A storm has erupted over the London 2012 Olympic equestrian events which has led to one of Britain's leading officials resigning from the committee overseeing the competition.
Hugh Thomas, the event director of Badminton, has branded as "disgraceful" London 2012's refusal to admit the public to the eventing horse inspections – traditionally a popular event. Thomas says he personally ensured at previous Games that the inspections were open to the public and has asked to be replaced on the committee that will monitor the eventing at London, and to have his accreditation cancelled.
The London organising committee (Locog) has accepted his resignation as a technical official and says a number of factors prevented the inspections being public.
Thomas, who was worked on previous Olympics as a course designer and senior official of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), sent an email to London 2012's equestrian manager Tim Hadaway protesting about the decision. The inspections for the eventing at London are due to take place on 27 July, a few hours before the opening ceremony.
Thomas says in his email: "I was horrified to hear from you … that Locog does not intend to admit any of the public to the eventing horse inspections. I truly think this is a disgraceful decision and it particularly upsets me since I, when course designer, technical delegate and then chairman of the FEI Eventing Committee, personally ensured at previous Games, despite the initial wishes of the organisers, that the great tradition within eventing that the inspections are open and transparent should be upheld.
"The public nature of the proceedings is the guarantee of integrity and for enthusiasts a fascinating and integral part of the competition. If this decision is irreversible, I do not wish to be even slightly involved as an official with an organisation that treats the public and indeed the traditions of our sport in this way, so please replace me as a member of the Ad Hoc Committee and cancel my accreditation."
London organisers say the timing of the inspections meant to have the public attend would over-stretch resources. A Locog spokeswoman said: "Locog regrets the decision of Hugh Thomas to resign as a technical official for the equestrian events in Greenwich Park but we have accepted his resignation. Operationally there were a number of factors which meant that we were not able to ticket the horse inspection event.
"The horse inspection happens on the day of London's Olympic opening ceremony and the final day of the torch relay so there is a lot of Olympic activity in the capital and a big demand on police resources and public transport. An operational decision was taken not to open this to the public for these reasons."
The spokeswoman added that hosting the equestrian events in an inner city venue presented "different challenges" but would bring huge benefits to the sport expose it to a "new urban audience".
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
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Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
London 2012 Olympics: playing table tennis against Team GB - Daily Telegraph
Since 2010, it has been building up momentum with annual events. Celebrities and political heavyweights, from Boris Johnson to John Prescott, have leant their support, and the Olympics will be the climax. More than 700 tables have been placed around the country; the first thing our Olympic guests will see on arrival at Heathrow will be groups of Englishmen pinging and ponging for all they’re worth. As the Mayor of London said at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, when he discovered that London would host the 2012 Olympics: “Ping pong is coming home.”
The brains behind Ping! England is Colette Hiller, who also set up Sing London, which in 2009 installed “street pianos” throughout the city. She is convinced that table tennis has the power to bring a smile to the face of the nation. “These public tables are small interventions into everyday life,” she says. “They make us feel more human in this digitalised city.”
The project is refreshingly non-commercial. “We’re not selling anything, or pushing a message,” says Hiller. “People look so pleased and surprised that these tables are just there to make them happy.”
As it turned out, Parker was a defensive player, which is unusual in the world of professional table tennis. Instead of smashing my serve, she returned it with the most extraordinary amount of spin, and my subsequent shot ricocheted into the net. So did the one after that. And the one after that. This was a level of play that bordered on the numinous; she was a finely tuned machine, and I was the equivalent of an egg whisk. I hadn’t even scored a point. Time for more dirty tricks.
“Of course,” I said, “ping pong isn’t really a sport, is it?” Her face clouded over, and immediately I delivered a fast serve. That would be the only point I scored in the match.
I tried to be dignified in defeat. Then Paul Drinkhall, the men’s No 1, demonstrated some jaw-dropping trick shots. He hit the ball behind his back, through his legs, and from an unfeasible distance from the table, wowing the bystanders. Finally he gave me some very useful tips for improving my game (see below).
Paul and Joanna both left home at the age of 12 to live near the Nottingham Table Tennis Academy, where they went to school during the day, and learnt table tennis in the evenings and at weekends. That was where they met – they have been an item for the past six years – and their entire worlds are wrapped up with the sport. They don’t drink, rarely go out, and carefully control their diets.
“The beauty of table tennis is its accessibility,” says Paul. “You don’t need much money, or any expensive kit. Kids can bring the game back to its roots and knock a ball around on the dinner table. Old people can play, too, even from a chair. It’s a serious Olympic sport, but open to everyone at the same time. It’s a people’s game.”
Indeed, part of the Ping! England campaign involves “random acts of ping pong”. During summer, there will be “ping pong picnics”; “pint a point” sessions, where free drinks are offered if you can win a point against a professional; and glow-in-the-dark table tennis tables in nightclubs. There will also be a lecture in the Science Museum about the science of spin, a table tennis rap evening at the Camden Roundhouse (“rap to the rhythm of the bat”), and a film about an over-eighties table tennis team, called Ping Pong: Never Too Old For Gold.
Details can be found at pingengland.co.uk. There is no doubt about it. Table tennis’s moment has arrived.
TOP TIPS FROM TEAM GB
- Posture a lot of people are very rigid, and stand too close to the table. You should be an arm’s length from the table, with knees slightly bent and springy
- Practise your spin You can do this on any household table. Practise spinning the ball so it comes back to you, or so that it bounces to the left or right
- Improve your serve This is a good way to get lots of cheap points. Get 50-100 balls, and just experiment. Try copying YouTube videos
- Work on your consistency Practise the simple shots until they are solid. Only then move onto the difficult techniques
- Stay positive The game has such a small margin for error that you will definitely make mistakes. If you get annoyed, you’ll make more
- Develop your forehand topspin Often, this shot makes the difference. It is very hard to stop and can be played from around the table
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
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Source: www.independent.co.uk
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