Miki Ando wins women's figure skating world title

Miki Ando performs her free program on Saturday at the world figure skating championships in Moscow. (Misha Japaridze / Associated Press)

MOSCOW -- Miki Ando of Japan won the world figure skating championships after overcoming Olympic gold medalist Kim Yuna in a duel of exceptional elegance on Saturday.

The victory by the Japanese skater, who also won at the 2007 worlds, was fitting in a competition that was originally scheduled in her homeland before it was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in March.

"I was skating for Japan and I never cared about the result. I'm really happy to have a gold medal," Ando said. "I worked hard and I've become a little bit of a stronger skater than a year ago."

In ice dance, Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White won the first world gold for their country in the discipline, outpointing 2010 champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada. The American sister-brother team of Maia and Alex Shibutani won bronze.

The free programs of Ando and Yuna contained languid moves interspersed with moments of power and steely control. They were within less than half a point of each other going into the free skate.

Ando, skating to Grieg's "Piano Concerto in A Minor," in the final group of six, opened with a triple lutz-double toe loop. She didn't falter until the middle of the program, when she stepped out of a double axel and reduced the planned combination triple toe to a double.

But she regained her poise, had three more solid triples and a double axel-double loop-double loop cascade so surprising that it drew gasps from the crowd.

Kim made her season debut after firing coach Brian Orser and moving her training base from Toronto to Los Angeles in the past year. She started even more boldly with a triple lutz-triple toe. Her program -- "Homage to Korea" -- set to a haunting collection of traditional Korean music and choreographed by Canadian David Wilson, was a crowd-pleaser at Megasport Arena.

But she quickly ran into trouble, singling two of her next three jumps. She also featured a cascade starting with a double axel, but one of the jumps was a toe loop instead of a loop, giving the element slightly less value.

"I'm just so glad that the competition is over," said Kim, who cried on the podium. "After the Olympics, I was thinking: 'Am I going to come back to competition or not?' Mentally I couldn't stop thinking: 'Why do I have to do this?' I think that was the hardest thing. But then I felt ready to go and I thought: 'I can do this."'

Carolina Kostner of Italy improved from sixth place to take the bronze, with a charming program to the dreamy strains of Debussy's "Afternoon of a Faun," marred only by popping one triple.

"Last year it was a hard time for me, so it was a big emotion just to finally again just enjoy it," she said. "To be able to get a medal just makes it more special."

For the United States, Alissa Czisny finished fifth in the free skate and overall standings. American Rachael Flatt was 12th overall.

The winning American ice dancers thanked their coaches, Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva.

"To say that we owe everything to our coaching is an understatement." Davis said of the pair, who also coach the silver and bronze medalists.

Davis and White were slightly behind going into the free dance, but outpointed the Canadians on technical marks and program components in their clean and lively tango program.

"It's been a long 15 years we've been together, and just building toward this moment," White said. "I think we kind of knew it would come eventually. But you have to make it happen on the ice."

Virtue and Moir were more aesthetically adventurous in a program that smoothly moved from Latin music to smoky jazz to a drum fusillade and included a dramatic upside-down lift.

"We set out to challenge ourselves and to push the boundaries of ice dancing," Virtue said. "The program is unlike anything we've ever done before and I think unlike anything the ice dance world has ever seen. We're really proud of what we've accomplished."

All the 2010 champions entered this year, and none of the defenders prevailed. Mao Asada of Japan finished sixth after an error-filled short program. Daisuke Takahashi finished sixth in the men's, overwhelmed in a field won by Canada's Patrick Chan, who set three world records in the process. Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy won the pairs, with 2010 champions Pang Qing and Tong Jian of China settling for bronze.

Russian spectators longing for a return to the country's one-time eminence in women's skating had something to cheer and lament.

Alena Leonova, who had a disappointing performance at the Cup of Russia, nailed seven triples in her high-spirited free program to end in fourth place, less than a point behind Kostner. Ksenia Makarova, who had been third after the short program, finished seventh after a fall in a free program that was marred by other errors.

piano concerto in a minor, olympic gold medalist, brian orser ebook download, traditional korean music, crowd pleaser, double axel, triple lutz, miki ando, concerto in a minor, haunting collection, season debut, world figure skating championships in moscow, scott moir, world figure skating championships, double loop, charlie white, figure skating championships, toe loop, final group, world gold

Latimes.com

Me & The Sea

Me & The Sea

IMG_6457_0002

Tags

Exmouth

Sea

Fishing
Flickr.com

Roddy Forsyth: Why Old Firm should toast the other 'KM' - and the Red, White and Blue

Roddy Forsyth: Why Old Firm should toast the other ‘KM’ – and the Red, White and Blue

It is a matter of profound regret that on Friday there will be no street parties to celebrate the occasion in Govan or the east end of Glasgow – and no tea-towels or silver spoons or commemorative mugs bearing the initials KM on sale in the souvenir shops at Ibrox or Parkhead. Frankly, they should all be waving their hats in the air and shouting: “God Bless Yer Ma’am – and the Red, White and Blue!”

Landmark case: Karen Murphy is taking her fight with Sky all the way to the European Court of Justice Photo: REX FEATURES

By Roddy Forsyth 6:25AM BST 29 Apr 2011

Comments

In case you have been in space orbit or a coma for the last few days, you’ll know, of course, that we’re talking about Karen Murphy, Pub Landlady, whose single-handed battle against Sky – and the subscription fees it charges licensed premises to show live football – will be the subject of a ruling in the European Court of Justice this summer.

Karen, whose pub – the Red, White and Blue – in Portsmouth, treated its customers to Premier League action via a Greek TV decoder, which cost considerably less than the Sky equivalent. Sky – and the Premier League, who license match screening rights to the satellite broadcaster – took the hump at this development which they saw as a clear and present danger to their revenue stream.

They pressed a case against Ms Murphy, who was convicted of a criminal copyright infringement of Sky’s rights. The indomitable landlady was having none of it and took her case to the European Court of Justice – the EU’s highest court – on the grounds that that the ban on the use foreign decoders in the UK violates European legislation covering competition and free movement of goods.

The court’s General Advocate, Juliane Kokott, produced a 60-page report that not only backed Karen in her dispute with Sky and the Premier League but also examined the legality of selling European TV rights on nation-by-nation basis, which is why, on Wednesday, William Gaillard – adviser to Uefa President Michel Platini – said, of Champions League broadcast revenue: “This may force us to sell the rights on a Europe-wide basis, which would prevent us from identifying individual national TV pools.

“That will be bad news for clubs in big TV markets such as England.”

Yes, but good news for clubs in small TV markets such as Scotland. In these pages on Aug 10 last year, under the headline: “Uefa must be able to find fairer way of organising its competition”, I wrote – of the draw that had just paired a Scottish side with an English team in the Champions League: “If Rangers and Manchester United finish with nine points each in Group C, the Old Trafford club will make up to three times as much as their Scottish counterparts.

“This is because of the inequities of the TV market pool in which broadcasters from larger countries pay more than their equivalents in small countries. The prize money is allotted on the same basis, meaning that just being located in a big country inflates the earnings of some clubs, regardless of their support base.

“Hence, Celtic, who took at least 60,000 fans to the Uefa Cup final in Seville in 2003, will always earn less than Bayer Leverkusen, who couldn’t sell 10,000 tickets for their Champions League final against Real Madrid in 2002.”

The market pool system was necessary for the initial success of the Champions League because national broadcasters wanted to pay out on the basis of their clubs’ progress. However, it has helped to distort the difference in earnings between the likes of the Old Firm, Porto, Benfica or Ajax and clubs from the Big Five countries.

As a rough rule of thumb, had Celtic or Rangers been drawn in the same Champions League group as Premier League clubs over a period of 10 years and had they finished on exactly the same points total every time, the difference in revenue would be in the region of £90 million – equal to about 150 per cent of the annual turnovers of each of the Old Firm pair.

Assuming that an equitable arrangement would split the difference, the return to the Glasgow clubs – in the situation described above – would work out at around £4.5 million a year, about what Craig Whyte has promised he will make available for Rangers to spend on players for each of the next five seasons.

It would not put the Old Firm on the same economic plane as the biggest clubs from the biggest leagues but if you offered Neil Lennon or Walter Smith a wad like that they’d bite your hand off. And with any luck, some of the dosh would find its way to the likes of Hearts, Hibs, Dundee United, Motherwell or other clubs whose appreciation would be just as heartfelt.

Uefa are worried that their rights will drop in value but they have also yet to come to terms with the fact that content increasingly drives consumption – and that there are new ways of consuming content. After all, who’d be surprised if the 2020 equivalent of the iPad offers live football on subscription?

The European Court of Justice will issue its ruling in the summer but precedent strongly suggests that it will favour Karen Murphy. Royalty on TV has its market – as we will see today – but it is royalties from the TV market that will prompt toasts at Ibrox and Parkhead to Ms Murphy, pub landlady-in-waiting for justice.

McVitie’s decision to remove Union flag takes biscuit

Brilliant, isn’t it? Wills and Kate asked McVitie’s to make them a chocolate biscuit cake for the Royal wedding but staff at the company’s Glasgow factory were told by management to take down a Union flag because of its “direct connotations with football and sectarianism”.

True, Kate is joining the one British club where a Catholic can’t get the top job, but the Union flag will be flown from Glasgow’s public buildings today, unless perhaps McVitie’s threatens to withdraw HobNobs from City Council canteens. Still, matters should be easier to arrange for the Queen’s state visit to the Republic of Ireland next month.

All it will take is Glasgow’s universally recognised symbol of peace and harmony – a nicely mingled display of Union flags and green, white and orange tricolours.

Meanwhile, humour was to be found at Sunday’s Old Firm derby at Ibrox, where Glasgow comedian Andy Cameron contributed to the match programme. Andy harked back to the 1999 title decider at Parkhead, when a Celtic fan toppled from one of the stands during Rangers’ 3-0 victory.

According to Cameron (and this only works in a Glaswegian accent) the victim was taken to hospital where a shocked nurse exclaimed: “Oh my God – have ye seen the surgeon?” Came the reply: “Ah never even seen the second yin!”

Day I helped make history at SFA...

The Scottish Football Association made a little piece of history last week when it permitted outsiders, this correspondent included, to attend – and to contribute to – a debate at a meeting of its Council. The subject for debate was certainly timely - “Football disciplinary matters can be handled by the football authorities without the need for legal intervention: Is this a pipe-dream in the current football market place?”

Each speaker was allowed five minutes to make his case and only one exceeded the limit.

There was much cogent argument, to which we shall return at another time – you can hear the debate on the SFA website via the categories, Inside Football and Scottish FA News – but the biggest laugh of the afternoon came when Rod Petrie,

the Hibs chairman, said of his Kilmarnock counterpart, a solicitor by profession: “We heard from Michael Johnston, who told us that lawyers say things more quickly – and then ran out of time!”
Telegraph.feedsportal.com

ponton

ponton

Tags

photo

photography

image

picture

landscape

Languedoc

France

Francia

Frankreich

europe

colours

small boats

sea

mer

water

sun

sky

blue

port

cement

seascape

Ste

wallpaper

fond d'cran

eau

photographie

shot

ciel

soleil

geotagged

color

colour

couleur

mditerrane

mediterranean sea

exbr
Flickr.com

Boys' Volleyball: Poly vs. Flintridge Prep

Boys' volleyball: Poly vs. Flintridge Prep

Mark Loyola (2), Michael Saeta (5)

Tags

Pasadena

CA

USA

US

saeta, loyola, volleyball

Flickr.com

Panel Calls Sri Lanka War Crime Claims 'Credible'

UNITED NATIONS—A U.N.-appointed panel found that allegations of war crimes committed by the Sri Lanka government and the Tamil Tigers during the final battles of their 27-year war are credible and could lead to formal charges if investigated.

View Full Image

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

A file picture taken on May 23, 2009 shows a general view of the abandoned conflict zone where Tamil Tigers made their last stand before their defeat by the Sri Lankan army.

The panel's report also criticized the U.N. for not revealing casualty figures at the time. Doing so, it said, "would have strengthened the call for protection of civilians."

The struggle between Sri Lanka and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, came to an end after an intense battle over a 13.5 square mile area in the northeast of the country, where as many as 330,000 civilians were trapped between the warring sides, said the 216-page report.

The report said the government shelled "on a large scale" three No Fire Zones "where it had encouraged the civilian population to concentrate, even after indicating that it would cease the use of heavy weapons."

The report said the government also systemically shelled hospitals and food-distribution lines, and fired close to Red Cross ships coming to pick up wounded civilians.

The Tamil Tigers, meanwhile, barred civilians from fleeing, shooting some to keep them from escaping, the report said. The rebels forced civilians as young as 14 years old to fight, and used civilians to dig trenches and as "hostages" and a "strategic human buffer" in battle, the panel said.

"All this was done in a quest to pursue a war that was clearly lost," the report said, adding that "many civilians were sacrificed on the altar of the LTTE cause and its efforts to preserve its senior leadership."

The Sri Lankan government has denied the allegations. Tamil Tiger representatives couldn't be reached to comment.

Tens of thousands of civilians were killed in the final months of the battle, from January to May 2009. The government caused most of the civilian causalities in this final phase of the war, the report concluded.

The allegations of war crimes can't be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court, because Sri Lanka isn't a member. While the panel called on the Sri Lankan government to conduct a full investigation, it said that it has "little confidence that it will serve justice in the existing political environment" because of a lack of "political will."

The Sri Lankan government has mounted anti-U.N. rallies around the country to protest the report.

In a statement released with the report on Monday evening, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the panel's recommendation for an international investigation couldn't take place without Sri Lanka's consent or a decision by nations in an "appropriate intergovernmental forum."

Only the U.N. Security Council can order an ICC investigation in a country that doesn't belong to the court or refuses to carry out its own credible probe. Mr. Ban said he would review criticism of the U.N. made by the panel

—Julian E. Barnes contributed to this article.

Write to Joe Lauria at newseditor@wsj.com

separatist liberation tigers, liberation tigers of tamil eelam, sri lankan army, sri lankan government, sri lanka government, tamil tigers, conflict zone, fire zones, intense battle, war crimes, civilian population, distribution lines, casualty figures, formal charges, food distribution, last stand, civilians, hostages, france presse, getty

Online.wsj.com

Conwy Castle.

Conwy Castle.

Tags

Conwy Castle

Estuary

Sea

Water

Sand

Mountains

Suspension Bridge

Polarizing Filter

Sigma 18-200mm
Flickr.com

• One more step to a perfect photo ? •

• One more step to a perfect photo ? •

... don't worry, she is OK ;)

Tags

crossprocessing

candid

shot

quicksil7er

D700

Howt

Ireland

danger

cliffs

session

photo
Flickr.com

String Lake

String Lake

Low water just south of where Leigh Lake flows into northern String Lake.

grand teton national Park, Wyoming

Tags

Tetons

Wyoming

USA

Landscape

Nature

Lake

Water

Trees

String Lake

GTNP

Grand Teton National Park

Autumn

Nikon

D700

Nikkor

24-70mm f/2.8G

Trip

Vacation

Travel

Geotagged

grand teton national park, leigh lake, string lake, teton national park, grand teton national ebook download, 70mm

Flickr.com

Gareth Berg and Ollie Rayner keep their cool to send Middlesex to victory over Derbyshire

Gareth Berg and Ollie Rayner keep their cool to send Middlesex to victory over Derbyshire

Middlesex (230 & 329-7) beat Derbyshire (154 & 403) by three wickets

By Telegraph staff and agencies 7:55PM BST 23 Apr 2011

Comments

Middlesex continued their impressive start to the season when half centuries from Gareth Berg and Ollie Rayner carried them to a thrilling three-wicket victory.

Derbyshire looked favourites when the visitors slipped to 197 for six chasing 328 but Berg and Rayner turned the game with a stand of 97 in 24 overs.

Berg became Tony Palladino’s fourth victim when he had made 80 from 115 balls but Rayner hit an unbeaten 58 to secure Middlesex’s second win.

Middlesex had added only four runs to their overnight total of 145 for two when Dawid Malan pushed forward at the fifth ball of the morning from Tim Groenewald and was caught behind.

The home side were soon celebrating another success in the next over. Neil Dexter had scored only two when he was beaten by Palladino and trapped leg before to reduce the visitors to 154 for four .

Dan Housego and John Simpson began rebuilding the Middlesex innings but the scoring rate dropped considerably and Housego’s stubborn innings of 27 ended when he edged into the gloves of Tom Poynton.

Simpson and Berg had scored 21 in 12 overs when Simpson went for a big cut at Ross Whiteley but hit it straight to short cover where Dan Redfern held on. At lunch, Middlesex were 216 for six, 112 short of their target, and Berg came out determined to break the stranglehold of the bowlers.

He drove Wes Durston’s off-spin for six and when Derbyshire claimed the new ball, he cut the first delivery from Greg Smith past point to the boundary.

Berg had taken his side to within 34 runs of victory when he cut Palladino to backward point to give the seamer his ninth victim.

But Rayner shut the door firmly in Derbyshire’s face and drove Whiteley for two consecutive fours to win a pulsating contest.

wicket victory, telegraph staff, ninth victim, fourth victim, rsquo, groenewald, durston, palladino, john simpson, greg smith, poynton, target, whiteley, stranglehold, bowlers, ollie, middlesex, dexter, wes, gloves

Telegraph.feedsportal.com

William and Kate: It's Panic Time

Getty Images

No pressure, only the whole world is watching. Kate Middleton and Prince William on April 11, above.

I have a vague recollection of being woken up 30 years ago at 4 a.m. and ushered into the living room to witness the most magical event in any child's life: the wedding of two adults I had never heard of who lived across the ocean.

And as I watched Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles something-or-other join in Holy Matrimony on that Blessed Day, my mind raced in so many different directions. Will I, too, get married some day? What will my dress be like? Who will my husband be? Can it be my cousin Jeff? And why is that pretty young lady marrying that old man? Things pretty much went downhill from there and then we all ate bangers in the dark and went back to bed.

But this time, this time, I have a platform on which to speak. And speak I shall, for I believe that I am uniquely qualified to offer my "tuppence," if you will. (Did you like that? That was British. I have a whole bunch more, so just be patient. Chips. That means "freedom fries.")

Getty Images

Kate under an umbrella on March 8.

For one thing, I am Canadian. Canada is like England's younger cousin from the country, whom you always coerce into going out to buy cigarettes for you and then you never pay them back. So I know a whole bunch about England, including this: lift. And this: "favorite" is actually spelled "favourite."

Also, I have been married for going on 5,259,487 minutes now. Are you impressed yet?

Kate Middleton's style choices have been scrutinized for months, a trend not likely to change once she becomes a princess. But Harper's Bazaar editor Avril Graham explains why the world may never know if there's such a thing as a royal stylist.

She was already one of the most talked about women in the world, but when Kate Middleton finally marries Prince William on Friday, the interest in the English rose will only bloom. Video courtesy Sky News

Furthermore, I am a celebrity of sorts, in a niche level, boutique-y way, and that behooves me, nay, requires me to comment on all manner of things, be they natural disasters, the state of things, or in this case, royal nuptials. I learned this the other day when I watched "Access Hollywood" on my "telly" and saw that Nick Cannon had offered the newlyweds a little marital advice. Nick Cannon, of the Mariah-Carey-Nick-Cannons, who recently provided some strategic coverage to his topless wife on the cover of a magazine, advises the couple "not to take themselves too seriously." Indeed. Hillary Clinton, similarly, had this advice: "Enjoy your big day. Don't get too stressed."

Excuse me? Don't get stressed? Are you kidding? I went to their wedding website and the stress from that alone made me seek out a random intern to intimidate. (Don't judge me—it really brings my heart rate down.)

Seriously, get stressed. Don't you dare not get stressed. The whole world is watching. I cannot be any more clear about this!

View Full Image

Getty Images

State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry, right, who will perform at the royal wedding.

But aside from that, and I'm about to get quiet for a moment here—if I can just speak to you on a friendship level, Prince William and Lady Kate. Your Supreme Lord Majesties. Let's break it down; I have been there. I am a married woman. I have three children, a boxy two-bedroom apartment and a husband who adores me both physically and spiritually, though mostly physically. And 10 wonderful years ago, these two crazy kids bet it all on the promise that we would love each other until the end of time, just like you. And that's the most important thing of all, really.

Other than these things:

1. I do not recommend that you let your future husband get a single-process hair color before your big day. Mine did this and it was way too dark, and now in all our wedding photos, my hair looks sun-dappled and he looks like Eddie Munster. Also, his complexion is very pale, but that is from the fact that he spent the entire morning vomiting. Don't worry. I'm sure this won't happen to you.

2. If you have a crazy drunken uncle, and I assume that you do, don't let him anywhere near your bridesmaids. I have one. He pretended to be harmless and tipsy, but then later tried to jam his tongue in earnest down the throats of all my female friends in front of everyone in attendance. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend un-inviting my uncle Ian from your wedding.

View Full Image

Getty Images

A horse being groomed for the royal wedding.

3. If you are going to wear a bias-cut gown, and I have no idea if this is your intention, don't try wearing a fully boned girdle under it. I did this and now I swear you can see the rippled outline of my foundation garments in every photograph. It's my fault. The woman at the store advised me against underpants of any kind, but that just seemed like an even bigger mistake waiting to happen, and here we are. You may have this part all figured on your own, but I'm just reminding you to tread carefully.

So no pressure, but if we are all getting up at 4 a.m. for another royal wedding, then we are counting on you to deliver on the promise that we made on your behalf (you weren't there at the time) to remain perfect and be happy forever. It may just be one day in the history of your life together, but I will be stuck with a whole freezer full of Cornish pasties that no one wants to eat, so you better make this wedding good.

And always know that soon enough the day will be over, and the billion people who watched you marry will move on with their lives to something of greater importance; namely, whether that's a baby bump sticking out of your bikini, or just plain old boring internal organs.

Enjoy!

—Samantha Bee is a senior correspondent on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and the author of "I Know I Am, but What Are You?"
Online.wsj.com

Air France - F-HPJC - Airbus A380-861

Air France - F-HPJC - Airbus A380-861

F-HPJC waiting for Air France's flight AF 6 from Charles de Gaulle to New York John F Kennedy International.
Codeshare flight with Delta Air Lines as flight DL 8550.

Plane information:
serial number: 43
First flight date: 20.7.2009
Test registration: F-WWAB
Delivery date: 14.4.2010

Taken at Charles de Gaulle, Paris 30.9.2010.

Tags

Airbus A380

MSN 43

Air France

F-HPJC

France

AF

AFR

AirFrans

Serial number 43

F-WWAB

GP7270

JFK

KJFK

New York

John F Kennedy

International

USA

Delta Air Lines

Delta

DL

DL 8550

AF 6

AF006

AF0006

CDG

LFPG

Paris

Charles De Gaulle

Canon

XSi

Photographing

450D

Oscar von Bonsdorff

Studio

Pro

Canon EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

Canon 18-55

Kit Lens

Canon 18-55 IS

Canon 18-55mm

18-55 lens

A380

380

A388

388

A380-861

380-861

Airbus

Flygplan

Lentokone

Aircraft

Airplane

Aeroplane

Letoun

Fastvingefly

Flugzeug

Avin

Lennuk

Avion

Flugvl

Aeroplano

Aroplanum

Vliegtuig

Samolot

Самолёт

Uak

delta air lines, airbus a380, uak, charles de gaulle paris, codeshare, kennedy international, charles de gaulle, air france, john f kennedy, serial number

Flickr.com

Richard Hill gets tough to prepare Worcester for Premiership

Richard Hill gets tough to prepare Worcester for Premiership

“Accountability was the big issue,” says Richard Hill. “There wasn’t any.

Changing attitudes: Richard Hill faces a huge challenge to get Worcester back into top flight Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Paul Ackford 6:00PM BST 23 Apr 2011

Comments

''There were no performance management systems in place for the medical guys, the strength and conditioning people, the academy staff or the administrative side. Nobody had any aims or objectives set for them. They used to come into work in their own little worlds.” For the man hired by owner Cecil Duckworth to return Worcester to the Premiership, it was all a bit baffling.

Hill’s response to Worcester’s predicament is fascinating. A week today they play Bedford for a place in the play-off final where victory will catapult them back into the top flight. There is no trepidation. “Do I feel under pressure? Honestly? No. Everyone’s in good spirits and that’s what we want. Back in July our aim was to bounce back up and nothing has changed. There was no way we weren’t getting to a semi-final so right from July we knew that May 1 was the only day which was going to be important. In that sense the pressure has been constant from the off.”

Arriving at Worcester from lowly French club Chalon-sur-Saône, where Hill had expected to spend another two years, he encountered wonderful facilities, fantastically loyal supporters and a mess. “Take the medical side as an example. We had an abnormally high rate of shoulder and calf injuries, but we didn’t know why that was the case. Was it because we used our indoor facility too much? Was it the way we trained? We simply didn’t know. So we set targets to reduce the incidence of those types of injuries through better medical screening, varying our training surfaces, changing the stretching and prehab programmes, and they’ve reduced considerably.”

That lack of focus was systemic throughout the club. Hill was staggered to discover there was no programme of nutrition in place, so he persuaded Worcester to hire Adam Carey, the nutritionist who was part of Sir Clive Woodward’s 2003 World Cup team and who regularly appears on TV shows like Celebrity Fit Club. “The average body fat of our squad was over 14 per cent a year ago. It’s now down to 10.8 per cent.”

Culturally, too, things have shifted. “One of the things I stressed was the importance of having fit players available. The Premiership average is around 75 per cent of the squad up and running on any given day. I wanted ours to hit 80 per cent, and because that target was put in place the medical staff bust a gut during the week to ensure that they got the players fit. Now, when someone says, ‘I’ve got a slight niggle’, they will say, ‘No, you haven’t. I’m going to tell Hilly you’re fit to play’. You know what players are like, whinging at the slightest twinge. That doesn’t happen any more, and it has changed mindsets. We joke about it, but I’ve said to the players, ‘If you go down in a game, make sure you are mortally wounded because the physios are not going to come on for you. Don’t go down if you’re tired and want a blow, or if someone’s given you a dead leg because you can lie there as long as you like but no one is going to look after you’. This weekend at the end of a long season we had 36 out of a squad of 37 up for selection.”

Hill smiles as he expands on Worcester’s transformation, but there is no disguising the seriousness of the situation in those early days. “It had got to the stage where the players came to me and said they wanted to move out of the dressing room we use on match days and for training because it was associated with failure. I said that once they’d won a few matches they’d associate it with success. But that was how it was for them in the Premiership. They used to put everything into games and lose by a point. That gets you down after a while.”

In a bid for greater integration and collective responsibility, Hill insisted that employees in all areas of the club got together regularly. “We’ve got this great guy, Lee Morrow, who cleans out our indoor training base and works as a steward on match days. He now comes in to chat to the players and the coaches, and that’s the way it should be. It’s all about respect. If you don’t know the cleaner, you can be a bit sloppy and messy, but if you’ve met him and understood that he’s responsible for sorting out your mess, you’re less likely to trash the place.”

And now comes the crucial test. For all the harmony, the accountability and the sense of fun which seems to pervade Worcester, Hill knows that his season, possibly his job, will come down to a game against Bedford a week today, followed by a two-leg final against the winner of the other semi-final between the Cornish Pirates and London Welsh. Everything has been planned for precisely this stage of the campaign. Three-week development windows, where groups of six players were given a week off and then beasted in the gym to get them in the best possible shape, have gone on since the start of the season. Hill has even stood down his first-choice team this weekend, the side that played Bedford yesterday in the British and Irish Cup bearing no relation to the one that will take on Bedford again in the Championship semi-final.

“We’ll be ready,” Hill says. He’d better be. One mistake and it’s wonky old Worcester all over again.

performance management systems, getty images, calf injuries, changing attitudes, medical side, administrative side, academy staff, loyal supporters, medical screening, french club, strength and conditioning, top flight, trepidation, predicament, may 1, accountability, spirits, rsquo, aims, surfaces

Telegraph.feedsportal.com

Stewards overreact as Timmy Murphy plays his cards late on Poker De Sivola at Sandown

Stewards overreact as Timmy Murphy plays his cards late on Poker De Sivola at Sandown

At the end of the week in which the whip has been dominating the headlines, Timmy Murphy produced one of the outstanding rides of this or any other jump season to win the Bet365 Gold Cup on Poker de Sivola, but still incurred a two-day whip ban for 'excessive frequency and not giving his mount a chance to respond’.

Waiting game: Timmy Murphy and Poker de Sivola (nearest camera) still have work to do as they jump the final fence in fourth place  Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Marcus Armytage 7:53PM BST 23 Apr 2011

Comments

On this occasion, however, though I dare say they went strictly by the book, it looked like a case of nit-picking by jumpy stewards, worried that they, too, were in the spotlight after Murphy, a past master of the waiting race, produced a superb tactical ride to get his enigmatic mount home by 2¼ lengths.

Murphy’s three hits before the last fence may have been in quick succession, but his use of the whip certainly did not look offensive and after the last he connected with some light flicks. This time the stewards’ action looked unnecessary and only served to add fuel to a fire that is in danger of getting out of control.

Poker de Sivola was five lengths adrift of the whole field at the Pond Fence with just over a circuit to run and trading at 95-1 on Betfair. The jockey then served up a master class to pick the field off one by one. At the Pond a circuit later, the third-last, he still had five in front of him and he only picked up his whip for the first time on the run to the last.

They landed in fourth at the last fence but collared the runner-up, Faasel, 100 yards from the line getting there, Murphy joked afterwards, “a bit too soon”. The Aintree Foxhunters winner Baby Run, who had been in the vanguard all the way, was a close third for trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies and son Sam.

Afterwards Murphy, 36 and in the twilight of his career, revealed that but for winning owner David Johnson, by whom he is retained, he would have already given up riding, having registered only 32 winners this season, his lowest score since he was a conditional rider. “The rides have dried up and it’s hard to get up to drive three or four hours to ride one horse; it’s a bit demoralising” he explained. “We’ll go another season – as long as I’m riding for him.”

Johnson, previously one of jump racing’s biggest owners until hit by the recession, was openly critical of his trainers who would not let him put Murphy up but added that he hoped to have a few more horses again next season.

Last week Poker de Sivola, whose finest hour prior to yesterday was victory under Katie Walsh in the 2010 National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham, unseated Graham Lee in the Scottish National. Crucially, it was early on before they had gone a mile and both Lee and trainer Ferdy Murphy thought him fit enough and well enough to make the trip south from Middleham.

“You just never know with this horse,” said the jockey. “The times I’ve thought he’s going to win he’s run awfully and the times I’ve thought he’d run badly, he’s run well. He loves passing horses and, though it’s not politically correct to say it, your best chance on him is to go and ride him like a non-trier. With him it’s mind games.

“You can’t bully him over three miles five furlongs, you have to sit and suffer. You sit up on him, he grabs the bit and passes one, then you sit up on him and he passes another. Ferdy has done a fantastic job with him and I don’t think he’d have produced that form for many trainers.”

A P McCoy, who was presented with his 16th jockeys’ title by Denise Lewis after racing, was the only champion to get on the scoresheet at Sandown on jump racing’s last day. His ride on French Opera in the Bet365 Celebration Chase was in complete contrast to Murphy’s.

He harried the favourite Tatatiano all the way and the tactic paid off handsomely as, in a terrific finish to the race – five horses in the air together at the last – McCoy prevailed on Nicky Henderson’s chaser. That was winner was number 218 and when he returns from Fairyhouse’s Easter meeting McCoy will begin his quest for a 17th title on zero.

nigel twiston davies, betfair, son sam, waiting game, baby run, aintree, gold cup, stewards, timmy, vanguard, flicks, whip, bst, jockey, getty, fence, succession, rsquo, twilight, spotlight

Telegraph.feedsportal.com

Saranac River below Franklin Falls Dam

Saranac River below Franklin Falls Dam

Tags

water

Spring

Rivers

Adirondack

scenic
Flickr.com

25me rencontres internationales cerfs-volants Berck-sur-Mer Avril 2011

25me rencontres internationales cerfs-volants Berck-sur-Mer Avril 2011

Tags

Cerfs-volants

Berck-sur-Mer

62

Pas-de-Calais

France

Dicksy93

Plage

Ciel

Cerf-volant

Vent

Aerien

Air

Vol

25me

Rencontre

Internationales

Avril 2011

Kites

Cometas

Arodyne

Vlieger

Drachen

Aquilone

Cometa

Kite

Luft

Lucht

Barriletes

Mer

Sea

Masque

Mask
Flickr.com

Ronnie O'Sullivan hoping that through psychiatry he has found a way to fall back in love with the game

Ronnie O'Sullivan hoping that through psychiatry he has found a way to fall back in love with the game

Ronnie O’Sullivan believes he may have found the cure for his snooker malaise but admits bringing in a sports psychiatrist is the “last throw of the dice” for his career.

Into the light? Ronnie O'Sullivan made short work of first-round opponent Dominic Dale Photo: ACTION IMAGES

By Telegraph staff and agencies 8:44PM BST 19 Apr 2011

Comments

O’Sullivan delivered a 40-minute masterclass to beat Welshman Dominic Dale at the World Championship in Sheffield, converting a 7-2 overnight lead to a 10-2 victory with breaks of 115, 96 and 100.

The 35 year-old suggested the first match of his 19th World Championship campaign was the most satisfying he had played at the Crucible.

While O’Sullivan declined to go into detail about the conversations he has been having with Dr Steve Peters, who worked with Britain’s successful cycling team at the 2008 Olympic Games and currently helps Team Sky riders, his positivity after his opening victory was refreshing.

“I’ve been to see someone and let’s just say it was a positive thing for me to do, because obviously I want to carry on playing,” said O’Sullivan after his first victory in a ranking event match since September.

“It’s nothing to do with making me a better snooker player but just allowing me to be like 99 per cent of the other snooker players. I just want to be on a level playing field.”

Bringing in Peters is not the first move O’Sullivan has made to revive a dwindling interest in competing, but it might prove the most successful.

He said: “I’ve taken steps by employing new coaches, sport psychologists, just to try to keep the motivation to play there. One day it might click and this is the last throw of the dice as far as I’m concerned.

“If I can get back to enjoying playing again and being out there, that’s the most important thing for me.”

Dale, 39, will head back to his Vienna home knowing he did not do himself justice after coming through the qualifying stages to reach the Crucible for the first time since 2004.

ronnie o sullivan, snooker players, snooker player, sport psychologists, world championship campaign, sky riders, telegraph staff, 2008 olympic games, rsquo, first victory, photo action, cycling team, dr steve, positivity, first move, masterclass, crucible, olympic games, dominic, malaise

Telegraph.feedsportal.com

Michael Lipman spurns return to Premiership for longer stay with Rebels in Super 15

Michael Lipman spurns return to Premiership for longer stay with Rebels in Super 15

Michael Lipman, the former Bath and England flanker, is to turn down the opportunity to return to the Premiership with London Irish and instead sign a new contract with the Melbourne Rebels, the Australian Super 15 side.

Staying in Australia: Michael Lipman remains keen to play for England, but will not return to the Premiership soon Photo: PA

By Gavin Mairs 7:58PM BST 21 Apr 2011

Follow Gavin Mairs on Twitter

Comments

The Daily Telegraph understands that Lipman, last capped by England in 2008, has signed a one-year contract extension with the Rebels, who have won three of their first eight games in their inaugural season in the Super 15.

It was understood London Irish were keen to sign Lipman, 31, who left England in 2009 when he parted ways with Bath after being banned for nine months for failing to take a drugs test following an end-of-season party. They wanted him as a potential replacement for Steffon Armitage, who has been linked with a move to French Top 14 side Toulon.

Irish, however, are now resigned to the fact that Lipman, who together with former England fly-half Danny Cipriani and Wales No 8 Gareth Delve has made a huge impact with the new franchise in Victoria, will remain in Australia next season.

It was unclear last night as to what impact Lipman’s decision would have on Armitage’s proposed move to Toulon, who last week claimed to have signed the 25 year-old, despite claims by London Irish that they had not agreed to release him from his three-year contract.

Lipman spoke last week of his ambitions to potentially resurrect his England career by returning to the Premiership, claiming London Irish would be the only club apart from Bath he would consider joining if he were to return to the Premiership.

“There is unfinished business in England,” Lipman said. “I have a point to prove and that is my driving force. I played my whole career over there and want to finish on a good note. The past is the past.”

It appears the attraction of another season in the Super 15 has persuaded Lipman to stay. Even though he was raised in New South Wales, Lipman, who was born in London and has an English father and an Australian mother, is regarded as an overseas player and, under Australia Rugby Union restrictions, can spend only two seasons at the Rebels.

London Irish must now decide whether to insist that Armitage, who won the last of his five England caps against Italy in Rome last year, honours his contract or to find another potential replacement.

The rise of England Under-20s openside flanker Jamie Gibson may convince Irish that they already have enough talent to replace Armitage, given the need to also replace No 8 George Stowers, who is joining the Ospreys next season.

Lipman may be joined by England flanker James Haskell in Australia next season, following reports that the Stade Francais player has been linked with a move to the New South Wales Waratahs, despite a declaration by the Rugby Football Union that it intends to only pick England-based players for the national squad after this year’s World Cup.

Meanwhile, the RFU last night defended its decision to “hedge their risk” by placing a £250,000 premium with an insurance broker to cover potential £2.25million bonus payments to players if England win the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in October.

“I am sure that we, as a professional and responsible sports governing body, are not alone in ensuring we minimise our financial risks at all times, including around tournaments such as the Rugby World Cup,” an RFU spokesman said.

“We are not directly placing money with bookmakers, but rather hedging our risk with an independent broker. It is financially prudent so that we can continue our investment in the grassroots of the sport which last year totalled more than £21million.”

gareth delve, england fly, business in england, london irish, fly half, lipman, mairs, daily telegraph, rsquo, inaugural season, eight games, cipriani, flanker, contract extension, armitage, finis, new contract, unfinished business, driving force, bst

Telegraph.feedsportal.com

Tim Hetherington, news photographer and 'Restrepo' co-director, killed in Libya

Sebastian Junger, left, and Tim Hetherington at Army Outpost Restrepo in Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. (Outpost Films / September 10, 2007)

Reporting from Misurata, Libya—

Tim Hetherington, an award-winning news photographer and co-director of the Oscar-nominated documentary "Restrepo," was killed Wednesday in an explosion in the Libyan city of Misurata, doctors and colleagues reported.

At least three other photojournalists were injured in the blast, which was believed to have been caused by a mortar round. The rebel-held city in western Libya has been under attack for several weeks by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi.

The wounded journalists included Chris Hondros of Getty Images, Michael Brown of the Corbis agency and Guy Martin of Panos Pictures. Hondros, whose work appeared on the front page of Wednesday's edition of the Los Angeles Times, was in critical condition with a head wound and in a coma.

Doctors at Misurata's Hikma Hospital said that seven rebel fighters and a Ukrainian doctor also were killed Wednesday in shellings.

Most of Misurata is in rebel hands, though it is ringed by Kadafi's forces, which have superior firepower. The journalists had been working near the front lines with a local militiaman in an area contested by snipers and other fighters loyal to Kadafi. The journalists apparently were returning on foot to more secure territory when they were hit by the fire.

Photos: Images by Hetherington and Hondros

"We were trying to get to a safe place. It was too quiet. It felt dangerous," said Guillermo Cervera, a freelance photojournalist who was a few yards away at the time of the blast. "I heard the whoosh of an explosion, and everybody was on the ground."

Rebels pulled up in vehicles and took the photographers to Hikma Hospital, Cervera said. Mohammed Zawwam, a local journalist, said Hetherington had talked of wanting to help Misurata's people and of doing a video project on the conflict.

"He was just a good guy, an amazing guy to me," Zawwam said.

Hetherington was born in Liverpool, England, and studied literature at Oxford University, according to his website biography. His documentary, "Restrepo," about a platoon of soldiers serving in Afghanistan, won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival last year.

ned.parker@latimes.com

tim hetherington, chris hondros, misurata libya, freelance photojournalist, army outpost, getty images, superior firepower, sebastian junger, news photographer, korengal valley afghanistan, moammar kadafi, hikma, corbis, fire photos, los angeles times, rebel fighters, libyan leader, head wound, cervera, video project

Latimes.com

reflection of clouds on building

reflection of clouds on building

Tags

Buildings

clouds

reflection

JJoe photography

D90

Museum
Flickr.com

Cobwebs and cogwheels

Cobwebs and cogwheels

Tags

Broadwaters

Kidderminster

snow
Flickr.com

Moody's downgrades Irish banks to junk

Moody's downgrades Irish banks to junk

The credit ratings of all Ireland’s major banks have been downgraded to junk status by Moody’s after its decision to cut the country’s sovereign rating earlier this month.

Moody?s also downgraded bank debt guaranteed by the Irish state. Anglo Irish Bank, Allied, bank of ireland, EBS and Irish Life have all used the scheme to issue bonds under the government?s Eligible Securities Scheme.  

By Harry Wilson 1:12PM BST 18 Apr 2011

Comments

Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland, EBS Building Society and Irish Life & Permanent had their long-term bank deposit ratings cut by two notches by Moody’s, while ICS Building Society was downgraded one notch.

Moody’s also downgraded bank debt guaranteed by the Irish state. Anglo Irish Bank, Allied, Bank of Ireland, EBS and Irish Life have all used the scheme to issue bonds under the government’s Eligible Securities Scheme.

Explaining its reasons for classifying all Irish bank debt as junk, Moody’s said it was a result of “the reduction in the level of systemic support embedded in our deposit ratings”, as well as the “removal of systemic support from the unguaranteed senior unsecured debt”.

The possibility of further downgrades has not been ruled out as Moody’s has maintained a “negative” outlook on Irish sovereign debt, which if cut again would likely lead to a cut in the banks’ ratings.

Ireland’s banks were told this month that they would need to raise a further €24bn (£21bn) to bolster their capital levels after a series of stress tests on the country’s largest lenders.

Much of the country’s banking system has been nationalised, with troubled lenders such as Anglo and EBS owned entirely by the state. A restructuring process is currently underway, which will lead to the merger of many of the institutions into new banks that it is hoped could be privatised in time.

anglo irish bank, ebs building society, irish banks, eligible securities, bank of ireland, rsquo ebook download, allied bank, stress tests, harry wilson, irish state, irish life, bank debt, junk status, sovereign debt, downgrades, notches, banking system, unsecured debt, 12pm, notch

Telegraph.feedsportal.com

The City Is Yours To Play

The City Is Yours To Play

Play Me I'm Yours, www.streetpianos.com/ , Sunday Bicycle tour. I pedaled around the city playing and photographing the many art pianos in public spaces.

Tags

Butler Park

Austin

TX

USA

piano

play me i'm yours

bicycle tour, public spaces, pianos

Flickr.com

Sydney Opera House

sydney opera House

Tags

'Sydney

Opera

House'

sydneyoperahouse, sydney opera

Flickr.com

Schnooks

Schnooks

Just chillin', yo

Tags

cat

iphone

lazy

Schnookums
Flickr.com

Darren and Renee542

Darren and Renee542

Tags

wedding

windsor
Flickr.com

The end of the day

The end of the day

A sunset shot from 2nd April.

It's a bit too busy, but I liked the mini waterfalls in the rocks.

Tags

sunset

ocean

sea

rocks

waterfall

water

darwin

east point

australia

nt

northern territory

sky

cloud

tree

sigma 10-20mm

20mm, waterfalls, rocks, sunset

Flickr.com

Monte Baldo blooming # 3

Monte Baldo blooming # 3

All rights reserved - Copyright © Luigi Scattolin
All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed, written permission of the photographer

Tags

prophotographer

presets

kodake6

kodak

kodakc41

flickr

f14

ef50mmf14usm

ef50mm

e6

canon40d

c41

bleachbypass

aperturef14

acrpresets

luigiscattolin

bokeh

canon

eos 40D

DOF

Photoshop

postproduzione

acr

cameraraw

breathless

cs3

crossprocessing

composizione

composition

colorgrading

canonlens

depthoffield

viraggio

colors

40d

reflex

DSLR

photo

photograpy

prime

vignettatura

vignetting

1.4

50mm

usm

Aperture-priority AE

Exposure Program

Metering Mode

Center-weighted average

explore

grafica

graphic

theauthorsplaza

monte baldo

blooming

fioritura

monte baldo, rights reserved copyright, priority, images

Flickr.com

Lunch with Eva

Lunch with Eva

Tags

instagram app

square

square format

iphoneography

Earlybird
Flickr.com

Adventurer Simon Murray in frame to chair Glencore

Adventurer Simon Murray in frame to chair Glencore

Simon Murray, South Pole adventurer and former Vodafone Group board member, has said he is in the running for the role of chairman at Glencore, the commodities trading giant planning a roughly $10bn dual listing in London and Hong Kong.

mining industry. "/>

Simon Murray has served on the boards of several major companies and has experience investing in the mining industry.  

By Roland Gribben 10:34AM BST 11 Apr 2011

Comments

His comments came as Glencore prepared to make its long-awaited public debut in a flotation that will create 485 instant millionaires, the odd billionaire and unleash a powerful force with acquisition ambitions.

Mr Murray, who lives and works in Hong Kong after 45 years in Asia, said he had served on the boards of several major companies and has experience investing in the mining industry.

Confirming a report that he was among the candidates for the non-executive chair role, he told Reuters: "This is very exciting, but you are talking to someone who has been chased by a leopard. You are talking to someone who has been shot at with a machine gun and missed.

"As Mr Churchill once said, the most exhilarating experience in life is to be shot at without result."

Outline details of a planned dual listing in London and Hong Kong are expected later this week in an "intention to float" document that will start to strip away the secrecy surrounding a Swiss-based business provisionally valued at $60bn (£37bn).

The Glencore IPO would be London's largest ever and has seized the market's interest in the last several months given the massive company's nearly four decades as a private company.

Current plans involve Glencore selling around 20pc of its equity to raise between $10bn and $12bn.

The aim is to strengthen its balance sheet, provide more headroom for deals and reduce debt as raw material prices soar in a market seen ripe for further restructuring.

One of the first targets could be Xstrata, the mining group spun out of Glencore where it retains a 34pc stake.

The business is currently in the hands of 485 partners who are each expected to end up with shares worth an average of just over $100m.

They have agreed to be patient and hold the stock for five years before starting to realise their paper wealth.

Ivan Glasenberg, chief executive with a 15pc stake in the business, should end up as a billionaire nine times over but his main pre-occupation at present is overseeing a successful launch and persuading Simon Murray, the gritty Hong Kong businessman, to take over as independent chairman.

Glencore is refusing to comment on the flotation plans and another sudden lurch in world stock markets could delay the share offer.

But, after months of agonising, Mr Glasenberg has been persuaded by advisers, looking at potential fee income of £250m, that the time is ripe for the Goldman Sachs of commodity trading to go public.

Last year Glencore produced earnings before interest and tax of $5.3bn ($3.3bn in 2009) from its three main business groups, metals and minerals, energy and farm products.

Turnover jumped to $145bn (£106.4bn), there was net debt of $14.8bn (£10.2bn) while total assets were just short of $80bn.

Glencore employs more than 2,700 in 50 offices around the world but the total head count is almost 55,000 in 40 countries. In addition to Xstrata it has a 44pc stake in Century Aluminium, 70.5pc in Minara Resources, 74.4pc in Katanga Mining, 8.8pc in United Company Rusal, 51.5pc in Chemoil Energy and 32.2pc in Recylex.

The business has had a chequered life.

Marc Rich, the aggressive commodities trader who ran foul of the US taxman and was eventually pardoned by President Clinton, started the business in 1974 and sold out for around $600m in 1995 when the letter heading changed to Glencore.

Mr Glasenberg, who joined Rich in 1984, has helped current chairman Willy Strothotte broaden the commodity base from zinc, copper, iron ore, oil and gas trading into physical assets and consolidate an integrated marketing and production empire.

He feels the time is ripe for Glencore to move up and join BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto in the asset game.

The private partnership structure has imposed limits on Glencore's capital structure and restricting its ability to grow but as an FTSE100 company raising finance to fund acquisitions will be considerably easier.

Mr Glasenberg has mulled over a number of deals and although he does not have an extensive shopping list analysts expect him to be an active player.

Manufacturing vacancies at Telegraph Jobs

raw material prices, mr churchill, commodities trading, simon murray, vodafone group, public debut, outline details, dual listing, role of chairman, gribben, mining group, group board, mr murray, executive chair, mining industry, south pole, headroom, reuters, adventurer, 45 years

Telegraph.feedsportal.com

Let the Sponsorships Begin

There's still 869 days to go before the flame is lit in London's Olympic stadium, signalling the start of the 2012 Olympic games, but for sponsors of the biggest event on the sporting calendar, the race to make an impression is already under way.

With athletes and organizers still nursing jet lag following the recent Winter Games in Vancouver, global brands and corporate partners are putting in the hard yards two years ahead of time in an effort to make the most of their involvement.

Advertising experts say sponsors should be building toward the big event now since their success will hinge on devising a clear statement to make with their Olympic campaigns.

View Full Image

Oli Sarff/Getty Images

Fireworks are set off from the BT Tower in London recently to mark 1,000 days until the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic games.

"Although activation will only start to become more visible by the end of this year, it's not too early for sponsors to start," says Shaun Whatling, chief executive of the London-based Redmandarin agency.

Unlike advertising, he says the "essence of sponsorship" is about engaging with the community rather than just delivering a message. "Sponsorship gives brands another opportunity, outside of traditional sales communications, to demonstrate their continuing relevance to the lives of consumers as a business. This is their first challenge," he says.

Some U.K. sponsors have launched community programs already.

EDF Energy, the U.K. arm of Electricité de France SA, for example, has started an education program called the Pod and runs an annual Green Britain Day to encourage people to reduce Britain's carbon footprint by 2012. The firm sponsored its first event this past summer. Meanwhile, BP PLC is sponsoring the London 2012 Young Leaders Program, which is designed to give a group of disadvantaged youths the chance to volunteer in their communities with the help of athletes as mentors.

Separately, telecom company BT Group PLC is documenting the stories behind the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games through a photography exhibition organized by London's National Portrait Gallery. The exhibition will host 100 photos that celebrate those people—both high-profile and those working behind the scenes—who collectively make the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games happen.

For some firms, the Olympics couldn't have come at a better time. Lloyds TSB Bank PLC, the first U.K. partner to sign up for London 2012 sponsorship, was at the heart of the financial crisis in Britain. The bank, which was involved in a multimillion-pound bailout by U.K. taxpayers in 2008, was part of an industry that was exposed to greater scrutiny and a lack of confidence from the general public.

Despite the downturn, the bank says it didn't change its approach to sponsoring the games.

"We have a very defendable and sound approach even in a period of change," says Sally Hancock, the bank's Olympic marketing director. "We are contributing to people at a community level—not at an elite level—which has made our message more relevant now."

Some of the activations already in place include the local heroes and the loan and support for small businesses initiatives.

Ms. Hancock says that although Lloyds TSB is flexible in its sponsorship plans, not even one of the deepest economic downturns in history made the bank shift its strategy or rethink its decision to join the Olympic games. "We still would have come to the same decision," she said, "because this is the best possible opportunity we could have."

She is aware that as the games get closer, more sponsors will battle to make themselves heard and it will get "noisy," so the bank is taking the lead to make sure "people understand that we are a partner and why."

Yet, Lloyds TSB will find it harder to maximize its return, according to Pippa Collett, managing director at Sponsorship Consulting in London. "Being a sponsor is on-strategy for them, but it will be harder to maximize their return simply because of the economic environment: People are not changing their financial-service products as they would have done historically."

Ms. Collett says companies need to move away from their planning phase and start implementation. "Sponsors have about two years to really gain a return from their involvement," she says. "If we reach the games and they haven't extracted ultimate value, then it will too late."

She says London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Locog) had time on its side when recruiting sponsors. London won its bid against Paris to host the Olympic games on July 6, 2005, and although it only had two partners signed up by July 2007, organizers already had started negotiations with possible sponsors before the credit crunch hit. Locog has so far recruited 26 local sponsors.

"London 2012 has done the majority of sponsorship recruitment. Even if they get no more sponsors at this point, they could probably reach their £2 billion target through ticketing and merchandising," Ms. Collett says.

Organizers say they are still working on getting more partners.

Although local sponsors are more active at the moment, international companies will take a major presence, but much closer to the games. The International Olympic Committee, which organizes the Olympic games and has 205 members, has nine major international partners, each worth a reported $100 million.

Even if these major brands, such as soft-drink giant Coca-Cola and watch-maker Omega, aren't as involved in activating their sponsorships yet, they will be looking to have more tactical presence closer to the games, Ms. Collett adds.

And the financial crisis has had some impact in the way sponsors lay out their strategy.

Suzi Williams, director of Group Marketing and Brand for BT, says the company's budget was impacted following the crisis. She says the recession "made us more rigorous in the way we spend our money but [it also] made us more focused on our internal activation."

Ms. Williams says BT's initial decision to become an Olympic sponsor of was prompted by a desire to "transform the brand. We want people to feel warmer about BT."

She says that whereas some other sponsors will be looking to make an impact early on, like the athletes currently in training, BT's focus is on delivering once the Games roll around.

Write to Javier Espinoza at javier.espinoza@wsj.com

bt group plc, 2012 olympic games, bp plc, tower in london, olympic stadium, sarff, disadvantaged youths, carbon footprint, olympic games, sales communications, bt tower, electricit, telecom company, leaders program, global brands, london 2012, young leaders, winter games, mark 1, jet lag

Online.wsj.com

Beach Time

Beach Time

Playing on the beach on Saturday morning.

Please do not use image without permission or compensation. All Rights Reserved.

Tags

© 2011 James David Phenicie

landscape

horizontal

ocean

del mar

pacific

water

wave

surf

beach

sand

play

entertainment

vacation

LucisArt

Nikon D2hs

wall

wood

people

tree

palm

vegetation

Carlsbad

California

USA
Flickr.com