British Swimming is pushing to regain its funding for its synchronised swimming programme by engaging UK Sport in a legal battle.

Synchronised swimming was initially allocated £4.3million for the four years to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but performance targets were missed, prompting UK Sport to take its punitive action.

British Swimming chief executive David Sparkes said last week, after a challenge to the decision proved fruitless, that the withdrawal of financial support for synchronised swimming “beggars belief” and “highlights a fundamental flaw in the UK Sport funding system”.

Now British Swimming has confirmed it will mount its legal challenge in a bid to have it overturned.

However British Swimming also stated that following independent legal advice it “reluctantly” would no longer fight the decision to withdraw the £4.5m in funding that was afforded to the women’s water polo programme.

Sparkes said: “After careful consideration of the UK Sport decision and having taken into account the whole process we are keen to appeal the case for synchro.

“This matter will now be submitted to an independent hearing through Sport Resolutions (UK).

“However, we still feel the strategy adopted by UK Sport in terms of team sports needs further review and we will be seeking to influence this for water polo and the future of all team sports.”

British Swimming chairman Maurice Watkins said: “This has been an extremely difficult decision for British Swimming to make.

“Based on the narrow criteria of the appeal process and the advice we have received it is with reluctance that we take the decision not to pursue a legal challenge over the withdrawal of funding for water polo.”

Poland’s premier football league, the Ekstraklasa has agreed a partnership with Infront Sports & Media to market a sponsorship rights.

An Official Sponsorship package for the Polish Football League is to be made available with the international sports marketing company offering it exclusively in Germany and Austria. The marketing opportunity includes a continuous brand presence at all 296 league games, logo branding on the right sleeve of all 16 teams and brand integration into TV graphics. Furthermore, additional advertising as well as title rights, merchandising rights and a hospitality contingent are included in the package.

For the 2012/13 season around two million fans visited Ekstraklasa stadiums. As the most popular national competition and with more than 22 million football fans in Poland, the Ekstraklasa offers businesses an excellent platform to prominently position their brand and/or products. The Official Sponsor package is offered for the first time ever – positioned directly after the Titular Sponsor (T-Mobile) on the second level of the sponsorship hierarchy.

Boguslaw Biszof, Chairman of the Management Board at the Ekstraklasa SA, commented: “Parallel to economic growth, Polish football has experienced an upward trend – with its internationally successful players and clubs as well as the infrastructural progress amongst others as a result of the UEFA EURO 2012™. Infront, with its experience in international football marketing and its distribution network, is our preferred partner to source an appropriate company to occupy this package for the first time.”

Reinhardt Weinberger, Managing Director of Infront Germany, said: “The Polish market has become increasingly attractive for foreign companies in recent years and the country is today the most important East-European economic partner for Germany and Austria. With its nationwide and almost year-round presence, the Ekstraklasa offers the Official Sponsor high national visibility and the opportunity to network with its target groups on a regional level.”

SKECHERS USA, ambulance Inc. today announced that the company’s second commercial airing Super Bowl weekend will feature two of the greatest 49ers players to ever grace the gridiron: Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana and Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott.

Premiering Saturday, anesthetist February 2 on ESPN2’s College All-Star Challenge, and again on Super Bowl Sunday with an abbreviated spot during the second quarter, the Skechers Relaxed Fit commercial uses humor to showcase how Montana stays cool under pressure wearing Relaxed Fit footwear.

Launching the day before the San Francisco 49ers take on the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII, the new commercial will reunite the legendary Hall of Famers on-screen in a humorous spot that highlights Relaxed Fit’s memory foam footbed, roomier fit and instant comfort.

“Relaxed Fit gives guys the perfect combination in their footwear: incredibly comfortable shoes that look great in any setting. So we thought, let’s give them what they want with football legends delivering some old-school physical comedy,” said Michael Greenberg, president of SKECHERS. “Working with two of the greatest players of all time was amazing, and the fact that their former team will be playing in the Super Bowl this weekend makes it all the sweeter.”

The new spot is the latest in a series of Relaxed Fit ads that star America’s sports icons; previous commercials have featured Montana, legendary Hall of Fame Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda, and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. A natural extension of relaxed fit jeans, Relaxed Fit footwear has fast become one of SKECHERS’ most successful men’s footwear collections and will soon expand into women’s footwear.

SKECHERS will also debut a commercial during the second quarter of Sunday’s Super Bowl for the Company’s new performance running shoes, Skechers GOrun 2.

The future of the world-renowned Singapore Open has been guaranteed for another five years after a landmark agreement between the Singapore Golf Association (SGA) and tournament promoters World Sport Group (WSG).

Since the rebirth of the event in 2005, the Singapore Open has grown into one of the most popular and prestigious events in Asia with prize money rising from US$2 million to US$6 million.

It’s the richest national Open in the region and is regarded by many of the world’s leading players as “Asia’s Major”.

SGA President Bob Tan and Chris Jordan, Senior Vice President – Golf of WSG, signed a contract on Thursday to secure the event from 2013-2017.

“We are pleased to have signed a new agreement with World Sport Group and are confident that the tournament is in very safe hands,” said Tan.

“The Singapore Open is a national treasure and one we are very proud of. Since 2005, the tournament has put Sentosa Golf Club on the golfing map with winners of the calibre of Adam Scott and Ian Poulter and the SGA is confident that it will grow further in stature and importance in the next five years.”

Jordan said the Singapore Open was set for an exciting future with the strengthened alliance.

“We are delighted to have renewed our partnership with the Singapore Golf Association to continue staging the Singapore Open,” said Jordan.

“World Sport Group, together with the SGA, remain committed to ensuring that the Singapore Open remains a key fixture on the international golfing calendar and that it continues to attract many of the world’s best golfers.

“In just eight years, the Singapore Open has grown to become Asia’s most prominent national Open and one of the world’s most prestigious golf events. Although many have contributed to the event’s success, special thanks must go to Barclays for the role they have played in helping the Singapore Open become the world-class competition it is today.”

Plans were unveiled for a landmark merger between GRAND-AM Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series.

Under terms of the merger, the following entities will combine with GRAND-AM: the American Le Mans Series; the International Motor Sports Association, which sanctions ALMS events; the Road Atlanta race track facility in Braselton, Ga.; the Chateau Elan Hotel and Conference Center in Sebring, Fla.; and Sebring International Raceway, via a reassignment of the lease agreement with the Sebring Airport Authority to operate the raceway.

Both sanctioning bodies will continue to operate separate schedules in 2013 before racing under one banner in 2014 beginning with North America’s premier sports-car race, the 52nd annual Rolex 24 at Daytona. A board of directors has been formed to operate the new combined organization with GRAND-AM founder Jim France as chairman and ALMS founder Don Panoz as vice chairman. Other members: NASCAR vice chair/executive vice president Lesa France Kennedy, Grand-Am president/CEO Ed Bennett, ALMS president/CEO Scott Atherton and NASCAR vice president/deputy general counsel Karen Leetzow.

“[Wednesday’s] announcement will transform sports-car racing on this continent, along with having world-wide industry implications,” Bennett said. “Aside from the organizations involved, everybody wins: drivers, teams, manufacturers, sponsors, tracks — and most all, the fans.

“This new approach is going to be revolutionary, as we take the best components from two premium brands, combine them and then benefit mutually from the considerable resources both sides will bring to our efforts. This is a bold move — and the right one — for the long-term, optimum growth of sports-car racing.”

Added Atherton: “This merger will blend the best assets and attributes of each organization in terms of technical rules, officiating, marketing, communications, personnel, scheduling and broadcasting. The result will be one of the strongest, most competitive and powerful motorsports marketing platforms in the world.”

Post-merger branding still is being determined for the new organization and its principal series, as are specifics regarding the 2014 schedule. Also, the competitive class structure and technical rules beginning in 2014 have yet to be finalized.

The ALMS began operations in 1999, with GRAND-AM debuting in 2000. Both organizations were created in the aftermath of the late-’90s departure of the highly popular IMSA Camel GT circuit in North America. IMSA was founded in 1969 by John Bishop and then-NASCAR president Bill France Sr.

“This merger will strengthen professional sports-car racing beyond what either of our organizations could have achieved separately,” Panoz said. “The American Le Mans Series was founded for the fans and I’m personally gratified that they will benefit greatly as we now work together with GRAND-AM to take this sport to the level at which it belongs in the North American and international motorsports landscapes.”

France said the merger was exciting both “on a professional and a personal level, with me being a longtime sports-car fan. This merger was achieved through a true spirit of cooperation. Moving forward, that same spirit will drive our day-to-day efforts.”

Collectively, this merger involves a total of eight sports-car series racing throughout North America. GRAND-AM sanctions and operates the Rolex Sports Car Series, the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and the TOTAL Performance Showcase. GRAND-AM also sanctions the Ferrari Challenge that is operated by Ferrari North America. IMSA is the sanctioning body for the ALMS, the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama Series, the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda Series and the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin.

“This looks good from a business standpoint but it also ‘feels good’ from a historical standpoint,” Bennett said. “Both GRAND-AM and the ALMS have lineages tied to Daytona Beach, Daytona International Speedway and the France family. This announcement is a proud moment for all involved, as we now look forward to a bright future for sports-car racing.”

Angus Porter, Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) chief, believes the most logical ploy would be to delay implementing the Morgan Report into the structure of domestic cricket.

Former International Cricket Council president David Morgan published a report last month which recommended moving from a 16- to a 14-match County Championship season and from 40 to 50 overs in domestic one-day cricket, among other structural changes to be implemented for 2013.

But with the structure having already changed for this season, Porter advocates waiting to see how successful that schedule proves before tinkering further. Porter, a member of the ECB’s cricket committee, told Press Association Sport: “The Morgan Review has a difficult task trying to reconcile a lot of views about a structure which is quite complicated.”

He added: “The views of the cricket committee and the players are pretty similar, in that we think the structure we have in 2012 is a pretty good one. It would make sense to review this season before making any decisions about the long-term future.

“We have switched the structure of our competitions relatively frequently but this, I think, is the first time recommendations have been made to change the structure before we’ve even tried the one we’ve just switched to.

“The next step is that the (ECB) board will review the inputs made by the cricket committee, the players and the counties at its meeting in March. They too have a balance to strike between having a good deal of consultation and, in the end, the need to make a decision and provide some leadership.”

A 14-match County Championship season with nine teams in each division would mean teams would face some opponents once and others twice.

And Porter said: “The issue players have with the competitions proposed in the Morgan Review is that all three of them lack integrity and symmetry – not one is a simple league or knockout, they’re all very complicated arrangements.

“We came up with a proposal that instead of eight (teams) in the first division and 10 in the second (of the Championship), we could have two conferences of five in the second division so that at least each side would have identical fixture lists.

“Whether that gets adopted we will have to see, we haven’t been pushing it too hard because we’re not yet convinced of the benefits of switching from 16 to 14 matches.”

by Ismail Uddin

The National Basketball Association (NBA) have cancelled all regular season games up to December 15 with labour negotiations at a stand still.

The players also filed a lawsuit against the governing body setting the stage for a complicated legal battle to resolve their bitter labor dispute.

The court action came as the NBA formally notified teams that all regular season games through to December 15 had been canceled, extending the delay to six weeks after the first month of games was already lost. The season was supposed to start on November 1.

The moves came a couple of days after players rejected a contract offer that included plans for a shortened season, saying the terms were unacceptable and they wanted to pursue legal action.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Northern California, was brought on behalf of named plaintiffs, Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Leon Powe.

The suit seeks to represent NBA players and other prospective professionals while the defendants include the league and its 30 member teams.

“Rather than competing for the players’ services,” the lawsuit said, “defendants have combined and conspired to eliminate such competition among themselves for NBA players through group boycotts, concerted refusals to deal, and agreements on restricting output and fixing prices.”

The lawsuit seeks triple damages as a result of the antitrust violations.

The latest collective bargaining agreement that players turned down Monday, called for a 50-50 split of basketball related income between the owners and players and would have provided for a 72-game season to start on December 15.

The old collective bargaining agreement gave 57-43 split in favour of the players but the NBA has claimed the losses made by teams means this split should be more equal. The NBA, which claims it lost $300 million last season with 22 of its 30 teams in the red

The National Basketball Players Association also said it would no longer continue in collective bargaining and would dissolve the union to become a trade association in order to pursue legal action against the NBA.

A shift from the negotiating table to the courts sets the stage for a potentially lengthy battle with the entire NBA season likely to be the casualty.

The player lockout began on July 1. They have been locked out for almost five months.