The .sport new gTLD will commence General Availability in early 2019 following a pre-launch Ambassador programme and âconsolidated launch periodâ this year.
As part of the pre-launch program, a select group of Ambassador websites will go live during the northern Summer 2018, becoming among the first ever at .sport. A consolidated launch period will run from 4 September to 6 November and following a quiet period, General Availability will begin on 8 January 2019. Premium pricing applies during the consolidated launch period. Standard pricing will apply starting with General Availability.
The .sport new generic top level domain is by and for the sporting community. As a community extension .sport has made membership in the community an eligibility requirement for registering a .sport domain. During the consolidated launch period, these include: federations, sport organisations and governing bodies; clubs and teams; cities and public authorities; athletes and practitioners; sport organisers, event sponsors, sport brands and corporate partners; sport media; and sport facilities.
In addition to individual registration, there will be special programs for name categories that are subject to special requirements. These include discipline names, key sport vocabulary, geographic names and generic domain names. International federations will largely operate their corresponding discipline names across multiple domains and languages. Geographic domains will be registered by public authorities from municipalities around the world. And generic names may be registered by content providers who will operate them in a non-discriminatory way based on advertising models.
In 2019, it is anticipated that pre-validated promotional coupons for .sport domain registration will be made available through the international federations to their national and regional federations. In doing so, .sport seeks to achieve a more comprehensive outreach worldwide, and to reach individual athletes who may have interest in the registration of their personal .SPORT domains under preferred terms.
In GAISF, .sport has a strong governance model. Just as sport is played by rules, .sport is a rules-based environment. There are rules to protect legitimate interests, including those of trademark holders, brands, sponsors and the collective community. Event organisers are protected by rules prohibiting domain registration for purposes of ambush marketing.