With the Lillehammer 2016 Winter Olympics fast approaching, sale cialis the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced today that Olympic champion Kjetil Jansrud will be an Ambassador for the Games.

The Norwegian Alpine skier, viagra who won the gold medal in Super-G at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, ailment will share his advice and experiences of top-level competition with the next generation of young athletes in his home nation and abroad, while inspiring young people around the world to get active and embrace the Olympic values.

Kjetil got straight into action today by hosting a training session for several young athletes aiming to compete in Lillehammer 2016 at the world famous Holmenkollen ski jumping venue, which has been at the heart of Norwegian ski history for over 100 years and was used for the 1952 Olympic Winter Games in Oslo.

He commented, “I started skiing when I was three years old not far from Lillehammer, so it is a real honour for me to be an Ambassador for the Youth Olympic Games almost in my own backyard! This event will really inspire the young athletes in Norway and around the world, and I hope that I can help just a little bit to show how amazing sport is!”

IOC President Thomas Bach said, “We want to get kids active and enjoying the benefits of sport, and the support we have from Kjetil is key to this mission. He is a superb role model, and his passion and dedication to sport will have a big impact on the young people and help ensure that the Youth Olympic Games have a long-lasting benefit in Norway and beyond. I look forward to working with him in Lillehammer!”

Weightlifting is the only sport out of seven which has had its UK funding restored, it has been revealed today.

Basketball, synchronised swimming, water polo and Paralympic sports wheelchair fencing, goalball and five-a-side football continue to lose out after a recent appeal.

Weighlifting’s reinstated Olympic funding is £894,000, taking it to £1.8m in total.

Badminton has had £250,000 reinstated, taking its total funding to £5.9m.

Rod Carr, chair of UK Sport, said: “The starting point for UK Sport and the board is that we want to be able to invest in as many Olympic and Paralympic sports as possible but they must be able to credibly demonstrate medal-winning potential within eight years.

“Weightlifting came back to us with a compelling new strategy focussed on developing their most talented female athletes with a view to challenging for medals by Tokyo 2020.”

Around £350m is to be spent preparing Britain’s best medal chances at both the Olympics and Paralympics.

After UK Sport announced its funding in February, chief executive Liz Nicholls said that it would be “high risk” to continue funding sports with little chance of winning a medal by 2020.

“If the nation values sporting success, we can deliver it but only if we remain focussed as the Olympic and Paralympic environment is becoming increasingly competitive,” Nicholls said after Wednesday’s decision.

“I am confident our approach will continue to deliver more wonderful moments to inspire the nation.

“These are tough calls to make and we know that it is even tougher for the sports and athletes directly affected by funding withdrawal.”

British swimming chief executive David Sparkes said the decision not to reinstate synchronised swimming’s funding marked a “very dark and sad day for British sport”.

He added: “How can an elite programme such as Synchro, which has long been held by UK Sport as a model of world-class athlete development and leadership, that has achieved all of its performance indicators since it first received funding, have its funding removed just 12 months after it was enhanced?

“It is a sport that has never failed to deliver on its performance promises and this decision beggars belief – it clearly highlights a fundamental flaw in the UK Sport funding system.”

British basketball is considering whether to make a formal appeal against the decision.

“If there is the political will and the leadership, a solution can be found. Other countries have done so,” said Roger Moreland, performance chairman for British Basketball.

“We are still planning for success this summer and in the short term, our focus has to be on backing our teams as much as we possibly can, so they can do their jobs on the court. We are still on the road to Rio and the next step is to qualify for EuroBasket 2015.”

Watch our recent Interview with UK Sport CEO Liz Nicholl Below:

 

The International Sports Federation (FISU) has revealed a record number of broadcasting hours for its 2013 Winter Universiade in Trentino.

The 26^th edition of the Winter Universiade will be broadcast worldwide amounting to a total of approximately 170 hours by different TV channels.

FISU will operate as the Host Broadcaster of the event with live production of 78 competitions and live production of all final events.

Moreover, doctor 21 daily highlights (26 minutes each) and 3 and 4 minutes news items will be produced daily. Eight OB Vans will be used for the production and four ENG crews will be operating on the venues.

Television Channels airing the competitions include Eurosport and Eurosport Asia-Pacific; CBS USA; RTR Russia; CCTV China; KBS Korea; KZTV Kazakhstan; Czech TV and RAI Sport Italy, ailment bringing the games to all continents.

The 26^th Winter Universiade officially opens on 11 December with the Opening Ceremony, while the ice hockey tournament already starts a day earlier. When the Winter Universiade gets underway it will mark the sixth time that Italy has hosted the FISU Winter Games. Around 2,800 athletes from 52 countries will descend upon the mountainous Trentino region ready to compete in ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, short track, curling, alpine skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping; cross country skiing, free style skiing, snowboarding and biathlon. The games will end on 21 December.

Salford City Reds owner Marwan Koukash has announced the Rugby Super League team will undergo a rebrand for the 2014 Super League season and will be known as the Red Devils.

Koukash is keen to stamp his brand on the top-flight strugglers and feels a change of identity from the City Reds will enhance the club’s appeal.

Not only will the team wear a Red Devils logo for home games but the team will also adopt a grey and gold for away matches – the same colour scheme as his race horses.

“I feel it is far better for us to be known from next season as the Red Devils,” Koukash told the Manchester Evening News. “It is also a far stronger and appealing title.

“We are up against teams in Super League who are known as the Bulls and the Warriors and I want us to be seen as the Red Devils. Warriors playing the Red Devils sounds so much better.

“This is all part of a major plan to rebrand the club, make a new start and make more people aware of who we are and for them to become involved.”

Koukash has also confirmed Salford are closing in new signings, stating up to four big-name players could be signed inside the next two weeks.

“We have three or four big-name players lined up and they will make a massive difference to the squad,” he added.

“What we are doing may be finalised in a week or two. One player we have targeted will have a huge impact on the game if what we intend to do comes off.

“I may well have to go out to Australia to oversee these deals and to tie them up, or I may meet with agents in Dubai. We are doing our very best to secure the right kind of players we know are needed to take this club forward.”

Rugby World Cup 2015 tournament organiser England Rugby 2015 has launched its search to find its ‘Team Base’ following their recent announcement of the stadiums hosting matches during the tournament.

Team bases will play a key role in the tournament, stomach hosting the 20 participating teams in the lead-up to and throughout Rugby World Cup 2015. England Rugby 2015 will identify the best possible facilities to ensure the optimum training environments for the world’s best players to perform to the highest level.

A team base consists of five core components: team hotel, treat outdoor training venues, cough indoor venue, gym and swimming pool. England Rugby 2015 will consider a variety of locations for team bases, both in and around host cities where match venues are located, in neighbouring towns and cities, and further afield, to provide teams with a variety of training environments and locations.

In turn this will also see the tournament spread throughout the country, giving local communities the opportunity to engage with the world’s third largest major sports event.

Team base information is now available to facilities across the country, allowing interested parties to understand the minimum requirements. The deadline for team base bids is June 7, 2013, and the final list of bases will be announced later next year, following discussion with the participating teams and their managements.

England Rugby 2015 Chief Executive Debbie Jevans said: “Following the announcement of the venues and match schedule, which has brought this tournament to life for teams and fans, we are pleased to launch the team base selection process, giving facilities and regions across the country the opportunity to be part of a hugely rewarding programme of hosting participating teams.”

“England has a fantastic range of high-class sports, conference and accommodation facilities and we are determined to provide players and management with the very best environment in which to train and prepare.”

“Rugby World Cup is the showpiece for the Game and will attract vast numbers of domestic fans, as well as an anticipated 500,000 visitors to the UK. Team bases will provide local communities with a unique opportunity to be part of this global event.”

Rugby World Cup Limited Chairman Bernard Lapasset added: “Rugby World Cup 2015 will be a career pinnacle for players and team management, showcasing the very best of Rugby, its character-building values and England within a nationwide festival that will engage, innovate and excite. Team bases are at the very heart of that festival providing the facilities and environment for the world’s best players to perform to the highest level while enabling the tournament to reach out to the length and breadth of the nation.”

Hilton Worldwide today announced that it has signed a franchise agreement with Urbano Rural Hotelara SL to open its first DoubleTree by Hilton hotel on the site of Emporda Golf Club in Spain.

Set to convert by the end of the year, sales DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Spa Emporda will be an upscale, see 87 guestroom property. The site boasts two 18-hole golf courses created by Robert von Hagge, the award-winning golf course designer. Only five minutes drive to the nearest beach, the hotel will provide a contemporary, new accommodation offering for holidaymakers on the Costa Brava.

Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president, development, Europe & Africa, Hilton Worldwide, said: “Hilton Worldwide has had a presence in Spain for more than 20 years and the country remains an enduringly popular travel destination with the latest visitor numbers demonstrating year on year growth. As well as city centre and airport locations, such as Barcelona and Madrid, our brands are equally suited to resort locations and we’re delighted to be introducing DoubleTree by Hilton to such a prestigious Spanish golfing destination.”

Emporda is a region of the province Girona, set within one of Spain’s most renowned tourist resorts, the Costa Brava. Also known as the ‘rugged coast’, the Costa Brava stretches for 60km along the coast of Catalonia and is famed primarily for its warm climate and idyllic beaches.

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Spa Emporda is located near the city of Girona (capital of the province bearing the same name), with its city centre 48km from the resort and easily accessible by car. Transport links from Girona include the International Girona-Costa Brava Airport and Girona Rail Station. Regular trains and buses connect Girona to the Catalan capital city of Barcelona, whose principal airport of El Prat sees 34 million visitors pass through its doors each year.

Rob Palleschi, global head, DoubleTree by Hilton, said: “The DoubleTree by Hilton brand continues to gather momentum across Europe with more than 60 hotels now trading or in the pipeline, and we are delighted to be entering Spain as our eleventh European market. We look forward to welcoming travellers seeking the delights of the Costa Brava and the top-class facilities at Emporda Golf Club along with our award-winning service culture and delicious, signature chocolate chip cookie at check-in.”

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Spa Emporda will feature a restaurant as well as a barbecue during the summer months. Guests will be also enjoy access to a 24-hour business centre, fitness centre and a spa with in-door pool. A range of meeting rooms will also be available totalling 354 square metres with capacity from 10 to 350 guests.

Miguel Angel Carulla, Urbano Rural Hotelara SL, said: “We are proud to be working with Hilton Worldwide in introducing the DoubleTree by Hilton brand to Spain. The conversion will allow us to benefit from the experience of an established global brand renowned for its unique style, which allows the resort to maintain a unique Catalan flavor and connection with the neighbouring Emporda Golf Club.”

Hilton Worldwide currently operates five hotels in Spain in Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo and Palma, Mallorca. Earlier this year, Hilton Barcelona underwent a €23 million renovation and reopened in June 2012. The signing of DoubleTree by Hilton hotel & Spa Emporda follows the recent opening of Conrad Algarve as Hilton Worldwide continues to increase its presence throughout the Iberian Peninsula.

A new motorsport global series has been given the green light and will start in 2014.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) okayed the ‘Formula E’ global series of city centre electric car races after motor sport’s governing body licensed the commercial rights to a Hong Kong-based consortium.

A statement on Monday said London-based Spanish businessman Enrique Banuelos will be lead investor in Formula E Holdings Ltd, with compatriot and fellow shareholder Alejandro Agag serving as chief executive.

British businessman Paul Drayson, a former Science Minister and amateur racing driver who runs Drayson Racing Technologies, is also involved in a project that will cost about 50 million euros ($62.59 million) to launch.

The promoters said that the series, sanctioned by the International Automobile Federation (FIA), aimed for races in at least 10 different cities – of which five will be in Europe.

Proposed locations worldwide include Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing as well as Mumbai, Sydney, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Mexico City, Miami and Los Angeles.

Agag told Reuters that there was already an agreement in place with Rio while a race around Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate would be the first choice for Germany.

The plans are for a grid of 10 teams and 20 drivers in 2014, expanding to 14 teams the following year, with entrants able to use their own cars or one based on a Formulec EF01 prototype which has already achieved a top speed of 240kph.

Races will be an hour in duration but because the batteries will last only 15-20 minutes, there will be two pitstops scheduled with drivers having to change cars.

“This new competition at the heart of major cities is certain to attract a new audience,” FIA president Jean Todt said in the statement.

“The new events will provide a great way to engage the younger generation. This spectacular series will offer both entertainment and a new opportunity to share FIA values with a wide audience as clean energy, mobility and sustainability.”

The season-winning team will get 2.0 million euros and race winning drivers will share a 4.0 million euro prize fund.

Agag expected the championship to become the framework for research and development around the electric car.

“We don’t expect the big carmakers to step into Formula E in the beginning. The industry is not too familiar with electric racing. But I am sure they will come in in a second stage,” he told Reuters.

“We are open to any partnership with a big carmaker.”

Agag, a son-in-law of former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Aznar, already owns teams in the Formula One support series GP2 and GP3 under his Addax investment brand.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) have announced today that the current 50-Over League played by the top eight Associate and Affiliate Members (AMs) will now be renamed the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship (WCL Championship).

The WCL Championship, medic together with the ongoing global divisions of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL), medstore provides a dual pathway for all AMs to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2015.

The competing teams in the WCL Championship include Afghanistan, order Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands and Scotland – all with ODI status – along with the top two sides from WCL Division 2 in 2011, Namibia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The event is being played over a two and a half year period, and commenced in 2011.  It will conclude towards the end of 2013 after each team has played each other in two matches across seven home or away rounds.  Each team will therefore play 14 matches in total.

The top two teams in the WCL Championship will automatically join the ICC’s 10 Full Members in the CWC 2015, which is being jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

“The WCL Championship provides exciting ongoing competition for the top eight AMs through to the end of 2013, with all matches having an impact on ICC Cricket World Cup qualification,” said ICC Global Development Manager Tim Anderson.

The bottom six teams in the WCL Championship will receive a second qualifying opportunity when they participate in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier (CWCQ) in early 2014. This 10-team event will determine the final two qualifiers into the CWC 2015.

Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong, who finished third and fourth in WCL Division 2 in 2011, will also take part in the CWCQ 2014, while the other two competing teams will be decided via the ongoing WCL divisional structure.

WCL Division 5 will be hosted in Singapore from February 18 to 25, followed by Division 4 later in 2012, then Division 3 in 2013.  The top two teams in Division 3 will play in the CWCQ 2014.

“By both the WCL Championship and divisional events forming part of this qualifying process, not only do the top AMs have the opportunity to play against each other more regularly in matches with significant context, but all ICC Members have the opportunity to qualify for cricket’s flagship global event,” added Mr Anderson.

Round three of the WCL Championship begins on 18 February 2012, with Ireland taking on Kenya in Mombasa. WCL Division 5 commences in Singapore on the same day, and will be contested by Argentina, Bahrain, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Malaysia and Singapore.  The top two teams will then be promoted to Division 4.

The NBA labour lockout has officially ended after commissioner David Stern ratified a deal with the owners and the players on Thursday.

The deal, viagra buy which was agreed on in principle several weeks ago, ampoule includes a 12 percent reduction in player salaries, a limit to the length of player contracts and a host of other changes designed to shrink the gap between the strongest and weakest teams.

To that end, the owners also approved a new revenue-sharing formula that will roughly quadruple the amount of money paid by the teams that exceed the salary cap to the financially weakest teams.

“It will help us move toward a better business model, a more competitive league, and better alignment between compensation and performance,” Stern said after 25 of the league’s 30 owners approved the deal. “It’s a fair agreement, we believe, that had many compromises from both sides. While it’s not perfect, the deal addresses significant issues on both sides in a very productive way, we believe.”

More than 85 percent of the more than 200 players who voted agreed to ratify the agreement, according to the National Basketball Players Association. However, less than half the number of eligible players voted.

Still, the votes pave the way for teams to begin signing free agents. Already, there have been reports that the league’s financially strongest teams, including the Knicks, the Lakers and the Heat, are jockeying to sign the best free agents on the market, suggesting that the league’s goal of achieving more parity among teams is a work in progress.

Adam Silver, the league’s deputy commissioner, acknowledged that teams will continue to seek the best players. But he said that the new revenue-sharing formula and other elements of the collective bargaining agreement are being phased in over several years, so it will take time to gauge how and whether teams change the way they act.

“I think in terms of behavior of teams with this new harsher, more progressive tax, behavior is often difficult to predict,” Silver said. “We’ve been wrong many times before in predicting owner behavior. There might be a psychological barrier to surpassing certain tax levels in this deal in addition to economic disincentives. But we’ll see.”

The new revenue-sharing agreement, which will take full effect in the 2013-14 season, calls for a transfer of $196 million from the richest teams to the teams that generate the least revenue. Stern, who called the negotiations over revenue sharing “tortuous,” said he expected six to nine teams to contribute to the revenue-sharing pool. Under the new formula, the Los Angeles Lakers will pay the highest amount, as much as $50 million a year, followed by the Knicks at $30 million, according to a person who has seen the plan. About half a dozen teams would receive about $16 million each.

The agreement also calls for shorter contract lengths for free-agent signings and a rule that allows a team to waive one of its player contracts and have those salaries removed from the team’s salary-cap calculation.

Taken together, Stern said the changes reflected “a joint determination to restructure the league so that the dollars would be available for our teams to be more competitive” and “that teams could rebuild.”

Under the new agreement, the minimum age for new players will remain at 19. But the league and the union will form a committee once the season begins to study the issue further. There have been calls for raising the minimum age for rookies.

Silver also said that testing for human growth hormone will not begin this season, and there is no specific timeline in mind. The league and the union are waiting for a panel of independent scientists and experts to approve a valid and reliable test for H.G.H. before proceeding with mandatory testing.

After years of negotiations and an estimated $400 million in revenue lost during the lockout, it was not surprising that Stern and Silver were happy to be talking about games again.

“I think most importantly we’re back to basketball,” Silver said.

Yesterday, May 2, the National Football League (NFL) told a federal appeals court that its appeal regarding the legality of a lockout can “readily be resolved” before the start of next season.

At the end of last week a three-judge panel of the appeals court put US District Judge Susan Richard Nelson’s order to lift the 45-day lockout on hold, leading the owners to immediately reinstate the lockout. The League have now filed a brief with the eighth US Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, arguing that the lockout should remain on hold until the two sides have fought out their court battle.

NFL owners claimed that federal law barred an interference in labour disputes such as that of the US appeals court’s decision to delay enforcement of the lower court’s order stopping their lockout of players.

The NFL stated in court papers: “The absence of a stay would irreparably harm the NFL by undercutting its labour law rights. Federal courts may not interfere – on either side – in cases involving or growing out of a labour dispute.”

Attorneys for the players argued last week against a stay of Nelson’s order, suggesting that the players’ careers would be damaged by the continued lockout. However, the NFL has claimed in its new filing that the players’ alleged fears are exaggerated.