Marit Bouwmeester and Peter Burling have been named female and male 2017 Rolex World Sailors of the Year at the inaugural World Sailing Awards in Mexico.

The Dutch and New Zealand duo received their awards at a star-studded event in Patio Los Arcos, Puerto

South Korea sealed the final playoff spot in the men's competition at the Pacific-Asia Curling Championships in Erina today and will now face top seeds Japan in the semi-final.

China and South Korea in guaranteeing themselves a semi-final spot today.They beat Hong Kong 15-1 and New

Zealand 10-4 today.New Zealand, however, kept their hopes of progression alive with a 10-5 victory over

A long-awaited meeting between the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and a new parkour governing

of "encroachment and misappropriation" of the sport after they attempted to integrate parkour as a new

discipline earlier this year.A new body, Parkour Earth, was subsequently set-up, with Parkour UK's chief

that it only has six members.These are Australian Parkour Association, France's Fédération de Parkour, New

Zealand Parkour, the Polish Parkour And Freerunning Federation, Parkour South Africa and Parkour UK.The

Jack Sock has beaten Filip Krajinovic 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 to lift the Paris Masters and qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals.

the three times he dropped his.His other titles this year were at Delray Beach, Florida and Auckland, New

Zealand - both on outdoor hard courts.Coco Vandeweghe could not make it an American double as she

In a direct appeal to voters involved in selecting the hosts of the 2023 Rugby World Cup (RWC), the Irish bid chairman, Dick Spring, has expressed "shock" at the "narrow, operational and theoretical" approach which, he claims, the technical review group took in selecting South Africa in preference to either France or Ireland.

history of hosting major events.This, he has argued,  would "preclude the majority of potential new

" Spring wrote.South Africa captain Francois Pienaar holds the 1995 World Cup aloft after defeating New

Zealand as President Nelson Mandela dances in joy ©Getty Images"But all of us who have worked on the

 Argentina, Australia, England, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland and  Wales carry three votes apiece.Japan

Zealand could feasibly give one vote to each of the three bids.Equally, they can also abstain, choosing

World Sailing has revealed an eight-strong candidate list for their prestigious 2017 Rolex World Sailor of the Year awards.

shortlist features Glenn Ashby, of Australia,  the America's Cup winning skipper; Peter Burling, of New

Zealand, the America's Cup winning helmsman; Thomas Coville, of France, the singlehanded round the world

Sailing’s inaugural Hall of Fame inductions.Ashby was rewarded for his expertise in guiding Emirates Team New

Zealand to a comprehensive 7-1 series win over Oracle Team USA in the 35th America’s Cup, in Bermuda

Japan maintained their unbeaten form today in the men's competition at the Pacific-Asia Curling Championships to guarantee themselves a play-off spot in Erina.

recovering from 4-5 down to beat Chinese Taipei, 10-5.They have now won five matches out of five.China and New

Zealand also kept their hopes of reaching the playoffs alive.China skip Yilun Jiang kept her team in

second place in the women's standings ©WCFChina beat Qatar 12-2 while New Zealand defeated Hong Kong

successful.”China remain in second place in the standings, with four wins and one defeat, after beating New

Zealand 9-3 today.

Co-hosts Papua New Guinea claimed a second victory out of two at the Rugby League World Cup as they edged

country have stayed on top of Group C and they remain on course for a place in the quarter-finals.Papua New

points came through a Michael McIlorum try and Liam Finn goal but it was not enough.It means Papua New

from each of the two pools is set to advance at the tournament, also being hosted by Australia and New

flight.Captain Danny Brough, Sam Brooks and Johnny Walker are said to have remained in Christchurch in New

Zealand instead of travelling to Australian city Cairns for a must-win clash with Samoa.

The finals were booked at the World Bowls Singles Champion of Champions in Sydney after a day of elimination round and semi-final action.

In the men's showpiece game Aaron Teys will play New Zealand's Dean Elgar on home soil after both players

over South African Nici Neal in the elimination round.In the last four, Daniels beat Selina Goddard of New

Zealand 8-2, 11-2.

Scotland's Jennifer McIntosh beat younger sister Seonaid to win the gold medal in the women's 50 metres rifle prone event at the Oceania and Commonwealth Shooting Federations' Championships in Brisbane.

.The bronze medal went the way of Anjum Moudgil of India, who edged fourth-placed Sally Johnston of New

Zealand with 616.7 points.Johnston's total ensures she upset the home crowd as she beat Australian duo

Championships team crown as Smith, Jacqui Hatzigiannis and Robyn Ridley ended with a tally of 1828.9 points.New Zealand

South Korea are the only unbeaten team in the women's event at the Pacific-Asia Curling Championships after they won another two matches in Erina today.

New Zealand earned their first success with a 15-3 mauling of whipping boys Qatar today ©WCFSouth Korea

Hong Kong with an 8-6 victory.Australia, who did not play today, are third in the men's standings.New Zealand

World Rugby has responded to stinging criticism by French Rugby Federation President Bernard Laporte, claiming his comments are "unfounded and inaccurate".

us less marks than them for the quality of our stadiums but of our nine stadiums, five of them are new

 Argentina, Australia, England, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland and  Wales carry three votes apiece.Japan

union with multiple votes can chose to split up their allocation, meaning that Australia, England or New

Zealand could feasibly give one vote to each of the three bids.Equally, they can also abstain, choosing

England earned their first win at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup by running in five tries against Lebanon.

Zealand scored 14 tries as they thrashed Scotland 74-6 in their World Cup Group B match in Christchurch.Shaun

Zealand Kiwis and Scotland in Christchurch, New Zealand ©Getty ImagesCoach Steve McCormack had few excuses

 "We had no ball and New Zealand were fresh and technically they were very good," said McCormack

Zealand next Saturday they can avoid hot-favourites Australia in the semi-finals.Centre Michael Jennings

Zealand ©Getty ImagesHowever, Samoa clawed their way back into the game and just minutes after the opening

It is fair to say eyebrows were raised when the Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) Board unanimously recommended South Africa to host the 2023 edition of the event earlier this week.

is not the need for as much infrastructure and South Africa would not be required to build as many new

Not only is it one of the country’s most successful sports but it also became a symbol for a new, improved

film Invictus - South Africa claimed a dramatic 15-12 win over the indomitable, unbeatable team from New

Zealand to win it.What followed was the famous image of a black man in former President and humanitarian

South Korea began the defence of their title with two victories as women's action at the Pacific-Asia Curling Championships in Erina today.

The reigning champions were in impressive form as they beat Japan and New Zealand at the Erina Ice Arena

 They began with a hard-fought 8-5 success against Japan before they thrashed New Zealand 10-1.South

18-2 triumph, while their other victory on day two came virtue of a 9-3 win against Oceanian rivals New

Zealand.South Korea beat New Zealand 8-5 and Chinese Taipei 9-6 to join Australia and Japan at the summit

Zealand."