Colors: Yellow Color

With Wasps having won only four of the past 15 Premiership meetings between them and the Exeter Chiefs and back Kurtley Beale being ruled out of the Premiership final at Twickenham, the Wallaby’s absence may prove pivotal in the outcome of what is already a tight match to call.

The Chiefs make one change to the starting XV which overcame Saracens, with wing Olly Woodburn replacing top try-scorer James Short, whilst Willie Le Roux switches to full-back, with Josh Bassett starting on the wing.

Despite their knock-back, though, Wasps Director of Rugby Dai Young said: "We have a lot of respect for Exeter Chiefs, who are a quality team and a quality club. We've had some memorable battles over the past couple of seasons and know how well drilled and coached they are, so we will have to be at our absolute best to win.

Exeter Head Coach Rob Baxter said: "We're probably a stronger group going into this game than we were last week, which is always nice. But we've got to make sure that we don't expect that having a bit of experience from last year will be that big a factor. We've got to demand that what the big factor is, is the quality we play at."

Wasps finished Aviva Premiership in 1st place, with Exeter finishing 2nd but in 14 past Premiership finals, the league winners have only gone on to win at Twickenham five times (Sale 2006, Leicester 2009 and 2010, Harlequins 2012, and Saracens 2016) – which makes this one very hard to call.

 

 

The national carrier of the State of Qatar will be named the official airline partner of the highly anticipated Paris ePrix, as well as the title sponsor of the 2017 Qatar Airways Paris ePrix which will take place around the architectural complex of Les Invalides in the French capital on 20 May.

The airline will also be named the official airline partner of the first-ever New York City ePrix taking place in Red Hook, Brooklyn on 15-16 July 2017.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “We are delighted to be named the official airline partner of the Formula E electric car races in Paris and New York. We are very pleased to be able to support this environmentally-friendly sport that promotes the latest technological innovations in producing alternative energy solutions for electric cars. Qatar Airways is committed to promoting the importance of sports in bringing people together through our many partnerships, such as this one with Formula E, as well as those with F.C. Barcelona and Al Ahli Saudi F.C.”

Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Formula E, said: “It’s fantastic news that Qatar Airways is joining the electric street racing series as race title partner of Paris and official airline partner for two of the flagship events on the Formula E calendar in Paris and New York. This partnership continues to show the growth of the series on a global scale; we are working closely with distinguished companies in a variety of industries and fields all over the world. I’m delighted to add Qatar Airways to the growing list of partners joining Formula E, demonstrating arguably the best partnership portfolio of any sporting platform.”

Qatar Airways is the official sponsor of many sporting events, including the Qatar ExxonMobil Open and the Qatar Total Open, as well as being the official sponsor of F.C. Barcelona and Al-Ahli Saudi F.C. The airline is also widely regarded as having one of the most modern and energy efficient fleets in the sky.

Qatar Airways, widely recognised as a leader in innovation and technology in the aviation industry, recently unveiled its new business class seat “Qsuite” at ITB Berlin. The airline also announced the launch of its new redesigned website, as well as introducing high-speed broadband that will offer the same connectivity speed on board as on the ground, in partnership with Inmarsat (GX Aviation).

The United States Virgin Islands is now an approved destination to host National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams and, in addition to hosting basketball, volleyball and swimming events, the Territory can facilitate the participation of soccer, lacrosse and other NCAA-sponsored sports during the summer months.
Governor Kenneth E. Mapp said the new designation represented a huge boost for sports tourism opportunities in the Territory.
He made the announcement Friday at a news conference at Government House on St. Thomas, where he was accompanied by Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty; Commissioner of Sports, Parks and Recreation Pedro Cruz; Assistant Commissioner of Sports, Parks and Recreation Calvert White; and Nels J. Hawkinson, Executive Director of Basketball Travelers, Inc., which runs the USVI's annual Paradise Jam basketball tournament in November.
"With all 24 NCAA Division I sports teams now able to travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands for summer tours, we look forward to being part of the growth of the Paradise Jam competitions and to the possibility of hosting other NCAA sporting events," the Governor said, recognizing the potential for a significant positive impact on the Territory's economy. 
"This is an amazing opportunity to expand our sports tourism portfolio and our facilities."
The USVI and Basketball Travelers have partnered to bring five men's college basketball teams to the Territory as early as this August now that the USVI has been approved as an international or foreign tour destination for Division I colleges across the United States.
Hawkinson, whose Basketball Travelers organizes both domestic and international basketball competitions for college and high school teams, said there are 340 Division I universities in the United States, each with approximately 25 sports with 50 potential teams (men and women combined) that can now visit the islands.
"We're very excited to build on the success we've had for the last 18 years with Paradise Jam and to bring additional teams here. We're looking forward to this new initiative and continuing our great partnership with the U.S. Virgin Islands and its people," he said.
Currently visiting the U.S. Virgin Islands for the 50th time, Hawkinson said his love affair with the Territory is still as strong as it was 20 years ago when he first visited on a cruise ship. "That's what makes your islands. Everywhere I go (people) are friendly...and it's so wonderful to know that when we bring groups here that people are friendly and they understand basketball and sports."
Three U.S. Division I schools, James Madison University, the University of Northern Colorado and Vanderbilt University, will visit the Territory this August for the Paradise Jam Summer Tours, along with Canada's Carleton University and Brock University.
 
"This partnership opens doors for new business in the summer and fall, with the potential to host more basketball teams and athletes in other areas," Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty noted. She added the Tourism Department has been hard at work developing marketing strategies specifically for college and university audiences.
The Commissioner said sports teams comprising 15 to 20 visitors are being encouraged, explaining that Paradise Jam, through its basketball competitions in the fall, currently produces $2.4 million in direct economic impact and more than $6 million in media exposure. "The event has a 22:1 return on investment for the U.S. Virgin Islands, so we are looking forward to this opportunity to have many more types of these sporting events as we build our sports tourism network."
The Paradise Jam Summer Tours, which allow visiting teams to experience the natural beauty of the USVI while playing competitive out-of-season games against international opponents, will feature basketball games on St. Thomas, and for the first time, on St. Croix.
In addition to the five teams traveling to the Territory, the USVI National Team will compete in the summer tours, marking the first time in 15 years the national team will compete in the islands. The team's first faceoff will be the opening game of the Paradise Jam Summer Tours on August 13, on St. Croix against Vanderbilt University.
Assistant Commissioner of Sports, Parks and Recreation Calvert White, who is working directly on the initiative, said that in light of the unprecedented success of the Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament and the growth of the sports tourism market, the Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation looks forward to strengthening its partnership with the Department of Tourism and Basketball Travelers.

The SSE Women's FA Cup Final between Birmingham City and Manchester City is set for a new record-breaking attendance with up to 40,000 expected at the Wembley showpiece on Saturday.

The meeting of two top-flight sides is now set to surpass the 32,912 that saw Arsenal Ladies beat Chelsea 1-0 in the 2016 final.

This will be the third Final to be held at the national stadium and is set to continue doing so for the foreseeable future.

Four-time Women’s FA Cup winner Casey Stoney admits she will be looking on enviously when Manchester City and Birmingham City do battle for the historic trophy at Wembley.

Stoney, 34, has enjoyed a long and illustrious career in a game which has changed almost beyond recognition since she started out with Arsenal back in 1999.

“It’s the biggest day in the women’s football calendar without a doubt, with SSE’s sponsorship and it being at Wembley, you can’t help but get excited,” she said.

Birmingham - who won the trophy at Bristol City’s Ashton Gate in 2012, in front of fewer than 9,000 people - are in their second final, while Women's Champions League semi-finalists Manchester City are yet to win the competition.

The 2016 Women's Super League One champions beat Liverpool in this year's semi-finals, while Birmingham knocked out 2015 winners Chelsea on penalties.

 

Organisers have unveiled the official medals for the World Para Athletics Championships and IAAF World Championships London 2017, which place the drive and determination of athletes at the heart of its unique clockwork design.

Based within the shape of an athletics track, both sets of medals for the World Para Athletics Championships and IAAF World Championships are layered with symbols of every event for each schedule, an intricate design that bears resemblance to the inner workings of a watch.

With London the historical home of Greenwich Mean Time, the medals for the IAAF World Championships also feature iconic London landmarks that sit on the River Thames – Tower Bridge, the London Eye, the Shard and Big Ben – to give a strong sense of location.

For the World Para Athletics Championships, the layering of the equipment enables visually impaired athletes to feel the details of the medals while there is braille on the reverse marking the host city and the year.

The medals were designed by Birmingham-based Toye, Kenning & Spencer who asked themselves “What makes an athlete tick?” when creating the medals. Founded in 1685, Toye, Kenning & Spencer have a proud history, holding a royal warrant and being commissioned to manufacture the medal presented to serving personnel in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Five-time Paralympic medallist Dan Greaves, European and Commonwealth silver medallist Jazmin Sawyers and coach of Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill, Toni Minichiello, were all part of the creative panel that fed into the medal design process.

Dan Greaves said: “You don’t need to much motivation going into a home World Championships but being part of the panel and having helped to choose such great medal designs really does make you want to win one. I more determined than ever to get on the podium in London.

“The medals are so unique and I really like how my event, the discus, is represented along with all the other disciplines. As an athlete, a lot of hard work and time goes into winning medals and it is great to see that element of time reflected in the design.”

Jazmin Sawyers said: “I loved being part of the panel. It was something that I have never done before and such a unique experience to see what goes into making the medals for a World Championships. It is great that organisers wanted input from athletes and coaches.

“Long jump is all about getting your timing right. If you get your run up just right and hit the board at exactly the right time you can land a big jump. That is what I will be aiming to do this summer and I can’t wait to hopefully be a part of an amazing World Championships.”

Toni Minichiello said: “The IAAF World Championships London 2017 is going to be a fantastic event and that organisers are recognising the coaches of medal-winning athletes with a medal for the first time too is a great progressive step.

“A coach works very closely with athletes and it’s important to understand what makes them tick. It is great to see that element being applied to the medals. At a big event like a World Championships, mindset and good decision making at the right time makes the difference between being successful and not.”

The biggest sporting events in the world in 2017, the World Para Athletics Championships kick off the Summer of Athletics from 14-23 July with the IAAF World Championships following at the London Stadium from 4-13 August.

Niels de Vos, Championship Director, said: “We are very proud of the unique medal designs for both the World Para Athletics Championships and IAAF World Championships London 2017. It isn’t easy to demonstrate so much on a medal but Toye, Kenning & Spencer have done a fantastic job with a design that carries such a great message.

“There are 213 medal events at the World Para Athletics Championships and 47 medal events at the IAAF World Championships and every athlete dreams of standing on the podium to collect one. Hopefully we have made that moment even more special by presenting a truly unique medal.”

Hamish Ritchie, Account Manager at Toye, Kenning and Spencer, said: “For us as a company it was massive honour to be chosen to design the medals. It has been a while since we have worked on such a large scale international event like this and it is really nice to have that support.

“They wanted something that was made in Britain entirely. We have the factory in Birmingham and the factory in Bedworth were the medal ribbons are manufactured. For us to be able to manufacture everything here, with our own manufacturing capabilities is fantastic.

“We are very proud to have been able to show off what we can do, not only our company but as a country for such an international event. We can say with pride that we made the medals for the World Para Athletics Championships and IAAF World Championships London 2017.”

Having overcome a serious disability Sham Singh Shera has become one of the world’s most famous bodybuilders. And he is coming to the UK to compete - for the first time ever.
Sham was diagnosed with Polio in his right leg at one-year-old, news which he found upsetting when growing up.
But far from letting this condition limit his life, he embarked on a daily training regime to strengthen his weaker leg and walk without the use of supports.
He has gone on to win several major national and international bodybuilding competitions including Mr India, Mr World (Wheel Chair) 2011 and the IFBB World Championship.
This led to medals, awards, celebrity recognition from Bollywood actor Salman Khan and the ability to open his own fitness centre – Shera Health Club – in Faridkot, India.
He is now set to compete at the BodyPower Fitness event at the Birmingham NEC on May 12-14.
Sham says: “When I was growing up and started to understand more about Polio affecting me I decided to do something positive with my life so people couldn’t limit me by my condition. I always looked up to my elder brother, who is an athlete and at 15, I started following his regime, avoiding walking supports and gradually turned the odds in my favour.
Along the way, I have experienced setbacks and difficulties. In 2011, I didn't have much money for my visa, tickets and accommodation for the Mr World competition in Spain. My parents sold many items and my father even sold his tractor and farming equipment so I could go. I won that competition – despite the Indian government not support me in any way.
I am, however, happy and grateful to BodyPower for supporting me to come to the UK for the first time – and to compete as an athlete - Thanks to them.” BodyPower CEO, Nick Orton, says: “At BodyPower, we strive to include all successful athletes in our events and
are proud to welcome all competitors, regardless of whether they are disabled or not.
All our athletes demonstrate the power of the human body to achieve spectacular levels of fitness – they are actively pushing the boundaries of the body’s power.
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“We were humbled to hear Sham’s story and are happy to help support him to showcase his impressive achievements here in the UK. I hope that his story inspires athletes from all communities, all over the world.”
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