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Combat Sports are competitive fighting disciplines that involve striking and grappling in a regulated arena with a referee to enforce rules and ensure athlete safety. They are practiced for a variety of reasons including self-defense, fitness, cultural connection, stress relief, or as a way to challenge oneself and become better. The most popular of these are boxing and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) but there are many more, including traditional martial arts.

The roots of these sports can be traced back to ancient Egypt, Greece and India. They have evolved over the centuries, influenced by the culture of their time and embracing the need for structured ways to measure and improve skill and strength.

There are multiple modalities of combat sports with each having its own unique set of training, equipment and rules to minimize injury. For example, while boxing is score based and requires protective gear, wrestling is not scored and does not require the same level of equipment. Some, such as judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, are more focused on the culture of their origins while others like the UFC have incorporated many modern techniques and styles.

Combat Sports provide a full body workout that enhances strength, endurance and flexibility while helping to build a lean physique. They also have the potential to teach a wide range of skills that can be used in a real fight and improve reaction times, coordination and balance, concentration and self-discipline. It is important to consider these benefits before deciding whether to begin training in a combat sport.

One of the most intense and exciting sports around, Olympic ice hockey follows IIHF rules that differ slightly from those in the NHL. It is played on a rink measuring 197 feet by 98.5 feet and features three periods of play and six players per team. Players wear helmets and goalie masks, face-off circles are marked in the attacking zone (blue) and defending zones, and there’s a trapezoid behind the net that limits a skillful goalie’s ability to field pucks from any area of the boards.

Aside from these basic differences, the game is played in the same fashion as an NHL game. There are two teams, four periods and a shootout to settle ties. The Olympics are held every two years, with a maximum of 12 teams qualifying – eight through the IIHF World Ranking and three from qualifying tournaments. The top three teams in each group automatically advance to the quarterfinals, while the other eight teams compete in an elimination qualification round.

In the men’s game, a gold medal is coveted by nations across the globe. The United States has won three golds, including the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” upset of the Soviet Union. Canada is second with five, followed by Sweden and the Czech Republic.

The women’s game is equally competitive with three Canadians – Jayna Hefford, Hayley Wickenheiser and Caroline Ouellette – having won four medals each. Americans Angela Ruggiero and Jenny Potter have won three each.

Athlete endorsements are powerful marketing tools, helping brands boost sales and establish brand loyalty. However, athlete endorsements can be a challenge to manage and negotiate. Understanding the intricacies of athlete endorsement contracts and key components of these agreements can help brands maximize the impact of their partnerships.

The first step in establishing an effective partnership is selecting an athlete who genuinely aligns with the brand’s ethos and core values. This creates a sense of authenticity and cohesion in the campaign’s messaging, and fosters an emotional connection with consumers. For example, athletes like Serena Williams have transcended their sports to become cultural icons, embodying the notions of strength and empowerment. By partnering with beauty brands that emphasize these themes, this synergy creates a powerful endorsement that resonates with audiences.

Leveraging diverse platforms is also critical in maximizing the impact of athlete endorsements. For instance, social media allows athletes to connect with fans in a more intimate way by sharing personal stories and behind-the-scenes content. By doing so, fans feel a more genuine connection to the product and are more likely to trust the athlete’s recommendations.

Endorsement contracts should clearly define the duration of the agreement, compensation, and responsibilities of both parties. In addition, contracts should contain termination provisions that specify the circumstances under which either party can walk away from the contract. They should also include performance-based incentives, exclusivity clauses, and a dispute resolution process. These provisions ensure that both parties are aligned on expectations and responsibilities, preventing disputes from arising down the road.

The upcoming World Athletics Championship, which runs from September 13-21, is one of the three biggest sporting events on Earth, behind only the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympic Games. Yet, few people outside of track and field are aware that it exists. Last year, though, something happened that changed that: a huge buzz built up around Eugene, Oregon’s Hayward Field and the athletes competing there. It felt like a real thing, and it wasn’t just about the thrills and spills: there was an authenticity to the performances, a sense of being able to relate to these larger-than-life characters as they gave us their very best.

It was enough to make a casual observer, such as myself, become an athlete fan, for the first time ever. I was hooked. There was something about the precision, the chest-pumping celebrations after each jump and dash across the finish line that set this apart from other sports.

A few years ago, as part of a project to launch an archives department at World Athletics, someone from the sport’s governing body stumbled across some dusty scrapbooks dating back to 1983, the inaugural World Championships held in Helsinki. The rudimentary nature of the official documentation spoke volumes about the state of the sport at that time.

Formula 1 transcends mere racing; it’s a global spectacle of speed, strategy, and engineering excellence. But the sport is also intensely competitive, with teams vying for prestige and prize money based on the overall championship standings at the end of the season. These standings – calculated by aggregating race results over a worldwide calendar – require tremendous coordination and data management. And they’re constantly changing, influenced by everything from rule changes to technological developments that shift the way F1 drivers and cars perform.

The best team at the end of the season clinches the FIA World Constructors’ Championship Trophy. However, that’s often not enough to keep all F1 teams happy – especially in a sport where a fraction of a second can make the difference between victory and defeat. And that’s why internal team politics play a crucial role.

It’s not uncommon for the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship to go down to the wire. This has happened eight times in the sport’s history, including in 2007 when Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen beat Lewis Hamilton by a point at Interlagos.

The top 10 drivers earn points based on their position, with the winner earning 25 points. Drivers in second place receive 18 points, while those in third get 15 and so on down to the tenth-placed driver who scores just a single point. Up until the 2025 season, drivers could also earn an extra point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

The Masters is one of golf’s most exciting tournaments. Each day, the field is whittled down until only one golfer remains, crowned champion and awarded the green jacket for the year’s best performance. The ebb and flow of scores keeps fans engaged, especially when players’ moves up or down the leaderboard are dramatic. With Augusta National’s course renowned for being tough on long hitters, birdies or eagles can change a golfer’s ranking in an instant.

A great example of this is Rory McIlroy’s round on Saturday, where he lost the lead to Bryson DeChambeau at the first and then regained it at the third after striking a towering iron into the par three and sinking a putt for birdie. This type of dynamic play is what makes the Masters so unique and exciting to watch.

While the front-runners remain close, the chasing pack is also impressively deep at The Masters. Patrick Reed is five shots back, Ludvig Aberg and Corey Conners are six shots back, and defending champion Scottie Scheffler is just four shots behind them.

As the tournament enters its final rounds, we can expect another exciting day of drama as players chase down the leaders and try to protect their positions at the top of the leaderboard. USA TODAY will be keeping you updated throughout the day on The Masters leaderboard and providing all the information you need to follow along.

When you think of the World Series, a certain image probably comes to mind: a jubilant crowd rejoicing in celebration of baseball’s most prestigious title. The World Series has always been a special event, evoking emotions of joy, sadness, and more from fans and players alike. It is often considered as America’s sport, emulating a sense of pride and homeyness in many Americans. And this year’s Series was no different.

But the World Series wasn’t all smiles and cheers this year. The game’s first two days were rife with controversy, from Gerrit Cole allegedly being forced to leave in the fourth inning with neck and shoulder issues to Aaron Judge destroying the roof of Yankee Stadium in the fifth inning of Game 5.

However, it was the last night of the Series that really took the cake for weirdness. In a game that was all but over, Washington manager Martinez came into the press room before the start of the eighth and said that ace Max Scherzer was indefinitely out with neck and shoulder injuries.

Then came the ninth inning, when Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off home run gave the Pittsburgh Pirates their first World Series win in 39 years. The homer, which landed in the right-field upper deck, was one of the most famous moments in Series history and earned legendary announcers Vin Scully and Jack Buck iconic pronouncements.

This is just a small sample of the World Series’ most memorable moments, but you can read about even more in USA TODAY’s free app, which includes crosswords, audio storytelling, eNewspaper and more. Download it now to follow along with this year’s series.

This week, several athletes hung up their athletic shoes. Former San Francisco 49ers running back Matt Breida has retired, bringing to an end a seven-year career that included 98 games played and 2,652 rushing yards. Two-time Olympic finalist and middle-distance runner Laura Weightman has also hung up her competition spikes, but will keep coaching the next generation of athletes. And Croatian high jumper Ivana Vlasic is focusing on community and advocacy.

Retirement is a hard milestone for any athlete to reach, regardless of the sport or how much success they’ve achieved. It’s a period of transition that can leave them feeling vulnerable, lonely and anxious.

The change can also be physically challenging for highly competitive athletes who are accustomed to intense training regimes. They may experience body changes like increased weight gain or lose the motivation to exercise outside their sport. They may also struggle to adapt to a new lifestyle that isn’t centred on their sport, such as balancing work and family life.

Athletes need to be financially prepared for this new chapter in their lives, which means saving and investing. This can help them grow their money over time and provide a steady source of income after retiring from their sporting careers.

Whether they helped bring down Jose Mourinho at Manchester United or pushed back against their club’s owner in Chelsea, fans have shown that they are willing to use their passion for football as a weapon in the fight for change. This article presents some of their protest stories and highlights the potential of fan activism as a form of nonviolent resistance.

We analysed fan activism in two different national settings – Ukraine and Germany – over a period of eight years (2014 to 2021). The results show that in both countries, ultras are the dominant type of fan group and activist actions are framed by local political and social circumstances. Fan activism related to the code of politics mainly addresses corruption and nepotism in football governance, while actions that address societal issues are often framed with nationalist themes. In both countries, fans also engage in solidarity campaigns for detained activists and blood donations for soldiers, and they support nationalistic figures that are often associated with the football club.

Moreover, activism related to the club level largely addresses issues of the atmosphere, such as ticket prices or stadium conditions. However, some clubs’ fans have also acted in response to other societal concerns and problems by organising donation campaigns, like when Hertha BSC’s fans organised shopping services for people with health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, some fan groups have partnered with other organisations to act as intermediators, for instance by providing food for homeless people and offering registration for leukaemia aid (Faszination Fankurve, 2015b, January 12). These examples highlight the potential of fan activism to contribute to wider society and beyond its own community.

The US Open takes place over two weeks at the end of August and early September, with the middle weekend coinciding with the Labor Day holiday. It is the oldest of all four Grand Slam events, and is known for shocking upsets and thrilling matches that run late into the night.

The 2025 US Open Schedule will start with the qualifying tournament Monday August 18 through Thursday August 21 (free “Fan Week” that allows grounds access and many doubles matches). Then the main draw begins Friday August 24-Sunday August 26. Each day has a full slate of men’s and women’s singles matches and mixed doubles, with the top seeds usually playing on Saturday and the rising stars fighting it out for quarterfinal spots on Super Sunday.

Tip #5: Check the daily schedule of play on the official tournament site and app frequently throughout the summer to keep up with the action. A detailed schedule of plays is typically released each morning, and the app offers a great way to see all available courts in real-time on a map view.

Note that ticket availability for the main draws tends to fluctuate a lot. USTA/Ticketmaster uses “dynamic pricing” on face-value “standard” tickets in response to supply and demand. Plus the event intentionally holds back some initial releases and tends to trickle more out over the summer. Reselling “scalping” is illegal in NYC 1500 feet from the venue, and the US Open has undercover police cracking down on both buyers and sellers.