The first event in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Stadium since the London 2012 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony will be The National Lottery Anniversary Run, unhealthy it has been announced today.

The five-mile mass participation run is being held in association with the London Borough of Newham, The National Lottery and the London Legacy Development Corporation, and will be staged by Nova International on Sunday 21st July 2013.

The event will give up to 10,000 members of the public the chance to follow in the footsteps of their sporting idols, running the final 300m to the Stadium finish line on the same track that Usain Bolt, Jessica Ennis, Jonnie Peacock and Mo Farah raced to win Gold.

Building on last year’s successful ‘National Lottery Olympic Park Run’, which was the first-ever public event inside the Stadium, the five-mile route will take in iconic venues across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Up to 10,000 places will be available to runners at ticket launch, each with the chance to bring two friends or family members to sit in the Stadium and cheer them on to their own moment of glory.

Nova International is the leader in mass participation sport and has created the event with the London Borough of Newham, The National Lottery and the London Legacy Development Corporation.

Chairman and founder of Nova International Brendan Foster said: “‘The National Lottery Anniversary Run’ will be one of the great sporting events for the public to be part of this year. To run in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and finish in the Stadium – following in the footsteps of legends such as Usain Bolt and Mo Farah – is a unique opportunity. I hope it will inspire a range of new people to participate in physical activity.”

Andy Duncan, Managing Director of National Lottery operator Camelot, said:  “No-one contributed more to Great Britain’s glorious summer of sporting success last year than National Lottery players – indeed, nine out of 10 of our medallists benefited from lottery support.

“‘The National Lottery Anniversary Run’ celebrates this, and the life-changing support our players continue to give to both grassroots and elite sport as part of the £30 million-plus they raise for Good Causes throughout the UK each and every week.  It is also a fitting reminder of the significant contribution that lottery players made to making the Olympic Park become a reality.”

Dennis Hone, Chief Executive, London Legacy Development Corporation said: “Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park begins to open from July 2013 and it will primarily be a public park open for people to come and explore and enjoy. This summer we are hosting a series of events to mark the anniversary of the Games and the Park beginning to open. We are delighted that ‘The National Lottery Anniversary Run’ is one such event, welcoming people into the Park to enjoy the fantastic new facilities before the Park fully opens in spring 2014.”

Die Spendenkampagne “Dein Name für Deutschland” der Stiftung Deutsche Sporthilfe hat wenige Wochen vor dem Start der XXX. Olympischen Spiele in London bereits über 10.000 monatliche Spender gewinnen können. “Wir sind stolz darauf, sale in nur zweieinhalb Jahren über 10.000 Sponsoren – Stand heute 10.607 – gewonnen zu haben, doctor die unsere Athleten mit mindestens 3 Euro im Monat unterstützen”, sagte Dr. Michael Ilgner, Vorsitzender des Vorstands der Deutsche Sporthilfe, anlässlich eines gemeinsamen Pressegesprächs mit der Bundesliga-Stiftung am 10. Juli in Frankfurt am Main.

“Dass neben den vielen Sportfans in der Bevölkerung alle 1.000 Fußball-Profis der Bundesliga und der 2. Bundesliga als “offizielle Sponsoren” mitmachen, ist ein großer Verdienst der Bundesliga-Stiftung, die gemeinsam mit der DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga unsere Aktion “Sportler für Sportler” mit Tatkraft erfüllt und aktiv lebt”, so Ilgner. “Darüber hinaus haben unsere Partner und Kuratoren mit der Kampagne weitere Fördergelder zu Gunsten der Sporthilfe akquirieren können”. Die Spendenkampagne “Dein Name für Deutschland” wurde am 19. Januar 2010 gestartet und ruft die sportinteressierte Bevölkerung auf, deutsche Spitzensportler mit einer monatlichen Spende von 3 Euro aktiv zu unterstützen. Insgesamt hat die Kampagne in den ersten beiden Jahren über eine Million Euro für die Förderung von Talenten und Spitzensportlern generiert.

A new piece of legislation may bring back Ultimate Fighting Championship viagra sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;”>events to Vancouver after the introduction of a provincial law designed to break the deadlock over regulation and supervision of combat sports.

The city was scratched from the UFC lineup in 2012 because civic officials delayed a decision on renewing a trial period that allowed professional fighting events for the two previous years.

On Monday, the B.C. government introduced legislation that will establish a new body to govern those events across the province.

“With a provincial athletic commission, I would have no issue with it,” said Vancouver City Councillor Kerry Jang. “The commissioner will set the safety standards, the insurance – all the things we had to do on our own. … If UFC wants to come back, so be it.”

The move comes just as Ontario is warming up to the sport – allowing its first sanctioned professional event last year after a decade-long ban. A single UFC event can bring in millions of dollars to a community and Toronto is playing host to one event in September.

“It’s great news,” said Tom Wright, director of operations for UFC Canada. “It’s all about a consistent framework for athlete’s safety.” He said the UFC held two successful pay-per-view events in Vancouver but went elsewhere this year – Calgary, Montreal and Toronto – because city hall has still not given the sport the green light.

“In the absence of clarity, we could not come back until the city formally extended the trial period.”

British Columbia has left municipalities to govern such events although it has been pressed for years to take over the role. Now it will join four other provinces in regulating and supervising professional fights including boxing, kick-boxing and mixed martial arts.

Ida Chong, Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister, could not say when the new commission will be running. The regulations will be drafted only after legislation in other provinces is examined. The bill was one of six pieces of legislation introduced on Monday, a last-minute flurry in the final weeks of the spring session.

Ms. Chong said the province will no longer allow municipal regulation of these combat sports, although local governments will be able to ban such events in their communities.

The commission is to provide a consistent standard of qualifications and safety protocols through licensing and permitting. Organizers would have to follow the rules or have their permits cancelled or suspended. Penalties could be imposed as well.

But Mr. Jang said he hopes the commissioner will listen to local communities when it comes to managing events. “Who has to pay for the policing? It has to be us. We need to have some input.”

Promoters of mixed martial arts said the changes are overdue and will help it gain recognition as a major professional sport.

“With this in place, I foresee UFC coming back, bringing millions of dollars to the province of B.C.,” said promoter Darren Owen of the Victoria-based Armageddon Fighting Championship. “This will take the sport to the next level.”

“It’s just better for everybody,” said Stan Peterec, another event promoter who runs a martial-arts gym in Victoria. He said right now it is difficult for organizers to track data about a fighter’s health or whether the fighter has been suspended. Having licenced referees and clear rules “will change everything. It will be a lot safer sport.”

He said the province has been reluctant to get involved until now. “I guess MMA is so big, you can’t push it out of the way any more.”

Although the UFC is currently only interested in one market in B.C. – Vancouver – Mr. Wright said the changes should improve the quality of the sport over all.

Canada plays host to three of the UFC’s 15 events held every year around the globe, and Vancouver’s pay-per-view market is one of the biggest in North America.

“Our sport is a young sport – it’s not even a teenager in terms of years,” he said. Issues such as drug testing and properly trained referees need to be dealt with consistently, he said.

“The sport in this country is one of the fastest growing; we want to make sure it grows responsibly.”

St Helens Rugby Club’s shiny new £30million stadium will guarantee a rosy future for the Stobart Super League club, according to chairman Eamonn McManus.

The 18,000-capacity Langtree Park replaces the century-old Knowsley Road, which had become a millstone around the club’s neck by the time it was demolished last year to make way for housing.

McManus, a retired investment banker and lifelong Saints fan who has personally driven the move for a new ground, says the club is now in a position to become self-sufficient through its pristine spectator and corporate facilities. He said: “It’s not just a great stadium, it’s guaranteed the life for St Helens – its traditions and its values – for generations to come.”

McManus, who conducted a guided stadium tour for the media on Tuesday, added: “At Knowsley Road we generated nothing, there was literally nothing. The expense of running it was much greater than the revenue.

“It’s been a sea change. We’ve already got bookings for the next six months.”

McManus used his connections in the banking industry to ensure the stadium development has not left the club in debt.

“It is 100% owned by the club, with no bank debts, which is quite an achievement,” he said.

“The stadium is high quality in every regard and quite unique in its design. It’s got the feel of a substantial stadium but will also maintain an intimate but passionate rugby league atmosphere.

“I financially invested in the club 12 years ago on the back of architectural plans for a new stadium, which I thought would take two or three years to ensue.

“Now it’s all done and dusted, it’s something you can look back and feel genuinely proud of. I feel 10 feet tall when I come into this place.”

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) are contemplating changes to their tournament review process following the damage inflicted by the leaked reports into England’s failed World Cup campaign according to RFU director Rob Andrew.

This follows damning excerpts from reviews compiled by the RFU, Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players’ Association were published in The Times.

“We are looking at whether the process is right,” RFU elite rugby director Andrew said. “The process has been damaged and people’s reputations have been damaged. We have to be careful how we manage the information in confidence. It is a valuable process. We have to regain the trust of the players and make it something they want to take part in.”

The investigation into who leaked the reports is nearing a conclusion.

But RFU acting chief executive Stephen Brown admitted that even when investigators uncover the culprit, he or she may never be named publicly.

“We are all under investigation – anyone who touched the report,” Brown said. “The company we have used to conduct this investigation are close to a conclusion. We don’t know the outcome of that.

“What I would say is, it’s extremely unfortunate that anyone would choose to leak confidential documents and I don’t think it just reflects on the players – three reports were leaked so it reflects on everyone who participated in them.”

The reports contained critical comments about some England coaches and about the culture within squad – two things that are being addressed by the RFU.

A firm of head-hunters has been appointed to help the recruitment process for the new permanent England head coach while Stuart Lancaster, who holds the job on an interim basis, has set about reforming the culture of the squad.

Lancaster has been praised for his contribution to the RFU’s so-called “reputational damage repair plan”, which also includes engaging with sponsors who were concerned by the image of English rugby after 2011.

Three US women’s soccer players Hope Solo, Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan have signed marketing deals with the Bank of America.
 
They will become spokeswomen for the Bank during the Chicago Marathon in October, and the deal could well be extended.
 
The Bank of America sponsored marathon raises funded for a number of charities and bring a huge economical benefit to the ‘Windy City’

 Anne Finucane, Bank of America’s global strategy and marketing officer, in a statement. “It takes a tremendous amount of partnership to make all of that happen, and right now, nobody better represents the spirit of teamwork than Abby, Hope and Alex.”
 
 

The International Rugby Board (IRB) has announced that global participation in the sport has increased by 19 per cent since the Rugby World Cup 2007 driven by the board’s investment and hosting strategies.

The IRB welcomed the findings of a major new study which highlights strong growth in participation, particularly across emerging Rugby markets.

The report details that in comparison to 2007 figures, emerging nations across the globe are accelerating in numbers of participants with growth increasing by 18 per cent in Asia alone.

In Africa and South America significant increases of 33 per cent and 22 per cent respectively have occurred. While participation figures are highest in Europe, non-traditional Rugby playing nations in Eastern Europe have also emerged, contributing to the 22 per cent increase seen across the continent as a whole.

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “These are extremely exciting times for Rugby with strong growth and participation worldwide. This report, commissioned by MasterCard, underlines that growth is not just continuing, but is accelerating and is as prominent in emerging Rugby markets as traditional Rugby countries.”

Serie B team Bologna has been purchased by Montreal Impact President Joey Saputo and Joe Tacopina. 

The Board of Directors ratified the sale, and the transaction was made official yesterday. Tacopina will assume the role of President and Chairman of the club.

Bologna F.C. 1909 has a storied history, having won the Italian league championship seven times, making them the sixth most successful team in the history of the league. Tacopina is now the 30^th President of the club, most recently serving as the Vice President, Board Member and Part Owner of A.S. Roma.

“We are humbled to be the caretakers of this storied club as it has been a dream. We have worked tirelessly to make today a possibility, and our work will never cease. We believe in this club, we believe in its future and we believe in our fans,” said Tacopina. “The ownership is committed to being a part of this team and this community for the long term.”

Saputo is the founding and current President of the Montreal Impact, a Major League Soccer club in Canada, and spearheaded the construction of Stade Saputo, the team’s current home.

“We are dedicated to moving up to Serie A, and we will invest that time and effort into this football club and the fans. We have assembled one of the strongest management and executive groups in football to support our team on the field,” said Saputo. “We intend to work closely with the city and Mayor Merola, especially with regards to renovations to the stadium.”

Marco Di Vaio, a current player for Montreal Impact and former Bologna FC star, attended the press conference and presented both Tacopina and Saputo with personalized Bologna F.C. 1909 jerseys.