6th to 12th January
Three sports begin their world tours this week. Badminton, Racketlon and Squash start the season with events in Malaysia, India and the States respectively. There has been a very short break from the grand finals held in December, but the athletes are ready and we look forward in seeing how the year unfolds. Despite the incredible fires in Australia and in particular New South Wales, news from the FAI website is that the 10th Women's World Gliding Championship being held at Lake Keepit is still good to go ahead. There were no reported fires on the roads leading to the venue and much of the flying depends on the wind direction and how that affects the visibility. The event runs for two weeks and we anticipate there may be some cancelled days for safety reasons. Heading across the Tasman Sea and to the oldest city in the south island of New Zealand, Nelson hosts the Golf Croquet World Team Championships Tier 1 from Monday to Sunday. Two major Games start this week. Lausanne hosts the Youth Olympic Games from Thursday until the 22nd January, while the other famous location of Innsbruck hosts the Winter World Masters Games starting a day later. USA won a pulsating final against their rivals Canada in the 2020 U18 Women's Ice Hockey World Championship hosted by Bratislava. The match score was 2-1.
Staying with hockey, the Pro League for women starts this week with two matches between China and The Netherlands. The men's league starts the following week. One of the toughest races in motor sport starts tomorrow. Jeddah on the west coast of Saudi Arabia will be the beginning of the Dakar Rally 2020 on Sunday with the conclusion on Friday, 17th January. The race is normally held in several countries, but Saudi Arabia is the sole host on this occasion. One sport we do not get to report on too often is Model Auto Racing. Milton Keynes in England will host the Electric On-Road World Championship from Thursday to Sunday. Lastly, the Hopman Cup was traditionally a tennis tournament played indoors by mixed-gender teams on a country-by-country basis. This year the ATP Cup replaces it, but the International Tennis Federation has confirmed the Hopman Cup will return in 2021. In the meantime the search is on for a new venue.
Until next time, have a great sporting week!
Air Sports
3rd to 18th January - 10th FAI Women's World Gliding Championship - Lake Keepit, Australia
Amputee Football
Saturday to Sunday - Soccer Festival Haiti - Miramar, Florida, USA
Badminton
Tuesday to Sunday - World Tour - Perodua Malaysia Masters - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Biathlon
Monday to Sunday - BMW IBU World Biathlon - Oberhof, Germany
Bobsleigh
Monday to Thursday - North American Cup - Lake Placid, NY, USA
Saturday to Sunday - BMW IBSF World Cup - La Plagne, France
Boule Lyonnaise
Saturday to Sunday - 39th Trophy Béraudier - Lyon, France
Bridge
Wednesday to 19th January - 2020 Summer Festival of Bridge - Canberra, Australia
Chess
3rd to 26th January - Women's World Chess Championship 2020 - Shanghai, China / Vladivostok, Russia
Cricket
3rd January to Tuesday - Australia v New Zealand (3rd Test) - Sydney, Australia; South Africa v England (2nd Test) - Cape Town, South Africa
Tuesday - India v Sri Lanka (2nd T20I) - Indore, India; West Indies v Ireland (1st ODI) - Bridgetown, Barbados
Thursday - West Indies v Ireland (2nd ODI) - Bridgetown, Barbados
Friday - India v Sri Lanka (3rd T20I) - Pune, India
Sunday - West Indies v Ireland (3rd ODI) - St George's, Antigua
Croquet
Monday to Sunday - 2020 Golf Croquet World Team Championship Tier 1 - Nelson, New Zealand
Equestrian
Wednesday to Sunday - FEI Dressage World Cup - Wellington, Florida, USA
Thursday to Sunday - FEI Jumping World Cup - Basel, Switzerland
Fencing
Monday - Junior Men's Individual World Cup (épée) - Udine, Italy
Thursday to Saturday - Senior Men's Individual and Team World Cup (épée) - Heidenheim, Germany
Friday to Sunday - Senior Women's Individual and Team World Cup (foil) - Katowice, Poland; Senior Men's Individual and Team World Cup (foil) - Paris, France; Senior Women's Individual and Team World Cup (épée) - La Havane, Cuba; Senior Women's Sabre Grand Prix (sabre) - Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Games
Thursday to 22nd January - Youth Olympic Games - Lausanne, Switzerland
Friday to 19th January - Winter World Masters Games 2020 - Innsbruck, Austria
Golf
Thursday to Sunday - Hong Kong Open - Hong Kong, China; Sony Open in Hawaii - Honolulu, Hawaii
Friday to Sunday - Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open - Saadiyat Beach GC, UAE
Hockey
Saturday to Sunday - FIH Women's Pro League - China v The Netherlands - Changzhou, China
Ice Hockey
2nd January to Wednesday - 2020 Women's U18 World Championship Division I, Group B - Katowice, Poland
3rd January to Thursday - 2020 Women's U18 World Championship Division I, Group A - Fussen, Germany
Monday to Sunday - 2020 IIHF Men's U20 World Championship Division II, Group A - Vilnius, Lithuania
Karate
Friday to Sunday - 2020 Karate 1 Series A - Santiago, Chile
Luge
Thursday to Sunday - FIL Luge World Cup on Natural Track + Pursuit - Passeiertal, Italy
Saturday to Sunday - Viessmann World Cup and Team Relay World Cup presented by BMW - Altenberg, Germany
Model Auto Racing
Thursday to Sunday - IFMAR World Championship 1/12 Electric On-Road - Milton Keynes, England
Motor Racing
5th to 17th January - Dakar Rally - Saudi Arabia
Mountaineering
Friday to Sunday - Ice Climbing World Cup - Cheongsong, South Korea
Para Sports
Sunday - IBSA Judo American Championships 2020 - Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Poker
Thursday to 13th January - WPT Gardens Poker Championship - Anaheim, California, USA
Racketlon
Friday to Sunday - World Tour - CHA Indian Open - Udaipur, India
Rowing
Saturday - 2020 European Rowing Indoor Championships - Prague, Czech Republic
Running
Sunday - 77th Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza - Elgoibar, Spain; 10K Valencia Ibercaja - Valencia, Spain
Skating
Friday to Sunday - ISU European Speed Skating Championships - Heerenveen, The Netherlands; ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships - Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Skeleton
Monday to Tuesday - North America Cup - Lake Placid, NY, USA
Friday - BMW IBSF World Cup - La Plagne, France
Friday to Saturday - Europe Cup - Innsbruck, Austria
Skibob
Saturday to Sunday - World Cup Tour - Weissbriach, Austria
Ski & Snowboarding
5th January to Monday - FIS Jumping World Cup - Bischofshofen, Austria
Wednesday - FIS Men's Alpine World Cup - Madonna di Campliglio, Italy
Thursday to Saturday - FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup - Font Romeu, France
Thursday to Sunday - FIS Women's Alpine World Cup - Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria; FIS Nordic Combined World Cup - Val di Fiemme, Italy
Friday to Saturday - FIS Masters Alpine Cup - Reiteralm, Austria
Friday to Sunday - FIS Women's Ski Jumping World Cup - Sapporo, Japan; FIS Men's Ski Jumping World Cup - Val di Fiemme, Italy
Saturday - FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup - Scuol, Switzerland
Saturday to Sunday - FIS Men's Alpine World Cup - Adelboden, Switzerland; FIS Cross-Country World Cup - Dresden, Germany
Sunday to 16th January - FIS Masters Alpine Cup - Innsbruck, Austria
Slacklining
Friday to Sunday - III Open Beach 2020 - Balneário Piçarras SC, Brazil
Speed Stacking
Saturday - WSSA 2020 Speed Stacks World Championship Challenge 3rd - Anseong, South Korea
Squash
Thursday to 17th January - World Tour - JP Morgan Tournament of Champions 2020 - New York, USA
Surfing
Monday to Sunday - 2020 Men's Qualifying Series: Corona Open China hosted by Wanning - Wanning, Hainan Island, China
Tennis
3rd January to Sunday - ATP Cup - Brisbane/Perth/Sydney, Australia (ATP)
4th January to Saturday - Shenzhen Open - Shenzhen, China (WTA)
Monday to Saturday - Qatar ExxonMobil Open - Doha, Qatar (ATP)
Monday to Sunday - ASB Classic 2020 - Auckland, New Zealand (WTA); Brisbane International - Brisbane, Australia (WTA)
Sunday to 18th January - Adelaide International - Adelaide, Australia (ATP)