This article was originally published on May 3rd, 2019.
Here is this week's dose of “5-Point Friday”. A weekly round-up of the sports news and stories that I find most interesting and enjoyable.
Tennis news I'm learning about-
The All-England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), the organization behind the world-famous Wimbledon tennis championships, has today announced a partnership with Chinese phone maker Oppo, which will become its Official Smartphone Partner. Oppo says that the deal is, "not your typical supplier relationship", with the partnership also entailing as-yet-undefined content creation and "media amplification" to encourage youth participation in the sport.
Athletics news I have been paying attention to-
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has rejected Caster Semenya (@caster800m) discrimination case against the IAAF's new rules, this means that it will be allowed to restrict testosterone levels in female runners, for distances between 400m and a mile. The ruling means that Semenya will have to take testosterone suppressants if she wishes to compete in these events. Supporters of Semenya argue that the runner has been penalized for no other reason than the biological traits that she was born with. She has not cheated or found to be taking performance-enhancing drugs. Kyle Knight, a researcher in the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch said that taking the proposed IAAF testosterone suppressants would be as "humiliating as it is medically unnecessary" for female athletes whose hormone levels are outside accepted boundaries. But the IAAF insist they are determining boundaries to protect the integrity of sport, particularly women's sport.
IAAF president Lord Sebastian Coe told Australia's Daily Telegraph newspaper: "The reason we have gender classification is because if you didn't then no woman would ever win another title, or another medal, or break another record in our sport."
Sports advertisement campaign I'm interested in-
BBC Sport announced the start of their new 'Change the Game' campaign, which will see previously unprecedented levels of women's sporting coverage hit British television screens this summer.
Motorsports news I'm excited about-
Formula E has announced that it will officially roll out a Virtually Live Ghost Racing, a first-of-its-kind mobile game that uses telemetry technology to allow fans to race against the all-electric racing series’ drivers in real-time. Fans will also be able to use the game to watch live races unfold from the cockpit of a selected driver as part of a second-screen viewing offering.
Sporting event I attended-
On Saturday, I went to the Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center in Long Beach to watch the Big West Women's Water Polo Tournament Semi-Finals. Getting to see UC Irvine defeat the Santa Barbara Gauchos 5-2 and eventual winners University of Hawai'i defeat UC Davis.
Have a wonderful weekend, all!
Jonathan
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