2011 Daily - Day 1 - SportAccord Convention London 2011

09 >Why sportmatters - theevidence

12 >Spirit of Sportnominees

05 >Working towardsa sustainable convention

www.sportaccordconvention.com Issue 1 04|04|2011

The leaders of world sport have gathered inLondon for the SportAccord Convention –and it is set to be the best ever, with agalaxy of major names attending.

Against a back-drop of preparations forthe London 2012 Olympic Games, a formi-dable line-up of speakers from the world ofsport, politics and business has been assem-bled for six action-packed days. The officialopening of the convention will be carriedout by Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

A SUMMIT FOR SHARINGAND LEARNING

“London will deliver a tremendousSportAccord Convention and one whichwill give all the International OlympicBodies and Sports Federations a chance toreally see what London has in store for2012,” Johnson told the convention Daily.

“This is an event which is all about theglobal sports business industry joiningtogether, developing relationships, learningmore and moving forward as a global indus-try. For London, the SportAccordConvention presents a unique opportunityto build relationships with decision-makersand position London as a long-term partnerof the global sports movement.”

Lord Coe, Chairman of London 2012,will use the SportAccord Convention stageto update delegates on progress towardsdelivering the Olympic Games next year.He will speak of the challenges he and histeam faced in delivering the London

Games and how they have been overcome.Chairing the convention will be Lord

Digby Jones of Birmingham, former Britishgovernment minister and passionate advo-cate of British business and trade.

The convention organisers have scored acoup in attracting the head of GlobalPartnerships for Coca Cola, Scott McCune,who will share some of the secrets of howhis firm approaches partnering.

From the sporting world, former NewZealand Rugby Union superstar JonahLomu will be present, along with UK ath-lete Dame Kelly Homes. Also attending theevent are two high profile bosses of EnglishPremier League soccer clubs – PeterKenyon and Karen Brady.

“We believe we have put together an out-standing line-up of speakers to help address arange of critical issues,” said SportAccordConvention Chairman Hein Verbruggen.

with cities around the world that are potential hosts of their world championships andother events. Being here in London will give them a unique opportunity to see moreof what London and the UK have to offer.”

He added: “London is also an important hub of the business of global sport, ofcourse, and that will add a special buzz to the proceedings.” �

The SportAccord Convention in London is the ninth edition of the event and thefirst to take place in the UK, ancestral home of so many of the world’s sports.

“We are delighted with the enthusiastic response to holding this event in London,”SportAccord Convention Chairman Hein Verbruggen said as the doors opened yester-day. “The theme of our conference this week, Why Sport Matters, is especially reso-nant here. Britain was a pioneer in creating organised sport and London is investingenormous energy in hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games next year becausesport matters today more than ever.”

This is the second time that the SportAccord Convention takes place in the hostcity of the Games one year in advance. The 2007 edition was in Beijing. “TheSportAccord Convention serves a purpose in the preparations for the Olympic andParalympic Games,” said Verbruggen, who was Chairman of the CoordinationCommission for the 2008 Beijing Games. “But our Convention is by no means onlyabout those Games or the sports they include. It is a summit of world sport, bringingtogether the whole range of sports, in an atmosphere of sharing and learning.”

Verbruggen, who is also president of the SportAccord umbrella association of inter-national federations (with more than 100 member organisations), said: “One of themain objectives of the SportAccord Convention is to help the federations connect

“The profile of sport in the world hasnever been higher and that means thatits guardians have a special duty toaddress the issues facing us.

“The SportAccord Convention 2011will, I believe, set new standards for ourannual event. And with just over a yearto go before the London Olympics, weare perfectly positioned to get a briefingfrom the ‘front line.’” �

Boris Johnson

Hein Verbruggen at theinaugural Combat Games

TOMORROW Tuesday April 5...

� LawAccord 09:00-12:00Park Plaza County Hall

� City Forum 13:00-17:00Debating Chamber of London’s County Hall

� SportAccord Opening Ceremony02 Arena at 20:00 (departure will start at 18:00)

WORLD LEADERS OF SPORTGATHER IN LONDON

Sport Accord_2011_Day_1_Monday.qxd:ATM_Show_Daily_1.qxd 4/1/11 1:25 PM Page 1

DAILY NEWS2

Holland may be a small country, but whenit comes to delivering world class eventsit punches well above its weight,according to Andre Bolhuis, President,Dutch Olympic Commitee*DutchSports Federation (NOC*NSF).

Presenting the Dutch option for sport-ing events at the SportAccordConvention exhibition is Holland Moves,an umbrella grouping of Dutch cities,National Federations and the NOC.

“Holland has great ambitionsand wants the internationalsporting community to benefitfrom what the country has to offer: its internationalaccessibility, its compact size, its smart infrastructure andproven organisational expertise,” said Bolhuis.

“Holland Moves is powered by NOC*NSF and theNetherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions. It bringstogether many parties involved in hosting internationalevents in Holland. Through this co-operation we canoffer International and European Federation the best pos-sible match for international events in Holland.

“Holland has a convincing track record of internationalevents. Recently it hosted such great events as the 2010FIG World Championships Artistic Gymnastics inRotterdam, the 2010 IPC Swimming WorldChampionships Eindhoven and the start of both the Tourde France as the Giro d’Italia.”

Bolhuis said that the SportAccord Convention offers a“unique setting” to touch base with the internationalsporting community.

“The main objective for participating in SportAccordConvention is to meet up with the international sportscommunity , to learn about current themes on the interna-tional sports agenda and to exchange ideas and expertise.”

Holland already has a busy events agenda for the nearfuture, including the 2014 FIH Men’s and Women’sWorld Cups Hockey (The Hague), the 2012 UCI Road

World Championships Cycling in the province ofLimburg and the 2014 FISA World Championship

Rowing in Amsterdam. “Holland is well equipped and delivers perfectly

organised events, creating a wonderful ‘Orange’atmosphere on site and offering athletes and theirfederations a stage to perform successfully. Our assets

as a host are not just our strong sports infra-structure and renowned organisationalskills. There is much more. Importantaspects such as safety and security andenvironmental issues have our full atten-tion and we are applying new ways of cov-erage by modern media.” �

Delegates at the SportAccord Convention, and anyoneelse around the world interested in sports decision-mak-ing will be able to follow events this week on Twitter.

Our Twitter feed can be accessed by going toTwitter.com/saconvention

When tweeting use the official event hash tag #SACon

FOLLOW EVENTS ONTWITTER

Canada or Scotland have been crowned world cham-pions in the last six Men's World CurlingChampionships. Four of the last six finals have beenbetween the two nations.

Follow us at http://www.twitter.com/infostradalive

INFOSTRADA SPORTS'FACT OF THE DAY

The SportAccord Daily is produced on behalf of theorganisers by Trident Communications.

Editor : Mike Martin

Production Editor : Rick Haden

Journalists : Alan Dron, Brendan Gallagher, Tom Billinghurst.

Photographer : Liam Ritson

Printed by : Manson Group

If you have a story to tell at the SportAccord conven-tion then the SportAccord Daily wants to hear fromyou. The newspaper will be published every day thisweek and circulated at the event. It’s your eventnewspaper, so let us know what your organisation isdoing. The daily team is located in the Media Centreon the 15th floor of the hotel. Drop in or call MikeMartin on 07585 136676.

THE SPORTACCORDDAILY TEAM

One of the event sector’s leading planning and deliveryorganisations has teamed up with a global property andconstruction company to offer a unique ‘one stop shop’for event hosts.

Event Planning Group has entered into a joint venturewith consultancy firm Rider Levett Bucknall to offer com-prehensive major event planning and delivery servicesalongside extensive cost and project management supportfor stadium and infrastructure development.

The combined resources and expertise of the two com-panies provides an attractive turnkey solution for bidcities, organising committees and national associations,with the ability to work with one company from initialconception, including assistance with bids and legacyplanning, through to the delivery of facilities, infrastruc-ture and event services and operations.

Lance Taylor, chief executive of Rider Levett Bucknall,said: “The Event Planning Group and Rider LevettBucknall partnership allows us to present a totally uniqueand powerful package. The Event Planning Group team

POWERFUL NEW EVENTS SECTORPARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCED

includes some of the major event industry’s leadingexperts in the planning and delivery of temporary overlay,along with event services, venue management and opera-tions expertise.

“Event Planning Group has the highly specialist skillsand experience required to support Local OrganisingCommittees and Bid Cities in their events and can com-bine that with Rider Levett Bucknall’s cost management,health and safety, procurement and other advisory servic-es – it is a powerful proposition for our clients”

Rider Levett Bucknall has 100 offices across the globe,something which Event Planning Group’s chairmanMorris Nutbean argues is key to the service offer.

He said: “With Rider Levett Bucknall’s global reach weare able to deliver our services through local offices, sup-ported by the international resources of the firm andEvent Planning Group’s event delivery team. In manycases we train and use local people alongside our interna-tional staff, leaving a valuable skills legacy for every cityand country we work in.” �

HOLLAND – SMALL ISBEAUTIFUL FOR EVENTS

GOLD SPONSORS

HOST PARTNERS


DAILY NEWS 3

Having signed the first anti-doping serv-ice contract with the InternationalFencing Federation (FIE) this March, theSportAccord Doping-Free Sport Unit isabout to extend its services to other fed-erations.

Hein Verbruggen, President ofSportAccord said: “One of SportAccord’smain objectives is to support ourMembers. We are happy if we can offerour help in areas of concern.

“We are looking forward to these newcollaborations and we are honoured bythe trust the Federations have in us. Anti-Doping is a sensitive matter and we will,of course, always comply with their Anti-Doping Rules in force and will strictlyrespect confidentiality.”

The FIE was the first SportAccordMember that decided to outsource theadministration of its anti-doping programmeand to sign a contract with SportAccord onthe provision of such services.

“Although Fencing is considered as asport at low risk, this collaboration willdefinitely help our organisation benefit

SPORTACCORD'SDFSU TO TARGETNEW FEDERATIONS

ASOIF GATHERING LOOKSTO PACKED AGENDAConvention week gets off to a flyingstart today with important gatherings ofsporting associations.

Leading the way is the Association ofSummer Olympic InternationalFederations (ASOIF) which will belooking at the scope for cost-reductionin anti-doping work, moving ahead ontechnology and holding elections.

“It is a significant General Assemblybecause we have new projects for approvaland recommendations to WADA,” saidAndrew Ryan, ASOIF Director. “In addi-tion, there are new groups for revenue dis-tribution to be discussed.”

In addition to the General Assembly,this is an important week for ASOIF,with the launch of a new website sched-uled to go live during convention week.

“In order to be more effective and tocope with a growing workload with asmall administration, ASOIF has decid-ed to invest in technology to be moreproductive,” said Ryan. “The new web-site has been launched to provide bettercommunications and information forour Members.”

On today’s ASOIF General Assemblymeeting is a discussion and a move toapprove the planned Athlete InfoSystem (AAIS).

The aim is to develop a common

shared data platform across internation-al federations to provide a permanentbiography system for elite athletes com-peting in major events. It would ensurethat each federation had full control ofthe identity of its own competing ath-letes and provide a single verifiable cen-tral database of competing athletes forbroadcasters, event organisers, pressagencies, websites and mobile operatorsand eventually multi-sports gamesincluding the Olympic Games.

The gathering will also call uponanti-doping agency WADA to investi-gate anomalies in the cost of drug test-ing between different federations andseek ways to reduce costs

Research has highlighted the differencesin approach by federations and the differ-ent costs incurred. For example the aver-age cost per test of the 20,192 testsfinanced by the federations in 2009 was$825. However, for one federation, with acomprehensive anti-doping programme,the average cost was significantly lower.

The gathering will conclude withelections to the ASOIF Council.Candidates for election are PatrickBaumann (FIBA), Marisol Casada(ITU), Ugur Erdener (FITA), BrunoGrandi (FIG), Bernard Lapasset (IRB)and Hassan Moustafa (IHF). �

from a specific expertise, reduce costs aswell as optimise our efforts in keepingFencing clean,” says Maxim Paramonov,Secretary General of the FIE, about thebenefits of this agreement.

SportAccord will provide a number ofcustomised services to the federations. “Inclose collaboration with the federationswe analyse their needs and develop a tai-lored service package,” says FrançoiseDagouret, Manager Doping-Free SportUnit at SportAccord.

In the case of FIE, SportAccord willliaise directly with the Fencers registeredin the FIE testing pool and give advice onhow to provide whereabouts informationthrough ADAMS, the web-based Anti-Doping Administration and ManagementSystem of WADA. �

At your service: Hein Verbruggen, SportAccord President, and MaximParamonov, Secretary General FIE at the signing of the deal.

Organisers of major sporting events whoare considering Glasgow as a destinationare being promised ‘exceptional’ supportby city officials.

Glasgow’s Strategic Major EventsForum (SMEF) has launched a dedicatedMajor Events Charter – the first of itskind in the UK – which guarantees unri-valled city support for organisers across allaspects of their event planning.

Founded a little over five years ago,SMEF is a partnership between all ofGlasgow’s main public agencies and theprivate sector. Its remit is to developthe city as a first-choice major eventdestination in the global marketplacewith a focus on driving visitor numbers

and tourism spend.In the last financial year, more than

460,000 people attended major eventsheld in Glasgow – including the 14thannual International Gymnastics GrandPrix – which generated over £28 millionin economic benefit for the city.

Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader ofGlasgow City Council and Chair ofGlasgow City Marketing Bureau, said: “Thecity has added another significant string toits bow through the creation of the MajorEvents Charter, which provides peace ofmind for events organisers and guaranteesthat not only will choosing Glasgow ensuresuccess; it will also enhance their brand onthe global stage.” �

GLASGOW LAUNCHES “GUARANTEE” FOR EVENTS


DAILY NEWS4

Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö,Jämtland/Härjedalen and the Swedish SportsConfederation have joined forces to marketSweden as the preferred choice for majorsports events in the international arena.

The venture is called Sweet Spot Sweden,and the first step is taking part in theSportAccord convention in London.

“It’s hard to beat a successful sports eventas an opportunity for showcasing a country,its sports movement, cities and regions,” said

Karin Mattsson Weijber, President of theSwedish Sports Confederation.

“Sports events attract visitors who spend both timeand money on site, and they often return. Many citiesand countries have realised this and have increasedtheir efforts to secure championships and tournaments.

“The competition has, in other words, toughened.”The response in Sweden was for Stockholm,

Gothenburg, Malmö and Jämtland/Härjedalen togeth-er with the Swedish Sports Confederation to joinforces instead of competing with one another.

The venture is called Sweet Spot Sweden and aimsto feature Sweden as a great organizer of major sportsevents, said Weijber.

“We want to focus on what makes Swedish sportsso successful – the ability to build a winning team.This time, the prize is in the form of securing major

international sports events.This is why we have chosento present and be active atthe world’s largest and mostimportant forum for sportsevents: SportAccordConvention in 2011 and2012”.

She added that the differ-ent Swedish sports federa-tions have a good trackrecord of organising Worldand European

Championships and other international events. “Today, however, the work requires a more long-

term approach and individual ventures find it difficultto keep up with the competition. Joint efforts will berequired in order to attract major events,” she said.

“In many ways Sweden is a small country, but wehave a unique sports movement based on a huge levelof commitment that has led to astounding successes.And we have cities and regions with well-developedinfrastructure that are both willing and able to take onlarge events. Sweet Spot Sweden enables us to demon-strate a winning combination of Sweden as a compe-tent organiser and the great values of the Swedishsports movement; the basis for truly special events.Sweden is a real Sweet Spot for Sports.”

UNVEILED AT CONVENTION – SWEET SPOT SWEDEN

OLYMPICGUARDIANSThe challenge of upholding the Olympic ideal over generationsis the focus of a new volume of collective biographies of each ofthe eight Presidents of the International Olympic Committee.

Alain Lunzenfichter, of L'Equipe fame, and David Miller,former chief sports correspondent of The Times and historian,collaborated in writing the biographies of the eight Presidents,from Demetrios Vikelas to Jacques Rogge.

The authors worked independently in respective Frenchand English. Few contemporary writers have closer associationwith the IOC, having written earlier respective biographies ofRogge and Juan Antonio Samaranch.

"Olympic Guardians" brings into focus the myriad problemsconfronting the IOC over more than a century: two Chinas,two Germanys, two Koreas, apartheid, sixty years of resistingprofessionalism, fifty years of drug abuse, the mixed blessingsof sponsorship, rivalry from representative organisations ofboth International Federations and National OlympicCommittees, corruption of individual IOC members, grossexcesses (and losses) of bidding host cities, and the tenden-tious negotiations of television contracts.

The survival of the IOC and the Olympic Games, theworld's largest social movement and vulnerable legacy offounder de Coubertin, can be said to have been a minor mira-cle amid the reign of eight Presidents, occasionally in spite ofrather than because of their leadership.

The publication is available, FREE, on download at:www.megaupload.com/?d=NS3FOJK2


DAILY NEWS 5

With sport enjoying its highest profile inhistory, the SportAccord Convention,which opens in London today, has apacked and exciting agenda – but a sus-tainable one, according to AnnaHellman, SportAccord ExecutiveDirector.

“The structure of the convention issuch that delegates are able to get througha huge amount of business in a very hecticschedule,” she said. “People save a lot oftime and money by using the conventionfor meetings which otherwise would meanthem traveling all over the world.”

She added: “Before the SportAccordConvention was created, the three associ-ations had their own separate meetings indifferent places and at different times.

“By bringing them together we havecreated much more efficient and sustain-able model where we can address the crit-ical issues in sport. It’s the ideal network-ing platform for sport.”

The highly successful formula meansthat once again the event – this yearthemed “Why Sport Matters” - was soldout well in advance and is so for the nextfive years. Attendance is just over 1,650,once again more than the self-imposed“cap” of 1,500 delegates.

“We have gone over our limit as we didat Dubai, but not excessively so,” saidAnna. “We have a limit partly because wetry to use large hotels to accommodatepeople but also because if it got much big-ger you would lose some of the effective-ness of the event, that exclusive network-ing environment.”

Taking place in London which hoststhe Olympic Games next year, theSportAccord Convention has a packedagenda, from the association gatheringsearly in the week to the convention

conference later. The City Forum runs on Tuesday, as

does Law Accord, the gathering to debatelegal issues which has been brought backby popular demand.

Conference delegates will explore arange of key issues under the conferencebanner of “Why Sport Matters.” Theyinclude “What sport can learn from theBanking Crisis” and “Are sporting heroesdead?”

A discussion entitled “In the Hot Seat”will examine preparations for the 2012Summer Olympic and Paralypic Games inLondon. Also on the programme will besessions on “Why Sport Matters to theEntertainment Industry” and Brazil’s newprominence as host nation of both the2014 FIFA World Cup and the Games ofthe XXXI Olympiad.

Among the sporting leaders and politi-cal and business figures at theSportAccord Convention, being held atthe Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel,will be representatives of dozens of cities,either bidding to host sporting events orwanting to know more about the art ofputting together winning bids.

A major theme of the week is “How docities win bids for big sports events”.

Said Anna: “This is a very importantfeature of the SportAccord Convention,where city representatives can networkand learn the art of winning bids.”

When it comes to attracting citieskeen to host major events, TheSportAccord Convention is major target,according to Anna.

“We are incredibly spoiled in terms ofcities that are keen to host the conven-tion,” she said. “We tend to get aroundfive cities bidding for each annual event.Ours is a complex event with very spe-

WORKING TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE CONVENTION

cific requirements so not every cityworks for us.”

Anna revealed that, in line with thetrend of federations to stage major eventsoutside of the traditional centres ofEurope and the USA, the SportAccordConvention beyond next year’s event in

Quebec will be entering new territory. “We are talking to cities in Australia,

Africa and South America,” she said. The London event will once again fea-

ture a special reception for first time dele-gates. The ice-breaker cocktail receptionis this evening. �

The Sydney Olympics in 2000 sawthe world flock to Australia. Now, adecade later, the organisationalexpertise developed at the event isbeing exported to the world.

The AustralianInternational SportingEvents Secretariat(AISES) has teamedwith Austrade tomount an exhibitionat the SportAccordConvention to profilethe country’s capability not just in hostingmajor sports events but helping othersaround the world to do the same.

AISES has just released the latest edi-tion of its The Winning Edge directoryof Australian events expertise. The firstsuch edition was The Golden Pages ofAustralian Olympic Expertise producedexpressly for the Beijing 2008 Olympic

Games organisers. The latest edi-tion is now available via theAISES website, www.aises.gov.au

“The genesis for AISES enter-prise was the Sydney 2000

Olympic and ParalympicGames which are still

regarded as havingset ‘the’ bench-mark and engen-der much admira-tion for theirexcellent plan-

ning, management and presentation,” saidEric Winton Project Director, AISES.

“Sydney was truly memorable. Many ofthe companies that developed their skillsin Sydney have pursued internationalopportunities and successfully establishedtheir individual reputations and a collec-tive Australian reputation for excellence,creativity and dependability.” �

Anna Hellman

FROM SYDNEY 2000 TO THE WORLD


DAILY NEWS6

Exhibitor Singapore Sports Council(SSC) is at the SportAccord Conventionafter a landmark year which saw theisland state host the first Youth OlympicGames and work begin on its futuristicSports Hub.

But the best is yet to come for sports inSingapore, according to Lim Teck Yin,SSC Chief Executive.

“We aim to cement Singapore’s statusas a global sports city,” he said. “In 2010,we came second only to Melbourne in theUltimate Sports Cities Awards, and wewon the Sports City Award at theInternational Sports Events Conference.

“Over the next three years, we willillustrate, in no uncertain terms, that2010 was a leading indicator of what theinternational sporting community canexpect from Singapore: Service excel-lence, innovation, value and relevance.”

The Singapore Sports Hub (SSH), dueto open in April 2014, will have a venueunlike any other in the world, said Lim.

It is designed as an integrated land-watersports facility, capable of hosting world-class events in athletics, cricket, football,rugby at the National Stadium and swim-ming, water polo, canoeing and dragonboating, at the aquatics and water centres.

“Whatever we are doing well now, wewill be doing better in the future andexpanding our reach at the same time.We are transforming the game,” he said.

“Not only will the SSH elevateSingapore’s status as a global sports city, itwill have a tremendous economic impacton the Kallang Riverside area. Adjacent

to the commercial business district atMarina Bay, the Sports Hub location isonly 15 minutes from ChangiInternational Airport as well.”

Lim said that the SSH was a keystonein the Council’s strategy of creating aworld-class sports city and reinforcingSingapore’s position as the gateway tosports in Asia.

“Singapore is a small island city, butwe aren’t letting size stand in our way ofdeveloping our sporting universe,” hesaid. “We are a gateway to the Asiansports market, offering a business-friend-ly tax environment, a stable governmentand a harmonious society for companieslooking to invest in events or fixedassets.”

He pointed to the number of sportscompanies that have become establishedin Singapore, including Nike and LifeFitness, and the decision of theInternational Table Tennis Federation torelocate its Asia Pacific headquarters andinternational marketing operation fromBeijing to the island state.

“Moreover, the ITTF has committed toholding more world-class table tennistournaments in Singapore as part of itsinvestment in the city,” he said.

FIBA UNVEILS OLYMPICSQUALIFYING PROCESS

1 place for the host nation†1 place for the FIBA World Champion (USA)1 place for FIBA Americas (2011 FIBA Americas Championship winner)1 places for FIBA Europe (2011 EuroBasket winner)1 place for FIBA Africa (2011 FIBA Africa Championship winner)1 place for FIBA Asia (2011 FIBA Asia Championship winner)1 place for FIBA Oceania (2011 FIBA Oceania Championship winner)5 or 6 places through Olympic Qualifying Tournament‡† granted to GB following the FIBA Central Board meeting on 12-13 March 2012 ‡Olympic Qualifying Tournament12 team tournament, top 5 teams earn a place in the Olympic Basketball tournament

Qualify for Olympic Qualifying tournament4 places for FIBA Europe (2011 EuroBasket ranks 2-5)3 places for FIBA Americas (2011 FIBA Americas Championship ranks 2-4)2 places for FIBA Africa (2011 FIBA Africa Championship ranks 2-3)2 place for FIBA Asia (2011 FIBA Asia Championship ranks 2-3)1 place for FIBA Oceania (2011 FIBA Oceania Championship runner-up)

MEN’S TOURNAMENT WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

1 place for the host nation (GB)* 1 place for the FIBA World Champion (USA)2 places for FIBA Americas (2011 FIBA Americas Championship winner and runner-up)2 places for FIBA Europe (2011 EuroBasket winner and runner-up)1 place for FIBA Africa (2011 FIBA Africa Championship winner)1 place for FIBA Asia (2011 FIBA Asia Championship winner)1 place for FIBA Oceania (2011 FIBA Oceania Championship winner)3 or 4 places through Olympic Qualifying Tournament#* granted to GB following the FIBA Central Board meeting on 12-13 March 2012 # Olympic Qualifying Tournament12 team tournament, top 3 teams earn a place in the Olympic Basketball tournament

Qualify for Olympic Qualifying tournament4 places for FIBA Europe (2011 EuroBasket ranks 3-6)3 places for FIBA Americas (2011 FIBA Americas Championship ranks 3-5)2 places for FIBA Africa (2011 FIBA Africa Championship ranks 2-3)2 places for FIBA Asia (2011 FIBA Asia Championship ranks 2-3)1 place for FIBA Oceania (2011 FIBA Oceania Championship runner-up)

A GREAT YEAR – AND THE BEST TO COMEHe added: “In many respects, we have

become the leading market for launchingnew events, because rights owners knowthat we will deliver premium service, orig-inality, value and relevance.”

Lim said that the SSC also intends tostrengthen Singapore’s role as a centre ofexcellence for sports medicine and sciencein the region.

“We already have an island-wide net-work of sports medicine clinics, and theSingapore Sports Institute, managed bythe High Performance Group at SSC,will work in partnership with both localand international organisations to pio-neer best practices in athlete trainingand development.

“We are looking forward to welcomingour international friends to the new train-ing opportunities through the Sports Huband the Sports Institute.”

Lim said that he and his team were atthe SportAccord Convention to learn aswell as spread the message about sports inSingapore.

“SportAccord is an excellent source ofinformation on the latest trends, successesand, even, the missteps. We always comeaway from SportAccord with somethinguseful for our business.” �

After resolving the issue of Britain’sbasketball teams’ qualification forthe London 2012 Olympic basket-ball, FIBA has announced details ofthe qualifying process for the tour-naments.

A meeting of the FIBA Central

Board in March granted automaticqualification for Britain’s men’s andwomen’s teams, a move greetedwith relief and excitement inBritain.

With the issue resolved, the fed-eration has revealed the qualifying

process in the run-up to theLondon Games.

The tournaments will see 12teams take part in the Olympic bas-ketball tournaments for men andwomen. Check the boxes for detailsof the qualification process.

Lim Teck Yin


DAILY NEWS 7

During the SportAccord Convention, delegates areencouraged to support the Earthquake Relief Fund tohelp with the sports-related recovery process in north-east Japan and Christchurch, New Zealand. There is alarge vase in the lobby of the hotel where you candeposit your contributions. An online link will also besent to delegates after the Convention to enable themto contribute The International Olympic Committeewill determine which projects are to receive the fundsand the money will be then transferred directly tothem or to the Japanese and New Zealand NOCs.Thank for your generous help. �

The hotel chosen for this year’s SportAccord Conventionis not just an excellent venue for the event – it has a lotto teach anyone interested in the critical issue of sustain-ability or the challenges of project management.

Opened just over a year ago, the Park PlazaWestminster Bridge is packed with features that add up tothe latest thinking on environmentally-friendly design.

“The hotel has a strong focus on environmental effortsand recently was acknowledged with a Gold Award fromthe Green Tourism Business Scheme, which is the UK’ssustainable tourism certification scheme,” said AndrewSwindells, General Manager. “Our efforts have focusedprimarily on energy efficiency, water use and recycling.”

At the heart of the philosophy is an energy manage-ment system designed to significantly reduce the amountof energy the hotel draws from the electrical grid. Thesystem includes a BioMass boiler that uses sustainablewood pellets to generate guest room heating and hotwater, a combined Heat and Power Unit that uses naturalgas and creates hot water.

The hot water is then used by the hotel’s absorptionchiller, which cools water for the hotel’s air conditioningsystem much more effectively than traditional chillers.

“We also have many water-saving devices in place,including low-water use toilets, showers and taps,” saidSwindells. “One of our most innovative efforts is an on-

site water-bottling plant that produces about a millionbottles of purified, triple-filtered water each year. Thisprovides a significant reduction in carbon emissions bysaving on transport of water deliveries and reducing theamount of disposable water bottles on site.”

Other features include triple-glazed windows, sensorsthat monitor movement and switch off electricity whenits not needed, use of gray water for outdoor plants, andrecycling – glass, paper, cardboard, plastic and metals.

The development of the 1,020-room hotel itself is ofinterest to anyone attending the SportAccord Conventionand who is faced with managing a complex project.

There were numerous complexities about building ahotel of this scale at this location. It has a relatively smallfootprint in a busy location with residents and businessesin very close proximity.

The build time was trimmed by a year by the use ofinnovative and efficient construction methods to com-plete the construction programme in just two and a halfyears. A “top down” method of construction wasemployed, which allowed the excavation of basement lev-els to take place simultaneously with the installation ofthe upper floor slabs.

More than 40,000 cubic metres of earth was removedfrom the site and at the peak of construction, there weremore than 600 workers on site.

Innovative engineering was needed for one of thehotel’s most notable design features - the day-lit, V-shaped atrium spanning 14 floors. The open space wascreated by setting two giant steel Vierendeel trusses at anangle. It is from these trusses that the 2nd - 13th floors ofthe hotel hang

“Anyone looking carefully at this project will see les-sons in planning and flexibility,” said Swindells. “Havinga detailed plan such as a critical path is key in a project aslarge and complex as this, but you also have to be flexibleand adaptable because the plan will change.

“The other lesson would be simply: get a great team.” �

WELCOME TO THEHOTEL “SUSTAINABLE”

HELPING TOREBUILD SPORT

Andrew Swindells


DAILY NEWS8

Crystal CG International and Creative Technologybelieves that digital technology and visualisation can puta “wow” not only into major events themselves but in thebidding process that precedes them, according to thecompany’s Mark Beard, Sales Director, Sports.

Beard will be making the case in a series of seminarsat the SportAccord convention. They will be held inthe private Crystal CG mini-theatre in the City Room,located on the 8th floor of the Park Plaza. The fourmain topics are:

� Sport presentation and broadcasting support tools� Using the latest digital imagery and display technol-

ogy to create unique sporting events and attract audiences� Experiential sponsorship in sport � Bringing bids to life using 3D and digital imagery“Digital media helps to engage the audience at sport-

ing events – enhancing the experience for fans,” saidBeard. “It adds a ‘wow factor’ that truly brings the sportexperience to life.

“Since the spectacle of the Beijing Olympics, digitalmedia has become more popular, accessible and widelyused in the sporting world. It has opened doors to oppor-tunities to create a buzz not only at the events them-selves, but in the marketing and sponsorships opportuni-ties surrounding them.”

He added that Crystal CG enjoys “a worldwide leader-ship position” in sports visualisation and digital imagery.Its technology recreates “the drama, excitement and pas-sion of sport” with 3D imagery and animations for venues,cities, simulations, mascots and logos.

The firm was involved in the Olympics in Beijing in2008 and will be again at the London 2012 Olympic &Paralympic Games.

Crystal CG will also be showcasing its ongoing projectwith the London 2012 mascot animations, the openingand closing ceremonies from the Beijing Olympics, F1idents and the winning animations behind the successfulRussia and Qatar bids for the FIFA World Cup.

“Crystal CG International provides digital imagery andanimation for the experiential events sector, of which thesport sector plays a key role,” he said. “The servicesCrystal provides encompass what SportAccord is about –bringing the sport experience to life for sponsors, broad-casters and audiences.”

He has a view on one of the themes of theSportAccord convention – how do cities win majorevents.

“There are many elements to a successful bid and hav-ing the support of experienced advisors is a huge asset tobidding cities to help navigate the process. It is also

Mark Beard, SalesDirector, Sports

PUTTING THE “WOW”FACTOR INTO EVENTS

important for cities to clearly understand why they arebidding, what their strengths are as a potential host cityand being able to convey these effectively to the judgingbodies . Digital imagery helps to bring bids to life andadd another dimension to the visual element of a bidpresentation,” he said. �


DAILY NEWS 9

� Convention Daily: How did you getinvolved with SportAccord this year?Siner: I left the IOC in 2009 to begin myown business project that I named “WhySport Matters”, which I have been work-ing at for two years now. About 6 monthsago, SportAccord announced that thetheme for this year’s conference was alsoto be named “Why Sport Matters”. Wegot in touch with each other and quicklyrealised that there was an obvious synergyand a great opportunity to work together.

� Convention Daily: What will we beseeing from your work here at theSportAccord convention?Siner: I did hundreds of interviews withpeople all over the world who spoke aboutwhat sport means to them. The video testi-monials you will see are just quick highlightsof the incredible stories I have been exposedto during my travels. I have also written acouple of short articles that give an idea tosome of the personal experiences I had.

� Convention Daily: What are you try-ing to achieve with your business?Siner: The simple goal of Why SportMatters is to understand people throughthe theme of sport. I capture stories (most-ly through video interviews and) on whatsport says about certain cultures, and howthe rest of the world sees these countries asa result. I work with different media chan-nels that have an interest in this type ofcontent, and produce stories that work fortheir platform. I attend sport events to get

at the really cool stories about how/why itimpacts lives and gives meaning to differ-ent cultures. These stories are then pub-lished in an engaging way and made avail-able to a wide audience.

� Convention Daily: Now that youhave essentially visited the entire world,what strikes you about what you haveseen in relation to sport?Siner: It is amazing to see the power thatsport has in society and the passion thatpeople have for it. But it is unique in eachculture. I tried to capture stories from alldifferent angles. From a wider point ofview, it is so clear that you can learnabout a culture through the sport theylove, practice and watch. In effect, sportis a cultural identifier. That is the powerof my business because it allows you tounderstand people -- who may be very dif-ferent from you -- through sport, whicheverybody can understand and relate to.

� Convention Daily: What is the inspi-ration behind your work?Siner: The idea for Why Sport Matters hasbeen in my head for many years. Havingthe fortune to travel the world during mycareer in the international sport industry,I was repeatedly amazed at the stories ofhow sport was so unique in each culturalcontext. I said to myself, “Why have Inever heard about this?”, and thenrealised I was actually in a position to tryto give these stories a voice. That’s whenI began planning the first step of the busi-

ness, which was to go out in the worldand film these stories.

� Convention Daily: What is next foryou and Why Sport Matters?Siner: Now that the company has beenlaunched and the initial travel has beencompleted, I have been fortunate to havebuilt up a client base and will continueto produce content with my footage. Thenext steps for me will be a more specificand targeted approach, focusing on spe-cific events or countries/geographicalareas. For example, the Rugby World

WHY SPORT MATTERS – THEMAN WITH THE EVIDENCEWhen Why Sport Matters was floated as a theme for the SportAccord convention, it was asmuch a question as a statement. Enter John Siner, a man who has been studying the issue for ayear in world-wide-travels. He has assembled a formidable body of evidence that sport reallydoes matter. His media company is even called “Why Sport Matters”, and is focused on theunique impact sport has on society and culture. After working at the IOC for over 6 years, hehas just spent the past year capturing stories in different cultures across the globe. All of thevideo testimonials that you see at the start of the sessions and on SportAccord TV are from themany interviews and filming he has conducted from every corner of the world. Each day here inthe convention Daily, John also gives us a personal account of some of his amazing experiences.

Cup later this year in New Zealand hassome of the best sport culture stories Ihave ever heard. And just looking aheadover the next few years at the richnessassociated with big sport events in theUK, Russia, Brazil and the Middle East(eg FIFA World Cup in Qatar), theworld is a ripe place for the type of sto-ries I plan to keep capturing.� Each day in the convention Daily,John Siner will recount his experiences inhis quest to discover Why Sport Matters.More information is found on his websitewww.whysportmatters.com. �


DAILY NEWS10

Off the back of the SportAccordCombat Games, the InternationalFederation of Muaythai Amateur(IFMA) is renewing its fight towin recognition by the IOC,according to GeneralSecretary Stephan Fox, aformer world cham-pion in the sport.

“IFMA participat-ed in theSportAccord CombatGames, TAFISA,Arafura, SEA Games andholds many muaythai eventsincluding an annual WorldChampionships,” he said.

“The next importantmilestone for IFMA willbe to obtain full recog-nition from the IOC.”

Muaythai is a martial art originatingfrom Thailand where fighters executestrikes using 8 points of contact: fists,shins, knees and elbows.

Fox said that as well as the aim for IOCrecognition, it was working for the total

unification of all 128 member nationalfederations.

“IFMA is a proud member ofSportAccord, and we would like to say

hello to all our sporting friends, espe-cially the other 13 martial art and

combat sport federations, whomhave just made history together

at the inaugural SportAccordCombat Games, which is amajor milestone for allcombat sports,” he said.

He added that 2010 wasanother “hugely successful” year formuaythai and IFMA, which includedthe organisation’s inclusion in theTAFISA Sport for All organisations,and the IFMA WorldChampionships in Bangkok atwhich over 200,000 spectators

attended the finals.He added that the main areas of

growth are in the youth and female devel-opment, currently both growing at tenpercent. The sport is also growing in pop-ularity in the mainstream fitness industry,being taken up in gyms worldwide. �

Every logistics company is in it for the“long haul”, but DB Schenker, exhibitorat the SportAccord convention, has his-torical links with supporting the Olympicsthat means it takes the gold medal.

Those links go all the way back to the1936 Olympic Games when it was theExclusive Logistics Supplier, creating a“double” when it took the same role atthe 1972 Munich Olympics.

The firm has played a prominent role inall other Olympics, including Sydney in2000, Athens in 2004 and Beijing in2008. It will continue its tradition, havingwon the job of Tier 3 Official Supplier forFreight Forwarding services for the SaltLake 2022 Olympic Games.

“No other logistics and freight forward-ing company has been consistently presentand such a contributor to the Olympicmovement,” said Michael Korn, DeputyChairman, Schenker Deutschland.

“The investment and effort undertakenby DB Schenker, certainly since 1998, hasresulted in a strong team consisting of awealth of experience, knowledge and rela-tionships.”

The firm has more than 91,000 staff in200 countries, and said Korn, is well posi-tioned as a global company to address theneeds of major sporting events that

FIGHTING TO WINIOC RECOGNITION

The SportAccord Networker community platform is the centerpiece of a start-uplaunched in Switzerland, Tabrasco Ltd. The new engineering company developsgovernance and mecatronic tools dedicated to the international sports community.Tabrasco is a spin-off of F2FX, the Swiss developer of innovative e-managementtools since 1995.

The SportAccord NetWorker has changed the way international sports leaderscollaborate and handle their personal networking before and during theSportAccord Convention.

A similar tool was introduced successfully for the WADA Symposium inLausanne in March.

In a different range of governance applications, the Association of SummerOlympic International Federations (ASOIF) runs its London 2012 issues trackingon a web-based programme with built-in monitoring and decision-making features.These are a few samples of easy-to-use software solutions developed by XavierVeuthey and his team at F2FX over the past years. Together with a group of inter-disciplinary engineers and sports experts he has now created Tabrasco Ltd.

Veuthey said: “The digital revolution keeps having a sustainable impact on allinformation and decision-making processes. Mastering the social and technicalperspectives of the connected world has become critical for individuals, communi-ties and organisations to succeed. Tabrasco integrates all engineering disciplines tomake this revolution a great experience for governing bodies, organisers, sponsorsand friends of all sports around the globe.”

Next to the well-known governance tools, Tabrasco integrates state-of-the artmecatronic solutions. A first Tabrasco application will be introduced by the WorldArchery Federation (FITA) during the second stage of the upcoming archery worldchampionships in Antalya, Turkey from 6-12 June 2011.

Tabrasco is the Official Technology Partner of SportAccord Convention and isat the event all week. www.tabrasco.com �

SPORTACCORD NETWORKER: NEWCOMPANY, EXTENDED SERVICES

DB SCHENKERTAKES OLYMPICSMARATHON GOLD

increasingly take place outside the tradi-tional theatres of The West.

He said: “We are fortunate that we haveover 2,000 offices around the globe. Wehave more than 100 management staffworking on sports events. This means thatin most cases we are already present in thecountries where major events may occur.

“But we need to always ensure weunderstand the lead times to the event,the local event requirements, and thelocal operating environment. This mayresult in DB Schenker building up a largemanagement, supervision and labourteam, like we saw most recently in SouthAfrica for 2010 FIFA World Cup.”

Korn said that SportAccord is the per-fect venue to keep up with developmentsin the sports sector. “It has grown to be aprofessional and efficient environment inwhich to meet with existing and new cus-tomers,” he said. “Moreover, it is also agreat opportunity to understand the cur-rent business trends within sport.” �

Michael Korn


DAILY NEWS 11

A major delegation from Scotland is atthe SportAccord convention to promotethe country as “the perfect stage” forsporting events.

EventScotland has partnered with halfa dozen Scottish organisations to mount amajor presence at the exhibition.

“EventScotland has attendedSportAccord since its inception back in2003,” said Paul Bush, Chief OperatingOfficer, EventScotland. “The event pro-vides us with a wonderful opportunity topromote our capabilities as a host nationto a global audience from the highest ech-elons of major sporting events and show-case Scotland as ‘The Perfect Stage’.

Other organisations include Glasgow2014, Glasgow Life, Glasgow CityMarketing Bureau, Scottish Enterpriseand Edinburgh City Council.

Bush said that the ‘perfect stage’ wasmade up of facilities, scenery, volun-teers/people, and a rich culture and heritage.

Scotland’s infrastructure to supportmajor events has been improved with

ADDING VALUE TO SCOTLAND’S “PERFECT STAGE”

recent new developments. They include the launch in January of

Event Team Scotland, an online databaseto connect volunteers and events acrossScotland. It provides volunteers with vary-ing levels of experience the opportunity toparticipate in sporting, cultural and charityevents taking place across Scotland.

For event organisers, the volunteeringdatabase will provide a bank of potentialvolunteers in local areas, regionally andacross Scotland who can provide generalor more specialist event support.

Another important step forward in theevents industry for us was the launch ofScotcal, a database that will be populatedby all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities,public sector agencies and event and rightsholders. The event diary system has beendeveloped, in partnership with Sportcal,primarily to act as a clash diary system at anational, regional and local level, allowingfor better planning of events across theyear throughout the country.

It will also provide a valuable and much

needed on line tool for visitors toScotland to be able to locate events oftheir interest and choose by date, genre orgeography.

Bush said that the estimated economicimpact from events in 2009/10 was£51.7million.

This year will be another busy one,with Scotland welcoming the Tall ShipsRace, the RICOH Women’s British Openand The Tour of Britain.

“We are also busy looking at the road to2014 and a series of major events whichwill be staged in Scotland before we wel-

come the Glasgow CommonwealthGames in 2014,” he said. “This includesthe World Youth Netball Championshipsin 2013 and the UCI World Junior TrackCycling Championships in the same yearwhich is the first international event tobe confirmed for the Sir Chris HoyVeledrome.”

Looking beyond that, he said: “we con-tinue to target major competitions andchampionships to bring to Scotlandwhich is an important part of the long-term sustainability of both the eventsportfolio and impact on the economy.” �

Power generation and temperature controlspecialist Aggreko is a silver sponsor andexhibitor at SportAccord 2011 on the backof a string of high-profile contracts atmajor sporting events.

“The events business equates to approxi-mately six percent of Aggreko’s turnoverwith the sports sector in particular contribut-ing a major element of this,” said KevinBrownhill, Customer and SponsorshipManager, London 2012 and Sochi 2014.

“Sport is probably the most high profileof all Aggreko’s business sectors withrecent examples being the Beijing andVancouver Olympic Games, The 2010FIFA World Cup in South Africa, therecent Superbowl in America and TheRyder Cup at Celtic Manor, Wales.”

The FTSE Top 100 company quotedon the London stock exchange with aturnover of approximately £1.3 billionoperates in 144 countries and employ in

excess of 5,000 personnel. Aggreko isalso sponsoring the Media Suite for useby television and print mediajournalists.

“SportAccord is an excellent forum forAggreko to meet new and existing cus-tomers develop further our involvement inthe global events industry, as well as learn-ing from the extensive conference pro-gramme,” said Brownhill.

He added that as well as look furtherahead, the firm is firmly focused on theLondon 2012 Olympics.

“We are delighted to be a Tier 3 sponsorfor the London 2012 Olympic andParalympic Games. As well as this forLondon 2012 Aggreko is also a Tier 2sponsor of the Torch Relay. Being a spon-sor demonstrates Aggreko’s commitment tosupporting the Olympic Games movingforward as well as providing a platform toshowcase our capabilities.” �

AGGREKO FEELS THEPOWER OF SPORT


DAILY NEWS12

If you want to know your country’smedal tally at next year’sLondon Olympics,take up the invita-tion from InfostradaSports to visit itsexhibition stand atthe SportAccord con-vention.

The firm is unveiling itslatest product – Podium –which delivers all resultsand overviews for per-formance managers with-in the Federation, NOC or event organis-ing communities.

“Our content services include results,rankings, standings, sports indices andbiographies of more than 100 sports, mostof them live, as it happens,” said PhilipHennemann CEO Infostrada Sports.

“Moreover, we deliver fully hosted INFO

and Archive solutions. You willsave costs and get enhanced pro-cessing, delivery, consistency andquality for all sports.

“Quality information is thefirst gold medal at any

event. Do you wantto know yourmedal score inLondon 2012,then meet us.”

The InfostradaSports team willbrief visitors to the

stand on how to deal with informationmanagement and how you can benefitfrom the firm’s solutions.

“Furthermore, we have the ultimatebenchmark tool for NOCs where you cananalyse your own performance and yourpeers per sport, discipline or time zone,”said Hennemann. �

The SportAccord Spirit of Sport AwardCommission shortlisted three individualsand twelve projects for the 2011 Spirit ofSport Awards.

The 2011 individual and project awardswill be unveiled at the SportAccordGeneral Assembly to take place on Friday,April 8th.

Created in 2002, the Spirit of SportAwards commend the commitment andhumanitarian spirit of SportAccord mem-bers who have made an exceptional andlasting contribution to using sport as atool for positive social change.

The individual award will honour anindividual for his/her outstanding contri-bution to sport and society.

Up to three awards will be presented torecognise outstanding projects or initia-tives in which a SportAccord member hasparticipated or which has been led by aSportAccord member in any of the six cat-egories of Child & Youth Development,Environment, Gender, Health, Persons

SPIRIT OF SPORT AWARDS – NOMINEES REVEALED

with Disabilities, and Peace. The 2011 Individual Spirit of Sport

Awards Shortlist is made up of:� Fernando Aguerre, InternationalSurfing Association (ISA)

Aguerre has dedicated his life to thedevelopment of surfing around the world.Since 1994, when he was electedPresident of the ISA, he has been instru-mental in expanding the sport to over 65nations, for obtaining IOC recognition,and for launching several developmentprogrammes. � Lydia la Riviere Zijdel, InternationalAikido Federation (IAF)

As an elite wheelchair martial artist,Zijdel has opened up the world of peoplewith disabilities to the art of self defence,with a special emphasis on developingcountries to enhance the abilities andmotivation of persons with disabilities tobecome involved in sports and physicalactivities.� Erwin Lauterwasser, Fédération

Internationale de Ski (FIS)As part of his lifelong engagement for

the sport of skiing and the environment,Lauterwasser has served in the role ofFIS Environmental Advisor since 1997.He has worked hard to establish FIS as apioneer among the international federa-tions in the area of the environment andsustainability.

The 2011 Project Spirit of SportAwards Shortlist is made up of:� FIBA: We Play and Drive by the Rules

(Category Health)� ICC: ICC World Twenty20 2010

(Category Gender)� FIFA: Football for Hope (Category

Child and Youth Development) � FIG: Turn10 - Austrian Gymnastics

Programme (Category Child andYouth Development)

� IHF: Royal Moroccan HockeyFederation (Category Child and YouthDevelopment, Peace)

� IJF: Judo for Peace Commission(Category Peace)

� FIM: Ride Green - SustainableMotorcycling (Category Environment)

� IFNA: Safari grassroots developmentproject in Africa (Category Gender)

� IRB: SOS IRB Kit Aid (Category Child& Youth Development, Environment)

� WTF: Sai Sampun SarnfunTaekwondo, Thailand (Category Child& Youth Development)

� IPC: Engineering the Future -Promoting Paralympic Sport in Africa(Persons with Disabilities)

� Special Olympics: 2010 SpecialOlympics Regional Games (Personswith Disabilities). �

INFOSTRADA SPORTS LAUNCHESPODIUM AT CONVENTION

Philip Hennemann


Documents

2011 Daily - Day 1 - SportAccord Convention London 2011