GAMES

New Chapter unfolds for the World Olympians Association

The World Olympians Association yesterday hosted a prestigious Gala in the exclusive St. James's Palace in London’s famous Pall Mall. Some 400 members of the Olympic family gathered in the presence of H.R.H. The Princess Royal and under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. A highlight of the association’s activities in London, the Gala has underlined the renewed positive relations with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Federations and National Olympic Committees, under the leadership of its new President, Joel Bouzou. The event marked a key milestone in WOA’s intention to step up its role with the IOC with it’s double mission: “Serving Society and Serving Olympians”.

In an inspiring welcome speech, Joel Bouzou, WOA President, declared: “I am making a pledge as President of the World Olympians Association, and as an Olympian myself. My pledge is that the role of an Olympic athlete is not reduced to sixteen days of competition once every four years. I’m making a pledge tonight that Olympians from all around the world, past and present, serve society on a daily basis, twelve months of the year, and offer what they do best.”

Speaking in agreement with President Bouzou, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Patron of the WOA, emphasized: “As an Olympian and a member of the International Olympic Committee, I am delighted to see this Association take a growing place in the Olympic movement. The Games are nothing without athletes. They would not exist without these tens of thousands of Olympians who have written these pages in history.”

Representing the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, IOC Vice-President, took the opportunity to reaffirm the IOC’s full support for the WOA’s ambitions, which are summed up by the motto "Serving society, Serving Olympians". Thomas Bach made special mention of the great achievements of the Olympians family in recent months.

The Olympians Gala is the WOA’s first formal event at the Olympic Games. It brought together Heads of State, Ambassadors, UN Representatives, IOC members, leaders of International Sports Federations, representatives from the private sector and a large number of Olympians.

The WOA Gala was supported by “Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games” as part of a long term plan to advance the mission of the WOA, which is committed to giving back to those who share its values and are motivated by its vision of Olympic principles.

WOA Press Officer:
Nicolas Serres

The opening day of sport at London 2012 has sparked a row with North Korea after the South Korean flag was mistakenly displayed prior to their women's football opener against Colombia at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

The North Korean player's names were shown beside a picture of the South Korean flag in an embarrassing blunder which marred the opening day of action at London 2012.

Particularly as South Korea are not even competing in the women's football tournament, though their men kick off their Olympic campaign tomorrow.

Relations between the two countries is tense, and they are technically still at war as no peace treaty has ever been signed following the Korean war from 1950 to 1953.

The team walked off the pitch in anger and only returned to start the match with Colombia an hour later.

An angry North Korean official protests after the wrong Korean flag is displayed at Hampden Park

The North Koreans have received a swift apology, with London 2012 organisers saying: "Today ahead of the women's football match at Hampden Park, the South Korean flag was shown on a big screen video package instead of the North Korean flag.

"Clearly that is a mistake.

"We will apologise to the team and the National Olympic Committee and steps will be taken to ensure this does not happen again."

Hampden Park media manager Andy Mitchell said: "The South Korean flag was shown in the video package on the screen before the kickoff and the North Koreans were naturally very upset about that.

"We have made a full apology to the team and the North Korean NOC (National Olympic Commiittee).

"A genuine mistake was made for which we apologise."

Once back on the pitch, the North Koreans did not seem too affected as they went in at half-time 1-0 up against the South Americans.

Kim Song Hui put them ahead with a fortuitous strike when the ball ricocheted in off her knee as she tried to connect with a cross.

Hui then sealed the win with five minutes to go, taking advantage of an error by Stefany Castaño to chip the ball over the line.

It was a confident and composed start by the North Koreans, whose victory is a signal of their intent at these Games, although many observers consider them fortunate to be allowed to take part.

FIFA have banned them from competing in the 2015 World Cup after five members of their team tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs at last year's tournament in Germany.

But they have allowed them to keep their place in the Olympics.

An attempt by the Australians to overturn the decision was unsuccessful.

-David Gold

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

Richard Hope and Nivanya Abraham two young and upcoming Trinidad and Tobago designers will be on show at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic  games .  Hope and Abraham collaborated to design the opening ceremony outfit that the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic team will wear during the parade of nations .  The Olympic stadium in East London will be turned into a catwalk as athletes from various countries parade wearing designs and outfits done by some of the biggest names in the world of fashion.
T&T chef de mission, Annette Knott, explained that the national Olympic committee  traditionally opted  for  a classical blazer and pants ensemble.
" It is a tradition from which we never deviated. The Olympic games opening ceremony outfit was always red jacket and black pants or skirt with the national  tie and scarf .  I wanted the team to wear something different -a bit more contemporary in cut and look. "
According to Knott, a  TTOC vice president,  the design concept  that the T&T team will wear is based  on the fact  that when athletes win a medal they usually wrap themselves in their national flag.

"The  design  seeks to mirror the wrapping of a flag around the athlete. It incorporates the colours of our national flag. The contemporary cut accentuates the silhouette of the athlete- signifying elegance, athleticism, power and confidence . It is designed and made  in T&T.  the feedback from the athletes have been very positive" said Knott
Jamaica's  opening ceremony  outfits were designed  by Bob Marley's granddaughter   Cedella Marley, in collaboration with Puma and will feature the green, gold and black of the Jamaican flag.. Azerbaijan will wear  Ermanno Scervino-designed outfits , while  Italy's uniforms  were designed with input from Georgio Armani and Prada. Stella McCartney  designed Team GB's kit. Team USA will sport a  Ralph Lauren,design .The four athletes  from the tiny republic of San Marino  will wear  a Salvatore Ferragamo  creation .  Athletes from 205 countries will parade in the opening ceremony before a sold out crowd of 80,000 inside the olympic Stadium and an estimated worldwide television audience estimated to be in the billions.

A planned strike by British border staff on the eve of London 2012 has been called off, it was announced today.

The strike, called by members of the the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, was scheduled to place tomorrow, just one day before the start of the Olympic Games, and it would have caused severe problems at all of the key London 2012 transport hubs, including Heathrow Airport, which is now entering its busiest ever period.

The one-day strike was designed to demonstrate anger over cuts to United Kingdom border staff numbers and pay.

The issue had become so serious that Home Office officials were due to ask the High Court to block the strike by declaring it illegal with the Olympic looming.

But the issue has been diverted, at least temporarily, after the PCS were promised that there would be significant investment in the border force and passport service in a move that would see the creation of more than 1,000 new jobs.

"These new jobs are a welcome step towards a recognition that the Home Office has been cracking under the strain of massive job losses, and that the answer is not more cuts but more investment," said PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka.

"We are pleased that with these new posts and the progress made in talks we are able to avert a strike ahead of the Olympics.

"But we first raised our concerns 18 months ago, so it is deeply regrettable that Ministers allowed this dispute to escalate."

Olympic volunteers wait to greet arriving teams at Heathrow Airport ahead of the Games

PCS Parliamentary group chair John McDonnell has also welcomed the move.

"Thank goodness the Government has seen sense," he said.

"The union has secured a tremendous breakthrough to protect its members' jobs.

"This could have been sorted weeks ago.

"There was no need for this heavy-handed brinkmanship by the Government."

By Tom Degun at the Main Press Centre on the Olympic Park in London

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

Former prime minister says it will be a decade before success of Olympic Games can be judged.

Tony Blair has told those who criticise the investment of £9bn of public money in staging the London 2012 Olympics they should have more pride in hosting "the world's biggest sporting event".
The former prime minister said it would be a decade before the success of the London Games could be judged and warned that political focus must be maintained afterwards.
"It's in 10 years time we'll know whether this has worked or not. What is important is after the Olympics to carry on encouraging the impact of it to keep generating local sport activity," he told the Guardian after appearing at the Beyond Sport conference in London on Wednesday.
Blair, who has focused on his role as a Middle East envoy since leaving power, has taken on his first role with the Labour party since stepping down as prime minister, becoming an adviser on Olympic legacy.
He said those who criticised the cost of the Games had not fully considered the benefits. "It's really important on the money side to understand what you're getting in return.
"Of course, £9bn is in one sense a lot of money but, in another sense, you're regenerating an entire part of the country, creating thousands of jobs and there's massive amounts of investment coming in," Blair said.
When Blair originally gave the go-ahead to the Olympics bid, it was claimed that the Games could be delivered for £2.4bn. After London was chosen, the budget more than tripled to £9.3bn.
Those involved say that the original budget was always an operational figure and did not include VAT, the cost of buying and remediating the land or the sizeable contingency fund required.
Asked whether the same figure could simply have been spent on regeneration without the Games, Blair said: "It's not quite the same. You've got the Olympics! When people start making arguments like this I just have to say 'Come on guys, this is the biggest sporting event in the world and we're hosting it.' A bit of pride there, I think."
Blair admitted the competing figures cited in recent weeks on both sides of the debate made it difficult to calculate the benefits.
"There is no accurate assessment of the figures on this, but if you were to ask any of the cities who we beat if they wish the result had gone differently, if they were being honest they would say 'yes, of course'."
He said the last-minute list of concerns, from transport and security to the weather, were typically British but predicted that the country would revel in hosting the Games.
"We're just like this. But when it comes to the point, people will be delighted. It's an enormous opportunity for the country," he said.
Blair, who said he still "worked out four or five times a week" at the age of 59, said he was convinced of the link between elite sporting success and grassroots participation – despite the fact that no previous Olympics have persuaded more people to play sport in the host country.
"I basically do buy it. If you look at cycling in the UK today, and I've got no scientific evidence for this at all, but I think it really does make a difference. Andy Murray in tennis, these big sporting icons can draw people into sport."
After leaving office, Blair set up a small-scale sports foundation in north-east England to train coaches and volunteers, which, he said, had reached tens of thousands of children.
He said that it was vital to pour more money into coaching and urged sports bodies to invest more of their income in the grassroots.
"We need a greater linking up between government, sports organisations and the grassroots," he said.
"We sit in that gap but we sit pretty alone. It's important for the sports governing bodies, which have some pretty significant budgets, that they understand the importance of coaching and volunteers. It's not just about picking some elite kids and making them champions; it's about permeating sport through the community."
Blair, who with his wife, Cherie, is credited with playing a key role in schmoozing IOC members the night before the 2005 Singapore vote on the 2012 host city, said that the former Olympics minister Tessa Jowell and athletes persuaded him in 2002 to bid for the Games despite official advice that Paris would win.
"We had a meeting in Downing Street with [the rower] Sir Steve Redgrave and all these people. Their enthusiasm was a big factor. It was difficult because we feared we weren't going to win. That's what people kept telling me," he said.
"The infrastructure is now the thing the Olympic committee more or less take for granted. What we added was a sense of London as a modern, multicultural, multi-faith city.
"I'm not saying that was the determining element, but it was an important dimension," he said.
Blair said he would take his seat at the opening ceremony on Friday feeling a "mixture of nerves and pride", and hoped the Games would show London at its best.
He said that he had waged an ongoing battle in government to "fight the system" and knit sport into the fabric of health, education and social affairs policy but admitted that he could have gone further.
"You can always do more. But I think we did a lot in terms of facilities, sports co-ordinators in schools and so on. But now I have a sports foundation, we find there is a big unmet need still there," he said.

By Owen Gibson

Source: www.guardian.co.uk