Swimming Australia has appointed former Olympic sailor John Bertand as its new president.

He will succeed Barclay Nettlefold who resigned a few months ago following alleged inappropriate behavior. Bertrand is set to fill the position through the end of the term that occurs in October 2014. 

Bertrand represented Australia as an Olympic sailor in 1972 and 1976, winning bronze in the latter Olympiad. He also competed in five separate America’s Cups, where he won the event for Australia in 1983 to break a 132-year stranglehold on the competition by the Americans. The Confederation of Australian Sport called it “the greatest team performance in 200 years of Australian sport.” 

Bertrand is currently the Chairman of The Sport Australia Hall of Fame, and of the Alannah and Madeline Children’s Foundation, a charity created after the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996. Bertrand continues to support anti-bullying and child protection causes as a philanthropist. 

“I am honored to have been selected to preside over Swimming Australia,” Bertrand said in a statement. “I’ve had an association with high performance sport and high performance teams for more than 40 years and this appointment is one of the highlights of my career. Swimming has a proud history in this country and a reputation for hard work, humility and success. This tradition needs to continue and be a clear focus for all athletes and coaches as we head towards Rio in 2016.

“Australians love watching our gold-capped swimmers in action and personally I get a real sense of pride when they are making their presence felt on the swimming world stage,” Bertrand continued. “The recent performances at the World Championships in Barcelona and Montreal were a positive next step towards Rio and it’s clear that things are moving in the right direction. My immediate focus will be to provide the corporate leadership and direction to ensure continued improvement in sporting results, corporate governance, team culture and grass roots growth at the community sport level.”

South Australian businessman Rob Gerard, has revealed his plans to bring a Commonwealth Games to Adelaide, Australia.

Speaking at the Premier’s Olympic Games Appeal dinner at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Friday night, Mr Gerard – owner of Adelaide United and a patron of the Crows – said a successful bid for the 2030 games would leave a legacy of world-class sporting facilities for future generations.

Gerard said, “Sydney’s had one, Melbourne’s had one, Brisbane has had one, Perth’s had one”, referring to the fact that Adelaide is the only mainland state capital to never have hosted an Olympic or Commonwealth Games.

He added, “it’s time to do it. Previous governments didn’t do it but with (Premier) Jay (Weatherill), we are going to do it”.

The Sunday Mail reported last month that Gerard and key players in South Australian sport were putting together a committee to build the case for Adelaide to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games.

On Friday Gerard said a 2030 bid would be the next chance an Australian city will have to host the event.

But he didn’t mention any specific details of a bid, such as the site for the athlete’s village or the venue for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

The Daily Telegraph reports that on Friday a well-placed Government source confirmed the Weatherill Government would “probably” support the bid, but was conscious that, for a 2030 bid, they would be long gone from office.

Also some of Adelaide’s facilities may be outdated by 2030, said the source.

London Organising Committee for Olympic Games (LOCOG) have revealed the official design of the tickets, to mark 100 days until the Paralympics.

News of the tickets comes at the start of a week of revelation, as Olympic travel cards and spectator guides will also be released.

The tickets, designed by FutureBrand – part of McCann Worldgroup – each feature a sporting pictogram with a specific colour scheme, reflecting that of each venue to help spectators locate their destination.

Each ticket will be printed with a hologram, a barcode and name of the booker as well as several other security features – ensuring every ticket can be traced to the person who purchased it – in a bid to reduce counterfeiting.

With more Paralympic Games tickets on sale on Monday, Locog has also reiterated the importance of purchasing only from authorised sources. The majority of tickets will be sold on www.tickets.london2012.com and there is also a full list of authorised ticket resellers available on the website.

Locog CEO Paul Deighton, said: “It is important now that people keep their tickets in a safe place ready for Games time and also to be wary of websites and organisations claiming to have Games tickets to sell. In many cases, they simply do not have them to sell and there is a real danger people will end up being out of pocket and missing out on seeing the Games. If in doubt, check our website and be 100 per cent certain you are buying from an authorised source.”

Detective Superintendent Nick Downing of the Metropolitan Police Service’s Operation Podium added: “Genuine tickets will have a number of security features built in to them to minimise the risk of counterfeits.

“The safest way to ensure that your ticket is genuine is to only buy from an authorised seller which can be found on the London 2012 website.

“If you buy from an unofficial site, you risk paying over the odds for a ticket that may not exist, may not be genuine and you risk not getting to see the Games. Your personal details could even be used in other crimes.”

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have continued their fight against match-fixing as it signed an agreement with sports and betting-related data provider Sportradar at AFC House on Thursday.

Under the agreement, viagra Sportradar will monitor a number of competitions including the AFC Champions League, AFC Cup and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup and qualifiers for signs of betting-related suspicious activities.

“AFC’s partnership with Sportradar is the latest step taken to counter the threat that match-fixing poses to football in Asia,” said AFC General Secretary Dato’ Alex Soosay during the signing ceremony. “This is a historic development in AFC’s fight against match manipulation. It is also a very crucial element in our campaign against this menace.

“I’d also like to call upon all football stakeholders including our Member Associations to join hands with us in this campaign. FIFA and the Malaysian government are also supportive to our initiatives.

“We look forward to utilise Sportradar’s proven expertise in this field and developing an effective working partnership.”

Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl praised AFC for taking proactive measures in the fight against match fixing which now involves organised international crime elements.

“Sportradar is prepared to do its part to help AFC fight match-fixing in football,” he said. “I’d also like to commend the continental football body for being proactive in this endeavour because match manipulation in sports has taken a different twist with the involvement of sophisticated international organised crime organisations.

“Sportradar is honoured to have the opportunity to utilise our technology and expertise to work closely with AFC to help protect the integrity of Asian football.”

The AFC has previously taken various other measures to protect the integrity of the Asian game including setting up an internal task force and the new Integrity in Sport Department, creating awareness during professional player seminars under its Kick Off development programme and co-hosting the INTERPOL International Conference – Match-Fixing: The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game in February.

Tiger Shaw will become the new president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) it has been announced.

The former U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete will initially join as chief operating officer, apoplectic effective October 1, viagra then transition in the spring of 2014 to become president and chief executive officer of the USSA.

He will succeed Bill Marolt, who previously announced his intention to retire after leading the USSA for 18 years. Marolt will remain president and CEO through the Sochi Olympic Winter Games, and will continue serving as a vice president of the International Ski Federation (FIS) as well as a member of the United States Olympic Committee’s Board of Directors.

Shaw most recently was senior director, response services at Global Rescue LLC, where he was responsible for business development and new markets, products and services. Before Global Rescue, Shaw was director, inventory strategy at Dealertrack, where he managed a suite of products addressing automotive retail sales, financing, profitability management, digital marketing and operations systems.

“Tiger is an outstanding addition to USSA staff leadership as we prepare for Sochi and beyond,” said Marolt. “He brings an exceptional combination of leadership skills, knowledge and experience gained as an Olympian, USSA club coach, athlete parent and successful entrepreneur and business executive.

“I had the privilege of working with Tiger during the ’84 Olympics in Sarajevo as well as while he was a trustee of the Foundation Board. I welcome his passion for furthering a Best in the World vision that means a great deal to us both. He has earned success on and off the slopes, and I’m confident that the USSA will be in good hands under his leadership.”

“This is an exciting time for the organization,” said Shaw. “I look forward to working closely with Bill and the rest of our talented leadership team, who have established a solid foundation for the future. We have two goals: First, to continue our long term vision of becoming the Best in the World in Olympic skiing and snowboarding by providing world class training, education and athletic opportunities to USSA’s athletes. Second, to keep the Olympic dream burning brightly by increasing the visibility of our sports and continuing to return value to USSA’s members, sponsors and resort partners.

“I would also like to recognize Bill. It is because of his tremendous leadership and unwavering commitment to athletic excellence over the past 18 years that the USSA is well positioned for continued success. I look forward to maximizing the opportunities presented by the exciting portfolio of sports within the USSA.”

The Tokyo 2020 bid have unanimously continued their backing for the campaign. 

At a working startegy meeting there were representatives from Japan’s government, business and sport communities to learn more about the upcoming bid schedule, IOC evaluation report, details of the Tokyo 2020 plan, social networking efforts and activities to leverage public support to create the strongest, most credible bid. 

Head of the Japanese Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 bid, Tsunekazu Takeda, said: “With government backing at all levels, the support of the National Sport Federations, and the enthusiastic participation of the business community and general public, we have come together as a cohesive team. 

“This spirited cooperation shows Japan’s passion for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Tokyo 2020 Games will embody the values of excellence, friendship and respect that the Olympic Movement and the people of Japan share.” 

The meeting was a good opportunity right before the Olympic Games in London as the bid team will be taking off to work as observers during the two weeks of sports events. 

The candidature file will be submitted on January 7, 2013 and eight months later on September 7th the IOC will choose their host city for the 2020 Games in Buenos Aires.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed today there is no specific terror threat to the London 2012 Olympics.

He said the extensive military exercise carried out last week in London was done to ensure the country was prepared for any threats which might arise in “a dangerous world”.

But Hammond said: “I am pleased to say there is no specific threat.

“The idea now is that the military will fade into the background as we don’t want to dominate these games.

“We want it to be a festival of sport and of culture, but the military will be there and we want people to know that the military are there in the background to provide ultimate reassurance.”

The news comes a day after the Ministry of Defence confirmed a sonic device will be deployed in the capital during the Olympics.

The American-made Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) was seen attached to landing craft on the Thames this week and can be used to send verbal warnings over a long distance or emit a beam of pain-inducing tones.

But the manufacturer denies it is a weapon while the MoD assured it would be used “primarily in the loud hailer mode”.