Tim Hollingsworth has been appointed as the new chief executive of ParalympicsGB.

The announcement made yesterday, May 5, sees Hollingsworth join the British Paralympic Association (BPA) from UK Sport, where he has been chief operating officer since September 2010 having previously been director of policy and communications there for five years.

After previous CEO Phil Lane unexpectedly announced his resignation earlier in the year, a comprehensive and rigorous recruitment process was rolled out, selecting Hollingsworth, who stated: “I am thrilled to join the BPA at this vital time in its history.

“With not much more than a year to go before London 2012, there is a tremendous opportunity not just to maximise our athletes’ success at the Games but also to drive a step-change in Paralympic sport and its ability to impact on attitudes and change people’s lives.

“I look forward to playing my part with a great team to deliver this. I would also like to thank everyone at UK Sport for their support and good wishes.

“UK Sport is a great organisation playing a vital role in British sport and I look forward to working with them and all the BPA’s partners to further the success of our athletes, ParalympicsGB and the Paralympic movement in this country.”

Hollingsworth will join the ParalympicsGB in July in time for a very busy period of both Games preparation and international engagement for the organisation.

ParalympicsGB chairman Tim Reddish said: “This is a crucial appointment for our organisation as we head into what will be the most important Games ever for Paralympic sport in the UK.

“Tim stood out from a field of high calibre candidates and impressed us with his track record of building relationships in both the sporting and commercial sector.

“This, coupled with his clear passion for Paralympic sport and in depth knowledge of the challenges and opportunities presented by a home Games, mean that we believe he is the ideal candidate to lead the organisation through 2012 and beyond. We’re delighted to welcome him on board.”

A large number of senior figures in British sport have praised the appointment including UK Sport chief executive Liz Nicholl, who has worked closely with Hollingsworth and added: “Since joining six years ago Tim has made a tremendous impact at UK Sport, was an important part of our team and it is easy to see why his skills and attributes were recognised by the British Paralympic Association.

“While we are all sad to see him go, we also recognise that this is a great opportunity for Tim to take on this significant lead role at a special moment in British sporting history and although UK Sport will lose a valued team member, British sport will gain a very strong lead for Paralympic Sport in the run up to 2012 and beyond.

“I would like to place on record my personal thanks for Tim’s hard work and support over the past six years and to wish him well in what I am sure will be an incredibly exciting and rewarding new role.

“The next 18 months is a hugely important time for sport in this country and we look forward to working with Tim and his team to help ensure British Paralympic athletes are best prepared when they reach the start line in 2012.”

Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), said: “I’d like to welcome Tim to the Paralympic Movement and wish him well for his new role which, with London 2012 less than 500 days away, will certainly be an exciting start.

“Tim is no stranger to Paralympic Sport or the Movement having spent six years at UK Sport. I am fully confident that this experience will be invaluable to him as he joins ParalympicsGB at what is arguably the most exciting time ever for Paralympic Sport in the UK.”

Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson said: “This is one of the most important jobs in sport as we approach the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

“Tim Hollingsworth has done an excellent job at UK Sport, at the heart of this country’s high performance system, so he is ideally placed to lead the BPA forward.”

London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton added: “Tim is an excellent choice.

“His knowledge of the British sporting landscape will be hugely valuable to the BPA on its journey to London 2012 and beyond.”

ONE World Sports, viagra the sports network with live, vcialis 40mg world-class competitions from around the globe, announced exclusive North American coverage of the inaugural season of the Hockey India League.

ONE World Sports will air the daily matches of the world’s top professional men’s field hockey league comprising five India-based franchises with an international mix of the world’s best players. The high-intensity one-month season culminates in the championship match on Sunday, February 10th.

Sanctioned by the International Hockey Federation, the Hockey India League (HIL) was created to provide a 30-day window at the beginning of the year to engage the world’s top players in a condensed tournament. Each HIL franchise carries a total of 24 players — 14 from India and 10 of the best field hockey players from throughout the world, many having represented their countries in the 2012 London Olympics. The franchise cities span India: Delhi (Delhi Wave Riders); Mumbai (Mumbai Magicians); Mohali (Punjab Warriors); Ranchi (Ranchi Rhinos); and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh Wizards).

The full series will be available on two platforms: ONE World Sports’ television channel, which is distributed by multiple platform video distributors; and on broadband for sports fans outside ONE World Sports’ distribution markets — thus making the HIL available to virtually all households in the United States and Canada. 

Dr. Narinder Batra, Secretary General of Hockey India and Chairman Hockey India League, stated: “We are very pleased to be available live throughout the USA and Canada, thanks to ONE World Sports. Our teams are composed of the finest field hockey players in the world, and ONE World Sports is committed to delivering live coverage of important, popular sports from around the globe.”

“Field Hockey has a rich tradition around the world and is truly a global sport as evidenced by the breadth of world-class players in this new league,” commented Alexander Brown, President and CEO of ONE World Sports. “We are proud to introduce the HIL on our network. It is another solid example of the type of quality global sports programming we deliver.”

 

Duff and Phelps, Rangers administrators, have suggested the rebuilding of the crisis stricken club have been seriously undermined by a 12-month signing embargo handed out by the Scottish Football Association and will appeal the decision.

The punishment, which prohibits them registering any player aged over 17, came with fines totalling £160,000 following a three-day hearing by an SFA judicial panel last week.

Duff and Phelps reacted with “utter shock and dismay” to what they labelled “Draconian” sanctions arising from the SFA’s independent inquiry into the club’s finances and appointment of owner Craig Whyte as chairman.

Rangers vowed to appeal but the decision creates another obstacle to completing the sale of the club with the party apparently closest to a bid, American Bill Miller, having stated his offer was dependent on his new club receiving no penalties.

The inquiry last month ruled Whyte “not fit and proper” and the Rangers chairman was expelled from Scottish football for life and given £200,000 in fines.

Joint-administrator Paul Clark argued the club were being unfairly punished for the actions of their owner, whose withholding of tax payments sparked their descent into administration in February, with the bill now more than £14million.

Clark said: “The thrust of the charges against the club focused on non-payment of payroll taxes and evidence was produced that all such decisions in this area were taken by Craig Whyte during his tenure.

“Given this evidence, it is difficult to comprehend that the disciplinary panel has seen fit to effectively punish the club even more heavily than Mr Whyte. As everyone knows, it has already been decided he is not a fit and proper person to run a football club and any further punishment on him will have little or no impact.

“However, for Rangers, a ban on signing players will seriously undermine the club’s efforts to rebuild after being rendered insolvent. Furthermore, we do not know how bidders for the club will react to these sanctions and what affect they will have on their proposals.

“The club has asked for full written reasons for these decisions and intend to appeal against the findings.” The outcome of the disciplinary charges came towards the end of a day initially earmarked as the time Duff and Phelps would announce a preferred bidder.”

National Basketball Association (NBA) senior vice-president for Europe, medicine the Middle East and Africa, clinic  Sophie Goldschmidt has been named as the new chief commercial officer of the Rugby Football Union, clinic the governing body of rugby union in England.

Goldschmidt is expected to take up her new role by the middle of July after the role of chief commercial officer was created following the RFU’s restructure in January. Goldschmidt will be responsible for all commercial activities including sponsorship, business development, media rights and all joint venture operations.

RFU chief executive officer John Steele stated: “We said in January that we would like to assemble a talented and experienced new executive team to help the RFU drive the next phase of growth. Sophie will bring a new dynamic and innovation to our already successful commercial program with her global and extensive experience and we look forward to welcoming her to the team.”

Goldschmidt worked for the Women’s Tennis Association, where she developed commercial programs such as the landmark Sony Ericsson title sponsorship before joining the NBA. Goldschmidt will play a crucial role in the years leading up to the Rugby World Cup in England in 2015.

She added: “I am thrilled to be joining the RFU. Under John Steele’s leadership it is clear the RFU is committed to ensuring it is in the best possible place for the 2015 Rugby World Cup and beyond.”

Australia’s Seven Network has inked a new broadcast deal with V8 Supercars just ahead of the 2013 season start in Sydney.

Financial details of the new deal, which extends the relationship for another two years, were not released but V8 Supercars was expected to struggle to get any bidding tension, with Nine Entertainment and the Ten Network focusing instead on  cricket broadcast rights, which are also up for grabs.

The agreement covers V8 Supercars championship season and the Bathurst 1000.

“This is an excellent outcome for the sport and fans,” V8 Supercars chief executive David Malone said.

“The extension gives great continuity heading into a very exciting 2013 season. Seven has been a great partner and we look forward to their ongoing commitment to the highest level of coverage and promotion,” he said.

V8 Supercars is majority owned by Archer Capital which paid $180 million for 60 per cent of the business in 2011. Its other shareholders include the V8 teams with 35 per cent and Tony Cochrane who owns 5 per cent.

V8 Supercars will continue to produce its own broadcast coverage for the Seven Network and their other broadcast partners.

Denmark players going to Euro 2012 will be unable to use social media during the campaign the Danish Football Federation (DBU) has decreed.

“There is so much communication during the championships that we want to limit it to meetings with the media,” the DBU’s communications chief Lars Berendt told the TV2 television programme Sporten.

He added the coach Morten Olsen wanted players to focus on the tournament and for “the 24-7 open microphone” to be shut down.

Instead the the squad will send numerous updates to fans via the team’s own social media sites beside the regular press conferences.

Stoke’s Thomas Sorensen and Ajax’s Christian Eriksen are promminent using Twitter and labelled the decision a “a shame” that players cannot tell fans what they do “without revealing tactics.”

“There was a time when we lived without Twitter and we’ll be able to do it during the Euros,” tweeted Sorensen who has more than 20,000 followers on the social media tool.

by Ismail Uddin

What do you think of DBU’s decision? Tell us your opinion here >>

British Fencing have confirmed that Alex Newton has been appointed as its Performance Manager, apoplectic making her the first person to take on the role full time.

In the past, Newton has headed up the World Class Programme for Sport England in the build up to the Sydney Olympics before assisting in establishing the English Institute of Sport network.

She later took on the role of ensuring that the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games provided a legacy to the North West through its Regional Institute.

Newton worked alongside both cycling and disability swimming during the latter part of the Athens Olympic/Paralympic cycle to ensure world class science and medicine support before moving to UK Sport as Performance Manager.

Newton was selected following an extensive process by a panel which included Chief Executive, Piers Martin, who stated: “I am very pleased that Alex is joining British Fencing, where her experience and knowledge will undoubtedly help our World Class Programme to achieve our full potential and win a medal in 2012”

Newton took up the post on May 3, describing her appointment as “an opportunity to lead and turn around a sport that has a group of talented athletes but who are not consistently performing on a world stage”.

Newton’s immediate focus will be ensuring that everything that needs to be in place to deliver medals in 2012 is there, adding, “I will be reviewing the whole programme including science and medicine, competitions and training programmes to ensure the focus is on the right things and importantly the right athletes.

“My long term goals are to move the sport to a position where it can consistently win medals on the world stage.  This will be done by putting in place a comprehensive performance structure to support both the current cohort and future generations of world class fencers.”

The IAAF have announced the conclusion of a broadcasting deal in Germany for the 2013 IAAF World Championships, health Moscow, Russia.

The agreement was concluded between Sport A, the sports buying rights agency of German public service broadcasters ARD/ZDF, and IEC in Sports, the IAAF’s exclusive media agency for European and African rights for the IAAF World Athletics Series of which the biennial IAAF World Championships are its jewel.

Under the terms ARD/ZDF will televise the nine day IAAF World Championships in Moscow which take place from Saturday 10 to Sunday 18 August 2013, guaranteeing to transmit live coverage from all evening sessions.

ARD/ZDF have a long standing relationship with Athletics having televised the last edition of the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, Korea, and were also the IAAF’s partner through the previous EBU broadcasting deal.

“The conclusion of this agreement with Germany’s public service broadcaster is excellent news for the sport of Athletics as it guarantees that the performances of German athletes in Moscow will be seen by the widest possible audience at home”, commented IAAF President Diack. “Germany, whose athletes have taken a staggering haul of 70 Olympic track and field titles and 53 gold medals in the IAAF World Championships, loves Athletics, and this agreement will help feed that national passion.”

As part of the agreement ARD/ZDF also have obtained non-exclusive rights to televise this year’s two other IAAF World Athletics Series events, the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Bydgoszcz, Poland (24 March 2013) and the IAAF World Youth Championships, Donetsk, Ukraine (10 – 14 July 2013).

The Scottish Football Association (SFA) have banned Rangers owner Craig Whyte for life from any involvement in Scottish football following a hearing into their financial affairs.

The club has also been hit with a 12-month embargo on signings.

The series of punishments follows a Scottish Football Association hearing into the crisis-hit club’s financial affairs.

Rangers, who went into administration earlier this year, have been fined £160,000 and Whyte – already deemed unfit to hold an official position in the game – was fined a total £200,000.

The SFA said their judicial panel would issue reasons for their findings in “early course” while both parties have three days to appeal following receipt of those reasons.

Whyte, who failed to notify the SFA that he had been disqualified as a director for seven years in 2000, said he “couldn’t care less” when he was asked for his reaction.

“Tell me how it is going to affect me? I couldn’t care less,” he said. “It makes no difference to my life whatsoever – and good luck collecting the money.

“It’s a joke. It is very harsh on Rangers. I am surprised at how harsh the SFA have been on a club which is going through tough times at the moment.

“Stewart Regan (chief executive) and Campbell Ogilvie (president) should resign and get out of Scottish football.

“The SFA want to kick Rangers when they are down and I hope people remember that. They are playing to the media.”

In a statement, joint administrators of Rangers FC, Duff and Phelps, joint administrators of Rangers Football Club, condemned the ruling as “draconian”.

Paul Clark, joint administrator, said: “All of us working on behalf of the club are utterly shocked and dismayed by the draconian sanctions imposed on Rangers in respect of these charges.

“It appears that on one hand the disciplinary panel accepted our central argument that responsibility for bringing the Club into disrepute lay with the actions of one individual – Craig Whyte – as is evident from the unprecedented punishment meted out to him.

“It is difficult to comprehend that the disciplinary panel has seen fit to effectively punish the Club even more heavily than Mr Whyte. As everyone knows, it has already been decided he is not a fit and proper person to run a football club and any further punishment on him will have little or no impact.

“However, for Rangers, a ban on signing players will seriously undermine the Club’s efforts to rebuild after being rendered insolvent.”

“Furthermore, we do not know how bidders for the Club will react to these sanctions and what affect they will have on their proposals.”

Whyte was fined £50,000 for bringing the game into disrepute but a charge of not acting in an improper manner and against the interests of football was not proven and was handed three more identical fines on separate counts of failing to follow directions from an SFA tribunal.

Whyte, who has been told to pay his fines within 30 days, was also expelled for life from “any participation in Association Football in Scotland.”

by Ismail Uddin

Dutch Public Broadcaster NPO’s Ruurd Bierman has been re-elected as chairman of the EBU Television Committee in a vote that wrapped up the first day of the 17^th EBU  Television Assembly, in Lucerne, Switzerland yesterday, May 3.

The EBU TV Assembly delivers a unique opportunity for TV Directors and decision-makers to discuss key ideas and strategies in television production and programming.

As sole candidate, Bierman was re-elected, after a simple show of hands, for his second term that will run for two years.  He was voted by more than two thirds of the majority.  The other 12 Committee places, including  three vice chairmanships, were also filled.

Accepting the appointment, Ruurd Bierman said: “Public Service Broadcasters have an important role to play in an increasingly fragmented society. If we are willing to adapt to the challenges of the digital world, I am sure we will fulfil our role with commitment and success.”