The Aviva International Match is an annual indoor track and field athletics meeting which takes place in late January in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. The televised competition is the first major indoor event in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's athletics calendar. It has been held at the Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena

Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena

The Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena is located within the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, Scotland. It has hosted many athletics competitions including the 1990 European Athletics Indoor Championships and the Aviva International Match since 1988.- History :...

 since 1988. It will move to the National Indoor Sports Arena

National Indoor Sports Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome

The National Indoor Sports Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome is an indoor arena and velodrome currently under construction in Parkhead, Glasgow, Scotland. Built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, these venues will host the Badminton and Track cycling events...

 after the 2014 Commonwealth Games

2014 Commonwealth Games

The 20th Commonwealth Games in 2014 will be held in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. The winning city was announced by the Commonwealth Games Federation on 9 November 2007 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Games will run over 11 days of competition from 24 July to 3 August 2014...

.

The International Match is an international team competition, with representatives typically competing for five different squads: Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, a select "World" team, and three other countries. In each athletic event, athletes score points for their team depending on performance and the team with the greatest number of points at the end of all competitions is declared the winner. The last edition of the meeting was held on 29 January 2011 and broadcast by the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

.

History

The inaugural edition (primarily a contest between French and British athletes) was held in 1988 as the Dairy Crest

Dairy Crest

Dairy Crest Group plc is a major dairy products company in the United Kingdom. Its brands include Cathedral City Cheddar cheese, Utterly Butterly, Vitalite, Clover, St Ivel and Frijj. The company delivers milk to around 1.1 million households via their milkmen...

 International and it attracted participants such as Linford Christie

Linford Christie

Linford Cicero Christie OBE is a former sprinter from the United Kingdom. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes: the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games...

 and Butch Reynolds

Butch Reynolds

Harry "Butch" Reynolds is an American former track and field athlete who competed in the 400 meter dash. He held the world record for the event for eleven years with his personal best time of 43.29 seconds set in 1988. That year he was the silver medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and a...

. The event was broadcast on ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 and was well received with around 2.75 million viewers in total. The Kelvin Hall became a prominent indoor venue, hosting the 1990 European Athletics Indoor Championships, and the 1990 Dairy Crest Games pitted a British team against a select team from East Germany. After a change of sponsor, the Pearl International Games featured a Great Britain vs Russia competition, as well as high calibre guest athletes including world champions Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson (athlete)

Michael Duane Johnson is a retired American sprinter. He won four Olympic gold medals and eight world championship gold medals. Johnson currently holds the world and Olympic records in the 400 m and 4 x 400 meters relay. He formerly held the world and Olympic record in the 200 m, and the world...

 and Mike Powell

Mike Powell (athlete)

Michael Anthony Powell born is a former American track and field athlete, and the holder of the long jump world record.Mike Powell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

. France returned as the rival team to the hosts in the 1995 and 1996 competitions.Rowbottom, Mike (1995-02-07). Christie faces old adversary. The Independent

The Independent

The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

. Retrieved on 2010-01-20.

The competition was sponsored by Norwich Union

Norwich Union

Norwich Union was the name given to insurance company Aviva's British arm before June 2009. It was originally established in 1797. It is the biggest life insurance provider in the United Kingdom, and has a strong position in motor insurance...

 from 2000 to 2009. During this time, the international competition developed from a two-team to a multi-team contest: Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n and German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 athletes competed against British athletes in 2002, and by 2004 it had become a five-way team contest (with athletes representing Great Britain, Russia, Sweden, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and a World select team). The indoor International Match became a testing ground for young and upcoming British athletes as the country's established international athletes often trained abroad or avoided indoor competition in favour of more prestigious outdoor competitions.

In spite of this, the event continued to attract many of Britain's prominent athletes as well as significant foreign competition; in 2003 the 60 metres

60 metres

60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes...

 featured the then-world record holder Tim Montgomery

Tim Montgomery

Timothy Montgomery is a former American athlete. In 2005, he was stripped of his records – including a now void 100m world record of 9.78 seconds set in 2002 – after being found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs...

 and Dwain Chambers

Dwain Chambers

Dwain Anthony Chambers is an English sprinter of Afro-Caribbean descent. He has won medals on the international stage numerous times and is one of the fastest European sprinters in the history of recorded athletics. His primary event is the 100 metres sprint, in which he has the second...

, with world long jump

Long jump

The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...

 champion Dwight Phillips

Dwight Phillips

Dwight Phillips is an American athlete and a four-time world champion in the long jump...

 and Olympic medallist Bernard Williams

Bernard Williams (athlete)

Bernard Rollen Williams, III is an American track and field athlete and winner of a gold medal in 4×100-meters relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics.- Biography :Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Bernard Williams won the 100 m at the 1999 Pan-American Games....

 also on the programme.

Following the renaming of Norwich Union, the competition became known as the Aviva

Aviva

Aviva plc is a global insurance company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the sixth-largest insurance company in the world measured by net premium income and has 53 million customers in 28 countries...

 International Match in 2010. Great Britain won the 2010 competition, highlighted by Jessica Ennis

Jessica Ennis

Jessica Ennis, MBE is a British track and field athlete specialising in multi-eventing disciplines and 100m hurdles...

' win in British record

British records in athletics

British records in athletics are the best performances in athletics events by athletes representing the United Kingdom which are ratified by the Amateur Athletic Association and the British Amateur Athletic Board .-History:...

-time against reigning 60 metres hurdles

60 metres hurdles

60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling which is generally run in indoor competitions. It is equivalent with the first 60 metres including the first 5 hurdles of a standard outdoor hurdle race. The current women's and men's world records are 7.68 seconds and 7.30 seconds ,...

 world champion Lolo Jones

Lolo Jones

Lori "Lolo" Jones, more commonly known as Lolo Jones, is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 60 and 100 meter hurdles. She won three NCAA titles and garnered 11 All-American honors while at LSU...

. The 2011 competition saw a five-team competition between Germany, Great Britain, the United States, Sweden and a Commonwealth Select team, which was won by the German team. Helen Clitheroe

Helen Clitheroe

Helen Teresa Clitheroe is a British middle- and long-distance runner coached by Trevor Painter. She competed in the 1500 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing...

 produced a stadium record in the 3000 m, embarking on a solo run to victory.

Events

Aviva International Match events
Men	60 m	200 m	400 m	800 m		3000 m	60 m hurdles	Long jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...	Triple jump Triple jump The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...		Pole vault Pole vault Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
Women	60 m	200 m	400 m	800 m	1500 m	3000 m	60 m hurdles	Long jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...		High jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....	Pole vault Pole vault Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...

Men

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Ref
60 m 60 metres 60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes...	6.51	Jason Livingston Jason Livingston Jason Livingston is a former sprinter from the United Kingdom.Livingston won the 60 metres sprint gold medal at the 1992 European Indoor Championships in Genoa, in a time of 6.53 seconds...		8 February 1992
200 m 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...	20.67	John Regis John Regis John Regis may refer to:* Johannes Regis , Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance* John Francis Regis S.J. , French preacher recognized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church...		11 February 1995
400 m 400 metres The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...	45.33	Danny Everett Danny Everett Daniel Joseph Everett is a 400 metre runner from the United States. As a 21-year-old he participated in the 1988 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal in the individual event and a gold medal with the United States 4x400 m relay...		8 February 1992
800 m 800 metres The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...	1:46.22	Tom McKean Tom McKean Thomas McKean is a former Scottish middle distance runner who won the European Championships 800m gold medal at Split in 1990....		4 March 1990
3000 m 3000 metres The 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is generally classified as middle distance, but it could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...	7:40.99	Mo Farah		31 January 2009
60 m hurdles 60 metres hurdles 60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling which is generally run in indoor competitions. It is equivalent with the first 60 metres including the first 5 hurdles of a standard outdoor hurdle race. The current women's and men's world records are 7.68 seconds and 7.30 seconds ,...	7.36	Colin Jackson Colin Jackson Colin Ray Jackson CBE is a British former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. Over his career representing Great Britain and Wales he won an Olympic silver medal, became world champion three times, went undefeated at the European Championships for 12 years and...		12 February 1994
High jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....	2.37 m	Vyacheslav Voronin Vyacheslav Voronin Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Voronin is a Russian athlete, who specializes in the high jump.Voronin is a World Champion and European Indoor Champion . His personal best is 2.40 metres, set in London in August 2000. He competed in Athens 2004 and Helsinki 2005, but did not win medals in either...		5 March 2000
Triple jump Triple jump The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...	17.20 m	Christian Olsson Christian Olsson Christian Olsson is a Swedish athlete competing in high jump and triple jump. He has won an Olympic gold medal, three gold and one silver medal in the World Championships and two gold medals in the European Championships...		27 February 2007

Women

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Ref
60 m 60 metres 60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes...	7.04	Merlene Ottey Merlene Ottey Merlene Joyce Ottey , is a Jamaican-born Slovenian track athlete. Ottey began her career representing Jamaica, but since 2002, has represented Slovenia, where she now resides...		8 February 1992
200 m 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...	22.81	Natalya Pomoshchnikova-Voronova		30 January 1993
400 m 400 metres The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...	50.62	Olga Zaytseva Olga Zaytseva Olga Zaytseva is a Russian sprint athlete.Zaytseva won the bronze medal in the 400 m at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, as well as a gold medal in the 4 x 400 m relay....		28 January 2006
800 m 800 metres The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...	1:58.46	Maria Mutola Maria Mutola Maria de Lurdes Mutola is a female athlete from Mozambique who has specialized in the 800 m. She was born in Maputo, earning her the suiting nickname of "The Maputo Express. She is the fourth track & field athlete to compete at six Olympic Games.-Teenage years:Mutola was born in the Chamanculo...		24 January 2004
1500 m 1500 metres The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...	4:05.44	Jolanda Ceplak Jolanda Ceplak Jolanda Čeplak is a Slovenian middle distance athlete. She was born in Celje and lived in Velenje until moving to Monaco.-Running career:...		9 March 2002
3000 m 3000 metres The 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is generally classified as middle distance, but it could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...	8:52.31	Helen Clitheroe Helen Clitheroe Helen Teresa Clitheroe is a British middle- and long-distance runner coached by Trevor Painter. She competed in the 1500 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing...		29 January 2011
60 m hurdles 60 metres hurdles 60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling which is generally run in indoor competitions. It is equivalent with the first 60 metres including the first 5 hurdles of a standard outdoor hurdle race. The current women's and men's world records are 7.68 seconds and 7.30 seconds ,...	7.74	Ludmila Engquist Ludmila Engquist Ludmila Engquist is a former Soviet/Russian/Swedish athlete who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics , in the 1992 Summer Olympics , and in the 1996 Summer Olympics .She won gold medals in 100m hurdles at the 1991 World...		4 March 1990
Pole vault Pole vault Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...	4.76 m	Svetlana Feofanova Svetlana Feofanova Svetlana Yevgenyevna Feofanova is a Russian pole vaulter. She won the silver medal in women's pole vaulting at the 2004 Summer Olympics behind compatriot Yelena Isinbayeva, and won the bronze in the 2008 Summer Olympics...		2 February 2003
		Yelena Isinbayeva Yelena Isinbayeva Yelena Gadzhievna Isinbayeva is a Russian pole vaulter. She is twice an Olympic gold medalist , five-times a World Champion, and the current world record holder in the event...		24 January 2004
Long jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...	6.85 m	Galina Chistyakova Galina Chistyakova Galina Valentinovna Chistyakova is a retired athlete who represented the USSR and later Slovakia.She trained at Burevestnik in Moscow. Competing in long jump, Galina Chistyakova won the 1985 European Indoor Championships and a silver medal at the European Championships one year later...		3 March 1990

External links

• Event information from UK Athletics
  UK Athletics
  UK Athletics is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics officials....
  
  
• Event history in brief from BBC Sport
  BBC Sport
  BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC. It became a fully dedicated division of the BBC in 2000. It incorporates programmes such as Match of the Day, Grandstand , Test Match Special, Ski Sunday, Rugby Special and coverage of Formula One motor racing, MotoGP and the Wimbledon Tennis...