The London 2012 organising committee has received over 240, clinic 000 applications from across the UK for volunteers.

Out of these, the organisers will be hiring up to 70,000 of them to work as volunteers during the mega event. 

The volunteers will undertake a wide variety of roles – from athlete escorts to stewards to radio operators.

Those who are successful through a selection and interview process will attend at least three training sessions.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson is also recruiting up to 8,000 London ambassadors to help and advise all the visitors who will travel to London at Games time.

European sports network Eurosport has secured live TV and online rights to the MCE British Superbike Championship, it has been announced.

The network has agreed a five-year deal, enabling it to retain the domestic UK Superbike championships up until 2015.

Eurosport’s agreement with MotorSport Vision (MSV) will see the Superbike series broadcast live and exclusive in the UK, with race action also seen across Europe on Eurosport 2.

MSVR chief executive Jonathan Palmer said: “I am delighted that MSV has agreed a new five-year contract with Eurosport to broadcast British Superbikes live throughout the world.

“BSB is the most successful national motorsport series in the UK, attracting more spectators and a greater TV audience than any other motor racing in Britain, whether on two wheels or four.”

Director of British Eurosport, Dave Kerr, added: “I am thrilled that we have been able to retain the British Superbike Championship on British Eurosport.

“We have worked really closely with MSV to grow the popularity of this great championship series and I believe this deal is an endorsement of our excellent production, comprehensive coverage and consistent scheduling.

“I’d also like to thank our increasingly large number of loyal and passionate viewers for making the show a major ratings success for us.”

 

French circuit Magny-Cours will continue to host a round of the World Superbike Championship until the end of 2020 after striking a new deal with Dorna. 

The current contract held by the venue, which has hosted WSBK every year since 2003, was due to end in 2015, but the extension will see it remain on the schedule for another five seasons. 

They also confirmed that Magny-Cours will always host the final round of the season’s European leg, as it is doing in 2014. 

“The current contract ends in 2015, but this agreement will be extended for another five years until 2020,” revealed WSBK director Daniel Carrera. “We are very happy to announce this agreement. France is a key market for Wold Superbikes and we are glad to have good participation of all categories. 

“I would like to say that Magny-Cours has become one of the top European rounds, always offering spectacular racing and, the most important thing, big spectator attendances.”

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has annouanced that Aarhus in Denmark has been selected to host the 2018 ISAF Sailing World Championships.

Held every four years, the ISAF Worlds is a key event for sailors campaigning for the Olympic Sailing Competition, bringing together past and future World and Olympic Champions across the ten Olympic classes.

The second largest city in Denmark, Aarhus is situated on the eastern side of the peninsula of Jutland.  With a history extending back to the Viking Age, Aarhus has sailing imprinted in its DNA. 

The competition venue will be established at a new Aarhus International Sailing Centre in Aarhus Yachting Harbour.  Easily accessible and within walking distance of downtown Aarhus, the area is a favourite destination for residents and tourists alike who enjoy the restaurants and shops as well as clean bathing waters, fishing and fresh air.

Aarhus has welcomed several world class sailing events in recent years including the 2008 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship, 2010 505 World Championship, 2011 A-Cat World Championship and the 2013 49er and 49erFX European Championships.

Aarhus beat out bids from Busan (Korea), Gdynia (Poland) and The Hague (Netherlands).

Jerome Pels, ISAF Chief Executive Officer said, “The bids ISAF received were of exceptional quality and we are grateful for their commitment to the sport. All four venues demonstrated passion and commitment to host the 2018 ISAF Worlds which made ISAF’s decision a difficult one to make.

“In recent years Aarhus has demonstrated its expertise in hosting high calibre sailing events featuring the finest sailors on the planet. We look forward to working closely with the organizing authority to deliver a world class event for sailors, spectators and those watching from home.”

National Hockey League’s (NHL) Winnipeg Jets have been announced as hosts of winter outdoor game, Heritage Classic, in 2016.

Jets chairman Mark Chipman confirmed Monday the league and True North have agreed to play a Heritage Classic at Winnipeg’s Investors Group Field two seasons from now.

“The NHL has confirmed to me they are going to do an outdoor game in Winnipeg. I don’t have a specific date to announce but it would be our preference that we do it in the 2015-16 season,” Chipman told the Free Press. “The date hasn’t been confirmed but our preference is to do it then. The league’s commitment to doing an outdoor game in our city is fantastic. It’s something we’ve been talking about for some time and it’s part of a significant strategy to do outdoor games and it will be great to be a part of it. We just have to firm up some details and hopefully we’ll have a date to announce fairly soon.”

The league was originally interested in having the Jets host an outdoor game next season but offered Chipman a choice between the two seasons and he opted for 2016 to augment his team’s fifth anniversary plans.

“For us, it will be our fifth year and there’s something about commemorating our fifth year back in the NHL that I like and it gives us a little bit more time to get our feet underneath us in terms of operating a team. I wouldn’t want to go out any further than that. We’ll be ready by then and the stadium is very capable of handling it,” said Chipman.

The Sojasun cyclicng team, cough part of the UCI Pro Continental series, have revealed they will fold after failing to securing a title sponsor.

The French team appeared in the last three Tours de France via wild card invites. Jerome Coppel finished 13th in the 2011 Tour to provide a boost to the small team that was formed in 2009 as Besson Chaussures-Sojasun. In 2010, the team became known as Saur-Sojasun and entered the Pro Continental circuit.

Tuesday is the deadline for teams to register with the UCI for the 2014 season.

General manager Stéphane Heulot said last week that the team was trying to find a new sponsor but the bleak economic situation was not working in its favor.

Heulot did suggest he was in discussions over a possible merger with NetApp-Endura as he sought to save his team for 2014. The Frenchman said that he withdrew from negotiations when it became clear that NetApp-Endura was interested only in securing the services of Heulot and five of his riders rather than in a fuller amalgamation between the two Pro Continental teams.

“It seemed ideal to me but when I started talking with them, I realised that they didn’t want much from the existing Sojasun team other than five riders and me,” Heulot told L’Équipe. “I quickly put an end to the negotiations. It was inconceivable for me to leave the rest of the team and staff.”