The announcement that golf is to be included in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro generated a huge sigh of relief from the International Golf Federation (IGF), which conducted a 15-month campaign to achieve this end. Nevertheless, members of the IGF must be chastened to discover that golf attracted a significant number of votes against it, which suggests that there was a rump of IOC members who disapproved of the idea.
At the same meeting in Denmark, Sir Craig Reedie became the first Briton to be elected to the IOC’s executive board for almost half a century and Jacques Rogge was re-elected unopposed as president of the IOC and will serve until 2013.
The success of rugby sevens, the other nominated sport that needed to be endorsed by the members of the IOC in Copenhagen yesterday, heightened the impression that golf is fortunate to be granted Olympic status. Rugby sevens attracted 81 votes in favour of it and only eight against with one abstention, while 63 voted in favour of golf and 27 against and there were two abstentions.
It was clear this week that a rearguard action was being conducted against golf and that what had seemed almost a foregone conclusion at an IOC meeting in Lausanne in August, when rugby sevens and golf were recommended by the executive committee for rubber-stamping in Copenhagen, was far from that.
Golf, it was noted, was the only one of the seven sports bidding for inclusion in the Olympics not to be represented at the African Olympic Congress in Abuja, Nigeria, this year. The game’s chauvinist image — perpetuated by its men-only clubs such as Augusta National, where the Masters takes place each April — was a continuing cause of concern, as was the view that Brazil is no hotbed of golf.
Then there was the hardy perennial that the Olympics would not represent a sporting summit for the competitors in a sport where the annual four major championships are seens as the most valuable yardstick of greatness.
All in all, the IGF’s campaign — headed by Ty Votaw, chief executive of the IGF, and Peter Dawson, of the R & A — could be considered to have done well to have overcome these objections. Tiger Woods, the world No 1 who will be 40 by the time of the Rio Games, is already quoted at 6-1 to win gold, with the same odds on offer for a winner from Great Britain or Ireland.
Source:The times
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Donington failure leaves Bernie Ecclestone on verge of switch
The future of the British Grand Prix is in turmoil after executives at Donington Park missed their final deadline to convince Bernie Ecclestone that they have £120 million to stage the nation’s biggest motor race.
Ecclestone, Formula One’s commercial rights-holder, has given Donington four deadlines to come up with the financing to stage the race, but the clock ticked beyond his patience late on Friday night and still no word reached his offices in Kensington, West London.
It was just the latest disappointment for Ecclestone after repeated assurances by Simon Gillett, chief executive of Donington Ventures, that everything was on target to make the Leicestershire circuit the new home of the British Grand Prix, after controversially taking over from Silverstone, regarded as the race’s traditional venue.
Gillett was mounting a rearguard action last night, planning a blitz of reassuring messages to be sent out next week, but it seems it may be too late as Ecclestone has already decided that Donington cannot be redeveloped in time to stage the race next July.
“It’s not good, is it?” Ecclestone told The Times. “Even if they get the money, I cannot see how it will all be ready in time to go. It is very disappointing because we thought it would happen, but they cannot go on missing deadlines. They could still come to us saying they have the money, but there is no way the circuit would be ready at this late stage. It looks as though we will have to start planning again.”
Which probably means a switch back to Silverstone, a plan Ecclestone was trailing almost three months ago at the grand prix this year, when doubts hardened about Donington’s ability to deliver. His confidence has gradually waned with every passing deadline and Gillett’s failure to come up with the goods late last night could be the final straw.
Gillett was unwilling to comment last night, but he has had a troubled passage since the surprise announcement that Donington had won the rights to the British Grand Prix on the eve of the 2008 race at Silverstone. There were big plans for redevelopment, with a £120 million price tag that would be financed from a debenture scheme, palatial housing developments and shopping mall. It sounded magnificent; in reality, it was always ambitious, particularly when the jaws of the credit crunch snapped tight.
Although some work has started at Donington, the circuit and the surrounding area are a long way from the standards that Formula One has come to expect. In three weeks, drivers and teams will arrive in Abu Dhabi for the newest grand prix on the calendar to compete on a state-of-the-art circuit that cost about £400 million. Donington is still a circuit in a set of fields, with almost no access by road and no railway station.
Source:The times
Ecclestone, Formula One’s commercial rights-holder, has given Donington four deadlines to come up with the financing to stage the race, but the clock ticked beyond his patience late on Friday night and still no word reached his offices in Kensington, West London.
It was just the latest disappointment for Ecclestone after repeated assurances by Simon Gillett, chief executive of Donington Ventures, that everything was on target to make the Leicestershire circuit the new home of the British Grand Prix, after controversially taking over from Silverstone, regarded as the race’s traditional venue.
Gillett was mounting a rearguard action last night, planning a blitz of reassuring messages to be sent out next week, but it seems it may be too late as Ecclestone has already decided that Donington cannot be redeveloped in time to stage the race next July.
“It’s not good, is it?” Ecclestone told The Times. “Even if they get the money, I cannot see how it will all be ready in time to go. It is very disappointing because we thought it would happen, but they cannot go on missing deadlines. They could still come to us saying they have the money, but there is no way the circuit would be ready at this late stage. It looks as though we will have to start planning again.”
Which probably means a switch back to Silverstone, a plan Ecclestone was trailing almost three months ago at the grand prix this year, when doubts hardened about Donington’s ability to deliver. His confidence has gradually waned with every passing deadline and Gillett’s failure to come up with the goods late last night could be the final straw.
Gillett was unwilling to comment last night, but he has had a troubled passage since the surprise announcement that Donington had won the rights to the British Grand Prix on the eve of the 2008 race at Silverstone. There were big plans for redevelopment, with a £120 million price tag that would be financed from a debenture scheme, palatial housing developments and shopping mall. It sounded magnificent; in reality, it was always ambitious, particularly when the jaws of the credit crunch snapped tight.
Although some work has started at Donington, the circuit and the surrounding area are a long way from the standards that Formula One has come to expect. In three weeks, drivers and teams will arrive in Abu Dhabi for the newest grand prix on the calendar to compete on a state-of-the-art circuit that cost about £400 million. Donington is still a circuit in a set of fields, with almost no access by road and no railway station.
Source:The times
Sir Alex Ferguson apologises to referee Alan Wiley
Sir Alex Ferguson has apologised to referee Alan Wiley after saying that physical unfitness had affected his decision-making during Manchester United's game against Sunderland last weekend.
A statement issued via Manchester United's official website said:
“I apologise to Mr Wiley for any personal embarrassment that my remarks may have caused and to the FA for going public with my views.
“In retrospect, I accept that this could be deemed as expressing those views in an inappropriate forum.
“It was never my intention to bring the focus of intense media attention on Mr Wiley. I intend to contact him personally after I return from a trip overseas during this international break.
“I would wish it to be noted that I have always respected Mr Wiley’s integrity and that I did not state or imply that Mr Wiley is a bad referee; that he was in any way biased; that decision-making generally during the game was poor, or that he missed any key incident during the game.
“My only intention in speaking publicly, was to highlight what I believe to be a serious and important issue in the game, namely that the fitness levels of referees must match the ever increasing demands of the modern game, which I hope will now be properly addressed through the appropriate formal channels.”
Ferguson had initially said: "He (Wiley) was not fit enough for a game of that standard. The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. He was not fit. It is an indictment of our game. You see referees abroad who are as fit as butcher's dogs. We have some who are fit. He wasn't fit."
Source:The times
A statement issued via Manchester United's official website said:
“I apologise to Mr Wiley for any personal embarrassment that my remarks may have caused and to the FA for going public with my views.
“In retrospect, I accept that this could be deemed as expressing those views in an inappropriate forum.
“It was never my intention to bring the focus of intense media attention on Mr Wiley. I intend to contact him personally after I return from a trip overseas during this international break.
“I would wish it to be noted that I have always respected Mr Wiley’s integrity and that I did not state or imply that Mr Wiley is a bad referee; that he was in any way biased; that decision-making generally during the game was poor, or that he missed any key incident during the game.
“My only intention in speaking publicly, was to highlight what I believe to be a serious and important issue in the game, namely that the fitness levels of referees must match the ever increasing demands of the modern game, which I hope will now be properly addressed through the appropriate formal channels.”
Ferguson had initially said: "He (Wiley) was not fit enough for a game of that standard. The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. He was not fit. It is an indictment of our game. You see referees abroad who are as fit as butcher's dogs. We have some who are fit. He wasn't fit."
Source:The times
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