November 2005 Edition

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headlines:

England cricketers and the England Cricket Board are not only donating large sums of money to the Pakistan Earthquake relief appeal.  Players on tour in Pakistan have also visited children who are being treated in the local hospitals.  Once the word was out, the media had a field day capturing images of senior players and young victims of the quake. And despite the brevity of the visit, the group of senior players succeeded in keeping the tragedy in the forefront of the international press.

hot spot

 
Almaty (Kazakhstan) is working on its profile.  How best to demonstrate that it has the credentials to host the Winter Olympics in 2014? For a start, host a few other successful sporting events and get a reputation as a sporting destination!
Almaty has a lot of catching up to do on some of the competition.  In 1991 the 'country ' gained independence from Russia.  Four years later, politicians rewrote the constitution and Kazakhstan moved from socialism to capitalism; and in 1996 the country made a start on the its first golf course.  Less than 10 years later, over one hundred golfers competed in the Kazakhstan Open (part of the European Challenge Tour).  
The state sponsored event was endorsed by Prime Minister Nurtay Abykaev who is also the President of the Kazakhstan Golf Federation.  In the game of bidding to host major sporting events, few cities around the world can claim such complete support by a nation's political leader.

hot shot as the mighty fall and rise again

Diego Maradonna epitomizes the rise and fall and rise of a world famous athlete.  From stardom and a reputation as the greatest footballer on earth, the Argentinean grew from a fit 5'7'' young man to more than 350lbs.  An addiction to drugs brought him to an all-time low; but his recent recovery has been seen by some as a kind of 'resurrection'.  His new careers span playing golf; Vice-President of the soccer club 'Boca Juniors'; and a TV celebrity chat show host.  Perhaps in the not too distant future there will be a head to head with England's Paul Gascoigne who is currently and similarly reinventing himself after a period of addiction to alcohol.   This not doubt will prove to be a mighty soccer showdown!

sidelines...... hi tech sports hit the ground running

While talk at the recent SportelMonaco TV rights conference was all about how quickly handsets will permit high quality broadcast standard programming with real time delivery to be received by mobile phones (without crashing the system); high tech sports in the high tech real world have gained momentum.
All you need is a a GPS navigation device - thanks to the deregulation of the communications industry -  to enjoy the new sport of "geocaching".  No longer the domain of the military, satellite navigation technology has allowed hundreds of thousands of people of all ages in over a hundred countries to play a high-tech game equivalent to a sophisticated treasure hunt.
The sport offers five levels of difficulty and finding the 'cache' involves deciphering clues, determining coordinates, etc. 
As the level of difficulty increases you can find yourself tracking down a cache which is only accessible  by helicopter; or carrying rappelling gear to get down a mine shaft.  Geocaching may not be a competition sport; but it acts as an early warning system for the level of detailed information which soon will be found on a "phone near you". 
Sitting on the side lines watching a major sporting event, a venue full of spectators may have the edge over existing (and potential interim) technology - such as the 'hawkeye'.   Capable of measuring the accuracy of a referee's decision - "did the football go into the goal? or a tennis ball touch the line or go out?".  An audience vote - with all the angles and all the coordinates - may in the end prove to be the only solution to a questionable decision!

fashion icon...... a roof rack

For the grown up who has everything, why not get a roof rack loaded with a collection of highly desirable and expensive sports equipment.   Of course, if it comes with a challenging trip across exotic South-East Asia and South America, this would add a substantial amount of cache.
The Land Rover G4 Challenge has turned an ultimate adventure into a reality..... available to anyone.  In 2006 the national competition winners from 18 counties far and wide including Chile & Costa Rica, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Russia, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Kingdom will compete to win a new Range Rover. The month-long opportunity to match strategy, stamina and skill in a 4x4 driving and multi-sport challenge may be open to anyone, but just qualifying for the Challenge is a test in its own right.
Would-be competitors complete an entry form. Each nation shortlists around 50 applicants to compete in a national selection event. The top three competitors from each nation - one male, one female and one of either gender - then go to an international selection and training event in the UK in early 2006.  Finally, one representative from each country is selected to take part in the ultimate global sporting an aspirational roof-rack..... and that's just the start of the adventure!

home and away

Bill Gates may prefer traditional American sports and Formula One, but as one of the founding fathers of the mass market computer industry, his company has recently become the first founding partner of the almost completed Wembley Stadium.
Microsoft has likely made a very shrewd move,  Spending some very loose change (£5million/US$9 million), they will be involved in supplying new technology fro Wembley, as well as getting branding and priority seating through 2010. Even on the surface this appears to be a very sweet deal; and Microsoft will likely get their money back many times over the next few years!  
This is the next best thing to naming rights - as it is unlikely that England's national stadium will offer that particular marketing opportunity.

sport culture........ movie magic

The documentary movie Murderball takes a close-up look at the very competitive world of quad rugby.
Players from different countries spin their wheels in 'MadMax' look-alike wheelchairs as they play a basketball-type game to win Paralympic medals and World championships.
Murderball takes a look at a group of sporting 'jocks' in wheelchairs.  And they are as driven as any other athlete competing for their country.
The producers/directors really lucked out when Joe Soares, the coach of the USA team was fired and went over to the other side - TeamCanada. With great humor, Murderball follows the two teams and one coach determined to get his revenge.  His determination - including a heart attack - is unsentimentally documented in the run up to the Athens Paralympics.  What gives this documentary the edge is its great story.  And it is a sad indictment of the industry, that this most popular sell-out sport gets no sponsorship in the US. Team members (who are often financially supported by other team members who received substantial payouts in  damages) confront their lives with a relentless humour. This hugely entertaining documentary provides a hands-on insight into a very determined group of athletes competing in a sport where - like any other - only the winners make the grade!

starting blocks....

Wales takes on the the New Zealand All Blacks in the hope that not only will they win - as they did 100 years ago; but that the match - like its famous centenary predecessor   - will be talked about well in the 22nd century.  Playing without a handful of their key players due to injury, if they win the Welsh team will really be setting a precedent for the future.  We'll keep you posted on the result. 

life after..... positive testing

Dwain Chambers ran the fastest 100 metres back in 2003.  Only weeks later he tested positive for the designer steroid, THG. 
At the same time, London was entertaining the idea of bidding for the 2012 Olympics, but British sprinter Chambers was less interested in the potential future glory of his country and more interested in his personal future as the 'fastest man on earth'.
His 'crime' led to a ban from competition which is due to end once he has successfully completed a consecutive series of drug tests.  Any attempt to change career and play American Football evaporated and now he awaits his return to athletics. 
But Chambers is a lucky man.  If he was a Winter Olympian competing in Italy next year, he would have been considered a criminal, arrested under criminal law and perhaps sentenced to serve time in an Italian jail.
The IOC - whose sentence for drug abuse comes in the form of a ban - are desperately trying to persuade the Italians that athletes competing in the Winter Olympics in Torino in February 2006, should not be arrested.   We'll keep you posted.