Ken Moran

Kenneth "Ken" James Moran, MBE (27 February 1925 – 6 August 2009) was an Australian Paralympic lawn bowler. He won a silver medal in the Men's Pairs at the 1984 Summer Paralympics.
Personal.
Moran was born in the Queensland town of Beaudesert on 27 February 1925, the sixth of eight children of Tom and Johanna Moran. He grew up on the family farm during the Great Depression, and had a busy and active young life which included farm duties, schooling and playing tennis and cricket. At age 14, he left school to work full-time on the farm to help support his family during the difficult economic times. While playing a representative cricket match in February 1945, he experienced serious physical symptoms - a sudden but lasting dizziness, loss of balance and inability to focus - that forced him to retire from the match. Within a couple of days, he was diagnosed with polio and spent the next two years in a polio ward at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. When he was finally discharged, he spent a year with an uncle in Brisbane, managing his own rehabilitation and transition to life in a wheelchair before returning to Beaudesert. He studied accounting by correspondence and worked in the field, and began a lifelong involvement in community work.
Sport.
Moran took up table tennis and lawn bowls to keep active, playing against and alongside able-bodied players. He won a bronze medal in table tennis at the 1974 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Dunedin, New Zealand. He won a silver medal in the men's lawn bowls pairs with Wayne Lewis at the 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville Paralympics.
Recognition.
In the Queen's Birthday Honours 1986 Moran was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for "service to the community and paraplegic sport". On 16 September 2010, the Ken Moran Life Centre was officially opened in Beaudesert.


Italian Basketball Cup

The Italian Basketball Cup (Italian: Coppa Italiana di Pallacanestro), or Coppa Italia, is an annual professional basketball competition between pro clubs from the Italian Basketball League (LBA). It is Italy's first-tier cup competition, and is not to be confused with Italy's second-tier cup competition, the Italian Legadue Cup.
History and format.
The first edition of the Italian Cup championship took place in 1968, and was won by Partenope Napoli. Between 1975 and 1983, the cup competition was not held, but it has been held regularly every year from 1984 onward. The formula of the competition has changed over the years. Beginning in 1990, after an elimination phase and subsequent knockout rounds, the tournament ends in a final four format. From 2000 onward, the ranked 8 teams compete for the trophy in a Final Eight format which consists of the quarter-finals, semifinals and the final over 3 days.
Finally, the winner of the Italian Cup championship then has the right to face the winner of the Italian League championship in a single final game to determine the winner the Italian Supercup championship.


Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League (CFL; ) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a city in Canada. They are divided into two divisions: four teams in the East Division and five teams in the West Division.
As of 2019, it features a 21-week regular season in which each team plays 18 games with three bye weeks. This season traditionally runs from mid-June to early November. Following the regular season, six teams compete in the league's three-week playoffs, which culminate in the Grey Cup championship game in late November. The Grey Cup is one of Canada's largest annual sports and television events.
The CFL was officially named on January 19, 1958, upon the merger between the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union or "Big Four" (founded in 1907) and the Western Interprovincial Football Union (founded in 1936). Before the introduction of interlocking play in 1961, Eastern teams competed against Western teams only in pre-season and the Grey Cup Championship (similar to Major League Baseball in the United States prior to the 1997 season).
History.
Early history.
Rugby football began to be played in Canada in the 1860s, and many of the first Canadian football teams played under the auspices of the Canadian Rugby Football Union (CRFU), founded in 1884. The CRFU was reorganized as the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) in 1891, and served as an umbrella organization for several provincial and regional unions. The Grey Cup was donated by Governor General the Earl Grey in 1909 to the team winning the "Senior Amateur Football Championship of Canada". By that time, the sport as played in Canada had diverged markedly from its rugby origins with the introduction of the Burnside rules, and started to become more similar to the American game.
For much of the early part of the 20th century, the game was contested by intraprovincial leagues, or unions. In 1907, several of the stronger senior clubs in Ontario and Quebec formed the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU or Big Four). It took almost 30 years for an elite interprovincial western union to emerge, when in 1936 the stronger senior clubs in Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan formed the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU). From the 1930s to the 1950s, the Big Four and WIFU gradually evolved from amateur to professional leagues, and amateur teams were no longer competitive for the Grey Cup. Apart from the World War II years, an amateur team last won the Grey Cup in 1936.
By the end of World War II, the WIFU's play was at the same level as that of the Big Four. Within a few years after the return of peace, both interprovincial unions had turned openly professional. However, while the Big Four champion got an automatic berth to the Grey Cup final, until 1954 the WIFU's champion had to play in a semi-final against the champion of the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU)–by then, the only amateur union still competing for the Grey Cup. The ORFU withdrew from Grey Cup competition after the 1953 season, and the WIFU champion was given an automatic berth in the Grey Cup final. For this reason, 1954 is reckoned as the start of the modern era of Canadian football, in which the Grey Cup has been exclusively contested by professional teams. Since 1965, Canada's top university football teams, competing in what is now U Sports, have competed for the Vanier Cup.
In 1956, the IRFU and WIFU formed a new umbrella organization, the Canadian Football Council (CFC). In 1958, the CFC left the CRU and reorganized as the Canadian Football League. As part of an agreement between the CRU and CFL, the CFL took possession of the Grey Cup, and the amateurs were officially locked out of Grey Cup play. However, the Grey Cup had been the de facto professional championship since 1954. The CRU remained the governing body for amateur play in Canada, eventually adopting the name Football Canada. Initially, the two unions remained autonomous, and there was no intersectional play between eastern (IRFU) and western (WIFU) teams except at the Grey Cup final. This situation was roughly analogous to how Major League Baseball operated for almost all of the 20th century, and how the AFL and NFL operated during the 1960s prior to those leagues' 1970 merger.
The IRFU was renamed the Eastern Football Conference in 1960, while the WIFU was renamed the Western Football Conference in 1961. Also in 1961, limited intersectional play was introduced. Because the West played 16 games by this time while the East still only played 14, this arrangement oddly allowed both the four-team Eastern Conference and the five-team Western Conference to play three games per intraconference opponent and one game per interconference opponent. It wasn't until 1974 that the East would expand its schedule to 16 games, just like the West. In 1981, the two conferences agreed to a full merger, becoming the East and West Divisions of the CFL. With the merger came a fully balanced and interlocking schedule of 16 games per season (with all nine teams playing each other twice, once at home and once on the road). Since 1986, the CFL's regular season schedule has been 18 games.
The separate histories of the IRFU and the WIFU accounted for the fact that two teams had basically the same name: the IRFU's Ottawa "Rough Riders" were often called the "Eastern Riders", while the WIFU's Saskatchewan "Roughriders" were called the "Western Riders" or "Green Riders". Other team names had traditional origins. With rowing a national craze in the late 19th century, the Argonaut Rowing Club of Toronto formed a rugby team for its members' off-season participation. The football team name Toronto Argonauts still remains even though it and the rowing club have long since gone their separate ways. After World War II, the two teams in Hamilton—the Tigers and the Flying Wildcats—merged both their organizations into the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The league remained stable with nine franchises—the BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Football Team (known as "Edmonton Eskimos" until 2020), Saskatchewan Roughriders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Toronto Argonauts, Ottawa Rough Riders and Montreal Alouettes—from its 1958 inception until 1981. After the 1981 season, the Alouettes folded and were replaced the next year by a new franchise named the Concordes.
In 1986 the Concordes were renamed the Alouettes to attract more fan support, but the team folded the next year. The loss of the Montreal franchise forced the league to move its easternmost Western team, Winnipeg, into the East Division from 1987 to 1994.
United States expansion.
In 1993, the league admitted its first United States-based franchise, the Sacramento Gold Miners. After modest success, the league then expanded further in the U.S. in 1994 with the Las Vegas Posse, Baltimore Stallions, and Shreveport Pirates. For the 1995 campaign, the American teams were split off into their own South Division, and two more teams, the Birmingham Barracudas and Memphis Mad Dogs, were added; at the same time, the Posse folded and the Gold Miners relocated to become the San Antonio Texans. In 1995, the Stallions became the only non-Canadian team to win the Grey Cup.
Despite all American teams having the advantage of not being bound to the CFL's minimum Canadian player quotas, only the Stallions proved to be an on-field and off-field success. The establishment of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, worsening financial problems among the league's core Canadian teams, and the inconsistent performance of the other American teams prompted the CFL to abandon its American experiment and retrench its Canadian operations. The Stallions organization was used as the basis for a revival of the Montreal Alouettes.
Post-U.S. expansion era.
The CFL returned to an all-Canadian format in 1996 with nine teams; the league conducted a dispersal draft to distribute players from the shuttered American-based teams; however, the Ottawa Rough Riders, in existence since 1876, folded after the 1996 season (another dispersal draft was conducted the next year to distribute the former Rough Rider players among the remaining eight teams). Toronto and recently revived Montreal also were struggling; Montreal's woes were solved by moving to Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, a much smaller venue than the cavernous Olympic Stadium. The Winnipeg team again moved to the East Division from 1997 to 2001 to make up for the loss of Ottawa.
In 1997, the NFL provided a interest-free loan to the financially struggling CFL. In return, the NFL was granted access to CFL players entering a defined two-month window in the option year of their contract. This was later written into the CFL's collective bargaining agreement with its players. The CFL's finances have since stabilized and they eventually repaid the loan. The CFL–NFL agreement expired in 2006. Both leagues have been attempting to reach a new agreement, but the CFL broke off negotiations in November 2007 after Canadian telecommunications firm Rogers Communications paid $78 million to host seven Bills games in Toronto over five seasons (the last Bills Toronto Series game was played during the 2013 NFL season).
In 2002, the league expanded back to nine teams with the creation of the Ottawa Renegades. After four seasons of financial losses, the Renegades were suspended indefinitely before the 2006 season; their players were absorbed by the remaining teams in a dispersal draft. Winnipeg was moved to the East Division again in 2006, a situation that would continue until 2013.
In 2005, the league set an all-time attendance record with a total attendance of more than 2.3 million.
Mark Cohon era (2007–2015).
With Mark Cohon as commissioner of the league the CFL entered a period of stability and growth. New television deals, two new collective bargaining agreements, the 100th Grey Cup celebration, and widespread stadium renovation and rebuilding highlighted this era. The 100th anniversary of the Grey Cup had the highest ever television ratings for a championship game in English Canada.
During the 2000s the CFL had the third highest per-game attendance of any North American sports league and the seventh highest per-game attendance of any sports league worldwide. A 2006 survey conducted at the University of Lethbridge confirmed that the CFL was the second most popular sports league in Canada, with the following of 19% of the total adult Canadian population compared to 30% for the NHL. The NFL had 11% following, with a total of 26% following at least one of the pro football leagues. In other words, approximately 80% of Canadian football fans follow the CFL, and about 55% follow the NFL. With the absence of Ottawa from 2006 to 2013, league attendance hovered around the 2 million mark. It stood at 2,029,875 in 2012 for a single game average of 28,193. The 2007 season was a recent high point with average game attendance of 29,167, the best since 1983.
During Mark Cohon's time in office many of the teams either undertook major renovations to their existing stadiums, or constructed brand new stadiums. The Montreal Alouettes were the first to undertake this project, adding 5,000 seats to Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in time for the 2010 CFL season. The Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders also renovated their respective stadiums and facilities for the 2010 season. In 2011, the BC Lions played under a new, retractable roof in BC Place after spending one and a half seasons at Empire Field. In 2013, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers moved to Investors Group Field, now known as IG Field, an entirely new stadium at the University of Manitoba. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats began using their new stadium, Tim Hortons Field, after spending 2013 at University of Guelph's stadium and the first half of the 2014 season at McMaster University's football field following the demolition of the iconic Ivor Wynne Stadium.
In 2014 the Ottawa Redblacks kicked off their inaugural season (having been awarded a franchise in 2008), becoming the third Ottawa franchise in CFL history. The new Ottawa franchise returned the league to a nine-team structure, with five teams in the West Division and four in the East; the Winnipeg Blue Bombers moved back to the West Division. The expansion Ottawa Redblacks played at the massively renovated Frank Clair Stadium, now branded as TD Place Stadium.
In Mark Cohon's last year as commissioner he negotiated a new five-year collective bargaining agreement (from 2014 through the 2018 season) between the CFL and the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA).
Jeffrey Orridge era (2015–2017).
The Toronto Argonauts entered a period of transition off the field, with new ownership and a new stadium. The Argonauts were sold by politician/businessman David Braley to Bell Media and MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum. At the start of the 2016 season the Argos moved to BMO Field after more than twenty seasons at the Rogers Centre (formerly called the SkyDome from 1989 to 2005). Construction on the New Mosaic Stadium for the Saskatchewan Roughriders was completed in October 2016 and the first game was played in the 2017 season.
On May 22, 2015, Michael Sam signed a two-year contract with Montreal Alouettes of the CFL. The signing made him the first openly gay player in the league's history. Sam left the team the day before the first preseason game, citing personal reasons. As reported by Fox Sports, Sam returned to Montreal to continue his professional football career. He left again on August 14, this time permanently, again citing personal reasons.
Immediately following the 2015 season Jeffrey Orridge announced a re-branding for the CFL, including a new logo, motto, uniforms for all nine teams and website. After not having a drug enforcement policy in effect for the 2015 season the league and the CFLPA agreed to a new drug policy. On April 12, 2017 the Board of Governors and Jeffrey Orridge agreed to part ways, effective June 30, 2017; Orridge cited "differing views on the future of the league" between him and the Board of Governors for the departure, with both sides stating the decision was mutual and amicable. His last day as commissioner was June 15, 2017. Jim Lawson, the CFL's Chair of the Board of Governors, took over the duties of interim Commissioner until a suitable replacement was found.
Randy Ambrosie era (2017–present).
On June 29, 2017, the CFL announced Randy Ambrosie would succeed Orridge as CFL commissioner. The move was made official on July 5, with Ambrosie named as the 14th commissioner of the league that day. Having spent nine seasons as a player with the Calgary Stampeders, Toronto Argonauts and Edmonton Eskimos from 1985 to 1993, Ambrosie is the first commissioner to have played in the league since Larry Smith left the position in 1997.
On September 12, 2018, it was announced that Buffalo, New York-based New Era Cap Company would become the official apparel supplier of the CFL beginning in 2019, replacing Adidas.
In October 2018, the CFL began focusing marketing internationally again after the unsuccessful expansion into the United States during the 1990s, with Ambrosie's plan being called "CFL 2.0". Ambrosie partnered with the Professional American Football League of Mexico (LFA) for player development, as part of the league's plan to expand globally. Ambrosie also later announced a special edition of the CFL Combine to be held in 2019 in Mexico for Mexican players, which was held on January 13, 2019. Ambroise said he wished the combine in Mexico to become annual, and that a combine could be held in Europe. On January 14, 2019, the league held a draft of LFA and Mexican university players where wide receiver Diego Viamontes was the first pick, selected by the Edmonton Eskimos. The CFL announced in February 2019 that German and French football players from the German Football League and the Fédération Française de Football Américain would be participating in the CFL national combine. Throughout early 2019, Ambrosie actively travelled Europe forming partnerships between the CFL and top-level European American football leagues and associations, specifically Germany (GFL), Austria (AFL), France (FFFA), the Nordic countries (NL, VL, SS, and NAFL), and Italy (IFL). By January 2020 football leagues from 13 different countries had signed partnerships with the CFL, these partnerships included mutual exchanging of players and coaches with leagues like the Mexican LFA holding reserved roster spots for Canadians with up to 25 playing in the league's 2020 season. In February 2020, the CFL expanded its global alliance system, welcoming the Japanese X-League, generally regarded the third-best professional gridiron league in the world. This coincided with the CFL announcing that its global combine in 2020 with new rules, including two designated active-roster international players and three practice-squad international players with as many as 45 global players in the league.
The league took over operations of the Montreal Alouettes prior to the 2019 season after Robert C. Wetenhall, the league's last non-Canadian owner, surrendered the franchise to the league in May. The Alouettes found new ownership in January 2020 in Crawford Steel executives Sid Spiegel and Gary Stern, whose holding company S and S Sportsco will oversee the team.
On August 17, 2020, the CFL cancelled its 2020 season after coronavirus-related social distancing mandates and travel restrictions imposed in most of Canada prevented the league from selling tickets to fans and the league was unable to secure a bailout from the federal government to cover any losses. It was the first cancelled season in the league's history. The league promised that it would return in 2021. On March 10, 2021, the XFL announced that it was in talks with the CFL over the possibility of a future collaboration.
Teams.
Timeline.
Note: team franchise history is listed as it is recognized by the CFL in its publication "CFL Guide and Record Book (2017)".
Potential expansion.
Potential CFL expansion markets are the Maritimes, Quebec City, Saskatoon, London, and Windsor, all of which have been lobbying for Canadian Football League franchises in recent years. During the 1970s and 1980s, Harold Ballard attempted multiple times to secure a second CFL team for Toronto (either by way of expansion or by relocating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats), under the premise that Canada's largest city could support two teams.
Maritimes.
Since the 1980s, the CFL has occasionally played exhibition and, later, regular-season games at various cities in the Maritimes, including Canada Games Stadium in Saint John, New Brunswick; Huskies Stadium in Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Moncton Stadium in Moncton, New Brunswick. The league conditionally approved an expansion franchise, the Atlantic Schooners, for play in the 1984 season, but the team never made it to play after plans for a stadium collapsed.
No city in the Maritimes has a permanent stadium that meets CFL standards. As of 2010, the largest stadium in the Maritimes is Croix-Bleue Medavie Stadium, which has 10,000 permanent seats and is expandable to 20,000 with temporary seats. A pre-season game, dubbed Touchdown Atlantic, was held in Halifax in the 2005 CFL season and regular season games were played in Moncton under the same branding in 2010, 2011, and 2013. All 20,000 seats for the 2010 Moncton game sold out in 32 hours; the 2013 game did not sell out. Former Commissioner Mark Cohon has stated that Moncton Stadium would require massive renovations to host a CFL team permanently. The cost of the required renovations would be the equivalent of building a brand-new stadium. In November 2015 the Halifax city council voted 9–7 against purchasing land that would then be used to build a 20,000-seat stadium. It was agreed that the price tag for the land was too much, but the close vote indicated municipal interest in building a near CFL sized stadium in Halifax.
Atlantic Schooners revival.
In November 2017, the CFL conducted further discussions with a group in Halifax interested in securing a franchise for the city; the group made a "very credible" pitch to the CFL head office. According to TSN analyst Dave Naylor the group named 'Maritime Football Ltd.' consists of Anthony LeBlanc (former president and CEO of the NHL's Arizona Coyotes), Bruce Bowser (president of AMJ Campbell Van Lines) and Gary Drummond (former president of hockey operations for the Coyotes). In June 2018 the group met with the Halifax Regional Council in private about plans to bring a CFL team to Halifax, with the possibility of playing at Université de Moncton while a stadium in Halifax is being built. Maritime Football Ltd. ownership group selected a site in Shannon Park, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to develop a new stadium. The stadium would be estimated to cost between $170 to $190 million and would seat 24,000 and have a business model similar to the Ottawa Redblacks, who entered the league in 2014. On October 30, 2018, Halifax City Council unanimously voted in favour of proceeding with a business case analysis of a stadium in the Halifax municipality. Following this positive momentum, Maritime Football Ltd. and CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie announced that the group would proceed with a season ticket drive to further gauge interest in addition running a team name contest in the hopes of making an announcement on the team name just prior to the 106th Grey Cup game. The target year for the proposed team to enter the league would be 2021, with the team name including "Atlantic" in its name, but no franchise was actually awarded in this announcement. Further to the previous discussions with Moncton and New Brunswick politicians, it was also suggested that the potential new franchise could begin play in Moncton while the stadium in Halifax is built. On November 23, 2018, two days before the 106th Grey Cup, Maritime Football Ltd., since renamed Schooners Sports and Entertainment, and commissioner Ambrosie announced the new team would be called the "Atlantic Schooners".
Quebec City.
There has been interest in adding a team in Quebec City. In 2003, an exhibition game was held at Telus Stadium between the Montreal Alouettes and Ottawa Renegades where Montreal won 54–23. In May 2009, Christina Saint Marche, a British businesswoman, announced her interest in operating a team in Quebec City—stating that there would be a natural rivalry with the Montreal Alouettes. During the 2010 Grey Cup state of the league news conference, Cohon noted that the Alouettes hold the rights for the entire province of Quebec and that any expansion would have to be negotiated with them first. Another exhibition game was held at Telus Stadium on June 13, 2015, with Ottawa (whose TD Place Stadium was in use by the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup) hosting Montreal.
Saskatoon.
Saskatoon last hosted top-level Canadian football in 1935 when the Regina Roughriders left the Saskatchewan Rugby Football Union to form the WIFU. The Saskatoon Hilltops (along with another Saskatchewan-based team, the Moose Jaw Millers) eventually suspended operations due to World War II; the Hilltops would remain an amateur team when they returned in 1947 (they have since played in the Canadian Junior Football League). Saskatoon last won a provincial title in 1921. By the time they resumed play after the war, the Roughriders had been the dominant team in the province for two decades.
In early 2012, management at Credit Union Centre publicly expressed its desire to bring a CFL team to Saskatoon. However, the Regina-based Saskatchewan Roughriders have long branded themselves as a province-wide team, and claimed that the population of Saskatchewan is too small to support two teams. In any event, Saskatoon also lacks a suitable outdoor stadium. Its largest, Griffiths Stadium, home of the University of Saskatchewan's Saskatchewan Huskies, seats only 6,171 spectators. The Gordie Howe Bowl, which has hosted CFL exhibitions in the past, has even fewer seats (it seats 3,950 people).
Mexico.
While not openly being considered for franchise expansion, Mexico was suggested by Commissioner Randy Ambrosie as a possible location for neutral site regular season games (similar to the NFL's Mexico Series) as early as 2019, as well as potentially partnering with the LFA for player development, as part of the league's plan to expand globally. Ambrosie also later announced a special edition of the CFL Combine to be held in 2019 in Mexico for Mexican players, and in 2019, the league held a draft of LFA and Mexican university players. In March 2019, Commissioner Randy Ambrosie told the media that after the LFA combine, multiple parties inquired about purchasing a franchise for Mexico. Ambrosie reiterated that the league had no intention to expand internationally at this time.
Season structure.
Since 2018, the CFL season has included:
Preseason.
Team training camps open 28 days prior to the first regular season game of the season, a camp solely devoted to first year players is allowed the 3 days before the main camp opens. The pre-season exhibition schedule is two weeks long with each team playing two games against teams from its own division.
Regular season.
The regular season is 21 weeks long, with games beginning in mid-June and finishing by early November. The CFL's nine current teams are divided into two divisions: the East Division with four teams and the West Division, with five teams. Each team plays two games against each of the other eight teams, plus two divisional games with opponents rotating each season. With 18 regular season games being played, each team gets three bye weeks.
The most popular featured week in the CFL season is the Labour Day Classic, played over the course of the Labour Day weekend, where the matchups feature the first half of home-and-home series between the traditional geographic rivalries of Toronto–Hamilton (a rivalry which began in 1873), Edmonton–Calgary (see Battle of Alberta), Winnipeg–Saskatchewan, and Ottawa–Montreal. In years that Ottawa or Montreal were not in the league, BC would play against one of these teams. The following week's rematch of these games is a popular event as well, especially in recent years, where the rematch of the Saskatchewan–Winnipeg game has been dubbed the Banjo Bowl.
Other features of the regular season schedule are the Hall of Fame Game and the Thanksgiving Day Classic, the doubleheader held on Thanksgiving where the match ups usually do not feature traditional rivalries. From 2010 to 2013, a neutral site regular season game was played in Moncton under the name Touchdown Atlantic.
The league awards points based on regular season results (much like in most ice hockey leagues, but unlike the NFL, which strictly uses winning percentages to determine their standings; two points are awarded for a win, one for a tie and none for a loss). As of the 2019 season, in the event two or more teams in a division finish the season with the same number of points, the tie is broken based on the following criteria (in descending order), with coin tosses used if all such tie-breaker steps fail:
Playoffs.
The playoffs take place in November. After the regular season, the top team from each division has an automatic home berth in the division final, and a bye week during the division semifinal. The second-place team from each division hosts the third-place team in the division semifinal, unless a fourth-place team from one division finishes with a better record than a third place team in the other (this provision is known as the "crossover rule", and while it implies that it is possible for two teams in the same division to play for the Grey Cup, only three crossover teams have won a semifinal since the rule's 1996 inception, and neither advanced to the Grey Cup). The winners of each division's semifinal game then travel to play the first place teams in the division finals. Since 2005, the division semifinals and division finals have been sponsored by Scotiabank. The two division champions then face each other in the Grey Cup game, which, since 2007, has been held on the fourth or fifth Sunday of November.
Grey Cup.
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the CFL and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. The Grey Cup is the second-oldest trophy in North American professional sports, after the Stanley Cup. The Grey Cup game is hosted in one of the league's member cities. In recent years, it has been hosted in a different city every year, selected two or more years in advance. The Toronto Argonauts have won the most Grey Cups with seventeen wins total, most recently in 2017. In 2012, the game was held in Toronto at Rogers Centre, and for the second year in row the cup was won on a team's home field, with Toronto beating Calgary 35–22. In 2013, the Grey Cup was won at home for the third consecutive time (by the Saskatchewan Roughriders), which had not been done since Toronto won at home from 1945 to 1947. In 2016, the Grey Cup was won on the natural grass turf of BMO Field by the Ottawa Redblacks beating the heavily favoured Calgary Stampeders 39–33 in overtime; the first Grey Cup championship for any Ottawa CFL team in 40 years.
As the country's single largest annual sporting event, the Grey Cup has long served as an unofficial Canadian autumn festival generating national media coverage and a large amount of revenue for the host city. Many fans travel from across the country to attend the game and the week of festivities that lead up to it. A 2014 survey found that 48% of Canadians would prefer to watch the Grey Cup over the Super Bowl if they could only watch one or the other, with 52% preferring the Super Bowl.
Since 2015, the Grey Cup game's presenting sponsor is Shaw Communications.
Awards.
Following the Grey Cup game, the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player and Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian are selected. A number of league individual player awards, such as the Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player, are awarded annually at a special ceremony in the host city during the week before the Grey Cup game; this ceremony is broadcast nationally on TSN. The Annis Stukus Trophy, also known as the Coach of the Year Award, is awarded separately at a banquet held during the off-season each February. While the CFL has not held an all-star game since 1988, an All-Star Team is selected and honoured at the league awards ceremony during Grey Cup week.
Broadcasting.
The CFL Championship game, the Grey Cup, previously held the record for the largest television audience in Canadian history. Television coverage on CBC, CTV and Radio-Canada of the 1983 Grey Cup attracted a viewing audience of 8,118,000 people as Toronto edged B.C. 18–17, ending a 31-year championship drought for the Argonauts. At the time, this represented 33% of the Canadian population. This has since been surpassed by the 2002 and 2010 Men's Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Game.
Canadian broadcasters.
Currently, the official television broadcasters of CFL games are cable network TSN (which began televising CFL games in 1985), while TSN's French-language network RDS broadcasts Montreal Alouettes games for the Quebec television market. Games are typically scheduled for Thursday to Saturday evenings during June, July and August, but switch to more Saturday and Sunday afternoon games during September and October. TSN has created a tradition of at least one Friday night game each week, branded as "Friday Night Football". CBC and TSN drew record television audiences for CFL broadcasts in 2005. The 2006 season was the first season in which every regular-season game was televised, as the league implemented an instant replay challenge system. In 2006, the CFL also began offering pay-per-view webcasts of every game on CFL Broadband. Until the end of the 2007 season, CBC and RDS were the exclusive television broadcasters for all playoff games, including the Grey Cup, which regularly draws a Canadian viewing audience in excess of 4 million.
In 2008, the CFL began a new, five-year television deal with CTVglobemedia. Valued at $16 million per-year, it gave TSN and RDS exclusive rights to all CFL games, including the playoffs and Grey Cup. In March 2013, TSN exercised an option to extend its contract through 2018. In 2015, the deal was extended for an additional three years, along with exclusive Grey Cup rights for Bell Media Radio stations.
Foreign coverage.
On June 26, 2013, it was announced that the CFL's U.S. broadcast rights would return to the ESPN Networks for the 2013 season, with five games airing on ESPN2, and 55 airing on ESPN3. This agreement was renewed in 2014 for five years, the same length as the TSN deal (ESPN holds a stake in TSN), with a stipulation that at least 17 games would be carried on ESPN2 (or another ESPN network, such as ESPN or ESPNEWS) each season, including the Grey Cup; this gives ESPN exclusive CFL rights during this time frame. Originally ESPN3 carried all games not carried on one of the linear channels online, later ESPN moved those games to ESPN+.
ESPN has had a long relationship with the CFL; the channel broadcast its first CFL game on July 9, 1980, when the network was only 10 months old.
On June 19, 2015, it was announced that ESPN Brasil will broadcast CFL games live, beginning on June 25, as a result of the growth of the NFL and College Football fan base in Brazil. BT Sport, which has a licensing partnership with ESPN, has also carried CFL games in Britain and Ireland since 2015.
In June 2019, the CFL signed a broadcast deal with MVS Comunicaciones to broadcast one game a week in Mexico on MVS TV.
Previous broadcasting arrangements.
Canada.
The public broadcaster CBC Television, which held a monopoly on Canadian television until 1961, held Canadian professional football broadcast rights beginning the year of its debut, 1952. The private, commercial CTV network was created in 1961 in part because Toronto businessman John Bassett had won the television rights to the Eastern Football Conference, and needed an outlet to air the games. From 1962 through 1986, CBC and CTV shared CFL broadcasting rights. They split playoff games and simulcast the Grey Cup. In 1962, 1965, 1967, 1968 and 1970, CTV commentators were used for the dual network telecast, while in 1963, 1964, 1966 and 1969, the CBC's announcers were provided. From 1971 through 1986, one network's crew called the first half while the other called the other half. After the 1986 season, CTV dropped coverage of the CFL and the Grey Cup. From 1987 through 1990, the CFL operated its own syndicated network, CFN. Like CTV, CFN split playoff games with CBC. However, CFN had completely separate coverage of the Grey Cup, utilizing its own production and commentators. From 1991 to 2007, all post-season games had been exclusively on CBC; beginning in 2008, the Grey Cup and all other CFL games are exclusive to cable TV on TSN, although the cable provider reserves the right to move the game to sister network CTV (as of 2019, it has never done so, opting to broadcast that Sunday's NFL games on CTV instead.)
United States.
The predecessor to the CFL's East Division, the IRFU, had a television contract with NBC in 1954 that provided far more coverage than the NFL's existing contract with DuMont. NBC aired games on Saturday afternoons, competing against college football broadcasts on CBS and ABC. The revenue from the contract allowed the IRFU to directly compete against the NFL for players in the late 1950s, setting up a series of CFL games in the United States beginning in 1958 and a series of interleague exhibitions beginning in 1959. Interest in the CFL in the United States faded dramatically after the debut of the American Football League in 1960.
In 1982, during a players' strike in the NFL, NBC broadcast CFL games in the United States in lieu of the NFL games which were cancelled; the first week of broadcasts featured the "NFL on NBC" broadcast teams, before a series of blowout games on the network and the resulting low ratings resulted in NBC cutting back and eventually cancelling its CFL coverage after only a few weeks. ESPN host Chris Berman became a fan of the game in the early days of ESPN, when the network first aired CFL games, and continues to cover the Canadian league on-air. The now-defunct FNN-SCORE (unrelated to the Canadian The Score) carried games in the late 1980s. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, SportsChannel America carried games, using CBC Television, CFN and TSN feeds. In 1993, several SportsChannel Pacific-produced games that were part of the Sacramento Gold Miners' local package were also shown nationally.
Beginning in 1994, with now four US-based teams in the league, ESPN reached a four-year deal with the league to produce and air two games per week and all post-season games on its fledgling ESPN2. They also put some games on the main network to fill broadcast time vacated by the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike. The 1994 and 1995 Grey Cups were shown live on ESPN2 and then re-aired on ESPN the following day, leading into the network's "Monday Night Countdown" show. ESPN's on-air talent included a mix of the network's American football broadcasters and established CFL broadcasters from Canada. Most of the US-based teams also had deals with local carriers to show games that were not covered in the national package. Though there were no US teams in the league after 1995, ESPN2 continued showing games until 1997, albeit on a much lighter schedule.
The now-defunct America One network held CFL broadcast rights in the United States from 2001 to 2009 and aired a majority of the league's games. Until the 2007 season, America One syndicated CFL games to regional sports networks like Altitude, NESN, and MASN; these were discontinued in 2008, mainly because America One and the CFL were able to reach a deal only days before the season began, not allowing the network time to establish agreements with individual RSNs. The Grey Cup aired on Versus on November 22, 2008, with a replay the next day on America One. From 2006 through the 2008 season, "Friday Night Football" was carried exclusively on World Sport HD in the United States; however, due to the January 2009 shutdown of that channel's parent company, Voom HD Networks, America One reclaimed those rights.
NFL Network took over the league broadcast contract in 2010. For the 2010 season, the network carried 14 games, no more than one each week. For 2011, the network increased its output to two games each week. NFL Network declined to continue its coverage after the 2011 season. It offered to pick up another package in 2019 on the condition that the league change its schedule to not directly compete with the NFL regular season, something that the CFL stated needs to be negotiated with the players' union.
In late July 2012, NBC Sports Network acquired rights to the CFL for the remainder of the 2012 season. The NBCSN deal included nine regular season games starting August 27 (including Labour Day Classic games) and all the playoffs. NBC Sports renewed their agreement with the CFL for the 2013 season.
The European ESPN America network carried a collection of CFL games as part of its lineup until the network shut down in 2013.
Internet.
There are no blackout restrictions on radio broadcasts of CFL games, while TSN streams all games online for authenticated subscribers to participating television providers.
The majority of games not on ESPN television channels are streamed in the United States via the subscription service ESPN+.
In 2017, the league announced a partnership with Yare Media to offer subscription streaming packages in 130 international territories.
Radio.
CFL teams have individual local broadcast contracts with terrestrial radio stations for regular season and playoff games, while TSN Radio owns the rights to the Grey Cup. In 2006, Sirius Satellite Radio gained exclusive rights for North American CFL satellite radio broadcasts and broadcast 25 CFL games per season, including the Grey Cup, through 2008.
Players and compensation.
Compensation and revenue.
The CFL began enforcing a salary cap for the 2007 season of $4.05 million per team. The cap was raised to $4.2 million in the 2008 season and remained at that level for 2009. Financial penalties for teams that breach the cap are set at $1 to $1 for the first $100,000 over, $2 to $1 for $100,000 to $300,000 over, and $3 to $1 for $300,000 and above. Penalties could also include forfeited draft picks. On June 29, 2010, a new collective bargaining agreement was ratified that raised the salary cap to $4.25 million for the 2010 CFL season and would continue to increase by $50,000 each season until 2013. In 2014, a new CBA was ratified and the salary cap was raised to $5 million per team, with that amount increasing again by $50,000 each year until 2018. As per the 2019 collective bargaining agreement, the 2021 salary expenditure cap is scheduled to be $5,350,000 and with the minimum team salary set at $4,750,000. The salary cap number was subject to increase as players now have revenue sharing of 20% from broadcast deals (outside of TSN and ESPN), but since the league did not play in 2020, the cap number will likely be static.
For 2010, the minimum team salary was set at $3.9 million while the minimum player salary was set at $42,000. With the new CBA in 2014, the salary floor was raised to $4.4 million per team with increases of $50,000 per year, and the minimum salary was raised to $50,000 per year. The average salary per player in 2014 was . A new collective bargaining agreement was signed in 2019 that set the minimum annual player salary at $54,000, with that number increasing to $65,000 for National and American players in 2020. In 2019, Mike Reilly and Bo Levi Mitchell were the highest paid players in the CFL after signing contracts in February 2019 for average yearly salaries of over $700,000. Players designated as global players (see player designations) are paid the league minimum by rule and may have a portion of their salary sent back to their original home league as part of a partnership with the CFL.
Player compensation is not tied to league revenue, which remains a trade secret. Only the four publicly held teams in the league reveal their financial information, as those companies are required to do so under Canadian law. As of 2013, prior to Ottawa's rejoining the league (at which time Toronto, which is partially owned by a public company, was still fully private), estimates of the CFL's revenue varied between $150 million and . As of 2019, five of the CFL's nine teams (including all three community-owned franchises) are profitable, and four operate at a loss; those four teams lose more than the five profitable teams, resulting in a net loss of approximately overall.
Player designations.
Players in the CFL carry nationality designations referring to their country of origin: Nationals ("a Canadian citizen at the time of signing his first contract, was classified as a non-import prior to May 21, 2019, was physically resident in Canada for an aggregate period of five years prior to reaching the age of 18, or played football for a minimum of three years at a U Sports institution, was draft eligible in 2021 at a minimum, and has graduated with a degree at that institution"), Americans (non-National and non-Global players, almost exclusively used for American citizens), and Globals (any player who does not hold Canadian or American citizenship and does not qualify as a National in any other way). In prior versions of the CFL CBA and league rules, National players were known as non-import players and American players were known as international (2014–2018) and import (before 2014) players, with the criteria to qualify as a non-import player being more restrictive. Global players were introduced in 2019.
National players enter the CFL through the CFL Draft or free agency. Global players enter the CFL in a similar method as national players, with exclusive drafts held only for eligible players. American players are typically inducted by way of the "negotiation list": any team can lay unilateral claim to up to 45 players that have never played in the CFL at any given time (each team must make at least ten of those names public as of 2018), with no limit on how long a player can be held on the list and no limit on how old the player must be (thus CFL teams can claim players not yet eligible for the NFL Draft). Once a player on a negotiation list expresses formal interest in joining the CFL, that team has up to ten days to offer a contract (usually a league-minimum, two-year contract) to retain the player's rights. Other than the names that are made public, the full list of names league-wide are a secret held from the general public and even from the other teams, with teams only finding out if a player is on another team's negotiating list if the league office tells them.
Roster limits.
In 2006, the active roster limit was increased from 40 to 42, in 2014 it was again increased to 44, and in 2016 was increased to 46. An unlimited number of players may be put on a team's disabled, injured and suspended lists.
As of 2021, each team must abide by the National/American/Global ratio rule, which requires teams to have two quarterbacks, two Global players, and a maximum of 20 American players (excluding quarterbacks) with a minimum of 44 total Active Roster players and a maximum of 45. Each team will also have one player of any nationality on the Reserve Roster who receives the benefits of being on the Active Roster, but may not play in a game.
Through the 2018 season, quarterbacks, of which a team was required to carry three on a roster, were not allowed to be counted toward the national player requirement nor the starter requirement, which put Canadian quarterbacks at a disadvantage compared to other positions in being hired by a CFL franchise. This rule was changed in 2019 whereby teams had two roster spots for quarterbacks and a third quarterback would count in the ratio. Additionally, a National quarterback would be considered one of the club's National Starting Players as long as he remains on the field at the quarterback position.
Teams are additionally allowed up to 10 national or international players (with a minimum of one national if there are less than seven players or two nationals if there are at least seven players total) on their practice squad roster and may expand it to 12 if the team carries the maximum allowed two global practice squad players, though they are not required to do so. Every year, the practice squad roster is temporary increased in size to 15 following the start of the National Football League's season to accommodate for the influx of cut NFL players. Unlike players on the active roster, players on the practice squad may be signed at any time to another team's active roster without compensation to the player's original team.
Labour representation.
CFL players are represented by the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA). Each team elects two players to the CFLPA Board of Player Representatives, which meets once per year. Every two years, it elects an executive Board of Directors.
CFL Draft.
Eligible Canadian nationals (usually from U Sports football domestically or American college football) are drafted by teams in the annual CFL Draft. The draft usually takes place in May and currently consists of eight rounds. The first two rounds of the draft are usually shown live on TSN. The CFL Combine (formerly known as the CFL Evaluation Camp), similar to the NFL Combine, precedes the draft. A junior player in the locale of a team may be claimed as a territorial exemption and sign with that team before beginning collegiate play (one recent example is when the BC Lions claimed Andrew Harris). Teams maintain "negotiation lists" of players they wish to sign as free agents.


Anne Meulendijks

Anne Meulendijks (born 30 July 1993) is a Dutch dressage rider. She won team silver during the 2019 European Championships in Rotterdam with her horse MDH Avanti. She also won several medals at the European youth Championships in the Ponies, Juniors, Young Riders and U25 division.
Biography.
Meulendijks was born in Heeze in the Dutch province North Brabant. Together with her younger sister Lotte Meulendijks they run their own dressage stable in Heeze.


Daniel Fridman

Daniel Fridman (; born February 15, 1976) is a Latvian-German chess player. Awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 2001, he was Latvian champion in 1996 and German champion in 2008, 2012 and 2014.
Early chess career.
Fridman learned the rules of chess when he was around four years of age. He soon became a regular player of youth tournaments, competing at the national, regional and international levels. His biggest junior success occurred at Duisburg in 1992, when he took home a bronze medal in the Under-16 category of the World Youth Chess Championship.
By the mid-1990s, Fridman was recognised as a serious force in Latvian chess. He went on to win the national championship in 1996, having gained the International Master (IM) title in 1994. Leaving his junior status behind, he had some early international tournament successes at the Wichern Open in Hamburg in 1997 (joint second place, behind Sergei Movsesian) and Senden in 1998 (joint winner with Frank Holzke).
In 1999 he relocated to Germany and qualified as a Grandmaster in 2001.
Further success.
Most of Fridman's major tournament victories have occurred after the year 2000. These include outright or shared first places at Essen ('B' Group) 2001, Recklinghausen Summer Open 2002, Zurich Christmas Open 2002, Southampton, Bermuda 2003 ('B' Group), Stratton Mountain 2004, Marseille Open 2006, Nuremberg 2006, Lausanne 2006, Venaco (Corsica) 2006 and the Liverpool International Open of 2007. In 2019 Fridman won the Grenke Open in Karlsruhe edging out Anton Korobov, Andreas Heimann, Samvel Ter-Sahakyan, Gukesh D, Matthias Blübaum, Alexander Donchenko and Tamás Bánusz on tiebreak score, after all the mentioned players finished with score of 7½/9 points.
He won the German Championship at Bad Wörishofen in 2008, at Osterburg in 2012, and at Verden an der Aller in 2014.
He is a master of speed chess and, among other victories, took first places at the Essen rapid contest of 2000 and Dutch Open rapid tourney of 2008. Playing internet competitions, he has enjoyed success at the Dos Hermanas tournaments of 2004 and 2005. He competed at the 2009 Maccabiah Games in Israel.
Team events.
He first represented the Latvian men's team on board 4 at the Yerevan Oympiad of 1996 and at the Pula 1997 European Team Chess Championship. He returned to the Olympiad team as first board in 2004 (Calvià) and in 2006 (Turin). Having become a German citizen, he has since switched chess federations and, as incumbent national champion in 2008, was an automatic choice for the German team at the Dresden Olympiad. In 2018, Fridman won an individual gold medal as the best player on board four at the 43rd Chess Olympiad in Batumi.
Playing league chess in the Bundesliga, he has been a member of the "Mulheim Nord" club since 2004.
Personal life.
Fridman is married to Anna Zatonskih, also a chess player. Having been based mainly in the U.S. since 2006, the couple now plan to reduce their need to travel frequently by spending more time in Germany. They have a daughter, Sofia, and a son, Joshua. Fridman's younger brother Rafael (born 1979) also plays chess and he holds the title of International Master.


Elena Kustarova

Elena Vladimirovna Kustarova (; born 26 July 1976) is a Russian ice dancing coach and former competitor. She is a two-time (1990, 1991) World Junior medalist with Sergei Romashkin, a two-time (1993, 1994) Russian national medalist with Oleg Ovsyannikov, and the 1995 Russian silver medalist with Vazgen Azroyan.
Personal life.
Kustarova was born 26 July 1976 in Moscow. She is the daughter of Svetlana Alexeeva.
Career.
Competitive.
Competing with Sergei Romashkin, Kustarova won the silver medal at the 1990 World Junior Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado and bronze at the 1991 World Junior Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Ahead of the 1991–92 season, she teamed up with Oleg Ovsyannikov. The two won bronze medals at the 1992 Grand Prix International de Paris and the 1993 Nations Cup, as well as two medals at the Russian Nationals. The partnership ended in 1994. Kustarova then partnered with Vazgen Azroyan. They won the silver medal at Russian Nationals but finished 17th at the 1995 European Championships and split at the end of the season.
As coach and choreographer.
Kustarova worked for three years as a choreographer in France and then returned to Russia in 2001. She began coaching alongside Svetlana Alexeeva. In the summer of 2006, they moved to Blue Bird FSC in Moscow and then to a new rink in Medvedkovo in the summer of 2012.
Kustarova works in collaboration with Svetlana Alexeeva and Olga Riabinina. Her current students include (years coached in brackets):
Her former students include:


Innova Factory Store


Teatro del Silenzio

The Teatro del Silenzio (English: Theater of Silence) is an open air amphitheater located in the city of Lajatico – the hometown of Andrea Bocelli - in the Tuscany region of Italy. In 2006, Bocelli convinced the municipality of Lajatico to build this outdoor venue whose structure utilizes the natural formations of the hilly landscape. Bocelli contributed greatly to its construction.
Bocelli, the honorary president of the theater, performs an annual concert there every July; the theater is silent for the rest of the year.
People.
Andrea Bocelli is honorary president of Teatro del Silenzio with Fabio Tedeschi, the mayor of Lajatico, president; and Enrico Fabbri, the boss of Fabbri, vice-president.
Concerts.
The Teatro del Silenzio annually hosts a concert in July. The concert includes performances by Andrea Bocelli and other guests. To date there have been 13 concerts from 2006 to 2018.
2006.
The inaugural concert occurred 27 July 2006, and was performed in front of over five thousand people and included performances from the following.
2007.
The second concert took place 5 July 2007. The planned rehearsal the previous night was cancelled due to heavy winds, but the concert itself went ahead and included performances from pianist Lang Lang, trumpeter Chris Botti, saxophonist Kenny G, singers Laura Pausini, Elisa, Sarah Brightman, and Heather Headley, conductor Bill Ross, the special guest was 14-time Grammy Award winning David Foster. Performances from Bocelli included "Con te partirò", "Vivo per lei", "Il Mare Calmo della Sera", and "The Prayer". Heather Headley was the other half of the duet in both "Vivo per lei" and "The Prayer". Elisa performed "La voce del silenzio", Laura Pausini sung "Vivere", while Sarah Brightman performed "Time to Say Goodbye" as a duet with Bocelli and "Canto della terra". Dueting with Bocelli on their respective instruments other performers included Lang Lang ("Io ci sarò"), Kenny G ("A te"), Chris Botti ("Italia"), and David Foster playing "Because We Believe" and a medley from Amore.
"Vivere Live in Tuscany", the DVD of the concert was released January 29, 2008.
2008.
Four One Music & Events organized the third concert on 20 July 2008.
Zyrus sang a duet of the song "The Prayer" with Bocelli, having only met for the first time 23 May 2008 when performing at a one-night tribute concert with David Foster at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip.
2009.
For 2009, eight sculptures, by Hans Peter Ditzler, were placed in the theater. The concert took place on July 18. Among Bocelli's guests were Plácido Domingo, with whom he sang "Nessun dorma" from Puccini's "Turandot" and a duet from "The Pearl Fishers", and Katherine Jenkins, with whom he sang "Time to Say Goodbye".
2010.
Sculptures by Swiss artist Kurt Laurenz Metzler, who attended the concert, were exhibited during the 2010 edition of the concert, and Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, who was also in attendance, donated a Bronze statue she had made of Bocelli, to the city of Lajatico, in the afternoon just before the concert.
Bocelli held the fifth edition of the Teatro del Silenzio, on July 25, to an audience of 10,000, double the amount of the first edition of the annual Festival, held in 2006. His guests included one of the two surviving member of The Three Tenors, Spanish Catalan tenor, José Carreras, and Italian rock singer, Zucchero.
He was also awarded the "Pisano Doc", during the dress rehearsal for the concert, July 24, "in recognition for a great citizen, who with his extraordinary art and his humanity brings great prestige, honor and respect to the city of Pisa."
2012.
The edition was held on July 12, 2012.
2013.
The 2013 edition of the annual concert was held on July 13, 2013. Numbers included a cover of "Love Me Tender" initially performed by Elvis Presley and Italian renditions of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" and Edith Piaf's "La Vie en Rose". Guests included tenor Riccardo Cocciante. As is tradition, Andrea Bocelli performed "Time to Say Goodbye" at the end of the concert.
2015.
The 2015 edition of the concert was the first time that a full opera was performed, the Turandot by Giacomo Puccini. Bocelli played the role of Calaf.
2016.
The 2016 edition of the concert themed 'Le Cirque' was held on July 30, 2016 with a dress rehearsal open to the public on July 29, 2016. The performance mostly consisted of selections from some of the most well known operas with a few 'pop' numbers in the mix. Andrea Bocelli was joined by the legendary South Korean lyrical soprano, Sumi Jo as well as Leo Nucci, Gianfranco Montesor, Svetla Vassileva, Tiziana Carraro, Frederico Longhi, Giuseppe Raimondo, Carmelo Corrado Caruso, Paulo Pecchioli, and I Cantori di Burlamacco. The program was as follows:
Part 1
Part 2
2017.
The 2017 version of the concert was performed on August 3 and was titled 'Il canto della Terra' (the song of the Earth). Performances ranged from artists coming from Argentina, Haiti, Armenia, Spain and many others. World renown dancer Carla Fracci also joined the stage, as well as Andrea Bocelli Foundation's Haitian choir 'Voices of Haiti'
2018.
The 2018 edition was performed twice, on July 28 and July 30, and was once again an opera, this time the Andrea Chénier by Umberto Giordano, the first opera that Bocelli ever learned.
Features.
The site of Teatro del Silenzio also incorporates sculptures by renowned artists. Sculptures have been selected to be exhibited on a platform in the center of the lake. In 2008, Mario Ceroli's "Il Cavallo di Bronzo", a bronze horse was displayed with past sculptures including Arnaldo Pomodoro's "Il Grande Sole", and works by Igor Mitoraj and Kurt Laurenz Metzler.


Buddh International Circuit

The Buddh International Circuit (Hindi: बुद्ध अन्तरराष्ट्रीय परिपथ) is an Indian motor racing circuit situated in National Capital Region at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The track shares its name with Gautama Buddha, as does the district the track is located in.
The track was officially inaugurated on 18 October 2011. The 5 long circuit was designed by German racetrack designer Hermann Tilke.
The circuit was best known as the venue for the annual Formula One Indian Grand Prix, which was first hosted in October 2011. However, the Grand Prix was suspended for 2014 and subsequently cancelled due to a tax dispute with the Government of Uttar Pradesh.
History.
2000s.
In 2007, a tentative agreement to host the Indian Grand Prix was reached between the Indian Olympic Association and Bernie Ecclestone, then chief-executive of the Formula One Group. A site in Greater Noida in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh was chosen as the location of the track that would host the race. Delays in the procurement of the land and construction were reported in early 2009 owing in part to the ongoing financial crisis. The design of the track was ultimately revealed in November 2009.
The venue was slated to debut during the 2010 Formula One season, with construction scheduled to be completed in time. However, this date was pushed back and the inaugural race eventually took place the following year.
2010s.
The first Indian Grand Prix was held at the Buddh International Circuit on 30 October 2011. It was initially scheduled to take place in December 2011. However, following scheduling conflicts with the Bahrain Grand Prix and its subsequent cancellation, the race was rescheduled to October. The inaugural race was won by Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel, who started from pole position. He also set the fastest lap and therefore race lap record that year, which stood for the following two Grands Prix.
During the 2012 Formula One season and the second Formula One race to take place at the circuit, Sebastian Vettel took pole once again, led every lap and went on to win the race. The fastest lap of the race was set by McLaren's Jenson Button.
The following year, the Indian Grand Prix was the sixteenth race in a nineteen-race season. Sebastian Vettel started on pole and subsequently won the race. Vettel also secured his fourth consecutive Formula One World Drivers' Championship at this race, beating his closest challenger, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who finished 11th. Red Bull also secured its fourth consecutive Constructors' Championship. The fastest lap of the race was set by Lotus' Kimi Räikkönen. This was the last Formula One race held at the circuit.
The track was not slated to be part of the 2014 season. One reason given was the rescheduling of the Indian Grand Prix to March for 2014, which made little sense after a race in October 2013. Its appearance in the 2015 season was subsequently ruled out in mid-2014, citing contractual and taxation issues.
The owners were unable to significantly recover their investments through all three seasons the races were held, and were forced to write off loses worth at least $25.1 million. In 2016, the owners reiterated their desire to not sell the circuit to other buyers, despite its high maintenance costs, their own financial distress, and the lack of future scheduled international sporting events. The circuit has continued to host smaller local racing series and championships, including the JK Tyre National Racing Championship which includes open-wheel racing as well as motorcycle racing, and open track days.
Tax dispute.
The Buddh International Circuit is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, subject to its local taxes as well as national customs duties. The first signs of a dispute arose in 2009: in a letter to the promoters JPSK Sports, the Indian Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports denied JPSK Sports permission to remit $36.5 million in licensing fees to Formula One administration headquarters in London. The reason given, by the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh - Akhilesh Yadav, was the nature of Formula One, considered not to be a sport but rather entertainment, and its perceived lack of impact on the development of sports in the country. Customs fees for imported components including engines and tyres were not waived, and tax exemptions given to other sports were not offered to the organisers. Fees worth $51.3 million, meant to be paid by Jaypee Sports to Formula One World Championship Limited (FOWC), were still pending as of Liberty Media's acquisition of the Formula One Group in 2016. The government's expectation of tax revenue meant that Jaypee was prevented from paying its dues to FOWC.
In a judgement issued in April 2017, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the circuit constituted a 'permanent establishment', and as such FOWC was liable to pay taxes on any income accrued by it in India, estimated at 40% of business income. It considered royalty payments made by Jaypee to FOWC to be business income as well, subject to tax, which contradicted the original agreement between Jaypee and FOWC that stipulated that any fees would be paid free of taxes. Liberty Media was prepared to settle the due amount in July 2017, setting aside $14.8 million.
Design.
Formula One racing's governing body, the FIA, had announced the inclusion of the Indian Grand Prix for 30 October 2011. Estimated to cost about 20 billion ($400 million) to build, the circuit has an approximate length of 5.13 km and is spread over an area of 874 acres (354ha) and is another creation of Hermann Tilke. The circuit was officially inaugurated on 18 October 2011, just about two weeks before the first race. The seating capacity is initially expected to be 110,000 with provisions to increase it to 200,000 later on.
Circuit.
The circuit is part of the Jaypee Greens Sports City, which has increasingly delayed plans to include a 100,000 seating capacity international cricket stadium, 18-hole golf course, 25,000 seat field hockey stadium and a sports academy. The circuit design incorporated feedback from the teams on how the circuit could be altered to improve overtaking. This resulted in some minor changes before 2010: the planned hairpin at turn seven was removed, and the track at turn three was widened to allow drivers to take different lines throughout the corner. More information was released in August 2010, revealing that there were plans to make the circuit one of the most challenging for drivers, with the circuit rising fourteen metres within the first three corners alone and a banked double-apex bend on the far side of the circuit. The track has since been praised by drivers, including Lewis Hamilton who compared it to the classic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
The banked multi-apex turn 10–11–12 sequence is one of the most notable sections of the circuit. It has been likened to the long, fast Turn 8 at Turkey's Istanbul Park circuit as it is a challenging sequence that generates high tyre loadings. Unlike Turkey's Turn 8, it tightens on exit and is a clockwise right-hander. Although it is not one of the main overtaking points, it is the corner that shows F1 cars to their full cornering potential. The circuit's main straight, at , is among the longest in F1, with a key overtaking point at its end. The pitlane is also one of the longest in F1, at more than 600 metres: as in most races with pit stops, time spent in the pitlane is an important factor in determining race strategies.
Before the opening weekend, the expected lap time for a Formula One car around the track was 1 minute, 27.02 seconds, at an average speed of 210.03 km/h (131 mph). At the end of the long straight between corners 3 and 4, Formula One cars were expected to reach a top speed of about 318 km/h (198 mph). In the inaugural qualifying session, Sebastian Vettel turned in a lap time of 1 minute, 24.178 seconds, beating the predicted lap times from tyre manufacturer Pirelli. Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari posted the top speed through the speed trap, reaching 324.2 km/h.
The relatively compact circuit was due to host a GT1 World Championship round as the season finale in December 2012, but the event was cancelled.
The circuit was due to host a Superbike World Championship round for four seasons, starting in 2013. However, the 2013 race was cancelled due to operational charges of Buddh International Circuit.
No international championships have raced at the circuit since 2014.
Reception.
The reception among drivers was positive, with praise for the high-speed layout and challenging corner combinations that Jenson Button described as difficult to drive in a consistently quick fashion.
The circuit has been often compared by F1 drivers to the classic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, a track known for high speeds and the type of corner-to-corner flow that comes from natural terrain. Inaugural winner Sebastian Vettel praised the track saying that "there is a lot of elevation change around the lap which adds to the fun, from as much as 8% downhill and up to 10% uphill; it's like a roller coaster. It really has emerged as one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar for the drivers."
Name and the logo.
Originally known as the Jaypee Group Circuit or the Jaypee International Circuit after the circuit's owners, the circuit was officially named the "Buddh International Circuit" in April 2011. According to Sameer Gaur, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Jaypee Sports International Limited, the name 'Buddh International Circuit' has been chosen with reference to the area where the racetrack is situated – Gautam Buddh Nagar district (also known as Greater Noida). Because of its location, naming the circuit 'Buddh International Circuit' was a logical choice for the company.
The logo consists of a stylized 'B' in the shape of a heart, which stands for 'Buddh' and 'Bharat' (the native name of India). The saffron, green and white colours used in the logo are representative of the Indian flag, while the curves in the stylized 'B' in the logo represent the lines of a racetrack.
Awards and recognition.
Buddh International Circuit, which hosted India's first Formula One Grand Prix on 30 October 2011, has been awarded the '2011 Motorsport Facility of the Year' award at the Professional Motorsport World Expo 2011. BIC has also been honored with the 'Best Promoter Trophy' for the successful conduct of Formula One races in 2011 & 2012 at the FIA prize-giving gala.


Bret Erickson

Bret E. Erickson (born September 26, 1960 in Blair, Nebraska) is an American sport shooter who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics, in the 1996 Summer Olympics, in the 2004 Summer Olympics, and in the 2008 Summer Olympics.


Tiffany Chin

Audrey Tiffany Chin (born October 3, 1967) is an American figure skating coach and former competitor. She is a two-time World bronze medalist (1985–1986), a two-time Skate America champion (1983, 1986), and the 1985 U.S. national champion.
Personal life.
Chin was born on October 3, 1967, in Oakland, California. She grew up in San Diego, California. She graduated with a BA in English from University of California, Los Angeles. Her son, Kyle, was born in February 2004.
Career.
Early career.
Chin won the 1981 World Junior Championships, held in December 1980 in London, Ontario, Canada.
Originally trained by Mabel Fairbanks as a young child, Chin switched to Janet Champion under the recommendation of Fairbanks. Her mother, Marjorie, later fired Champion and had her daughter train with Frank Carroll, who led Chin to her World Junior title. However, Marjorie had some serious disagreements with Carroll which led Carroll to resign. Chin then worked with John Nicks.
1983–1984 season.
At the 1984 U.S. Championships, she placed fourth in the compulsory figures but won both the short and long programs. Finishing second to Rosalynn Sumners, she was awarded the silver medal and was named in the U.S. team to the 1984 Winter Olympic in Sarajevo. At the Olympics, Chin placed 12th in the compulsory figures but climbed to fourth overall after placing second in the short program and third in the free skate. She missed the World Championships due to injury.
1984–1985 season.
Chin began the next Olympic quadrennium with silver at the 1984 Skate Canada International, where she finished second to Japan's Midori Ito. Chin experienced a decline in consistency and technical level from the previous season; she relied almost exclusively on the triple toe and did not even attempt a triple flip or land a successful triple salchow all season. Despite a fall in the short program and a conservative long program, she finished first in all three phases of the competition at the 1985 U.S. Championships. Her U.S. national title was the first singles' title for an Asian-American or anyone of non-European descent.
At the 1985 World Championships, Chin was in a strong position to contend for the title after placing second in both the compulsory figures and the short program. However, in her free skate, she popped her triple Salchow into a single and fell on her final double axel, finishing third in the free program and third overall behind Katarina Witt and Kira Ivanova. As had been the case all season, the toe loop was the only triple she executed successfully. In the summer of 1985, her mother, Marjorie, pulled her off the ice for three months due to her muscle imbalance.
After a growth spurt and a recurring injury (a muscle imbalance affecting her legs, arms, and hips) that caused her to lose many of her triple jumps, Chin left Nicks in 1985 and went on to train with Don Laws.
1985–1986 season.
After undergoing a course of traditional medicine and chiropractic treatments, Chin began to relearn her skating technique under a new coach, Don Laws. She entered the 1986 U.S. Championships as an underdog and finished third overall behind Debi Thomas and Caryn Kadavy. Chin qualified for the World Championships in Geneva, where she placed fourth in the compulsories and tied for second in the short program to enter the long program in third place. With Witt defeating Thomas in the long program, Chin as the last skater was in position to win the gold by winning the free skate, or to aid Witt in passing Thomas for the gold should she have split them in the long program. A fourth-place finish in the long program (behind Witt, Thomas, and Elizabeth Manley) with one clean triple jump, one other triple with a slight touch down, several double axels, and good presentation scores, was enough to give her the bronze medal overall behind Thomas and Witt.
1986–1987 season.
In the fall of 1986, Chin returned to Nicks as her coach. She switched again to Carroll prior to the 1987 U.S. Championships. At that event she was in third place after the compulsory figures and short program, but was unable to complete a triple jump or clean double axel in her long program and dropped to fourth overall, failing to qualify for the World Championships for the first time since her U.S. senior national debut in 1982. Needing only a 4th-place finish in the long program after Kadvavy's poor short program, Chin's long program was narrowly beaten by a young Tonya Harding, dropping Chin behind Kadavy and off the world team.
Sensing only slim chances of making the Olympic team against the trifecta of Thomas, Kadavy, and Trenary, Chin retired from Olympic-eligible skating in the fall of 1987.
Professional and coaching career.
Chin toured professionally and competed occasionally in professional events, finishing fourth at the 1987 Nutrasweet World Professional Figure Skating Championships and second at the 1990 U.S. Open behind Elizabeth Manley.
Chin remained involved in figure skating by becoming a coach. Her former students include Beatrisa Liang and Hounsh Munshi. Liang left Chin in 2004 when Chin took some time off from coaching because she was expecting a child. Chin became a technical specialist in 2006, receiving national status a year later.
On May 3, 2009, Chin was honored by the Los Angeles Chinese Historical Society of Southern California in "Celebrating Chinese Americans in Sports".
In 2010, Chin became the coach of Australia's Kailani Craine, who would qualify a spot at the 2018 Winter Olympics.


Showdown (sport)

Showdown is a sport for the blind and visually impaired which could be described as the blind community's answer to air hockey, or table tennis. It is growing very quickly around the world. It is also played by sighted players, but they are not allowed to participate in the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) tournaments. Showdown is widely spread in Europe, but it's also played in: Africa, Asia, North America, and South America. After the success of Showdown at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics, representatives from more than thirty countries contacted the International Blind Sports Federation Showdown Subcommittee. They wanted information about equipment, blueprints, and rules so they could play this game in their country. Currently, the IBSA Showdown Sub-committee is encouraging regional and national Showdown Tournaments in an effort to have international championships which, hopefully, will lead to sanctioning by the Paralympics.
Equipment.
The sport is comparatively inexpensive to start up, requires minimal maintenance, and can be played in a room the size of a classroom. The only equipment needed is the specially designed table, two paddles, a special ball into which BBs have been inserted to make it audible, opaque goggles, and a glove to protect the batting hand. The table can be disassembled and stored away after play if necessary.
How to play the game.
The game is played by 2 players, on a rectangular table with a centre board screen, and goal pockets on either short sides. The objective of the game is to bat the ball across the table, under the centreboard screen, into the opponent's goal, while the opponent tries to prevent this from happening. The players have to wear eye protection, to ensure that they won't be able to see the ball. Play is always initiated with a serve. To serve correctly, players must hit the ball so that it bounces off the side wall of the table exactly once, before passing under the centre screen. If not performed correctly, 1 point will be awarded to the opponent. Each player serves two times in a row. A player scores two points for a goal and one point when their opponent hits the ball into the screen, hits the ball off the table, touches the ball with the bat or the batting hand within the goal area, touches the ball with anything but the bat, or traps or stops the ball for more than 2 seconds, making the ball inaudible for the opponent. One point is also awarded to the opponent if a player touches his or her eye protection without first asking permission.
Matches are usually played in 3 sets, best of 2 wins. The first player to reach 11 points, leading by 2 or more points wins the set. The exceptions are semifinals, and finals where best of 3 sets wins. Players will change sides after each set in match play. In the last set of the match the players will switch sides after 6 points are scored by 1 player or after half of stop time has expired. Spectators must be quiet during play, so as not to interfere with the players ability to hear the ball. Cheering is however allowed after the referee has whistled.
History.
In the 1960s, Joe Lewis, a totally blind Canadian, wanted to find a sport specifically designed so that individuals with visual impairments or blindness could play without sighted assistance. He ended up inventing the game of Showdown, which now is played by the visually impaired, as well as by the sighted, all over the world. Over the years, Patrick York, a totally blind, Canadian athlete, has collaborated with Lewis on refinements to the rules and equipment. Additional rules have evolved from different parts of the world to make the game what it is today.
Showdown was an international success at its debut as a recreational sport during the 1980 Olympiad for the Physically Disabled in Arnhem, the Netherlands . International interest was sparked and Showdown was played recreationally at the: 1984 Olympics for the Disabled in Long Island, USA; 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea; 1990 World Youth Games in St. Etienne, France; 1990 World Championships in Assen, The Netherlands; 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain; and at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, the United States. Today, Showdown is being played extensively in countries throughout Europe, and in a few countries in Africa, Asia and South America as well. In North America, where it was invented, it has been slow to cross the borders into mainstream usage.
Showdown countries.
Europe.
In Europe Showdown is played in at least 20 countries:
Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.
Africa.
We know that they are playing showdown in the following countries in Africa:
Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Kenya and Morocco.
It has however proved to be really hard to get information about How many players there are, and how much they are playing.
Asia.
Very little is known about the development of the sport in Asia. In The Philippines they started playing quite recently.
In South Korea is so widely played that some players have participated in some international tournaments and Jun Hyoung Kim, Dong Hyun Kim and Min Sun An was the first players in a World Championship, in 2019 in Olbia.
In Mongolia they are on their way to do it. In Barein, Kuwait they bought a table and started a few years ago. Players from Sweden have also brought the sport to the Iranian part of Kurdistan. In China and Japan they have been playing for a few years.
Unfortunately that's all the information currently available about Asia.
North America.
James Mastro is teaching people how to play showdown, or Power-Showdown, as he calls it, in the United States. He is also building tables for it, and it is currently played in 6 different states.
Most people chose to play for more recreational purposes, making it difficult to start professional tournaments.
South America.
Players from the Netherlands has brought the sport to Surinam.
In Colombia they built their first showdown table and started playing showdown in December 2009. Matthieu Juglar, a showdown player from France has with enthusiasm helped them to get started.
Championships and tournaments.
National Championships and other tournaments are held in the following countries in Europe:
Cyprus, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands, The Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland.
The first official IBSA world championship was held in Stockholm, Sweden in August 2009, and included participants from: Canada, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iran, Italy, Morocco, The Netherlands, Poland, The Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United States. The last World Championship was in Olbia (Italy) from September, 30 to October 6, 2019. The current World champions are: Adrian Sloninka (Poland) and Elzbieta Mielzcarek (Poland).


Norway national wheelchair handball team

The Norwegian national wheelchair handball team is the national wheelchair handball team of Norway and is controlled by the Norwegian Handball Federation. The Sweden became third at the 2015 European Wheelchair Handball Nations’ Tournament.


Straight (racing)

In many forms of racing, the straight is those parts of the race track in which the competitors travel in a straight line for any significant time, as opposed to a bend. The term is used in horse racing, motor racing and track and field athletics.
In athletics, a typical 400 m track features two straights and two bends. The final straight before the finish line is known as the home straight, or the pit straight in Formula One, while the other is known as the back straight.
In motor racing, both the pit lane and finish line are often located on the longest straight on the circuit. A notable exception is the 6 km Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans, which is at the opposite side of the circuit.
In the United States the home straight in athletics, and also the straight part of a motor racing track, is sometimes referred to as a "straightaway".


Environmentalism in motorsport

The issue of environmentalism in motorsport surrounds the whole of auto racing to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions contributing to global warming.
Initial reception.
The first series to respond to the call to make motorsport more environmentally friendly was the International Formula Master series, who planned to use a petrol–electric hybrid and regenerative braking systems in their cars for the 2007 season. A month later the series announces that it will not use the hybrid system for the 2007 season and instead opt for regular fuel. Meanwhile, Audi's diesel-powered R10 had won the American Le Mans Series by a margin of almost 100 points from their nearest rivals. In the United Kingdom, British Touring Car Championship team West Surrey Racing (WSR) ran Rob Collard and Colin Turkington in Ethanol fueled MG ZSs.
New championships.
Formula E.
In 2012, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) announced that they would be the governing body for a new fully electric single seater championship. The series would be known as the FIA Formula E Championship and began in September 2014. In 2018, the second generation of Formula E cars was used for the first time, at the start of the 2018–19 Formula E season. The series is participated in by multiple manufacturers, including Jaguar, Audi, Nissan, BMW and Mahindra.
Actions taken in other series.
Formula One.
Formula One's governing body, the FIA, took until May 2007 to act upon the issue of environmental effects the sport was responsible for by holding a discussion in Monaco during the Grand Prix. The Honda Works Team however, announced that they would run a sponsorless car for the 2007 season three months prior to the FIA's Monaco discussion. The Honda RA107 took on a livery that depicts the Earth, symbolizing Honda's environmental desires, with only the logos of Type R Honda 'H' and the Bridgestone logo.
The car mostly received a cynical reception, Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber observed that "it's good Honda is going green - but there are still 35 private jets parked 20 Kilometres down the road." Briggs commented that "Honda's 'Earth Car' may have attracted cynicism, but the issues it highlights are moving up motorsport's agenda."
In 2013, the FIA made plans to switch from V8 engines to turbo charged V6 engines, after the previous downgrade from V10 engines to V8 engines in 2006.
In 2009, the sport introduced kinetic energy recovery. Following a brief ban, these systems were reintroduced in 2011, these technical regulations were further revised for 2014 (see above).
North American motorsport.
IndyCar was the first major open wheel series to reduce its green house gases by changing its fuel supply from methanol to more environmentally friendly ethanol fuel for the 2007 season.
Sportscar racing.
Both the Le Mans Series and American Le Mans Series have made some effort to be more environmentally friendly. Both Audi and Peugeot have made diesel race cars, the R10 TDI and 908 HDi FAP respectively, for their series. Both also competed in the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans where both cars competed for the win which resulted in the German manufacturer coming out on top.
In the British GT Championship, a diesel-powered Aston Martin DBRS9 made series history by winning at the Snetterton round.
Since 2011 (Audi and Toyota in 2012, Porsche in 2014, then by Nissan at Le Mans in 2014), the top class of sports car racing, LMP1, has seen hybrid powertrains.
In 2012, Drayson Racing introduced the Lola B12 69/E: a modified a Lola prototype chassis, and set a world record for electric cars in 2013.
In 2019, ACO has announced Mission H24 to bring hydrogen-powered racing car to 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024.
The Vw IDr has set various records in 2018 and 2019.
Touring car and European open wheel racing.
As well as WSR's efforts, Paul O'Neill also entered a privateer entry in the BTCC, racing a bioethanol-powered Vauxhall Astra at the Brands Hatch meeting of the 2006 season. Soon, environmentally friendly entrants span to the World Championship stage with Alfa Romeo unveiling a diesel-powered entry for the 2007 season, which would make them the first manufacturer to enter a diesel-powered car in the World Championship. In April 2007, Swede Robert Dahlgren won the opening round of the Swedish Touring Car Championship in a bioethanol-powered Volvo S60.
European open wheel championships also made efforts to go greener, the British Formula Ford championship considered changing to bioethanol fuel for the 2007 season in December 2006 although three months later the series moved the plans to the 2008 season. In July 2007, the World Series by Renault became the first major European open wheel series to announce a move to biofuel, the new car will be used for the 2008 season.


Andreas Veerpalu

Andreas Veerpalu (born 24 May 1994) is an Estonian cross country skier who competes internationally.
He represented Estonia at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
On 27 February 2019, during the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2019, Veerpalu was arrested along with four other skiers, Estonia's Karel Tammjärv, Kazakhstan's Alexey Poltoranin and Austrians Max Hauke and Dominik Baldauf, on suspicion of using blood doping assisted by German sports doctor Mark Schmidt. On release from police custody both Estonians admitted using blood doping.
Personal.
Andreas is the son of former Estonian cross-country skier, Andrus Veerpalu. His sister Anette is also a cross-country skier for Estonia.


Anejodi

According to the Cherokee Nation, Anejodi is a sport played between two even teams who compete over control of a ball which is used to strike a target on top of a pole. Anejodi is the oldest known team sport in North America, having been first documented by French artist and explorer, Jacques LeMoyne in 1591, after he observed the sport being played by the Timucua People of present day Florida in the United States. LeMoyne illustrated the sport being played with a description that reads as follows, "The young men, they played a certain ball game in the following manner. A post was erected in the middle of an area, and the one who managed to hit the target on top with a ball was awarded a prize" (Library of Congress). Anejodi was also memorialized in a 20-foot-tall bronze statue in Oklahoma in the United States.
Anejodi was reestablished as an American tradition in 1942 by , a D1 Hall of Fame football and basketball coach, based on historical art and descriptions of the sport. Engle used the sport to condition American World War 2 service men and women at Brown University. Engle's legacy is carried on by ANGLEBALL USA & Worldwide which manufactures Anejodi equipment to Engle's specifications, in the United States.


Adam Braz

Adam Braz (born June 7, 1981) is a former professional footballer who last served as Technical Director of the Montreal Impact of Major League Soccer. Braz was a Canadian soccer player for nine years including as a player on the national team and stints with Toronto FC in the Major League Soccer and the Montreal Impact in the USSF Division 2 Professional League.
Career.
College.
Braz was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and is Jewish. He attended Herzliah High School in Ville Saint-Laurent.
He attended St. John's University in New York and played college soccer at Fairfield University for the Fairfield Stags men's soccer team from 1999 to 2001. In 2000, Braz was a first team all-MAAC defender and helped the Stags earn a No. 15 national ranking.
Braz received a bachelor's degree from the Fairfield University Dolan School of Business in 2001.
Professional.
In 2002, he signed with the Montreal Impact in the USL A-League. The following season he went abroad to play with Västerås SK in the Superettan. Braz returned to Montreal in 2004 and helped the Impact win the USL A-League Championship.
Braz was one of the first players to sign with MLS expansion franchise Toronto FC in the 2006–07 soccer offseason and made his MLS debut in Toronto FC's first game, a 2–0 loss to Chivas USA. Braz was transferred back to the Montreal Impact at the end of the 2007 season. During the 2009 USL season Braz contributed by helping the Impact clinch a playoff spot under new head coach Marc Dos Santos. He helped the Impact reach the finals where Montreal would face the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, this marking the first time in USL history where the final match would consist of two Canadian clubs. In the final Braz helped the Impact win the series 6–3 on aggregate. The victory gave the Impact their third USL Championship and also the victory marked Braz's second USL Championship. On October 6, 2009 Braz received "Unsung Hero Award" during the team's 2009 awards banquet. On November 26, 2009 Braz signed a new two-year deal with the club.
Braz announced his retirement on March 14, 2011 to become a team manager for the Impact.
International.
Braz made his debut for Canada in a January 2004 friendly match against Barbados and, has earned a total of 12 caps. In July 2005, he was selected to play for Canada in the Gold Cup, where he played in all three games.


World Field Archery Championships

The World Field Archery Championships is an international competition in field archery. Organised by World Archery, the Championships are held every two years, in host cities most frequently in Europe but occasionally in Australasia or North America.
Champions.
Men.
"Note: 1. Mixed team competition"
Women.
"Note: 1. Mixed team competition"
Junior Men.
"Note: 1. Unofficial"
Junior Women.
"Note: 1. Unofficial"


Corus Steel F.C.


Double figure-eight loop

A double figure-eight loop, (also known as a bunny ears, or a dog eared loop) is a type of knot that forms two parallel loops, and resembles the figure-eight loop.
It is frequently used in climbing and caving as an easily untie-able knot that is capable of being attached to two bolts and equalised.
A variation of this knot exists, known as the double figure-eight follow through that creates another loop below the bulk of the knot, a feature that is useful for clipping safety ropes into.


Jennifer Patrick-Swift

Jennifer Patrick-Swift is an American softball coach who is the current head coach at North Carolina State.
Coaching career.
NC State.
On June 2, 2018, Jennifer Patrick-Swift was announced as the new head coach of the NC State softball program.


World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships

The World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships are a junior short track speed skating event and held once a year in a different country.
Skaters perform individual races in the 500 meters, 1000 meters, 1500 meters, 1500 meters super final and a team effort in the 3000 meters relay.
Until 2018 there was an overall winner for both the girl's and the boy's categories, but this was discontinued in 2019.