65 replies to this topic

[Muzza]

Fellows,

What is the current automobile code for Serbia and Montenegro? Is the YU abbreviation, formerly used for Yugoslavia, still valid?

I need this information to describe Mirko Martinovic's nationality for the Motorsport Memorial website. Martinovic passed away several days after an accident suffered during the YU Rally (accident happened on 21.Sep.2003 - thanks to Tjeerd van der Zee at RallyBase for this information).

Thanks,


Muzza

[Todd]

This site still gives YUG as the racing abbreviation for Serbia and Montenegro. If you want to be certain, you might try contacting the Automotive Association of Serbia and Montenegro. I couldn't find the answer on their site.

[Rob29]

Originally posted by Todd
This site still gives YUG as the racing abbreviation for Serbia and Montenegro. If you want to be certain, you might try contacting the Automotive Association of Serbia and Montenegro. I couldn't find the answer on their site.

The three letter abreviations listed on the motorsportetc site are not the official FIA codes. These are also the plates you are suposed to have on the back of your vehicle when you take it abroad. Can be found in FIA yearbooks. Forget when Serbia stopped still calling itself Yugoslavia,so maybe you may have to wait for the 2004 edition if its not on the FIA site.

[gdecarli]

Originally posted by Todd
This site still gives YUG as the racing abbreviation for Serbia and Montenegro.

They are the same codes I use on my website, I think they came from International Olympic Committee (IOC), so to be honest they are not correct about racing cars.

Ciao,
Guido

[ensign14]

According to the ISO website the 2 letter code (which is supposed to be used for car ovals) for Serbia & Montenegro is now CS.

The 3 letter code is SCG. (Presumably Srbija and Crna Gora. Monty gets 1st billing in the 2 letters.)

Shame, I liked the idea of putting "S&M" in brackets after a driver's name...

[andrea]

I think,the code for Serbia and Monte Negro is SiCG.

Forza Andrea,

[Rob29]

CS was the code for Czechoslovakia which will cause confusion if you are using it for historical record purposes. SM seems to be free-San Marino is -RSM

[anjakub]

The automobile code for Serbia and Montenegro = SCG (Srbija i Crna Gora).
Auto Moto Savez Srbije i Crne Gore - Automobile and Motorcycle Association of Serbia and Montenegro (AMS SCG).
Before WW2 - Yugoslavia = SHS, Montenegro = MN.

[Richard Jenkins]

Another related question - should someone who was born Serbian, when there was a Serbia before, but when he raced, the country was Yugoslav & hence had a Yugoslav licence (one presumes) be listed as Serbian or Yugoslav, especially considering the country & most importantly the birth area in question is back to being called Serbia (this isn't hypothetical - this is a genuine question, here & one I desperately need some clarification on)

For example, all the East Germans are often now just credited as simply "German..." But that's another problem in itself...

[lustigson]

It appears that SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO is officially abbreviated with CS according to this ISO-list

[Rob29]

Originally posted by lustigson
It appears that SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO is officially abbreviated with CS according to this ISO-list

Sorry but this ISO 2 letter list has nothing to do with motoring or motorsport either! The FIA list uses 1,2 or 3 letter codes and will save a lot of typing as most of the historic racing nations need only one letter;
A-Austria
B-Belgium
D-Germany
E-Spain
F-France
H-Hungary
I-Italy
J-Japan
N-Norway
P-Portugal
S-Sweden

[lustigson]

Well... you're right about that. :

[Vrba]

The current car plate designation for Serbia and Montenegro is for sure "SCG". But what to use in this specific case is a tough question.

Hrvoje

[uechtel]

Originally posted by Richie Jenkins
Another related question - should someone who was born Serbian, when there was a Serbia before, but when he raced, the country was Yugoslav & hence had a Yugoslav licence (one presumes) be listed as Serbian or Yugoslav, especially considering the country & most importantly the birth area in question is back to being called Serbia (this isn't hypothetical - this is a genuine question, here & one I desperately need some clarification on)

For example, all the East Germans are often now just credited as simply "German..." But that's another problem in itself...

Also a problem with changed and dual nationality.

I think the best way is to give all nationalities of a driver in whole-career statistics and the momentary nationality when referring to a single race. As you mentioned East German drivers I would give Edgar Barth´s nationality as "DDR" in the 1953 German GP and as "D" for the 1960 event.

Also we had a discussion in the German forum whether the "passport" or the "license" nationality matters, i.e. whether Rindt should be recorded as Austrian and Ertl as German or vice versa. I think we came to the conclusion that the "license" nationality is the more correct one.

[uechtel]

Talking about national abbreviations, what is the "R" for? Russia? Romania?

[Richard Jenkins]

Originally posted by Rob29
Sorry but this ISO 2 letter list has nothing to do with motoring or motorsport either! The FIA list uses 1,2 or 3 letter codes and will save a lot of typing as most of the historic racing nations need only one letter;
A-Austria
D-Germany
E-Spain
F-France
I-Italy
J-Japan
P-Portugal

So, if I wasn't confused enough before, I am now!!

What is the FIA listing for Serbia & Montenegro and for Yugoslavia (Y?), so I have both options for my particular 1940's gentleman- I have no idea of all the posts above, which one I should be using. I can only hope Muzza knows which one to use - I certainly don't!

[anjakub]

Originally posted by uechtel
Talking about national abbreviations, what is the "R" for? Russia? Romania?

Now:
RUS for Russia
RO for Romania
Early:
SU for Soviet Union
R for Romania
Before WW2:
R for Russia
RM for Romania

[Muzza]

Folks,


I sincerely appreciate your replies.

Based on the comments above, we will use "SCG" for Serbia and Montenegro at the Motorsport Memorial website - at least until the 2004 FIA Yearbook is issued.

Mirko Martinovic's citizenship will be abbreviated as such - "SCG", I mean - but one has (obviously) to be careful not to indiscriminately apply this code to other drivers.

Uechtel, at Motorsport Memorial we considering driver nationality the one of his/her citizenship - or "main" citizenship, for those that had more than one. By "main" I mean the preferred citizenship the subject chooses (or chosed) to declare as his/her. But I understand your concept of "momentary" citizenship (like in the case of Edgar Barth).

The concept we are applying is to define the citizenship of a person "as he/she would prefer to be remembered". In order words, respecting the choice of citizenship this person has made. This is why I do not recommend using "passport citizenship" simply.

I do not agree with using "racing license citizenship". The racing license tells little - if any - about the story of the life of the subject, both on and off track. I do not know of any driver that would like to be remembered by his/her "racing license citizenship". Additionally, applying "racing license citizenship" can lead to bizarre cases like having Mário Haberfeld and Jason Watt being called British (the first is Brazilian, the latter is Danish with a British father).

A final note: another driver under "DDR" is Paul Greifzu.

Thanks,


Muzza

[Muzza]

Originally posted by Richie Jenkins


So, if I wasn't confused enough before, I am now!!

What is the FIA listing for Serbia & Montenegro and for Yugoslavia (Y?), so I have both options for my particular 1940's gentleman- I have no idea of all the posts above, which one I should be using. I can only hope Muzza knows which one to use - I certainly don't!

Hello, Richie,

The FIA code for Yugoslavia is (or was...) "YU". Be careful not to misuse "YV", which is for Venezuela (I am sure you know this).

The only feasible approach to these citizenship questions is to analyse them one by one. It is pratically impossible - or "unfair" (to the person in question) - to draw and apply general rules. The best way, as I said, would be asking the person how he/she would like to be called - but at Motorsport Memorial we are dealing with deceased drivers so... it may get quite tricky.

Do you mind if I ask who is the Serbian/Yugoslavian driver whose nationality is causing you such a headache? It may be one case that only Uechtel's concept of "momentary citizenship" may solve.

Cheers,


Muzza
(myself a citizen of two countries - and living in a third one)

[Richard Jenkins]

Originally posted by Muzza
Folks,

Jason Watt being called British (the latter is Danish with a British father).

Not quite -
Danish mother, also of English ancestry
Jamaican father, also of Scottish ancestry

Born in Camberwell, London, England


Very much a mixed bag!!!



Re. my driver, I haven't the correct spellling to hand - but Indy 500 qualifier Pete Romecevich (sp?) is listed as Serbian in Johnson's Indy 500 - I haven't had time thus far to fully check the details...

[uechtel]

Originally posted by anjakub


Now:
RUS for Russia
RO for Romania
Early:
SU for Soviet Union
R for Romania
Before WW2:
R for Russia
RM for Romania

Thank you for that. So why has the "R" been taken away from Romania? The only possibility I could imagine was, that it was intended as a "space holder" for Russia when she would stop being the SU, but obviously not.

And Russia: Why three letters for such a BIG country?

[uechtel]

Originally posted by Muzza
Folks,

Uechtel, at Motorsport Memorial we considering driver nationality the one of his/her citizenship - or "main" citizenship, for those that had more than one. By "main" I mean the preferred citizenship the subject chooses (or chosed) to declare as his/her. But I understand your concept of "momentary" citizenship (like in the case of Edgar Barth).

The concept we are applying is to define the citizenship of a person "as he/she would prefer to be remembered". In order words, respecting the choice of citizenship this person has made. This is why I do not recommend using "passport citizenship" simply.

I do not agree with using "racing license citizenship". The racing license tells little - if any - about the story of the life of the subject, both on and off track. I do not know of any driver that would like to be remembered by his/her "racing license citizenship". Additionally, applying "racing license citizenship" can lead to bizarre cases like having Mário Haberfeld and Jason Watt being called British (the first is Brazilian, the latter is Danish with a British father).

A final note: another driver under "DDR" is Paul Greifzu.

I agree that there is no easy solution. My concern with "your" system is always Jochen Rindt, who is much more "Austrian" to me in spite of always having a German passport. I think the nationality of the license IS just the nationality a driver choose deliberately (in contrast to the nationality of his birth in most cases) so I would regard this higher. But ok, this is my very subjective own viewpoint.

Regarding Greifzu the problem is, that we do not know what citizenship he "wished". In his time all Germans regarded themselves still as that, one common nationality / Citizenship, only divided between two states (that were not even officially recognized by each other). But he had all his post-war appearances as citizen of the GDR.

[gdecarli]

Originally posted by Richie Jenkins
Another related question - should someone who was born Serbian, when there was a Serbia before, but when he raced, the country was Yugoslav & hence had a Yugoslav licence (one presumes) be listed as Serbian or Yugoslav, especially considering the country & most importantly the birth area in question is back to being called Serbia (this isn't hypothetical - this is a genuine question, here & one I desperately need some clarification on)

It's not exactly like this, but there is a very famous driver in a strange condition.

He was born at Montona d'Istria (Italia) in 1940, but after WW2 this village become Motovun (Yugoslavia) and after 1991 it's located in Croatia.
After WW2, this driver he escaped from Istria to Lucca (near Florence, Italy) where he saw a Mille Miglia and he fall in love with car racing. The he want to USA, where he become a very famous driver. He won many races, including Indy 500 and F.1 World Champion.

His name? I think you have already understood I'm speaking about... Mario Andretti!

What's his nationality?
Has anybody any doubt about considering him as American - despite war, escapes and new borders?

Ciao,
Guido

[ensign14]

Originally posted by uechtel


Thank you for that. So why has the "R" been taken away from Romania? The only possibility I could imagine was, that it was intended as a "space holder" for Russia when she would stop being the SU, but obviously not.

The 2 letter ISO codes are used for internet addresses and the UN has said they are meant to be used for ovals. Romania changed their oval from R to RO to comply with the 2 letter code - most of the former Soviet republics adopted the 2 letter code when they became independent.

So San Marino, usnig RSM for its car oval, is meant to change to SM at some point.

The 3 letter ISO code is to be used in things like athletics to demonstrate someone's nationality. So the FIA will use the 3 letter codes in its literature as and when necessary.

Russia has to use a 3 letter code because RU is being used by Burundi (Rwanda-Urundi as was). Question is, why does it not use ROS? And Austria not use something based on Oesterreich?

[uechtel]

Does that mean, that also all the other countries are meant to change their ovals.

DE instead of D
FR instead of F
IT instead of I
??? instead of USA?

Good prospects for the badge industry...

[Racer.Demon]

Originally posted by ensign14
The 2 letter ISO codes are used for internet addresses and the UN has said they are meant to be used for ovals.

Is this true?

So will we see the end of A, B, D, F, H, I, J, etc.?

When is this supposed to be compulsory?

[Racer.Demon]

Originally posted by gdecarli
It's not exactly like this, but there is a very famous driver in a strange condition.

Nice example, Guido!

And how about Bertrand Gachot? Belgian, French or Luxemburgian?

(Oops, Uechtel and I had the same thought at the same time...)

[uechtel]

I think, Mario is not a problem at all. Racing always with American passport and American license.

And I think Gachot had a Belgian passport, was born in Luxembourg and called himself "European", but (if I am right) still he had a French license...

[ensign14]

Originally posted by uechtel
Does that mean, that also all the other countries are meant to change their ovals.

DE instead of D
FR instead of F
IT instead of I
??? instead of USA?

Good prospects for the badge industry...

US for USA.

In theory, everyone is meant to change. But only Romania seem bothered about changing. And I doubt if anyone can be penalized for failing to change. In practice no-one complains because it is pretty obvious who's who.

As usual, we Brits are askew of everyone anyway - we have 2 codes, GB (strictly speaking geographically inaccurate) and UK, using one for cars and the other for internet...

There are some odd codes reserved as well; FX for Metropolitan France, I have no idea when that can be used.

As for nationalities, Jacques Chirac seems to think people born in England of English parents are European, if they win World Cups... (Certainly Gachot used the Euro flag colours on his helmet, so he was probably unsure himself. Something like French mother, Belgian father, Luxembourgeois birthplace, Belgian license, British criminal record...)

[Rob29]

Originally posted by ensign14
US for USA.



There are some odd codes reserved as well; FX for Metropolitan France, I have no idea when that can be used.

AFAIK thats what they call the mainland, or what we know as France,as opposed to Corsica or Caribean & Pacific islands,which are legally part of France with same rights as 'Metopolitans'

[Jimmy Piget]

Only to confuse a little bit : at the rear of Spanish trucks we can see two ovals, one with "E" and another one with "SP" — standing for "Spain", I guess... Perhaps using the English word, for they cannot choose between Castillan, Catalan, Galician or Basque ones ?

Rob : Corsica is considered as being part of Metropolitan France, at the time of writing.
Overseas departements and territories (in Antilles, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, etc.) do not quite enjoy the same rights and laws as in Metropole — e.g. for the labour rights.
Each time a law is adopted by the parliament, they must precise if it's also available for overseas or not.
A reminiscence of colonialism ?

About Gachot : he seemed at one time to realize that all this fog over his actual nationality did but annoy his carreer.
He then claimed to be a genuine French. Alas, by this time, it was too late for finding an appropriate new F1 seat...

Did somebody notice that Gerhard Mitter was born in the Sudetes, just being annexed by Germany, but destined to go back to Czeskoclovakia after the war ?

Last anecdote, about the Channel Islands : it seems that the car ovals carry GBA for Alderney, GBG for Guernsey and GBJ for Jersey.
What about Gibraltar ? (hello, Felix !)

[Jimmy Piget]

Other single-lettered countries :

C Cuba
L Luxembourg
T Thailand
U Uruguay (who also used ROU)
Z Zambia

Isn't the letter M used by Malta ?

[Racer.Demon]

See for yourself...

http://www.geocities...47/autowrld.htm

It would be a shame to see these go in favour of the Internet codes.

[ensign14]

Originally posted by Jimmy Piget
Last anecdote, about the Channel Islands : it seems that the car ovals carry GBA for Alderney, GBG for Guernsey and GBJ for Jersey.
What about Gibraltar ? (hello, Felix !)

Gibraltar = GBZ, GB for Great Britain, (obviously!), the Z because Guernsey had nicked the G. I wonder what Sark has?

Similarly the Isle of Man is GBM and Malta had to go to GBY until independence.

There are still some colonial hangovers elsewhere, British West African states had WA-, WA for West Africa and a letter for the particular state (e.g. L for (Sierra) Leone, G for Gambia). I think some still use them. Also W- for the West Indies (presumably Windward Isles) - WG is Grenada, WV St Vincent.

Jimmy - I think the SP is a plate for heavy load or something, it is also on some vans.

[Racer.Demon]

BTW, one I never understood: CDN. It's Canada, not Ca-da-na. Or is there another reason?

And the above list mentions FIN instead of SF, although I see both used on Finnish cars, in a similar fashion to the E/SP practice mentioned by Jimmy. So which is it?

Gibraltar is GBZ!

[Rob29]

Originally posted by ensign14
Gibraltar = GBZ, GB for Great Britain, (obviously!), the Z because Guernsey had nicked the G. I wonder what Sark has?

.

Sark has no need of a code as the last I heard it had only one motor vehicle -a tractor! Did they ever have a driver? These island codes are not on the FIA list as these are allocated to the national autoclubs,for which MSA of GB covers the islands.ACU for bikes.

[Wolf]

You people seem to mix nationality and citizenship... OK, OK, I think most countries in Europe are national states. Even though I find concept Richie mentions a useful one*, I don't think people should be applying it without a very good insight into the matters (including history). I believe it's best if, for results &c, people stick to using citizenship with, perchance, notes on competitor's citizenship history or nationality.

* for example, I have been working on the list of Croatian Olympic and World Championship medalists (over 300 medals, list being far from complete) and it's quite complicated. For example in '24 Olympic Games bronze winning Italian eight with coxswain included 6 Croats from Zadar- P. Ivanov, A. Kataleni?, F. Kataleni?, Š. Kataleni?, V. Ljubi?i?, B. Sori? (but IOC lists them under 'italianized' names). Croats have won medals for Croatia, Yugoslavia, Austria-Hungary and Italy. One even won medals for UK (member of swimming relay and waterpolo team in '08)...

BTW, I don't remember the discussion about FIA and UK- does FIA recognize Wales, Scotland and England as 'separate entities'? McRae-Grist rally cars had St. Andrew's satire and Welsh green-white flag with dragon; and I remember seeing at least one photo of Moss with English flag on his GP Maserati...

[ensign14]

Originally posted by Racer.Demon
BTW, one I never understood: CDN. It's Canada, not Ca-da-na. Or is there another reason?

And the above list mentions FIN instead of SF, although I see both used on Finnish cars, in a similar fashion to the E/SP practice mentioned by Jimmy. So which is it?

Gibraltar is GBZ!

CDN = Canadian Dominion.

Rob29 - I know, hence the smiley...

FIN is unofficial and gaining use.

[Racer.Demon]

Originally posted by ensign14
CDN = Canadian Dominion.

Never too old to learn...

So another Commonwealth relic?

[uechtel]

I think there are some more.

BH = Belize (British Honduras!)

Also some of the East African nations:

EAK = Kenia (East Africa Kenia)
EAT = Tansania
EAU = Uganda

what about states that changed their names like Burma (Myanmar now) or Obervolta (Burkina Faso). Or is there not enough traffic there to give them a code of their own?

And the list of single-letter states, as much as I remember them:

A = Austria
B = Belgium
C = Cuba
D = Germany
E = Spain
F = France
G = Guinea?
H = Hungary
I = Italy
J = Japan
K = Cambodia?
L = Luxembourg
M = Malta
N = Norway
O = Oman?
P = Portugal
Q = Qatar
R = n.e.
S = Sweden
T = Thailand?
U = Uruguay?
V = Vietnam? Vanuatu?
W = ?
X = ?
Y = Yemen?
Z = Sambia

[Muzza]

As far as I can recall Uruguayan drivers (and race teams, by the way) have always used ROU , not U.

("ROU" comes from the official country name, Republica Oriental de Uruguay. "Oriental" means Eastern. As much as Uruguayans may not like - I understand that heroic tales of independence are more romantic, but some times they can be far from truth -, Uruguay was created as an "état-tampon" between Brazil and Argentina, that had fought wars over that area, formerly known as "Provincia Cisplatina" under Spanish dominion. The territory was also known as "Banda Oriental", or "Eastern Zone", as it is east of the Plata River).

Also, the racing code for Zambia is ZM, not Z (and ZAM the three-letter ISO code, also used by the CIO-ICO). And Zimbabwe is ZW.

It would be a shame to see the one, two or three letters "country racing codes" go away, but it is almost inevitable in the age of standardization we live in.

One comment about the list published at Auto World : isn't the automobile code for China PRC? ("People's Republic of China") Auto World quotes RC.

A final comment: the (current) Czech Republic automobile code is "CZ", whereas the former Czechoslovakia used "CS" (for Czechia and Slovakia).

Cheers,


Muzza

[uechtel]

I remember "RC" as "Republic of China", hence what we know as Taiwan today?

I think that page is not an official one, so probably containing some inaccurancies and gaps.

[ensign14]

A full list of all known codes - past and present - which appears to be nearly 100% accurate is in 'Registration Plates of the World' by Parker/Weeks, a copy of which I have at home. There are a lot more than those posted on the link.

I have a feeling U may have been used entirely unofficially by Uruguayans in the 20s and 30s, to avoid confusion with Ro(u)mania.

I also have a feeling the USA used US until the late 40s.

[panzani]

For the 2 and 3 letters' country codes, the best reference site, AFAIK, is http://education.yah...ok/codes/0.html , giving FIPS, ISO and internet codes as well as some side notes.

[conjohn]

Originally posted by Racer.Demon
And the above list mentions FIN instead of SF, although I see both used on Finnish cars, in a similar fashion to the E/SP practice mentioned by Jimmy. So which is it?

SF = Suomi Finland = finnish and swedish, the official languages, names for what anglo-saxons call Finland.

[ensign14]

OK, clearing one or two up:

-FIN has been official in Finland since 1993;

-Belize is now using BZ and has done since the early 1990s, but has not notified the UN of any change, so it is still down as BH, as uechtel said;

-Uruguay used U from 1949 to the early 1970s;

-USA became official only from 1952;

-Zambia has used Z since 1966, but again has consistently forgotten to post the letter to the UN, which still has it down as RNR (Republic of Northern Rhodesia)

-R was Russia until 1926, Romania using RM until 1930, when someone spotted that 'Russia' had been subsumed (RM is now Madagascar);

-of the single letters, G is unofficially Gabon (Guinea = RG) as it semi-officially uses the gift of the GAB, K is indeed Cambodia, Oman does not use an oval at all (its 2 letter code is OM but its number plates all have OMAN on them), T is indeed Thailand, there is no W, X or Y (Yemen is still YAR - Yemeni Arab Republic), and V is the Vatican City State (despite all number plates having the letters SCV on them). Vietnam is VN and I wonder if a car from Vanuatu has ever been abroad. If it has, it should have had the oval VU, but again it has not formally adopted an oval;

-in the past G has been used for Guatemala (now GCA), M for the Palestine Mandate, and Y for Yugoslavia from 1936 to 1952.

Check out the full list here and lobby the government of Antigua to call its cars ANTs.

[Muzza]

Hello, Ensign14,

Please don't get me wrong, your comments are really valuable and welcome, but what do you mean by "official"? According to which nomenclature standard? ISO, FIA, ICO, UN - which one?

(sorry, but I got lost - please clarify)

I was a little surprised by some of you saying that Uruguayan drivers were being identified by "U", so I called a Uruguayan friend. He said that he and his father could not remember any Uruguayan driver using "U" since the mid 1950s, at least. Actually he said that they had never seen anybody using "U", and that their recollections date back to the mid 1950s.

(they do not intend to be seen as the ultimate source, but being dedicated recing fans I found valuable to post their comments here)

He added that apparently the Uruguayans felt some pride on the "R" of "ROU" - that would put them on the same league of Argentina, that have always used "RA".

(as you know, we Brazilians, Uruguayans and Argentineans enjoy a healthy rivalry amongst ourselves - particularly when the subject is soccer, racing or, well, pretty much any other sport ;) )

Cheers,


Muzza

[ensign14]

Originally posted by Muzza
Hello, Ensign14,

Please don't get me wrong, your comments are really valuable and welcome, but what do you mean by "official"? According to which nomenclature standard? ISO, FIA, ICO, UN - which one?

It's pretty confusing...

The way I understand it is that:

-the ovals a country plans to use should be notified to the UN;

-the ISO 2 and 3 letter code was developed as a standard means of identifying countries/territories for various different purposes;

-the 2 letter code is meant to be used for ovals, but no-one has made any move towards forcing countries to adopt them.

Although many of the 'new' countries did adopt their 2 letter ISO code on independence, e.g. Uzbekistan could have used U but instead uses UZ.

The FIA's may be their own system, but one would have thought they would use the ISO 2 or 3.

Thanks for the info about Uruguay. Maybe theirs was another more honoured in the breach than the observance?

[Racer.Demon]

Whatever, the FIA doesn't use the 3-letter ISO code for Verstappen, whose nationality is referred to as NED (from 'Nederland') as opposed to NLD.

This does seem to be a common sports practice, as I see it used on the Olympics, several World Championships etc., in line with GBR, GER, FRA, ITA, BRA, ARG, RSA, SWE, NOR, DEN, CZE, to name but a few, most of which are far from the ISO codes in the above link, but seem to stem directly from the country name in English. In which case - why are the Netherlands referred to as NED? (HOL seems to be a thing of the past.)

Only adding to the confusion...

[Muzza]

Hello, Racer.Demon,

Yep, everybody is getting confused now... I am assemblying a table with all the different standards, I will post in on line soon. Give me a few hours.

(and now for something completely different... looking at the Yahoo!Education table, I found some curiosities:

1.) Taiwan (that the ISO refers to as "Taiwan, Province of China") is just called Taiwan (no reference to China whatsoever);

2.) Palestina is not mentioned (but it is listed by ISO)

Looks like the Yahoo! table has been "Yankeecized" :

Plus a few other oddities. Whomever typed this page did not follow the ISO standards - that the Yahoo! table is supposed to display...)

Cheers,

Muzza