A new report released by England Golf has revealed Golf clubs in England are more accessible and inclusive than ever before. 

Feedback from England Golf’s 2012 Golf Club Membership Questionnaire shows that clubs are becoming increasingly flexible and customer-focused as they strive to attract new golfers and to recruit and retain members.

The main findings of the research are highlighted in the Results Booklet, which  includes information and ideas for golf clubs. The survey also helps England Golf to direct national strategy and to show where resources will be best used in future.

Richard Flint, England Golf’s Development Manager, said: “These are very difficult times for golf clubs, both in terms of the economy and overcoming the effects of the wettest summer for 100 years. But, it is encouraging to see clubs responding to these challenges in creative and imaginative ways and putting their customers at the heart of everything they do.

“England Golf is here to support golf clubs and we urge clubs to take advantage of this and to work with their County Golf Partnership (CGP) to recruit and retain members.”

In total, 25% of golf clubs which responded to the questionnaire have experienced an increase in members in the last two years. This is despite an overall drop in membership nationwide. England Golf will be examining these golf clubs in more detail to establish how they are achieving success.

According to the research, more golf clubs are offering a range of membership categories, including flexible, corporate, student and intermediate. 

They are adopting a wider range of initiatives to attract members and increasingly working with their County Golf Partnerships to recruit and retain players. Over the past four years, the CGP network has introduced more than 154,000 people to golf, with 4200 memberships reported to date.

Clubs are also becoming more innovative in their promotion and marketing, with a marked growth in the use of social media alongside established communication.

Almost all clubs which responded (94%) have membership vacancies and a growing number of clubs are abandoning entrance fees. More clubs are also staggering fees over the transition period from junior to adult ranks.

The encouraging trends are also reflected within clubs’ junior sections. More clubs (62%) now have a Child Welfare Officer – highlighting the importance of safeguarding within the golf club environment.

More clubs are doing away with specific demands around junior playing standards and course restrictions, demonstrating that U18s are increasingly seen as an integral part of the club. This is reflected by the number of clubs – now 600 – which have achieved the GolfMark Award from England Golf in recognition of their junior and beginner friendly facilities.

In addition, a growing number of clubs now allow juniors to play in all adult/main competitions. Almost all clubs (97%) offer group junior coaching and this is increasingly available to both members and non-members. 

Le Mans’ Pescarolo team has been liquidated, sportscar legend Henri Pescarolo confirmed.

Pescarolo enjoyed plenty of success at Le Mans over the past decade and was regularly the closest challenger to the factory cars from Audi and Peugeot for a number of years.

Recent seasons have seen the team struggle financially however, with the new Pescarolo 03 being beset by problems that meant it was an early retirement in the Le Mans 24 Hours last year and didn’t compete again.

Pescarolo then entered a six-month protection period as it looked to find new investment after a proposed deal with Luxury Racing collapsed and with no new partner forthcoming, the team has instead been placed into liquidation.

“As difficult as it is to accept, this decision is justified,” Pescarolo said. “The Commercial Court simply applied the law. Pescarolo Team was placed under safeguard proceedings for a period of six months and I was to propose a credible solution for the continuation of the activity. But I did not manage to find a solution.

“The way I managed Pescarolo Team was not put into question; I only suffered from the failure of those that were to be my main sponsors.”

Pescarolo did however admit that he hoped to be able to secure a role with a team for the future, with the facility at Le Mans that was the base for his own team still under his ownership.

“I still own superb premises, ideally located in the Technoparc of the 24 Hours and nothing can prevent me from doing business on my own in the future,” he said. “I am disappointed for my team, and it matters a lot to me. While we can not hope to enter our own cars in the next 24 hours, there are other possibilities and I hope to offer them a great project, allowing them to demonstrate once again their potential.”

The Singapore Grand Prix is set to continue for the next five years after a new agreement was secured.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has been in talks with the Singapore authorities. The race was first staged in 2008.

It is the only Grand Prix on the Formula One calendar to take place at night, doctor timed to coincide with lucrative prime time TV slots in Europe.

At stake had been a reported S$50m (US$41m) fee that the Singapore government and race promoter Singapore GP pay the rights holder, link Formula One Administration, and owned by private-equity group CVC.

Formula One Chief Executive Officer Bernie Ecclestone didn’t comment on the deal but The Sunday Times reported that he likes having the event in Singapore and the event’s cost was discussed in the negotiations, citing Ecclestone at a press conference. He declined to give details of the new five-year agreement, the newspaper reported yesterday.

“It’s a Grand Prix we look forward to,” Button, who won the 2009 Formula One championship, said in an interview in the city-state on Sept. 22. “Singapore has done it really well. There aren’t many cities around the world who can put on a night race like Singapore.”

S Iswaran, second minister for trade and industry in the Singapore government, said the negotiations had “taken some time because all parties had very specific objectives and wanted to arrive at a mutually beneficial outcome”.

The Great Britain basketball team will continue its existence after the Olympics, stomach with England Basketball and basketballscotland backing the proposal for a British basketball membership of FIBA. 

The move comes despite Basketball Wales confirming that it does not wish to be part of the venture. Currently, unhealthy each nation has a separate basketball association, allergist but the three were granted special permission to compete as Great Britain in the 2012 Olympics. 

FIBA required a decision to be submitted by 30 June 2012, which will become active in 2016, when England Basketball and basketballscotland’s membership with FIBA expires. 

Terry Donovan, Chairman of England Basketball said in a statement that England Basketball will remain eligible for Sport England funding and will maintain responsibility for basketball development in England. Additionally, Scotland will continue to oversee the management of basketball in the country. 

However, England and Scotland will continue to have national sides at all age levels, but they will not participate in official FIBA tournaments. 

A basketballscotland statement announced: “Having collected a substantial amount of evidence across a range of critical factors including legal considerations, political impact, membership views and opinions, performance pathways and future governance structures, the Board considered a vast amount of information at its meeting on Thursday 28 June 2012.

Commissioner Roger Goodell has speculated that if the NFL puts a team in Los Angeles, it will probably lead to the league expanding to 34 franchises.

Appearing Thursday night on “Costas Live” on NBC Sports Network, Goodell said the league “doesn’t want to move any of our teams.”

“We probably don’t want to go to 33” teams by adding just one new club if a suitable stadium is built in the Los Angeles area, Goodell said.

Instead, the league would consider adding two. An odd number of teams would pose scheduling problems, including at least one club being off each week, and would create one division with five teams.

On Friday, speaking during his annual pre-Super Bowl news conference, Goodell said the NFL has not considered expansion, nor did it have immediate plans to.

“We would like to be back in Los Angeles if we can do it correctly,” Goodell said.

There has been speculation a Los Angeles stadium could house two NFL franchises, although Goodell did not address that with show host Bob Costas on Thursday.

Goodell says there are several issues that must be solved in the city, particularly which of two current stadium proposals is best. He didn’t suggest any timetable for returning to Southern California.

Beyond Sport, a global initiative that seeks to celebrate and support any organisation or individual with the goal to drive positive social change through sport, has announced that the Beyond Sport Summit and Awards 2011, the third annual gathering of its kind, will take place in Cape Town, South Africa from 5th-8th December.

Cape Town will takeover the event, partnered with Barclays Spaces for Sports, TIME International and UNICEF, fresh from the success of last year’s Summit in Chicago, becoming the focus of the continuing evolution of the Beyond Sport network and its mission to celebrate and support the use of sport as a vehicle for positive social change.

The Summit 2011 will again use a unique combination of networking opportunities, insightful panels, and action-led working sessions to collide those who use sport as a vehicle to create social impact, with influences from the world of business, government and federations whose attitudes and decisions can have substantial impact.

Throughout the four days of the Summit, all attendees will have the opportunity to interact with Beyond Sport’s extensive network of international sports federations and rights holders, corporate companies, global aid organisations, influential political figures, and world leaders.

Once again representatives from all of the shortlisted Beyond Sport Awards 2011 projects across the world will be brought to the Summit in Cape Town to share their insights and best practices from the front line of the sport and development.

Having celebrated the best sport and development projects from across the world in 2009 and 2010, the Beyond Sport Awards 2011 opened for entries once again in January this year with the winners to be announced at the Summit in December. Entries close on May 1 with the Awards Shortlist to be unveiled in early June.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) have launched online ticket sales for the Cricket World Cup semi-finals and final today, impotent February 21, via the ICC’s official ticketing partner Kyazoonga.com

With the demand for tickets for the finale of the ICC’s flagship tournament expected to reach record levels, there is sure to be great demand for the proportion of online tickets which will go on sale today at 1pm Indian time (0730 GMT).

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC Chief Executive, said: “From the outset it was always going to be near impossible to satisfy the enormous demand for tickets. But the Central Organising Committee always wanted to provide as many cricket lovers as possible with an opportunity to experience the World Cup. That is why some tickets are now being made available online.

“With the tournament kicking off amidst extraordinary scenes in Dhaka, it was quite amazing to see tens of thousands of passionate supporters in the streets around the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium soaking up the remarkable atmosphere during the opening ceremony and the first match. All this excitement is causing an unbelievable demand for tickets which clearly outstrips the available supply.

“I am sure that the passion and support for the ICC’s flagship event will grow even further by the time we reach the semi-finals in Colombo and Mohali on 29 and 30 March, respectively and the final at Wankhede Stadium on 2 April. The on-line sales will be followed by a second phase where tickets will be made available to the general public through the stadium box offices.”

Ghana’s 2-1 defeat of the United States was watched by more than 19 million US television viewers, making it the most-watched football match ever in the United States, ratings service Nielsen has revealed.

The USA crashed out in the last 16 of this year’s FIFA World Cup, however, 19.4 million viewers tuned in to the US-Ghana match on ABC and Spanish-language channel Univision, a total which beat the 18.1 million people who viewed the 1994 Italy-Brazil World Cup final.

Vice President of Sports at Nielsen, Stephen Master, said: “This record viewership proves that soccer is as popular as it has ever been in the United States.”

In 1999 the US-China women’s final of the World Cup drew an audience of 18 million, while the England-US match from this World Cup attracted 17.1 million viewers.