Is This Still Soccer?
In Massachusetts, rules changes brought on by the pandemic — no contact, no tackles, no headers, no throw-ins — are forcing soccer players and coaches to adapt to a very different game.
You’re still not allowed to touch the ball with your hands.
But in many other important ways, the soccer being played by Massachusetts high schools this fall differs significantly in shape and form from the soccer known and played around the rest of the world.
No physical contact. No slide tackles. No headers. No throw-ins. Six feet of distance between players is required whenever play is restarted — in other words, no walls or close marking on free kicks. And to top things off, everyone on the field must wear a mask at all times.
Sports leagues across the country, from youth leagues to the pros, are implementing safety protocols this fall to try to play games amid the coronavirus pandemic. Some guidelines, on things like sharing water bottles or high-fiving or locker room use, are common sense in the coronavirus era. Others are more extreme: In Vermont, for example, high schools are playing seven-on-seven football this year, and volleyball matches are moving from indoor gyms to outdoor courts.
But few have taken things as far as the state of Massachusetts, which unveiled its unusual rules for soccer on the eve of what is shaping up to be one of the strangest high school sports seasons in memory.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/spor ... 778d3e6de3
Sports related issues
Diego Maradona, One of Soccer’s Greatest Players, Is Dead at 60
He was ranked with Pelé among the best, and his ability to surprise and startle won over fans and even critics. But his excesses and addictions darkened his legacy.
Diego Maradona, the Argentine who became a national hero as one of soccer’s greatest players, performing with a roguish cunning and extravagant control while pursuing a personal life rife with drug and alcohol abuse and health problems, died on Wednesday in Tigre, Argentina, in Buenos Aires Province. He was 60.
His spokesman, Sebastián Sanchi, said the cause was a heart attack. Maradona had undergone brain surgery several weeks ago.
News of the death brought an outpouring of mourning and remembrance in Argentina, becoming virtually the sole topic of conversation. Such was his stature — in 2000, FIFA, soccer’s governing body, voted him and Pelé of Brazil the sport’s two greatest players — that the government declared three days of national mourning.
At Maradona’s feet, the ball seemed to obey his command like a pet. (He was said to do with an orange what others could only do with a ball.) And he played with a kind of brilliant camouflage, seeming to be somnolent for long stretches before asserting himself at urgent moments with a mesmerizing dribble, astounding pass or stabbing shot.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/spor ... 778d3e6de3
He was ranked with Pelé among the best, and his ability to surprise and startle won over fans and even critics. But his excesses and addictions darkened his legacy.
Diego Maradona, the Argentine who became a national hero as one of soccer’s greatest players, performing with a roguish cunning and extravagant control while pursuing a personal life rife with drug and alcohol abuse and health problems, died on Wednesday in Tigre, Argentina, in Buenos Aires Province. He was 60.
His spokesman, Sebastián Sanchi, said the cause was a heart attack. Maradona had undergone brain surgery several weeks ago.
News of the death brought an outpouring of mourning and remembrance in Argentina, becoming virtually the sole topic of conversation. Such was his stature — in 2000, FIFA, soccer’s governing body, voted him and Pelé of Brazil the sport’s two greatest players — that the government declared three days of national mourning.
At Maradona’s feet, the ball seemed to obey his command like a pet. (He was said to do with an orange what others could only do with a ball.) And he played with a kind of brilliant camouflage, seeming to be somnolent for long stretches before asserting himself at urgent moments with a mesmerizing dribble, astounding pass or stabbing shot.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/spor ... 778d3e6de3
Kieron Pollard HITS Six Sixes in an Over!! | West Indies vs Sri Lanka | 1st CG Insurance T20I - YouTube
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOjFPJ19Gq4
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOjFPJ19Gq4
The Deepest Diver in the History of Free Diving Goes Below the Ice
For the past four years, Alexey Molchanov has been the undisputed best all-around free diver in the world. He broke yet another world record last week, this time beneath an icy surface.
Watch video and photos at:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/spor ... 778d3e6de3
When the champion free diver and multiple world-record holder Alexey Molchanov stepped onto the streaked ice on Lake Baikal in southern Siberia on March 16, the sky was cobalt blue. The sun illuminated the surrounding mountains, the wind was light, and the air a balmy 14 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 10 Celsius).
It was the perfect day for a swim.
But this wasn’t the typical polar bear plunge. Molchanov, 34, hoped to swim 80 meters, or approximately 262 feet, beneath the one-meter-thick icy surface and back up on a single breath. In the process, he would break yet another world record: the deepest free dive under the ice with fins.
Dressed in a thick, blue wet suit and gloves, he slid into a monofin then slipped into a square, 3 meters by 3 meters, cut in the ice, where he clipped onto a thin rope that disappeared into the inky water.
He deployed a technique that his mother, Natalia Molchanova, the most decorated free diver of all time, first developed and taught, and Molchanov has taken worldwide. She called it deconcentration. Instead of taking in the scene, he detached from it, both visually and psychologically.
He focused on taking long, deep, rhythmic breaths until his heart rate slowed and he entered a meditative state. Then he sipped the air through pursed lips until his lungs were fully inflated, from his diaphragm to the tiny air pockets between and behind his shoulder blades. Finally, he ducked below the surface, and disappeared.
Nearly 100 spectators and a throng of Russian news media waited on the surface above him.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/spor ... 778d3e6de3
For the past four years, Alexey Molchanov has been the undisputed best all-around free diver in the world. He broke yet another world record last week, this time beneath an icy surface.
Watch video and photos at:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/spor ... 778d3e6de3
When the champion free diver and multiple world-record holder Alexey Molchanov stepped onto the streaked ice on Lake Baikal in southern Siberia on March 16, the sky was cobalt blue. The sun illuminated the surrounding mountains, the wind was light, and the air a balmy 14 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 10 Celsius).
It was the perfect day for a swim.
But this wasn’t the typical polar bear plunge. Molchanov, 34, hoped to swim 80 meters, or approximately 262 feet, beneath the one-meter-thick icy surface and back up on a single breath. In the process, he would break yet another world record: the deepest free dive under the ice with fins.
Dressed in a thick, blue wet suit and gloves, he slid into a monofin then slipped into a square, 3 meters by 3 meters, cut in the ice, where he clipped onto a thin rope that disappeared into the inky water.
He deployed a technique that his mother, Natalia Molchanova, the most decorated free diver of all time, first developed and taught, and Molchanov has taken worldwide. She called it deconcentration. Instead of taking in the scene, he detached from it, both visually and psychologically.
He focused on taking long, deep, rhythmic breaths until his heart rate slowed and he entered a meditative state. Then he sipped the air through pursed lips until his lungs were fully inflated, from his diaphragm to the tiny air pockets between and behind his shoulder blades. Finally, he ducked below the surface, and disappeared.
Nearly 100 spectators and a throng of Russian news media waited on the surface above him.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/spor ... 778d3e6de3
The Ismaili eChess Cup
It is with great excitement that Youth & Sports brings you “The Ismaili eChess Cup”! This game has become a huge cultural phenomenon and this initiative aims to bring together Jamati members from around the world to engage in a friendly competition to challenge the mind and build new friendships globally.
Portuguese
The tournament starts in May and ends in July.
Three categories are open to competition:
Junior up to 16 years old;
Adult over 16 years old;
Teams of 4 players.
Whether you are a beginner, an intermediate or an advanced player, join the chess tournament!
Register now here https://the.ismaili/esports.
Also, if you don't know how to play chess and want to learn, here is your opportunity to do so! Sign up with:
Sarah Karina (915 533 643)
Rafik Nizarali (927 621 532)
It is with great excitement that Youth & Sports brings you “The Ismaili eChess Cup”! This game has become a huge cultural phenomenon and this initiative aims to bring together Jamati members from around the world to engage in a friendly competition to challenge the mind and build new friendships globally.
Portuguese
The tournament starts in May and ends in July.
Three categories are open to competition:
Junior up to 16 years old;
Adult over 16 years old;
Teams of 4 players.
Whether you are a beginner, an intermediate or an advanced player, join the chess tournament!
Register now here https://the.ismaili/esports.
Also, if you don't know how to play chess and want to learn, here is your opportunity to do so! Sign up with:
Sarah Karina (915 533 643)
Rafik Nizarali (927 621 532)
Cricket-IPL suspended due to COVID-19, foreign players fret over return
NEW DELHI, May 4 (Reuters) – The Indian Premier League (IPL) was suspended indefinitely on Tuesday due to the COVID-19 crisis in the country, leaving many international players with major concerns over how they will return home.
The organising Indian cricket board (BCCI) and the league’s governing council members convened an emergency meeting at which they decided to suspend the tournament with immediate effect.
The BCCI had forged ahead with the league despite fierce criticism for staging it in a country where coronavirus infections surged past 20 million on Tuesday.
“These are difficult times, especially in India, and while we have tried to bring in some positivity and cheer, however, it is imperative that the tournament is now suspended and everyone goes back to their families and loved ones in these trying times,” the league said in a statement.
“The BCCI will do everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021.”
The eight-team IPL, with an estimated brand value of $6.8 billion, is the richest Twenty20 league and attracts many of the best players from around the world to cricket-crazy India.
As many as 57 foreign players, including 14 Australians, are currently stuck in India along with dozens of support staff.
IPL chairman Brijesh Patel told Reuters it was too early to say when the league, originally scheduled to culminate in a May 30 final in Ahmedabad, could resume.
“We are looking for another window,” Patel said by telephone. “Right now we can’t say when we can reschedule it.”
A suspension looked almost inevitable after Monday’s game in Ahmedabad had to be postponed after two Kolkata Knight Riders players tested positive for COVID-19.
Two non-playing members of Chennai Super Kings also contracted the virus in Delhi, prompting questions about the robustness of the league’s bio-bubble arrangements.
The abrupt suspension left foreign players, including England’s World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan and Australia’s Steve Smith and David Warner, with a major headache.
TRAVEL ISSUES
Australia has banned all arrivals from India until May 15 and England has added India to its travel “red” list.
In a letter to the franchises last month, the league assured them they would discuss the foreign players’ travel arrangements with the Indian government.
Cricket Australia declined to comment when asked if it had any plans to try and bring its players home.
Hours before the league was suspended, the Australian Cricketers’ Association said it would talk to the Australian government about the players’ travel plans.
Australian players Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson cut short their IPL stints to return home last week.
Former Australia test batsman Michael Slater, now working as a commentator, strongly criticised the Australian government for its decision to ban citizens in COVID-ravaged India from returning home, saying Prime Minister Scott Morrison has “blood” on his hands.
Morrison dismissed Slater’s criticism as “absurd” on a TV talk show on Tuesday.
“What we’re doing here is we’ve got a temporary pause in place because we’ve seen a rapid escalation in the infection rate in people who have travelled out of India,” Morrison said on the Nine Network.
The IPL’s suspension also casts doubt on this year’s Twenty20 World Cup which is scheduled to take place in India in October-November.
The global showpiece tournament could be shifted to the United Arab Emirates if the COVID-19 crisis in India does not ease, a BCCI official said last week.
(Additional reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; editing by Ed Osmond)
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/cricket ... ee9d77dc9f
NEW DELHI, May 4 (Reuters) – The Indian Premier League (IPL) was suspended indefinitely on Tuesday due to the COVID-19 crisis in the country, leaving many international players with major concerns over how they will return home.
The organising Indian cricket board (BCCI) and the league’s governing council members convened an emergency meeting at which they decided to suspend the tournament with immediate effect.
The BCCI had forged ahead with the league despite fierce criticism for staging it in a country where coronavirus infections surged past 20 million on Tuesday.
“These are difficult times, especially in India, and while we have tried to bring in some positivity and cheer, however, it is imperative that the tournament is now suspended and everyone goes back to their families and loved ones in these trying times,” the league said in a statement.
“The BCCI will do everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021.”
The eight-team IPL, with an estimated brand value of $6.8 billion, is the richest Twenty20 league and attracts many of the best players from around the world to cricket-crazy India.
As many as 57 foreign players, including 14 Australians, are currently stuck in India along with dozens of support staff.
IPL chairman Brijesh Patel told Reuters it was too early to say when the league, originally scheduled to culminate in a May 30 final in Ahmedabad, could resume.
“We are looking for another window,” Patel said by telephone. “Right now we can’t say when we can reschedule it.”
A suspension looked almost inevitable after Monday’s game in Ahmedabad had to be postponed after two Kolkata Knight Riders players tested positive for COVID-19.
Two non-playing members of Chennai Super Kings also contracted the virus in Delhi, prompting questions about the robustness of the league’s bio-bubble arrangements.
The abrupt suspension left foreign players, including England’s World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan and Australia’s Steve Smith and David Warner, with a major headache.
TRAVEL ISSUES
Australia has banned all arrivals from India until May 15 and England has added India to its travel “red” list.
In a letter to the franchises last month, the league assured them they would discuss the foreign players’ travel arrangements with the Indian government.
Cricket Australia declined to comment when asked if it had any plans to try and bring its players home.
Hours before the league was suspended, the Australian Cricketers’ Association said it would talk to the Australian government about the players’ travel plans.
Australian players Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson cut short their IPL stints to return home last week.
Former Australia test batsman Michael Slater, now working as a commentator, strongly criticised the Australian government for its decision to ban citizens in COVID-ravaged India from returning home, saying Prime Minister Scott Morrison has “blood” on his hands.
Morrison dismissed Slater’s criticism as “absurd” on a TV talk show on Tuesday.
“What we’re doing here is we’ve got a temporary pause in place because we’ve seen a rapid escalation in the infection rate in people who have travelled out of India,” Morrison said on the Nine Network.
The IPL’s suspension also casts doubt on this year’s Twenty20 World Cup which is scheduled to take place in India in October-November.
The global showpiece tournament could be shifted to the United Arab Emirates if the COVID-19 crisis in India does not ease, a BCCI official said last week.
(Additional reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; editing by Ed Osmond)
https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/cricket ... ee9d77dc9f
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TaylorRoux
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Mon May 10, 2021 7:50 am
Paralympic Sports
I`m really inspired by a history of Karoly Takacs. He was the first shooter to win two Olympic gold medals in the 25 metre rapid fire pistol event, both with his left hand after his right hand was seriously injured. He is the third known physically disabled athlete to have competed in the Olympic Games after George Eyser in 1904 and Olivér Halassy in 1928. During army training in 1938, his right hand was badly injured when a faulty grenade exploded. Takács was determined to continue his shooting career, and switched to shooting with his left hand. He practiced in secret, surprising his countrymen when he won the Hungarian national pistol shooting championship in the spring of 1939. He also was a member of the Hungarian team that won the 1939 UIT World Shooting Championships in the event. The Olympic Games scheduled for 1940 and 1944 were canceled due to the Second World War. However, Takács surprised the world by winning the gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, aged 38, beating the favourite, Argentine Carlos Enrique Díaz Sáenz Valiente, the reigning world champion. Valiente had approached Takács before the event and had asked him what was he doing there (having heard about his accident). His reply was that he was there to learn, setting a world record. Valiente later congratulated him, saying you have learned enough. Although most associated with the rapid fire pistol, Takács also won a bronze medal at the 1958 ISSF World Shooting Championships in 25 metre center-fire pistol. He also won 35 Hungarian national shooting championships.
After his shooting career, Takács became a coach. He trained Hungarian Szilárd Kun, who won the silver medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He ended his army career as a lieutenant colonel.
This incredible story inspired me to go through all dificulties in my work (gambling industry), if someone interested in gambling sphere, you can contact me here or visit my website https://clashofslots.com
After his shooting career, Takács became a coach. He trained Hungarian Szilárd Kun, who won the silver medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He ended his army career as a lieutenant colonel.
This incredible story inspired me to go through all dificulties in my work (gambling industry), if someone interested in gambling sphere, you can contact me here or visit my website https://clashofslots.com
A Sports Event Shouldn’t Be a Superspreader. Cancel the Olympics.
The Tokyo Olympics are in big trouble. Postponed by a year and slated to begin in July, the Olympics have become a political flash point in Japan, where almost 60 percent of the population opposes staging the Games this summer and where less than 2 percent of the population is vaccinated for Covid-19.
The International Olympic Committee, local Olympic organizers and Japan’s ruling party maintain that the Games must go on, even amid pandemic conditions. As Covid cases surged in Japan in January, Thomas Bach, the I.O.C.’s president, said he had “no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on July 23.” He added, “There is no Plan B.”
For many spectators, what is most alluring about the Olympics is their audacious impracticality, with thousands of athletes from many sports coming together from around the world to compete in one place. However, during a global public health crisis, this has potentially lethal consequences.
It’s time to listen to science and halt the dangerous charade: The Tokyo Olympics must be canceled.
And yet, the Olympic steamroller rumbles forward. There are three main reasons: money, money and money. And let’s be clear: Most of that money trickles up, not to athletes but to those who manage, broadcast and sponsor the Games.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/opin ... 778d3e6de3
The Tokyo Olympics are in big trouble. Postponed by a year and slated to begin in July, the Olympics have become a political flash point in Japan, where almost 60 percent of the population opposes staging the Games this summer and where less than 2 percent of the population is vaccinated for Covid-19.
The International Olympic Committee, local Olympic organizers and Japan’s ruling party maintain that the Games must go on, even amid pandemic conditions. As Covid cases surged in Japan in January, Thomas Bach, the I.O.C.’s president, said he had “no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on July 23.” He added, “There is no Plan B.”
For many spectators, what is most alluring about the Olympics is their audacious impracticality, with thousands of athletes from many sports coming together from around the world to compete in one place. However, during a global public health crisis, this has potentially lethal consequences.
It’s time to listen to science and halt the dangerous charade: The Tokyo Olympics must be canceled.
And yet, the Olympic steamroller rumbles forward. There are three main reasons: money, money and money. And let’s be clear: Most of that money trickles up, not to athletes but to those who manage, broadcast and sponsor the Games.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/opin ... 778d3e6de3
Why We Hold Olympic Athletes to Such Ridiculous and Cruel Standards
Sha’Carri Richardson, the 21-year-old American sprinter whose breakout victory in the 100-meter dash at the U.S. track and field Olympic trials in Oregon last month transformed her into an overnight star, posted a plaintive message on Twitter on Thursday afternoon: “I am human.”
What she was referring to became clear when news broke that the United States Anti-Doping Agency was suspending her for a month, after she tested positive for marijuana. Ms. Richardson says she used the drug after a reporter told her about the death of her biological mother. (Recreational marijuana is legal in the state of Oregon, where she was at the time.) Now, she’s out of the 100-meter dash at the Tokyo Olympics.
In her tweet, Ms. Richardson pointed out the obvious, and yet it needed to be said: She is human. Olympians are capable of superhuman feats of athleticism — but does that mean we must punish them when they prove to be fallible like the rest of us, after all?
Sometimes it seems that way. The best athletes in the world are already under extraordinary pressure to perform — but we require extraordinary conduct from them in parts of their lives that have nothing to do with their sports.
Of course, marijuana is a banned substance. Athletes are responsible for everything they put in their bodies, and for ensuring they comply with the rules. Ms. Richardson knew it might jeopardize her Olympic future.
“I’m not making an excuse or looking for any empathy,” Ms. Richardson told the “Today” show Friday morning, as she apologized to her fans, her family and her sponsors. She acknowledged that the news of her mother’s death had thrown her, and explained the pressure of having to “go in front of the world and put on a face and hide my pain.” She added, “I know that I can’t hide myself, so at least in some type of way I was just trying to hide my pain.”
It is devastating to think of the lengths that our best athletes go to handle their pain. Tiger Woods, who tested positive for marijuana, pain medications and sleep drugs when he was arrested for driving under the influence in 2017, said he was suffering from insomnia and pain from his fourth back operation. Suzy Favor Hamilton, the nine-time N.C.A.A. champion, suffered from depression after she retired from her athletic career; it led to scandal following the revelation that she’d been working as an escort. Olympian Raven Saunders talked recently about wanting to drive off the road two years after the 2016 Olympics. Michael Phelps has been public about his mental health struggles for years. (A photo of him smoking marijuana was published in 2009; he lost a sponsorship from Kellogg’s.)
We don’t just expect our Olympians to be incredible athletes. We expect them to be role models and to adhere to impossibly high levels of self-discipline, work ethics, and sportsmanship that have nothing to do with their actual job. Women, especially women of color, face even higher expectations.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/02/opin ... 778d3e6de3
Sha’Carri Richardson, the 21-year-old American sprinter whose breakout victory in the 100-meter dash at the U.S. track and field Olympic trials in Oregon last month transformed her into an overnight star, posted a plaintive message on Twitter on Thursday afternoon: “I am human.”
What she was referring to became clear when news broke that the United States Anti-Doping Agency was suspending her for a month, after she tested positive for marijuana. Ms. Richardson says she used the drug after a reporter told her about the death of her biological mother. (Recreational marijuana is legal in the state of Oregon, where she was at the time.) Now, she’s out of the 100-meter dash at the Tokyo Olympics.
In her tweet, Ms. Richardson pointed out the obvious, and yet it needed to be said: She is human. Olympians are capable of superhuman feats of athleticism — but does that mean we must punish them when they prove to be fallible like the rest of us, after all?
Sometimes it seems that way. The best athletes in the world are already under extraordinary pressure to perform — but we require extraordinary conduct from them in parts of their lives that have nothing to do with their sports.
Of course, marijuana is a banned substance. Athletes are responsible for everything they put in their bodies, and for ensuring they comply with the rules. Ms. Richardson knew it might jeopardize her Olympic future.
“I’m not making an excuse or looking for any empathy,” Ms. Richardson told the “Today” show Friday morning, as she apologized to her fans, her family and her sponsors. She acknowledged that the news of her mother’s death had thrown her, and explained the pressure of having to “go in front of the world and put on a face and hide my pain.” She added, “I know that I can’t hide myself, so at least in some type of way I was just trying to hide my pain.”
It is devastating to think of the lengths that our best athletes go to handle their pain. Tiger Woods, who tested positive for marijuana, pain medications and sleep drugs when he was arrested for driving under the influence in 2017, said he was suffering from insomnia and pain from his fourth back operation. Suzy Favor Hamilton, the nine-time N.C.A.A. champion, suffered from depression after she retired from her athletic career; it led to scandal following the revelation that she’d been working as an escort. Olympian Raven Saunders talked recently about wanting to drive off the road two years after the 2016 Olympics. Michael Phelps has been public about his mental health struggles for years. (A photo of him smoking marijuana was published in 2009; he lost a sponsorship from Kellogg’s.)
We don’t just expect our Olympians to be incredible athletes. We expect them to be role models and to adhere to impossibly high levels of self-discipline, work ethics, and sportsmanship that have nothing to do with their actual job. Women, especially women of color, face even higher expectations.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/02/opin ... 778d3e6de3
The journey of the pawn continues online
The first annual eChess Cup hosted its National tournament for the United Arab Emirates and the Region in May 2021, where athletes ranging from as young as 6 years to 52 years old came together. Each one of them was enthusiastic and ready to use their knowledge, which was acquired from the eight coaching sessions held previously.
The eChess Cup is an eSports & Fitness initiative, whose primary goal is to maintain a culture of athletic excellence while promoting the physical and mental well-being of the Global Jamat. These events help to build and strengthen community identification, involvement, and appreciation for the goals set by the Imamat projects. (https://the.ismaili/esports/about)
Imran Ladhani, athlete Rayan’s father said, “It has been a pleasant experience for the kids and has provided an excellent opportunity to learn chess, understand and experience participating in a professional event, handle the competition’s pressure and perform under stress, which plays a vital role in a child’s mental growth and development.”
Chess is one of the few games that has managed to retain people’s attention since the beginning of its existence. When playing chess, your brain is challenged to exercise logic, develop pattern-recognition, make decisions both visually and analytically, and test your memory. The aesthetic structure of the elements, the traditional names of the pieces, the game's inevitable stages of play and eventually in the game's dignified conclusion, all contribute to its significance in the 21st century. Undoubtedly, the concentration, effort and dedication it takes to master this game can be compared to any other physical sport. In addition, while the ongoing pandemic requires us to stay within close limits of our houses, such events help us remain connected and maintain unity while simultaneously having fun.
The 16 qualifiers from the region competed in the Block A Tournament (the other qualifiers were from Australia/New Zealand, Bangladesh, Far East, India, Pakistan) in the Adult and Junior categories. Ahaq Amin Ali (Junior Category) and Shadeen Hemnani (Adult Category) then qualified from the region to the International eChess Tournament.
While expressing his gratitude to all the volunteers and arbiters who made this event a success, the eChess Lead for the United Arab Emirates region, Nabeel Shiraz, commented, “Volunteers have been given the opportunity to serve from the comforts of their homes and upgrade their skills by learning about new technologies.”
Whether they qualified or not, athletes, parents, arbiters and team members all logged off with big smiles and great sportsmanship.
https://the.ismaili/uae/the-journey-the ... ues-online
The first annual eChess Cup hosted its National tournament for the United Arab Emirates and the Region in May 2021, where athletes ranging from as young as 6 years to 52 years old came together. Each one of them was enthusiastic and ready to use their knowledge, which was acquired from the eight coaching sessions held previously.
The eChess Cup is an eSports & Fitness initiative, whose primary goal is to maintain a culture of athletic excellence while promoting the physical and mental well-being of the Global Jamat. These events help to build and strengthen community identification, involvement, and appreciation for the goals set by the Imamat projects. (https://the.ismaili/esports/about)
Imran Ladhani, athlete Rayan’s father said, “It has been a pleasant experience for the kids and has provided an excellent opportunity to learn chess, understand and experience participating in a professional event, handle the competition’s pressure and perform under stress, which plays a vital role in a child’s mental growth and development.”
Chess is one of the few games that has managed to retain people’s attention since the beginning of its existence. When playing chess, your brain is challenged to exercise logic, develop pattern-recognition, make decisions both visually and analytically, and test your memory. The aesthetic structure of the elements, the traditional names of the pieces, the game's inevitable stages of play and eventually in the game's dignified conclusion, all contribute to its significance in the 21st century. Undoubtedly, the concentration, effort and dedication it takes to master this game can be compared to any other physical sport. In addition, while the ongoing pandemic requires us to stay within close limits of our houses, such events help us remain connected and maintain unity while simultaneously having fun.
The 16 qualifiers from the region competed in the Block A Tournament (the other qualifiers were from Australia/New Zealand, Bangladesh, Far East, India, Pakistan) in the Adult and Junior categories. Ahaq Amin Ali (Junior Category) and Shadeen Hemnani (Adult Category) then qualified from the region to the International eChess Tournament.
While expressing his gratitude to all the volunteers and arbiters who made this event a success, the eChess Lead for the United Arab Emirates region, Nabeel Shiraz, commented, “Volunteers have been given the opportunity to serve from the comforts of their homes and upgrade their skills by learning about new technologies.”
Whether they qualified or not, athletes, parents, arbiters and team members all logged off with big smiles and great sportsmanship.
https://the.ismaili/uae/the-journey-the ... ues-online
Re: Sports related issues
Skating in a winter wonderland
The recent Winterlude Games held in the valleys of Northern Pakistan enabled the local community to come together to improve their mental and physical wellbeing.
The mountainous valley of Hunza in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan hosted a winter sports competition in January 2022, building upon its short yet rich history of sporting achievement.
Prior to 2016, the region had been closed for sporting activities every winter due to harsh weather conditions, but hosted its first ice skating training programme five years ago, followed by an ice hockey training programme the following year.
Introduced by the Aga Khan Youth and Sports Board for Pakistan as part of its Sports Fellowship programme, renowned Ismaili ice hockey player Omar Kanji visited Pakistan and trained aspiring athletes in the region. Through such endeavours, AKYSB aims to keep sporting activities accessible, even in the remotest parts of the country.
Gulkhin, a village in Hunza, formed its ice hockey team following the coaching sessions and began competing in the National Championship in Naltar as well as the Sports Festival in Khalti Gupis. They won both championships in 2021.
This year, as per tradition, the winter games were organised in different parts of Hunza by the youth-led organisation SCARF (Sports Club and Rising Federation), the Ghulkin Winter Club, and the Pakistan Winter Sports Federation. Events were attended by thousands of spectators including members of the Jamat, Scouts, Guides, and representatives from AKDN, civil society, and the government.
Athletes demonstrated their refined skills and an admirable spirit of sportsmanship. The Winterlude games served as a way for youth to spend time and energy constructively and functioned as a platform for the community to coalesce, all while fostering economic development through tourism.
Aside from ice skating and hockey, highlights of the winter games included football and polo. A total of 20 mens and womens teams participated, with members from Hunza, Ghizer, Skardu, and Kashmir. The event also offered an opportunity for local women entrepreneurs to promote their businesses. Handicraft and food stalls were assembled during the festival, catering to participants and guests alike.
A parallel series, the Karakorum Winterlude Season IV, also organised by SCARF, took place the previous week and included fast-growing sports such as glacier hiking, mount-cycling, and ice-climbing, attracting a younger audience.
The Canadian High Commissioner in Pakistan, Miss Wendy Gilmour, attended the event and refereed an all-girls ice hockey game played between Serena Hotel and Ciqam. Delegates from the High Commission enjoyed playing ice hockey in the valley surrounded by the beautiful snow-capped mountains, and expressed their support for the initiative.
“It’s so encouraging to see communities themselves, the young people organising sports, organising opportunities for people to get outdoors,” Miss Gilmour said.
https://the.ismaili/global/news/communi ... wonderland
Re: Sports related issues
Perseverance in a Pandemic: The Success of Shuttlesport Tajikistan
Two years ago, Omina didn’t play any sports. Now, she is a national badminton champion.
Badminton athlete Omina Okhonqadamova. Photo by Nekruz Jamshedov
Two years ago, Omina didn’t play any sports. Now, she is a national badminton champion.
Fourteen-year-old Omina Okhonqadamova took up the sport of badminton in 2019 in Khorog, Tajikistan. She is a student at a badminton training program developed in Khorog in partnership with Shuttlesport Badminton Academy in British Columbia.
After decades of coaching competitive badminton teams and running his own academy Shuttlesport CEO Arif Mawani wanted to expand his training program to low-resource countries. Arif and Head Coach Nekruz Asmatbekov connected after the 2016 Jubilee Games and a five-year collaborative agreement was developed with a commitment to open three badminton academies in Khorog. Arif began planning for Nekruz and other coaches from Tajikistan to travel to BC for training. But their plans were thwarted.
Arif Mawani, CEO of Shuttlesport coaching academy participants. Photo by Joseph Yeung.
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and international travel was no longer permitted. Arif quickly pivoted the training to a virtual platform, developing new practice manuals and recording drills and exercises. Video calls were used to observe the skill level of players, the facility and resources available, and tailor the program accordingly.
Coach Nekruz adapted quickly, working through online coaching courses and absorbing resources from Arif. In addition to a full-time job, Coach Nekruz led practices 3-4 days a week at 7am. He is passionate about promoting badminton in Khorog and supporting kids who want to excel in the sport.
The players and their parents were equally committed, even when training facilities were suboptimal. One ice-cold morning in January 2021, the training gym had no heating and it was tough for the players to practice. Instead of cancelling practice, the parents banded together and found ways of blowing heat into the building, allowing the kids to complete their training.
A Shuttlesport Tajikistan badminton practice in Khorog. Photo by Nekruz Jamshedov
It was in this environment that Omina trained and excelled in badminton. The Aga Khan Youth and Sports Board (AKYSB) in Canada spoke with Omina to find out how she achieved her great success in such a short time, and with the added challenge of COVID-19.
In just two short years, Shuttlesport has established three academies in Tajikistan and is currently training over 100 participants in Khorog. Congratulations to Omina, Coach Nekruz, Arif and all players!
Interview With Omina
Interviewer (AKYSB): Omina, can you tell us about yourself?
Omina Okhonqadamova (OO): My name is Omina Okhonqadamova. I am 14 years old and I am in the 8th grade. I started playing badminton two years ago. I love badminton very much and want to be a champion.
AKYSB: What are your training sessions like?
OO: We focus on physical exercise when we don’t have an upcoming tournament. When we have a tournament, we switch to technical training on the court. In one day, we practice twice; in the morning and afternoon. Coach Nekruz always checks in with us, he asks about how we are doing in our studies and talks to us about being healthy.
AKYSB: Can you tell us about your experience playing in national tournaments?
OO: I play in tournaments around the country; in Dushanbe, in the East of Tajikistan and in Khorog. After training twice a day for many months, I soon became the top player in my age group. When I became a champion I was happy and really proud of myself.
AKYSB: What is your biggest challenge when playing badminton?
OO: I sometimes miss my training because of my studies. But Coach Nekruz tells us firstly to focus on our studies and that we always need to have balance. I can now manage my time well and I think next year won’t be so difficult for me.
AKYSB: What guidance do you have for young people who want to play badminton?
OO: The most important advice I would give to young people is to follow the guidance of the coach and attend training sessions. Then, if you want to achieve success at a high level, you have to work very hard, have inspiration and love the sport you play.
AKYSB: Will you continue playing badminton?
OO: Yes, I want to continue playing for a long time; of course this depends on my family’s situation. My goal was to play in the national finals and that is why I achieved it. Now I want to participate in competitions outside of Tajikistan. I would like to study at the University of Central Asia but also keep up with badminton. My dream is to be able to excel in my studies and also be an international badminton player.
The Shuttlesport Tajikistan badminton team at a national tournament. Photo by Nekruz Jamshedov.
The Shuttlesport Tajikistan badminton team at a national tournament. Photo by Nekruz Jamshedov.
https://iicanada.org/articles/persevera ... tajikistan
Two years ago, Omina didn’t play any sports. Now, she is a national badminton champion.
Badminton athlete Omina Okhonqadamova. Photo by Nekruz Jamshedov
Two years ago, Omina didn’t play any sports. Now, she is a national badminton champion.
Fourteen-year-old Omina Okhonqadamova took up the sport of badminton in 2019 in Khorog, Tajikistan. She is a student at a badminton training program developed in Khorog in partnership with Shuttlesport Badminton Academy in British Columbia.
After decades of coaching competitive badminton teams and running his own academy Shuttlesport CEO Arif Mawani wanted to expand his training program to low-resource countries. Arif and Head Coach Nekruz Asmatbekov connected after the 2016 Jubilee Games and a five-year collaborative agreement was developed with a commitment to open three badminton academies in Khorog. Arif began planning for Nekruz and other coaches from Tajikistan to travel to BC for training. But their plans were thwarted.
Arif Mawani, CEO of Shuttlesport coaching academy participants. Photo by Joseph Yeung.
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and international travel was no longer permitted. Arif quickly pivoted the training to a virtual platform, developing new practice manuals and recording drills and exercises. Video calls were used to observe the skill level of players, the facility and resources available, and tailor the program accordingly.
Coach Nekruz adapted quickly, working through online coaching courses and absorbing resources from Arif. In addition to a full-time job, Coach Nekruz led practices 3-4 days a week at 7am. He is passionate about promoting badminton in Khorog and supporting kids who want to excel in the sport.
The players and their parents were equally committed, even when training facilities were suboptimal. One ice-cold morning in January 2021, the training gym had no heating and it was tough for the players to practice. Instead of cancelling practice, the parents banded together and found ways of blowing heat into the building, allowing the kids to complete their training.
A Shuttlesport Tajikistan badminton practice in Khorog. Photo by Nekruz Jamshedov
It was in this environment that Omina trained and excelled in badminton. The Aga Khan Youth and Sports Board (AKYSB) in Canada spoke with Omina to find out how she achieved her great success in such a short time, and with the added challenge of COVID-19.
In just two short years, Shuttlesport has established three academies in Tajikistan and is currently training over 100 participants in Khorog. Congratulations to Omina, Coach Nekruz, Arif and all players!
Interview With Omina
Interviewer (AKYSB): Omina, can you tell us about yourself?
Omina Okhonqadamova (OO): My name is Omina Okhonqadamova. I am 14 years old and I am in the 8th grade. I started playing badminton two years ago. I love badminton very much and want to be a champion.
AKYSB: What are your training sessions like?
OO: We focus on physical exercise when we don’t have an upcoming tournament. When we have a tournament, we switch to technical training on the court. In one day, we practice twice; in the morning and afternoon. Coach Nekruz always checks in with us, he asks about how we are doing in our studies and talks to us about being healthy.
AKYSB: Can you tell us about your experience playing in national tournaments?
OO: I play in tournaments around the country; in Dushanbe, in the East of Tajikistan and in Khorog. After training twice a day for many months, I soon became the top player in my age group. When I became a champion I was happy and really proud of myself.
AKYSB: What is your biggest challenge when playing badminton?
OO: I sometimes miss my training because of my studies. But Coach Nekruz tells us firstly to focus on our studies and that we always need to have balance. I can now manage my time well and I think next year won’t be so difficult for me.
AKYSB: What guidance do you have for young people who want to play badminton?
OO: The most important advice I would give to young people is to follow the guidance of the coach and attend training sessions. Then, if you want to achieve success at a high level, you have to work very hard, have inspiration and love the sport you play.
AKYSB: Will you continue playing badminton?
OO: Yes, I want to continue playing for a long time; of course this depends on my family’s situation. My goal was to play in the national finals and that is why I achieved it. Now I want to participate in competitions outside of Tajikistan. I would like to study at the University of Central Asia but also keep up with badminton. My dream is to be able to excel in my studies and also be an international badminton player.
The Shuttlesport Tajikistan badminton team at a national tournament. Photo by Nekruz Jamshedov.
The Shuttlesport Tajikistan badminton team at a national tournament. Photo by Nekruz Jamshedov.
https://iicanada.org/articles/persevera ... tajikistan
Is Cricket Sustainable Amid Climate Change?
The warming of the earth, combined with the exhausting nature of the game, is raising questions about the future of the second most popular sport in the world.
The wearing of pads, gloves and sometimes a helmet restricts a player’s ability to evaporate sweat in hot conditions often lacking shade.Credit...Anindito Mukherjee for The New York Times
By Jeré Longman and Karan Deep Singh
Jeré Longman reported from Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; and Karan Deep Singh from New Delhi.
Aug. 4, 2022
The joke is that if you want it to rain during this wetter-than-usual summer in the Caribbean, just start a cricket match.
Beneath the humor is seemingly tacit agreement with the assertion in a 2018 climate report that of all the major outdoor sports that rely on fields, or pitches, “cricket will be hardest hit by climate change.”
By some measures, cricket is the world’s second most popular sport, behind soccer, with two billion to three billion fans. And it is most widely embraced in countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Africa and in the West Indies, which are also among the places most vulnerable to the intense heat, rain, flooding, drought, hurricanes, wildfires and sea level rise linked to human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases.
Cricket in developed nations like England and Australia has also been affected as heat waves become hotter, more frequent and longer lasting. Warm air can hold more moisture, resulting in heavier rainstorms. Twenty of the 21 warmest years recorded have occurred since 2000.
This year, the sport has faced the hottest spring on the Indian subcontinent in more than a century of record keeping and the hottest day ever in Britain. In June, when the West Indies — a combined team from mainly English-speaking countries in the Caribbean — arrived to play three matches in Multan, Pakistan, the temperature reached 111 degrees Fahrenheit, above average even for one of the hottest places on earth.
“It honestly felt like you were opening an oven,” said Akeal Hosein, 29, of the West Indies, who with his teammates wore ice vests during breaks in play.
South Africa cricketers took a water break during a match against India at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi in June. This has been the hottest spring on the Indian subcontinent in more than a century of record keeping.Credit...Anindito Mukherjee for The New York Times
India’s Shreyas Iyer in action during the match. To cope with the heat, some players have worn ice vests during breaks in play.Credit...Anindito Mukherjee for The New York Times
Heat is hardly the only concern for cricket players. Like the roughly similar pitching and batting sport of baseball, cricket cannot easily be played in the rain. In July, the West Indies abandoned a match in Dominica and shortened others in Guyana and Trinidad because of rain and waterlogged fields.
An eight-match series between the West Indies and India concludes Saturday and Sunday in South Florida as the height of hurricane season approaches in the Gulf and the Atlantic. In 2017, two Category 5 storms, Irma and Maria, damaged cricket stadiums in five countries in the Caribbean.
Matches can last up to five days. Even one-day matches can extend in blistering conditions for seven hours or more. While rain cleared July 22 for the 9:30 a.m. opening of the West Indies-India series in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, players still had to contend with eight hours of sun at Queen’s Park Oval in temperatures that reached the low 90s with 60-plus percent humidity.
According to a 2019 report on cricket and climate change, a professional batsman playing over a day can generate heat equivalent to running a marathon. While marathon runners help dissipate heat by wearing shorts and singlets, in cricket the wearing of pads, gloves and a helmet restricts the ability to evaporate sweat in hot, humid conditions often lacking shade.
“It’s pretty evident that travel plans are being disrupted because of weather conditions, along with the scheduling of matches, because of rainfall, smoke, pollution, dust and heat,” said Daren Ganga, 43, a commentator and former West Indies captain who studies the impact of climate change on sport in affiliation with the University of the West Indies.
“Action needs to be taken for us to manage this situation,” Ganga said, “because I think we’ve gone beyond the tipping point in some areas. We still have the opportunity to pull things back in other areas.”
The International Cricket Council, the sport’s governing body, has not yet signed on to a United Nations sports and climate initiative. Its goal is for global sports organizations to reduce their carbon footprint to net-zero emissions by 2050 and to inspire the public to consider the issue urgently. While Australia has implemented heat guidelines, and more water breaks are generally permitted during matches, there is no global policy for play in extreme weather. The cricket council did not respond to a request for comment.
“This is like stick your head in the sand denial,” David Goldblatt, the British author of a 2020 report on sport and climate change, said of the council. “Cricket really needs to get its act together. A whole bunch of trouble is not really far away.”
A suggestion in the 2019 climate report that players be allowed to wear shorts instead of trousers to keep cool in excessive heat may seem like a common-sense idea. But it has not gone over well with the starchy customs of international cricket or seemingly with many players, who say their legs would be even more susceptible to brush burns and bruises from sliding and diving on hard fields.
A spectator stood next to a mist fan and wiped sweat off his face. Matches can last for days, testing both fans and players.Credit...Anindito Mukherjee for The New York Times
In July, cricket fans sat in the sun in Durham, England, to watch a match between England and South Africa. Credit...Oli Scarff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
“My two knees are already gone,” said India’s Yuzvendra Chahal, who is 32.
Still, questions are being raised inside the sport and out about the sustainability of cricket amid the extremes of climate and the exhausting scheduling of various formats of the game. The English star Ben Stokes retired on July 19 from the one-day international format, saying, “We are not cars where you can fill us up with petrol and let us go.”
Coincidentally, Stokes’s retirement came as Britain recorded its hottest day ever, with temperatures rising for the first time above 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 degrees Fahrenheit. As climate scientists said such heat could become the new normal, England hosted a daylong cricket match with South Africa in the modestly cooler northeastern city of Durham. Extra water breaks, ice packs and beach-style umbrellas were employed to keep the players cool. Even with those precautions, Matthew Potts of England left the match, exhausted.
Aiden Markram of South Africa was photographed with an ice bag on his head and another on his neck, his face in apparent distress, as if he had been in a heavyweight fight. Some fans were reported to have fainted or sought medical attention, while many others scrambled for thin slices of shade.
On June 9, South Africa also endured taxing conditions when it faced India in the heat, humidity and pollution of New Delhi. The heat index was 110 degrees Fahrenheit for an evening match. A section of the stadium was transformed into a cooling zone for spectators, with curtains, chairs and misting fans attached to plastic tubs of water.
“We are used to it,” said Shikhar Dhawan, 36, one of India’s captains. “I don’t really focus on the heat because if I start thinking about it too much I will start feeling it more.”
In India, cricket players are as popular as Bollywood actors. Even in sauna-like conditions, more than 30,000 spectators attended the match in New Delhi. “It feels great. Who cares about the heat?” said Saksham Mehndiratta, 17, attending his first match with his father since the coronavirus pandemic began.
After watching some spectacular batting, his father, Naresh, said, “This chills me down.”
South Africa, though, was taking no chances after a tour of India in 2015, when eight players and two members of the coaching and support staff were hospitalized in the southern city of Chennai by what officials said were the combined effects of food poisoning and heat exhaustion.
A staff member refilled water bottles for spectators at the match at the Riverside cricket ground in Durham, England. Credit...Oli Scarff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
“It was mayhem,” said Craig Govender, a physiotherapist for the South African team.
For South Africa’s recent tour, Govender took along inflatable tubs to cool players’ feet; electrolyte capsules for mealtimes; slushies of ice and magnesium; and ice towels for the shoulders, face and back. South Africa’s uniforms were ventilated behind the knees, along the seams and under the armpits. Players were weighed before and after training sessions. The color of their urine was monitored to guard against dehydration. During the June 9 match, some players jumped into ice baths to cool down.
“Global warming is already wreaking havoc on our sport,” Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia’s test cricket team, which plays five-day matches, wrote in February in The Guardian newspaper of Britain.
In 2017, Sri Lankan players wore masks and had oxygen canisters available in the dressing room to counter the heavy pollution during a match in New Delhi. Some players vomited on the field.
In 2018, the English captain Joe Root was hospitalized with gastrointestinal issues, severe dehydration and heat stress during the famed, five-day Ashes test in Sydney, Australia. At one point, a heat-index tracker registered 57.6 degrees Celsius, or 135.7 Fahrenheit.
The incident led Tony Irish, then the head of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association, to ask, “What will it take — a player to collapse on the field?” before cricket’s governing body implemented an extreme heat policy.
Also in 2018, India’s players were asked to limit showers to two minutes while playing in Cape Town during an extended drought there that caused the cancellation of club and school cricket.
In 2019, the air in Sydney became so smoky during a bush fire crisis that the Australian player Steve O’Keefe said it felt like “smoking 80 cigarettes a day.”
Climate change has touched every aspect of cricket from batting and bowling strategy to concerns by groundskeepers about seed germination, pests and fungal disease. Even Lord’s, the venerable cricket ground in London, has been forced at times to relax its fusty dress code, most recently in mid-July when patrons were not required to wear jackets in the unprecedented heat.
Children played cricket in New Delhi in June. Because of global warming, “our love and appetite for sport risks straying into brutality,” said Russell Seymour of Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.Credit...Anindito Mukherjee for The New York Times
Athletes are being asked “to compete in environments that are becoming too hostile to human physiology,” Russell Seymour, a pioneer in sustainability at Lord’s, wrote last year in a climate report. “Our love and appetite for sport risks straying into brutality.”
To be fair, some actions have been taken to help mitigate climate change. Matches sometimes start later in the day or are rescheduled. Cummins, the Australian captain, has begun an initiative to have solar panels installed on the roofs of cricket clubs there. Lord’s operates fully on wind-powered electricity. The National Green Tribunal of India, a specialized body that addresses environmental concerns, has ruled that treated waste water should be used to irrigate cricket fields instead of drinkable ground water, which is in short supply.
Players on the Royal Challengers Bangalore club of the Indian Premier League wear green uniforms for some matches to heighten environmental awareness. Team members appeared in a climate video during a devastating heat wave this spring, which included this sobering fact: “This has been the hottest temperature the country has faced in 122 years.”
Yet some in the cricket world counter that climate change cannot be expected to be the most immediate concern in developing nations, where the basics of daily life can be a struggle. And countries like India and Pakistan, where cricket is wildly popular, are among the least responsible for climate change. One hears the frequent admonishment that rich, developed nations that emit the largest amount of greenhouse gases must also do their share to lower those emissions.
“In the U.S., people are flying on private jets while they’re asking us not to use plastic straws,” said Dario Barthley, a spokesman for the West Indies team.
Kitty Bennett contributed research.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/04/spor ... 778d3e6de3
The wearing of pads, gloves and sometimes a helmet restricts a player’s ability to evaporate sweat in hot conditions often lacking shade.Credit...Anindito Mukherjee for The New York Times
By Jeré Longman and Karan Deep Singh
Jeré Longman reported from Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; and Karan Deep Singh from New Delhi.
Aug. 4, 2022
The joke is that if you want it to rain during this wetter-than-usual summer in the Caribbean, just start a cricket match.
Beneath the humor is seemingly tacit agreement with the assertion in a 2018 climate report that of all the major outdoor sports that rely on fields, or pitches, “cricket will be hardest hit by climate change.”
By some measures, cricket is the world’s second most popular sport, behind soccer, with two billion to three billion fans. And it is most widely embraced in countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Africa and in the West Indies, which are also among the places most vulnerable to the intense heat, rain, flooding, drought, hurricanes, wildfires and sea level rise linked to human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases.
Cricket in developed nations like England and Australia has also been affected as heat waves become hotter, more frequent and longer lasting. Warm air can hold more moisture, resulting in heavier rainstorms. Twenty of the 21 warmest years recorded have occurred since 2000.
This year, the sport has faced the hottest spring on the Indian subcontinent in more than a century of record keeping and the hottest day ever in Britain. In June, when the West Indies — a combined team from mainly English-speaking countries in the Caribbean — arrived to play three matches in Multan, Pakistan, the temperature reached 111 degrees Fahrenheit, above average even for one of the hottest places on earth.
“It honestly felt like you were opening an oven,” said Akeal Hosein, 29, of the West Indies, who with his teammates wore ice vests during breaks in play.
South Africa cricketers took a water break during a match against India at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi in June. This has been the hottest spring on the Indian subcontinent in more than a century of record keeping.Credit...Anindito Mukherjee for The New York Times
India’s Shreyas Iyer in action during the match. To cope with the heat, some players have worn ice vests during breaks in play.Credit...Anindito Mukherjee for The New York Times
Heat is hardly the only concern for cricket players. Like the roughly similar pitching and batting sport of baseball, cricket cannot easily be played in the rain. In July, the West Indies abandoned a match in Dominica and shortened others in Guyana and Trinidad because of rain and waterlogged fields.
An eight-match series between the West Indies and India concludes Saturday and Sunday in South Florida as the height of hurricane season approaches in the Gulf and the Atlantic. In 2017, two Category 5 storms, Irma and Maria, damaged cricket stadiums in five countries in the Caribbean.
Matches can last up to five days. Even one-day matches can extend in blistering conditions for seven hours or more. While rain cleared July 22 for the 9:30 a.m. opening of the West Indies-India series in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, players still had to contend with eight hours of sun at Queen’s Park Oval in temperatures that reached the low 90s with 60-plus percent humidity.
According to a 2019 report on cricket and climate change, a professional batsman playing over a day can generate heat equivalent to running a marathon. While marathon runners help dissipate heat by wearing shorts and singlets, in cricket the wearing of pads, gloves and a helmet restricts the ability to evaporate sweat in hot, humid conditions often lacking shade.
“It’s pretty evident that travel plans are being disrupted because of weather conditions, along with the scheduling of matches, because of rainfall, smoke, pollution, dust and heat,” said Daren Ganga, 43, a commentator and former West Indies captain who studies the impact of climate change on sport in affiliation with the University of the West Indies.
“Action needs to be taken for us to manage this situation,” Ganga said, “because I think we’ve gone beyond the tipping point in some areas. We still have the opportunity to pull things back in other areas.”
The International Cricket Council, the sport’s governing body, has not yet signed on to a United Nations sports and climate initiative. Its goal is for global sports organizations to reduce their carbon footprint to net-zero emissions by 2050 and to inspire the public to consider the issue urgently. While Australia has implemented heat guidelines, and more water breaks are generally permitted during matches, there is no global policy for play in extreme weather. The cricket council did not respond to a request for comment.
“This is like stick your head in the sand denial,” David Goldblatt, the British author of a 2020 report on sport and climate change, said of the council. “Cricket really needs to get its act together. A whole bunch of trouble is not really far away.”
A suggestion in the 2019 climate report that players be allowed to wear shorts instead of trousers to keep cool in excessive heat may seem like a common-sense idea. But it has not gone over well with the starchy customs of international cricket or seemingly with many players, who say their legs would be even more susceptible to brush burns and bruises from sliding and diving on hard fields.
A spectator stood next to a mist fan and wiped sweat off his face. Matches can last for days, testing both fans and players.Credit...Anindito Mukherjee for The New York Times
In July, cricket fans sat in the sun in Durham, England, to watch a match between England and South Africa. Credit...Oli Scarff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
“My two knees are already gone,” said India’s Yuzvendra Chahal, who is 32.
Still, questions are being raised inside the sport and out about the sustainability of cricket amid the extremes of climate and the exhausting scheduling of various formats of the game. The English star Ben Stokes retired on July 19 from the one-day international format, saying, “We are not cars where you can fill us up with petrol and let us go.”
Coincidentally, Stokes’s retirement came as Britain recorded its hottest day ever, with temperatures rising for the first time above 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 degrees Fahrenheit. As climate scientists said such heat could become the new normal, England hosted a daylong cricket match with South Africa in the modestly cooler northeastern city of Durham. Extra water breaks, ice packs and beach-style umbrellas were employed to keep the players cool. Even with those precautions, Matthew Potts of England left the match, exhausted.
Aiden Markram of South Africa was photographed with an ice bag on his head and another on his neck, his face in apparent distress, as if he had been in a heavyweight fight. Some fans were reported to have fainted or sought medical attention, while many others scrambled for thin slices of shade.
On June 9, South Africa also endured taxing conditions when it faced India in the heat, humidity and pollution of New Delhi. The heat index was 110 degrees Fahrenheit for an evening match. A section of the stadium was transformed into a cooling zone for spectators, with curtains, chairs and misting fans attached to plastic tubs of water.
“We are used to it,” said Shikhar Dhawan, 36, one of India’s captains. “I don’t really focus on the heat because if I start thinking about it too much I will start feeling it more.”
In India, cricket players are as popular as Bollywood actors. Even in sauna-like conditions, more than 30,000 spectators attended the match in New Delhi. “It feels great. Who cares about the heat?” said Saksham Mehndiratta, 17, attending his first match with his father since the coronavirus pandemic began.
After watching some spectacular batting, his father, Naresh, said, “This chills me down.”
South Africa, though, was taking no chances after a tour of India in 2015, when eight players and two members of the coaching and support staff were hospitalized in the southern city of Chennai by what officials said were the combined effects of food poisoning and heat exhaustion.
A staff member refilled water bottles for spectators at the match at the Riverside cricket ground in Durham, England. Credit...Oli Scarff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
“It was mayhem,” said Craig Govender, a physiotherapist for the South African team.
For South Africa’s recent tour, Govender took along inflatable tubs to cool players’ feet; electrolyte capsules for mealtimes; slushies of ice and magnesium; and ice towels for the shoulders, face and back. South Africa’s uniforms were ventilated behind the knees, along the seams and under the armpits. Players were weighed before and after training sessions. The color of their urine was monitored to guard against dehydration. During the June 9 match, some players jumped into ice baths to cool down.
“Global warming is already wreaking havoc on our sport,” Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia’s test cricket team, which plays five-day matches, wrote in February in The Guardian newspaper of Britain.
In 2017, Sri Lankan players wore masks and had oxygen canisters available in the dressing room to counter the heavy pollution during a match in New Delhi. Some players vomited on the field.
In 2018, the English captain Joe Root was hospitalized with gastrointestinal issues, severe dehydration and heat stress during the famed, five-day Ashes test in Sydney, Australia. At one point, a heat-index tracker registered 57.6 degrees Celsius, or 135.7 Fahrenheit.
The incident led Tony Irish, then the head of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association, to ask, “What will it take — a player to collapse on the field?” before cricket’s governing body implemented an extreme heat policy.
Also in 2018, India’s players were asked to limit showers to two minutes while playing in Cape Town during an extended drought there that caused the cancellation of club and school cricket.
In 2019, the air in Sydney became so smoky during a bush fire crisis that the Australian player Steve O’Keefe said it felt like “smoking 80 cigarettes a day.”
Climate change has touched every aspect of cricket from batting and bowling strategy to concerns by groundskeepers about seed germination, pests and fungal disease. Even Lord’s, the venerable cricket ground in London, has been forced at times to relax its fusty dress code, most recently in mid-July when patrons were not required to wear jackets in the unprecedented heat.
Children played cricket in New Delhi in June. Because of global warming, “our love and appetite for sport risks straying into brutality,” said Russell Seymour of Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.Credit...Anindito Mukherjee for The New York Times
Athletes are being asked “to compete in environments that are becoming too hostile to human physiology,” Russell Seymour, a pioneer in sustainability at Lord’s, wrote last year in a climate report. “Our love and appetite for sport risks straying into brutality.”
To be fair, some actions have been taken to help mitigate climate change. Matches sometimes start later in the day or are rescheduled. Cummins, the Australian captain, has begun an initiative to have solar panels installed on the roofs of cricket clubs there. Lord’s operates fully on wind-powered electricity. The National Green Tribunal of India, a specialized body that addresses environmental concerns, has ruled that treated waste water should be used to irrigate cricket fields instead of drinkable ground water, which is in short supply.
Players on the Royal Challengers Bangalore club of the Indian Premier League wear green uniforms for some matches to heighten environmental awareness. Team members appeared in a climate video during a devastating heat wave this spring, which included this sobering fact: “This has been the hottest temperature the country has faced in 122 years.”
Yet some in the cricket world counter that climate change cannot be expected to be the most immediate concern in developing nations, where the basics of daily life can be a struggle. And countries like India and Pakistan, where cricket is wildly popular, are among the least responsible for climate change. One hears the frequent admonishment that rich, developed nations that emit the largest amount of greenhouse gases must also do their share to lower those emissions.
“In the U.S., people are flying on private jets while they’re asking us not to use plastic straws,” said Dario Barthley, a spokesman for the West Indies team.
Kitty Bennett contributed research.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/04/spor ... 778d3e6de3
Re: Sports related issues
The Very Brief Life of a World-Class Cricket Stadium on Long Island
Built in 100 days for the Cricket World Cup, the stadium will host nine matches before it is dismantled.
The International Cricket Stadium in Nassau County was built in 100 days.Credit...Yuvraj Khanna for The New York Times
John Norton, a retired police officer from Long Island, sat in a folding chair and watched his grandson’s Little League game in East Meadow on Wednesday. The quiet spot is less than a mile from where one of the biggest sporting events in the world would take place in a few days, but Mr. Norton, like many people in the area, was only vaguely aware of the details.
“I saw the stadium from the street,” Mr. Norton said. “I don’t know the first thing about cricket, but I guess it’s going to be pretty crazy over there.”
The stadium he saw — the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium — seemed to have popped up almost overnight. Now it sits on one edge of the 930-acre Eisenhower Park, a massive — if temporary — cricket stadium that was built in sections, like a giant erector set, over the last 100 days. It will host eight matches of the Men’s T20 World Cup, an international cricket tournament expected to draw the attention of hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide, even if most people in New York seem barely aware of its existence.
Matches will also be held in six Caribbean nations along with Dallas and Lauderhill, Fla. The event officially opens on Saturday in Dallas, where the United States plays Canada. The stadium in East Meadow, which can hold 34,000 spectators, will be inaugurated with an exhibition match on Saturday between India and Bangladesh.
The Indian team arrived in New York this week and practiced at a nearby facility in Hicksville. This was all reported with great fanfare in India, a country dotted with cricket grounds of all sizes.
Image
Three cricket players in blue short-sleeve practice jerseys and dark track pants leaning against a tarp-covered wall, each tossing a cricket ball.
Members of India’s World Cup squad arrived in New York early to train for the tournament. Credit...Yuvraj Khanna for The New York Times
So why go to all the effort to host the event in a quiet park in suburban Long Island? The aim is to make new fans out of people like Mr. Norton or, ideally, his grandson. The International Cricket Council, which runs the event, estimates there are already 200,000 cricket players in the United States (up from 30,000 players 20 years ago). Geoff Allardice, a former professional cricket player from Australia and the chief executive of the I.C.C., said that even with more than a billion fans, cricket can become more popular globally.
“One of the things we are trying to do is take the game to new markets,” he said. “New York is a big step for our sport.”
A Very Quick Guide to Understanding Cricket https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/nyre ... latedLinks
The most anticipated match in the group stage is the showdown between India and Pakistan on June 9 at East Meadow. That rivalry, between two of the world’s best cricketing nations, has a bitter history on and off the pitch — like the Red Sox against the Yankees on a much larger scale and fraught with decades of geopolitical tensions. The last time the countries played against each other, at a different World Cup event last year, 323 million viewers watched in India alone, more than twice the audience of the last Super Bowl.
“The Indian cricket team would have to be the most popular international sporting team in the world, in terms of the number of followers,” Mr. Allardice said. “It’s not only the No. 1 sport, but it drives passion like nothing else.”
Besides the new stadium, fans in New York can also watch matches live on a video screen at the Oculus near the World Trade Center. Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, will host a viewing party for the India-Pakistan match on June 9.
The I.C.C. is hoping that this event will do for cricket what the 1994 World Cup did for soccer in the United States: crash the dominance that baseball, basketball, football and hockey once held.
Image
Workers and construction in an expanse of grass tending to the field.
The stands will be disassembled after the tournament, but a world-class cricket pitch will remain a part of Eisenhower Park. Credit...Yuvraj Khanna for The New York Times
Cricket, which originated in England, has a long history in New York. The Staten Island Cricket Club is set to celebrate its 152nd anniversary in July, and the first international cricket match was played 30 years before that in Manhattan, between the United States and Canada on Sept. 24, 1844.
A traditional cricket match is a notoriously long affair, so much so that there are tea breaks. Games can last most of the day, and then there are five-day internationals. But about 20 years ago, a new format was invented, called Twenty20, or T20 for short, that limited play to around three hours, and its popularity soared globally.
Image
Members of the Indian World Cup cricket squad practice in a netted enclosure.
India will play a warm-up match Saturday at the Long Island stadium against Bangladesh.Credit...Yuvraj Khanna for The New York Times
There have been many leagues and clubs in the United States over the decades; last year saw the inception of Major League Cricket, a professional league. New York’s team won the championship, but it plays its games in Texas for now, while hoping to build a permanent stadium in the New York area.
For the World Cup, the I.C.C. initially proposed installing a venue in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, a center for New York area cricket. But local opposition, including from cricketers who did not want to lose their playing fields during construction and play, forced the I.C.C. to look elsewhere. It settled on Eisenhower Park in November, and when word reached media outlets in India, some toured the site and discovered a small, scraggly pitch.
“They were appalled,” said Don Lockerbie, the venue development director, who grew up in nearby Stony Brook on Long Island. “They didn’t know what we were going to build here.”
The playing field, with the rectangular pitch in the middle, was fashioned from special grass grown in Florida. The grandstands are borrowed materials most recently used at Las Vegas’s Formula 1 race and professional golf events. After the last match is held at East Meadow on June 12, the stadium will be dismantled, the parts shipped back to Las Vegas and another golf event, and Eisenhower Park will return to normal, but with a world-class cricket pitch left behind.
Mr. Norton wished the cricket teams good luck in the tournament as he watched his grandson play baseball, but said he had no plans to attend.
“I barely get to any Yankee games,” he said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/nyre ... 778d3e6de3
Built in 100 days for the Cricket World Cup, the stadium will host nine matches before it is dismantled.
The International Cricket Stadium in Nassau County was built in 100 days.Credit...Yuvraj Khanna for The New York Times
John Norton, a retired police officer from Long Island, sat in a folding chair and watched his grandson’s Little League game in East Meadow on Wednesday. The quiet spot is less than a mile from where one of the biggest sporting events in the world would take place in a few days, but Mr. Norton, like many people in the area, was only vaguely aware of the details.
“I saw the stadium from the street,” Mr. Norton said. “I don’t know the first thing about cricket, but I guess it’s going to be pretty crazy over there.”
The stadium he saw — the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium — seemed to have popped up almost overnight. Now it sits on one edge of the 930-acre Eisenhower Park, a massive — if temporary — cricket stadium that was built in sections, like a giant erector set, over the last 100 days. It will host eight matches of the Men’s T20 World Cup, an international cricket tournament expected to draw the attention of hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide, even if most people in New York seem barely aware of its existence.
Matches will also be held in six Caribbean nations along with Dallas and Lauderhill, Fla. The event officially opens on Saturday in Dallas, where the United States plays Canada. The stadium in East Meadow, which can hold 34,000 spectators, will be inaugurated with an exhibition match on Saturday between India and Bangladesh.
The Indian team arrived in New York this week and practiced at a nearby facility in Hicksville. This was all reported with great fanfare in India, a country dotted with cricket grounds of all sizes.
Image
Three cricket players in blue short-sleeve practice jerseys and dark track pants leaning against a tarp-covered wall, each tossing a cricket ball.
Members of India’s World Cup squad arrived in New York early to train for the tournament. Credit...Yuvraj Khanna for The New York Times
So why go to all the effort to host the event in a quiet park in suburban Long Island? The aim is to make new fans out of people like Mr. Norton or, ideally, his grandson. The International Cricket Council, which runs the event, estimates there are already 200,000 cricket players in the United States (up from 30,000 players 20 years ago). Geoff Allardice, a former professional cricket player from Australia and the chief executive of the I.C.C., said that even with more than a billion fans, cricket can become more popular globally.
“One of the things we are trying to do is take the game to new markets,” he said. “New York is a big step for our sport.”
A Very Quick Guide to Understanding Cricket https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/nyre ... latedLinks
The most anticipated match in the group stage is the showdown between India and Pakistan on June 9 at East Meadow. That rivalry, between two of the world’s best cricketing nations, has a bitter history on and off the pitch — like the Red Sox against the Yankees on a much larger scale and fraught with decades of geopolitical tensions. The last time the countries played against each other, at a different World Cup event last year, 323 million viewers watched in India alone, more than twice the audience of the last Super Bowl.
“The Indian cricket team would have to be the most popular international sporting team in the world, in terms of the number of followers,” Mr. Allardice said. “It’s not only the No. 1 sport, but it drives passion like nothing else.”
Besides the new stadium, fans in New York can also watch matches live on a video screen at the Oculus near the World Trade Center. Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, will host a viewing party for the India-Pakistan match on June 9.
The I.C.C. is hoping that this event will do for cricket what the 1994 World Cup did for soccer in the United States: crash the dominance that baseball, basketball, football and hockey once held.
Image
Workers and construction in an expanse of grass tending to the field.
The stands will be disassembled after the tournament, but a world-class cricket pitch will remain a part of Eisenhower Park. Credit...Yuvraj Khanna for The New York Times
Cricket, which originated in England, has a long history in New York. The Staten Island Cricket Club is set to celebrate its 152nd anniversary in July, and the first international cricket match was played 30 years before that in Manhattan, between the United States and Canada on Sept. 24, 1844.
A traditional cricket match is a notoriously long affair, so much so that there are tea breaks. Games can last most of the day, and then there are five-day internationals. But about 20 years ago, a new format was invented, called Twenty20, or T20 for short, that limited play to around three hours, and its popularity soared globally.
Image
Members of the Indian World Cup cricket squad practice in a netted enclosure.
India will play a warm-up match Saturday at the Long Island stadium against Bangladesh.Credit...Yuvraj Khanna for The New York Times
There have been many leagues and clubs in the United States over the decades; last year saw the inception of Major League Cricket, a professional league. New York’s team won the championship, but it plays its games in Texas for now, while hoping to build a permanent stadium in the New York area.
For the World Cup, the I.C.C. initially proposed installing a venue in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, a center for New York area cricket. But local opposition, including from cricketers who did not want to lose their playing fields during construction and play, forced the I.C.C. to look elsewhere. It settled on Eisenhower Park in November, and when word reached media outlets in India, some toured the site and discovered a small, scraggly pitch.
“They were appalled,” said Don Lockerbie, the venue development director, who grew up in nearby Stony Brook on Long Island. “They didn’t know what we were going to build here.”
The playing field, with the rectangular pitch in the middle, was fashioned from special grass grown in Florida. The grandstands are borrowed materials most recently used at Las Vegas’s Formula 1 race and professional golf events. After the last match is held at East Meadow on June 12, the stadium will be dismantled, the parts shipped back to Las Vegas and another golf event, and Eisenhower Park will return to normal, but with a world-class cricket pitch left behind.
Mr. Norton wished the cricket teams good luck in the tournament as he watched his grandson play baseball, but said he had no plans to attend.
“I barely get to any Yankee games,” he said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/nyre ... 778d3e6de3
Re: Sports related issues
Coming to a City Near You: A Cricket Stadium?
Backers of the sport are negotiating leases and approvals for venues across the United States.
Four years ago, after officials in Grand Prairie, Texas, were pitched an idea to turn the city’s underused minor league ballpark into a stadium for cricket, the city’s manager, Bill Hills, thumbed through a copy of “Cricket for Dummies.”
Like most Americans, Mr. Hills was oblivious to cricket, although that is starting to change.
Last year, the 7,200-seat stadium in Grand Prairie became the new home of the Texas Super Kings, one of six teams that played in the inaugural season of Major League Cricket. And last week, the venue hosted the U.S. national team’s biggest-ever win, a stunning upset of Pakistan in the Men’s T20 World Cup, which this year is being jointly hosted by the United States and several Caribbean nations, and concludes on June 29.
A few days later, more than 34,000 cricket fans watched India narrowly beat Pakistan at a temporary stadium built in Long Island. When Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics, cricket will be among the new sports being played.
Cricket, the world’s second most popular sport, is having a moment in the United States, and investors are looking to cash in on a growing audience for the sport, especially among the cricket-loving South Asian diaspora. That includes backers of Major League Cricket franchises hatching plans for dedicated cricket stadiums in their own cities. The San Francisco Unicorns, the Los Angeles Knight Riders and the Seattle Orcas (partly owned by Satya Nadella, the chief executive of Microsoft) are negotiating leases and approvals to build new venues, with hopes of opening in the next few years.
Mr. Hills said that the Major League Cricket games last season in Grand Prairie “definitely exceeded our expectations.” During the two-week season and postseason, some 50,000 people attended a dozen matches in Grand Prairie, and the playoffs from July 27 to July 30 generated $1.7 million in economic activity, including retail, entertainment, car rentals, hotels and dining. The league’s next season starts in July, with Grand Prairie hosting 16 matches. Mr. Hills expects 85,000 fans will show up for the games.
“Who would have thought,” Mr. Hills said, that “a city like Grand Prairie would host international sporting events” watched by millions around the world.
ImagePeople standing outside a venue with signs saying “Grand Prairie” and “Ticketing.”
Last year, a 7,200-seat stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, became the home of the Texas Super Kings, one of six teams that played in the inaugural season of Major League Cricket.
Image
Fans in a stadium cheering on players on a field.
Before it began hosting cricket matches, the Grand Prairie stadium was an underutilized minor league ballpark.
“This makes Grand Prairie a destination, not just a little town between Dallas and Fort Worth,” he said.
Major League Cricket’s priorities include building more 7,000- to 10,000-seat stadiums near vibrant areas that could later blossom into entertainment districts. The stadiums will be used as playing fields to nurture young talent and appreciation for the game, said Will Swann, the league’s vice president of corporate development and infrastructure.
David Demarest, who leads the sports and entertainment development group at the real estate brokerage JLL, said cricket stadiums offered “a great opportunity to have an anchor that’s attracting people.”
“These are facilities you can program beyond cricket games,” he said.
The Seattle Orcas plan to build a stadium at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Wash., near a thriving downtown shaped by the Microsoft campus and the city of Bellevue. The Los Angeles Knight Riders have scouted a spot at the Great Park in Irvine, Calif., a wealthy part of Orange County. The San Francisco Unicorns have proposed building a stadium in the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, a redevelopment site near Silicon Valley, and have worked with Devcon, the firm behind the San Francisco 49ers stadium, on schematics.
The proposed site for the San Francisco team offers development potential and a demographic draw. Studies by the team suggest that a wealthy community of roughly 250,000 people originally from India or elsewhere in South Asia live in the Greater Bay Area, said David White, the team’s general manager. The Santa Clara site hopes to attract multiple sporting venues, including a Major League Soccer stadium, to become a hub for sports and entertainment.
Video https://vp.nyt.com/video/2024/06/13/119 ... g_720p.mp4
Local officials hope that hosting Major League Cricket matches can help to make Grand Prairie, Texas, a destination.CreditCredit...
Those developments would need to be built with fans from South Asia and other areas where cricket is popular in mind, said Justin Geale, Major League Cricket’s tournament director.
“We’ll have samosas, and we’ll also have hot dogs,” he said. “We can bring the best of American sports and the best of cricket and meld them together.”
Cricket-focused developments are also taking place outside the league: In Oswego, Ill., a suburb west of Chicago, Paresh Patel, an entrepreneur, received approval to develop Breybourne Stadium, which will include a 25,000-seat venue as well as a 120-room hotel, restaurant and upscale clubhouse for special events. Set to break ground this summer, the stadium will have more seating capacity than the United Center, home of the N.B.A.’s Chicago Bulls and the N.H.L.’s Chicago Blackhawks.
Baseball evolved from cricket, where two teams face off on a larger, circular pitch and — to simplify it greatly — take turns batting and bowling in hopes of scoring the most runs. Once a popular American pastime, cricket was overtaken by baseball in the late 19th century. At its peak, thousands of cricket clubs operated across the nation, participating in what The New York Times described in an 1853 dispatch as a “manly and athletic sport.”
For purists, the highest form of the game is the so-called Test match, which can last up to five days. But a newer, more action-packed playing format, Twenty20, has grown rapidly in popularity. These games can be played in three hours, appealing to broadcasters and modern attention spans. The Indian Premier League, which is among the world’s most valuable sports properties, uses this format, as does Major League Cricket in the United States. (Many of the teams in the U.S. league share owners with Indian franchises.)
Image
Two people in the foreground holding up American flags and a sign that says “USA.” In the background, many fans are wearing green jerseys with “Pakistan” on them.
U.S. fans cheered on their team during the match against Pakistan at the stadium in Grand Prairie.
Image
Players smiling and hugging on a field surrounded by people in the stands.
The Grand Prairie venue hosted the U.S. national team’s biggest-ever win, a stunning upset of Pakistan.
Major League Cricket is often compared with Major League Soccer, the U.S. league that started nearly 30 years ago and now features many custom soccer stadiums amid mixed-use urban developments, with enough pull to attract global stars. The relatively short Major League Cricket season runs in between other global cricket leagues’ schedules, allowing many of the sport’s top players, including the Australian stars Steve Smith, Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell, to play in the U.S. league. Think of it as if David Beckham and Lionel Messi played in the inaugural season of Major League Soccer instead of long after the league had established itself.
Still, cricket in the United States is a long way from having the popularity and investment needed to support major stadiums like Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, Eden Gardens in India, or the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
“The only reason cricket isn’t being played at the highest levels of competitiveness is that there’s no infrastructure in this country,” said Vijay Srinivasan, a Bay Area-based entrepreneur who founded Willow, a pay TV channel for cricket matches that grew from a small streaming site to a cable channel that reaches four million U.S. households.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/16/busi ... diums.html
Backers of the sport are negotiating leases and approvals for venues across the United States.
Four years ago, after officials in Grand Prairie, Texas, were pitched an idea to turn the city’s underused minor league ballpark into a stadium for cricket, the city’s manager, Bill Hills, thumbed through a copy of “Cricket for Dummies.”
Like most Americans, Mr. Hills was oblivious to cricket, although that is starting to change.
Last year, the 7,200-seat stadium in Grand Prairie became the new home of the Texas Super Kings, one of six teams that played in the inaugural season of Major League Cricket. And last week, the venue hosted the U.S. national team’s biggest-ever win, a stunning upset of Pakistan in the Men’s T20 World Cup, which this year is being jointly hosted by the United States and several Caribbean nations, and concludes on June 29.
A few days later, more than 34,000 cricket fans watched India narrowly beat Pakistan at a temporary stadium built in Long Island. When Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics, cricket will be among the new sports being played.
Cricket, the world’s second most popular sport, is having a moment in the United States, and investors are looking to cash in on a growing audience for the sport, especially among the cricket-loving South Asian diaspora. That includes backers of Major League Cricket franchises hatching plans for dedicated cricket stadiums in their own cities. The San Francisco Unicorns, the Los Angeles Knight Riders and the Seattle Orcas (partly owned by Satya Nadella, the chief executive of Microsoft) are negotiating leases and approvals to build new venues, with hopes of opening in the next few years.
Mr. Hills said that the Major League Cricket games last season in Grand Prairie “definitely exceeded our expectations.” During the two-week season and postseason, some 50,000 people attended a dozen matches in Grand Prairie, and the playoffs from July 27 to July 30 generated $1.7 million in economic activity, including retail, entertainment, car rentals, hotels and dining. The league’s next season starts in July, with Grand Prairie hosting 16 matches. Mr. Hills expects 85,000 fans will show up for the games.
“Who would have thought,” Mr. Hills said, that “a city like Grand Prairie would host international sporting events” watched by millions around the world.
ImagePeople standing outside a venue with signs saying “Grand Prairie” and “Ticketing.”
Last year, a 7,200-seat stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, became the home of the Texas Super Kings, one of six teams that played in the inaugural season of Major League Cricket.
Image
Fans in a stadium cheering on players on a field.
Before it began hosting cricket matches, the Grand Prairie stadium was an underutilized minor league ballpark.
“This makes Grand Prairie a destination, not just a little town between Dallas and Fort Worth,” he said.
Major League Cricket’s priorities include building more 7,000- to 10,000-seat stadiums near vibrant areas that could later blossom into entertainment districts. The stadiums will be used as playing fields to nurture young talent and appreciation for the game, said Will Swann, the league’s vice president of corporate development and infrastructure.
David Demarest, who leads the sports and entertainment development group at the real estate brokerage JLL, said cricket stadiums offered “a great opportunity to have an anchor that’s attracting people.”
“These are facilities you can program beyond cricket games,” he said.
The Seattle Orcas plan to build a stadium at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Wash., near a thriving downtown shaped by the Microsoft campus and the city of Bellevue. The Los Angeles Knight Riders have scouted a spot at the Great Park in Irvine, Calif., a wealthy part of Orange County. The San Francisco Unicorns have proposed building a stadium in the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, a redevelopment site near Silicon Valley, and have worked with Devcon, the firm behind the San Francisco 49ers stadium, on schematics.
The proposed site for the San Francisco team offers development potential and a demographic draw. Studies by the team suggest that a wealthy community of roughly 250,000 people originally from India or elsewhere in South Asia live in the Greater Bay Area, said David White, the team’s general manager. The Santa Clara site hopes to attract multiple sporting venues, including a Major League Soccer stadium, to become a hub for sports and entertainment.
Video https://vp.nyt.com/video/2024/06/13/119 ... g_720p.mp4
Local officials hope that hosting Major League Cricket matches can help to make Grand Prairie, Texas, a destination.CreditCredit...
Those developments would need to be built with fans from South Asia and other areas where cricket is popular in mind, said Justin Geale, Major League Cricket’s tournament director.
“We’ll have samosas, and we’ll also have hot dogs,” he said. “We can bring the best of American sports and the best of cricket and meld them together.”
Cricket-focused developments are also taking place outside the league: In Oswego, Ill., a suburb west of Chicago, Paresh Patel, an entrepreneur, received approval to develop Breybourne Stadium, which will include a 25,000-seat venue as well as a 120-room hotel, restaurant and upscale clubhouse for special events. Set to break ground this summer, the stadium will have more seating capacity than the United Center, home of the N.B.A.’s Chicago Bulls and the N.H.L.’s Chicago Blackhawks.
Baseball evolved from cricket, where two teams face off on a larger, circular pitch and — to simplify it greatly — take turns batting and bowling in hopes of scoring the most runs. Once a popular American pastime, cricket was overtaken by baseball in the late 19th century. At its peak, thousands of cricket clubs operated across the nation, participating in what The New York Times described in an 1853 dispatch as a “manly and athletic sport.”
For purists, the highest form of the game is the so-called Test match, which can last up to five days. But a newer, more action-packed playing format, Twenty20, has grown rapidly in popularity. These games can be played in three hours, appealing to broadcasters and modern attention spans. The Indian Premier League, which is among the world’s most valuable sports properties, uses this format, as does Major League Cricket in the United States. (Many of the teams in the U.S. league share owners with Indian franchises.)
Image
Two people in the foreground holding up American flags and a sign that says “USA.” In the background, many fans are wearing green jerseys with “Pakistan” on them.
U.S. fans cheered on their team during the match against Pakistan at the stadium in Grand Prairie.
Image
Players smiling and hugging on a field surrounded by people in the stands.
The Grand Prairie venue hosted the U.S. national team’s biggest-ever win, a stunning upset of Pakistan.
Major League Cricket is often compared with Major League Soccer, the U.S. league that started nearly 30 years ago and now features many custom soccer stadiums amid mixed-use urban developments, with enough pull to attract global stars. The relatively short Major League Cricket season runs in between other global cricket leagues’ schedules, allowing many of the sport’s top players, including the Australian stars Steve Smith, Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell, to play in the U.S. league. Think of it as if David Beckham and Lionel Messi played in the inaugural season of Major League Soccer instead of long after the league had established itself.
Still, cricket in the United States is a long way from having the popularity and investment needed to support major stadiums like Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, Eden Gardens in India, or the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
“The only reason cricket isn’t being played at the highest levels of competitiveness is that there’s no infrastructure in this country,” said Vijay Srinivasan, a Bay Area-based entrepreneur who founded Willow, a pay TV channel for cricket matches that grew from a small streaming site to a cable channel that reaches four million U.S. households.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/16/busi ... diums.html