The International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement, announced today that Canada will be the host country for the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships next August. 

While the host city is yet to be confirmed, Swimming Canada CEO Pierre Lafontaine says that he is excited to bring another major international swimming event to Canada. 

“Over the years, Canada has had great success at hosting international swimming events,” said Lafontaine. “Bringing IPC Swimming World Championships for the first time to North America will be a great opportunity to showcase the best para-swimmers in the world. We are delighted that Canada will play host to the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships, the sixth edition of the event. With a seven-day program that includes 180 medal events across 14 classifications, it will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase Paralympic Sport in North America between Paralympic Games years.” 

The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) is partnering with Swimming Canada for these championships. 

“This is a great opportunity for us to partner with one of the leading national sport organizations, Swimming Canada, in bringing this prestigious event to Canada,” said Henry Storgaard, CEO of the CPC. “It’s important for our athletes to compete at such a high level in front of Canadian supporters. This event will be a great platform for our Paralympic swimmers to inspire the next generation of para-athletes and show Canadians with a disability that sport is accessible to them. For the CPC, hosting parasport events in Canada on an ongoing basis will significantly contribute to the growth of our sport community as we aspire to become one of the leading nations in parasport.” 

“Giving Canadian athletes the opportunity to compete in front of their families, friends and youth across the country will be significant in Swimming Canada’s goal of encouraging more athletes with a disability to take their joy of plunging into the pool at recreational swim lessons to the next step, and chase a Paralympic dream,” added Anne Merklinger, chief executive officer Own the Podium. “Hosting major international events at home therefore is critical to the growth of all sports, and in turn, helps build depth which is key to any medal-winning program. We applaud the International Paralympic Committee for giving Canada the opportunity to host the IPC World Championships, and the chance to showcase para-swimming at its highest level to all Canadians.” 

The previous IPC Swimming World Championships were held in Eindhoven, Netherlands and attracted 49 athletes from 53 countries competing in 181 medal events. 

Based on a Letter of understanding signed today, Swimming Canada will finalize the date and location of the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships by October 2012.

Dejero, drugs creator of the award-winning LIVE+ bonded cellular newsgathering solutions, health and 7th Wave Broadcast Services, viagra provider of live-shot stand up positions, studios and broadcast facilities at the Olympic Park, today announced plans to collaborate on the provision of mobile services at key venues for the London Olympic Games.

7th Wave and Dejero have built out a long-range private Wi-Fi network at 7th Wave’s rooftop location overlooking the Olympic Park that will provide broadcasters with coverage across the park and surrounding areas. Using Dejero’s LIVE+ mobile transmission products on the private Wi-Fi network, broadcasters have the ability to transmit live video directly into 7th Wave’s media centre, where it can be uplinked to any destination around the world. With this private network in place, live HD and SD transmissions can be broadcast with high quality and short latency, even if minimal or no bandwidth is available from the cellular networks.

As well as the Olympic Park location, where 7th Wave have panoramic views of the Olympic Stadium, aquatic centre, orbit tower and the London skyline, Dejero and 7th Wave will be establishing broadcast Wi-Fi hotspots at London’s Carnaby Street and the Houses of Parliament, where the Dejero LIVE+ platform of products can be used to transmit live broadcasts.

“With hundreds of thousands of mobile phones in use near the Olympic venues, the cellular networks are expected to be highly congested during the Games,” said Todd Schneider, COO at Dejero. “The establishment of the 7th Wave-Dejero private wireless hotspots will provide broadcasters with a very strong and reliable cellular network supplement that can be used in conjunction with Dejero’s LIVE+ platform of wireless transmission products.”

“We are delighted to be working with Dejero on this innovative live transmission service,” commented Andy Tweedley of 7th Wave. “We believe that broadcasters will quickly see the benefits of this high quality and cost effective means of transmitting live content worldwide from around the Olympic Park and at other key London locations.”

Britain’s Olympic team will hope to have new funds after a major concert has been planned at the Royal Albert Hall for next May which will also help to raise enthusiasm before the games.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) organised the event at that time so it would coincide with the build-up to the arrival of the Olympic Torch in Land’s End and eventually arriving at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 for the Opening Ceremony.

The Royal Albert Hall is a prestigious music hall and one of the country’s most treasured and distinctive buildings, recognisable all over the world. It allows many other functions to happen there as well. 

Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world’s leading artists from every kind of performance genre have appeared on its stage.

The BOA hope the event will help raise much-needed funds to pay for the cost of preparing the team for London 2012, including pre-Games training camps and medical support. 

The BOA’s Director of Communications, Darryl Seibel, confirmed the event had been discussed but nothing had been finalised.

“The British Olympic Association is exploring the possibility of hosting an event at the Royal Albert Hall on 11 May 2012 to celebrate Team GB,” he told insidethegames.

“The evening will feature a variety of the Best of British entertainment and provide an exciting opportunity for the British public to rally around Team GB by showing their enthusiasm and support for the home team.

“Plans for the event – including the event name – are still in the exploratory stage and not yet final.”

The Event will also be a three-day media summit during the world’s press will be invited to inspect final preparations for London 2012 and speak to some of Britain’s leading medal hopes.

After it was announced yesterday, May 5, that its chairman and CEO Ted Forstmann is being treated for brain cancer, global sports management powerhouse IMG has elevated its executive vice president and CFO Mike Dolan to president and COO. 

A memo released to employees by Jim Gallagher, IMG’s chief communications officer, stated: “Ted continues in his position as chairman and chief executive officer and will be working closely with Mike to continue his long-term strategy of growing IMG’s business.” 

Forstmann, 71, bought IMG for $750 million in 2004. Dolan, 64, has been at IMG since March 2010, following a career that included senior management positions at Viacom, Inc., and chairman and CEO of Young & Rubicam.

USA Hockey has given a new four-year contract to executive director Dave Ogrean, cialis it has been revealed. 

“We’re extremely pleased to announce the extension of Dave’s contact through 2018, order ” said DeGregorio, who has served as president of USA Hockey since 2003. “His leadership has been a significant factor in the continued progress we’ve made overall and we’re very fortunate to have him guiding USA Hockey.”

“I could not be more appreciative of the confidence shown in me by Ron, the executive committee and our entire board of directors,” said Ogrean, who has spent 17 years of his professional career involved with USA Hockey. “Together, we’ve accomplished so many good things and I look forward to the opportunities to further grow and enhance our sport that lie ahead.”

Ogrean, annually among the The Hockey News Top 50 People of Power and Influence, returned for his second stint as executive director of USA Hockey in 2005. Since that time, he has led USA Hockey in multiple groundbreaking initiatives, including the launch of the American Development Model. In addition, USA Hockey has enhanced its industry-leading coaching education program by becoming the first amateur sports organization in the U.S. to offer online education modules and also strengthened efforts to ensure the safest possible environment for all participants through multiple initiatives, including the implementation of USA Hockey SafeSport.

Ogrean is widely credited for forging a significant partnership with the National Hockey League that has positively impacted the sport in multiple areas, including more American players competing in the NHL; growth in the overall number of players; and significant gains in player development and retention. The past three seasons, USA Hockey has had more than 100,000 kids eight-and-under playing the game, a feat that had never before been accomplished.

Ogrean’s relationship with USA Hockey began when he served as the organization’s director of public relations from 1978-80. He led USA Hockey as its executive director from 1993-99 and returned for his second stint in the position in August of 2005.

He is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee Board of Directors and serves on the USOC Audit Committee, Olympic Bid Working Group, USOC Strategic Planning Committee and Paralympic Advisory Committee. He has also been a member of the nominating committee for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

China’s Olympic gold medalists have received handsome rewards, including cash bonuses and luxury apartments.

Several real estate companies have been keen to sponsor athletes by providing them with new housing after their success at last month’s London Games.

Chinese swimmers Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen both received apartments worth 3M yuan ($472,600) from a company in their hometown of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

Table tennis player Zhang Jike, from Qingdao, was given a 120-square meter apartment with a sea view.

Women’s badminton gold medalist Li Xuerui has been offered a 100-square meter flat in the municipality of Chongqing.

Athletes have also gained significant financial rewards for their achievements at London 2012.

During a visit to Hong Kong and Macao last week, Olympic champions were given HK$25.2M ($3.25M) by Hong Kong entrepreneurs.

They also received HK$10.2M ($1.3M) from the government of the Macao Special Administrative Region. {jcomments on}

The R&A, buy the organization responsible for hosting The Open Championship has agreed a partnership with Ooyala, sale for the fastest growing online video technology company to deliver a mobile, multi-screen media experience to golf fans around the world.

Together, The R&A and Ooyala will deliver VOD highlights from golf’s oldest Major to multiple connected screens including PCs, iPhones and Android devices. The R&A uses leading-edge digital video technology from Ooyala to power video on The Open Championship website, iPhone and Android devices and through a new iPad application featuring tournament highlights, special video features and an interactive map of the course.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Ooyala to bring interactive, multi-screen streaming video from The Open Championship to a global audience of golf fans. The way people view premium content is changing, and Ooyala keeps us up to par with how people watch sports today”

Additionally, with the Open Championship iPad app, built with Ooyala software development tools, iPad viewers can experience the Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf course with fly-over videos of each hole, and watch video of famous golf shots from past tournaments highlighted on the digital course. The Open runs from July 15th to July 22nd at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Ooyala to bring interactive, multi-screen streaming video from The Open Championship to a global audience of golf fans. The way people view premium content is changing, and Ooyala keeps us up to par with how people watch sports today,” said Kevin Bain, Digital Media Manager of The R&A.

Neil Berry, vice president of Ooyala EMEA, said, “The R&A have taken a bold approach to bringing both current and historic moments from one of the most exciting golf events of the year to fans around the world. Mobile video is a real driver for increased engagement with sports today, benefitting the content owners, sponsors and fans alike. We’re thrilled to be working with The R&A to deliver innovative new experiences that hit the sweet spot for mobile sports fans.”

Ooyala has the market-leading analytics engine for online video, enabling programmers, service providers and other content owners to better manage, distribute and monetize digital content. With Ooyala, The R&A can access real-time viewer engagement metrics and audience insights to better understand how their content is viewed online and across devices. The R&A is also leveraging Ooyala’s robust media management system to syndicate video content from The Open to YouTube and other global affiliates.

The partnership with The R&A builds on Ooyala’s strong momentum as a leading digital video solutions provider for premium video content, especially in sports media. In recent months, Ooyala’s behavioral analytics and monetization tools has put the company in league with Wimbledon, the Australian Open, ESPN, and the soon-to-be launched Pac-12 Network.