The organization of this event has been delegated to the French table soccer federation (FFFT), thanks to the support of the Pays de la Loire Region, the Loire-Atlantique Department and the City of Nantes, all three official partners of this major event. Apart from the Men’s and Women’s team events, 2 new categories are introduced this year : the Junior and Senior World Cups.

More disabled players
The 2010 World Cup will also include the World Championships, during which individual players will compete in Singles and Doubles events in the following categories: Men’s, Women’s, Junior, Senior as well as the Disabled Doubles category which attracts more and more players who play in wheelchairs on tables specifically designed for them.

An environmentally-friendly approach
Both the ITSF and FFFT are committed to promoting environmental awareness among players and visitors alike in order to leave a healthy environment for our future generations. Organizing a large scale event, such as the World Cup represents a great opportunity to develop an eco-responsible attitude, wich includes reducing material consumption, recycling, encouraging the use of public transportation, saving energy and so on.

More to do, more to see
The setup of the tournament location has been reviewed in order to allow the spectators greater mobility and visibility, with more videos, stands and plasma screens so they can follow their favourite teams’ progress during the event.

Official Tables
Both the World Cup and World Championships competitions will be played on the 5 ITSF Official Tables. Each player/team will choose their table and play various games on their own table and their opponents’ tables.
Garlando (Italy), Tornado (USA), Roberto Sport (Italy), Bonzini (France), Tecball (Germany)

Participating Countries
Over 500 players from 40 countries.

At Men’s Teams, Women’s Teams, Junior and Senior Teams there are participants from
Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, UAE, UK, USA.

At Individual there are participants from all the above countries plus
Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Iran, Estonia, Malaysia, Romania.

Place & Date
Nantes – Mangin Beaulieu Sports Complex
7-10 January 2010

For more please visit www.itsfworldtour.com.

As part of the “Tour de Ski”, there will be four World Cup races in Dobbiaco on the 6th and 7th of January 2010. For the popular tourist place, planning and holding of this major sport event is a big challenge but also chance to establish itself as a Nordic center on an international level.

“Over the decades Dobbiaco developed itself into a winter sport centre.”

Without a doubt, this event represents the highlight of this winter season and gives Dobbiaco a unique opportunity to show itself to the world from its best side. And there is no shortage of it. The live-transmission of the races will be seen by over 22 countries. By now this tourist location in Alta Pusteria has become inseparable from the crosscountry skiing sport and over the years has brought forth several sport talents, such as the famous Santer-Sisters, Albert Walder, Monika Schwingshackl and Jochen Strobl and was able to string close relations to the international sport elite, amongst them Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Manuela Di Centa.

There is reason enough to look over the past during which Dobbiaco gradually established itself as the winter sport center, which it is today. The year 1986 is a decisive milestone in the village’s development into a location of major sport events. Due to a lucky incident – there was no snow in the originally planned event location Klingenthal (former DDR) – and good relations with the then general secretary of the FIS Bengt-Erik Bengtsson, Dobbiaco (already having some experience in organizing public crosscountry skiing) was uggested as the replacement location for the World Cup on short notice. Herbert Santer, who was at the time president of the Tourism Association Dobbiaco, realized the opportunities such an event would bring about and immediately accepted. As Santer recalls, the “basic thought” behind accepting so rapidly was to secure a vanguard position in international events for the tourism and winter sport area Dobbiaco and to strengthen its status as a Nordic center. That’s how it came about that in the winter of 1986 Dobbiaco welcomed the world elite of female cross-country skiing.

Dobbiaco can show homolog tracks over 5 km (classic), 5 km (skating), 3,3 km, 3,75 km and 1,3 km and thereby meets the high standards of the leading cross-country skiing centers. Also with the construction of the new cross-country skiing stadium, which is unique because of its type of construction – the courses go across it – Dobbiaco wants to demonstrate itself as worthy World Cup location.

This year Dobbiaco officially was accepted into the Tour de Ski package and will be able to hold World Cup races also in the future. Also close cooperation with the Olympic city of Cortina gives Dobbiaco only advantages for holding of cross-country skiing World Cups. Cortina since long has a high level of popularity and will give the start signal for the first race of the men on the 6th of January, 2010.

For more visit Dobbiaco Worldcup.

The Red Bull Don Quixote has two new champions: Ivan Cervantes and Lorenzo Santolino pulled rank and chalked up another victory, this time in Herencia, province of Ciudad Real, Spain. On a day marred by the weather, the winning team edged in over rivals Xavi Galindo and Oriol Mena, practically on the home straight, taking the event by a mere 39 seconds. Despite setting out from pole position, Catalan pilots, Galindo and Mena, were unable to fend off the hounding attacks of the team captained by five-times Enduro World Champion, Ivan Cervantes.

Though, initially, the starter’s gun did give frontrunners Galindo and Mena an early lead, it wasn’t long before the event came down to a four-horse race between the two teams. No sooner was the warm-up lap over than the most pessimistic weather forecast proved true; and, as the rain bucketed down, the track turned into a mud-bath. By then, however, Galindo, Mena and race-winners Cervantes and Santolino had all cleared the first of two runs along a stretch which would, eventually, prove critical to the outcome of the race.

Throughout the first lap, as frontrunners, Galindo and Mena had little trouble setting all the best times. Rival squire, Santolino, had suffered a setback on a stretch where there was very little public and his team had fallen behind. However, spurred on by the world’s top racer in this category, Ivan Cervantes’ second pushed on through and, on the last timed special, was able to take the lead as rival team leader, Xavi Galindo, suffered a setback and ended up being overtaken by his own squire, Oriol Mena.

Delighted at having won the Red Bull Don Quixote two-man event, Cervantes “praised the team’s strategy” and spoke of how easy it had been to work alongside ‘squire’ and team-mate, Lorenzo Santolino. “I had a Sancho Panza who backed me all the way! Lorenzo is an excellent pilot, as he proved at the World Championships. Here, it was all about the slower of two times. Then, despite running into problems near the start, we worked through it all, very nicely. Admittedly, we were very lucky Galindo made a mistake on the last lap, because it allowed us to just squeeze past and grab it”, he explained.

Reaction from the runners-up was very positive for, despite having had the victory within their grasp and losing it at the very last moment, they were pleased at the way they had fought it out, right to the very end. According to Galindo, “It was very close, all the way through. And, then, I got stuck in one of the last stretches”. “We’d led, all the way through to the final race, but… It just wasn’t meant to be! There were two possible ways through that stretch and we chose the hardest one, all of which cost a lot of time”, Mena added.

In the Vassal (or Amateur) category, first place went to Alcala de Henares riders Javier Gomez Ortega and Roberto Medina de Ayala, who came in just 54 seconds ahead of Jose Manuel Fernandez Tome and Alberto Sanchez Fernandez, and 63 seconds ahead of the Pulido brothers, Israel and Eduardo. Special mention is due to Rosa Romero and Rosa Gomez, who finished first in the Women’s category.

For photos from the event click on te following Link.

With raucous cheers, hearts pounding and the heavy cut of metal to ice, Red Bull Crashed Ice 2009 sped into Quebec City as 64 male – and for the first time ever – 16 female daredevils careened to the bottom of a thrilling and chilling urban ice track. Cheering the action was a massive crowd of 90,000 fans that witnessed a track that gave as much as it took over the course of 550m of raw, rutty ice. In the end, one male and one female proved their heavy mettle and were crowned Red Bull Crashed Ice Champions for 2009: repeat champion Arttu Pihlainen of Jyvaskyla, Finland and Kerri-Anne Wallace of Calgary, Alberta.

“My adrenalin was pumping,” said Pihlainen. “You can‟t imagine. It feels unbelievable to win two years in a row. I was hoping to win again, but you never know what can happen during a race. I was lucky because I didn‟t make one mistake today. The race, for me, was perfect and I‟m definitely coming back next year.”
“It feels phenomenal to be the first woman to win Red Bull Crashed Ice,‟ said Wallace. “It‟s an honour, truly an honour. I didn‟t know what to expect but I knew it was going to be a full adrenalin rush and that‟s the reason why I signed up. I didn‟t expect to win, but I don‟t hate it one bit! I‟m absolutely coming back next year.”

Ice DoBoHo (term that means snake in sabu language, spoken in Indonesian province Nusa Tenggara – so we have skating on the ice snake) its a combination of hockey, boardercross, and downhill skiing, therefore Red Bull Crashed Ice sets a thrilling stage for intrepid male and female amateur and pro hockey players from across the country. No flat surfaces here – instead daring racers hurtle down a 550m ice track coiling around Quebec City‟s urban environment, featuring a ridiculous sequence of razor-sharp turns, ice steps and gap jumps. Over the course of the weekend, 120,000 fans watched Red Bull Crashed Ice athletes battle to the bottom in arguably the fastest sport on skates.

For the next year you can join similar events in Quebec, Canada on 20th of March and Munich, Germany on 16th of January.
More here.
Photos from events at foto.coolracing.ro.

All glider pilots and their support teams are invited to the international competition – FCC Gliding 2010.

FCC Gliding 2010 will be held at the Prievidza Airfield (Slovakia), where a World Gliding Championship will take place in 2010. If you like flying and would like to participate in this event, do not hesitate to apply online at www.plachtenie.sk by using the On-line registration form. Registration started in 9.12.2009.

Location
Airfield       Prievidza (Slovakia)
ICAO code LZPE
Latitude      048° 46.05´N
Longitude    018° 35.42´E
Elevation     260 m/853 ft MSL
Runway       22/04 (950 x 115m grass)
Frequency   122,60 MHz

Tine Schedule
Final Entries due – April 16th, 2010
Training - April 10th – April 16th
First opening briefing - April 16th, 2010 at 8:00 PM
Opening ceremonial - April 17th at 10:00 AM
Contest flying - April 17th – April 28th
Prize Giving Ceremony - April 28th at 6:00 PM
Farewell party - April 28th at 8:00 PM
Reserve day for flying - April 29th, 2010

Registration will be available
On-line: www.plachtenie.sk
By post: SNA – letecka skola Kosice
             Letisko
             040 17 Kosice – Barca
             Slovakia
By e-mail: info(at)plachtenie.sk

Entry Fees
FCC Gliding 2010 entry fee for each competitor is 200€ and it covers all operational costs during the contest except aero-tows and ICAO charts of the competition airspace. (NOTE: aero tows and charts are not included in the entry fee and will be available for sale in the competition office upon your arrival).

Competition Classes
FCC Gliding 2010 will be held in the following classes as described in the main body of Section 3 of the FAI Sporting Code, Chapter 7:

• Club Class (IGC index list 2008 will be used. Index range is 96 – 109. Sailplane with index less than 96 will be scored with handicap 96)
• Combi Class
  Standard Class (DAeC 2008 index list will be used)
  15 m Class (DAeC 2008 index list will be used)
  18 m Class (DAeC 2008 index list will be used)
  Open class (DAeC 2008 index list will be used)

Competition Awards
In case of a valid competition, there are following financial awards in each class:
1st place 1000€
2nd place 750€
3rd place 500€
4th place Gift
Other pilot’s awards will be announced at the first briefing taking place on 16th of April 2010 at 8:00PM.
Best junior will receive 200 €.

Watch photos from FCC Gliding 2009 at foto.coolracing.ro.

Kim Nguyen words for all those that are involved into the Cycle Change in order to Stop the Climate Change!
…

Dear friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances,

The project I started on 10th August 2008 has 2 days left in it. Ride Planet Earth happens on Dec 6th and then my journey is over.
I have cycled from Brisbane, through Northern Australia, South East Asia, China, Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Eastern and Western Europe, before arriving here, in a small coastal town in Denmark, some 120 km from Copenhagen.

Tomorrow I cycle to Roskilde, then on Sunday 6th December I will cycle the last remaining 35km into the Copenhagen City Centre.

I will be joined by people who have cycled from all over Europe, delegates and activists from the COP15, and some hundreds of locals, as we demonstrate the capacity and willingness of ordinary people to take action on climate change. On the same day, in over 50 locations around the world, people will be taking to the streets in solidarity. All of us will be recording messages to send to the COP delegates, and the world, stating why our governments must take action to stop climate change now and what we are doing about it individually. I am currently in negotiations with several delegations to hand over these messages personally. In this way we hope to convince the delegates to start protecting our planet, but also let them know that if they don’t take the lead, we will.

This project started very small. Just some guy on a bike. But out of this has developed something significant, action, action that contributes to the growing global movement to tackle global warming and environmental abuses. Action demonstrated by the many, many events that have taken place over the past year leading up to the Copenhagen negotiations and action that will continue beyond it.

Although I have seen many impacts of climate change first hand, spoken to farmers whose crops no-longer grow, whose rivers have dried and disappeared, those lands are encroached upon by expanding deserts and hit by unpredictable storms, I am optimistic. I have been lucky, because my journey has exposed me to some of the inspirational people working with everything they have to ensure we have a sustainable future. In some of the most remote parts of the world, in places where I least expected it, I found people working to ensure our planet will be a safe place to live for the generations to come.

So I think we can do it. I think we can stop dangerous climate change. I think with all the committed, intelligent, energetic, amazing, inspirational people across the planet we can’t help but be successful.
The only question is when. By participating in Ride Planet Earth on 6th Dec 09, being part of this global movement, you can make that success come a little bit earlier.

If you are not already attending you still can. Check the website www.rideplanetearth.org , the participation page, for all the details. Go to the facebook group, The Ride Planet Earth Challenge, events, to confirm your attendance.

If there are no events near you, you can still participate. You can get out on your bike that day, wherever you are, in solidarity. Make sure you also record a video message stating (1) why the governments meeting in Copenhagen need to take action to stop climate change now and (2) what you are doing about it personally. Then upload these messages onto Youtube, Youku or Vimeo under the title “Ride Planet Earth Messages (your location)”. Please also email the messages to me at kim(at)rideplanetearth.org and the project film-maker, Ricky Tart, at trickyart(at)hotmail.com, so we can make the DVD of messages to give to delegates during the negotiations.

I want to thank everyone for your support throughout this experience. I can’t yet appreciate that it is at an end. Right now all I want is a very long sleep.

Many thanks,

Kim

“Change Starts and Ends with Us. Join the Ride. Start Cycle Change. Stop Climate Change”
www.rideplanetearth.org