Building Curling in China -- Federation Focus

(ATR) The World Curling Federation president visits Beijing to help develop plans for the sport’s legacy in China after the 2022 Winter Games.

Kate Caithness gave two keynote lectures on developing curling in China, outlining plans to helping the country reach its goal of having 300 million people playing winter sports by the 2022 Games.

The federation will be delivering floor curling and introductory on-ice sessions across China.

Caithness also visited the Beijing National Aquatics Center, famously known as the ‘Water Cube’, which is being transformed into the ‘Ice Cube’ as it will be the venue for curling at the next Winter Games. Construction of the four-sheet curling floor is well underway with competition testing to begin in December.

The facility will act as a physical legacy for the sport after the Olympics and Paralympics. During the Games, supporters will have the opportunity to try curling in this facility.

It was confirmed during Caithness’ visit that Chinese Curling’s Li Dongyan was confirmed as a special advisor to the World Curling Board. Caithness says he will ensure "a successful legacy for curling following the Games in China".

The Last Four in Japan

The Rugby World Cup in Japan is at the semifinal stage. England will take on New Zealand on Saturday with South Africa and Wales battling it out on Sunday.

The winners will play for the Webb Ellis Cup in the final scheduled for Nov. 2, with the third place match on Nov. 1.

Both semifinals and the final are at the International Stadium in Yokohama, while the bronze medal match will be at Tokyo Stadium.

The Japanese team impressed with a run to the quarterfinals before falling to South Africa 26-3.

The 20-team tournament began on Sept. 20 with four groups of five teams.

New Zealand has won three of the first eight editions of the Rugby World Cup, and the All Blacks are going for a third straight title. Of the semifinalists, only Wales has never lifted the trophy. South Africa won in 1995 and 2007 while England took the honors in 2003. The best finish for the Welsh was third place at the inaugural tournament in 1987.

Ticket Sales Open for FIFA Club World Cup

All of the tickets made available for the final of the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar this December were snapped up in the first 24 hours of the Visa pre-sale phase.

FIFA also revealed on Wednesday that all of the first allotment of tickets for the semifinal match featuring Liverpool FC were sold. Visa cardholders can still exclusively secure tickets to the other matches until Oct. 31.

A total of 10,985 tickets were sold for the final. In all, 24,211 tickets were allocated. Sixty percent of the buyers are from Qatar, with an additional 16 percent residing in the United Kingdom.

Additional tickets will be made available in November in what FIFA calls the "last-minute sales phase" for the tournament, which runs from Dec. 11 to Dec. 21 a three venues in Qatar. This sales phase will last through the end of the tournament.

Fans applying for a single ticket for double-header matchdays will be able to attend both games at the stadium. From December, customers whose ticket applications are successful will be able to download their tickets within their FIFA Ticketing Account at FIFA.com/tickets and print them at home before the match.

This is the penultimate edition of the seven-team version of the Club World Cup. Starting in 2021, FIFA will expand it to 24 teams and hold it every four years rather than annually.

Written by Gerard Farek

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