28th October to 3rd November
We start our review by having a look at a new format of rugby union effectively on trial on Tuesday at The O2 in London. Rugby X is a variation of Sevens Rugby played on a smaller pitch. Each team has seven players on the field with five replacements on the bench. Players can be replaced as many times as a team wants during the match with the replacement entering the field on the halfway line once the replaced player has left. Tries count for five points unless the try has been scored in a fifteen metre zone in the in-goal area referred to as the Max Zone, which will be seven points. There are no conversions in the match. Many of the rules relating to the tackle, ruck, maul and scrum are similar to Sevens. We will have to see how the popularity of the format develops, but if the investment in the sport is substantial, it will succeed without a doubt. England have been the originators of many sports looking back in history and next year there is also a new shorter format of cricket starting where each team only has 100 balls to bowl. The one positive from new formats is that it creates opportunities for many athletes with skills better suited to the game. For example, when cricket once only consisted of test matches, it limited the involvement of many players. Now we could potentially be heading for a fourth format, which will definitely increase the popularity of the sport.
Looking ahead at the week, Bandy presents their first World Cup for teams when the U17 Girls meet at Vetlanda in Sweden. The WTA season comes to an end with the Shiseido WTA Tennis Finals to be played in Shenzhen, China from tomorrow until next Sunday. Tarragona in Spain will be host to the IFBB Amateur Bodybuilding World Cup over next weekend, while in Adelaide we have an entire week of Bowls Singles Champion of Champions. Huntington Beach in California showcases the best in junior surfing when the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships starts later today and concludes next Sunday. Back in Australia and in particular Phillip Island, weather conditions have ended any hopes of completing qualification for tomorrow's MotoGP race. Assuming the weather will clear up, qualification will now be on Sunday prior to the race. The FIS Skiing and Snowboarding season is beginning to gain pace with three competitions this week hosted by Finland and Italy. Shanghai will present the World Golf Championships starting on Thursday until Sunday. Finally, with England booking their place in the Rugby World Cup 2019 final for next Saturday, they still need to wait until tomorrow to know who their opponents will be. They are certainly now the favourites to lift the trophy.
Aquatics
Friday to Sunday - FINA Swimming World Cup 2019 #6 - Kazan, Russia
Arm Wrestling
26th October to Sunday - World Armwrestling Championship; World Para-armwrestling Championship; World Deaf Armwrestling Championship - Constanţa, Romania
Badminton
Tuesday to Sunday - World Tour - Macau Open 2019 - Macau, China; SaarLorlux Open 2019 - Saarbrücken, Germany
Bandy
Friday to Sunday - Girls U17 World Cup - Vetlanda, Sweden
Beach Soccer
Friday to Sunday - World Tour - BSWW Tour - Copa Lagos 2019 - Lagos, Nigeria
Bodybuilding
Friday to Sunday - IFBB Amateur World Cup 2019 - Tarragona, Spain
Boccia
Monday to Sunday - BISFed 2019 Povoa Boccia World Open - Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal
Bowling
Thursday to 6th November - World Tour - Kuwait Open - Kuwait City, Kuwait
Bowls
Monday to Sunday - World Singles Champion of Champions - Adelaide BC, Australia
Canoeing
Saturday to Sunday - 2019 ICF Dragon Boat World Cup - Ningbo, China
Chess
30th June to Saturday - World Fisher Random Chess Championship 2019 - Høvikodden, Norway
Monday to 6th November - FIDE World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad 2019 - Çorum, Turkey
Cricket
Monday - Pakistan Women v Bangladesh Women (2nd T20I) - Lahore, Pakistan
Wednesday - Australia v Sri Lanka (2nd T20I) - Brisbane, Australia; Pakistan Women v Bangladesh Women (3rd T20I) - Lahore, Pakistan
Friday - New Zealand v England (1st T20I) - Christchurch, New Zealand; Australia v Sri Lanka (3rd T20I) - Melbourne, Australia; West Indies Women v India Women (1st T20I) - North Sound, Antigua
Saturday - Pakistan Women v Bangladesh Women (1st ODI) - Lahore, Pakistan
Sunday - New Zealand v England (2nd T20I) - Wellington, New Zealand; Australia v Pakistan (1st T20I) - Sydney, Australia; India v Bangladesh (1st T20I) - Delhi, India; West Indies Women v India Women (2nd ODI) - North Sound, Antigua
Crossminton
Friday to Saturday - World Series - 2019 ICO Crossminton Swiss Open powered by Speedminton - Weinfelden, Switzerland
Curling
Saturday to 9th November - Pacific-Asia Curling Championships 2019 - Shenzhen, China
Cycling
Thursday to Sunday - UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup - Chengdu, China
Friday to Sunday - Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup - Minsk, Belarus
Saturday - UCI Cycle-ball World Cup - Höchst, Austria
Dance Sports
Saturday - WDSF World Championship (Ten Dance) - Sibiu, Romania; WDSF PD World Championship (Show Dance Latin) - Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic; WDSF World Championship (Show Dance Standard) - Dresden, Germany; 2019 WDC European Championship Professional (Ten Dance) - Helsinki, Finland
Darts
Friday to Sunday - 2019 Jack's Casino World Series of Darts Finals - Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Draughts
27th October to 4th November - World Championship Youth - Izmir, Turkey
Equestrian
Wednesday to Sunday - Showjumping - Longines Equita Lyon Concours Hippique International - Lyon, France
Friday - Group 1 Racing - TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile; Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf; Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf; Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies - Santa Anita, California, USA
Saturday - Group 1 Racing - Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf; Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff; Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint; Breeders' Cup Sprint; Longines Breeders' Cup Turf; TVG Breeders' Cup Mile; Longines Breeders' Cup Classic; Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile; Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint - Santa Anita, California, USA
Sunday - Group 1 Racing - Grosser Preis Von Bayern - Munich, Germany
Fencing
Friday to Saturday - Senior Women's World Cup (Épée) - Tallin, Estonia
Saturday - Junior Women's World Cup (Sabre) - Sochi, Russia; Junior Women's World Cup (Foil) - London, England
Sunday - Junior Men's Team World Cup (Sabre) - Sochi, Russia; Senior Women's Team World Cup (Épée) - Tallin, Estonia
Fishing
26th October to Saturday - 27th World Championship Shore Angling Clubs - Dunkerque, France
Flying Disc
Sunday to 8th November - WFDF 2019 Pan American Ultimate Championships (PAUC) - Sarasota, Florida, USA
Football
5th September to 19th November - CONCACAF Nations League - Various
26th October to 17th November - FIFA U17 World Cup 2019 - Brazil
Golf
Thursday to Saturday - Vodacom Origins of Golf Final - Knysna, South Africa
Thursday to Sunday - Myavi ABC Championship - Hyogo, Japan; World Golf Championships - HSBC Champions - Shanghai, China; Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA presented by CTBC - New Taipei City, Chinese Taipei; Bermuda Championship - Southampton, Bermuda
Gymnastics
Wednesday to Sunday - 29th Senior and Junior European Championships - Holon, Israel
Judo
Friday to Sunday - European U23 Championships - Izhevsk, Russia
Model Auto Racing
25th October to Sunday - 8th IC Track World Championship - Fontana, California, USA
Motorcycling
Sunday - FIM MotoGP - Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix - Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia
Motor Racing
Sunday - FIA Formula One - United States Grand Prix - Austin, Texas, USA
Padel
Tuesday to Sunday - World Tour - WOpen - Madrid, Spain
Para Sports
27th October to Sunday - 2019 IBSA Goalball European Championships (Group C) - L'Aquila, Italy
Tuesday to Saturday - Gaziantep 2019 - World Deaf Cycling Championships - Gaziantep, Turkey
Saturday to Sunday - 2019 Stockholm Paragames WC Rugby Tournament - Stockholm, Sweden
Poker
Tuesday to Sunday - World Tour - WPT Montreal - Montreal, Canada
Friday to 4th November - World Tour - WPT Deepstacks Montreal - Montreal, Canada
Polo
22nd October to 9th November - Hurlingham Open - Argentina
Racquetball
Thursday to Sunday - World Tour - Los Compadres Auto Sales Open - Fullerton, California, USA
Roller Sports
Thursday to Sunday - World Cup Roller Freestyle FISE - Chengdu, China
Rowing
Friday to Sunday - 2019 World Rowing Coastal Championships - Hong Kong, China
Rugby
Tuesday - Rugby X - London, England
Friday - Union - New Zealand v Wales - Tokyo, Japan
Friday - League - Greece v Scotland - London, England
Saturday - League - Samoa v Fiji - Auckland, New Zealand
Saturday - Union - England v South Africa - Yokohama City, Japan; Poland v Germany - tbc, Poland; Sweden Women v Finland Women - Malmö, Sweden
Sunday - Union - Spain Women v Wales Women - Madrid, Spain
Running
Sunday - Hangzhou Marathon - Hangzhou, China; CFLD Beijing Marathon - Beijing, China; Istanbul Marathon - Istanbul, Turkey; TCS New York City Marathon - New York City, USA
Skating
Wednesday to Sunday - Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy - Dongguan, China
Friday to Sunday - ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating - Internationaux de France - Grenoble, France; ISU World Cup Short Track - Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Ski & Snowboarding
Saturday - FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup - Modena, Italy
Sunday - FIS Freeski Big Air World Cup - Modena, Italy
Snooker
Monday to Sunday - Yushan World Open - Yushan, China
Squash
23rd October to Friday - CIB PSA Women's World Championships - Cairo, Egypt
Surfing
16th October to Monday - 2019 Championship Tour - MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal - Peniche, Portugal
26th October to Sunday - VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship - Huntington Beach, California, USA
Table Hockey
Saturday - World Tour - Saint Petersburg Open - St. Petersburg, Russia
Table Soccer
Friday to Sunday - Pro Tour Two Peru 2019 - Peru
Saturday to Sunday - Czech Rosengart Open 2019 - Czech Republic
Saturday to 4th October - Master Series St. Petersburg Open 2019 - Russia
Taekwondo
Friday to Sunday - Open Qualification Tournament II for Wuxi 2019 World Taekwondo Grand Slam Champions Series - Wuxi, China
Tennis
27th October to Sunday - Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen - Shenzhen, China
Monday to Sunday - Rolex Paris Masters - Paris, France
Triathlon
Sunday - 2019 Lima ITU Triathlon World Cup - Lima, Peru; IRONMAN 70.3 South American Championship - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Throwball
Friday - 4th Asian Junior Throwball Championship for Men and Women - Colombo, Sri Lanka
Volleyball
27th October to Sunday - NORCECA XIII U19 Central American Championship - Managua, Nicaragua
Weightlifting
Friday to 4th November - 1st Mediterranean International Masters Open Championships - Limassol, Cyprus
Windsurfing
27th October to 9th November - 2019 Mercedes-Benz Aloha Classic World Cup - Maui, Hawaii
Wrestling
Monday to Sunday - 7th European Senior and 3rd European Cadet and Junior Deaf Wrestling Championships - Gomel, Belarus; U23 Senior World Championships - Budapest, Hungary