Scout’s Overview
📡 🚨 Weekly Sports Radar: Calcio Storico Fiorentino

Calcio Storico Fiorentino is an ancient, no-holds-barred sport that blends football, rugby, MMA, and street brawling. Played annually in Florence, Italy, since the 1500s, it pits four neighbourhood teams against each other in a sand-covered arena, with 27 players per side.

There are no substitutes, no timeouts, and very few rules: headbutting, punching, elbowing, and choking are allowed. The objective is to get the ball into the opposing team’s net by any means necessary. This sport is unofficially known as the precursor to Football and Rugby.

🏋 Athlete of the week: Summer McIntosh

Summer McIntosh is a record-breaking Canadian swimmer recognised for her versatility in both freestyle and medley events. A teenage sensation, she’s already in the conversation alongside the world’s best at just 18.

This week, she concluded the World Aquatics Championships with four gold medals, smashing multiple championship records, and finishing just one medal shy of Michael Phelps’ record of five golds at a single meet.

Fun Fact: At just 14 years old, she was the youngest athlete on Team Canada at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

🏟️ Venue of the week: Skardu Ice Hockey

If there’s one sporting venue I need to visit ASAP, it’s this one. Wow. You’re looking at the Skardu Ice Hockey Rink in the region of Gilgit Baltistan, in Pakistan. The ground. The mountains. The view. Simply stunning. What’s crazy is this isn’t even one of a kind! Rinks like this are scattered around this region, all with insane views like this.

🧤 Fit Check: SPAR Proteas WC 2023

The SPAR Proteas are the South African national Netball team. This Puma kit pays homage to the colourful South African culture and is inspired by African art and the country’s symbols. South Africa, known as The Rainbow Nation, largely inspires the abundance of colours used in this kit.

From the bench
🗞️ In case you were injured:

• A retired maths teacher went on a 500+ mile trail to raise awareness for youth mental health.

• Last week, we reported that Yu Zidi, a 12-year-old competing in the world championships, was just a few seconds off a medal. You’ll be pleased to know she got a bronze medal this week. Aged 12. Against some of the world’s best. Insane.

🎯 In overtime:

• Introducing America’s first-ever Wife-Carrying World Champions, beating the reigning three-time world champions.

• The true athlete of the week: a baby took its first steps during a baby crawl this week

📊 Analyst’s Corner:

• The global scuba diving industry generates between $8.5 billion and $20.4 billion each year, and supports up to 124,000 jobs across 170 countries annually, while also providing widespread marine conservation benefits.

🏆 Sports Calendar

Here’s a look at the ongoing and upcoming sports events this week: