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Contents
Editor’s Comment
• 3
Insight
• Sportscover appointed official
insurance partner for the Yonex BWF
Badminton Championships
• 2011 Touch World Cup in Review
• How Sun Yang Won
• Victoria Uni opens state-of-the-art
sport and learning precinct
• The Missing Link - Defibrillation
• The Streets to the Stadia - World
Freestyle Day 2011
• Hyundai A-League’s battle to win
Hearts and minds
• The aftermath of the death
of Wouter Weylandt
• Badminton Championships
- a huge success
• AWheely Good Result
Sport Profile
• Ringball
Feature Articles
• Barcelona: Perhaps the greatest
team in the world
• Injury Focus: Concussions
Focus on Risk Management
• Part V - Governance issues in focus for
sports and recreation organisations
Legal Focus
• Bar Room Blitz
• Bribery Act 2011 (UK)
On Track
•
6 - 7
World Sports News Roundup
•
20 - 21
Sports Shorts
•
26 - 27
Photo on cover: Imogen Bankier at the
2011 Badminton World Championships
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London Riots Cast a
Shadow over 2012 Olympics
At the end of July, London was
celebrating the clock ticking down to a
year until the opening ceremony for the
2012 Olympic Games. On target with
all new venues completed and under
budget, the organisers were rightly
delighted with their progress.
What a difference a week can make.
The London Riots sparked a nationwide
crisis, where five people died and
at least 16 others were injured as a
direct result of the violence. Hundreds
of millions of pounds worth of damage
was inflicted by gangs, with security
stretched to the limit. Sport was also
a victim with several events cancelled
including the international football
friendly at Wembley between England
and The Netherlands. Even before
the riots were quelled, British tourism
and sport officials were attempting to
salvage the nation’s security image.
But images of burning cars and looted
shops will haunt organisers and could
mean the loss of millions of pounds in
revenue should the negative publicity
not be countered effectively.
Foreign news sources were quick to link
the riots to the up-coming Olympics. A
CBS news piece began in this vein:
“less than a year before London hosts
the 2012 Games, scenes of rioting
and looting a few miles from the main
Olympic site have raised concerns
about security and policing for the
event”.
The negative consequences of stories
such as these are not lost on tourism
operators. Mary Rance, chief executive
of UK Inbound, which represents
Britain’s inbound tourism businesses,
said: “The riots of the past few days,
particularly in London, are most
unfortunate for the global image of the
UK – and not just ahead of the Olympics
but for the country’s short term and long
term inbound tourism industry. London
is still one of the greatest cities in the
world with an enviable record of safety
and it’s important we stress that these
developments are not typical.”
Others, such as Tom Jenkins,
spokesperson for the European Tour
Operators Association (ETOA), said
that the riots would have no impact on
tourism a year from now.
The Olympic Games places a strain
on the security forces of any host
city. The logistics of organising the
swollen numbers of people using public
transport and the influx of tourists means
that security for the Games themselves
become something of a headache.
What will play on the minds of the
IOC and others in control in London is
the fact that even in a normal period,
police took days to get the rioting under
control. Add the strain of hosting a major
sporting event and any further unrest
will be exponentially difficult to contain.
As a test run for British security forces,
the riots could not have been more
challenging, but let’s hope that lessons
have been learned.
What is good to see is the authorities
taking a tough line with the thousands of
thugs who perpetrated or were involved
in inciting the riots. Hopefully severe
sentences will act as a deterrent.
But what will have even more impact in
preventing a repeat of the chaos is the
strength of feeling demonstrated by the
vast majority of people in London who
are disgusted by the actions of these
mindless hooligans. Being named and
shamed and turned in by neighbours
and, in some cases, family members,
is more likely to have the desired effect.
The community is saying enough is
enough.
Regards,
August 2011
Steve Boucher
touchline@sportscover.com
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The journal of spor t, leisure & r isk with an international perspective
Issue 10