The GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series returns to the Brumos Porsche 250 event after a pulsating close at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Race Course. The Michael Shank Racing team will pair the Canadian racer Michael Valiante with co-driver Mark Patterson in round eight of the competition that features many world class drivers.

Michael Valiante started his Rolex Sports Car Series career in 2005 when he made four successful Rolex Series Daytona Prototype starts leading to one fifth place finish at the Watkins Glen event. In 2006 he made 14 starts in the Rolex Sports Car Series. However, he was able to convert only two of these starts into decent finishes; fifth place positions at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Crown Royal 200 at The Glen. Year 2007 was marginally better as it featured a second placed finish in the Rolex Series Daytona Prototype competition at Iowa Speedway along with seven other top 10 finishes in the racing calendar.

The year 2008 saw the team making a spectacular comeback after the team’s racing equipment was destroyed while in transit to the tournament venue. The team put the incident behind to finish third at the Watkins Glen Event. Later, Michael Valiante combined with Max Angelelli, to form a potent combination; finishing the season with one victory, three podium finishes and six top-10 finishes.

In 2009 Michael Valiante joined Michael Shank Racing to post two podium finishes at the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. The team ended in the seventh position in overall team standing.

The Rolex Sports Car Series originated in the year 2000 after the rolling back of the United States Road Racing Association. The main attraction of the series is the endurance class events at Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Watkins Glen event. The racing series originally featured Sports Racing Prototypes and GT class vehicles. Later, the SRT was phased out because it was felt that it made the tournament difficult to manage. The Daytona Prototype was included in its place.

The main objective of the tournament was to usher an era of competitive racing.  In order to do so the organizers choose to control the racing environment with a string of rules and regulations that kept a tight leash on technological developments. These rules and regulation put all the competitors on an equal footing greatly increasing the quality of the races and drawing more crowds as a result.

The Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No.16 begins with the Rolex 24 at Daytona and concludes on September 11 at Miller Motorsports Park. The series also features races at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Barber Motorsports Park, Virginia International Raceway, Lime Rock Park, Watkins Glen Event, Mid-Ohio Sports Race Course, Daytona International Speedway, New Jersey Motorsports Park, Watkins Glen Short, Circuit Giles Vileneuve and Miller Motorsports Park.

Spruce Meadows’ Organizing Committee succeeded in restoring the FEI Rolex Ranking points for the events covered under its banner, after it was controversially removed by the FEI, following the new regulation that required the tournament to demarcate a minimum of $25,000 as guarantee money.

In the past, Spruce Meadows National had ten FEI jumping events that guaranteed valuable Rolex Ranking points to the winner. However, after the devaluation, many of these tournaments could not fulfill the minimum prize money requirement for FEI Rolex Ranking Point awarding events.

Spruce Meadows President, Linda Southern-Heathcott said that previously many of the $25,000 Spruce Meadows events allowed the riders to gain Rolex points; however, after the devaluation these tournaments were relegated non-ranking events, reducing their credibility. However, she was quick to add that the Organizing Committee had already made arrangements that restored the tournament to its earlier status, allowing the competitors to gain valuable Rolex ranking points.

The tournament is widely respected by the horse riding community, who flock to the venue because of its location and the quality of competition. Olympic champions Eric Lamaze and Rodrigo Pessoa can’t hide their displeasure at the FEI for relegating the competition.  According to them, Rolex points are very important for them but they would rather earn them against the best in the business than against much lighter competition in Europe. The exchange rate system adopted by FEI awarded the European tournaments and penalised the Spruce Meadows tournaments, due to currency rate fluctuations.

This view was seconded by Rodrigo Pessoa, who said that too much importance was being given to prize money, ignoring other factors like competitiveness, location, popularity of the venue and so on. The three time world champion said that any points won at the Spruce Meadows were well earned because of the higher level of competition.

The new FEI guidelines have the potential to adversely affect 16 FEI ranking events conducted by the Spruce Meadows Organizing Committee.

The Swiss watchmaker, Rolex, has been associated with sports since 1927, when Mercedes Gleltze swam across the English Channel wearing a Rolex Oyster wristwatch for the first time. At present the Swiss Watchmaker supports more than 150 events worldwide including golf, sailing, tennis, motorsports and equestrian tournaments. Rolex has given many a prominent names in the world of sports an opportunity to compete on a global platform and prove themselves. Rolex also sponsors cultural and arts programmes around the globe. The Rolex Young Laureates Programme is another Rolex initiative which nurtures young innovators in the field of science and technology, culture, education, and so on.

Eric Edwards of Salisbury, N.C., led the Boys Division at the Rolex Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All- Star event scoring 2-under par 68 on Tuesday. The Girls Division was led by Rachel Dai of Suwanee, Ga., at even-par 70.

The Rolex Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All-Star event, designed for boys and girls in the age group 12-15, is one of the 10 events held under the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior All-Star Series. This tournament has been designed to develop young golfers, who can use it as a platform to launch their career in the AJGA Open tournaments. The Junior All-Star Series ends with the Montverde Academy Junior All-Star Invitational on Columbus Day for winners and top finishers.

The Rolex Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All-Star is held under the aegis of the American Junior Golf Association at the WindStone Golf Club. This 54-hole event is played over 6,347 yards in the Boys Division and 5,679 yards in the Girls Division. The competition at the Rolex Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All-Star event features 75 boys and 24 girls coming together from far off places like Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Canada.

Edwards’ run of good scores at the event included a bogey at the first hole, followed by birdies at holes 8 and 9, making the turn at 2-under-par. He finished the day with a one shot lead on the back of an even-par 35. Edward was upbeat about the day’s performance as this was the first time he was leading in an AJGA event.

Edwards was closely followed by the trio of Andy Shim, William Martinez and Ethan Wall. The fifth place is tied between three golfers, Greyson Sigg, Adam Wood and Christopher Guglielmo.

The leader in the Girls Division, Rachel Dai said that her tee shots gave confidence and helped her make birdies on holes 8, 10 and 11. She was also pleased with her approach shots as she hit a lot of fairways, guaranteeing birdies on holes 8, 10 and 11. Surprised that she was leading the tournament, she said that her strategy for the rest of the tournament would include hitting the fairways.

The Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy is the official partner of the American Junior Golf Association, providing a platform for many budding golfers to perform on the professional circuit. The AJGA is a non- profit organization with a membership of 5000 junior golfers spread over 49 states and 30 countries. The organization believes in nurturing young talent by providing financial assistance from time to time through the ACE program, also known as the Achieving Competitive Excellence program. Rolex Watch USA has been supporting the American Junior Golf Association for the last three decades. In the year 2004, it became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.

AJGA alumni have been doing their association proud with over 400 victories in the PGA and the LPGA tour. The stars that have risen from this program include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.

The duo of Canadian racer Mike Forest and Ryan Dalziel are upbeat after finishing second at Lime Rock Park. The performance increases their chances at the upcoming event at the Watkins Glen International Raceway, starting on Saturday, June 5. The Starworks team owner Peter Baron is expecting another podium finish at the Grand- Am Rolex sports car series beginning this week.

After the Lime Rock Rolex Grand-AM win, Ryan Dalziel, co-driver, stated that he is looking forward to returning to Watkins Glen with fellow driver Mike Forest. He further stated that Mike Forest had done a great job with the car and they were hoping to better their standing at the Championship. Teammate, Mike Forest, is currently ranked 5th in the 2010 Grand-Am Rolex Sports car series driver’s standing. He stated that he was looking forward to working with his new teammate, James Davison at the Six Hour Sports Car race at the Glen. The Glen has hosted some of the greatest race driving since its inception in the 1950’s.

Mike Forest is one of the brightest stars in the Grand-AM Rolex sports car series and his podium finish at the Lime Rock Park justifies his promise. In order to remain competitive he follows an aggressive training schedule that includes swimming, cycling, weight lifting and core training.

This talented race driver first showed his talent in the Pacific F2000 series in 2004 when he finished second overall. He did better in 2005, winning the Spring Cup and the championship title. Next year, he moved to the Champ Car Atlantic series, where he missed the entire season due to a broken vertebrae caused by a stuck throttle in the first race. The year 2007 was no better for the champion driver as he was crashed out by his competitors, often in the opening lap.

Forest moved over to Grand Am Rolex GT Series after the merger of the Champ car and the IRL made the start of 2008 uncertain. Forest and his team     PR1 entered the season as rookies, beginning with low placed ranking and then steadily graduating to podium finishes.

Forest competed in his first Rolex 24 hour in the year 2009, when the PR1 Pontaic GT was well placed for a fifth place before being pushed back to the 11th position courtesy a Daytona Prototype, which damaged the car. Four races into the 2009 season, Forest took a move over to the Prototype class, a step up from the GT series. This was the highest standard of racing in North America, teamed with Ricky Taylor, the two raced for the new team Beyer Racing. The team negotiated some of the most difficult driving conditions to post a fourth place position at the Montreal 200.

Rolex, along with a few other major brands, will be seen sponsoring the Open Championship this year. The golf championship is one of the oldest and most prestigious championships among the four major golf championships held across the globe. The Open Championship is being organized by the R&A. The 2010 Open Championship also holds a special appeal following its 150^th anniversary. Other brands sponsoring the event include Doosan and Lexus.

Rolex has been lending its support to several sporting events. The main onus of the support is to bring across a common platform for the players from around the world and to help them display their talents in various fields of sport. The long legacy of support by Rolex in the form of sponsorships has given the career of many a sports stars the required boost and encouragement. Rolex has been a sponsor to sporting events like equestrian events, tennis tournaments as well as many golfing tournaments including the Open Championship which is the newest member. Rolex is a proud sponsor of the Open Championship and recognises the qualities like skill, precision and excellence, which are a prerequisite to earn the title of a champion, all the virtues which are well displayed by brand Rolex as well.

The Open Championship will be watched by a crowd of about 250,000 people live at the venue, while in 163 nations people will be watching the same on their television sets including North America and Europe. The governing body of the golf event- R&A is also the organizing body of the grand golfing event outside Mexico and USA. The Open Championship is also known as the British Open and takes place during the third weekend of July beginning Friday. The event is the third major golfing event to happen each year closely following the Masters and the US Open. The PGA Championship follows suit after the Open Championship. It also stands as the oldest of all four major golf events. The Championship is slated to take place on the Old Course at St. Andrews, which has so far hosted 27 Open Championships and will be staging its 28^th coming July.

To mark the 150^th anniversary of the famous golf championship a few of its past champions are being invited as well. On July 14^th, these champions will be playing four holes with regard to the old course. However, the celebrations will depend on the weather conditions that day. The 2010 Open Championship will reward the winner with prize money of £750,000.

The long list of champions who will be participating in the event includes Paul Casey, a British golfer who has won several titles including the likes of PGA Championships and WGC Accenture Match Play. Another major British golf player, Sir Nick Faldo will be seen competing at the championship. He has been a three time Open Champion and is also considered as one of the most successful players in the history of the Ryder Cup. The Open Championship scheduled to take place at St. Andrews this year will mark a 34^th Open Championship for the player who has also proved his worth at the Masters Tournament and got around 27 European Tour Victories to his credit.