In 1996, rugby league turned its back on 101 years of history to enter a momentous new Super League era.The new competition moved the action from winter to summer and kicked off with the meeting of Paris St Germain and Sheffield Eagles in front of 17,873 supporters at the Stade Sébastien Charléty.Freddie Banquet scored the first ever Super League try and Paris clinched a landmark victory thanks to a brace from Arnaud Cervello. Gary Hetherington was in charge of the Eagles on that famous night. Now chief executive of Leeds Rhinos, he admits there was some uncertainty about the direction the sport was taking in 1996 but the creation of Super League has provided provided more stability and structure. Players pose with the Super League trophy ahead of the inaugural 1996 season He told Sky Sports News HQ: It was an exciting time for the sport but it was also a really uncertain time. The Paris-Sheffield Eagles game set this competition alight. Nearly 18,000 people turned up, a wildly enthusiastic French crowd, and against the odds the Paris team won.Super League was a new competition, the sport had moved to the summer, the players had become full-time and there was more money in the game.But in many ways the sport was treading into the unknown. It was the first time ever that video referees had been employed and big screen decision were made.It was an innovative time for the sport and those 20 years have passed very quickly. There has been a lot of advances in the sport and we have now got a lot of stability and structure, and a platform to move forward. Gary Hetherington The improvement in facilities and standard of play have been the biggest changes over the past 20 years, says Hetherington.When we look back the original 12 clubs in Super League included teams like Workington and their stadium at Derwent Park. Halifax were at Thrum Hall, Oldham at the Watersheddings, Sheffield Eagles at Don Valley Stadium.All these stadiums are gone, as has the Central Park stadium Wigan played at and St Helens Knowsley Road, so there has been a complete transformation in the stadiums our supporters see games played in.That has probably been the most positive move forward but the move to summer has undoubtedly been a success, from the whole standard of play to players becoming full-time. Leeds Rhinos were victorious in Super Leagues 20th season The sport now enjoys more spectators and viewers on TV. There has been a big transformation both in the way the game is played and how it is seen by spectators, and all of those changes have been for the good.Of course, 20 years ago people were dreaming about Super League being played in Madrid and Barcelona and a whole range of European cities. That has never materialised and the Paris club only lasted two years, but they have been replaced by Catalans Dragons, who are one of the strongest clubs in the competition. It still has the French flavour about it.The creation of Super League 20 years ago brought a lot of uncertainty to the game. Established clubs like Widnes, Hull and Hull KR werent part of the competition but they are now.The traditional clubs very much make up the Super League and the Championship is a very vibrant competition, as well as the community game below that.There has been a lot of advances in the sport and we have now got a lot of stability and structure, and a platform to move forward. Watch 20 Years of Super League on Sky Sports 1 HD on Tuesday at 10.15pmAlso See:Rugby League on SkyFixtures and resultsFollow @SkySportsRLPunditsPascal Siakam Jersey . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Kyle Lowry Jersey . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. http://www.nbaraptorsonline.com/Authentic-Jodie-Meeks-Jersey/ . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. Norman Powell Raptors Jersey . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. Jodie Meeks Jersey . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon.After retiring from judo for a second time as Commonwealth champion in 2014, youd think Euan Burton would have quietly stepped into an office job that didnt involve throwing people on to mats.Not his style. The 37-year-old now keeps himself busy hurling his wife across the floor… and getting paid for it! Burton, born in Ascot, is leading the judo performance programme for his adopted Scotland in Edinburgh.Gemma Gibbons, AKA Mrs Burton and Olympic silver medalist in 2012, is continuing her qualifying battle for Rio and she couldnt have a better mentor and coach in her corner.Her husband reveals why he made a U-turn on quitting the sport, his love affair with Scotland and how being a Sky Academy Sports Scholar ignited his career.I was on the podium at the Commonwealths and I just felt relief. I was in Glasgow, in front of a sell-out home crowd, Scottish flags were everywhere and everyone was screaming. It was the perfect way to hang up my judo kit and I thought this has been a good career.There were 24 months to Rio and I had moved up two weight categories to 100kg. I had been fighting at 81kg which meant a lot of dieting. My natural progression was to move to 90 but because I was coaching those three fighters trying to qualify at that same weight I would have felt very uncomfortable going against them! Mr and Mrs Burton with Euan adding an MBE to his collection for his judo career It turned out that I had done something pretty special.The Olympic level is something very different. My body was getting older and my ability and motivation to go through the torture at the elite level was probably waning! I would be 37 in Rio and I wasnt willing to be at an Olympics just to take part. Winning a medal didnt feel realistic so I was happy to let the younger guys take over!I first gave up judo after the 2012 Olympics which hadnt gone to plan. I had the desire and drive to win a medal but that didnt materialise. I moved into coaching and was working with the Scottish athletes aiming for the Commonwealth Games and we had high aspirations being a home Games.A year after London I was just a coach keeping my eye on the mat. All my focus was on the coaching, but I had never competed for Scotland having always fought under the Union Jack for Britain at the major competitions.I had spent my whole career training in Scotland and I was very proud to be a Scottish athlete and I thought that if I could give something back and win a medal it would be good for me and Scotland and to end my career.I was training so much in those last six months. I was then told to focus on winning a medal in the last three months! Fortunately I won gold and it was the most successful Commonwealths ever for Scotland and for judo - It was 30 medals, 14 athletes, six golds - not a bad return!I was a Scholar in the build-up to London 2012 and it helped in so many ways. Something I became of aware of very quickly was the level and professionalism of the profile of myself as an athlete and judo as a sport. Crazy scenes in Glasgow as Burton is crowned Commonwealth champion in 2014 We werent stupid because many people didnt know what judo was but driviing in Edinburgh seeing the Sky branding and the Team GB branding on a bus stop was amazing and for people to view me as athlete and to make people think thats a sport our kids could do was incredible - that was a major benefit.ddddddddddddI got texted from people at bus stops beside my picture saying youre not looking too bad as an old man! It represented the sport in a good way. People involved in judo are very passionate and they wished more people knew about judo and so getting feedback from Sky and how well youre coming across gave me a good feeling. Seeing your face on the big posters was unreal though! It was almost embarrassing but in a very good way. Boosting the profile of the sport is something Im very proud of.I didnt capitalise with a medal but my wife did with a silver at London. She took everybodys hearts.The amount of time and work you put into your sport, the money you make is often disproportionate and so getting the support from the Scholarship scheme was just a fantastic feeling. It was small things like getting those experiences visiting the Sky studios understanding how to promote yourself, how the industry works and what makes a good story.It taught me how to deliver my story in a 30-second snippet in front of camera. That makes a big difference as an athlete. Being able to present and talk to people now, you cannot underestimate how big an impact those experiences can have on you going forward.One amazing thing about the Scholarships was the variety of athletes. We had gymnast Louis Smith and swimmer Liam Tancock and we were all brought together for promotion. You can get caught up in a bubble of your own sport and it was so good to share experiences of other sports with people who went through similar things. Born in England, but Burton is now helping to propel Scotlands top judo athletes on the worlds stage I was always trying to learn and take the good from what anybody is doing and that was very beneficial. I picked up so many little ideas on adjusting training or preparing better.For any new Scholars, I would recommend them embracing all the opportunities. Get out of your comfort zone! Certain experiences will fill you with dread and youll wonder how youll cope. But anything that challenges you help you develop.Theyll need to understand its such a huge honour to be a Scholar and such a huge opportunity to meet people and learn. Even a tiny fraction of their ability as an athlete can mean the difference between standing or not standing on the podium.Being the national high performance coach is challenging but my goal is to do well, particularly with athletes heading to the Rio Olympics and Paralympics. I want those guys to be as well prepared as possible and hopefully we can put them in a place to deliver something special.WHATS COMING UP FOR OUR SCHOLARS19 - 27 MAY: Savannah Marshall, World Championships in Kazakhstan22 - 30 MAY: Sam Oldham, Europan Gymnastics Championships in SwitzerlandAlso See:Euan Burton wins Commonwealth goldSport ScotlandBritish Judo CouncilEuan Burton on TwitterAbout the ScholarshipMeet the athletesBlogsVideosGalleries ' ' '