2023 Rugby World Cup Host Selection Enters Next Phase -- Federations Focus

(ATR) The process to determine the host of the 2023 Rugby World Cup is becoming serious.

France, Ireland, Italy and South Africa formally expressed an interest to bid for the 2023 World Cup in May of last year.

But the process is now moving to the actual application phase, the second stage of the detailed three-phase information gathering and evaluation process.

Kevin Potts, IRFU Bid Director for Rugby World Cup 2023 said in a statement "We are looking forward to formally expanding on Ireland’s interest in hosting Rugby World Cup 2023 and providing RWC Ltd. with key information on the significant appetite, strategic advantages and outstanding opportunities for World Rugby in staging the tournament in Ireland."

The applicant submissions are due by Sept. 1 and will be evaluated by a World Rugby Technical Review Group. Those that meet the criteria will move on to the candidate phase on Nov. 1.

A final decision will be made by the World Rugby Council in November 2017.

Argentina, meanwhile, is setting its sights on the 2027 World Cup. The country’s president Mauricio Macri made the announcement earlier this week after meeting with new World Rugby vice-chairman and former Pumas captain Agustin Pichot.

Argentina reportedly will make an official bid in October when organizers visit the South American country.

The Pumas have grown from rank outsiders to one of the stronger countries in rugby union in recent years, having reached the World Cup semifinals at two of the last three tournaments.

Japan is hosting the next Rugby World Cup in 2019.

Luge Releases 2016-17 Calendar

The International Luge Federation (FIL) ratified its schedule of events for the 2016-2017 season this week at its executive board meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

The schedule features nine Viessmann World Cup stages taking place in Germany, United States, Canada, Latvia, and South Korea as well as the FIL World Championships taking place in Innsbruck, Austria.

The season begins on Nov. 26 at the first world cup held in Winterberg, Germany. The FIL World Championships will take place from Jan. 27-29 with the final race of the season taking place in Altenberg, Germany on Feb. 25-26.

The eighth Viessmann World Cup race will also double as a test event for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics taking place one year before the Games on Feb. 18-19.

The season will also include six Viessmann Team Relay World Cups presented by BMW and three BMW Sprint World Cups.

ITU Partners with FISU

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) and the International University Sports Federations (FISU) are now working together to encourage and develop healthy lifestyles among university students.

The two organizations signed an agreement on May 23 aimed at increasing the number of university students that run triathlons and developing the sport at the youth level.

"The aim of this agreement is to continue growing our sport together," said ITU president Marisol Casado. "We are constantly focusing on the development of triathlon, which includes identifying new and young talent across the world, so FISU is an ideal partner for that goal."

The ITU and FISU will come together to host the 13th edition of the World University Triathlon Championship in Nyon, Switzerland from Aug. 5-7. The ITU and FISU will also organize training seminars for coaches, managers and officials.

FISU suggests that the ITU use its competitions as a testing ground for new rules, formats or equipment for future competitions.

Written by Gerard Farek and Kevin Nutley.

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