The legacy wrist band campaign protesting the Irish Rugby Football Union's "treatment of the women’s game in Ireland" has already gone int'l. On Saturday, Wasps FC players "displayed the #legacy slogan before their match against Loughborough Lightning." On Friday, the IRFU stated that the women’s national team will get a full-time head coach "if necessary." The protest continued on Sunday (IRISH TIMES, 10/22).
The former Team Sky doctor involved in the "Jiffy bag" investigation resigned from his role at British Cycling. Richard Freeman left on Oct. 2 "without a payoff." Freeman was reportedly "unwell and did not feel able to face disciplinary action from British Cycling for his failure to keep proper medical records." UK Anti-Doping launched an investigation last year "into the contents of a Jiffy bag" delivered to Bradley Wiggins at the '11 Critérium du Dauphiné (LONDON TIMES, 10/20).
Following the decision to expand the men's European Handball Federation final tournament from 16 to 24 teams from '20, proposals for the reform of men's and women's top club competitions have now been presented. The plans form the basis of the EHF's ongoing tender process for its audiovisual and marketing rights through '30. The offering has 25 media companies and agencies considering bids (EHF).
A series of exercises performed before rugby matches "can dramatically reduce injury," according to a benchmark study that the game's coaches hope will "rebut the charge that they do not take the issue of concussion seriously." The program, known as Activate, is the result of a project by health researchers at the University of Bath and England Rugby. The results, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, suggest that the exercises can "significantly reduce concussion and lower limb injuries" (London GUARDIAN, 10/21).
