winning a number of competitions, including the Aldershot welterweight division. When he returned from the War in 1919, he played with Montreal's successor rugby team which won the division championships that year, but he also continued to box.
He was selected for Canada's 1920 Olympic boxing team and assigned to its middleweight division. At Antwerp that August, he won a bronze medal, only losing to Briton Harry Mallin in the semi-final.
He married Celia Goldblatt at Temple Beth Jhuda in Montreal on 18 December 1921.
1920 Summer Olympics.
Herscovitch competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, where he won the bronze medal in the men's middleweight event.
Professional boxing career.
Herscovitch turned pro early the next year, and defeated Olympic gold medalist Bert Schneider on May 18, 1921. He spent the next few years fighting in Canada and New York City, putting together an inconsistent record. He beat Art Prud'homme in November 8, 1922 in a seventh-round knockout. He suffered losses as well, including his fight against world titleholder Mickey Walker on December 21, 1923 in Toronto, in which Herscovitch was billed as the Canadian welterweight champion. Walker won with a sixth round knockout, having broken his opponent's right hand during the fight.
Life after boxing.
Herscovitch retired in the summer of 1924, and began volunteering as a boxing coach at the Montreal YMHA.
Although he boxed at a time when fighters wore no protective gear, 'Moe' had never suffered a debilitating injury in the ring. However, on July 24, 1943 while on holiday at the summer resort of Plage Laval, he and some companions were set upon by a French Canadian anti-Semitic mob and beaten so badly that surgeons were forced to remove one of his eyes.
He continued to be actively involved in sports and his community, and served as president of the Quebec Rugby Union.
He died on July 22, 1969, and was buried at the Baron de Hirsch Cemetery in Montreal.


2005 GP2 Series

The 2005 GP2 Series season was the thirty-ninth season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also first season under the GP2 Series moniker. The season started in Imola, Italy on 23 April, and ended in Manama, Bahrain on 30 September. The season was won by the German Nico Rosberg, with the Finn Heikki Kovalainen finishing second.
2005 was the first season of the newly renamed Formula One feeder series, from Formula 3000 to GP2. The inaugural season did not feature reigning F3000 champion Vitantonio Liuzzi, because the Italian was driving for Red Bull Racing in Formula One. The series did feature two former F1 drivers, Italians Gianmaria Bruni and Giorgio Pantano, driving for Coloni and SuperNova respectively.
Season summary.
In the opening race at Imola, there were a number of mechanical problems and with organisers afraid of trouble at the start, the rolling start was used in both races despite the weather being dry. Nicolas Lapierre had taken his inaugural pole position but he was out before the race had started due to mechanical problems. The race was won by his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.
After the first weekend, it was decided that the points for the fastest lap would only be awarded if the driver was classified. This was due to the event in the Imola sprint race, where Lapierre started with a fuel load with which he wouldn't have been able to finish, set a fastest lap and retired soon after.
At Montmeló, the drivers could finally experience standing starts. F1 refugee Bruni won the feature race and José María López the sprint race. The first four races had been won by four drivers in four teams, highlighting that the field had many competitive drivers. Adam Carroll was the first driver to take a second victory after he won at Monaco, where only one race was held.
At Nürburgring, the sprint race was extended from 80 to 120 kilometres. This coincided with F1 dropping its second qualifying session on Sunday morning. The sprint race turned to be one of the most exciting of the season, with Monegasque Clivio Piccione winning.
Heikki Kovalainen was the top driver early in the season, winning three of the first five feature races. However, the season took a turnaround at Magny-Cours, where ART Grand Prix started going strong. Tactical errors caused them to lose the feature race, but Nico Rosberg gave them their first win at the sprint. Rosberg went on to win the next two feature races, while Olivier Pla won both sprints having started from pole position in both of them.
At the qualifying of the Hungaroring race, ART cars were disqualified for illegal position of their steering rack. They were sent to back of the grid but it didn't stop them taking points finishes in the feature and 1-2 in the sprint race, where Alexandre Prémat won his first race. Neel Jani joined the winners' list in the feature race.
Prémat also won the next race at Istanbul, while championship leading duo Kovalainen and Rosberg finished outside the points. The sprint race started in wet conditions but dried out, so tyre changes were necessary. Kovalainen did that move perfectly and won the race having started 10th. Rosberg jumped from 17th to 3rd.
Kovalainen and Jani won races at Monza but Rosberg took the most points with two second places and two fastest laps. Nelson Angelo Piquet then won the feature race at Spa-Francorchamps while Rosberg took the championship lead from Kovalainen who spun off on the last lap while battling for eighth place and pole for Sunday's race. Carroll led the sprint race from the start but following accidents involving Ernesto Viso, Hiroki Yoshimoto and Jani the race was stopped early and only half points were awarded. Viso still ended in 3rd position thanks to countback rule.
The championship was decided in Bahrain which held the only race not supporting F1. Rosberg led Kovalainen by three points and increased his lead by taking pole position. Rosberg also won the race and clinched the title as Kovalainen was 3rd. Rosberg then also won the sprint race, becoming the first driver in the series to win both races during an event.
Teams and drivers.
All of the teams used the Dallara GP2/05 chassis with Renault-badged 4.0 litre (244 cu in) naturally-aspirated Mecachrome V8 engines in 2005 in order to keep the field fair.
As this was the inaugural season in the series, car numbers were distributed by a pre-season session held at Circuit Paul Ricard on 6 April. The fastest driver got number 1, his team-mate number 2, next best driver number 3 etc.
Calendar.
There were 23 races in the 2005 GP2 Series championship at 12 different circuits. Eleven race weekends had one race on Saturday and another on Sunday, the exception being the race at Circuit de Monaco where there was only one race on the weekend. The season began on 23 April 2005 and concluded on 25 September 2005.
The calendar was as follows:
Championship standings.
Drivers.
Note: Sprint race at Spa was stopped early and half points were awarded.


Lester Armour III

Lester Armour III, a.k.a. Red Armour, is an American polo player.
Biography.
His father, Lester Armour Sr., was a polo player who taught him how to play.
He was a nine-goal player. He played in two Cup of the Americas, two victorious Camacho Cups, and a Coronation Cup. He won a U.S. Handicap, two Gold Cups, three Silver Cups and a North American Cup. He served as a governor and Chairman of the Handicap Committee of the United States Polo Association (USPA). He was inducted into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame in Lake Worth, Florida on February 26, 1999.
He is married to Louise Armour.


Yohan Goutt Goncalves

Yohan Goutt Gonçalves (born 20 December 1994 in Suresnes, France) is a French-East Timorese alpine skier who has competed since 2013. Goutt Goncalves has also qualified to compete for East Timor at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. By doing so, he became the first athlete ever to qualify from the country at the Winter Olympics. He also competed for East Timor at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
Goutt Gonçalves is the son of a French father, and his mother is from East Timor, allowing him to compete for the latter country. His father's mother was Estonian Eva Goutt (maiden name Liiv), who is related to Estonian poet Juhan Liiv.
On 29 December 2013, in a race in Serbia, Goutt Gonçalves managed to lower his point total to below 140 and officially qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Goutt Gonçalves decided against participating at the 2017 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships to participate at the 2017 Asian Winter Games, becoming the first athlete to represent East Timor in the continental competition.


Arturo Kenny

Arturo J. Kenny (born December 12, 1888, date of death unknown) was an Argentine polo player who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics. He was born in Santa Fe. Kenny was part of the Argentine polo team, which won the gold medal.


Division 2 (Swedish football)

Division 2 is the fourth level in the league system of Swedish football and comprises 84 Swedish football teams. Division 2 had status as the official second level from 1928 to 1986, but was replaced by Division 1 in 1987. It then had status as the official third level until 2005, but was replaced once again by the recreated Division 1 in 2006.
The competition.
There are 84 clubs in Division 2, divided in six groups of 14 teams each representing a geographical area. During the course of a season (starting in April and ending in October) each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 26 games. At the end of each season the two lowest placed teams of each group are relegated to Division 3 and the twelve winning teams from the twelve Division 3 leagues are promoted in their place while the third lowest placed teams in the Division 2 leagues plays promotion/relegation play-offs against the twelve second placed teams in Division 3. The top team in each Division 2 group is promoted to Division 1 and the three lowest placed teams from each Division 1 league are relegated in their place.
Administration.
The Swedish Football Association ( SvFF) is responsible for the administration of Division 2.
Historical context.
Division 2 is the fourth-highest division in Swedish Football. It currently comprises six regional leagues which may show some small changes to their titles year on year reflecting the changing geographical distribution of clubs. The six sections for the 2014 season cover Norrland, Norra Svealand, Södra Svealand, Norra Götaland, Västra Götaland and Östra Götaland.
The name of Division 2 has been around since 1924/25 season when there were 5 sections titled Uppsvenskan, Mellansvenskan, Östsvenskan, Västsvenskan and Sydsvenskan which were run on an unofficial basis. Division 2 became official in 1928/29 as the second tier of Swedish football with 2 sections being created - Norra and Södra - with a total of 20 teams.
In 1932/33 Division 2 was expanded into 4 sections covering Norra, Östra, Västra and Södra. This format continued until the end of the 1946/47 season. For the 1947/48 season a 2 section structure was restored comprising the Nordöstra and Sydvästra sections. In 1953/54 a section representing the northern clubs in Sweden was introduced for the first time known as Norrland. The other two sections were titled Svealand and Götaland. In 1955/56 it was decided that Götaland should have 2 sections. This provided Division 2 with 4 sections covering Norrland, Svealand, Östra Götaland and Västra Götaland.
In 1972 the structure reverted to 3 sections titled Norra, Mellersta and Södra. This was short-lived and in 1974 two sections covering Norra and Södra were consolidated. This system continued until the end of the 1986 season when the competition became Division 1.
From 1987 onwards Division 2 became the third highest league in Swedish football and this continued until 2005. The new division initially had 4 sections titled Norra, Mellersta, Östra and Västra. In 1993 it was divided into 6 sections titled Norrland, Östra Svealand, Västra Svealand, Östra Götaland, Västra Götaland and Södra Götaland.
In 2006 Division 2 became Sweden's fourth highest division with the introduction of Division 1 below the Superettan.
Current clubs.
"2020 season."
Player of the year awards.
Ever since 2003 the online bookmaker Unibet have given out awards at the end of the season to the best players in Division 2. The recipients are decided by a jury of sportsjournalists, coaches and football experts.


2000 Ozemail Queensland 500

The 2000 Ozemail Queensland 500 was an endurance race for V8 Supercars. It was held at the Queensland Raceway, near Ipswich, in Queensland, Australia on 10 September 2000. The race was staged over 161 laps of the 3.12 kilometre circuit, a total distance of 502 kilometres. It was Round 11 of the 2000 Shell Championship Series and was the second Queensland 500.
Results.
Results as follows:


Carl Hester

Carl Hester, (born 29 June 1967 in Cambridgeshire, England) is a British dressage rider competing at Olympic level. As of 8 August 2012 the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) rank him 12th in the world riding Uthopia.
Early life and career.
Hester was raised on the Channel Island of Sark from the age of four, educated at Elizabeth College in Guernsey. Aged 19 he applied for a job with horses in the UK at The Fortune Centre of Riding Therapy and on the centre's skewbald mare, Jolly Dolly, he won the 1985 Young Dressage Rider Championship. Moving to Bourton-on-the-Hill he competed at the first Blenheim Horse Trials and won the Spillers Dressage with Jumping Championship. He next rode for Dr Wilfried Bechtolsheimer (father of Laura Bechtolsheimer) and in 1990 went to the World Championships on Rubelit von Unkenriff, the European Championships in 1991 and in 1992 the Barcelona Olympics on Georgioni. Hester became the youngest British rider ever to compete in an Olympic Games. He next went into a business partnership with Kate Carter at her yard at Stow-on-the-Wold until Carter decided to move for more space. Hester too moved to buy his own yard at Oaklebrook Mill, near Newent, Gloucestershire.
2011 European Dressage Championship.
In 2011 Hester riding the horse Uthopia was part of the British team that won the team gold medal at the 2011 European Dressage Championship in Rotterdam. Hester also won individual silver medals in the Grand Prix Freestyle and Grand Prix Special.
As of 8 August 2012 the (FEI) ranked him 12th in the world riding Uthopia.
2012 Olympics.
In 2012, Hester was selected with three others to represent the United Kingdom at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in the Individual and Team Dressage events. The UK dressage team won the gold medal with Hester riding Uthopia.
Hester was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to equestrianism.
Personal life.
Hester is openly gay.


David Boysen

David Katz Boysen (born 30 April 1991) is a Danish-Israeli professional footballer who plays as a left winger for FC Helsingør.
Career.
AB.
Boysen joined AB as a youth player from Herlev IF. He was invited on a trial at Italian club Reggina in December 2007 at the age of 16. Boysen was also on trials at Premier League clubs Liverpool and Chelsea. In February 2008, Boysen signed his first contract with AB until the summer of 2011. He was promoted to the first team in the summer of 2008. He was considered a promising talent and made his debut at the age of 17 in a match against Kolding FC in the Danish 1st Division, where he replaced Henrik Lyngsoe Olsen in the 85th minute on 10 August 2008. He scored his first senior goal in his third game for the first team against FC Roskilde in the Danish Cup on 24 August 2008. Boysen was nominated for "Talent of the Year" 2008 by the Danish Football Association. Boysen made 24 league appearances and scored 8 goals in his first season despite his young age, and was shown interest by clubs from both the Netherlands and Germany.
After a one-week trial at Celtic in January 2010, he was linked with a move to the Scottish club. He played a friendly match for Celtic, and scored after five minutes. However, his agent later revealed that Boysen was not in top shape due to the winter break in Denmark, and therefore the club did not offer him a contract.
After a strong first half to the 2010–11 season, with 16 league appearances, 4 goals and 4 assists, he signed with Lyngby Boldklub. He played a total of 63 games for the first team.
Lyngby.
Lyngby announced on 31 January 2011 that they had signed Boysen from AB on a contract valid from the summer 2011. The following day, however, Lyngby confirmed that Boysen instead would join the club with immediate effect. He made his first appearance for Lyngby on 14 March 2011 against OB, in a game which Lyngby lost 0–2. He scored his first goal for the club in his second game, a match against AaB.
In 2012, Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv attempted to bring Boysen and Swiss defender, Guillaume Katz, in on loan as the club was trying to strengthen their squad targeting Jewish footballers. He went on a trial at the club but decided to stay at Lyngby.
After three good seasons at Lyngby, Boysen was followed by Danish Superliga clubs. According to some media, Boysen was in negotiations with Esbjerg fB. Lyngby offered him a contract extension, but he rejected it and announced on 8 January 2014, that he would be leaving the club immediately.
Viborg.
Boysen signed with Viborg FF on 13 January 2014 on a free transfer. He played his first game for the club on 23 February against Randers FC. It was head coach Ove Christensen that wanted to transfer Boysen to Viborg, but after Ove Christensen left the club and was replaced by Auri Skarbalius, Boysen found it hard to become a regular part of the squad, after he played 7 games from start and one from the bench, without scoring any goals. After a disappointing first half season, he left the club.
Return to Lyngby.
Lyngby announced on 27 June 2014, that they had signed Boysen back on a two-year contract. Boysen's first season back at Lyngby, was an extraordinary season. He was named as the profile of the year in the Danish 1st Division after only six months in the league. He scored 12 goals in 24 league games before getting injured for the rest of the season in May 2015.
In the next season, he became the profile of the year in the Danish 1st Division once again. With 18 league games and 11 goals, he was sold in January 2016.
Brøndby.
Boysen signed with Brøndby IF on 25 January 2016 and was reunited with his former manager from Viborg FF, Auri Skarbalius. He made his debut for Brøndby on 28 February against Hobro IK. Boysen played well during the spring, which aroused interest from foreign clubs.
Roda JC.
On 8 July 2016 after only six months in Brøndby IF, Boysen was sold to Dutch club Roda JC. In December 2016 Boysen revealed, that he wasn't happy at the club due to the team's results which affected his stay in the Netherlands.
After 13 league games and 1 goal, Boysen's contract was terminated.
Third period at Lyngby.
Despite the interest from Beitar Jerusalem and Hammarby IF, Boysen signed for Lyngby for the third time in February 2017. After his transfer to Lyngby he revealed that he had rejected foreign clubs that offered him millions in sign fee.
Journeyman years.
On 7 December 2017, he signed with Israeli Premier League club Beitar Jerusalem. On 8 January 2018, he made his debut for the team in a 2–0 victory over Hapoel Haifa. In total, he appeared in seven games in all competitions for Beitar Jerusalem, before being released at the end of the 2017–18 season. On 11 August 2018, Boysen moved to IF Elfsborg in Allsvenskan, Sweden's first tier, on a one and a half-year contract. Boysen's contract was terminated on 31 January 2019. On 15 February 2019, Helsingborgs IF announced the signing of Boysen on a free transfer for two year with an option to extend the deal with further one year.
On 11 September 2019, Boysen returned to Israel and signed with Sektzia Nes Tziona He was released from the club on 7 January 2020 after appearing in only 140 minutes spread over five league games, in which he scored one goal. On 29 January 2020, Boysen signed with Israeli Liga Leumit club Hapoel Nof HaGalil, his sixth club in only 25 months. He made his debut for the club on 31 January in a 1–1 away draw against Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim where he appeared as a starter. He scored his first goal for Hapoel Nof HaGalil on 21 February against Hapoel Afula in a 3–2 away loss for the team. Boysen left the club in July 2020, after a period which he described as "complete chaos", claiming that he only received 30% of his salary.
Helsingør.
Boysen returned to Denmark in August 2020, signing with newly promoted Danish 1st Division club FC Helsingør. The move marked his thirteenth club in nine years. He made his debut for the club on 2 September 2020 in a Danish Cup match against sixth-tier Series 1 club Bispebjerg Boldklub, which ended in a shocking 3–2 loss. Boysen made his league debut on 9 September in a 4–2 home game against Silkeborg, coming on as a substitute in the 85h minute.
Personal life.
Boysen's father is from Israel.


Lega Pro Prima Divisione

Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1.
Before the 1978–79 season there were only three leagues of professional football in Italy, the third being Serie C. In 1978, it was decided to split Serie C into Serie C1 and Serie C2. Serie C2, the fourth highest professional league in the Italian system, was also renamed in 2008 and was called Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.
The reform, already decided by the FIGC led to the reunification with the second division starting from 2014-2015 and with the subsequent rebirth of the third division championship organized by the pro league with 60 teams divided into three groups of 20 in Lega Pro.
Promotion and relegation.
In each division, two teams were promoted to Serie B, and three teams were relegated to Lega Pro Seconda Divisione. In total, the league promoted 4 teams to Serie B and relegated 6 teams to Seconda Divisione.
The team finishing first in the regular season was directly promoted to Serie B, while teams placing 2nd to 5th were entered into a play-off semi-final for the chance of gaining the second promotional spot for that particular division.
Past champions.
Source for league winners:
Serie C1.
Group A
Group B
Lega Pro Prima Divisione.
Group A
Group B


Individual dressage at the 2007 European Dressage Championships

The individual dressage at the 2007 FEI European Dressage Championships in Turin, Italy was held at La Mandria from 30 August to September 2, 2007.
The Netherlands's Anky van Grunsven won the gold medal in the Grand Prix Freestyle. Isabell Werth representing Germany won a golden medal the Grand Prix Special and silver in the Grand Prix Freestyle. Imke Schellekens-Bartels of The Netherlands won a bronze in the Special and in the Freestyle. In the Grand Prix The Netherlands won the golden team medal, while the Great Britain won the silver medal and Germany bronze.
Competition format.
The team and individual dressage competitions used the same results. Dressage had three phases. The first phase was the Grand Prix. Top 30 individuals advanced to the second phase, the Grand Prix Special where the first individual medals were awarded. The last set of medals at the 2007 European Dressage Championships was awarded after the third phase, the Grand Prix Freestyle where top 15 combinations competed, with a maximum of the three best riders per country.
Judges.
The following judges were appointed to officiate during the European Dressage Championships.


Dudi Sela

David "Dudi" Sela (; born April 4, 1985) is an Israeli professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 29 in July 2009.
He won the French Open 2003 junior doubles title. Representing Israel in the Davis Cup, highlights include an upset win in 2007 over World No. 7 Fernando González and being a key factor in Israel's semifinal run in 2009. In 2008 he beat World No. 5 David Ferrer in straight sets, and in 2010 he beat World No. 7 Andy Roddick in straight sets. Sela reached the fourth round of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships and has finished runner-up in two ATP tournaments in Beijing and Atlanta. In 2015, he won his 24th Challenger event of his career, moving him into sole possession of second place on the all-time list of Challenger title wins.
Early life.
Sela was born and raised in Kiryat Shmona, an Israeli city near the Israel-Lebanon border. His father Michael, a bus driver, and mother Anca, a nurse from a Jewish family, immigrated to Israel from Romania. His family name was originally Sălăjean, but his father changed it so that it would be more easily pronounced in Israel.
At the age of two, Dudi, diminutive of David, had his hands on his first racket, and at the age of seven he began to play tennis. His tennis idols were his brother Ofer, who was a top 200 player, and the Israeli Amos Mansdorf.
At age 18, Sela was exempted from conscription into the Israel Defense Forces.
Juniors: 2000–03.
In 2000 Sela won in doubles play with Idan Ben-Harosh in the Haifa International and in Corfu, Greece. In 2001 he won in doubles with Maor Zirkin reached the finals in singles play at the Israel International. He won his first singles title in Van Keeken of the Netherlands. He won in both singles and doubles (with Michael Ryderstedt) at the Fischer Junior Open.
In 2002, Sela reached the quarterfinals in the Australian Open Junior Competition and was in the top eight at the French Open Juniors. He won at Beaulieu Sur Mer. In 2003, his final year as a junior, he reached the quarterfinals at the Roland Garros Junior singles competition and won the French Open 2003 doubles title with partner Győrgy Balázs of Hungary. He made it to the semifinals at the US Open Junior Championships and won the Australia F1 tournament in Tasmania. In July he triumphed at the Togliatti competition in Russia, resulting in a new ATP ranking of 256.
Sela's highest junior world rankings were No. 9 in the ITF singles rankings (in 2002) and No. 16 in doubles.
Pro career.
2004–06: Top 200.
His best results in 2004 were the semifinals at the Covington Challenger, and the quarterfinals in four other Challenger tournaments.
Sela had a successful year on the ATP Challenger circuit in 2005, winning tournaments in Vancouver, Canada, and Lexington, Kentucky, in consecutive weeks. He had a 21–11 record in Challengers.
In 2006 Sela five USTA Pro Circuit singles titles: at Claremont, California, Costa Mesa, California, Waikoloa, Hawaii, Honolulu, and at the Price LeBlanc Lexus Pro Tennis Classic in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
2007: Breaking top 100.
In January 2007, Sela qualified for the main draw of the 2007 Australian Open. In the first round he upset Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand, who was ranked #56 in the world. In the second round, he lost to Marat Safin in five sets, despite starting by leading the Russian two sets to one. In April 2007, Sela lost in the semifinals in a Challenger tournament to Paul Baccanello in Lanzarote, Spain.
In July 2007 he lost in the finals of the Open Diputación in Córdoba, Spain. In the tournament he defeated #47 ranked Albert Montañés. Later in July, he won a challenger title in Togliatti, Russia, his fourth career title, beating Russia's Mikhail Ledovskikh in the final.
Sela then qualified for the US Open. In the first round of the main draw he defeated Nicolás Lapentti, his fourth upset of a top 100 player in the first 8 months of the year. Lapentti was once ranked as high as #6 in the world, but at the time of the match was ranked #80. Sela lost to world #23 Juan Mónaco in the second round.
In October he first defeated world #51 Juan Martín del Potro at the Japan Open in Tokyo, followed by #90 Boris Pašanski. Sela won the Seoul Challenger tournament later in October, winning all five of his matches in straight sets. The win lifted him to a career-high 73 in the world.
Sela had considered retiring before the start of 2008 if he did not make a breakthrough, but things came together. In October he said: "My target is to reach the top 70 within the next year."
He lost in the finals of the ATP Taiwan Challenge in Kaohsiung in November to Lu Yen-hsun, but won the doubles title together with Stephen Amritraj of India. He won the Keio Challenger in Yokohama the following week, losing only one set (in a tiebreaker). In December 2007, he had his revenge on Marat Safin in Saint Anton, with a straight-set win. It was his tenth win over a player in the top-100 in the year. For the year he compiled a 33–14 match record in Challenger play with two titles, went 10–5 (all on hard courts) in ATP level competition, and became the first Israeli man to finish in the top 100 since Harel Levy in 2001.
2008: Breaking top 60 & first ATP final.
In the Australian Open, Sela won his first round match over qualifier Martin Slanar but lost his second round to world #24 Ivo Karlović.
In March at the Pacific Life Open he defeated world #49 Nicolas Kiefer, then at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami he defeated world #48 Hyung-Taik Lee of Korea, and #14 Tommy Robredo of Spain in the 2nd round. In May in Austria he defeated world #80 Mischa Zverev of Germany and in July he won the Vancouver challenger, beating Kevin Kim in the final.
Sela was gravely disappointed by the failure of the Israel Olympic Committee to allow him to represent Israel at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Despite the fact that Sela met the International Olympic Committee's criteria to play in the Olympics, and the Israel Tennis Association recommended that he deserved to go, the Israel Olympic Committee refused to accept the recommendation. Sela said he learned he wasn't going to be permitted to go to the Olympics because "I wasn’t inside the top 50 ranked players... I met the International Olympic Committee's criteria. But they don’t want to send me, and I don’t understand why. It's not like I’m 500th in the world, I’m 60th. When Nicolás Massú won the Olympics he was ranked 70th, so it shows anything can happen. I want to go and be the first Israeli to play in the men's singles for 20 years."
In August Sela defeated world #97 Vince Spadea of the United States at the Legg Mason Classic in Washington. Later in the month he beat world #99 Donald Young, in New Haven, Connecticut at the Pilot Pen tournament.
Sela reached his first ATP Tour final in September at the China Open, while ranked #92. Sela, unseeded, defeated the world #61 Frenchman Nicolas Devilder in the first round. In the second round, Sela upset the first seed and world #5, David Ferrer, in straight sets. Sela continued his run by defeating the sixth seed, world #16 Tommy Robredo, and the seventh seed, world #35 Rainer Schüttler. Sela was defeated by Andy Roddick in the final. Sela became the first Israeli since Harel Levy in 2001 to reach an ATP final. "Dudi reached the final and realized he had it", said his brother Ofer. "He beat top-30 players day after day... It was the first time he proved he was no paper tiger, but one who can dish it out to everyone. He always knew he had the potential, but suddenly he understood how to fulfill it."
In October, he defeated the world #72 Victor Hănescu at the Kremlin Cup.
2009:Breaking top 30.
In the Australian Open, Sela won three rounds of qualifiers in order to make the main draw. In the final round, Sela beat Grega Žemlja of Slovenia in dramatic fashion, surviving six match points.
In the main draw, Sela beat 30th-seeded German veteran Rainer Schüttler, who was ranked number 31 in the world. In the second round, he defeated world number 44 Victor Hănescu of Romania, saving all 12 of Hănescu's break points. He was the first Israeli man to reach the third round of a Grand Slam since Amos Mansdorf progressed to the round of 32 in Wimbledon in 1994. In the round of 32, however, Sela was defeated by fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
In February at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Sela made it through two rounds of qualifying matches, and then as far as the semifinals. Along the way he beat world number 92 Robert Kendrick, world number 73 Bobby Reynolds, world number 54 Florent Serra of France, and world number 43 Igor Kunitsyn of Russia. With that, he raised his world ranking to number 65. In late February at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, he beat world number 80 Philipp Petzschner of Germany. In March, he defeated world number 42 José Acasuso at the BMW Tennis Championship, but withdrew in his next match after suffering a leg injury.
In May, he reached a new career-high world ranking of number 55. That month, he won his first round match at the 2009 French Open, his first French Open victory ever, against Jean-René Lisnard of Monaco. In June at the Ordina Open, he defeated world number 59 Christophe Rochus, and at 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands in a grass-court tuneup for Wimbledon, he beat world number 39 Igor Kunitsyn. He again reached a career-high singles ranking, this time number 46.
In the first round at Wimbledon, Sela defeated Mexican Santiago González and in the second round, he upset 2008 semifinalist, world number 29 German Rainer Schüttler, seeded eighteenth.
In the third round, Sela was urged on by a contingent of supporters who for much of the first two sets chanted a Hebrew song, translated roughly as: "David, King of Israel is alive and lives on!" Sela defeated world number 15 Tommy Robredo of Spain, seeded fifteenth; he is now 3–0 lifetime against Robredo. Al Jazeera described the upset as a "shock result". That advanced Sela to the round of 16, his first Grand Slam 4th round, which "The Independent" described as the "surprise of the week". Sela became the first Israeli man in 20 years (since Amos Mansdorf in 1989) to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon, and the fourth Israeli man ever (and first since Mansdorf at the 1992 Australian Open) to reach the fourth round in a Grand Slam. The victory guaranteed him a payday of at least $80,000.
Sela next sought to join Shlomo Glickstein (1981 Australian Open), Mansdorf (1992 Australian Open), and Shahar Pe'er (2007 Australian Open and 2007 US Open) as the only Israelis to have made it to a Grand Slam quarterfinal. He was defeated in the fourth round, however, by the 2008 Australian Open champion, then-world number 4 Serbian Novak Djokovic.
On the strength of his Wimbledon performance, Sela rose to a career-high world number 33 in July 2009. Following his victory in the Davis Cup against Russia the next week, he rose again to a new career high, this time number 29, one better than the career-high of Davis Cup teammate Harel Levy.
In late July, Sela was seeded second for the 2009 Indianapolis Tennis Championships in singles. In doubles, Sela partnered American Jesse Levine and defeated Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan and Josselin Ouanna of France to make it to the quarterfinals.
2010: Challenger tour success.
On June 10, 2010, at the 2010 Aegon Championships, Sela upset number 4 seed, and world number 7, Andy Roddick in straight sets.
He won the Rhodes Challenger in May, defeating former top ten player Rainer Schuettler.
On August 8, 2010, he won the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open title, upsetting the first seed Taylor Dent in the semifinal and the fourth seed Ričardas Berankis in the final. He has a career 15–0 in this tournament (including winning 2005 and 2008 titles).
2012–15: 100 wins & second ATP final.
Sela defeated American Sam Querrey in Hall of Fame Tennis championships.
In March 2013, Dudi Sela reached the Round of 64 at the Miami Masters, where he lost 2–6 4–6 to world number 9 ranked player Janko Tipsarevic.
In September 2013, Dudi Sela defeated Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia W 7–6(2), 6–3, 6–7(2), 5–7, 6–4 in the first round of the 2013 US Open. Sela then lost 4–6 4–6 1–6 in the second round to Janko Tipsarevic. In 2013, Dudi also won challenger events in Tashkent, Astana, and Busan. Additionally, he was also a finalist in a challenger event at Istanbul.
In January 2014, Sela reached the Quarterfinals of the Chennai Open in India beating Lukas Lacko and Mikhail Youzhny before losing to Edouard Roger Vasselin. In the first round of the Australian Open, Dudi lost to Jarkko Nieminen 6–3, 6–7(3), 7–6(3), 3–6, 3–6.
In February, Sela reached the quarterfinals of the PBZ Zagreb Indoors where he beat Lukas Rosol and Lukas Lacko before losing to Bjorn Phau 4–6 3–6. At the Delray Beach Open in Florida, Dudi lost to John Isner 6–3, 1–6, 6–7(5) in a tight second round match.
Sela achieved a notable success in 2015 at Challenger level when he won the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open for the fourth time. Sela's victory made him just the fifth man in history to win a particular ATP Challenger tournament four or more times, and also moved him into sole possession of second place on the all-time list of Challenger title wins, with 24. In May 2015 he won in Batman, Turkey, defeating Blaz Kavcic in the final, in August 2015 he won in Vancouver, Canada, defeating John-Patrick Smith in the final, and in November 2015 he won in Suzhou, China.
2016: Return to top 60 & first doubles title.
At the 2016 Australian Open, he defeated Benjamin Becker in the first round, then defeated Fernando Verdasco (who had defeated Rafael Nadal in the first round in five sets) in four before losing to Andrey Kuznetsov in the third.
After the Australian Open Sela was in bad shape and lost 4 consecutive matches, including a match against Peter Nagy who was ranked 612. However, in March he had three successful Challengers, including two Semi-Finals (Guangzhou, Ra'anana) and one title (Shenzhen).
He represented Israel in men's singles at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
2017-present.
In 2017, Sela reached one semifinal and two quarterfinals on the ATP Tour, and won two more Challenger Tour titles. In January he won in Canberra, Australia, defeating Jan-Lennard Struff in the final, and in June he won in Nottingham, Great Britain, defeating Thomas Fabbiano in the final. He also won at least one match in the three Grand Slam tournaments in which he played.
Sela quit his quarterfinal match in the third set of the 2017 ATP Shenzhen Open so he could begin observing Yom Kippur by the time the sun set, forfeiting a possible $34,000 in prize money and 90 rankings points.
In 2017, Sela concluded the year with his highest year-end ranking in eight years, at No. 67 in the world.
In 2019, Sela won the 2019 Little Rock Challenger. As a result of this, Sela's ranking increased to 164 in the world.
Davis Cup.
In late 2005, he joined the Israeli Davis Cup team. He is 12–6 through July 2009.
In April 2007 he upset Andreas Seppi, ranked #91 in the world, as Israel defeated Italy.
Before the Chile-Israel Davis Cup match began in September 2007, even "The Jewish Chronicle" wrote: "Led by Fernando González (6) and Nicolás Massú (72), it is hard to see Israel's Dudi Sela (105) and Noam Okun (186), backed up by doubles specialists Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich, winning the contest. González and Massú are also a formidable doubles partnership, having won the Olympic gold medal in Athens in 2004."
That same month, before playing Nicolás Massú of Chile in the first match of the tie, Sela said: "We like being the underdog. I'm very pleased with the fact that I'm playing first and I'm very confident of claiming the win." He then proceeded to upset Massu, ranked #72 in the world, and formerly ranked #9 in the world, in a 5-hour 7-minute match. "This is definitely the biggest win in my career", Sela said afterwards. Later in that Davis Cup tie, Dudi Sela defeated #7 in the world Fernando González in a 5-hour 1-minute match. It is arguably the greatest tennis match ever played in Israel. The victory lifted Israel over Chile and into 2008's World Group. Gonzalez was at the time the highest-ranked player Sela had ever beaten in his career (he later beat world #5 David Ferrer in Beijing in September 2008), and his 6th upset of a top-100 player in the first 9 months of the year. Elated, Sela said "This is definitely the happiest day of my life." Sela was congratulated over the phone by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres after the match.
In the 2008 World Group, Israel hosted Sweden in Ramat HaSharon. Sela started with a win against world #71 Jonas Björkman and gave Israel an advantage of 1–0. He then lost to world #60 Thomas Johansson as Israel lost the tie 3–2. In the 2008 World Group Playoffs, Sela led the Israeli team to a 4–1 victory over Peru at Ramat Hasharon. Sela won both his singles contests, defeating Iván Miranda and Luis Horna.
In the 2009 World Group Playoffs in March 2009, Israel again faced seven-time Davis Cup champion Sweden. Sela led the Israeli team to a come-from-behind 3–2 victory over the Swedes at Baltic Hall in Malmö, Sweden, to advance in the 2009 Davis Cup. Sela won each of his singles matches in 5 sets, coming from behind to defeat Andreas Vinciguerra in his hometown and came from behind to stun 2002 Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson. Sela views it as the biggest win of his career to that point. In their 84-year Davis Cup history, the Swedes had never before lost a tie after holding a 2–1 lead. The last time Israel's Davis Cup team reached the level of being one of the top eight tennis nations in the world was in 1987, against India.
Israel (ranked 8th in the Davis Cup standings, with 5,394 points) hosted heavily favored Russia (which won in both 2002 and 2006, and was the top-ranked country in Davis Cup standings, with 27,897 points) in a Davis Cup quarterfinal tie in July 2009, on indoor hard courts at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv. Israel was represented by Sela, Harel Levy, Jonathan Erlich, and Andy Ram. Russia's lineup consisted of Marat Safin (#60 in the world; former world #1), Igor Andreev (24), Igor Kunitsyn (35), and Mikhail Youzhny (69; former world #8). Sela said before the tie: "We feel we can beat the Russians." The stage was then set by Safin, who prior to the tie told the press: "With all due respect, Israel was lucky to get to the quarterfinals." The Israeli team's response was to beat the Russian team in each of their first three matches, thereby winning the tie. Levy, world #210, beat Russia's top player, Andreev, world #24 in the opening match. Sela (#33) followed by beating Russian Youzhny. Israeli captain Eyal Ran likened his players to two fighter jets on court, saying: "I felt as if I had two F-16s out there today, they played amazingly well." The 10,500 spectators were the largest crowd ever for a tennis match in Israel. The next day Israelis Ram and Erlich beat Safin and Kunitsyn in front of a boisterous crowd of over 10,000. Even the "Saudi Gazette" described the doubles match as a "thrilling" win. Ran was carried shoulder-high around the Tel Aviv stadium, as the 10,000-strong crowd applauded. With the tie clinched for Israel, the reverse singles rubbers were "dead", and instead of best-of-five matches, best-of-three sets were played, with the outcomes of little to no importance. Israel wrapped up a 4–1 victory over Russia, as Levy defeated Kunitsyn, while Sela retired with a wrist injury while down 3–4 in the first set against Andreev. Israel, however, lost to Spain in the semi-finals, 4–1.
Playing style.
Sela's playing style is very fast, aggressive and viewed as a serve and volleyer by some.
Coaching.
During his career he has also been coached by his brother Ofer Sela, Tomi Schnitzer, Australian-born former Israeli Davis Cup coach Ron Steele, and Israelis Noam Behr, Yoav Shab, Yoram Menahem, and Amos Mansdorf.
Jewish heritage.
Sela, along with Diego Schwartzman, Camila Giorgi, Julia Glushko, and Noah Rubin is one of a number of Jewish tennis players who are highly ranked. "It's very special being able to play around the world", Sela said. "It is fun playing in different places because Jewish people will come out to watch me."
Sela enjoys support outside of Israel from his fan brigade, known as the "Hebrew Hammer", whose chanting in both English and Hebrew aims to replicate the raucous atmosphere of tennis matches in Tel Aviv that helped him defeat the likes of González in arguably his most historic victory. Originating at the LA Tennis Open in 2008, the Hebrew Hammer has been spotlit on telecasts by the Tennis Channel.
Personal life.
Sela has two children with his wife Marina, son Elai and daughter Talia. He has a brother, Ofer Sela (b. 1972).
Singles performance timeline.
"Current as far as the 2020 Australian Open."
1 Held as Hamburg Masters (clay) until 2008, Madrid Masters (clay) 2009–present.
2 Held as Madrid Masters (indoor hardcourt) from 2002 to 2008, Shanghai Masters (outdoor hardcourt) 2009–present.
Doubles performance timeline.
"Current as far as the 2018 Australian Open.


Mongkhon

Mongkon ( ) is a type of headgear worn by Muay Thai athletes. The Mongkhon is given to a boxer after their trainer saw that the student had become an experienced fighter and learned a great deal of knowledge about Muay Thai. The Mongkhon was never to be, in any way, close to the ground or else they believed it would lose its worth. The Mongkhon is unique to Thai boxing and is worn in Cambodia and Burma.
It must be worn during the Wai khru ram muay and should be only handled by the fighter and teacher, so as not to lose its perceived special powers.


2008 American Le Mans Series

The 2008 American Le Mans Series season was the 38th season for the IMSA GT Championship, with the tenth season known as the American Le Mans Series. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Tourer (GT) race cars divided into four classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. It began March 15 and ended October 18 after eleven races.
The Audi Sport North America team wrapped up its title defence of LMP1 class Teams Championship with three races in hand after the Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio in August. Drivers Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr also secured the Drivers Championship after the Detroit Sports Car Challenge. It was a record fifth ALMS drivers title for Luhr and a fourth for Werner.
The Petit Le Mans saw the drivers title for GT1 decided with Jan Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell taking the title while Jörg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler likewise secured the GT2 drivers championship. It was O'Connell's fourth GT1 title and Bergmeisters third GT2 title.
Schedule.
The Lone Star Grand Prix was originally scheduled to take place on April 26. However, following the merger of the Champ Car World Series and Indy Racing League, the Champ Car Grand Prix of Houston event was initially cancelled. The American Le Mans Series race, as well as the support races, were later cancelled on March 3.
Season results.
Overall winner in bold.
Teams championships.
For races under three hours, points are awarded to the top 10 finishers in the following order:
For races between four hours and eight hours, points are awarded in the following order:
For races longer than eight hours, points are awarded in the following order:
Cars failing to complete 70% of the winner's distance are not awarded points. Unlike the Le Mans Series where teams with multiple entries have each entry number scored separately to the championship, teams with multiple entries only score the points of their highest finishing entry in each race.
Drivers championship.
For races under three hours, points are awarded to the top 10 finishers in the following order:
For races between four hours and eight hours, points are awarded in the following order:
For races longer than eight hours, points are awarded in the following order:
Cars failing to complete 70% of the winner's distance are not awarded points. Drivers failing to drive for at least 45 minutes in the race are not awarded points, with the exception of the Long Beach round where drivers need only 30 minutes minimum.
LMP1 standings.
† - Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro were both penalized three championship points for their entry making avoidable contact during Round 4.
LMP2 standings.
† - Sascha Maassen and Patrick Long were both penalized three championship points for their entry making avoidable contact during Round 2.
Green Challenge.
On June 24, 2008, the ALMS has announced for a new challenge called the "Green Challenge". The challenge, integrated with the series races, and which will debut at this year's Petit Le Mans, and continuing with the entire full season in 2009, emphasizes on targeting the series for "green racing." The ALMS was the first motorsport racing series in North America to be recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA), the United States Department of Energy and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International) to be recognized as a "Green Racing Series", and these three will take part organizing the challenge. All the teams will be eligible for the "Green Challenge". The point system will be the same as the regular ALMS scoring system, but teams start out with the most possible points a team in the ALMS have during the season, and the points are deducted based on the performance of the vehicle. The lowest points at the end of the season would be the "Green Challenge" season champion.


European Wushu Championships

The European Wushu Championships is a wushu competition organized by the European Wushu Federation, an official continental federation of the International Wushu Federation. The first championships were held in Brussels, Belgium in May 1986, with 70 athletes from eight participating member countries.


Chris Pitt

Christopher Pitt (born 12 May 1965) is an Australian Paralympic shooter. He has represented Australia in the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Personal.
Pitt was born on 12 May 1965. At the age of ten, a virus led to him contracting muscular dystrophy and by the age of twelve he was a wheelchair user. He grew up on a farm in Bundaberg, Queensland and as of 2016 still lives there and works as a carer.
Shooting.
Pitt took up shooting sport in 2010 and is classified as a SH1 shooter. He always had an interest in shooting due life on the farm. His first international competition was the World Cup held in Szczecin Poland in April 2013 where he finished 13th. He won two gold medals at the 2013 Oceania World Championships in Sydney.
At the 2014 IPC World Championships in Hanover, Germany, he finished placed 11th in the 25m Pistol SH1 and 44th in the 10m Air Pistol SH1. Throughout 2015 Chris continued to perform consistently well with three top-10 results at World Cups.
Pitt has stated that he has been inspired by Rheed McCracken, a Bundaberg wheelchair racer.
Pitt competed in the 2016 Rio Paralympics in the Men's 10 metre air pistol SH1 event where he placed 14th, as well as competing in the Mixed 25 metre pistol SH1, where he placed 7th.


Catch the Wave

Catch the Wave is an annual professional wrestling tournament promoted by the Pro Wrestling Wave promotion. It has been held since 2009 and takes place between the end of April and the beginning of August. As up until March 2013 there were no singles championships in Pro Wrestling Wave, Catch the Wave was effectively the top singles achievement in the promotion. The tournament is contested in round-robin format with the winners of each block advancing to the semifinals. From 2010 to 2012, the tournament included a "Loser Revival" battle royal, where already eliminated wrestlers battle for the fourth and final spot in the semifinals of the tournament. This system allowed the tournament to be won twice by a wrestler, who was originally eliminated in the round-robin section. From 2011 onwards, the tournament has concluded with an award ceremony. The winner of the main tournament earns the title of and ¥1,000,000. From 2014 to 2016, Wave also held a separate Catch the Wave tournament for rookie wrestlers, running concurrently with the main tournament.
2009.
The 2009 Catch the Wave took place over nine shows between May 27 and August 11. The tournament included sixteen participants split up into four blocks titled "Comical", "UK", "Visual Technical" and "Young". Matches in the UK block could only be won by knockout or submission and had a ten-minute time limit as opposed to fifteen-minute time limits in the other blocks. Outside participants in the tournament included freelancers Apple Miyuki, Bullfight Sora, Kaoru and Kyoko Kimura, JWP Joshi Puroresu's Pinky Mayuka and Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling's Ryo Mizunami.
2010.
The 2010 Catch the Wave took place over ten shows between May 30 and August 11. The tournament included fifteen participants split up into three blocks titled "Rival", "Visual Technical" and "Young". Outside participants in the tournament included freelancers Asami Kawasaki, Io Shirai, Kana and Mio Shirai, JWP Joshi Puroresu's Senri Kuroki and Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling's Ryo Mizunami. On July 4, Kuroki was sidelined with gastroesophageal reflux disease and was forced to forfeit the rest of her matches in the tournament. This tournament introduced the concept of the "Loser Revival" battle royal, where those that finished second and third in their blocks were allowed to compete for a spot in the semifinals of the tournament.
2011.
The 2011 Catch the Wave took place over eight shows between May 2 and July 24. The tournament included fourteen participants split up into three blocks titled "Technical", "Visual" and "Young". Outside participants in the tournament included freelancer Nagisa Nozaki, Kagetsu and Ryo Mizunami from Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling and Nao Komatsu from Oz Academy. This was the first tournament, where all wrestlers eliminated after the round-robin portion of the tournament were allowed to enter the "Loser Revival" battle royal.
2012.
The 2012 Catch the Wave took place over nine shows between April 30 and July 16. The tournament included fifteen participants split up into three blocks titled "Black Dahlia", "Power" and "White Tails", with two of the blocks made up of members of the Black Dahlia and White Tails stables. Outside participants in the tournament included Hamuko Hoshi and Tsukasa Fujimoto from Ice Ribbon and Syuri from Wrestling New Classic (WNC). The tournament featured a title change, when on June 8, Mio Shirai defeated Ayumi Kurihara to win DDT Pro-Wrestling's Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship.
2013.
The 2013 Catch the Wave took take place over ten shows between May 6 and July 15. The tournament format, which for the first time featured only two round-robin blocks, and the participants were announced on April 26. Outside participants included Arisa Nakajima from JWP Joshi Puroresu, Hikaru Shida from Ice Ribbon, Kagetsu from Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling and Syuri from Wrestling New Classic (WNC). The top three wrestlers from each block advanced to the knockout stage of the tournament. The winners of the blocks earned spots in the semifinals, while numbers two and three were entered into the first round of the knockout tournament. The two block system resulted in the elimination of the "Loser Revival" battle royal. The tournament featured the first Catch the Wave match to take place outside of Pro Wrestling Wave, when Shuu Shibutani and Syuri faced each other on June 8 in Wave's sister promotion, Osaka Joshi Pro Wrestling. The winner of the tournament became the number one contender to the Wave Single Championship.
2014.
The 2014 Catch the Wave took place between May 5 and July 27. The tournament once again featured two round-robin blocks of seven wrestlers, divided by their age. Block "Adeyaka" ("Elegant") featured wrestlers in their thirties and block "Tsuyayaka" ("Glossy") wrestlers in their twenties. Outside participants included Tsukasa Fujimoto from Ice Ribbon and freelancers Hikaru Shida, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Kyoko Kimura and Kyusei Sakura Hirota.
Catch the Young Wave.
Concurrently to the 2014 Catch the Wave tournament, Pro Wrestling Wave also held the first Catch the Young Wave tournament, where six rookie wrestlers competed for a ¥500,000 main prize. Outside participants in the tournament included Risa Sera and Shiori Akiba from Ice Ribbon and Kaho Kobayashi from Wrestling New Classic (WNC)/Reina Joshi Puroresu. Akiba was forced to pull out of the tournament and forfeit her final two matches, after being sidelined as a result of headaches and memory impairment on June 18. The block ended in a four-way tie on June 27, leading to Wave announcing a single-elimination tournament between the four to determine the winner.
2015.
The 2015 Catch the Wave took place between May 3 and July 20. The tournament featured a single round-robin block with ten wrestlers. The four previous still active winners; Yumi Ohka, Kana, Misaki Ohata and Hikaru Shida as well as the reigning Catch the Young Wave winner Kaho Kobayashi, earned automatic spots in the tournament. Gami picked one wrestler to enter the tournament, while the remaining four were decided in qualifying matches on April 4. Cherry, Kyusei Sakura Hirota, Mika Iida and Ryo Mizunami ended up earning their spots in the tournament in a nine-woman battle royal, while Rina Yamashita was chosen by Gami as the final entrant. In the tournament, instead of points, rankings were based on winning percentages or simply the number of wins. Two matches in the tournament took place at an Osaka Joshi Pro Wrestling event.
Young Block Oh! Oh! 2015.
The rookie version of Catch the Wave started on May 29 with six participants, including five outsiders; Konami from Office Kana/Reina Joshi Puroresu, Maya Yukihi and Yuka from Ice Ribbon, Meiko Tanaka from World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana and Yako Fujigasaki from JWP Joshi Puroresu. The tournament took place in a single-elimination format with Konami and Yuka earning automatic spots to in the semifinals. Matches had a ten-minute time limit in the tournament. In case of a time limit draw, the match would enter a five-minute overtime, where the match can be won with only a two-count. If the match again ended in a time limit draw, it would be restarted with no time limit in a match that can be won with only a one-count. The winner of the tournament would receive ¥500,000 and a shot at the JWP Junior and Princess of Pro-Wrestling Championships. Both of the tournament's finalists were injured before the final match with Meiko Tanaka dislocating her right elbow and Yuka suffering a cervical spinal cord contusion and subarachnoid hemorrhage. As Yuka was injured first, Wave originally awarded Tanaka the final with a bye, declaring her the winner of the tournament. However, on the final day of the tournament, Gami instead announced that they were postponing the final match until both wrestlers were able to return to the ring. The final eventually took place on October 30.
2016.
The 2016 Catch the Wave took place between April 10 and June 5. The tournament featured 32 wrestlers in eight blocks of four, making it the largest Catch the Wave tournament in history. In the tournament a win was worth two points and a loss none. In case of a draw, the wrestler who debuted at a later date would be awarded one point. The winners from each block would advance to a single-elimination tournament. If a block ended in a tie, a playoff match would determine the advancer.
Young Block Oh! Oh! 2016.
The 2016 rookie version of Catch the Wave took place between February 6 and March 13 with eight participants in two blocks. Outside participants included Akane Fujita, Maruko Nagasaki and Yuka from Ice Ribbon, Konami from Reina Joshi Puroresu, Mari An from Sportiva and Yako Fujigasaki from JWP Joshi Puroresu. For the first time, the tournament ran before the main tournament. The winner of the tournament earned a spot in the 2016 Catch the Wave tournament. In the tournament, wins were worth two points and losses zero. In case of a time limit draw, the wrestler who debuted at a later date would be awarded one point. One of the matches in the tournament took place at an event held by Wave's sister promotion Osaka Joshi Pro Wrestling.
2017.
The 2017 Catch the Wave took place between April 19 and June 4. The tournament featured eight wrestlers in two blocks of four, making it the smallest Catch the Wave tournament in history. The participants wrestled in a single block, but in point standings were divided into two blocks by their affiliation. Wrestlers signed to Pro Wrestling Wave, wrestled in the "Zabun" block, while outsiders wrestled in the "Other Than" block, which included Ice Ribbon representative Mochi Miyagi, Marvelous representative Rin Kadokura, Seadlinnng representative Sareee and freelancer Saki. In the tournament a win was worth two points, a draw one point and a loss none. The top two wrestlers from each block advanced to the semifinals.
2018.
The 2018 Catch the Wave took place between March 11 and May 4. The tournament featured twelve wrestlers in two blocks of six, the Crazy Block and the Violence Block. In the tournament a win was worth two points, a draw one point and a loss none. On April 7, Hikaru Shida announced she would be dropping out to receive surgery on a distal tibia fracture, forfeiting the rest of her matches. The top wrestler from each block was to advance to the finals, however both blocks ended in ties. Because Violence Block ended in a three-way tie, the tiebreaker was determined to be a gauntlet match where the first woman to win two consecutive falls would advance.
2019.
The 2019 Catch the Wave took place between May 5 and July 15. The tournament featured sixteen wrestlers in four blocks of four, the Power Block, the Technical Block, the Visual Block and the Young Block. With the Wave Single Championship being vacated due to the last champion Misaki Ohata's retirement from professional wrestling, the winner of the tournament would win the vacant title as well. The Young Block competed independently of the main tournament. Mika Iwata was injured on June, therefore, was out of the tournament.
In the finals, Takumi Iroha defeated Nagisa Nozaki and Ryo Mizunami in a three-way match to win the tournament and the title.


Freestyle footbag

Freestyle Footbag is a footbag sport where players demonstrate their abilities by performing sequences of acrobatic tricks. The ending position of the bag on one trick becomes the starting position of the bag on the next trick. Tricks are created by combining different components between contacts (stalls or kicks, usually stalls). Components can be spins, dexterities (wrapping a leg around the bag in mid-air), or ducks (letting the bag pass a few inches above the neck). Contacts are usually on the inside of the foot behind the opposite support leg (clipper stall) or on the toe, however many inventive possibilities remain and are used to create a near-endless list of tricks.
Competition Events.
In competition, there are several different freestyle events.
Routines.
In this event a player choreographs and executes a routine to music. Much like figure skating, players are given scores for technical and artistic merit. These scores take into account choreography, difficulty, variety, and execution. At the open level, singles routines are 2 minutes long, doubles routines 3 minutes; at the intermediate level and in women category, routines are 90 seconds.
30 Second Shred.
Or "Shred 30" is purely technical. Competitors have to execute as many unique, difficult tricks in a 30 second period as possible. Their score is calculated with a mathematical formula, which takes into account the average difficulty of the run, and penalizes the players for repeated moves. Dropping the bag lowers the player's score in 2 ways: it lowers their difficulty ratio, and decreases the number of tricks they can fit in 30 seconds. The formula is adds + adds*uniques/contacts.
Sick 3.
The objective of this event is for players to link three hard tricks together in the most impressive way possible. Players are usually given between 5-7 attempts to land a combo, within a maximum time frame of 2 minutes. This event is often judged by a panel of judges, who sometimes use videocameras to verify that moves were hit cleanly within the combo. Judging is purely subjective.
Sick Trick.
In this competition, the most difficult assortment of components is put into one move and judged subjectively by difficulty, form, and cleanliness. Usually the competitor is given 3-7 tries which is at the competition director's discretion
Rippin' Run.
In this competition, a minimum of two players start a guiltless string (a series of moves with a minimum requirement of 3 components (adds) in between contacts) and try to outlast each other. Players are eliminated and the winners progress to the next round, just like in the single-elimination tournament.
Circle Competition.
Or "Circle Comp" or just "Circle" for short is relatively new compared to other events, Circle Comp was invented by Ianek Regimbald and Sebastien Duchesne of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and Eliot Piltz of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with input from several other competitive players. In Circle Comp, the total pool of competitors are divided into smaller pools (or Circles, giving the event its name, and also representing how freestyle footbag is typically played), usually of no more than 4 players. Each player in the circle takes a turn with the bag, until they drop. The bag is then passed to the next player, who takes their turn, and so forth. There is a limit to the number of times the bag will go around the circle. For instance, there may be three difficulty rounds followed by three variety rounds, though organizers of different events may revise the structure of the format in different ways. Players are evaluated subjectively by a panel of judges.
Components (ADD Categories).
Tricks performed while playing freestyle are made up different add categories. ADD is an acronym for "Additional Degree of Difficulty".
A toe stall would be a 1-ADD trick. TOE [DEL]. A "clipper" is a cross body inside delay CLIP [XBD][DEL] and is worth 2-ADDs. A cross-body sole delay XBD_SOLE [XBD][UNS][DEL] is worth 3-adds. The more adds, the more possible permutations there are for tricks. Moves have been performed up to 9-ADDs (Chilly-Philly Sauce). There are 5 ADD types
ADD classification.
If you are a player who can successfully combine multiple ADD level tricks in one "String" or "session" than your playing difficulty can be classed as follows.
Freestyle trick fundamentals.
Kicks.
There are 3 fundamental kicks that are used in freestyle. These kicks are:
Stalls.
Once a player has mastered these tricks, they generally move on to stalling/delaying the footbag. This is where the footbag stops on part of the body. It is done to gain more control of the footbag, or to set up prior to a trick. Some of the simpler stalls found in freestyle are:
Other Components.
Move Elements
Combining Concepts.
Spins can be added to dexterities to create moves like spinning down.
Acronyms and Jargon.
Here is a list of various terms and concepts, these do not include actual trick names.


Vallelunga Circuit


Mladost Trophy

The Mladost Trophy is an annual international figure skating competition. It is typically held in March in Zagreb, Croatia. Medals may be awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating on the senior, junior, advanced novice, and lower levels. Senior events were introduced in 2013.


Eisbach (Isar)

The Eisbach (German, 'ice brook') is a small, , man-made river in Munich. It flows through the park known as the Englischer Garten, and is a side arm of the Isar River. A man-made wave has been created on one section, which is popular among river surfers.
Swimming in the Eisbach is not technically allowed, but as the rule is not stringently enforced, swimmers are common, especially on warm summer days. However, swimming in the cold, fast stream is dangerous: Between 2007 and 2017 alone, eight people drowned in the Eisbach.
Surfing on the Eisbach.
Just past a bridge near the Haus der Kunst art museum, the river forms a standing wave about one metre high which is a popular river surfing spot. The water is cold and shallow—sometimes only 40 cm deep—making it only suitable for experienced surfers and playboaters (whitewater kayakers). The wave is predominantly used by surfers, and animosities of surfers towards kayakers have occasionally been reported.
The wave has been surfed by river surfers since 1972, and surfing competitions have even been held. Due to the more recent development of playboating, kayakers have only more recently—and so far not in great numbers—started to surf the wave.
Since 2010 surfing has been officially permitted on the river. A new sign next to the wave warns that "Due to the forceful current, the wave is suitable for skilled and experienced surfers only." In previous years there has been an issue between the authorities, who threatened to demolish the wave, and a group of wave supporters who organized activities and a website to save the wave, including an online petition to leave the wave intact.
Being a standing wave, it can be surfed for as long as one's balance holds, and in busy times a queue of surfers forms on the bank. In the past surfers tied a leash to the bridge to hold onto, but a sign announces that this is both dangerous and forbidden.
The local surfers have forced the wave to break more cleanly, with increased height, by attaching ropes to the bridge which trail submerged planks, creating two large "U"-shapes. Such a shape makes the wave easier to surf for river surfers (playboating makes fewer demands of the wave shape).
There is a second standing wave on the Eisbach located a few hundred meters downstream further north in the Englischer Garten. The Eisbach is wider at this point, so the water flows more slowly and the wave is less demanding, which results in the wave being used by beginners to develop their surfing skills. Another wave for beginners is in near the Thalkirchen U-Bahn station. It has also been surfed since 1972, and it is wide enough to take a few surfers at a time. A fourth standing wave in Munich forms on the Isar itself near the bridge Wittelsbacherbrücke, but only at flood levels of the river. Due to the dirt, manure, and objects such as tree branches drifting in the floodwater in the first days after flooding, this wave is usually only surfed a few days after the water level has risen.
Swimming in the Eisbach.
Although authorities don't strictly enforce the swimming ban, they caution against the dangers even for experienced swimmers: The Eisbach has a very strong current and no affixed exit points, which makes it hard to get out again. Hence, swimmers sometimes float too far and get stuck in the lattice behind the Tivoli bridge before the hydroelectric power plant, where they must be rescued. Also, the Eisbach is shallow, which can lead to injuries not only when jumping in, but while swimming as well, also because obstacles like stones, broken glass and even disposed bicycles can be found on the ground. Lastly, even in the summer, the water doesn't get warmer than 15 °C, which harbors the risk of hypothermia.


Luke Tomlinson

Luke Tomlinson is a professional polo player and former captain of the England polo team, with a handicap of seven goals in Britain and eight in Argentina.
Biography.
Tomlinson, who along with his family owns the Beaufort Polo Club, was born into a family of polo players in Gloucestershire and was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He has a younger brother and a sister, both of whom are international polo players (Emma as an amateur with a two-goal handicap, and Mark Tomlinson, a professional with a seven-goal handicap in Britain).
He is one of the top polo players in Britain. So far, he has won the Queen's Cup, Gold Cup and the Coronation Cup. Thomlinson is playing in England, Spain and Argentina. He took part in the qualifications for the Campeonato Argentino Abierto de Polo 2008 (Argentine Open) with his team Alegría Park Hyatt, but lost against the El Paraiso team.
Luke courted controversy in 2004 when he, along with Otis Ferry and six other pro-hunt protesters, stormed the House of Commons in protest at anti-hunting legislation. All eight were convicted of violating the Public Order Act, were each fined £350 and given 18-month conditional discharges.


Andrew Freshwater

Andrew Freshwater (born 31 May 1973) is a British former alpine skier who competed in the 1998 Winter Olympics. Freshwater, along with his brother Duncan, both played shinty for Kincraig.


Lesotho Mounted Police Service FC

Lesotho Mounted Police Service FC is a Lesotho football club based in Maseru. It is based in the city of Maseru in the Maseru District.
The team currently plays in Lesotho Premier League.
Stadium.
Currently the team plays at the 1,000 capacity PTC Ground Europa.


Yair Michaeli

Yair Michaeli (יאיר מיכאלי; born September 13, 1944) is an Israeli former Olympic competitive sailor. During the Yom Kippur War, he served on an Israeli Navy patrol boat. He is married to Mandy Michaeli.
Sailing career.
When he competed in the Olympics, he was 5-7 (171 cm) tall and weighed 150 lbs (68 kg). At an international competition in the Olympic-class Flying Dutchman dinghy in the Netherlands in April 1972, the Sdot Yam team of Michaeli and Itzhak Nir won the right to be the first Israeli sailors to participate in the Olympics.
Michaeli competed for Israel at the 1972 Summer Olympics off the coast of Kiel, 900 kilometers from Munich, Germany, at the age of 27, with Itzhak Nir in Sailing--Mixed Two Person Heavyweight Dinghy/Flying Dutchman. He and Nir did not participate in the final race of the competition, due to the Munich Massacre in which Arab terrorists from the Black September group killed 11 Israeli Olympians at Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base outside of Munich. They came in 26th.
The Israeli government then decided to withdraw from the Olympic Games, and bring their remaining Olympians home. Michaeli, Nir, and Israeli racewalker Shaul Ladany wanted to stay for the closing ceremony, to show that they were not leaving "with their tails between their legs", but they followed the orders of the government.


Shani Kedmi

Shani Kedmi (שני קדמי; born July 20, 1977) is an Israeli former Olympic competitive sailor. She was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and is Jewish.
Sailing career.
Kedmi began competing in sailing at the age of 15. Her club was Hapoel Tel Aviv. When she participated in the Olympics she was 5-2.5 (160 cm) tall, and weighed 128 lbs (58 kg).
She and Anat Fabrikant placed 8th at the 1995 European Championships in the 470 competition.
Kedmi represented Israel at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of 19 in Sailing—Women's Two Person Dinghy 470 event with Fabrikant, and came in 12th.
In 1999, Kedmi and Fabrikant won a silver medal at the Holland Regatta, won a bronze medal representing Israel at the 1999 Summer Universiade, placed 4th at both the European and World Championships, and were ranked No. 2 in the world. In 2000 they finished 6th at the 2000 European Championships.
Kedmi represented Israel at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, at the age of 23 in Sailing—Women's Two Person Dinghy 470 event with Fabrikant, and came in 4th, two points behind the bronze medal-winning team from Ukraine.


Nordic Junior Combined Events Championships

The Nordic Junior Combined Events Championships () is an annual outdoor combined track and field events competition for athletes under-20 from the Nordic countries – Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. Athletes must be 19 years of age or younger by December 31 of the year the championship is held. Men compete in the decathlon and women compete in the heptathlon. In the early history of the competition, the women's pentathlon was held instead of heptathlon.
The competition was first held in 1969 as part of the Nordic Combined Events Championships. When the senior event folded after 1970, the junior event was established in its own right in 1974.


Amy Griffin

Amy Griffin (born October 25, 1965), née Allmann, is an American soccer coach and former player. As a player, Griffin played for the United States women's national soccer team and won the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup. She is currently the head coach of the United States deaf soccer women's national team.
Early life.
Griffin grew up in Federal Way, Washington where she attended Decatur High School and played for the club soccer team, F.C. Royals.
University of Central Florida.
Griffin attended the University of Central Florida where she played goalkeeper for the Knights from 1984–1987. In 1987, she was named NCAA's Adidas Goalkeeper of the Year. Griffin and teammate Michelle Akers helped lead UCF to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the Final Four in 1987.
Griffin was inducted into the Central Florida Hall of Fame in 1999, the school's second women's soccer honoree. The first was her teammate at UCF, Michelle Akers.
Playing career.
International.
Griffin played for the United States women's national soccer team from 1987–1991 and was on the squad that won the first ever FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991. In 23 career national team starts (with 24 caps), she posted a 12–8–3 record with a 0.99 goals against average.
Coaching career.
Griffin was one of the first nine women to obtain a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) level "A" coaching license. She is active in the Olympic Development program and coached at the 1995 U.S. Olympic Sports Festival. In 1998, she became a staff coach for both the NSCAA and the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Griffin was head coach at the University of New Mexico where she started the program in 1993. The New Mexico Lobos posted a 27–24–1 record under Griffin, including a 10–7–3 mark in 1995 en route to a second-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference. Prior to that, she served as assistant coach at San Diego State University. Griffin later re-joined Lesle Gallimore, former head coach at San Diego State, at the University of Washington and has spent over a decade with the Huskies, most recently as Associate Head Coach.
Griffin was an assistant coach at Santa Clara University from 1989–1991. She was also an assistant coach at her alma mater, University of Central Florida.
In 2012, Griffin was a goalkeeper coach for the United States under-20 women's national soccer team and helped guide the team to gold at the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.
In 2015, Griffin was announced as the new US Deaf Women's National Team's head coach for soccer.
Broadcasting career.
Griffin served as broadcast commentator with NBC, ESPN and Fox Network. She provided analysis for ESPN2 during the 1995 and 1999 women's soccer World Cups and was the color analyst for NBC's 2000 Sydney Olympic coverage.
Health concerns with Artificial turf.
Amy Griffin has played an important role by bringing forward concerns about the health of women soccer players, particularly goal keepers. She collected data about athletes with cancer who have played on artificial turf containing "crumb rubber". As of 2015, her list of 200 athletes with cancer contained 150 soccer players, 95 of whom were goalkeepers.


2009 Sudirman Cup

The 2009 Sudirman Cup (World Mixed Team Badminton Championships) was held in the Guangzhou Gymnasium in China from May 10 to May 17, 2009, having been arranged in December 2005. It was the eleventh contest.
Guangzhou has a tradition of staging badminton tournaments (The China Open was held in Guangzhou from 2005 to 2007, Thomas and Uber Cup in 2002 as well). The Sudirman Cup is part of the city's campaign of "hosting a major sporting event every year" in the run up to the 2010 Asian Games, which will be held in the same city.
China defeated Korea to win the title for the seventh time.
Host city selection.
Guangzhou is the only bidder for this event and later selected to host the tournament by Badminton World Federation during a council meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Denmark and India also expressed interest in hosting the event.