11 - 17 December
Tauranga is a harbourside city in the Bay of Plenty region on New Zealand's North Island. Very popular with tourists looking for great beaches, from Monday the world's best men's squash players begin the World Squash Federation World Team Championships. Two further divisional Men's U20 Ice Hockey World Championships also open the week. These are Division I, Group B in Slovenia's Bled, and Division II, Group A in Scotland's Dumfries. The ski and snowboard season is gaining pace with many more events this week. Arosa in Switzerland begins with a Ski Cross World Cup.
A major sailing competition comes to Dachan Bay in China as the World Match Racing Tour reaches the grand finale starting on Tuesday. Downhill and Super G are the events in Italy's Val Gardena as the FIS Alpine World Cup Tour for men reaches the next stage. The North American League of the FEI Jumping World Cup heads to Fort Worth in Texas. The best poker stars in the world gather in Las Vegas to compete for the grand prize of the World Poker Tour World Championship.
At another world tour reaching the biggest event, Hangzhou in China hosts the Badminton World Federation World Tour Finals from Wednesday. The city also brings together the best volleyball players for the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship. The second major FEI Jumping World Cup of the week takes us to London's ExCel showcasing six days of The London International Horse Show. Colorado's Copper Mountain Ski Resort attracts the best snowboarders and freestyle skiers to a Big Air and Halfpipe World Cup.
Adding to the sixteen snow sport world cups for the week, Austria's Ramsau begins Thursday with the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup. Moving across the border to Carezza in Italy for a Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom World Cup. Switzerland's Lenzerheide becomes the third stop of the International Biathlon Union World Cup season. Remaining in Switzerland, our first Para Alpine World Cup takes us to the famous St. Moritz. Making it three World Cups in the same nation, Engelberg is the next venue of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup. The technically difficult event of Moguls and Dual Moguls make up the FIS Freestyle World Cup in Alpe d'Huez, France. Again we remain in France for the Women's Alpine World Cup in Downhill and Super G at the Val-d'Isère ski resort. The World Padel Tour completes the season in Barcelona with the Master Final.
We begin Friday in Nagoya, Japan, where the women contest the World Table Tennis Finals. Seoul is the next venue of the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating. Bangkok begins the first of three FIE Fencing Junior World Cup events of the week. Footgolf comes to the Cullinan Links, Course A in Turkey's Antalya for the FIFG World Tour Grand Final. Moving to the capital Istanbul where bodybuilders gather to compete in the IFBB President Santonja World Cup. Our first dance sport of week is for rising stars in the World DanceSport Federation World Challenge Cup in Latvia's Riga. Skeleton and bobsleigh stars head to Innsbruck in Austria for the next stage of the IBSF World Cup. The second FIS Snowboard World Cup takes us to Italy's Cervinia for a snowboard cross event. Cross country skiers will compete in Norway's Trondheim in an FIS World Cup competition. London's Alexandra Palace is the famous location of the Professional Darts Corporation World Championship that will last until the 3rd January 2024. We close out Friday in Canada's Whistler for the next Eberspächer Luge World Cup and Team Relay World Cup.
This week we have four Freestyle Ski World Cup competitions and the final one takes us to China's Changchun on Saturday with Aerials as the event. Standard for adults is the discipline in Riga at the World DanceSport Federation World Cup. We remain in Latvia for two days of the Para Bobsleigh World Cup in Sigulda. The remaining two FIE Junior Fencing World Cups feature in Greece's Athens and Spain's Burgos. Over the weekend Austria's Kühtai hosts the 1st FIL Luge World Cup on Natural Track. It is also the first Telemark World Cup skiing event of the season with Italy's Pinzolo hosting. The final Snowboard World Cup of the week features in northern Italy. We head to Cortina d’Ampezzo for Parallel Giant Slalom. There are two International Federation of Sleddog Sports World Cup races taking us to Bischheim in France and Thetford Forest in England. Ultrarunners will be in Phoenix, Arizona, for a 24 hour Desert Solstice Track Invitation.
There are two competitions on Sunday. The fourth FIS Alpine World Cup features for men in Italy's Alta Badia with Giant Slalom as the event. Round 8 of the 2023/2024 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Cup moves to Belgium's Namur, the capital city of the nation's Wallonia region.
For more information and to plan your trip, visit UCOLOURS Premier Events.
Until next time, have a great week in sport.