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World Sports News Roundup
USA - Recreation groups
seek lawsuit protection
Local officials and outdoor enthusiasts
in Hartford have urged Connecticut
lawmakers to help protect municipalities
from lawsuits over injuries that occur on
some municipally owned lands.
They say large jury awards could lead to
restrictions on access to public properties.
The pleas follow a $2.9 million award last
year for a cyclist who was injured after
hitting a gate onWest Hartford land owned
by a regional water and sewer authority.
Maribeth Blonski of Rocky Hill, broke four
vertebrae in her neck when she hit a steel
gate on a trail near a reservoir in the Talcott
Mountain Recreation Area. The authority
has appealed the jury’s decision.
The case has prompted an outcry from
outdoor enthusiasts who fear the size
of the award will cause municipalities to
restrict public access to such property.
The Connecticut Forest and Park
Association listed recent examples of
recreational liability lawsuits that it says
led to cities and towns limiting recreational
activities on municipal land, or at least
consider it. Besides this case, the group
cites Waterbury losing an $8 million
verdict to a woman who was seriously
injured after crashing into a metal bench
while snow tubing in a public park.
Middlebury is now considering closing a
popular sledding area.
ENGLAND - Manchester
to Host Taekwondo
Championships
Manchester will host the European
Taekwondo Championships being held
weeks before the Olympic Games in
2012.
The European Taekwondo Union
Executive Committee made the decision
at a meeting in Athens, at which Sport
Taekwondo UK and the British Taekwondo
Control Board presented their bid to the
federation.
The news will offer sport in Britain the
opportunity for the British team to finalise
their preparations for the London Games.
Jeremy Beard, chairman of Sport
Taekwondo UK said: ‘this is fantastic
news for Taekwondo fans across the
UK and provides us with a real chance
to showcase the sport at a time when
excitement will be growing ahead of
the Olympics. It also recognises Sport
Taekwondo UK’s ability to stage world
class events and indeed Manchester’s
reputation as global sporting capital’.
JAPAN - Tokyo Announces
Olympic Bid Plans
The city of Tokyo has announced that
it intends to bid for the 2020 Olympics,
as part of Japan’s recovery from the
devastating earthquake and tsunami
which hit the country in March.
City governor Shintaro Ishihara has been
re-elected for a fourth term, with Japan’s
recovery from the disaster at the forefront
of his campaign.
Ishihara said: ‘Although they [the 2020
Games] are nine years from now, we can
start raising our hand’.
‘If we work hard with hope, it will be a big
catalyst for our country’s reconstruction
and revival’.
In 2009, Tokyo lost out to Rio de Janeiro
to host the 2016 Olympics.
Candidates for 2020must submit their bids
to the International Olympic Committee by
1st September this year, with the host city
revealed in Buenos Aires in September
2013.
Durban, Berlin, Busan, Doha, Rome and
Istanbul have also indicated interest in
bidding to stage the 2020 event.
USA - San Francisco
to Host America’s Cup
San Francisco has been selected as the
host venue for the 34th edition of the
America’s Cup.
San Francisco Bay will be home to the
2013 America’s Cup Finals and the
Challenger Selection Series for the Louis
Vuitton Cup, as well as an America’s Cup
World Series event in 2012.
‘We sought a venue that fulfills our
promise – to showcase the best sailors in
the world competing on the fastest boats
and hosting the America’s Cup in San
Francisco will realize that promise,’ said
Richard Worth, Chairman, America’s Cup
Event Authority.
The 34th America’s Cup is reportedly
projected to add an estimated $1.4 billion
dollars into the San Francisco region.
The lack of entries for the next America’s
Cup in 2013 has forced the flagship sailing
race’s organisers to slash entry fees by
almost three-quarters.
Only five teams, including defenders
BMW Oracle and challengers of record
Mascalzone Latino, have committed to
the event which is due to kick off in June
with a series of preliminary regattas in
smaller versions of the official America’s
Cup 72ft wing-masted catamarans.
FRANCE - Horse-Surfing
Coming to a Beach Near You
Horse surfing is popular in Baule, on
the Atlantic west coast of France, where
surfers travel across waves at speeds of
up to 56km/h while attached to a galloping
stallion on the beach.
The new adrenalin craze was created by
pro kitesurfer Harold Quinquis while in
search of new thrills.
“We have friends who go down to the beach
on their horses and enjoy galloping in the
waves,” Mr Quinquis said.
“You can never go as fast on a surfboard as
you can on a horse - and I thought it would
be great to be able to go that fast.
“Then we came up with the idea of attaching
the board to the saddle and being dragged
along.”
Mr Quinquis says it’s difficult to get used
to at first, but once you master it, “it’s
fantastic”.
“We’ve had a really positive response from
people - and we’ve even seen other people
giving it a go on the beach.”
Horse surfing appears to be catching on in
other European countries and it follows on
from another new equine-related pursuit:
horse-boarding.
Horse-boarding involves being pulled on a
skateboard at up to 56kph. It has become
so popular that a training centre has opened
and Britain’s first championships are to be
held this year.
F
ISRAEL - Helping to Train
Palestinian Competitors for
London 2012
In a surprise move, Israel has promised
to provide training facilities for Palestinian
athletes in the lead up to the London
Olympics in 2012.
International Olympic Committee (IOC)
president Jacques Rogge helped to broker
the deal that would allow Palestine to be
involved in the Olympics for the first time.
Palestinian athletes face obstacles that
hamper training and travel to sports
events.
“In the short run, priority will be given to
assisting Palestinian athletes to move
towards their dream of taking part in
the Olympic Games in London next
year,” the IOC said. “In that respect, the
representatives of the Olympic Committee
of Israel said they were ready to offer
training opportunities to Palestinian
athletes”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said in October that he would try to ease
travel restrictions for Palestinian athletes.