December 2009/January 2010 edition


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  Phil Knight, the chairman and co-founder of Nike, has said scandals like those that have engulfed Tiger Woods in recent weeks are "part of the game" when it comes to commercial endorsements with athletes.   Belgian, Justine Henin is putting the Russian women tennis players under pressure as she returns to the pro circuit after an 18-month break from the game.   Manchester United FC fans have been asked to donate sperm as a way of reversing the recent shortage of sperm donations in the UK.  This is a part of a nationwide initiative to attract sports fans through their clubs; and nothing to do with the 'quality' of the sperm.   Italian police confiscated Diego Marina's diamond stud earring when he attended an appointment at a health clinic in an attempt to recover unpaid taxes from when he played for Napoli.  Napoli fans are planning to bid for the earring which will be sold at auction. NBA player, Gilbert Arenas took four guns into the Washington Wizards dressing room.  Despite no-one getting hurt, his continued 'antics' have left him suspended indefinitely.... but will he still be paid his US$69 million salary?   Roman Abramovich is still digging deep to pay his Chelsea team and managers top dollar. In the case of Luiz Felipe Scolari, the manager has earned over US$3 million per month.... but Chelsea are getting the results so nobody is complaining! Two consortiums of companies, one from Australia and one from New Zealand, have won a competitive tender process to be appointed as the Official Corporate Hospitality Agents for the Rugby World Cup 2011.  Official Corporate Hospitality packages will go on sale from 1 February 2010.  The New Zealand consortium consists of The Eden Park Trust, Auckland Rugby Union, and the Experience Group. The Australian consortium consists of Ticketek and International Quarterback. Brit Andy Murray has slipped from second to fifth place in the Mens tennis ranking... but will he - unlike many of his countrymen - claim that elusive first Grand Slam at the 2010 Australian Open this month?  Only time will tell!  Ferrari team mates Alonso and Massa are now apparently best friends as they put behind them the controversy over the 2008 Singapore race. And former Renault F1 team boss, Flavio Briatore has had his lifetime ban from motorsport lifted after being 'found guilty' of affecting the outcome of the same Singapore 2008 race.  Despite Great Britain's all important role in the Commonwealth, it is possible that after 80 years of participating in The Commonwealth Games, this year Team GB may 'pass' rather than take a security risk and participate in the 2010 Delhi Games where seventy-one nations are expected to compete. At least 88 people were killed when a suicide bomber drove a vehicle packed with 550 lbs of explosives into the crowd of a volleyball games in Shah Hasan Khail in north-west Pakistan.   An American decided that the best way to express himself as an artist would be to replace dozens of labels on Gatorade bottles with pictures of Tiger Woods and his wife and the word "unfaithful".  Does this mean that the message on the bottle was about Woods marriage or his relationship with commercial sponsors?

spotlight on:      Sport - an essential ingredient of the global tourist industry? 

Sport Tourism is the fastest growing sector in the tourism industry with an estimated value of $600 billion a year. At a time when some tourism trends are in decline, sport tourism continues to flourish and is set to grow exponentially in the next decade. But to find out more about these staggering stats why not attend the International Sport Tourism Conference on July 5, 2010 at Sandton Convention Centre, Jo'burg, South Africa.
This groundbreaking event will be part of the 5 day World Sport Destination Expo, the first global business exhibition of sport tourism opportunities.
The landmark International Sport Tourism Conference is timed to coincide with the FIFA World Cup when the eyes of the world will be on both South Africa and sports tourism. There has never been a better time or place to discover the exciting opportunities that await destinations and operators in the world of sport.

or if you prefer...the editor of shortsandsports will be speaking at Confex in London on February 24, 2010 and the title of the presentation is:

The Sports Industry: Golden opportunity or poison chalice in the current economic climate?

hot spot: Valencia, Spain

The two-year legal battle over the terms of the 33rd America's Cup sailing competition has been a marathon; but now that defending champions Alinghi have accepted the latest court ruling on the venue for the event, and things look set to move forward in Valencia, Spain. 

Switzerland-based Alinghi made a statement after the ruling saying that it looked forward to racing in Valencia in February. As the defending champion, Alinghi had the choice of the venue for the race, under the race rules but after a New York appeals court rejected a bid by Alinghi to host the race in the United Arab Emirates the die was cast.

BMW Oracle, which sails under the colors of California's Golden GateYacht Club and is backed by Oracle Corp chief executive Larry Ellison, had objected to the UAE as a venue because it was already transporting equipment to Valencia. "Once again BMW Oracle's strategy to try to win the America's Cup in court instead of on the water has been successful. For the first time in the history of the America's Cup the defender has been stripped of its fundamental right to select the venue," said Fred Meyer of Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG), Alinghi's home yacht club.
"Societe Nautique de Geneve accepts this decision and Alinghi is looking forward to racing for the America's Cup on the water in Valencia, Spain, in February 2010."

hot shot:   Scott Blackmun returns to the USOC fold

Scott Blackmun was named chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee, returning after 10 years to a post that is in turmoil after a series of personnel changes and policy setbacks. He was selected from a shortlist of six finalists.  (In the past, Blackmun, a partner in the Colorado law firm of Holme, Roberts & Owen LLP, was the USOC's general counsel.  He took over the CEO's post temporarily in 2000. He then left the Olympic panel in 2001 to become chief operating officer of Los Angeles-based Anschutz Entertainment Group and worked as an adviser for London's successful bid for the 2012 Games.)

Blackmun return to USOC comes with a pledge that he would help rebuild the organization's standing in international sports following the high-profile losses of NYC2012 and Chicago2016.

Scott Blackmun met Jacques Rogge in 2001, when Blackmun was the acting chief executive of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and the International Olympic Committee president was touring the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.  The IOC responded to Blackmun's 'new' appointment as follows: "Our relationship is a key one for the future of the Games, and having an experienced operator in the post is clearly to be welcomed,''

Blackmun's four year contract - his second tenure with the USOC - should establish some continuity within the organization and commitment to the IOC; while high on the agenda will be a number of key issues including:
finally resolving the longterm dispute over the percentages that USOC receives from the USA TV rights fee and the IOC's global sponsorship revenues;
and making sure that all bodes well for the IOC and broadcaster NBC (now owned by Comcast) in future broadcast negotiations by ensuring that they offer great value to TOP sponsors and a partnership with Universal Sports is seen as the best network option).

It also is a priority for Blackmun to create an effective international relations department.  Bob Ctvrtlik, who was the USOC vice president for international relations, left that position soon after taking a paid job with Chicago 2016 last winter; while Robert Fasulo, the international relations director, still remains in his job.

Ans so with the right team and strong support for the 'new' man at the helm, the next few months and years should prove significant for US sport and its role in major international events and hopefully a return for the US to a leading role inthis global and high-profile sector. 

 

sidelines:   Paris speaks out

The man who led Paris's losing bid for the 2012 Olympic Games said that London had only itself to blame for the situation it now finds itself in.

Philippe Baudillon, the managing director of the Paris bid, said that no one involved was surprised that the cost of the London Games had tripled. "We knew what would happen," he said. "We knew that they had underestimated a certain number of items. They were too low in their forecasts and they did not include VAT, for example. Frankly, that was close to the limit.

"The London candidacy was very much an act of marketing, put together to win but not rigorous and rational like ours," he said. "They are going to pay for it because it will have an impact on their deadlines and thus their costs." He added that while Paris had aimed to use mainly existing structures for the Games, London could find itself saddled with a load of white elephants.

While many Parisians are relieved that their city failed to win the Games, the French media has followed London's tribulations with some delight. L'Equipe, the national sports daily, said that London had proved that Olympic bids could be artful works of fiction.

 
fashion icon.....  the volunteer

Another major milestone has been achieved on the road to the 2010 Games, as VANOC began handing out accreditation badges and uniforms to Olympic volunteers.

Vancouver's Uniform and Accreditation Centre opened its doors at the PNE's 3,960-square-metre Forum Building, where the first of 25,000 volunteers were given credentials and outfitted with official 2010 uniforms.

Around 52,000 staff, volunteers, contractors, athletes, team members, media and sponsors form part of the Vancouver 2010 'machine' including Ruth Grierson, a team leader at the Athletes' Village, who has put in an application (to volunteer) in London for the 2012 Games...  but what are her chances of success?

LOCOG - London2012's organizing committee has already received interest from 300,000 applicants but it will not be a first come first served selection process.

TOP Sponsor, McDonalds are spearheading the recruitment drive known as "McVolunteers" with official sponsor adida supplying 70,000 uniforms. 

Sebastian Coe is looking for 'enterprising' and 'keen' volunteers prepared to sleep on the floors of friends and family.... but the truth is that it s the training program which will dictate the success of the program. 

And perhaps it should be Londoners - who are paying additional taxes for a significant component of the Games - who should be considered first in the selection process?


home and away: bring it home Scandinavia

The Copa del Sol football tournament offers a unique opportunity for training and match play for the Scandinavian teams during the winter break.
With an ambition to become the 'most interesting' tournament during the pre-season for teams from Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
  Copa del Sol offers not only sports development for the Scandinavian teams during pre-season, but also increases revenue opportunities through the tournament prize money which now
totals SEK 2.000.000. 

Taking place during February - one month before the kickoff of the national leagues - it provides an optimal window to fine tune form and develop tactics before the opening of the league series.  And it keeps the footie's fan occupied!

In 2010 eight clubs from five nations will compete in 16 Round Robin/ Placement Matches at the Marbella Stadium in Spain.  The live action will be seen in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Russia and Ukraine with complimentary distribution in other territories.



sport culture: try, try, and then try again

The Caribbean National Olympic Committee (CANOC) said it will only support a Trinidad and Tobago 2018 Commonwealth Games bid if the country successfully stages a Caribbean Games.

CANOC President Steve Stoute said, "it is the general view that the Caribbean would want to see Trinidad and Tobago host a Caribbean Games before it receives the support of the Caribbean Commonwealth countries".

The inaugural Caribbean Games scheduled for Trinidad and Tobago last July was called off due to swine-flu concerns in the country at that time. And the cost of hosting a major sporting event at any level must be considered before jumping into the world of hosting major events.

While the West Indies had some success hosting the 2007 Cricket World Cup,it should be noted that matches were not that well attended and transportation between venues was considered a challenge by some spectators who has travelled far to attend the tournament.


starting blocks: Formula One's brave new and not so new world

Formula One appears to have made a turn-around as the teams are starting to fall into place for the upcoming season after a very exciting - and for many - traumatic last season culminating in a win for Button. 

But will it be all-change on the grid in this year's event as the contractors have had a good year or more to fine-tune the 2008/9 specifications as set down by F1 organizers?

If teams new and old haven't got their cars 'together' by the start of next season, they will find it hard to recover - and may find themselves financial vitims like Honda and several others.

In yet another development in the ever changing signing of drivers, Lotus has signed two veteran drivers: Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen. A former Monaco Grand Prix race winner, Trulli has driven for five different teams over the course of the past twelve years on the grid; and Finnish driver Kovalainen, another former race winner was left without a ride when McLaren replaced him with reigning world champion Jenson Button. He is now driving for Lotus and supported by Fairuz Fauzy, formerly of Malaysia's A1GP team, who will serve as reserve/test driver.

Similarly, Force India have recently laid their cards down on the table by confirming the retention of Adrian Sutil and Tonio Liuzzi.

Michael Schumacher's return to the circuit also mixes up the 'speculation' on who might take an early lead in the season; and the approval of Sauber introduces yet another element to the  mix of new and old drivers and new and old contractors in the very volatile on and off track sport that is Formula One.

life after -
to be or not to be a contender...... that is the question..... ?   

After a 'fall' at Copenhagen, Japan has not given up its plan to host the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games (see previous editions of shorts and sports re. Tokyo2016): but this time they are trying to break with convention with a Three City Bid for 2020.

The governor of Tokyo is proposing Tokyo bid for the 2020 Olympics with Hiroshima and Nagasaki - the two cities that previously proposed a joint-bid for the Olympics that was rejected by the Japanese Olympic Committee who preferred the 2016 Tokyo-only variety.

But as it is essential to 'try, try. try again' this time Japan is trying a different format.  Speaking to Kyodo News, Shintaro Ishihara said on Tuesday "If Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Tokyo were all bidding for the Olympics then Tokyo would probably win."

"Once Tokyo puts its hat into the international bidding ring then it would be able to get both Hiroshima and Nagasaki involved."

The biggest potential problem comes from the JOC. It rejected the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bid because the Olympic Charter stipulates only one city can host an Olympics.  However, the JOC said in late December 2009 that it may wait another year before a decision is made whether to once again throw its hat into the 2020 ring.

_______________________

The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have now confirmed that the three candidate cities bidding to host the 2nd Youth Olympic Games in 2014 have been invited to present their bids to the full IOC membership at the IOC Session in Vancouver.
The three cities are Guadalajara Mexico, Nanjing China and Poznan Poland.

Poznan's Mayor Ryszard Grobelny said upon hearing the decision, "this is a great day for Poznan. We are naturally thrilled that the IOC Executive Board has decided we should be given the opportunity to present our bid to all the IOC members in February. We think that the Youth Olympic Games is all about developing talent, something that Poland has always been committed to throughout its history.

"The Youth Olympic Games is our chance to extend this to the whole Olympic Movement and to the youth of the world. We look forward to sharing our vision for the Games with the full IOC membership in Vancouver".