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QUICK NEWS TO KEEP YOU IN THE FAST LANE
IC NE S T KE Y IN T E F ST L E
The world governing body of snooker
has launched an anti-corruption unit and
is proposing lifetime bans for anyone
involved in snooker caught betting on the
sport.
World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn
has hired in former Metropolitan Police
Commissioner Lord John Stevens to lead
the unit.
Speaking at the launch of the unit, Hearn
said: ‘It’s vital for the future of snooker that
we stamp out corruption and make sure
we are clean, and perceived as clean by
the viewing public.’
World snooker champion John Higgins
was cleared of frame-fixing allegations
earlier this year but he was banned for
six months and fined £75,000 for not
reporting an illegal approach made to him
over throwing matches.
LOTUS F1 TO RECLAIM
HISTORIC NAME
Lotus Formula 1 will take on the famous
Team Lotus name next year after
team principal Tony Fernandes bought
the naming and heritage rights from
businessman David Hunt, brother of F1
world champion James Hunt.
TeamLotuswasoneof themost successful
in the sports history but crashed out of F1
in 1994 with financial problems.
Lotus re-entered F1 this year under
Malaysian ownership.
‘We want to own our own future and not
license it from someone else. The future
of Lotus Racing and Team Lotus is very
secure and it is now in our hands,’ said
Fernandes.
WEST HAM VS TOTTENHAM
FOR OLYMPIC STADIUM BID
English Premier Football League clubs
Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United
have recently been named as the Olympic
Park Legacy Company’s (OPLC) two
preferred bidders to take over London’s
OlympicStadium.However, developments
at Spurs look to have positioned West
Ham United as clear favorites to move
in following the completion of the 2012
Olympic Games.
In protest of Tottenham’s plans to move to
the 80,000 capacity stadium in Stratford,
theclub’ssupporters, leadbynewly formed
fan group ‘We Are N17’, have unveiled
plans to hold a mass demonstration down
Tottenham High Road before the team’s
Premier League derby match against
London rivals Chelsea.
Earlier, the head of UK Athletics (UKA),
Ed Warner, described Tottenham’s plans
as “completely unacceptable” after the
club and its bidding partner, AEG, made
it “clear that they will rip up the track and
make it a football only venue.”
Whereas, West Ham plan to convert the
stadium to a 60,000-capacity arena for
football, athletics, concerts and community
use and could incorporate an Olympic
visitor centre and football museum at the
stadium.
West Ham’s vice-chairman Karren Brady
said: ‘The last thing anyone wants is for
the Olympic Stadium to become a ghost of
Olympics past. The only realistic solution
is to make the stadium work for a Premier
League football team and that should be
West Ham United.’
TAX HIKE
Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) is due to
increase in the UK from 4 January 2011
from 5% to 6%.
Many Sports clubs and associations
collect subscriptions from members to
pay for membership services which may
include insurance. Therefore, these clubs
need to take this increase into account
when setting subscriptions for 2011.
Chris Nash, Sportscover syndicate 3334
Active underwriter, said, “Whilst the cost
of insurance is often only a very small part
of overall subscriptions, it is important that
clubs and associations take this increase
in IPT into account.”
He added, “Unfortunately, in many
countries, including the UK and Australia,
taxes and government charges make
up a fairly sizeable part of the
overall premium. The insurance
industry has long lobbied for the
reduction or elimination of these
taxes because they are an extra
cost on people who are either
required, or prudent enough,
to take out insurance.”
SNOOKER LAUNCHES ANTI-CORRUPTION UNIT
F1 SET TO SWITCH TO ‘GREEN’ ENGINES
F1 stakeholders are believed to have reached an agreement for
Grand Prix cars to use a new type of ‘green’ engine from 2013.
The sport will switch from the current 2.4-litre V8s to 1.6-litre
four-cylinder turbo engines with energy recovery systems and
fuel restrictions.
The move is an attempt to mirror the trend towards fuel efficiency
in road cars and to popularise it, increasing
public demand for such engines.
The new rules could be confirmed
by governing body the FIA on 10th
December.
Mercedes and Ferrari had been reluctant
to agree to the move as recently as
a month ago, believing that it was an
unnecessary expense at a time when F1
was trying to reduce costs.
But a spokesman for Ferrari stated that
the rules had been agreed and he would
be ‘surprised’ if it was not announced by
the FIA World Council.
The aim is for the new rules to improve
the efficiency of F1 engines by as much
as 50%. By adopting the regulations, F1
hopes to widen its appeal to sponsors -
commercial insiders say some companies
are reluctant to get involved
in F1 because of its
image of being wasteful
with resources.
The move is seen as a triumph for
both F1 teams’ organisation FOTA
and FIA president Jean Todt, both
of whom have made increasing the
future sustainability of F1 a key aim.
Higgins had been suspended since May
after the News of the World alleged he
and his manager Pat Mooney had agreed
to lose frames in four matches in return
for £261,000.
Higgins and Rooney said that he should
have reported the matter of a meeting
surrounding the fixing in Kiev to World
Snooker - but claimed that he felt
intimidated and would have gone along
with anything in order to get home.
Higgins is expected to work with the unit
to educate youngsters on the dangers
that he found himself in.
Hearn said that any wrongdoing will not be
tolerated: ‘We must stop the problems at
the root and provide a massive deterrent.
Therefore, it is our intention to give life
bans to players found in breach of the
most serious rules.’