It’s hump day and we’re in between two huge weekends of oval-shaped ball-sports.

If we’re talking oval-shaped ball sports, I’d love to know which way the TDA Sport audience leans.

4
The number of goals scored by striker Harry Kane in Bayern Munich’s 9-2 drubbing of Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League. Kane now has 33 Champions League goals, surpassing Wayne Rooney’s record (30) for most Champions League goals scored by an English player.

“I just want to prove to my teammates and this club that we can win a finals game.”
Cronulla Sharks halfback Nicho Hynes addressing criticism about his individual and team performance in the NRL finals after the side was beaten 37-10 by the Melbourne Storm last weekend. The Sharks have won one of nine finals games since winning the premiership in 2016. This Friday, they take on the North Queensland Cowboys for a place in the Preliminary Final against the Penrith Panthers.

At the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, Thomas Hicks won the men’s marathon. Hicks’ performance was aided by a combination of strychnine, egg whites and brandy. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention now describes strychnine as a ‘strong poison’. The race is the first known instance of an athlete using performance-enhancing drugs at a modern Olympic Games.

🏉 In a midweek AFLW clash, the West Coast Eagles beat Collingwood 36-19. The win marked the first time the Eagles, who joined the league in 2020, have beaten Collingwood. Jess Hosking starred for the Eagles with a game-high two goals. Collingwood remain winless after their first four games of the 2024 season.

🏀 The New York Liberty are the number-one seed for the WNBA playoffs after their 87-71 victory over the Washington Mystics on Tuesday night. The Liberty, one of four WNBA teams still in the league since its inception, have finished as runners-up five times and are yet to win a championship. 

⚽ The 2024/25 Champions League, held annually to crown Europe’s top football club, got underway overnight with six matches across Europe. Highlights included Brazilian 18-year-old Endrick becoming Real Madrid’s youngest-ever Champions League goalscorer, and English club Liverpool coming from behind to beat Italian heavyweights AC Milan 3-1.

The AFL and AFLW have announced increases to both leagues’ soft salary caps. By 2027, AFL clubs will be able to spend $8.175 million and AFLW clubs will be able to spend $1.375 million on their football teams.

Professional sporting teams have limits on how much they can spend on their players, called salary caps. 

In the AFL, the soft cap is a limit on how much clubs can spend on supporting their players outside of their salaries, like paying for coaches and medical teams.

In contrast, the salary caps (known as Total Player Payments in the AFL) are ‘hard caps’. Clubs face harsh punishment (e.g. stripping of points or titles) if they overspend the hard cap.  

The soft caps will increase gradually between the 2025 and 2027 seasons. Ultimately, AFL clubs will have an extra $700,000 in spending capacity and AFLW clubs will have an increase of $300,000. 

The changes came after a series of cuts during COVID, after which clubs and coaches requested a higher spending allowance. 

Part of the changes is an increased expenditure capacity for health resources, such as doctors and psychologists. AFLW clubs will also be able to claim $25,000 for professional development.

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The Scottish Government has agreed to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. 

Scotland’s Sport Minister Neil Gray announced the Scottish Government were happy with plans for a “scaled-back, but high-quality” Glasgow-based Games, and has written to the Commonwealth Games Federation requesting their official backing. 

Part of the appeal for Scotland is that the Games will not require any public funding. Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) will be responsible for running the event. Gray said the organisation would not call upon the UK or Scottish government for financial assistance but instead modify the scale of the event to meet financial constraints. 

The state of Victoria was meant to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games but decided to withdraw in July 2023 due to high costs. Following the decision, the State Government made a settlement payment totalling $380 million to several organisations to compensate for the unfulfilled promise to host the Games. 

Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA), the organisation responsible for representing and promoting the Commonwealth Sport movement in Australia, was one of the beneficiaries of the Victorian Government’s settlement. It’s pledged to financially assist Glasgow with hosting the 2026 edition.

CGA said it “welcomes the enthusiasm for the Games by the Scottish and UK Governments, and we want to do all that we can to make Glasgow 2026 a reality".

Glasgow last hosted the Commonwealth Games with 18 events in 2014. The 2026 Games are set to be smaller, with just 10 sports across four sites within the city. 

Gray said: “The fact that Glasgow was asked to step in and host the 2026 Games is a testament to Glasgow and Scotland’s fantastic reputation for hosting international events. That said, we have been clear that our financial resources are limited.”

The Paralympics' impact on accessibility in sport

Samantha Lilly, a Graduate Researcher at Deakin University and an elite athlete with a disability explores in a recent article how the Paralympics enhance accessibility in sport at all levels.

The first Paralympics took place in Rome in 1960 and the Games have grown in scope and influence since then. This growth has improved the global awareness of disabled sports which in turn has helped improve accessibility.

The Paralympics can be attributed to driving innovations in assistive technology to help para-athletes perform. For example, the evolution of running blades for amputee athletes from basic prosthetics to advanced carbon fibre designs. Australia encourages this sort of innovation with over 100 funding schemes for assistive technology.

Increased investment in disabled sports has also led to better training facilities. For example, the NSW Institute of Sport in Sydney is designed to accommodate and develop athletes with various disabilities.

Beyond tangible benefits, the Paralympics has fostered global discussions about inclusion and accessibility and the achievements of Paralympians continue to challenge perceptions of disability concerning sport and athleticism.

Despite the progress that has been made, Lilly notes that accessible sport is often seen as a secondary priority. She urges that accessibility should be integral to sports clubs and society and not just an afterthought.

Think Beyond The Field. Study sport at Deakin.