This article appeared in Languedocliving.com
The US Open was filled with controversy this year, making the whole thing rather interesting for reasons other than just the tennis.
For British viewers, the tournament was being aired, for the first time, on Amazon Prime. The whole user experience was dreadful. At one point Amazon was so overwhelmed with complaints that the system crashed and reviews were suspended. Read More
“Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best”
by Katrina Allen
The Gay Gam
es, a huge sporting event, is held, like the Olympics, every four years.
It first took place in San Francisco in 1982, featuring 17 sports, 12 nations and 1,350 participants. It was a huge success and it was clear that this LGBT+ sporting celebration would continue.
Since then, the event has been held in cities such as Vancouver, New York, Amsterdam, Sydney and Cologne. Each time the numbers have increased. By 2006 there were 30 sports and cultural events, 70 nations and 11,700 participants.
This year, the sporting extravaganza is to be held in Paris from 4th -11th August.
The Gay Games was initially known as the Gay Olympics but objections were raised by the Olympic Committee and the name was changed. It was a reasonable request since the whole ethos of the Gay Games is about inclusion, not just within the community but also across various standards, which go from beginner to expert. The Olympics, of course, is all about excellence, world-class athletes within their sport.
From synchronised swimming to pétanque to wrestling – you name it … The full list of sports can be found at https://www.paris2018.com/sports-list/ Read More
This article appeared in Languedoc Living
Novak Djokovic (photo: Katrina Allen)
Much of Wimbledon was rather flat this year due to World Cup frenzy coinciding with the Championships.
Even some of the players appeared to want to cheer on their teams rather than play their own matches.
This article appeared in Givemesport.com
It’s the scandal that shocked the cricket world and two months on, it is still a hot topic of debate.
The ball-tampering saga from Australia’s tour of South Africa resulted in captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner receiving 12-month bans, Cameron Bancroft a nine-month ban and coach Darren Lehmann’s eventual resignation.
So of course, when the Aussies rolled into town for their first clash against England since the debacle on Wednesday there was no chance it wouldn’t be brought back up again.
England fans had a lot of fun at the One-Day International at the Oval in the first of a five-match series against the Australian team today, handing out strips of sandpaper, mimicking what the Aussie culprits had in their pockets to make the ball behave erratically during that ill-fated Test just a few months ago.
and a mere club game in Bordeaux! Jacques Pouyot finishes with a winning gallery…
“We know that homosexuality is a lust of the flesh … they too know this, this is why they want marriage, because it’s self-satisfying…my belief is marriage the bible way.”
“Transgender children are the work of the devil.”
“Tennis is full of lesbians.”
These are just a few quotes from Margaret Court, senior pastor and former Australian world No1 tennis player, in response to the country’s vote in November, on same-sex marriage.
VINCE CALIGIURI/GETTY IMAGES
Former tennis great Margaret Court whose comments on homosexuality have prompted calls for a name change for Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena.
My friend Scott Barclay’s article on that disgraceful opening ceremony. The organisers have apologised but what were they thinking?
‘Traveleyes’ is an intriguing travel concept geared towards both blind and sighted travellers. Swopping on a daily basis, blind and sighted people are paired up, the sighted ones guiding and explaining what they see. It’s a brilliant way to wake up all our senses: smell the game in Africa, sniff perfumes in a perfume house in France, feel snow crunching underfoot, smell spices in Morocco, taste Italian cuisine and experience the world through a blind person’s perceptions. These tours tend to attract solo travellers, a lot of whom are single or who simply decide to leave their partners at home! The sighted people also get a considerable discount on the trips.
Can’t wait to go on one!
Hunched over, barely visible in the dark room, standard lamp flickering in the opposite corner. She was wearing that saggy old stained dress which she virtually lived in.
‘I’m dying, I’m dying’ she declared breathily, eyes theatrically wide in what I assumed to be feigned terror. It was comical.
’What’s wrong with you?’ I asked flatly. We’d been there so often.
The Gerry Weber Open – Der Besondere Profi
THE SPECIAL PRO.
Real Tennis player, Katrina Allen, is at the GWO (The Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany) for the first time.
She was the World no. 1. She took part in the British, Australian, US and French Open tournaments in both singles and doubles and she won them all.
She isn’t a big name in tennis history but that’s because we aren’t talking about our game but a different form of tennis “the original game, invented in the 12th century by the French” explains Katrina Allen, who is working at GWO at a journalist. “It’s a complicated game with complicated rules”. But this is what inspired her. “The sport is very challenging. The court is massive, the balls hard and the wooden rackets heavy. “I loved all that” says the Londoner. Today Real Tennis is not particularly well-known and is played in only a few countries.
Katrina has come to Halle just to be at the GWO. “This tournament is like a festival. I have been at many major tennis tournaments, but none as impressive as this one. The atmosphere is great, very relaxed and informal. My main reason for coming was to see Roger Federer. He is just wonderful, an exceptional player.” Roger was the only top ten player she hadn’t seen so she has finally ticked him off her list.
The LGBT community has a far higher incidence of mental health issues than the heterosexual one. Why?
It seems ludicrous to penalise people who fish perfectly edible food out of the likes of Iceland’s bins. Surely the main problem is that the supermarkets have so much waste in the first place. Read More
There’s been so much press recently about the dangers of London cycling. Many years ago, in my twenties, I cycled everywhere in London. I covered about a hundred miles a week. I must have been very fit but I’m just amazed I never had an accident.
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