A long-term partnership between window blind manufacturer, Louvolite and the Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE) has been extended for another year.

Louvolite will lend its support to the national ABAE championships, as well as grassroots boxing with an option for an additional 12 month extension taking Louvolite’s association with the ABAE to 14 years.

David Robinson, Louvolite director of sales and marketing, spoke of the company’s pride in its relationship with the ABAE: “It is extremely encouraging to see the professionalism with which the ABAE has promoted the significant expansion of amateur boxing in recent years, especially the proliferation of boxing clubs within schools and throughout many areas of our local community.”

ABAE chief executive Paul King added: “Louvolite’s decision to build on their investment in amateur boxing is an endorsement of the fantastic health of the sport which continues to deliver rising participation and is recognised as a valuable tool in helping to combat a range of social problems covering, health, education and crime. We are very grateful to Louvolite for its continued support and look forward to working with them for many more years and extending this mutually beneficial partnership.”

European Athletics have announced the renewal of its long-running contract with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The partnership has been in place since 1981 and was extended for the period 2012-2015.

European Athletics and EBU signed the new contract on Wednesday 15 December at the EBU headquarters in Geneva.

The contract renewal will cover all of European Athletics’ major events including the Helsinki 2012 and Zurich 2014 European Athletics Championships, the Göteborg 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships and the 2015 indoor championships which is yet to be awarded.

The agreement also covers the European Team Championships and European Cross Country Championships taking place during the four-year contract period.

European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz said, “I am very pleased that we are continuing our valued partnership with EBU. Our agreement is a vital part of our ongoing aim to increase the popularity of athletics around Europe.

“EBU gives us the biggest platform to promote our sport on public free-to-air TV channels throughout the continent, which is an extremely important consideration for us.”

Stefan Kürten, EBU Director of Sports & Business Department added: “I am very pleased that we have reached an agreement with European Athletics for another four years. This demonstrates our commitment to support all major sports and federations aiming to reach the largest audience in Europe.”

Bobby Sharma has been appointed as the senior vice-president of global business development for basketball by leading international sports company IMG. Sharma has quit his role as vice-president and general counsel at the National Basketball Association (NBA)

Sharma will initially relocate to Mumbai in India, where he will work as part of IMG Reliance, a joint venture between IMG and Reliance Industries. IMG Reliance snapped up all commercial rights to basketball in India for a 30-year period earlier in the year, and the development of a professional basketball league in the country will be one of Sharma’s immediate priorities.

Andrew Wildblood, executive vice-president of IMG and executive director of IMG Reliance said: “Bobby’s appointment is a major step forward in IMG’s commitment to developing the sport of basketball. With his experience in developing the sport of basketball for almost a decade at the NBA, Bobby is the right person at the right time to help us achieve IMG’s goals for the game around the world, both from a player and league development perspective.”

Sharma added: “There is tremendous interest in the game in India and its dynamic market in particular, where more than half of the nation’s population is under 25 years old, and just about every economic metric is headed in a positive direction.”

Phillip Brook has been named as the new chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) most commonly known for their role as the private members club as the venue for Wimbledon Tennis.

Tim Phillips, the club’s previous chairman, has retired after 11 years in the role and is replaced by Brook who previously held the position of vice-chairman with the appointment taking place with immediate effect.

Brook’s former playing career accomplishments saw him become the captain of the Cambridge University lawn tennis team as well as Men’s Singles Champion for the Yorkshire region. He has been a member of the AELTC for 21 years as well as a member of the International Lawn Tennis Club of Great Britain since 1977, serving as a treasurer for a 15 year spell between 1986 and 2001.

Georgia’s proposal to move the 2014 Winter Olympic Games from Sochi is unacceptable and represents meddling in the affairs of the Olympic movement, Alexander Zhukov, Russia’s top Olympics official, said Friday.

“It is completely unacceptable for politicians or governments to interfere with the business of the Olympic movement,” Zhukov, a deputy prime minister and head of Russia’s Olympic Committee, said on the sidelines of a meeting of the European Olympic Committees in Belgrade.

Russia fought a brief war with Georgia in 2008 that resulted in the rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia breaking way from Georgia. Russia has recognized their independence, but the international community regards them as Georgian territory.

Tension between Russia and Georgia has run high since the war. Earlier this month, Georgia asked the International Olympic Committee to reconsider holding the Winter Olympics in Sochi, near the border with Abkhazia.

Zhukov said the move “goes against the spirit of the Olympic charter, which is above politics” and that Sochi was democratically chosen as the venue.

“Russia has good sporting relations with Georgia, and we will support their bid to host the 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival, a decision which is due to be announced tomorrow,” he said. “We do not support the statement of the [Georgian] government, but we support the Olympic Committee of Georgia.”

The Northern Caucasus is a flashpoint where Islamic insurgents want to carve out a separate state, and earlier this month a bomb exploded on a rail line in the Sochi area.

In May, President Dmitry Medvedev ordered tighter security at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Zhukov said the security remained the organizers’ top priority.

“The investigation of this case is under way and … the safety of all visitors is of vital importance for our security services,” he said.

Zhukov also said Russia’s Olympic Committee wanted to improve on its poor performance at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, when the country’s athletes earned three gold medals, the worst-ever result after the breakup of the Soviet Union. “We are going to win in Sochi,” he said.

Following the news that the The International Cycling Union (UCI ) has asked the Spanish National Cycling Federation (RFEC) to open disciplinary hearings against Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, RFEC chief Juan Carlos Castaño has told Spanish sports daily Marca that he hopes the proceedings against Contador “go well” and has indicated that cycling’s governing body in Spain will treat the rider’s case like any other it may receive.

The rider’s press officer Jacinto Vidarte has expressed hope that he’ll be able to defend the charges.

Vidarte told Spanish media that the situation is “normal and what we expected”, explaining that the rider’s representatives will “submit all documents which show that [Contador’s case] was a clear case of food contamination.”

Contador has maintained that the presence of banned stimulant Clenbuterol in an anti-doping test sample obtained on the second rest day of this year’s Tour de France in Pau was the result of eating contaminated meat, hence the miniscule amount of substance in his system.

Upon further analysis in a German laboratory it was later discovered that Contador’s blood also contained minute levels of plasticisers found in blood bags, indicating the possible use of blood doping.

“The Federation’s official version is that it is a normal process as with any other records. It will analyse all the documentation that we have forwarded to the UCI and the Competition Committee will begin examining the process as usual,” Castaño explained.

“If the Committee decides to continue with the process, then we will contact the rider to open the file so that the athlete can present their arguments and documentation that may be necessary for his defense. We will contrast that with what the UCI has given us and thus expose the athlete, [after which we] will proceed to make a decision of record.”

Castaño added that the maximum time to process this case is three months and stated: “I would like [the case] to come out well, but now the Competition Committee has to study this and solve it the way it considers fair.”

The National Hockey League (NHL) is preparing to begin negotiations over a new US television rights deal, and chief operating officer John Collins has said the league is in a much stronger position than last time.

The League is currently in the final year of its contracts with Versus and NBC, and Collins is preparing to start talks on a future deal.

Collins said: “We have a lot of ideas of things that we’d like to see – that we think will make the business better.

“And I’m sure our partners have some ideas that they’d like to see to make our business better. We’ll start with that and see where it goes.”

There has been speculation over what the merger between Versus/Comcast and NBC will mean for the negotiations.

The last NHL season generated record television viewing figures during the play-offs and experienced a 66 per cent increase in advertising and sponsorship revenue, according to the league.

Fox Sports is also reportedly another potential bidder for the future cable broadcast package.

Sportswear manufacturer Nike, and LiveStrong, the Lance Armstrong cancer foundation, have expanded their signature clothing and apparel collection from the United States to Canada, France and the United Kingdom.

The new global collection of LiveStrong footwear, apparel and accessories launched on 1 July in the three countries with their new Fall 2010 collection.

Lance Armstrong, founder of LiveStrong, said: “I’m very proud to see LiveStrong further our mission internationally, build momentum and give people the resources and support they need to fight cancer effectively.

“We’ve found innovative ways to raise awareness, but the fight is far from over and so I’m encouraged to see LiveStrong make an impact in Canada, France and the UK.”

The Fall 2010 LiveStrong collection ranges from footwear to apparel and accessories. The collection has grown hugely since the popular yellow wristbands were first introduced in 2004, with more than 70 million of them having been distributed to date.

Since they teamed up in 2004, Nike has helped LiveStrong raise over US$80 million.

 

Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games organisers have selected Selex ES as its Official Protective Perimeter Security Provider. 

The agreement will see Selex ES, a Finmeccanica company, provide a wide range of physical perimeter security measures to secure over 20 Games venues, including the Athletes Village.

The programme will consist of security fencing, CCTV and security lighting as well as security management systems.

The design phase of the contract will begin immediately and all installations will be completed by early July 2014.

Glasgow 2014’s Chief Executive David Grevemberg commented on the new deal: “Glasgow 2014, along with Police Scotland and our Games Partners, is focused on delivering a safe and secure environment for all who will be part of the Games.

I’m delighted to have Selex ES – with their strong record of supporting the security needs of large events – bringing their expertise on board.”

Fabrizio Giulianini, CEO of Selex ES said: “For years, we at Selex ES have been bringing together innovative UK companies to deliver integrated and technologically advanced solutions. Providing major event perimeter security for this iconic event in Scotland’s sporting history will continue that tradition. We remain committed to contributing to the nation’s broader industrial legacy, enhancing the next generation of local skills to meet the security challenges of the future”.

Commonwealth Games Minister Shona Robison added: “Selex ES’s involvement in Glasgow 2014 is very welcome and their experience of big events will help deliver a safe, secure, and spectacular, Games.”

Selex ES is an international company with a 17,700 strong workforce, 2,000 of which are based in Scotland, and it has a supply base that includes 120 Scottish suppliers.

The VELUX EHF Champions League double feature on Eurosport recorded a huge success last Sunday as more than one million German TV viewers watched the live coverage of the all-German quarter-final duel SG Flensburg-Handewitt vs. HSV Hamburg.

The number averaged 330, shop 000 viewers throughout the match with figures reaching 460, impotent 000 at the peak.

Also the earlier match on Sunday broadcasted by Eurosport the duel of defending champions THW Kiel vs. MKB Veszprém KC generated impressive numbers as in total 890,000 TV viewers watched the coverage in Germany, the average number was 320,000.

Eurosport has been covering the matches of German clubs in the VELUX EHF Champions League as well as the VELUX EHF FINAL4 for a number of years.