EuroBasket will be in a shorter format from 2017 after the elimination of the second round group stage, anesthetist following widespread criticism of the length of this summer’s tournament in Slovenia.

The move, cough approved by FIBA Europe’s board at their meetings in Madrid on Saturday, will see the championships move into the elimination rounds directly after the first phase.

It will be the first standalone European Championships with fears it will fail to attract leading players from the NBA and elsewhere.

It was also confirmed that the contract of current Secretary General, Kamil Novak, has been extended through 2016.

The Board also approved the 2014 European Youth Championships host countries, with GB’s Under-20 men and women bound for Greece and Bulgaria respectively.

The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) has appointed Sarah Stevenson as its ambassador at the 2013 SportAccord World Combat Games.

Sports Ambassadors’ role is to engage in promotion of their sports and the world of martial arts & combat sports during the World Combat Games; via press conferences, capsule radio and television interviews, prostate as well as publications in international and Russian newspapers and magazines.

Stevenson, ambulance 30, a native of England, first came on the international scene when she became Junior World Champion in 1998 at the age of 15. She went on to become the World Champion in 2001 and has since become four-times European Champion and World silver medallist in 2005. 

Sarah recently created her own company ‘Sarah Stevenson Inspires’ which aims to educate and train young athletes across a range of sports.

“I am so proud of what I have achieved both on and off the mat. I am now committed to pass on my experiences and help young people gain the life skills and opportunities that I have had over the years. My ambition is to keep raising the profile of Taekwondo as a sport and encourage all youngsters to feel the benefits that come from being involved in sport,” she said.

La Manga Club has enhanced its reputation as Europe’s premier sports and leisure destination after renewing its relationship with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and signing a new agreement to become its overseas training resort until 2016. 

The award-winning five-star venue in Murcia, Spain, will be used as a year-round training facility as the LTA bids to develop the next generation of British tennis stars hoping to follow in the footsteps of current number ones Andy Murray and Laura Robson. 

Under the terms of the three-year deal, La Manga Club will provide the LTA’s performance team and coaches with the chance to train with small groups of players on world-class outdoor facilities through the year. 

Featuring a tennis academy including 20 clay courts, four hard courts and four on artificial grass, the luxury resort boasts some of the best facilities in Europe and British stars past and present including Murray, Robson, Tim Henman and Elena Baltacha have all used the resort as a winter training base over the last decade. 

La Manga Club has also been used to stage Davis Cup and Fed Cup and, in return for offering its facilities, the LTA will support the resort with building its brand and development in the UK market over the next three years. 

The first LTA elite squad is due to arrive at the Spanish resort for a two-week training camp later this month and Leon Smith, LTA head of men’s and women’s tennis, said, “We are delighted to re-establish a relationship with one of the premier tennis resorts on the continent. 

“La Manga Club perfectly understood the requirements of our players, particularly with regards to clay court play, and will offer excellent practice facilities during the entire year, including the off-season.” 

Lorenzo Martinez, La Manga Club’s director of tennis and leisure, said: “This new partnership demonstrates and reinforces La Manga Club’s commitment to sporting excellence. 

“We are thrilled to welcome the LTA and their elite teams back to La Manga Club and excited at the prospect of working together with one of the most respected Federations in tennis.” 

Set over 1,400 acres in an area three times the size of Monaco, La Manga Club is renowned for its first-class range of facilities and has hosted star names from the worlds of sport, leisure and showbusiness over the last 40 years. 

The resort boasts unrivalled facilities as a sport and leisure venue including three 18-hole championship golf courses, a 28-court tennis centre and a 2,000sqm spa and fitness centre. It also offers the choice of a five-star hotel, four-star serviced apartments and townhouses, more than 20 bars and restaurants and is great fun for children.

British Cycling has recorded its best month for membership growth in the organisation’s history, adding over 2,400 new members in July and bringing its total membership to over 51,000, Chief Executive Ian Drake announced today.

Since Bradley Wiggins crossed the finishing line on the Champs Elysees on 22 July over 1,000 more cyclists have signed up to receive British Cycling member benefits.

Ian Drake, British Cycling Chief Executive, said: “This surge in membership comes in the middle of a great summer for British Cycling.

“We recently passed 50,000 members and were delighted by Sport England figures which showed 160,000 more people are cycling than were six months ago.

“July has been a bumper month. We’ve celebrated success by fellow British Cycling members Bradley Wiggins, Britain’s first Tour de France winner, and Lizzie Armitstead, whose medal in the London 2012 women’s road race on Sunday drew in unprecedented crowds.

“There is more great cycling to come in the Olympics and Paralympics and I believe we have already established a legacy for the sport. Continued success will inspire thousands more to join British Cycling.”

British Cycling provides a range of benefits to support its members including free legal assistance, up to £10 million liability insurance and discounts on cycling purchases. Members also get priority access to tickets for major cycling events like the Glasgow Track World Cup this November.

The Abu Dhabi Centre of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is now open after an official launch by the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD).

It is the first Alternate Hearing Centre for CAS, which settles disputes in sport and has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, with further offices in New York and Sydney.

The centre is the first of three centres CA plans to open in Asia and the Middle East and Mohammed Al Kamali, secretary general of the UAE National Olympic Committee, believes the court will be up and running within six months.

Sultan Saeed Al Badi, undersecretary of the ADJD, said: “The ADJD and CAS had signed the agreement in February under directions from Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department.

“This CAS centre in Abu Dhabi is a directive of Sheikh Mansour since it will help the department in achieving its strategic goals through improved judicial specialisation at local, regional and international levels. It will also support the development of sports in the region by raising professional and legal aspects of the field.

“We are looking forward to providing a platform of excellence to organise meetings, seminars and other activities related to the development and promotion of sports’ legal aspects in the region.”

John D. Coates, President of CAS, confirmed two other centres in the region will open later in Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai.

“Sport is part of society and we were very keen to make our services available in the Middle East and I think this is a very good centre for it.

“Increasingly the Middle East is going to be seen more and more. Abu Dhabi has the [Formula 1] grand prix here, Dubai has so many events, Qatar is getting ready for the World Cup. This is a very stable city, stable government and we are very comfortable being based here.”

Coates said the court’s laws would soon be translated into Arabic and it is understood cases heard in Abu Dhabi will be sent to CAS for a final verdict.

UEFA has revealed its concern over the cost of hotels in Ukraine, the co-host with Poland for this summer’s European Championships.

The cheapest room available in Donetsk on June 11, the date of England’s clash with France in their opening Euro 2012 game, is 6,000 Ukraine Hryvnia (£478/$748).

The one starred Agat Hotel in Donetsk is currently charging double that for the same date.

By way of comparison, the cheapest hotel available in the Polish city of Gdansk, which will host world and European champions Spain and Italy on June 10, can be purchased for 135 UAH (£11/$17).

“There are issues around the high cost of hotels in Ukraine in particular,” UEFA’s events chief executive David Taylor told reporters in Warsaw.

“That is causing us some concern. Of course UEFA cannot fix that ourselves.We don’t manage hotels. But we do think it’s not a very good image to present of trying to charge as much as possible.

“We speak to the authorities, we speak to hotels, we try to ensure that they understand the importance of trying to set prices at a reasonable level so that, in future years, people who come to Ukraine can enjoy it and come back, not be scared off by high prices.”

Though UEFA cannot enforce change itself, it is lobbying to ensure hotels are affordable for the average spectator during Euro 2012.

by Ismail Uddin

Richard Worth, Chairman of the America’s Cup, has proclaimed NBC’s deal to broadcast sailing’s marquee regatta as “enormous.”

NBC will air two America’s Cup races in 2013 and will also broadcast this years America’s Cup World Series.

“The significance is enormous,” he exclusively told iSportconnect.

“Where sailing has been difficult to commit to for primary broadcasters, the new style of coverage is absolutely transformational, and the start times are far more reliable. The America’s Cup events are easy to follow, intensely watchable, and opening the door to a much broader range of viewership. The idea that this is Formula One on the water is not fanciful.”

He also expressed his admiration for Sky’s continued coverage of Amerca’s Cup and the America’s Cup World Series in the UK.

“Sky Sports don’t get much wrong when they decide to lead the way,” he added.

“From the next America’s Cup World Series event in Naples in the week of April 15th, Sky Sports will be devoting no less than 13 hours of live coverage to the drama of the fleet racing which is dangerous, thrilling and produced using the best technology on offer.”

by Ismail Uddin

Discuss NBC’s deal with Richard Worth here >>

Read Richard Worth’s exclusive iSportconnect interview here >>

Rutgers University is the centre of some controversy after it was revealed that one of the coaches was given $100,000 interest fre home loan while the History department is getting stripped of funds.

The women’s basketball coach got monthly golf and car allowances. Both collected bonuses without winning a championship.

On flip-side, the history department took away professors’ desk phones to save money and shrank its doctoral program by 25 percent. After funding cuts by the deficit-strapped Legislature, New Jersey’s state university froze professors’ salaries, cut the use of photocopies for exams and jacked up student tuition, housing and other fees.

Rutgers also increased funding for sports. The 245-year-old school spent more money on athletics than any other public institution in the six biggest football conferences during the 2009-2010 fiscal year, based on data compiled by Bloomberg. More than 40 percent of sports revenue came from student fees and the university’s general fund.

“I am dumbfounded,” said New Jersey Assemblyman David Wolfe, a Republican who is a professor of psychology at Ocean County College in Toms River. “Rutgers officials appear before the Legislature every year and claim they are underfunded and need more money. Now we find out we have the No.1-subsidized athletics program in the country.”