The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has revealed that they are in discussions with ten cities about a possible bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. 

USOC CEO Scott Blackmun, told The Associated Press, “we’re in discussion with about 10 cities actively now. The process is really working the way it was supposed to”.

Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Tulsa have admitted their interest in a 2024 bid, but Blackmun reportedly declined to identify other cities considered as potential candidates. He said they preferred to keep it confidential for the time being, adding he believes the current list of 10 cities is unlikely to be increased.

“We don’t want to submit a bid we don’t think we can win. We have to assess our chances. We want this bid to be a national bid, an American bid, not just a city bid. We want to make sure we have been as inclusive as possible”.

He added that a joint bid could work in some geographical areas, such as the Bay Area and the cities of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose as a “natural” possibility.

As for the feasibility of a U.S.-Mexican bid such as San Diego and Tijuana, Blackmun said, “that would have its challenges. We haven’t looked at it carefully. We just learned about it”.

The USOC is expected to decide on whether or not to bid by the end of 2014.

Der Deutsche Olympische Sportbund (DOSB) und der Ausschuss für Bildung, drugs Sport und Kultur des Deutschen Städte- und Gemeindebundes (DStGB) haben bei ihrer gemeinsamen Sitzung in Bergheim/Nordrhein-Westfalen (22./23. Oktober) ein Konjunkturpaket Sport gefordert. “Wir brauchen ein solches Konjunkturpaket, um den bundesweiten Sanierungsbedarf der Sportstätten von rund 42 Milliarden Euro abzubauen und so die Rahmenbedingungen des Sports zu verbessern”, erklärten DOSB-Vizepräsident Walter Schneeloch und die Vorsitzende des Ausschusses für Bildung, Sport und Kultur des Deutschen Städte- und Gemeindebundes Ute Lieske, Eisenach, gemeinsam.

“Ein starker Sport macht Städte und Gemeinden zu Orten mit hoher Lebensqualität. Der Sport verkörpert vielfältige Potenziale für wichtige kommunale Themen und ist ein Politikfeld von zentraler Bedeutung”, sagte Schneeloch, der zugleich Präsident des Landessportbundes Nordrhein-Westfalen ist, im Anschluss an die zweitägige Tagung unter dem Titel “Sportentwicklung vor Ort”: “Im Interesse der Sportvereine und der Kommunen gleichermaßen braucht Deutschland eine demonstrative Sportfreundlichkeit vor Ort.”

Auch Ute Lieske hob die besondere Bedeutung des Sports hervor. “Ohne das breite ehrenamtliche Engagement der Sportvereine wäre das Leben in Deutschlands Städten und Gemeinden weniger lebenswert”, so Lieske. Nicht zuletzt deshalb trügen die Kommunen bereitwillig die Hauptlast der Sportförderung in Deutschland. Über den reinen Sportbetrieb hinaus sei der organisierte Sport Partner der Kommunen in wichtigen gesellschaftspolitischen Handlungsfeldern, so z.B. in den Bereichen Ganztagsschulen, Integration sowie Gesundheits- und Gewaltprävention. “Wir wünschen uns aber noch mehr kreative Partnerschaften zwischen den Vereinen und der Kom-munalpolitik”, erläuterte Lieske. Von diesen Kooperationen profitierten Sportvereine und Kommunen gleichermaßen.

Lieske und Schneeloch beklagten übereinstimmend die strukturelle Unterfinanzierung der Kommunen. Dadurch würde die notwendige Förderung der Sportvereine und ehrenamtliches Engagement zunehmend erschwert. “Eine Krise der Kommunalfinanzen ist immer eine Krise des Sports”, sagte Schneeloch. So verfügen über 90 Prozent der Kommunen in NRW nicht über einen strukturell ausgeglichenen Haushalt. Beide appellierten an Bund und Länder, die kritische Finanzsituation der Kommunen nachhaltig zu verbessern.

Mobivity Holdings Corporation, a provider of proprietary mobile marketing technologies and solutions, will be partnering with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers to allow fans to interact with the organization on the mobile channel by using their mobile marketing platform, as well as in-stadium graphics for live polling and engagement during sporting events.

Michael Falato, SVP of Sales and Business Development for Mobivity, said, “We are excited to begin an exciting partnership with the Carolina Panthers. We have seen some tremendous results through implementing mobile marketing with other teams and organizations, and we cannot wait to bring this success to an organization like the Carolina Panthers.”

The Carolina Panthers will have access to the full array of Mobivity’s mobile marketing and Display technology over their three-year contract. Mobivity will create and provide web opt-in pages as well as in-stadium promotions to help engage and build a mobile phone database of their fans. In addition to aiding in the building process for this database, Mobivity will host Text-to-Win campaigns, polls, and other engagement solutions in-stadium to improve the overall fan experience. The Carolina Panthers will also have access to Mobivity’s unique Display technology, which will allow them to display HD graphics in-stadium that will update in real time through Mobivity’s Social Ticker, incorporating fan text messages and pictures, as well as Facebook and Twitter posts.

“We’re excited to move into the mobile realm with Mobivity, and begin engaging our fans on a personal basis. Mobivity is allowing our organization and our team to increase fan interaction and build a better team and fan loyalty across the board,” said John Berger, Director of Sponsorship Sales and Services for the Carolina Panthers.

In addition to helping build a database of fans, Mobivity will also be aiding the Carolina Panthers in re-engaging these individuals after they have left the stadium. Mobivity will do this through the use of a shared-short-code to send SMS alerts and notifications to the Carolina Panthers Database with the goal of increasing brand awareness and loyalty throughout fans and the organization as a whole.

Mobivity is an award-winning provider of proprietary mobile marketing technologies and the inventor of C4, a unique, enterprise-grade platform empowering brands to engage mobile consumers across multiple channels.

British Cycling superstar Geraint Thomas has joined management company three60 Sports as he looks to broaden his profile along the way to defending his title at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Reigning Olympic Champion in the Team Pursuit, anesthetist he turned professional with the South African sponsored Barloworld team in 2007, and in his first year he participated in the Tour de France where he was the youngest rider and the first Welsh rider to ride the Tour since 1967.

three60 will use its experience representing athletes in the build-up to, during and post Olympics and will be working on developing Geraint’s commercial opportunities ahead of London 2012.

Seren PR will continue to handle his media, PR and website.

In 2008 Geraint focused on the track becoming World Champion in the Team Pursuit, and then went to the Beijing Olympics and won Gold – breaking the world record twice on the way.

The following year he signed for the newly established British pro team, Team Sky, winning the white jersey for Best Young Rider at the Tour de France. He also won the British National Championships Road Race.

In 2012 Geraint will continue to ride on the road for Team Sky but his major focus will be on the track as he prepares for London 2012 with the aim of winning his second Olympic Gold medal.

Thomas said: “I am very pleased to announce that three60 Sports Management are my new commercial agents. 2011 has been another good year on the road for me but now I’m looking forward to 2012 when I will focus on the track to prepare for the London Olympics.

“It’s great to do that with the full support of three60 who will be looking to secure new commercial opportunities for me during this time, and along with continuing to work with Seren PR I think it will be a great combination.”

Brazil are officially within 1,000 days before the 2014 World Cup starts after President Dilma Rousseff toasted the landmark.

Ms Rousseff launched the event at a stadium in Belo Horizonte alongside the footballing legend Pele, who is Brazil’s World Cup ambassador. She promised the new stadiums and other infrastructure required would be ready on time, despite major difficulties and delays.

The tournament will kick off on 12 June 2014. Before then, Brazil must build or upgrade 12 stadiums. Many of them are behind schedule and over budget.

At some, construction workers have been on strike – including the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro where the final will be played and the Mineirao ground in Belo Horizonte where President Rousseff started the countdown.

The opening game hosted in the new Itaquerao stadium in Sao Paulo began its construction only in May.

 

The promotional activity of Badminton has risen after the Badminton World Federation (BWF) President Dr Kang Young Joong and the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) President Mike Fennell signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)..

Collectively known as “CGF/BWF – Partners Uniting the Commonwealth through Sport”, the MoU will see the two organisations working together to showcase and promote world-class badminton competition in the CGF’s 71 member countries and territories.

Joong said: “The dialogue with the CGF to get to this point has been very good and we see the MoU as being very constructive in helping us widen the appeal of our sport throughout the Commonwealth.”

The MoU focuses specifically on improving participation levels among able-bodied and disabled athletes, particularly in the Commonwealth’s developing nations.

It will also see the CGF consult with the BWF on ways to further enhance the overall Games experience for competitors and officials at the Games.

In addition, the CGF and BWF will jointly develop a media and communications plan around each edition of the Commonwealth Games and, where applicable, the Commonwealth Youth Games in order to spread the word across the Commonwealth.

Mike Hooper, CGF Chief Executive, said: “Badminton is a very popular sport within the Commonwealth and we are delighted to work with the world body to promote the game to our member nations and to establish a robust framework for the operation of the sport at the time of each Games.”

Badminton is one of the “Core Sports” on the Commonwealth Games programme, meaning that all host cities must include the sport in their competition schedule.

Glasgow’s Bid to host the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) today demonstrated its commitment to help sports become more attractive to youth as Glasgow Rocks stars joined young primary school players for a ‘three on three’ basketball match on the same floor used by the sport’s biggest names at London 2012.

Scottish Secretary Michael Moore MP joined the Glasgow 2018 Bid Team as the city launched an initiative to promote the version of basketball which enjoyed its worldwide debut at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore.
Pupils from St Anne’s Primary School joined the Glasgow Rocks stars for the match on one of the courts now in use at the £113million Emirates Arena as a result of a London 2012 Olympic Games legacy initiative. 

The London 2012 Basketball Arena was one of the largest temporary venues built for London 2012. On completion of the Games the arena was dismantled and reused at facilities across the country, including at the Emirates Arena. 

Today’s session was the first time that ‘three on three’ basketball was played on the court. 

Although the YOG has the same sports as The Olympics, it has a reduced number of events per sport and has the ability to introduce exciting new formats such as ‘three on three’ basketball, mixed National Olympic Committee events and mixed gender team events. 

‘Three on three’ basketball is played on a half court with one basket. Each team has three players, with the game divided into two periods of just five minutes each. The first team to score 33 points wins.

The Emirates Arena is already home to a world-class sporting events programme. It will be a flagship venue for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games when it will host the badminton and track cycling events and is at the heart of the city’s bid to host the YOG in 2018 when it will host ‘three on three’ basketball and badminton. 

Glasgow 2018 Bid Director, Paul Bush, said: “Glasgow’s expertise in staging world-class sporting events means we now have a chance to really concentrate on working with international sporting bodies to find innovative news ways to present sport and make sure we engage young people as we work to encourage them to lead healthier, more active lives. Winning the right to host the 2018 YOG will give us a chance to demonstrate that commitment in an unprecedented way.”

The Secretary of State pledged his support for the city’s Bid to host the 2018 YOG as he was welcomed to the Emirates Arena by Glasgow City Council Leader, Councillor Gordon Matheson and Scottish Minister for Sport and Commonwealth Games, Shona Robison.

Michael Moore said: “Bringing the Youth Olympic Games to Glasgow in 2018 would be a huge opportunity to build on the UK’s recent sporting legacy. London 2012 showed we could hold world-class events which exceeded all expectations and we continue to build on that success in Scotland and throughout the UK. I know the Glasgow 2018 team will pull out all the stops to bring the event to the city which is well-equipped to host it, and I look forward to supporting the bid as it develops.”

Shona Robison, said: “Glasgow’s bid for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games could bring another world class event to Glasgow and the Emirates Arena. Hosting the Games will inspire the next generation to get active and different events, like ‘three on three’ basketball, are great for encouraging young people to try new sports, adding to their enjoyment of sport.”

Councillor Matheson, said: “Glasgow’s bid to host the 2018 Youth Olympic Games seeks to continue the UK’s Olympic journey, building on the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games. That inspirational journey was evident today as we watched local school children play ‘three on three’ basketball on one of the courts that was used by some of the biggest names in the sport at London 2012. We want young people from across the world to experience what we have to offer as a city in 2018.”

The Organising Committee for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games have announced today the beginning of the selection process for partners in the Beer and Packaged Foods Industries, impotent both will be considered tier 2 partners as part of the Olympic Games Business Plan.

In a statement Rio 2016 said: “Companies must operate in Brazil and have a large distribution capacity to participate in either category.

“The required documents may be requested from the Rio 2016 headquarters (Avenida das Américas, 899, Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro-RJ, CEP 22631-000) until this Friday the 26th.”

At present, Rio 2016 has five Tier One Partners – Bradesco, Bradesco Seguros, Claro, Embratel and Nissan – and one Tier Two Supporter in Ernst & Young Terco.