Welcome to The Wrap, a weekly podcast covering women's sports news.

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No, we are getting the Wheel of Death.

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I'm going to tell you what we've got around the grounds this week.

The Hobite Hurricanes are the newest WBBL champions.

Bree Walker has claimed her third consecutive monobob gold medal in Lillehammer, and the Bendigo Spirit is that even how you say it, I'm not sure have claimed the seventh consecutive win in the w NBL.

For the key story, we discussed the new partnership between the Women's Tennis Association and Mercedes Benz, which is being hailed as the largest partnership in the history of women's sport.

Thanks for joining us, You're welcome.

It's our last rub of the year.

Holy mole, it's been a year.

Thanks guys for coming along for this ride.

We love doing this with you, but we're really looking forward to a break, so we'll take a few weeks off.

We'll be back.

We confirm that.

Tough to say.

It's called it end of jan but.

No one knows.

No one knows.

We'll be back.

We will be back.

Oh my gosh, more T shirts are coming out today.

Say sure, Women's sports fan club teas are back in stock.

I'm hoping this is this comes out Tuesday.

So I'm hoping you guys have signed up for the back in stock requests because they may go again.

And we've got a brand new color colourway, even cold T shirt with cream print.

It's sick.

I really like it.

My name is Coloe Dalton.

I'm joined every week on the show by my co host Bez.

We are recording on gadigal Land and we just wanted to take a quick moment Bez.

We're recording this on Monday morning, the morning after the horrible, horrible shootings that happened in Bondai last night, and we're feeling pretty heavy.

Yeah, very heavy.

Much love to everyone affected.

I think we've all been touched by it and it's incredibly sad and horrible.

Yeah, and speaking of you, yeah, and sending our love to the Jewish community that have been so horribly impacted by that event as well.

Let's take a look around the grounds.

In wb BL, Azelie has powered.

The Hope About Hurricanes to their first WBBL title, leading her side to an eight wicket win over the per Scorches with five overs to spare in the first inning.

Sophie Devine top scored for the Scorches with thirty four off twenty nine as the Hurricanes bowlers Heather Graham two for twenty six and Lindsay Smith two for eight were crucial in restricting Perth to five for one thirty seven despite a sloppy display which.

Saw seven catches dropped.

That's a lot of catches to drop.

Yeah.

I haven't watched the game in full.

We were actually out celebrating Christmas as a team.

We saw the end, yeah, we did.

We saw the trophy ceremony, we.

Saw the most important part of the pub.

But I have seen the highlights and yeah, the catches that went down.

It really flew in the face of the old catches win matches because they still won't even though they dropped seven.

Yeah, hectic.

It was a true fairy tale finish for Hurricanes captain Elise Va Lani, who announced her retirement from the wbb YE immediately after winning the final.

Love that get your fairy tale so good?

It was also her fiftieth Big Bash game.

I thought she would have played more than that yeah.

Interesting.

The thirty six year old may have jumped the gun slightly by announcing her retirement from Big Bash post game on Channel seven before telling her teammates amazing, but when Valani called her troops together shortly after to share her news, there was there was not really a dry eye in the house.

I was eighty percent sure that this was the way I was going to go.

But as soon as we won, I just knew.

That was the moment, she told the media after playing in three losing Big Bash finals during her time with the Scorches and Stars, while on his first WBBL title was the missing piece in her career that's included three T twenty World Cup triumphs with Australia and three w NCL titles with Tasmania.

Good on you, Yeah, I think that's why it was my number one moment of the week, just seeing Oh I like that.

At least getting to finish the fairy tale.

Yeah, I like it.

Love it.

In some Iron Woman Series news, defending Iron Woman champion Lucy Derby, she has won the third round of this year's Iron Series in Newcastle to keep her chances of taking back to back series crowns alive.

Deby.

She delivered a consistent performance across all three races, with veteran eyewoman at Lizzie Welborn staging a strong comeback to also keep her series chances alive, finishing in second place with Emma Woods rounding out the podium.

How good in, Bob said.

Bree Walker's claimed a third consecutive monobob gold medal in Lilli Hammer to record her first win of the season.

The runner up of the past two winters, broke her own track record by more than a tenth of a second with a time of fifty three point eight six seconds in the first round.

Bree Walker becomes the first monobob athlete to break the fifty four second barrier for the one thousand, three hundred.

And sixty five meter track.

That's a cool start for an Aussie.

Yeah, I love that.

On the ice, you go get them, Bob, said Brie.

This means her top speed on course was a whopping one hundred and twenty three point three k's per hour.

Nope, that's a no from me.

Nope, it's really fast in it.

You're effectively in a steal missile going down an ice shoot one three.

That's really fast.

Downhill too.

Yeah, really fast.

Katrin bil from Austria was zero point four to four seconds behind, while Germany's Laura Nolt finished third.

It sees Walker sitting in a comfortable second position in the overall MONOBOLB World Cup standings heading into the fourth event of the season.

And in some other winter sport news.

Sixteen year old Ali Hickman claimed her maiden World Cup medal with bronze in the snowboarding Big Air event.

And yes, the Big Air is what it sounds like.

Thank you for clarifying.

It's a freestyle competition focused on a single massive jump where athletes launch into the air performing one spectacular trick judged on difficulty, height, execution, style and a clean landing.

How important it's important?

The clean landing?

Yeah, it is important.

How do I spin in the air?

Well?

It all?

It's one of those amazing events where you end up doing thirteen rotations whilst holding a foot Yeah wild, Yeah, incredible, incredible athletes and Ozzie Josie Baff has climbed bronze in the FA snowboard Cross event in Italy.

Baf set the second fastest time in qualifying and some incredibly tight racing saw her pip to silver by Italian writer Mikayla Mooli.

In football, Arsenal had finished their final Women's Super League game for the year with a three to one win over Everton in the Gunner's first ever visit to Goodison Park, with the venue now becoming the Everton women's home ground.

They were on the.

Board early courtesy of a Katie McCabe stunner in the tenth minute.

Everton Tonoka Hia She equalized just two minutes later to put the pressure on before Caitlin Ford put Arsenal back in front after backing up Alessia Russo's missed header to strike the ball across the line.

However, it was later determined that it was Russo's effort that had actually crossed the line first for two to one.

Claim it, Take it, Claim It.

Olivia Smith then netted yet another goal of the season, contended to put the I'll bey on doubt with just four minutes remaining.

And in some A League news, Canberra United have snapped Melbourne City's record a league home and away unbeaten streak with a two to one win over last year's minor Prams after a score's first half, United stun City with a with two goals in the space of seven minutes after halftime, with Emma Hawkins and Michelle Hayman scoring in the fifty second and fifty ninth minutes.

Holy McNamara provided City some hope for the penalty spot from the penalty spot in the seventy second minute, but Cambra stood firm to hand their first loss in a home and Awight League match since March twenty twenty four.

Wow.

The win seeds Camber United to consolidate their place on top of the A League table by one point, despite not even registering their first win until round four.

In the other A League women's results on the weekend, Perth Glory claimed their second win of the season with a one neil victory over the Wellington Phoenix.

Melbourne Victory defeated Adelaide United one nil, and the Mariners defeated the Western Sydney Wanderers to one.

Hey, this is exciting news, Chelsea.

They're coming to us.

Is it their first time ever the Chelsea women's team coming to Australia.

Yes, I think it is.

You're like, yes, They're playing the A League All Stars.

It's going to be epic August twenty twenty six.

Can't wait.

Do you think the big goalsie names will be there?

Surely have to be.

Yeah, that's part of the drawer card.

How good.

I'm sure that was in the contract.

You're coming to play by the way Ellie Carvader and Sam Curra are starting.

Yeah, surely, Oh absolutely, how good?

That'd be cool?

I cannot wait?

Will you beat there?

Yeah?

I'm busting out my shirt?

Which one?

My Sam Curve Chelsea shirt?

Do you call it a shirt?

Is it a jersey?

I think soccer is a shirt.

Is it not a guernsey?

That's certainly not a guernsey.

It's not a singleer.

Is it not a jersey?

If it's a jersey or a shirt.

I think it's a football shirt.

I think it's a shirt.

I'll be busting out my Sam Curve Chelsea shirt and Cookie we be busting out her Ellie Carmander Chelsea shirt.

Sounds like you're wearing button ups to the game.

Could be.

But our producer Sofa caught up with former Lioness's goalkeeper Kylie Telford, who's a GM at Chelsea and just an amazing operator.

So so footbot that link in the show notes to read that chat too in.

Some small snowing news, small snowing.

I'd love Moores in the snow.

Quite iconic, really yeah, Lindsay Vaughne, I mean, absolute goat of snowing.

She's an icon.

She won the opening Women's World Cup downhill event of the season on Friday to make history, becoming the oldest competitor to win the event at age forty one.

Wild, the twenty ten Olympic downhill champion, took the eighty third winn of her career.

Also, can we talk about how twenty ten feels like, like when you read that number at it's like, oh, that was the other day fifteen years ago?

Oh yeah, wow?

Like and what didn't she how long did she have off?

Did she retire for six years?

I think?

So that's just wild.

The wind consolidates her position as the third most accomplished women's outline scare in history.

You've got the Hiccup with.

Only American compatriot.

Just ignore shr go Mikayla Schiffrin.

She's one hundred and four and Swedish great ngmas Denmark, who's won eighty six having won more Alpine World Cup races than gone.

I actually was wondering where Mikayla was in that ranking number one.

She's a free k Yeah.

She started sixteenth on the Corvillia pissed in perfect conditions.

Von was behind after the first two time checks were powered through to cross the line in one minute twenty nine point six three seconds.

Austrian Magdalene at Eggar, second from her twenty seventh start.

She was born a year after Bond made.

Her World Cup debut.

That's wild and Miriam Puca completed the podium.

Do you think I just wanted to know?

Do you think this Swiss say pissed like you did?

Yes?

Yes, I do, Chloe, Thanks Eren.

We had a Winter Wonderland.

This is going to be.

A very I don't know where this has got random sequet.

We had a lady's day at the Rats that was Winter Wonderland themed and the women's team kind of morphed it into off pissed.

Oh yeah, nice, that was good.

You brought that back.

I was a little bit nervous there for a second.

A bit of snoop dog chat.

Hang on, I need to actually know wuld how would you say it?

Peaced?

Peaced?

Okay, fair, I'm not a skier, though I'm not a snow person.

Off pieced piece is better pissed peaced pisced.

Snoop Doll has pine with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, becoming the USA's first ever honorary coach.

Lol.

This is a media stunt, if ever, I've my.

Goodness it is so.

I've filed his role on LinkedIn.

I mean I need to be more active on LinkedIn.

It's good flex with the title Coach Snoop Team USA.

The role is a volunteer position designed to celebrate and uplift US Olympians and Paralympians as they take on the biggest stage in winter sports.

You know what, Like he was great in Paris.

He obviously like there was a lot of talk about what he was doing there.

But I do really I think USA Winter Winter Olympians it's probably different.

I think they're they have bigger profiles, they're a lot more respected.

Ossie Winter Olympians.

It's tough, right, but I might good on you for giving them a bit of spotlight.

Yeah, you know, law and bowls.

I wonder how Snoop goes on the on the on the snow.

I he's from long beach.

I don't know if it was a lot of snow in his life.

In some lawn Bowls news, astra As dorn Hayman has won the women's singles title at the twenty twenty five World Bowls Series Finals.

After going through the pool stage undefeated in all five matches, Dawn was convincing in the final, claiming a two zip victory over England Nicole Rodgers, which sees her become the new world number one ranked women's balls flyer.

Oh.

In basketball, the Bendigo's Spirit have overcome an almighty scared to claim their seventh consecutive WNBL victory with a seventy seven to seventy one win over the Geelong Venem We need Fred, did you just highlight the whole document?

What's going on?

He's not me?

Is that so?

I think it's so?

She's She's just saying stop talking.

The game started fast, with Bendigo piling on the points to create an eight point quarter time buffer.

Sharla Hill was on fire for the Venom, sinking a season high twenty six points, but Bendigo remained in control with a forty four to thirty two.

Leader the main break.

However, The visitors went into cruise mode in the third quarter and the Venom took advantage, closing the deficit from twenty two points in the third to just four early in the final quarter.

Twenty one year old Izzy Bullets was typically busy, Izzy, securing twenty nine points and eight rebounds.

Is Bend to go beat you along for a third time this season, extending their winning streak against the home side to be on seven hundred and.

Fifty five days.

Wow, he go, that's heaps.

Why is Australia better than the rest of the world at swimming?

We already knew it and this event has confirmed it.

I don't know.

I think we are all propelled into the pool.

Do you think it's because it's a safety thing?

At a young age?

Like Howard's my son one, he started swimming lessons.

My niece started when she was like six months old.

Like, can we talk about what friend's doing?

Like would we call that lessons or would we call that fun in the pool on a Friday morning.

He enjoys everyone singing and clapping and chanting his name.

That's why he goes there.

But is he learning things?

Well, he's learning how to like go underwater, without keeping his eyes and mouth completely wide open.

He hasn't learnt that yet, but he will, hope.

Cookie.

Oh my gosh, that's right.

But I think it was an interesting one.

In all seriousness, I think it does stem from a safety and it also it's at school, Like I think, I remember when I was a kid, like you, did swimming lessons at school.

So I think I actually wonder if it's like a participation funnel, you know, like so many of us do it and then the ones of us that don't like it always suck.

And get weed it out.

Yes, always sink, I think.

And I also think it's probably an interesting case study in regards to.

We have been successful.

Success breeds success, great point success breeds investment.

Investment creates more athletes in that sport.

So, you know, growing up as a kid watching the Olympics, it was always a swimmers second week athletics.

Oh that Americans really good?

But where are our people?

So I think, you know, I think it's probably a really good example of you know, that investment that breed success results in more participation and more success.

I completely agree with you.

So we kicked their butts, Yeah, we did.

In what's been dub the t twenty of swimming.

Australia has blitz the rest of the world in the Australia versus the World Swimming event, winning one hundred and thirty one points to one hundred and five.

The first of its kind swimming format recorded no times.

I kind of love it.

Instead, it was just the first to hit the wall.

So if you hit the wall first, you've got five points, If you hit second, you've got three points, and you hit it third you got two points.

Similar scoring actually to our more than a game game, trivia game.

If you haven't got a Christmas present, get.

On that now now now.

There were over twenty races in the event and they didn't take the traditional format of swimming events, so there was twenty five meters sprint series.

It's aw selected swimmers racing three twenty five meter freestyle sprints across the night.

There was the four hundred meter speed Challenge where every lap counts, with the leader at each one hundred meter checkpoint getting a bonus point.

Yeah, I like the mix up of it.

There was a fifty meter skins where at the end of each round, the last swimmer to touch the wall was eliminated until there were only two swimmers left for the third and final fifty meter sprint.

The faster you swam, the more recovery time you have because the clock is sticking with only two minutes to race, so you had to get out of the pool and back on the blocks ready to dive in again.

That one's mad.

And then there was some mystery events including the Mega six by fifty meter relay, the Fans Choice Relay where fans choice if it's a metal or freestyle relay just seconds before jumping in the pool.

Cool love that, and the medley where the order of strokes is decided right then and there from a live rule let will And of course if there were there payer players where a team could activate their power play and if they hit the wall first their points are double, scoring a massive ten points.

In terms of the results, Meg Harris claimed victory in the women's twenty five meters sprint, Kaylee McEwan claimed the twenty five meter backstroke skins final and Australia claimed the win and the Mega Relay, all before the mixed four by twenty five meter freestyle relay closed the night, with Australia touching first of course, and grabbing the final victory.

I'm the Dolphins, go to Dolphins.

I just also respect.

I think we talk about the different sports with their different formats.

Like we obviously said, it was similar to T twenty.

You know, you've got you net bullfast five, You've got I don't know, rugby seven's, AFL nine's that wasn't that successful.

Actually AFL X was it called.

I just respect swimming giving it a crack, you know, trying something different, trying to appeal to the fans outside that four year cycle.

Totally agree.

Let's take a look at the key story.

The Women's Tendus Association and Mercedes Benz have ended into what is reportably the most expensive partnership in the history of women's sport.

The German car manufacturer will become the premier partner of the WTA and poor fifty million USD per year into women's tennis for up to ten years.

The deal dwarfs the agreement struck in early twenty twenty two with former sponsor Hologic or Hologic Hologic.

Hollo, I thought your first one was good.

With former sponsor Hologic as the WTA's title sponsor, the medical technology company was nonetheless invested had invested twenty million annually in a contract that runs until the thirty first decen but this year, so what will this new partnership look like?

Though?

As the premier partner and exclusive automobile partner of WTA in Mercedes will be present at WTA one five hundred and two hundred and fifty tournaments from twenty twenty six.

Can you give a little explainer of what they.

Are points ranking?

So I believe that one thousand gives you the most points for you to increase your rankings five hundred and fifty, et cetera.

Nice aims to create unique experiences for players, fans and guests.

The first year is expected to see the majority of tournaments embracing the Mercedes Benz branding on the net, before the branding ramps up over time.

The WTA deal also aims to help with the tours commitment to have equal prize money.

This is a bit we love at events where both men and women feature by twenty twenty seven and at non combined events by twenty thirty three.

What did the goats say?

She said a lot of things.

I think one of the we shared on our Instagram page.

Her full quote but I love that she spoke about belief and the Mercedes Benz showed that they believed in women was.

Just about the money, It's about the belief.

Yeah, I love that.

So the goat being Billy Jean King, who founded WTA and was its first president.

So the deal shows the tour continues to lead the way in women's sport.

The Mercedes Benz deal has been broken by the was commercial WTA Ventures to support by the private equity firm CBC Capital Partners, which invested one hundred and fifty million dollars into women's standards in twenty twenty three.

The W two a tour driven by Mercedes Benz partnership willig in from January first, twenty twenty six.

Interestingly, Chlo, we do talk a lot about trust, that trust peace with partners in women's sport, and on our post there were multiple comments in and around people saying I'm going to buy Mercedes Benz.

I don't know whether they were joking.

Some of them might be a bit you know, ambitious or you know, hopeful, but there there's gent that it was a really real life example of that connection piece to say to say, you know what, well done, Mercedes Benz.

Thank you for investing women's sport.

I will in turn invest well.

Would you like to share your personal anecdote on that.

Yeah, we were in the market for a new car, could not afford in Mercedes Benz.

I'd like to clarify that.

And it was in and around the Women's World Cup in twenty twenty three, and we bought a Cooper purely because of their partnership and support of the Matilda's.

How good a Cooper A Cooper put it on our head.

Yeah, I mean not purely because of but was introduced.

There was a confirming factor exactly.

Yeah, there was two or three that we were choosing between, and that got us over the line.

Because you think, if you're supporting women's sport, I respect you as a brand.

Yeah, And I emailed Cooper to let them know that it was their partnership with the Tillies that the Matilda's players.

I'm not sure if it's with yea, And it was with the Tillies that that did, like I said, as he said, got us over the line.

And they sent me a scarf which was really nice.

Love that.

Let's take a look at what to watch in Bob Slater.

Aussie bob sledders continue their World Cup action and Olympic qualification this week in Segulda, Latvia.

The event begins on Monday and runs until Sunday, and you can watch live and free on the IBSF YouTube channel.

In basketball, the Geelong Venom will be hoping to move off the bottom of the WNBL ladder when they Snakes and Ladders take on the South Side Melbourne Flies tonight.

Say The match begins at seven pm ADT and you can watch it live and free on the nine network.

Chelsea, You're back in action for the final round of the Women's Champions League for twenty twenty five when they take on Wolfsburg this Thursday.

The match begins seven AMADT.

You can watch it live on Disney Plus VI EESPN Go.

The Churls had a good win overnight against Brighton in a league just two points separate the second place Melbourne victory and the third place Newcastle Jets heading into their Women's a LEA clash on Friday night.

The match begins at seven pm eight T and you can watch a live free on the ten network.

Oh my Gosh, I can't leave it.

Last roup for the year is kind of a bit scary, but as we said, looking forward to a break.

So with some major events to keep your eyes on this holiday season before we see you back in twenty twenty six.

Softball.

The USA women's softball team are heading down Under for the first time since the Sydney two thousand a limb and we'll play Australia in a four match series.

The first game begins on Wednesday, the thirty first of December.

You can watch it live on Softball Australia dot TV.

And of course I was open.

How good, so good?

Ninety eight of the top thousand women's players have confirmed they will be in Melbourne.

It begins on Monday, the twelfth of January and runs until the first of feb You're going.

To be there, yes, I can't wait.

And you can watch it all live and free on the nine network.

And can I just say if we're trying to fill our sacks for Santa from Santa this year, obviously Number one is go to the t FAP website and buy some merchant in the card game.

Number two buy some tickets.

Yeah, go and watch women's sport.

Make that if you've got some time off over the next couple of weeks, find yourself a game to go to.

Love that and go and support women's sport in person, because that is where we can really make a difference.

I think we should go to a Sydney FC game.

Okay great, I'm decided and the Flames.

I want to watch the Flames over the break too.

Okay great, you might need to play.

Merry Christmas.

Love you all, thank you for support.

Thanks to the TVAP team for all the work you do.

We'll see you next year.

Bye ho ho ho