Windlesham Golf Club have employed Berkshire-based creative marketing agency, apoplectic Gasp, medic  to provide public relation (PR) and social media management services.

The par 72, cialis 6,650-yard course was designed by PGA Tour veteran Tommy Horton and is situated just off the junction with the A30 and A322 in Windlesham, Surrey. The management team at Windlesham Golf Club is largely comprised of a mix of golf professionals and entrepreneurs from outside of the traditional golfing industry and is keen to match its public profile with its reputation for innovation and service.

Peter Lumley, Managing Director at Windlesham Golf Club explained, “The Club prides itself on having a truly inclusive personality and an obsessive approach to perfectionism. Everything from the modern but sophisticated décor right through to the relaxed and friendly atmosphere makes the Windlesham Golf experience extremely attractive among business and golf members.”

Sophie Anderson, Director at Gasp added, “We are already a trusted marketing partner at Windlesham Golf Club as the supplier of creative design and collaterals. We are now also running a sustained PR and social media campaign that will feature news, competitions, an active Facebook community and Twitter feed. The Club is an excellent venue not only for golf, but also for corporate events and meetings. We’ll be proactively leveraging its extensive community of happy customers in our promotions.”

Founded in 2009, Gasp has counted organisations such as Crufts, Epson, SkillSoft, socket and St. George amongst it clients.

Having pulled off a shock result to beat English Premier League rivals Arsenal in the final of the League Cup, soccer club Birmingham City earned automatic qualification to the Europa League. However, fears over the clubs financial situations have been allayed by the owners, who say they are confident that they will have “no problem” meeting the financial criteria to allow the club to play in the competition next season.

But reports suggested Blues may have to prove their financial security to the Premier League, Football Association and UEFA in order to compete in Europe.

Vice-chairman Peter Pannu told the club website Birmingham are “in credit” and have “no financial impediment”.

UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, brought in licensing rules in June 2010 which dictate that clubs must be financially secure to participate in competitions which rung alarm bells after Birmingham International Holdings – the club’s parent company – revealed Blues and other Hong Kong-based business had total debts in excess of £29m.

However, Pannu added: “It is important to note that Birmingham City FC is a separate corporate entity from BIHL – a listed company in Hong Kong.

“Although a distant subsidiary, Birmingham City FC’s accounts are separate and it operates on its own financial basis.

“We will have no problem securing UEFA licence approval to play in Europe for which the club had already filed the papers.

“As for Birmingham International Holdings Limited, the financial support by a major shareholder is a common occurrence and there is no cause for concern or any direct links to Birmingham City FC’s well-being.”

Paddy Power, the leading Irish bookmaker, has revealed a 55 per cent rise in annual profits, helped by its expansion in Australia.

The company’s results statement confirmed that pre-tax profits rose to US$145.6m in 2010 from $94.25m in the previous year.

The 2010 figure included a full year’s contribution from Australian betting company Sportsbet.

Paddy Power first bought 51 per cent of Sportsbet in 2009, taking full control of the firm in December 2010.

Paddy Power said that almost two-thirds of its profits last year were generated outside of the Republic of Ireland.

It added that 2011 had started well, with turnover in the first two months up 16 per cent on the same period this time last year, and said it looked forward to the rest of the year with confidence.

President of soccer’s world governing body FIFA, Sepp Blatter has reassured the Football Associations (FA) of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, by ensuring that the team’s international status would not be affected by their player’s potentially appearing for a Great Britain Olympic team. 

The British Olympic Association (BOA) is still hoping to include Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England in a Team GB side for the London 2012 Games. 

However, some of the nations have expressed fears of harming their independence in the sport were they to join forces in a Great Britain side, but Blatter has reassured the countries that no sanction would be put in place, should the countries merge for the Games. 

Blatter said: “The team will run under the denomination ‘British Olympic team’. The composition of this team, the FIFA has said, is absolutely free to the Olympic committee of GB and to the four British associations”. 

“It’s very clear. If they play, there is no sanction from the Fifa part.”

The 50-over biennial cricket tournament, The Champions Trophy may well be scrapped from the calendar as the sport’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC) look towards creating a pinnacle event in each format of the game.

ICC chief Haroon Lorgat said the ICC wanted to create a “pinnacle” in all three formats with a Test world championship, the 50-over World Cup and World Twenty20.

Lorgat stated: “What we’re trying to work towards is a pinnacle event in each format. So if we’re looking to our next cycle we might think definitely about (losing) the Champions Trophy.”

He added it was difficult to see where the Champions Trophy, currently held by Australia, would fit into such a schedule and the possibility of removing the tournament
would also make sense because it will be difficult to accommodate the event in post 2012 FTP.

The ICC had last year approved a Test league to provide context for all Test matches. The league would determine the top four teams to qualify for an ICC Test play-off. The play-off should be held once every four years to determine the Test champion team with a request to hold the first such play-off in 2013.

The FTP will also consist of a One-Day International league, the first to run from April 2011 until April 2014, culminating in the crowning of an ODI league champion. This ODI league will run separate to the ICC Cricket World Cup.

As expected, the National Football League (NFL) and the players’ union agreed on Friday, March 4, to a seven-day extension for talks over a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

The sides will return, later today (March 7), to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in an effort to finalise a new deal before the latest CBA expiration date.

The extension of talks gives renewed hope to NFL fans as the two parties continue to negotiate an agreement on labour contracts. The original deadline for the CBA was midnight eastern time on Thursday, March 3, but the talks were extended by one day before a week-long extension was agreed.

According to the Associated Press, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated on Friday: “We believe, as I’ve said many times before, that this will be solved through negotiations, and that’s what we focused on, so we’ll continue to work hard and we’ll be back next week”.

NFL Players’ Association executive director DeMaurice Smith added: “There’s a commitment from both sides to engage in another round of negotiations at the request of the mediation service. We look forward to a deal coming out of that.”

Triathlon’s commitment to clean sport has been recognised with The World Anti-Doping Agency officially confirming the ITU is in full compliance of its world anti-doping code.

ITU president Marisol Casado welcomed the news from WADA, stating: “I’m very excited to share this news with the triathlon family, as we have always believed an anti-doping programme is integral to our organisation’s success, as it allows all of our athletes to compete in a fair environment,” Casado said. “I would particularly like to thank ITU staff and Leslie Buchanan, the Director of our anti-doping department for her work in obtaining this official recognition.”

Buchanan, also a member of the WADA Education Committee said the WADA ruling showed the ITU is on the right path.

“We feel this validates ITU’s commitment to the fight against doping. We’ve invested time and resources into this to make sure that triathetes compete on a level playing field and ensure there are policies in place to deter all triathletes from attempting to take advantage of the system,” Buchanan said.

“We also know that while it is great our programme complies with the WADA Code, we cannot afford to let our guard down and we will keep working on new initiatives to keep triathlon at the forefront of anti-doping.”

The ITU anti-doping department was established with the goal of committing substantial time and resources to curb doping in triathlon. This year’s anti-doping protocols include: intelligent testing for ITU events and athletes that is also more efficient, a commitment from National Federations to test and report their testing, and comprehensive education programme. That includes actively engaging member federations through regular anti-doping content, helping everyone involved in triathlon understand the importance of a clean sport for not only participants’ health and fair results, but for the sports legacy.

ITU is a signatory of the WADA Code and to be an affiliated member of ITU, National Federations must commit to comply with the WADA Code and ITU Anti-doping Rules.