FIFA dress code rules Iran's girls out of Olympics

FIFA dress code rules Iran's girls out of Olympics

ZURICH (AP) — Iran's girls football team has been kicked out of the Youth Olympic Games because FIFA rules prevent players wearing an Islamic head scarf.

Thailand was nominated on Monday to replace the barred Iranians, the Asian Football Confederation said on its Web site.

The Asian governing body said the hijab scarf -- worn to observe Islamic dress code -- was not allowed under FIFA rules relating to on-field equipment.

Iran was scheduled to compete in a six-nation tournament for girls at the games being held Aug. 12-25 in Singapore.

Around 3,600 athletes aged 14-18 will compete in 26 sports at the inaugural Youth Summer Games.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Debate over Olympic ticket spending continues

Debate over Olympic ticket spending continues

Vision Vancouver Coun. Heather Deal says she has no regrets about the city spending almost $170,000 on tickets for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

But COPE councillor Ellen Wordsworth, who paid for the Olympic ticket she used, says she thinks the money could have been used better. "Wait a minute, didn't we just cut $61 million from the budget -- and we're closing services and increasing fees?" said Woodsworth.

"About $170,000 can do a lot of things in the city," she said.

All the details about the spending and who got the tickets is in a report going to council Tuesday.

Also included is similar information on the additional $18,920 the city spent on tickets for the Paralympics.

Of the 1,555 Olympic tickets and 534 Paralympic tickets, only two went unallocated.

2012 Olympics: What it will mean to the BBC

While the Olympic Games in Athens and Beijing garnered huge red-button audiences for the BBC, the 2012 event is expected to be the largest in the corporation's history.

The games will see the BBC offer more choice than ever before. Back in 2000, before interactive TV had arrived, the broadcaster showed about 250 hours of the Sydney games. By 2004, when it had red-button, interactive technology, it showed more than 1,000 hours. At Beijing 2008 this rose to 2,500 hours.

Ben Gallop, head of interactive and Formula 1, at BBC Sport, says the aim for 2012 is to show every bit of sport as it happens, which equates to about 5,000 hours of viewing.

"We'll be thinking about red-button services, but we're also thinking about IPTV [television over the internet] – that's what's exciting over the next few years and we expect a lot to change. We're also looking at how we might be able to use social media in our services in a way that we haven't been able to up until now."

US women to face Canada in Olympic ice hockey final

US women to face Canada in Olympic ice hockey final

The United States will play Canada in Thursday's final of the women's ice hockey after they both enjoyed comfortable semi-final victories.

Monique Lamoureux scored three while Caitlin Cahow, Karen Thatcher and Kelli Stack each scored one and made one assist as America thrashed Sweden 9-1.

Meghan Agosta set a new record for most goals in a single Games with her ninth as Canada's defeated Finland 5-0.

Haley Irwin scored two as the reigning Olympics champions won with ease.

Finnish netminder Noora Raty produced numerous outstanding saves in amongst the 45 she recorded to keep the score respectable.

However, she could do nothing to stop Carloine Oullette adding a fifth from close range towards the end of the final period.

US, who led 5-1 going into the third period, avenged their 2006 semi-final defeat by Sweden, to reach their first Olympic final since 2002, when they were beaten 3-1 by Canada.

Finland will play Sweden in the bronze-medal match on Thursday.

Olympics tops 'American Idol' in ratings

(AP) – 1 hour ago

NEW YORK — Shani Davis, Lindsey Vonn and Shaun White are the true American Idols.

In a startling turnaround from the night before, the Olympics clobbered Fox's "American Idol" in the ratings Wednesday night. The Nielsen Co. said that during the one hour the two shows competed against one another, the Olympics were seen by 30.1 million people while 18.4 million watched "American Idol."

It was the first time in six years that anything has beaten the nation's most popular program head to head in the ratings.

Davis, Vonn and White were all heavily promoted American contenders who won gold medals Wednesday.

On Tuesday, "Idol" beat the Olympics by nearly 4 million viewers.

Elder Pharma’s Uttarakhand facility on stream

Mumbai-based Elder Pharmaceuticals has commenced commercial operations at its new U.S. FDA compliant manufacturing facility at Langa Road in Dehradun (Uttarakhand), which is an excise benefit zone.

The company plans to move manufacturing of all syrup-based products to this Rs.150-crore facility. These products are now either being manufactured or being outsourced.

Production lines

The facility has production lines for liquid orals, sterile injectables, cephalosporin block for tablets as well as dry powder injectables.

Canadians revel in Bilodeau's Olympic success

Ontario's Family Day unofficially was extended across the country Monday as millions of proud Canadians continue to come together to celebrate the athletic achievement of moguls skier Alexandre Bilodeau.

The country remains abuzz after the 22-year-old captured an Olympic gold medal on Sunday night in Vancouver, the first by a Canuck in a Games hosted by Canada in 34 years.

"Bravo Alex Bravo!" speedskater Charles Hamelin, a medal favourite at these Games, said of his Canadian teammate on Twitter. "He is my hero, I am so happy for him! I'm eager to congratulate him in person!"

That could happen Monday as Bilodeau will receive his gold medal at a ceremony in downtown Vancouver.

Free speech in Canada on display at Olympic Games

VANCOUVER — This Olympic flame — a mop of fiery gold ribbon attached to a used toilet plunger — arrived downtown to wild cheers from a sign-waving crowd packed into a local community center.

There were emotional speeches blasting Olympic organizers for the $6 billion cost to stage the games and the obligatory song, a biting parody of the Canadian national anthem.

Just two years removed from perhaps the most restrictive Olympics in Beijing, where some aspiring demonstrators were jailed for even applying for required protest permits and access to the websites of some civil liberties organizations were blocked, Vancouver is offering a starkly different approach to free expression.

London 2012 appoints Director of Culture

The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) and the Cultural Olympiad Board have appointed Ruth Mackensie as the Director of Culture for the 2012 Games.

Leading the LOCOG Culture team, Ruth will report to Cultural Olympiad Chair Tony Hall and the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Board.

She will be supported by a team of artistic advisers who will continue in their current roles: Martin Duncan, Craig Hassall, Sir Brian McMaster and Alex Poots.

Currently an expert adviser on broadcasting and cultural policy for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Ruth brings a wealth of experience. Previous roles include first General Director of the Manchester International Festival, Artistic Director of Chichester Festival Theatre and General Director, Scottish Opera.

She has also worked on a consultancy basis for the Barbican Centre, Tate, BBC, London Symphony Orchestra and Young Vic. She was awarded an OBE for her services to the theatre in 1995.

Making the announcement today, Tony Hall said: 'This appointment means leadership plus teamwork. The Cultural Olympiad will move forward under Ruth Mackenzie’s expert guidance, and she will be supported by four people who know all there is to know about putting a celebration like this together, both creatively and administratively. I’m very excited about what this team under Ruth will deliver.'

Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: 'This is the final piece in the jigsaw of a project that now has the best possible level of governance in the Cultural Olympiad Board; a strong team here at LOCOG; significant funding in place through the Olympic Lottery Distributor and further partners; and projects being developed in conjunction with key partners across the arts and culture sector.

'I’m thrilled that we have such strong artistic talent on board, and I know Ruth and the team deliver a truly special Cultural Olympiad.'

Bridge lifted into place at London 2012 Rowing venue

A new finish line bridge has been lifted into place at Dorney Lake, the venue for the London 2012 Rowing events.

Dorney Lake is already a world-class rowing venue with a 2,200m eight-lane rowing course. It has a separate lane alongside it that competitors use to warm up and return to the start of the course after their race.

Construction work is well underway to enhance the venue’s existing facilities to bring it up to the required standards for hosting events during the London 2012 Games. A key part of this work has been completed now the new 50m finish line bridge has been lifted into place.Olympic Delivery Authority Chief Executive David Higgins said: ‘Dorney Lake is a first-class venue and the enhancements we are delivering will create the best possible facilities for the world’s best athletes to use in 2012. Lifting in a new finish line bridge completes a key part of the enhancement works and keeps us on track to deliver improved facilities well before the Games begin in 2012.’

Further enhancement works are continuing on site. These include the construction of a cut-through between the competition lake and the return lane, with a new bridge over the cut-through, and the upgrade of the existing gravel/stone access road up to the competition venue for use during the Games.

Olympic Park parklands project underway

Work has started to create the areas of parklands within the Olympic Park.

These open spaces will provide a colourful and festival atmosphere during the Games and will become the largest new urban park in the UK for more than 100 years.


More than 4,000 trees will be planted across the Olympic Park and Olympic Village, along with 300,000 wetlands plants and hundreds of thousands of plants and bulbs in varied parklands, including wooded hills, meadows, ponds, lawns, gardens and wet woodlands.

There will also be ‘hanging gardens’ 10m above the ground on the huge footbridge that links the new Stratford City development with the Park.

A tree-lined road in the north of the Park has been modelled on The Mall and Birdcage Walk next to St James’s and Hyde Park, with distinctively designed lights, bollards and traffic management so visitors feel like they are within the Park.

Olympic Delivery Authority Chief Executive David Higgins said: ‘We are cleaning up industrial land and creating the green backdrop for the London 2012 Games that in legacy will become the UK’s largest new urban park in over a century.

‘Inspired by the original Victorian parks, the meadows, gardens, woods and river walks in this new “great Park” will create a fantastic public space for people and wildlife right at the heart of the transformation of east London.’

Olympic gold medallist sees Velodrome steel structure complete

The 6,000-seat Velodrome will host the Olympic and Paralympic Track Cycling events in 2012 and is on track to be one of the first venues to be completed in the Olympic Park in early 2011. After the Games the Velodrome will be used by elite athletes and the local community and be part of a VeloPark that will include a BMX track, mountain bike trail and a road-racing circuit.

Jamie Staff said: ‘It was great to visit the London 2012 Velodrome site and I was hugely impressed by the progress being made. It was good to see at first hand how the venue is being designed and built to create a great crowd atmosphere and deliver the best possible conditions for track cyclists. I’m sure this will be a perfect venue for Team GB to continue to hit gold in 2012.'

Construction work started on the Velodrome in March 2009 – one of the last of the ‘big five’ Park venues to get underway. Now the Velodrome steel structure has been completed, work has started to install the distinctive double-curved cable-net roof.

ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said: ‘The completion of the Velodrome steel structure gives us an exciting glimpse of what will not only be a world-class venue for the Games and legacy, but another striking piece of architecture for the Olympic Park.

Jamie Staff, gold medallist in the Team Sprint at the Beijing 2008 Games, visited the London 2012 Velodrome this week to mark the completion of the venue’s steel structure.

‘The Olympic Stadium and Aquatics Centre are already firm fixtures on the east London skyline but the Velodrome taking shape has created a new focal point in the north of the Olympic Park. This year will be the toughest so far across the site, and we now turn our attentions to the lifting of the huge cable-net roof of the Velodrome, a key engineering challenge, which will help crown this spectacular venue.’

The Olympic Delivery Authority has published a document – ‘On track’ – that shows how the Velodrome has taken shape over the past year.

Christians plan to both enjoy the Olympics and protest it

Canwest News Service

When it comes to next month’s Winter Olympics, Metro Vancouver’s 1,300 Christian congregations aren’t exactly sure whether to welcome or protest it. So they’re doing both.

The two out of five residents of Metro Vancouver who identify with the Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox denominations are being urged to greet the Olympic onslaught with “radical hospitality,” which includes reaching out to the disadvantaged.

Some Christian denominations will be throwing open their doors to February’s flood of Olympic visitors with free coffee, Olympic pins, Internet access and a quiet place to meditate. Many church members are also offering travellers free places to stay.

Some of those same denominations will be holding demonstrations and workshops to raise the profile of the city’s homeless during the multi-billion dollar Olympics, as well as draw attention to sex-trade workers whom they are calling victims of “human trafficking.”

If some Christian activists have their way, the most popular T-shirt to emerge out of the Olympic Games, which they argue typically places prostitutes in high demand, will be the one reading, “Buying sex is not a sport.”

Mixed tennis and more women's cycling in 2012 Olympics

LAUSANNE — London 2012 will host a mixed doubles tennis event for the first time in the Olympic Games as well as more women's cycling, the International Olympic Committee announced Thursday.

But the changes, made in a bid to increase the prominence of women's sport, will spell the end of the individual cycling track pursuit races at the Olympics, the IOC said after an executive board meeting.

The changes will increase the number of women cyclists at the Olympics from 35 in Beijing to 84 -- 45 percent of the track cyclists instead of about a fifth - by introducing more track events for women.

The changes were made under a "commitment to increase women's participation," the IOC said in a statement, although it will make little difference to tennis.

"The inclusion of a tennis mixed doubles event will not increase the current number of athletes and will bring added value to the Olympic programme by providing another opportunity for men and women to compete together on the same field of play," the IOC added.

In cycling, women will compete in sprint, team sprint, team keirin, team pursuit and new omnium events, while individual pursuit, points race and madison events will be dropped altogether

IOC president Jacques Rogge defended the changes, underlining that they followed a recommendation from the International Cycling Union.

"Of course the concerned riders regret that, this is perfectly understandable, but the board of UCI considered that the new format will be far more appealing," said Rogge.

Despite the bid to increase the place for women's competition, the IOC has so far turned down women's ski jumping in the Winter Olympics.

Rogge argued that the cycling and ski-jumping issues were different, claiming that there were too few women involved in ski jumping at international level and that the standard for most of them lagged too far behind men.

"We considered that there was not enough quality... but we are considering definitely to include them in Sochi should the progress they are making were to continue," Rogge explained.

"We'll include them as well in the first Youth winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck in 2012, so that generation will hopefully be jumping in Sochi." http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gT1hYwhEuq0GtZ0b5pEVB8brrJ-Q

The Olympic monopoly and why it harms sport

The howls of outrage from the Olympic movement over David Crawford's report into the future of Australian sport reflect the fact that Crawford has made some telling points in his analysis of how sport is funded in this country.

The report was described this week by the Australian Olympic Committee chief, John Coates, as poorly informed and an insult to past Olympic champions, but it is exactly what the Federal Government sought when it appointed Crawford to do the job: an analysis of sports funding from a business perspective.

And one of the things it highlights is the fact that Australian taxpayers are subsidising a global sporting franchise. source: http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-olympic-monopoly-and-why-it-harms-sport-20091119-iowz.html

Ramzi stripped off his Olympic gold medal for doping

London Rashid Ramzi has been stripped of his 1,500-meter Olympic gold medal for doping, officials with knowledge of the decision said on Wednesday.

Ramzi was one of five athletes from the 2008 Beijing Games who tested positive in April for CERA, an advanced version of the blood-boosting drug EPO, in new tests using retroactive blood samples.

On Tuesday, Italian cyclist Davide Rebellin was stripped of his silver medal in the Beijing road race for a positive CERA test.

The other athletes from Beijing who tested positive were German cyclist Stefan Schumacher, Croatian 800-meter runner Vanja Perisic, and Greek race walker Athanasia Tsoumeleka. They did not win medals.

An official announcement on all five athletes was expected later Wednesday from the International Olympic Committee.

Three officials with knowledge of the rulings told the AP that the 29-year-old Ramzi had been disqualified. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcements had not yet been made.

Two officials said Ramzi was expected to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Moroccan-born Ramzi was the only gold medalist from Beijing caught using performance-enhancing drugs. He gave Bahrain its first Olympic track and field gold medal with victory in the 1,500.

He could also now face a two-year ban from the International Association of Athletics Federations. Under IOC rules, he also is banned from the 2012 London Olympics.

Asbel Kipruto Kiprop of Kenya stands to be upgraded from silver to gold in the 1,500. Nicolas Willis of New Zealand could go from bronze to silver, and fourth-place finisher Mehdi Baala of France would get the bronze.

The IOC previously disqualified nine athletes for doping at the Beijing Games. They included Ukrainian heptathlete Lyudmila Blonska who was stripped of her silver medal, and North Korean shooter Kim Jong Su, whose silver and bronze medals were revoked.

A sixth athlete was initially found positive in the retesting process, but women’s weightlifter Yudelquis Contreras was cleared by the Dominican Olympic Committee after the “B” sample came back negative.

Fighting for our Olympic future

Olympic sports could receive a heavy blow aimed straight at the heart if David Crawford's suggestions of government funding being aimed at more "popular" sports are adhered to.

But an Olympic lobby group made up of top administrators and athletes is not going to go down without a fight.

Heavyweight sports such as AFL, cricket and rugby are now all vying for government funding. But it could mean the end to our sporting success at the London Olympics in 2012 and beyond if we don't stand up as a nation and say that we love watching our athletes going for gold.

Being an Olympic athlete from a sport that relies heavily on government funding, I feel the Crawford Report undervalues the proud Australian Olympic movement. I'm hoping that the Minister for Sport, Kate Ellis, will be in the Olympic corner for this content.

Ms Ellis has to decide what Australians really want and what is important. Do we want to watch sports that are played frequently throughout the year? Or do we want to see our athletes mixing it with the superpowers of America, Russia and China and bringing back a swag of medals in a diverse range of sports like archery, diving or track and field?

Which events encourage the youth of today to get out there and have a go? Surely the Olympics capture the imagination of our children and inspire them to follow their dreams, particularly females who are massively underrepresented in the "popular" sports. Who could forget the emotion of Sally Mcllelan in the apparently "un-Australian" sport of the 100m hurdles at the Beijing Olympics?

The panel that constructed the Crawford Report is weighted heavily towards professional sports, with all contributors bar one (Pam Tye who is president of hockey) being linked to a football code. This to me is hugely biased.

Their argument is that sports such as surf lifesaving, AFL, rugby and surfing encompass the national psyche and the "spirit of Australia" and they will encourage more participants if funding is increased. Sure they introduce large numbers of young Australians to healthy living and life-long physical activity, but these sports also receive huge sponsorship deals through broadcasting avenues.

Without increased government funding for the next Olympics, Aussie athletes will struggle to compete against nations that fully support their athletes. Sure we do it for the love of it, but without that help we will no longer be competing on a level playing field.

Australia has a proud Olympic history and one which we need to support. We are one of only three nations to have competed at every summer Olympic Games, and a country which definitely punches above its weight.

Do we want a reoccurrence of the 1976 Montreal Olympics where there was a huge uproar after Australian athletes came home without a single gold medal?

It is known that Mr Crawford is a businessman and his success in reforming sports to make them financially sound is hugely creditable. But I'm not so sure Australians will accept this approach, especially when we are a nation that loves it when our "underdogs" become World or Olympic champions.

The effects of Olympic success reverberate across the world, leading to countless business opportunities and doors to political leaders opening.

If Mr Crawford's aims are focussed on encouraging the community to participate in sport, then diverting funding away from Olympic sports is not the answer.

As punches are thrown left, right and centre, I hope that the Australian tradition of a fair go prevails.

http://blogs.watoday.com.au/sallystandsup/2009/11/19/olympicboutto.html

Akshay to be bearer of Olympic Torch

Akshay Kumar: An Olympic torch bearer

Akshay Kumar met the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the latter's visit to India. The actor poses with the Olympic torch for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic games. source: http://movies.rediff.com/

Scots politicians told to stay out of Olympic football

GLASGOW (AFP) — Members of the Scottish Parliament have been told to stay out of the row over whether there should be a British football team at the 2012 London Olympics.

A Scottish Parliament committee agreed Tuesday to write to world football governing body FIFA to seek clarification on the position of a united UK team taking part in three years' time.

However, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and their counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland remain adamantly opposed to the concept.

They fear the creation of British team would, despite FIFA assurances to the contrary, jeopardise the independent status of the four Home Nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and ultimately lead to the creation of a single UK team for all international football.

The English Football Association, whose players could expect to dominate a British team, are behind plans to field a unified team at the 2012 Games.

SFA chief executive Gordon Smith warned Wednesday that FIFA would not take kindly to political interference, saying: "If there is one thing that FIFA dislikes, it is political involvement in football issues.

"This is something that we would, of course, have told the members of the committee had they sought to ask us our views.

"It is also the case that, if they write to FIFA, then they will undoubtedly get a view that they have no issue with a one-off Team GB competing at the London Olympics.

"However, I would have thought that politicians would understand politics better than anyone," said Smith, who stressed FIFA could yet change their stance. "As we have made clear again and again it is not the view of the current FIFA members that matters - it is the views of members in the future that will count.

"Again, had we been asked, we would have made this clear."

Smith said politicians and the British Olympic Association should give up on the idea of a British team.

"Fans are against Team GB, players are against Team GB and three out of four governing bodies are against Team GB.

"It is time that people at Holyrood, Westminster and the BOA stopped treating this issue as a political football and let football govern football.

"For the avoidance of any doubt - Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are resolutely opposed to Team GB."

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.

Economic downturn won't affect economic boost from Olympics: finance minister

VANCOUVER — Money is tight now but the global recession won't reduce the much-touted $10-billion economic impact of the 2010 Olympic Games, Finance Minister Colin Hansen insisted Wednesday.

He said the severe downturn might affect who comes to B.C. for the Games but doubts it will change the anticipated economic boost.

"The recession will have an impact but I still think the net economic benefit to the province will be in excess of $10 billion," Hansen said in an interview.

A 2002 study from InterVISTAS Consulting estimated hosting the Games and expanding the Vancouver convention centre would generate more than $10 billion in economic activity and create more than 200,000 jobs over 20 years.

Hansen said the government has commissioned a new study to update those figures in the current economy but doesn't expect major changes.

He noted the Vancouver Olympic organizing committee will still spend its operating budget of $1.7 billion while venue construction adds another $600 million to that total.

Hansen also added items like the $110 million Richmond spent on the Olympic Oval, the $600-million Sea-to-Sky Highway project that some people feel should be included and estimated Olympic sponsor spending of hundreds of millions of dollars.

"Then you look at the economic impact of 250,000 visitors coming for the Games and the multiplier effects of that and the benefits quickly add up," he said.

Hansen said different people may buy tickets for Games events now but demand remains very strong.

"Maybe some people can't afford to come now but there's no shortage of people coming behind them to fill their spot," he said. "Every ticket that's available for sale will get sold."

Hansen said the recession might cause fewer media to visit B.C. to cover the Games next year but doesn't expect that would have a significant negative economic impact.

Business Council of B.C. executive vice-president Jock Finlayson said the recession could reduce visitation to B.C. during the Games but doubts it will be a big drop from previous expectations.

"It's probably a fairly affluent audience [that would come] so they may be in a better position to keep to their plans in this economy," he said.

bconstantineau@vancouversun.com

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