London Underground workers, 18,000 to be precise, have been offered a payment of £850 each for working during the Olympic Games.

The Rail Maritime and Transport union had declared a dispute with LU after lack of progress over an Olympic payment, but there have been talks this week at the conciliation service Acas.

The union said it had received an offer of £850 for all Tube staff, adding it would affect up to 18,000 workers.

General secretary Bob Crow said: “Clearly moving from offering nothing to the latest offer of £850 is a massive shift on the part of London Underground. The offer will now be considered by our reps and by the full executive before we make a formal response.”

The union had rejected previous offers, saying there were too many strings attached to proposed deals. The RMT has struck several deals with rail companies for extra pay during the London Games this summer, including a bonus of £500 for staff at Virgin Trains and Network Rail, £600 for London Overground workers and an agreement with Docklands Light Railway which union officials said could be worth up to £2,500.

The union is balloting hundreds of administrative staff it represents at Transport for London (TfL) for industrial action over “severely restricted” annual leave during the Games. Officials claimed that leave had been banned altogether for the duration of the Games in one department, saying this would make life “impossible” for many staff, especially those with school-age children.

Howard Collins, LU’s chief operating officer, said: “We have put forward an offer which would see station, maintenance, service control staff and operational managers receive up to £850 for working flexibly during the 2012 London Games, subject to attendance, customer satisfaction scores and agreement from operational staff to work flexibly in order to deliver a successful Games.

“In return we are asking staff to work longer hours at different times of the day, to be prepared to work extra hours and to be more flexible in how and where they carry our their role for us during these crucial weeks. We know our employees want to play their part in delivering a great games for London, so reaching agreement on this will allow all of us to focus on that exciting challenge together.”

Lee Jones, operations director for Tube Lines, said: “We have been discussing this issue with our trade unions for some time, and we will continue to try to find a way forward through constructive discussion. We would urge the RMT to withdraw its threat of a strike ballot, which will not achieve anything.”

by Ismail Uddin

A total of six cities from Europe and Latin America have submitted applications to bid for the third edition of Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2018, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Friday.

The six cities bidding to host the 2018 YOG are Argentina’s capital  Buenos Aires, Colombia’s Medellin, British city Glasgow, Mexico’s Guadalajara, Dutch city Rotterdam and Poznan in Poland, Xinhua news agency reported.

“We are delighted with the high level of interest shown in hosting the 3rd Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2018,” said IOC president Jacques Rogge on the IOC website.

“It is a shining endorsement of just how successful the inaugural summer (Singapore 2010) and winter (Innsbruck 2012) editions were and reflects how the popularity, excitement and awareness surrounding the YOG continue to build at an impressive pace.”

The candidate cities are expected to submit the signed 2018 YOG Candidature Procedure before March 15. The IOC executive board will select a shortlist of candidates in February 2013, while the host city will be chosen in July 2013. The second edition of summer YOG will be held in Nanjing, China in 2014.

by Ismail Uddin

Who should win the bid? Who would you like to see win? Have your say here >>

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has announced an expansion of television coverage for the XIV Women’s Softball World Championship. 

The championships, herbal being staged in Europe for the first time ever, impotent are currently being held from August 15-24 and mark a significant landmark for the global growth of the women’s sport.  

Being staged in Haarlem, symptoms Netherlands, the 16-nation world championship will now receive added coverage of both the bronze and gold medal games live on Sunday, August 24 after an increase in viewer demand for the women’s softball global showcase. 

TV Tokyo has gained the exclusive broadcasting rights for Japan to its 32 million viewers and the United States will provide wide coverage on a number of networks including Comcast Sports Network and Cox Sports Network will be broadcasting games to their viewers in 10 regions. 

ESPN3 will also be broadcasting the medal games on their streaming platform to their subscribers. 

Dale McMann, WBSC Executive Vice President, said: “This is truly an exciting development and major boost that further raises the profile and confirms the appeal of women’s sport – and in particular women’s softball – in the eyes of broadcasters and audiences alike. 

“The expanded coverage will allow these athletes at our world championship in Haarlem to showcase their talents – and our sport – to a wider audience, which not only significantly raises the value of our women’s showpiece event but also helps inspire and attract the next generation of girls to our sport over the long-term. 

“The timing of this advancement is particularly key as the WBSC remains dedicated and continues working very hard to position our sports for a return to the Olympic Games.” 

WBSC Secretary General, Beng Choo Low, said: “The WBSC shares and supports ‘Olympism in Action and increasing the number of women in sport and we are working hard with our partners to maximise broadcast coverage of our women’s world championship, in order to help achieve a sporting landscape that is more appeling, gender-balanced and relevant to women.” 

The WBSC is hoping to be included into future Olympic Games at the Olympic Agenda 2020 review.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes the people of Azerbaijan have shown major support for Baku’s 2020 bid and that Azerbaijan can hold any international sporting event.

He said, “holding the World and European Championships has been our good tradition and all these major competitions are held at high level. Taking into account this factor and the successful development of our country as a whole, Azerbaijan has appealed to hold the Olympic Games in Baku in 2020. This appeal is being considered.”

He added that Baku has all opportunities to hold the Olympic Games. “We have excellent infrastructure opportunities. People express great support for holding the Olympic Games in Azerbaijan. This is confirmed by the polls conducted by international agencies. About 95 per cent of citizens support the holding of the Olympic Games in Azerbaijan.”

The President added, “some major sports facilities are under construction, others have been already constructed. This issue has been already on the agenda. We have excellent athletes, sports achievements.”

He said security measures are ensured at a very high level in Azerbaijan. “The stability and socio-political calmness in the country are an important factor to hold the Olympic Games. In short, we are fully prepared for the Olympic Games in Baku. I can say that our desire demonstrates the country’s strength.”

The Rio 2016 Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games has selected U.S.-based Hanse Golf Course Design to design the golf course in Rio de Janeiro for the Olympic Games in 2016, when golf returns after an absence of 112 years.

Hanse Golf Course Design was selected from eight finalists as the candidate that most aptly met the selection criteria that were issued by Rio 2016. The proposal was cited for its design characteristics, including accentuation of the natural dune formations and retention of the natural contours of the land.

“I’m excited that the selection panel felt that our efforts were the ones that best matched the criteria set by organizers,” said company founder and president Gil Hanse.

The design effectively addresses the planning of temporary overlay structures and internal flow systems for the venue and contains a strong legacy component with the prioritising of a golf academy as an essential tool for the development of golf in Brazil. The design also considers the location of permanent buildings and the experience of players and spectators.

Hanse, 48, boasts a portfolio of internationally renowned golf courses recognised by elite and amateur golfers alike. Hanse Golf Course Design has teamed up with LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member, Amy Alcott, for the project. Alcott amassed 29 professional victories on the LPGA Tour including five major championship victories.

Hanse said he will relocate to Rio while the golf course is under construction.

“I think that was something that resonating with the committee is that — I’m not a big fan of poker terms, but we were all in,” Hanse said. “This really was important to us. I think that showed the commitment and the resolve that we have.

“I’m excited to find out and explore more. Thankfully golf courses have been built in Brazil so there’s a wealth of knowledge there. And I think in the discussions going forward with the designs, I mean, I’d be thrilled if the other finalists are willing, to sit and talk; what did they see. I don’t know that we had all the answers. We had answers that were good enough for the committee to be committed to understand that we were a good fit for them.”

Hanse, Alcott and their team will work closely with environmental and sustainability engineering firms in the final design process and advocate the use of native vegetation and a minimum of land movement.

“As it marks the return of golf to the Olympic Games after over a century of absence, this course represents the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the sport. It will enable Rio to host important events in the international calendar and it will be an example of sustainability and preservation of an environmentally protected area,” said the President of Rio 2016, Carlos Arthur Nuzman.

“This course will be an excellent facility for the practice and development of golf and will inspire millions of youth across Brazil and the globe. We look forward to welcoming the athletes and spectators to the course in 2016.”

Peter Dawson, President of the International Golf Federation, said, “The IGF would like to thank all of the architects who worked so hard on their bids and whose presentations demonstrated great vision. The selection process adopted by Rio 2016 was extremely thorough and reflected the importance of the project. I am delighted Hanse Golf Course Design has been appointed to design the Olympic golf course which promises to provide an outstanding venue for the Games and a tremendous legacy for our sport in Brazil.”

Hanse Golf Course Design tackled the challenge of designing a course for use by both elite and amateur athletes; one of the main legacy objectives. It addressed the environmental sustainability directives for the Games and efficiently conformed to the building restrictions on the land. Hanse Golf Course Design also effectively integrated native vegetation to the design, reducing the areas where frequent maintenance will be required.

Hanse said construction on the course, which will include features similar to Royal Melbourne, is expected to begin in October and end by mid-2014. Tests events are expected in 2015.

The Olympic course will host a 72-hole stroke-play event for men and women with 60 players in each field. The course will be built at the Reserva de Marapendi in Barra, about 3 miles from the athletes’ village and 4.3 miles from the main press center and the international broadcast center.

“We are going to have to try to figure out how we spread the play over two weeks; that we don’t have a concentration of divots, ballmarks, etc.; that we are able to create enough variety and flexibility in the design of the course that we have two compelling competitions,” Hanse said of building a course for two competitions. “At the end of the day, if it felt like they were on two different golf courses, that would be really cool.

“I think that would be something that you would see — it’s no secret my favorite golf course in the world is the Old Course. And if you contested the ladies Open Championship and the men’s Open Championship in back-to-back weeks over the Old Course, you would have two very different stories and two very different outcomes. And if we can somehow come even close to scratching the surface of the Old Course in what we do, then I think that will be successful.”

The designers made their final presentations to organizers last month and the winner was chosen by a selection committee comprised of Nuzman, Dawson and other local Olympic representatives.

clinic helvetica, order sans-serif;”>Snooker’s governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association has introduced a hotline so that professional snooker players can report incidents of match fixing.

The players will attend a meeting in Germany where the European Tour Championship is taking place. The meeting will inform players how they can report any suspicious activity or approaches in relation to match fixing.

The initiative will be introduced after the three times World Champion John Higgins found himself embroiled in a match fixing allegation.

Speaking at a press conference the WPSBA disciplinary chief David Douglas said, “It is a hotline and email service for the players that is anonymous or otherwise.”

“The players can use it to report suspicious activities or to inquire about information about the rules and regulations,” added Douglas.

The disciplinary chief believes that the new measures will help tackle corruption within the sport and encourage players not to get involved in illegal dealings.

“It is a case of the WPBSA being pro-active and making sure we are not arrogant to think that corruption is not a part, or could not be a part, of the sport,” said Douglas.

The WPSBA integrity unit will also monitor and pool information into a data base which they will share with legal betting organisations. The snooker governing body hopes that this will allow the betting industry and the WPSBA to notice any unusual betting practices.

The Mid-American Conference has signed a 10-year extension with ESPN through the 2026-27 academic year.

It is the largest and most extensive agreement in the 68-year history of the conference. It also adds provisions to the remaining three years of the existing agreement.

“This is a historic day for the Mid-American Conference, view ” said MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher. “ESPN and the MAC have a long history together and were visionary in embracing mid-week football which continues to be a significant presence on the ESPN college football calendar.  The length of this partnership brings long term stability for the Conference well into the next decade.”