Governing body proposes changes in marketing and advertising regulations

The IAAF is poised to ease its rules on athlete sponsorship and allow competitors and national teams to wear larger logos on their kit and have greater flexibility in their placement.

The governing body’s council approved new principles relating to marketing and advertising in Doha recently and they are likely to be rubber stamped next month.

Athletes will also have greater flexibility when it comes to their personal sponsors’ logos appearing on kit at meetings outside the World Athletics Series, such as the Diamond League – pictured above in Birmingham this year.

The IAAF says the proposals are to “increase the number of logos, the size and the placement of them; give greater flexibility and opportunity in respect of member federations and their national sponsors’ logos appearing on kit; have an approvals process for all kit before use at a World Athletics Series (WAS) event; give greater flexibility and opportunity in respect of athletes and their personal sponsors’ logos appearing on kit at non-WAS events; and increase the flexibility in respect of shoes, other apparel and accessories.”

New eligibility regulations for transgender athletes

Also in Doha, the IAAF Council approved the eligibility regulations for transgender athletes to replace the former sex reassignment regulations which were introduced in 2012.

Competitors must now keep their levels of natural testosterone below five nanomoles per litre of blood, compared to 10 nanomoles in the past, in order to compete in the female category.

The new regulations, which came into force on October 1, are said to have been drafted to align with the regulations which apply to athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD).

“Under the new regulations a transgender female athlete is no longer required to be recognised by law in her new gender but should provide a signed declaration that her gender identity is female,” said the IAAF.

“She must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the expert panel that the concentration of testosterone in her serum has been less than 5nmol/L continuously for a period of at least 12 months prior to being declared eligible, and must keep her serum testosterone concentration below that level to maintain her eligibility to compete in the female category.”

Britain's Cameron Norrie was beaten by Feliciano Lopez in the first round of the European Open in Antwerp.

Norrie, the British number three and world number 61, lost 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 to Spaniard Lopez.

The 24-year-old had three early break points on Lopez's serve but was unable to convert them.

Despite the defeat, Norrie will become the British number two on Monday behind Dan Evans, who replaced Kyle Edmund at the top of the national rankings.

Edmund, who won the tournament in Antwerp in 2018, lost in qualifying this year and is set to fall outside of the world top 70.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray begins his European Open campaign against Belgian Kimmer Coppejans later on Tuesday.

Murray is planning a month-long break when the tournament finishes but he could leave Antwerp early if his wife, Kim, goes into early labour with their third child.

Defeat in Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand could herald the end of a golden era in Irish rugby.

Prop Cian Healy concedes that, with head coach Joe Schmidt and skipper Rory Best leaving after the tournament, the match in Tokyo really is 'do or die'.

The All Blacks are undefeated in their last 17 World Cup games, last losing to France in the quarter-finals in 2007.

"I think everyone understands the position we are in and the opportunity of what we have to do," said Healy.

"That is going to pose big challenges to the coaches to pick that team, because everyone has put their hand up and wants to be involved."

Despite Ireland's recent successes against New Zealand, winning two of the last three meetings, the All Blacks will go into the contest as clear favourites having played some imperious rugby on their way to topping Pool B.

Meanwhile Ireland endured a more turbulent time in the group stage with inconsistent performances doing little to answer questions over their ability to consistently perform near their peak.

Although they struggled against Japan and failed to impress against Russia, there were strong Irish performances versus Scotland and Samoa that offered signs of a squad capable of mixing it with any team in the world.

"We've got some new stuff that we haven't done before," teased Healy on Tuesday.

"It's up to them to figure it out."

Leinster prop Healy also dismissed the idea that Ireland's recent successes against New Zealand would give his side an edge going into Saturday's game.

In 2016 Ireland recorded their first win over the All Blacks with a memorable display in Chicago before defeating them on home soil last November.

"It's going to be a different kettle of fish at a World Cup," Healy said.

"They've gone the whole way a couple of times and we haven't, so it's a huge challenge to us and we're looking forward to it.

"I don't look back on any of them (past wins), they're gone for me now and none of them have been at a World Cup, so they don't matter an awful lot."

World Rugby has referred the Scottish Rugby Union to its disciplinary committee over chief executive Mark Dodson's comments in the build-up to the World Cup game against Japan.

The match was in doubt due to Typhoon Hagibis and would have been cancelled, eliminating Scotland, if it hadn't taken place in Yokohama on Sunday.

Dodson had criticised World Rugby's "rigidity" and hinted at legal action.

The game went ahead and Scotland lost 28-21 to exit at the group stage.

At a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday tournament director Alan Gilpin confirmed that the matter was now being handled by its disciplinary committee, adding "under tournament rules we're careful that people behave appropriately".

World Cup rules state that "where a pool match cannot be commenced on the day in which it is scheduled, it shall not be postponed to the following day and shall be considered as cancelled. In such situations, the result shall be allocated two points each and no score registered".

Dodson pushed for a postponement and claimed more effort would have been put in to ensuring the game went ahead if it involved New Zealand.

At the press conference Mr Gilpin praised tournament staff, some of whom slept at Yokohama stadium the night of the typhoon, so that match preparation work could begin as soon as it had passed.

He added that World Rugby had not yet started to count the cost of the three cancelled matches, which included England's pool game against France, the first time in the tournament's history that games have had to be cancelled.

Mr Gilpin admitted that there would be a financial cost, but added: "It doesn't change the fact that it was the right thing to do. The economic reality is something we'll look at when the tournament is finished."

When asked about the standard of refereeing, which World Rugby criticised at the start of the tournament in an unprecedented step, chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said that the refereeing "has improved" and that it was of a "good" standard.

There has been a record seven red cards issued so far at this World Cup and World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper said the governing body was willing to "risk conversation and debate" as it drives "player welfare is the hard line to protect the players". He added that he believes there will be fewer red cards in the future as layers and coaches adapt to more stringent punishments for high tackles.

The Honda Racing Corp. has extended the contact of LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Takaaki Nakagami through the 2020 season.

In his second year aboard the Honda RC213V at LCR Honda IDEMITSU, Nakagami has earned nine top-10 finishes and a best result of fifth at the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello. The Japanese rider has already amassed more than double the points he scored in his rookie campaign.

After the race in Motegi, Nakagami will undergo an operation on his shoulder to resolve an injury that has troubled him throughout the season. The nature of the operation warrants an extensive recovery period, forcing the Japanese rider to end his 2019 season early.

By performing the operation now, Nakagami is aiming to be fully fit for the first test of the 2020 season in Sepang, Malaysia, on Feb. 7.

“First of all I am delighted to stay with Honda and the LCR Team,” said Nakagami. “I have been able to improve a lot this year and Honda have shown me great support and given me a very strong package. I am sure together we can continue this in 2020. About the injury, after the crash I had in Assen I found myself in some pain and lacking a bit of strength in my shoulder. I went to the doctor to fully understand the situation and while I have been able to ride with the injury, it has not been ideal so we made the difficult decision alongside Honda and the LCR Team to have this operation now.”

“We are proud to continue to support Takaaki Nakagami in the MotoGP class for the 2020 season,” said Tetsuhiro Kuwata, HRC Director – General Manager Race Operations Management Division. “As a rider he has continued to develop and grow throughout all of 2019. He is someone who inspires many young talents in Japan and Asia with his hard work and focus. I wish him all the best in his recovery and look forward to the 2020 season.”

TOLEDO, Ohio – Last year’s ARCA Menards Series finale at Kansas Speedway had little championship drama, as Sheldon Creed needed to only present his car for practice to become the 35th driver to become the series champion in ARCA’s then 67-year history.

This year, it’s a vastly different story.

Christian Eckes leads the championship standings over Venturini Motorsports teammate Michael Self by 15 points heading into Friday night’s ARCA Kansas 150.

Self, with four wins this season, led the standings from the sixth race of the season at Toledo Speedway through the 19th race of the season at Lucas Oil Raceway outside of Indianapolis. He had been chased down by Eckes, who held the lead briefly after the second race of the season but dropped back to fourth after missing the third race of the year at Salem Speedway due to illness.

Eckes didn’t have much luck in his return at Talladega Superspeedway. A crash near the midway point resulted in a 26th-place finish, and leaving him even further back, in seventh place, 180 points behind.

Eckes won the following race at Nashville and began a run of thirteen top-ten finishes in the next fourteen races. Other than an eleventh-place finish at Elko Speedway, where he was spun out of fourth position on the final lap after contact while battling for the position with Self, his worst finish over that stretch was four seventh-place finishes. In the six races since Elko, he’s finished no worse than second with a pair of wins.

The march to the top of the heap wasn’t an easy one for Eckes since Self was also competing at a very high level.

After Elko, where the two contenders tangled on the final lap, Self led by 115 points. A comfortable margin, but not insurmountable. While Eckes was finishing in the top two, Self was right there with him. A pair of third-place finishes at Iowa and Pocono only ceded ten points to Eckes, which was regained when Self won on the dirt at Springfield.

The advantage was again 110 points with four races to go.

Eckes won at DuQuoin and lopped 35 points off of Self’s advantage. He’d need to make up 85 points in three races if he was to be the series champion. He caught a break at Salem when Self dropped out with mechanical problems, a 65-point gift that turned late-season momentum into Eckes’ favor.

A second-place finish in the final short track race of the season at Lucas Oil Raceway, combined with a sixth-place finish for Self, meant Eckes regained the points lead for the first time since the second race of the year.

The 15-point cushion over Self will give Eckes a slight buffer at Kansas. Depending on where Self finishes, he can finish two to four positions behind him and still lock up the title.

For Eckes, the chase to catch Self wasn’t full of tension. Rather, he and his team methodically went about their business and performed the way they knew they could when the season started.

“It’s all one race at a time for us,” Eckes said. “We don’t get nervous because the point situation has gotten closer. We knew we could run this good when the season started. We had some mediocre runs in the middle of the season but we got past those and we’ve been in the top two the last six races. That’s exactly how we felt we should be all season long.”

Despite now holding the upper hand, Eckes knows he has his work cut out for him. Self is a former winner at Kansas, taking the victory in 2017, and is one of the series’ best big-track drivers.

“We have to go to Kansas and race for it. It’s going to be tough,” Eckes said. “Michael is really good at the mile and a half tracks. We’re looking forward to it. It feels good to be in the position we are now. We really haven’t had the pressure on us all year, so it’s definitely a change of pace. At the end of the day, we just need to go do what we do and be perfect at Kansas to finish the job.”

The last lap spin at Elko was a turning point of sorts. Eckes and crew chief Kevin Reed sat down and discussed what they needed to do to get their season turned around. Mistakes were the biggest culprit, and Eckes and Reed figured out a way to eliminate them. The results were immediate and striking.

“After the Elko race we all sat down and realized that we needed to be better,” Eckes said. “We had to cut out the mistakes and capitalize on our opportunities better. It’s taken a lot of hard work and effort to get on this roll but it’s paid off.”

NAPLES, Maine – While the Pro All Stars Series super late model calendar is winding down, there are still three big events left to decide who the champions will be.

The PASS Modified champion will be crowned on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Oxford Plains Speedway as the Maine racing season concludes with the PASS 400 weekend.  The PASS North title will be decided at Oxford Plains and with the season finale at Seekonk Speedway on Saturday, Oct. 26. The PASS National Championship will go down to the wire at Seekonk and the return to racing at Georgia’s Lanier Raceplex.

The PASS 400 weekend at Oxford Plains will see a big Saturday of action featuring the Honey Badger Bar & Grill 150 for the PASS North super late models, plus a $1,000 to win feature for the PASS Modifieds and action for the ACT Flying Tigers, Bandits and Street Stocks.  The PASS Modified season has seen a resurgence in the division with increased car counts and seven different winners so far this year.  The race for the title will come down to points leader Spencer Morse, Jairet Harrison and Mike Carignan.

The battle for the PASS North championship has come down to four drivers, all within 100 points of one another.  New Hampshire’s D.J. Shaw looks to defend his title from a year ago, knowing that a bad finish could prove disastrous with big fields expected at Oxford Plains and Seekonk.  Fellow Granite Stater Derek Griffith has come on strong during the second half of the season and now sits just nine points behind Shaw.  Ben Rowe’s streak of having never missed a PASS North race since the series began in 2001 continues as he seeks his fifth North title. Rookie Gabe Brown is still in contention for his first series championship.

Massachusetts’ Seekonk Speedway will hold the PASS North season finale on Saturday, Oct. 29 and it will double as the penultimate race of the PASS National Championship season which will be decided in November at Lanier.  PASS will be part of a big show at Seekonk which will also feature The Haunted Hundred for the Tri-Track Open Modified Series and a $2,000 to win late model event.

It will all conclude with one of the most anticipated events of the season when PASS brings racing back to Lanier Raceplex for the first time in nearly a decade.  The Lanier National 200 will crown the 2019 PASS National champion and, hopefully, start a new fall tradition at Lanier.

Richmond Raceway winner Mike Hopkins sits 37 points ahead of defending national champion Derek Griffith, while Travis Benjamin, Ben Rowe, Ray Christian III and Jake Johnson still have a shot at the title.

In addition to the PASS Super Late Models at Lanier, Legends cars will return to the three-eighths-mile speedway with Pros/Masters, Semi-Pros and Young Lions, along with Bandoleros.