Organisers of the Rugby World Cup 2011 have announced that ticket sales revenue for the event now totals US$165m meaning Rugby New Zealand 2011 (RNZ 2011) has now reached 75 per cent of its revenue target.

This reflects $25.6m of sales that have occurred over the last six weeks.

RNZ 2011 CEO Martin Snedden stated: “This is a significant milestone. It is a great place to be with the final ticket phase beginning on Monday.

“Prior to RWC 2011, clinic the highest revenue-generating event in New Zealand’s history was the 2005 British & Irish Lions Tour, viagra which grossed $19.8m. As of today, we have achieved eight times the ticket revenue for that event.”

RNZ 2011 is forecasting total sales revenue of $221.5m based on expected ticket sales of 1.35m from the 48 Tournament matches, and Snedden added: “We have now sold just over 900,000 tickets which underlines how popular this event is going to be.”

Recent ticket sales have been largely driven by the resale of tickets to the eight matches reallocated as a result of the Christchurch earthquake.

Snedden continued: “This coming Monday, at 9am, the final phase of ticketing for RWC 2011 gets underway. We’re urging fans to quickly take advantage of this sales period and secure the seats they want to witness Rugby at its best.

“There will be tickets available for most matches other than the Final. This includes the semi-finals and the quarter-finals. For most of the matches on sale Monday, there are still lots of tickets available in the lowest priced seating categories. For more than half the pool matches this means that fans can buy tickets for as little as $25.58 or $33.83 and take their kids for half that price.”

“This could be the last time we will see the 20 best teams in the world battling it out for the Webb Ellis Cup in our own backyard, so we hope Kiwi fans in particular seize the opportunity to get ringside seats at the biggest sporting event of 2011.

“We are expecting a strong response from fans when the final ticket phase opens. As we saw in France in 2007 and Australia in 2003, many fans make up their minds much closer to the Tournament so we are optimistic that fans will respond in the same way.”

International Rugby Board Chairman Bernard Lapasset added: “This key announcement truly represents the final countdown to the Tournament and I am sure that there will be strong demand for tickets. RWC 2011 is on track to be a successful Tournament that New Zealanders and the global Rugby family will be proud of.”

The Association of Tennnis Professionals (ATP) announced yesterday, June 13, that its Executive Chairman and President Adam Helfant would not be continuing his position with the Tour beyond the completion of his three-year contract at the end of this year.

Helfant joined the governing body of men’s tennis in January 2009, overseeing impressive growth at the Tour during difficult economic times, including in the areas of sponsorship, television and digital.

He stated: “I recently informed the ATP’s Board of Directors that I have respectfully declined their offer to continue on. Since I joined the ATP I have felt an immense sense of responsibility to the sport, and the people who have devoted the better part of their lives to it, to leave things better than when I arrived. I am proud to say the Tour is stronger than ever –- in terms of on-court action and our business –- and is well positioned for the future.”

Helfant revealed that revenues at the ATP will have increased by around 65% under his control by the time he steps down, while the organisation’s net assets will have increased by more than 1,100% by the close of 2011.

He added: “I am proud of what we’ve accomplished. Yet, there comes a time when it makes sense to look to the future and consider other opportunities. For me, that time is now. I have enjoyed the challenges during my time at the ATP, and the position has been rewarding; but when my contract is up at the end of this year, it will be the right time for me to move on.”

According to the statement released by the body, the ATP will begin the search process for Helfant’s successor in the near future, to seek to replace a man credited with sealing major sponsorship deals with Corona Extra and FedEx.

Roger Federer, President of the ATP Player Council, said: “On behalf of the player council and all the players, I would like to thank Adam for his excellent leadership and contributions during his time at the ATP. We achieved a lot together and will be sorry to see him go at the end of the year. The sport is in great shape and we look forward to helping to identify a new leader for this important position.”

ATP Board Member Gavin Forbes added: “Adam has done a terrific job as President of the ATP and we are disappointed he will not be returning next year, but we respect his decision and wish him all the best. The Tour is in a fantastic position and well-placed to continue on the same exciting path.”

Some of Britain’s elite athletes have written to prime minister David Cameron to arrange an urgent meeting to keep the annual £162m (US$250m) grant for school sports in the UK.

A decision was made by Education Secretary Michael Gove to cut the fund from March 2011 which helps 450 school sports partnerships across England. 75 high profile athletes including Denise Lewis, Gail Emms and Tessa Sanderson have signed a written letter to attempt to arrange an urgent meeting to change the decision made by Mr Gove.

Badminton star Emms was behind the letter which speaks strongly in its disapproval of the cut on funding to school sports. The money is currently used to run PE classes where no trained staff are involved and also organise and run clubs, competitions and events. The cut is set to be replaced with a new school Olympics scheme costing £10m ($15.5m).

The passionate letter to the PM reads, ‘With one ill-conceived cut you are on the brink of destroying everything schools, clubs and the national governing bodies of sport are doing to ensure this and future generations embrace sport and physical activity, not shun it.’

The letter adds: ‘The future health of all our children is at risk if you axe this funding. We urge you to act now, please, prime minister, and look again at the permanent withdrawal of funding for school sport partnerships before you condemn millions of children to a lack of sporting opportunities and therefore a bleak future of lethargy, obesity and unhappiness.’

Dallas O’Brien has resigned as the Chief Executive Officer of Athletics Australia, the governing body of Athletics in Australia. 

The President of Athletics Australia David Grace QC revealed today that the Board of Directors had accepted his resignation.

Grace thanked O’Brien for his work with the sport, which commenced with his appointment to the role in 2010.

“I would like to thank Dallas for his work in leading the sport over the past four years,” Grace said.

“During this time he has made a significant contribution, particularly in a wide range of projects including building relationships with Federal and State Governments, a whole of sport digital project and managing the lengthy process of the proposed merger with Little Athletics Australia. We also recognize his work done on the Youth Athletics project and the introduction of the IAAF Kids Athletics to Australia. We wish him well in his future endeavours.”

O’Brien said that the time was right to pursue career opportunities elsewhere.

“I have truly enjoyed my time at Athletics Australia, however the time is right for me to move on to new challenges,” O’Brien said.

Grace stressed the significance of the Chief Executive position and stated the Board of Directors will conduct a thorough search for an appropriate candidate, however would announce interim measures in the coming days.

With tensions between Israel and Hamas showing no immediate signs of easing up in the next month, for sale Swimming world governing body FINA has decided to move the upcoming world junior open water championships from its original location, medicine the Israeli port city of Eliat to Hungary. 

The town is located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, medicine and with fighting taking place all over the Middle East region.

FINA has proposed Lake Balaton in eastern Hungary as the new site. The meet was scheduled for August 28-30, but FINA announced today that the championship will now run September 5-7.

The first junior world open water championship took place in Welland, Ontario, in 2012.

With the announcement that $200 million will be invested into the sport of Rugby League over the next four years., National Rugby League (NRL) chief Dave Smith is expecting the sport to be the most played sport in Australia.

Smith headlined a presentation at Darling Harbour in Sydney on Monday along with ARLC chairman John Grant, chief operating officer Jim Doyle and head of football Todd Greenberg.

The former Lloyds Bank international boss outlined his plans for the NRL, which included the establishment of an $80m sustainability fund to safeguard the code’s future and detailed the strides made since the new billion dollar broadcast deal was signed off in August 2012.

The NRL made a record profit of $49.6m in 2013 – a $60m turnaround from 2012.

However, with soccer participation across the country on the rise, Smith said it was vital to increase investment at grass roots level.

“We have growth in our participation numbers,” Smith said.

“Women’s is up 20 per cent and masters up 14 per cent. Mini footballers is steady at 5.6 per cent.

“Wind the clock forward five years and we will be the biggest sporting community in the country.

“By that point we will hopefully gone through the current rights deal and see a big uptake in the number of people playing the game and the number of people watching the game and that will add more value to our rights.”

Smith said the NRL’s recent alliance with Touch Football Australia will bring more than 500,000 recreational participants under the umbrella of rugby league with 810,000 children already involved in existing development programs.

“We have significantly increased our investment in the game following the new broadcast rights deal, with 100 per cent of all revenue generated by the media rights deal invested in the game,” Smith said.

“Our results show that rugby league is investing more in the game than ever before and is now truly positioned to enter a period of growth that will make it the strongest and healthiest it has ever been.”

Despite recording healthy television figures, numbers were down by two per cent from 2012 and attendances by three per cent.

Greenberg said disappointing seasons from Parramatta, St George Illawarra, Brisbane and Wests Tigers were a big factor for the slide and one of the reasons the NRL lost $1.8m on the finals series.

He also said discussions had taking place with broadcasters about improving scheduling, in addition to improving matchday experiences for fans.

“It was a complex problem, our four biggest rating teams were at the bottom of the ladder,” Greenberg said.

“That affects crowds and it affects ratings, that is real and transparent.

“What we have done this year is work hard with the broadcasters to find better slots for television.

“We are bringing Saturday afternoon football into play for the first time in a long time, we will have three games on Anzac Day and think that’s going to make a huge difference.”

PGA Catalunya Resort, ambulance the host venue of The European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage, has been announced as the eighth European Tour Destination, joining an exclusive network of golfing facilities.

European Tour Properties is The European Tour’s portfolio of world class venues, and PGA Catalunya Resort joins London Golf Club in England; Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort in Provence and its sister venue Golf Club St. Leon-Rot near Frankfurt, Germany; Le Golf National in Paris, where The 2018 Ryder Cup will be played; The Dutch in Holland; Diamond Country Club in Austria; and Golf & Country Club Fleesensee, near Berlin in Germany, in an expanding collection.

PGA Catalunya Resort has long enjoyed a close and multi-faceted relationship with The European Tour, including hosting the Spanish Open on two occasions and The European Tour Qualifying School Final since 2008. The venue, already part of the European Tour Courses portfolio, will now benefit from the additional kudos and global recognition which comes with becoming a Destination.

The 6,705-metre Stadium Course was designed by Spanish golf legend Angel Gallardo and Ryder Cup star Neil Coles.

Julio Delgado, Chief Executive of PGA Catalunya Resort, said: “To be selected to become part of The European Tour Properties exclusive portfolio, which comprises some of Europe’s leading clubs, is a true privilege and testament to the great legacy Angel Gallardo and Neil Coles have created here at PGA Catalunya Resort.

“Spain is blessed with many great golf courses and it is an honour to be bestowed this new recognition by The European Tour, underlining the unique golf experience our team constantly strives to offer each and every PGA Catalunya Resort visitor.”

David MacLaren, Director of Property and Venue Development for The European Tour, said: “The relationship between The European Tour and PGA Catalunya has been a long and varied one and we have witnessed its journey from fledgling concept to a world class resort that is now acclaimed internationally. The design of the golf courses by Neil and Angel is marked by genius, and around the Stadium and Tour Courses a wide array of superb facilities has been developed. The European Tour Destination label is a fitting accolade and one which marks the enormous progress of the resort.“