Massive public investment

Guests can expect a unique blend of African hospitality and western modernity and comfort. The country, and its major host cities Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban have in recent years undertaken the massive task of upgrading facilities, stadiums and transport systems to accommodate the influx of an expected 500 000 foreign visitors over the six week tournament. New stadiums, purpose built for the 2010 Football World Cup have been built – Soccer City in Johannesburg inspired by the bowl-shape of the African calabash will host the final and 94,700 fans on the 11 July.

Cape Town, widely believed to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, has a spectacular addition in the Cape Town (Green Point) stadium. This modern and sleek European based ‘canvas-facade’ sealed 70,000 seater would be equally at home in major European city. Guests based in the southern tip of the country will be able to catch the on-field action all the way up to the semi-final draw. Despite being winter, over the interior of the country the weather will be fine and dry, so be sure to bring sunglasses and sunscreen if you’re making your way south for the Cup.

Culture and comfort combined

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) has ensured the public and foreign partners that every measure will be taken to ensure a successful and enjoyable 2010 World Cup tournament. Transport links from airports, and within the city, will ferry players, teams and guests to the matches. Parks for fans will be in place to bring the action to thousands of fans via giant screen TVs.

Host cities throughout the country have also gone through a tremendous process of maintenance, upgrading and preparation of public areas, amenities and facilities. Many South Africans are leasing their properties, apartments and villas to guests, with services and travel arrangements all inclusive in these hospitality packages over the tournament. Prices for these packages range from the affordable to luxurious. Owners asking as much as £22 000 a week for penthouse arrangements in the exclusive suburbs of Camps Bay, Clifton and Sandton.

Exciting soccer action

The World Cup 2010 action promises to be as exciting as ever, with relative minnows taking on the giants off the football world. Favourites include Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany – support your team all the way to the final! The big question is, can the local side Bafana Bafana, led by coach Carlos Parreira, stage a near miraculous effort and go well past the group stages. With the support of the local fans, as passionate as any of the dominant football playing nations of the world surprise results could be on the cards. Surely this African spectacle will prove to be a melting pot of passion, culture and celebration. Viva Africa! Viva 2010!

8 April – 11 April

Tee-off is scheduled for 8 April, with the final hole being played on 11 April. The 2010 US Masters is the first major in the 2010 PGA tour and, as such, often carries the weight and excitement of months of speculation in the lead up to the tournament.

The Tiger Woods factor

Though many would like to draw attention away from it, it is rumoured that the 2010 US Masters will be the first major tournament the returning Tiger Woods will play in since his highly publicised personal scandal. The player, who had taken an indefinite leave of absence from golf, seems to have put his worries behind him and, if he does compete, will surely be the bookie’s favourite to win the tournament. Outside of just Tiger, major sponsor Nike will see first-hand if their decision to keep Tiger Woods, while other sponsors like Gillette dropped him, pays off.

A place for records

The 2010 US Masters will have a tough time following the record-breaking act last year’s Masters resulted in. The final hole, contested between Argentine Angel Cabrera and Kenny Perry saw Perry all but throw away a sure lead with a double bogey and Cabrera needed the assistance of a tree to stay in contention.

In victory, Cabrera became the lowest ranking player to ever win a major, only the second Argentine to win any major, and the very first Argentinean player to win one of the biggest accolades in all of Golf – the US Open.

The 2010 US Masters, the official ‘major’ curtain raiser to the 2010 PGA Tour, starts 8 April 2010.?

Grand National Tip 1: Research

Number one in this list of Grand National 2010 race tips is to make sure you research your horses thoroughly and only bet what you can. Thorough research always reveals trends that indicate which horses to put your money on, and not spending more than you can means you get to enjoy a great race regardless of the outcome.

Grand National Tip 2: Age

One of the most obvious, yet often overlooked, Grand National 2010 tips is to look at the age of the horse. The average Grand National Winner is between 8-12 years old, with the highest concentration in the last 20 years being between 9 and 11 years of age. To emphasis just how important this criterion is, the last time a 7 or 13-year old horse won the Grand National was in 1940.

Grand National Tip 3: The horses

The last of the Grand National 2010 race tips is to bet on capable horses. Based on recent form, both in the Grand National and in other high profile races, a small subset of horses have emerged as favourites to make it happen. Black Apachali had been looking a sure thing for years, had it not been for accidently unseating its rider in 2009 and falling in 2008. 2008 winner and 2009 runner-up Comply Or Die has shown enough consistency that ruling him out would be foolish. And finally, defending champion Mon Mome who made a great account of himself at odds of 100-1 last year looks to prove that victory was no fluke.

Fun for all

The Grand National is as big of a deal for equestrian manufacturers as it is for bookies and racegoers and, as is usually the case at these events, major brands will use the Grand National as a platform to promote their saddlery and riding equipment.

Adding the three horses selected based on tip three to the two or three horses selected based on tip one will put you in good stead to prove the naysayers wrong by showing Grand National can be predicted, and big winnings can be had, too.

The sixteen time Grand Slam tennis champion is known for his breakthrough and dominance, and says he is happy to have started the year on such a positive note. His win seems to have paved the way for the next set of challenges he will be facing in 2010.

Number one

Ranking as the tennis world’s number one player certainly has its perks, and as far as endorsement deals go, Federer seems to have struck the right chord with big names such as Gillette, Lindt, Rolex, Nike and Wilson to name a few.

So what makes a world number one tennis pro? For a start, the right shoes can make all the difference. Federer has a lucrative ten -ear endorsement deal with Nike, and wears the Vapor V Tennis shoe when he’s on the court. As for tennis rackets, the Grand Slam tennis champion uses a Wilson K Factor KSix One Tour Tennis Racket when he beats and dominates his opponents.

Down time

Down time is an important factor for the tennis pro, and when he isn’t training or participating in championship tennis tournaments he takes time out to relax with his wife and two daughters. And believe it or not, he enjoys playing sports other than tennis, including golf and football.

Hard work and intense training factor into Federer’s success in the world of championship tennis, but he has been known to carry a good luck charm with him in the form of a tweety bird dressed as a ladybug. Hey, if it works for one of the greatest tennis players of all time, it could work for your everyday tennis player, dreaming of making it in the big leagues one day.

The German shock of 2009

Germany stunned the world rowing community, by dominating the 2009 championships, winning eight medals in total with four gold, one silver and three bronze. The nation has always been capable, yet underperformers blossomed, while the usually strong New Zealand and US teams were relegated to second and third place respectively.
The pressure’s on New Zealand

Now, with the 2010 World Rowing Championships being held in New Zealand, the individual rowers will have the cocktail of added support and pressure coming from the home crowd. World record holder and four time world champ single sculler Mahé Drysdale is expected to lead from the front and dominate the sport he’s made his own over the last five years.

The US factor

The United States, who have the biggest sporting budget of any nation competing in the 2010 Rowing World Championship world and have still not reached their full potential in rowing – even though they’re a top three nation – are poised to make a play for victory with the M2+ team of Troy Kepper, Henrik Rummel and Marcus McElhenney expected to repeat their 2009 success.

Beating the competition

One of rowing’s hallmark’s is that many different nations are good at a specific discipline, meaning that for the aforementioned top three teams to put any distance between themselves and their competitors, they have to compete strongly in those categories. This is especially true in large group races with multiple rowers in each team who require high levels of collective fitness, which any team with the right focus and training can achieve.

Still, though, with home support, recent form and national pride at stake, it is very difficult to predict any nation but New Zealand will come out tops at the 2010 World Rowing Championships.

The opening game

The opening game of this year’s 74^th IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will take place in Gelsenkirchen at Veltins-Arena, with a capacity for a potentially world breaking 76,152-strong audience. On 7 May Germany and the United states will take to the ice for an ice hockey extravaganza.

Groups and venues

The competitors have been divided into four groups. Group A consists of Russia, Belarus, Slovakia, and Kazakhstan, who will play in Cologne along with Group D. Group B is made up of Canada, Switzerland, Latvia and Italy, and Group C’s teams include Sweden, Czech Republic, Norway and France. Group B and C matches will take place in Mannheim. Finally, Group D comprises Finland, the USA, Germany, and Denmark.

Rounds

The preliminary round will see Ice Hockey World Championship groups compete against each other in a round-robin. The group’s three best-placed teams will move on to the qualifying round, where the twelve teams, split into two groups, will hit the ice. Following the qualifying round, the four best teams will compete, with the two last-placed teams dropping out.

Then it’s onto the semi-finals for the winners of the quarter finals. The two losers of the semi-finals will play for the coveted bronze medal, while the winners of the semi-finals will compete for gold – the ultimate ice hockey achievement.

A full game schedule can be downloaded on the IHHF website.

Get into the ice hockey fever

Why just sit at home and watch the games? Get on the ice yourself and you will fully be able to appreciate the skill that goes into the Ice Hockey World Championship. All you need is some ice to play on, a helmet and some protective gear (stay safe!), a hockey stick and some friends to join in the fun. If you’re more into watching sport than playing it, support your team with a hockey shirt.

The 2010 IIHF Championship is set to be one to remember, so be sure to follow your team all the way to gold this year.