DOSB-Präsident Thomas Bach ist am Donnerstag im Schloss Bellevue zu einem ausführlichenMeinungsaustausch von Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck empfangen worden. Wenige Tage zuvorhatte Gauck die Schirmherrschaft über den Dachverband des deutschen Sports übernommen.

In dem Zusammentreffen mit Bach stand neben einer Vorschau auf die Olympischen Spiele in Londondie gesellschaftspolitische Bedeutung des Sports mit seinen vielfältigen Aufgaben im Mittelpunkt.Dabei hob Bach die Themen Sportentwicklung, Integration, Bildung, Gesundheit, internationaleZusammenarbeit sowie den Kampf gegen Doping und gegen Rechtsextremismus hervor. Der DOSB-Präsident dankte dem Bundespräsidenten nochmals persönlich für seine langjährige Tätigkeit alsVorsitzender des Unabhängigen Beratungsgremiums des DOSB in Stasi-Fragen, die Gauck nach seinerWahl zum Bundespräsidenten aufgegeben musste.

“Wir sind dankbar dafür, wie offen und engagiert der Bundespräsident seine Schirmherrschaftangeht. Er hat für alle unsere Themen ein offenes Ohr. Schon dieses Gespräch hat gezeigt, dassder Bundespräsident seine Schirmherrschaft nicht nur formell versteht, sondern wir uns auf vieleinhaltliche Anregungen freuen dürfen”, sagte Bach im Anschluss an das Gespräch: “Das von HerrnGauck gewählte Thema der Freiheit in Verantwortung für die Allgemeinheit bietet Antworten aufviele Herausforderungen unserer Zeit. Er kann damit in Zeiten fortschreitender GlobalisierungOrientierung auch für den Sport geben.” Der Bundespräsident betonte in dem Gespräch auchdie verantwortungsvolle Autonomie des deutschen Sports, die diesen zu einem

wichtigengesellschaftspolitischen Faktor mache, der viel für den Zusammenhalt unserer Gesellschaft und diepositive Darstellung in der Welt leiste.
Thomas Bach informierte Gauck zusammen mit Michael Vesper, dem Chef de Mission, zudemausführlich über die deutschen Erfolgsaussichten bei den bevorstehenden Olympischen Spielen inLondon. “Ich freue mich, dass der Bundespräsident zugesagt hat, die Deutsche Olympiamannschaftin London zu besuchen und im zu erwartenden härtesten Konkurrenzkampf der Olympia-Geschichtezu unterstützen”, berichtete Bach: “Dadurch gewinnt das Motto ‘Wir für Deutschland’, unter demunsere Olympiamannschaft auftritt, eine ganz besondere Bedeutung.”

Tokyo’s iconic National Stadium is poised to receive a billion dollar renovation, turning it into a space-age venue with moving seats for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. 

If successful with its renovation plans, the new-look National Stadium, located close to Tokyo’s bustling centre, would double up as the main stadium for the rugby World Cup and Olympics.

Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) chairman Tatsuzo Yabe told Reuters.: “We are in talks with the stadium owners and Tokyo government about it being the venue for both the World Cup and the Olympics.  

“It will have seating for 80,000 to 100,000. We have to knock down the current National Stadium – it is old and only has a capacity of around 50,000.”

Yabe said plans would include retractable seating, similar to the revolutionary Sapporo Dome, the hi-tech jewel in Japan’s crown at the 2002 soccer World Cup with a ‘floating’ pitch.

“It will have seats which can be moved in when we need the track for the Olympics and back for ball games like soccer and rugby,” Yabe added.

“It will cost around 100 billion yen ($1.31 billion). That would be the budget for it with the plan for construction to be completed by 2018.”

Tokyo’s National Stadium was built for the 1964 Olympics, the first to be held in Asia. It also staged the world athletics championships in 1991 and soccer’s Intercontinental Cup from 1980 to 2001.

Japan’s Olympic bidders had planned to construct a new stadium on Tokyo Bay for the 2016 Games, before the city’s bid lost out to Rio de Janeiro in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voting.

The IOC, however, raised concerns about emergency evacuation with three sides of the stadium facing the sea.

Japan have plenty of options for rugby World Cup venues other than the tournament’s main stadium with the 10 grounds from the 2002 soccer World Cup among possible candidates.

JRFU officials have also indicated their desire to host games outside of Japan for Asia’s first rugby World Cup, with Hong Kong and Singapore among those reportedly in the frame.

“We may use 2002 World Cup soccer stadiums,” said Yabe. “We have about 10 stadiums across Japan (we are considering).”

The London Assembly has unanimously approved the creation of a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), doctor a new body which will have responsibility for redeveloping the Olympic Park and its surrounding area.

Subject to formal approval by Parliament, the Olympic Park Legacy Company will be reformed into the MDC, giving the Mayor direct control over planning decisions within its boundaries.

The MDC will cover the Olympic Park, Olympic Village, Stratford City including Westfield Shopping centre, Hackney Wick, Bromley by Bow, Sugarhouse Lane. Three Mills and Carpenters Estate.

The Mayor’s office says he wants to strengthen the Olympic Park’s future “and better connect it” with neighbouring areas.

London Assembly Deputy Chair Dee Doocey said: “The Assembly has always believed that the most important benefit of hosting the 2012 Games is the opportunity to revitalise the East End of London.

“As we told the Mayor today, the Assembly is determined to see that the MDC operates in an open and transparent fashion that enables local people within its boundaries to have a substantial input into the future of their neighbourhoods.”

Mayor Johnson said that by setting up the MDC he was “strengthening London’s legacy plans even further, leaving us in the best possible position to create thousands of new jobs and new homes that will continue to change people’s lives long after the Olympic flame has left.”

Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) has marked the London 2012 year-to-go landmark by launching a new website for its digital marketing platform in partnership with Chennai based company Xerago.

Viren Rasquinha, physician CEO, look OGQ, cialis pills said: “Xerago is also helping us with an entire digital marketing platform and we will also be extensively engaging sports fans through Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter.” 

Srinivas Chari, CMO, Xerago, said: “Xerago helps brands succeed with their marketing programs. We are helping OGQ digitally drive this movement to help India strike Gold at the Olympics.”

An historic Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU) and the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) which will see the two organisations work together to jointly foster Rugby throughout the region and assist the integration of Member Unions into the Olympic family.

The agreement represents a further boost to the sport ahead of Rugby Sevens’ Olympic Games debut in 2016 and International Rugby Board (IRB) chairman Bernard Lapasset stated: “This landmark agreement is an exciting step in the development of the Game that will deliver significant opportunities for Member Unions in Oceania as we count down to Rugby Sevens’ Olympic Games debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

“Rugby is now the sport of choice for more men, allergist women, drugs boys and girls across Oceania than ever before. This growth is mirrored around the globe, with participation increasing by 19% since Rugby World Cup 2007 and the Game now played by more than five million people in 117 countries.

“What’s more the world’s largest sporting event this year, Rugby World Cup 2011, will kick off in New Zealand in less than five months time, providing a fantastic opportunity to showcase and celebrate Rugby in Oceania.”

IOC Member and ONOC Vice President Barry Maister attended the FORU Annual General Meeting to sign the agreement and address the Unions in New Zealand last Friday, April 15, and added: “There is genuine excitement in the region that Rugby Sevens has been included on the Olympic Programme for 2016 and 2020.

“It is important that this excitement is harnessed and that the Rugby Unions work in partnership with the National Olympic Committees in each country to not only prepare for Olympic qualification but to grow the sport more broadly.”

Oceania has an outstanding record of success in Rugby Sevens and the inclusion of Rugby Sevens as an Olympic Sport is generating great excitement in the Oceania Rugby community.

For the Pacific Islands Olympic inclusion presents a considerable opportunity to showcase their country on the world’s biggest sporting stage and a genuine medal prospect for Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

Tauiliili Harry Schuster, FORU President and IRB Council Member, stated: “We are most grateful to ONOC and the ONOC Executive for the warmth with which they have welcomed us into the Olympic family.

“This Memorandum of Understanding is so important to us and we are looking forward to helping our Member Unions integrate into the Olympic Movement. This is new ground for us and we are committed to Rugby being an enthusiastic and active member of the Olympic family.”

Comcast Business, a unit of Comcast Cable, the nation’s largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to business and residential customers, today announced that the Washington Nationals selected Comcast Business Ethernet services for a multi-year contract that connects its staff, members of the media, and fans to the Internet.

Already equipped with the latest state-of-the-art video and audio technology, Nationals Park has now added a fiber-based Ethernet connection from Comcast capable of delivering up to 1 Gigabit per second of speed to support more people and devices within the ballpark. Comcast is able to deliver these speeds due to decades of investment in building infrastructure to make its fiber network broadly available to meet the high-speed, high-capacity needs of business customers.

“When we first opened the ballpark in March 2008, our fans were not utilizing our WiFi network to the extent that they do now during an average game, which is why we needed to increase the bandwidth supporting our Internet service,” said Jason Zachariah, chief technical officer for the Washington Nationals. “We are always looking for ways to enhance the ballpark experience for our guests, and we look forward to working with Comcast in the coming years to help us keep pace as our technology demands evolve.”

In addition to supporting fans and media by allowing them to connect to the Internet via WiFi at the ballpark, the organization needed more bandwidth for transferring data, photos and videos for its high-definition (HD) video board and FTP access for sending and receiving large files between offices. To improve the fan experience, the Nationals organization also wanted to offer in-seat concession ordering via handheld devices from anywhere within the ballpark, but needed a new system to help facilitate this service.

With an Ethernet Dedicated Internet (EDI) line from Comcast that provides up to 1 Gigabit per second of speed, Nationals Park now has enough capacity to allow thousands of fans to order food and beverages via a website from their wireless devices. The Ethernet line is also used as the backbone for all Internet traffic originating from the ballpark’s WiFi network and supports the press box, as well as video and information feeds for its 4,811 square-foot HD video board in right field.

“Today’s ballparks rely on technology much more than they did years ago, not only to accommodate the needs of their increasingly tech-savvy guests, but also to ensure the successful operation of the park,” said Bill Stemper, president of Comcast Business. “By delivering an advanced infrastructure that not only provides high amounts of bandwidth, but also offers the scalability to grow with the business as its needs change, Comcast is helping a number of baseball franchises like the Nationals achieve their goals, both on and off the field.”

JJB Sports has accounted it’s poor financial performance on a combination of poor sales of replica football kit during Euro 2012 and the appalling weather in the UK recently, which has hit sales of seasonal products

The retailer experienced an eight per cent fall in like for like sales during the 22 weeks to July 1, meaning group sales fell significantly short of expectations.

In its full year results to January 29, JJB reported losses of £101 million ($156m) as revenue fell 21.7 per cent to £284 million ($440m).

April to June was the wettest recorded for the UK, according to the Met Office, with many areas of the country hit by flooding.