Heather Reid has been named as an Ambassador for the Australian Womensport and Recreation Association (AWRA), joining inaugural Ambassador Lauren Jackson in AWRA’s campaign to get more women and girls participating in sport.

The AWRA honour is another major recognition for Heather Reid, who on Friday night was awarded a prestigious ‘Edna’ Award for her work in women’s sport and football.

The ‘Ednas’ celebrate the life and work of feminist Edna Ryan who died in 1997, aged 92, leaving a rich legacy as a social reformer and political activist. Among Ryan’s many contributions was her tireless campaign to achieve equal wages for women.

Australian Womensport and Recreation Association President, Janice Crosswhite OAM, today congratulated Heather Reid on her ‘Edna’ award and her AWRA role.

“Heather is a very fitting choice to join basketballer Lauren Jackson as an AWRA ambassador to promote a strong and healthy culture through increased participation of females in sport,” Janice said. “AWRA is lucky to have two strong women campaigning for a cause that benefits women and Australia.”

Heather’s ‘Edna’ award recognises her vision and leadership in growing female participation in football (soccer), which is the fastest growing sport for females in Australia. She was a foundation member of the ANU Women’s Soccer Club, and later in 1978 as ACT Women’s Soccer Association President pioneered women’s football competition.

In the 1980’s, as CEO of Australian Women’s Soccer, Heather helped lobby for the establishment a FIFA World Cup for women and also successfully lobbied for women’s competition to be added to the Olympic Games football program. Ten years ago, Heather became the first female to be appointed as CEO of a State Football Federation and is currently the only female CEO of a semi-professional football team, (Canberra United FC) that competes in the national W-League.

Heather said: “I look forward to forward to championing AWRA’s vision of a strong and healthy Australia by encouraging more women and girls to participate in sport, physical activity and recreation,” Heather said. “The ‘Edna’ award is special because it means that my work in facilitating change for women in football and sport in general has been recognised by peers from all walks of life.”

Sportsbetting supplier Sportech has announced that its American subsidiary Sportech Racing LLC has signed a six-year contract with American racetrack operator Penn National Gaming Incorporated.

London-based Sportech stated that its American subsidiary will now provide Penn National Gaming with ‘betting technology and associated services’ across nine states via up to eleven racetrack properties, allergy | five off-track wagering venues and an Internet and telephone service while the initial agreement also contains a pair of one-year extensions.

“We are delighted to have secured this long-term contract with Penn National Gaming, viagra cheap the largest racetrack and associated betting facility operator in the United States, find ” said Ian Penrose, CEO for Sportech. “This further strengthens our position in the United States and builds upon the international momentum following sales to the UK Tote and a contract with Danske Spil, the state-owned Danish gaming operator, earlier this year.”

Sportech stated that it has the ‘largest operations in the United States of any UK gaming company’ and processes half of all horseracing bets. It declared that this latest contract further strengthens its presence ‘in this significant marketplace’ and sees it remain ‘well positioned for future deregulation across the country’.

“We sought to enter into a partnership with a company that would bring significant advantages to Penn National Gaming in the form of improvements to the customer betting experience, increased compatibility between our properties and delivery of improved operational efficiencies,” said Christopher McErlean, racing vice-president for Penn National Gaming. “After a thorough competitive bidding process, we determined that Sportech Racing was that partner.” 

The world’s richest badminton competition of the season begins this week in South Korea.

The  Korea Open tournament starts today with the preliminary rounds in men’s and women’s singles and doubles, as well as mixed doubles.

The finals for all disciplines are scheduled for Sunday. The total purse for the tournament is US$1million.

The Korea Open is one of five Premier Super Series events run by the Badminton World Federation.{jcomments on}

The International Handball Federation (IHF) officially approved the Caja Mágica arena in Madrid as preliminary round venue of the 2013 Men’s World Championship in Spain (11 to 27 January).

After Arena Madrid had to be closed for security reasons, asthma the International Handball Federation had to switch to a new handball venue for the preliminary round of the Men’s WCh in Madrid. The new arena, “Caja Mágica”, proposed by the Royal Spanish Handball Federation (RFEBM) and the Organising Committee of the 2013 World Championship, has a capacity of 12,000 spectators and is also hosting an ATP tennis tournament.

The IHF said in statement: “As Caja Mágica had been successfully inspected by the IHF and as the city of Madrid had confirmed to fulfil all further IHF requirements, e.g. special public transportation service, updated security concept and promotion measures to promote the WCh accordingly, the International Handball Federation is pleased to officially approve Caja Mágica as new venue of the XXIII Men’s Handball World Championship in Madrid, Spain.”

Große Freude in Unterföhring: Die Sky Sportredaktion um Sportchef Burkhard Weber wurde von Sport Bild als beste TV-Sportredaktion ausgezeichnet und gewinnt damit den Sport Bild-Award 2012.

Carsten Schmidt, remedy Vorstand Sports, ambulance Advertising Sales & Internet: “Der Sport Bild-Award ist eine der begehrtesten Medien-Auszeichnungen in Deutschland. Es ist eine Ehre, von der auflagenstärksten Sportzeitschrift Europas bereits zum vierten Mal mit dem Preis für die beste Sportberichterstattung ausgezeichnet zu werden. Eine verdiente Belohnung für die hervorragende Arbeit des Teams um Sportchef Burkhard Weber, das in der vergangenen Saison mit vielen neuen Ideen die Sky Sport 2.0-Phase eingeläutet hat.”

Die Entscheidung basiert auf den TV-Kritiken, die die Sport Bild-Experten in der Rubrik “TV-Liga” wöchentlich in Sport Bild veröffentlichen. Im Laufe der vergangenen zwölf Monate konnte Sky durchschnittlich die meisten Punkte bzw. “Bälle” sammeln. Sky wird den Sport Bild-Award im Rahmen einer feierlichen Gala am 27. August 2012 entgegen nehmen.

Marcin Herra, abortion President of the board of PL.2012 has outlined the innovative fan and tourist services that will be in place in Poland for the country’s co-hosting of the European Championships next summer.

Writing in his exclusive iSportconnect column , unhealthy Herra stated: “For the first time in the European Football Championship, tourists and fans will be furnished with a free-of-charge tool providing comprehensive information on the host country, available not only via the Internet, but also via mobile and smart phones.

“Moreover, visitors in Poland during Euro 2012 will also be provided with a solution so far unheard of – a single-document combining a public transport pass between the Host Cities, a plane ticket for domestic and international flights, health insurance, and a hotel booking confirmation.“

The Polish Guide is available as a technologically advanced e-guide to Poland. In 2012, a personalised e-calendar will also be launched. The guide provides information regarding on a wide range of issues including fan zones, stadiums, and public transport.

The Polish Pass is a product that is designed to make planning trips to Poland 2012 simple, hassle-free and adaptable to individual needs.

U.K Transport Minister, unhealthy Norman Baker, view has suggested London commuters should consider  walking to work or using video conferencing for meetings during the 2012 Olympic Games due to congestion on the transport system.

“The games will be a once-in-a-generation test for both our transport system and our adaptability, seek ” Baker told business leaders in London, according to remarks released by his office today. “As we edge ever closer to the Olympics, hand-in-hand with new investment must go new solutions.”

The government is expecting an extra 3 million trips a day on the London transport network during the Olympics, piling pressure on a system that already deals with 12 million journeys every day. Baker said companies should encourage workers to consider walking or cycling, particularly for those who live near their workplaces.

Those workers who live farther away should consider travelling during off-peak periods, starting journeys earlier or working from home, Baker said.

It has been announced today, March 10, that Kommersant Publishing House, owned by billionarie Alisher Usmanov, a shareholder in both Facebook and Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has become the Sochi 2014 official supplier in the printed media category.

The flagship of the House is its newspaper Kommersant, one of Russia’s leading business publications.

Kommersant is the second company that Usmanov, 57, owns that has committed to Winter Games in Sochi 2014.

He is also the co-owner of MegaFon, Russia’s second-largest mobile telephone operator, who were the first company to become a Tier One sponsor of the Games three years ago.

Usmanov, the world’s 100th richest man with a fortune estimated at Forbes at US$19.9bn and who is also the President of the International Fencing Federation (FIE), brought the newspaper in 2006.

An extension of a broadcast rights deal between Tennis Channel, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and United States Tennis Association (USTA) has been agreed for exclusive rights to the Davis Cup, Fed Cup and Hopman Cup competitions.

Coverage of the American team’s matches in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas – the most prestigious tournament for national teams in men’s professional tennis – will be carried on the pay-TV channel for the next three-years.

Tennis Channel will also retain the rights to all other matches in all three competitions until at least 2015, and will have access to ITF highlights packages as well as archive footage from past tournaments.

David Scott, vice president of programming for Tennis Channel, said: “Tennis Channel viewers have always been passionate about Davis Cup, Fed Cup and Hopman Cup, which feature so many of the game’s elite playing for something bigger than personal glory.”

George Cohen, head of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, who last year brokered an eleventh-hour deal between Major League Soccer and its players, said last week that “very strong differences remain” between the two sides.

Federal judge David Doty in Minneapolis earlier this week ruled that the NFL improperly negotiated television contracts to receive $4 billion in revenue if a work stoppage leads to games being cancelled next season.

A report from Forbes states that the NFL owners want players to finance a $16bn increase in aggregate value for the league’s 32 teams in a new collective bargaining agreement, or an average of $510 million per team, 50% more than the average NFL franchise is currently worth.

The owners want to reduce the amount of league revenue that can go towards player salaries from $8bn to $7bn.