Latest iStadia Articles http://www.istadia.com/articlelatest.php Keep up to date with iStadia's articles at iStadia.com! en-us Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:16:58 GMT http://www.typepad.com/ Dartfish Case Study In Water polo - - Sheonah Hunt, Performance Analyst, English Institute of Sport Great Britain Water polo, since January 2007, have been utilising the services from the English Institute of Sport.I am a full time Performance analyst with the English Institute of Sport, working with GB Water polo men and women Olympic squads, providing objective feedback primarily through video and statistics. I have been in this role since September 2007, previously working with England Netball.

 

Why Dartfish Software

Dartfish has been purchased because of it allows me to analyse individual techniques, Statistics and tactical play. The primary use is to break down match play into generic performance indicators. Dartfish enables me to easily capture video both in the action and post event. I also use the ability to tag key events in water polo matches, allowing rapid feedback post event, and the production of statistics. I also find Dartfish very useful for analysis of individual techniques during training sessions, in particular the split screen function which allows comparative analysis to take place.

 

How Dartfish is used

At camps and competitions I tag live if it is possible, otherwise I do this post event. As I am away with the squads so often, I find myself using the tagging module almost everyday, be it live or post event. One of the massive benefits of Dartfish is the flexibility of the tagging module, as

the coaches may want different things at different events recorded. At least once a week I am down at pool side filming training sessions where the coach has identified specific areas he

wants the athletes to work on, using visual feedback through Dartfish. I do most of this using the analyser module in Dartfish, where the split screen component is used to compare attempts of a skill made by the individual athlete.

 

If you would to read more about this case study please click here.

Dartfish, Video Software Solutions ]]> http://www.istadia.com/article/Dartfish/132 Stephane Dousse Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:16:58 GMT http://www.istadia.com/article/Dartfish/132 Lance Armonstrong uses Dartfish - San Antonio Express News - 02 November 2008 One of the main objectives for Armstrong, who took a three-year layoff before announcing a comeback, and his team, was to see how he would react to the different positioning of his handlebars and his saddle. Trailing the racing icon in a white SUV was Armstrong's team, which included Bart Naggs and Steve Hed, who designs and engineers cycling wheels. The pair took pictures of Armstrong and then swapped Blackberrys during the race as they tried to compare Armstrong's position on the bike Sunday to what it looked like during the 2005 Tour de France. They used a program called Dartfish (www.dartfish.com), a video program that analyzes movements and positioning. "He's doing well keeping his helmet back," said Hed later pointing out, "see how high his elbows are. They look the same like back in 2005." The tandem of Armstrong and Korioth averaged about 28 miles per hour on the track. They passed 13 teams. When they saw last year's winners, Wikoff and McCarty, Naggs shouted out the window, "Go get „em boys," while banging on the front car door with his hand. Armstrong and Korioth swapped spots back and forth with Wikoff and McCarty, who had a three-minute head start, for the final 10 minutes of the race. On Saturday, Armstrong said he struggled a bit because of the adjustments, but those were fixed Sunday. "I was more comfortable and more powerful," he said. "It felt good." Armstrong told the Express-News Saturday he has still yet to commit 100 percent to the Tour de France. He added that his decision to return did not happen a year or two ago, but the "bug bit me last summer." Korioth said there are basically two factors that play into to Armstrong's ability to race in the 2009 Tour de France in July 4. "There's no doubt he wants to do it," Korioth said. "But, they're going to make it way too difficult from the tour organizers to the media." During his brief retirement, Armstrong was hanging with friends, playing golf and going fishing, said Korioth adding Armstrong was working feverishly pushing his cancer foundation. But then he started getting ready for the Leadville Trail 100, a bike race in Colorado in August. "I think it kind of snowballed from there," Korioth said. "He's working with trainer Peter Park from Santa Barbara on weights and core workouts. There's no one else, who I know in a few weeks, he can have himself so physical fit. "He's gotten to a different strength level that I've never seen before." Dartfish, Video Software Solutions ]]> http://www.istadia.com/article/Dartfish/131 Stephane Dousse Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:06:39 GMT http://www.istadia.com/article/Dartfish/131 Mindsport Psychology Cards www.Mindsportcards.com. Working with a number of professional sporting organisations, I also found myself bullet pointing the strategies in a punchy and pick-up-and-go format. I also started to notice that large chunks of my advice could be reused by  other athletes.  My awareness of this encouraged me to develop a more scalable method of getting the match winning strategies sport psychology has to offer to a wider audience. All of the strategies within the Mindsport card sets have been tried and tested with success, as effective performance enhancers. Have a look at the Mindsport sample cards here, to get a feel for the strategies on offer. The cards are used before, during, and after performances, as a tool to give the athlete a winning edge. I have often likened to the cards to being lucazade for the brain!! All of the strategies are the culmination of 6 years of trial and error within the field of sporting excellence. If you feel that purchasing the cards will be of benefit, make a quick and easy buy at the marketplace within Istadia. They also make a unique, useful and intriuging stocking filler. I will also more than happily talk to anyone who wishes to know more about the Mindsport training cards. I am also starting to compile case studies, to allow other potential users to understand the real and noted benefits of the psychology cards. I will keep you posted. ]]> http://www.istadia.com/article/sammyk/130 sam kotadia Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:19:51 GMT http://www.istadia.com/article/sammyk/130 Technology Takes Next Step in Helping College Coaches Technology Takes Next Step in Helping College Coaches September 23rd, 2008

Picture this, Coach...

You have your eye on that star athlete whom you would really like to see wearing your team's uniform next year.  You have written letters, made a couple of calls, but are looking for that extra edge to put your school on top as their number one choice.

You decide to give the new dartfish.tv program a try.  You find some great footage of several key moments on your team last year, your big comback to win the conference title, and even add some images of life at your school.  You upload it to the dartfish.tv website and ask your targeted athlete to go and view it.  And whatta-ya know...after they see it, they get a great feeling about your school and decide to sign on.

Sound like something like that is too good to be true?  Think again.

That's exactly why coaches in a variety of sports are raving about the Dartfish software and their new web-sharing platform, dartfish.tv.  This platform will allow coaches to upload videos of their sports performances and include tags like thumbnails, comments, annotations, analyses and keywords.

Even more impressive is the fact that some of sport's leading coaches and trainers have signed on to use the technology.  For example, the national governing bodies at the Olympic level will be using it this summer in Beijing.

"When competing at the Olympics, every second counts," says Ron Imbriale, Dartfish Senior Vice President, "and by using the Dartfish software and dartfish.tv platform, coaches can review recorded performances for training purposes, as well as share the videos with other coaches back home."

Click here for the full version

]]> http://www.istadia.com/article/Sebadub/129 Sebastien Dubuis Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:07:04 GMT http://www.istadia.com/article/Sebadub/129 Video Annotation enhancing teams tactical approach Know thy enemy with France's spy software Thu Aug 7, 2008 2:54am EDT By Sophie Hardach BEIJING (Reuters) -Intricate spy software has helped France's handballers improve their game and head coach Philippe Bana was hoping to see the dividends at the upcoming Olympics. The French started using software combining videos of all the players in the world with match statistics to train their teams after Scandinavian handballers successfully incorporated the technology into their training program. Studying their opponents' every move, strength and weakness, is meant to help players devise the perfect counter-attack. Bana, speaking with Reuters Thursday during a men's practice session, said the female team "is now able to destroy their (opponents') attack and defense systems." Similar software is already widely used by footballers and rugby players, but it is still relatively new in handball. France used a rudimentary version of the current system for the Sydney Games in 2000 but only applied the current software, called "Dartfish," for the Athens Olympics. "It's a completely different approach, we have video specialists as part of the team so now there is this culture of the video statistic," Bana said, kicking a stray ball back into the field. France's women will play the first handball match of the Olympics on Saturday morning against Angola, while the men's first game is against Brazil on Sunday afternoon. In Athens, France narrowly lost to Ukraine and finished fourth, missing the bronze medal. Despite the elaborate technology, Bana said the game is ultimately won on the court. "It's not a videogame, at the end the player is playing. In the end, you are alone in the court," Bana said. "This is a human game so you can't go too far in this (software) direction because the player is not a robot." The Beijing Olympics begin Friday. (Editing by Steve Ginsburg) ]]> http://www.istadia.com/article/Sebadub/128 Sebastien Dubuis Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:53:12 GMT http://www.istadia.com/article/Sebadub/128 First Aid Basics  CPR Basics

 

Would you know what to do if your were walking down the street and someone collapsed and stopped breathing.  We are going to talk about the basics of life support "CPR", this is sometimes called basic life support.

 

First aid is a large subject as there are many different injuries and illnesses you could come across on a day to day basis.  If you want to learn about first aid in more detail you should consider a first aid at work course  , this is a 4 day course and covers a range of injuries and illness from CPR to head injuries, from bandaging to broken bones.  First aid at work is not the only course available there are a number of different courses in first aid, these include Sports specific (4 or 1 day)  , appointed persons (1 day) , de-fib (1 day) and oxygen therapy (1 day)

 

So you are walking down the street and you see someone collapse in front of you, what do you do now? Are you going to be the one to do something, or are you going to stand back and hope that someone else takes action?  It is often the case that people who know what to do will sit back and let other take control, if you want to know how to deal with an emergency at work or at home then get yourself onto a first aid course.  The following procedures are what a trained first aider would do, before you go trying this in reality you should always attend a first aid course to get some practical experience on a resus doll so that the tutor can check that you are carrying our these procedures correctly, if you don't them you could do the casualty some damage. 

 

The actions taken in this situation are often remembered as: Dr ABCD

 

D = Danger

R = Response

A = Airway

B = Breathing

C = Chest Compressions

D = Defibrilation

 

Danger.  If some has collapsed your first action should always be to ensure that you are safe.  Following this you will need to make sure that the scene is safe (check for Danger), this would include checking for any traffic, fire, electricity, water etc etc.

Response.  Now check the casualty for any responses, call to the casualty, ask if they can here you and pinch the casualties ear.  When you speak to the casualty call into each ear.  If you get no response then move onto the airway.

Airway.  Now open the airway, to do this lift the chin back.  Often when someone falls unconscious the tongue can block the airway and by tilting the head back as shown you will open the airway.  This could encourage the casualty to breath straight away and if they do then you need to just put the casualty in the recovery position and monitor them. 

 

 

Breathing.  Now listen to the casualties mouth to see if there is any breathing.  If you cannot feel or hear normal breathing then you will be needing an ambulance.  At this point ask someone to go and get an ambulance and tell them as much detail as you can about the casualty, and make sure they come back and tell you when it is done.

Chest Compressions.  Now you have established that there is no breathing or abnormal breathing you need to commence CPR.  To do this grip your hands together and press down in the centre on the chest 30 times (approx 1/3 of the chest depth) as shown.  The chest compressions should be quite fast (little more than 1 a second)

 

 

Once you have done 30 compressions you should give the casualty 2 rescue breaths.  To do this you should hold the nose closed and breath into the casualties mouth as shown.  This takes a little getting use to and practicing in a classroom environment is always a good idea.

 

 

Keep doing this until either:

·        The casualty starts to breath

·        The ambulance tell you to stop

·        Or you are exhausted and cant carry on.

  

The table below shows you the order things should be carried out in and acts as a good reminder.  Remember that this is just a basic introduction to first aid, to tell you everything you need to know would be impossible in sich a short column.  If you want to learn about first aid properly then you should attend a registered course .  When booking onto a course make sure that the company you are booking with is registered with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).  Also remember that there are different procedures for children and babies.

   Richard BealeRB Health and Safety Solutions LtdTel: 0845 2571489Web: www.rbhealthandsafety.co.uk www.firstaidcentre.com Richard Beale RB Health and Safety Solutions Ltd http://www.rbhealthandsafety.co.uk/

However, there is a certain set of rules to help you to use Article Marketing to promote your services, products and website, so here are my Top 10 Tips on Writing and Publishing your own Marketing Articles:

TIP ONE: Don't Sell - Give It Away - This type of article is not sales copy. The aim is not to sell your goods or services, but to give away your knowledge for free. Sounds crazy, but the more you give away, the more potential business you'll receive back. Demonstrate your range of knowledge and you'll see your online credibility building.

The more free knowledge you give away, the more people will see you as the expert in the field. When those people need what you're selling, they're much more likely to come directly to you.

TIP TWO: Tailor your Title - Make your title alluring and attractive. Questions such as 'How to...' and 'Why' are good for attracting the reader's curiosity. Top Tens and Top Fives work well too. Try to place a keyphrase within your title for maximum SEO opportunity.

TIP THREE: Paragraph - Make your paragraphs short and to the point. Try to avoid paragraphs larger than five lines if you can help it. Think about writing for Internet readers who like to scan for the best bits, so make it easy for them to read.

TIP FOUR: Keywords - You should carefully and strategically plant your best SEO keywords or keyphrases throughout your articles, but it's vital that they do not obscure the meaning of the sentences or make the article less enjoyable to read.

Don't make the article just about the keywords; just naturally allow the keywords or keyphrases to be used throughout the article. Use a keyword tool to find the most relevant keywords or phrases to suit your needs.

TIP FIVE: Publish - Internet publishing isn't like the restricted environment of printed media publishing. The Internet is a great democratic space that allows anyone to get published. When thinking about where you want to publish your articles on the Internet, start with your own website(s).

Next, stake out a few Article Directories such as EzineArticles.com and take a look at their article submission policies. Work out the FIVE or so article directories where you might put your work and make that part of your publishing process. Finally, look at the social networking or business forum sites and consider publishing your articles if their terms and conditions allow.

TIP SIX: Link - At the very bottom of your article, you should add a backlink to your website. You can add something like 'For More Articles - visit XXXX or email name@company.com. Some sites do not allow this, so read the submission rules very carefully. Don't fill your article with links; the focus is the content, nothing else.

TIP SEVEN: Tasters/Hooks - Some of the article directories allow you to put a short taster paragraph as part of the submission. This is great, but it's better to use that same taster idea elsewhere. Post a 'hook' or 'taster' paragraph up on a forum with a link to the article on your own website. Make the taster drive the reader to your site where they can become a potential client or customer.

Doing this will create a backlink that will improve your SEO and since the forum will probably be optimised too, your article hook will come up on the Search Engines too.

Writing a good taster means giving just enough information to tempt the reader into wanting to finish reading the article. So when writing an article 'hook' it's a balance between giving too much or too little information away.

TIP EIGHT: Word Count - Articles between around 300 and 1000 words are a good length for Article Marketing purposes. Too little and you can't communicate enough to build credibility. Too much, and the average reader will get bored and stop reading before the end. This will prevent them from seeing the link to your website. Don't waffle on; the length of the article need only be enough words to make your point.

TIP NINE: - Topic - Choose the kind of topics that people are likely to search for. Imagine that all people using a Search Engine are looking for a solution to a particular problem. Consider how you provide a range of solutions to potential customer problems. Write your article questions or Top 10s around those problems and solutions. When someone uses a Search Engine to find a solution, they should find your article as a potential answer to their problem. Topic choice should be driven by this philosophy.

TIP TEN: Outsource - Consider employing an article writer to produce the high quality content you need. This can often save you time and money and keeps the flow of articles coming for as long as you have the budget to pay for the service.

Not everyone has the confidence or ability to write articles, don't miss out on the value of article marketing just because you lack time, confidence or aptitude. When choosing to outsource your articles to a professional content writer, make sure that they demonstrate to you the ability to write on your topic area and always, ALWAYS choose someone whose English is better than yours.

Writing and publishing your own articles online will provide you with some very valuable exposure across the Internet. The more high quality articles that you write, the more potential traffic you could receive and the stronger your credibility will be.

*This article has been reproduced with the permission of internet marketing expert Nikki Pilkington. Nikki has been a fantastic source of knowledge to me on internet marketing and SEO, and I would recommend her unreservedly.

If you are interested in Article marketing and would like to know more, please feel free to either email Nikki on nikki@nikkipilkington.com or call us on 0844 980 0404.

If you found this article of interest, please consider sharing it with others using the 'Share This' button to the right of the screen.

-- Rob Robson Co-founder, iStadia.com ]]> http://www.istadia.com/article/robrobson/126 Rob Robson Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:25:46 GMT http://www.istadia.com/article/robrobson/126 Fear of Failure and Coping Strategies in Youth Football Fear of Failure and Coping Strategies in Youth Football

 

 Football academies were introduced into English football in 1998, following Howard Wilkinson's 'Charter for Quality'. A decade later, the Lewis Review was commissioned by the FA, Premier League and Football league to examine the current state of youth football in England. The review stated that youth footballers face a particularly stressful time when challenging for a first-team place. Teams are currently spending more money than ever before on talent from abroad, £277 million in the 2006/07 season alone. Managers are under increasing pressure to get instant as well as long-term success (the average tenure of a dismissed manager has decreased from 3.12 years in 1992/3, to 1.89 years in 2006/7). This has resulted in fewer opportunities for home-grown players. Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson, recently stated that the chances of an academy player breaking through into the first team were 'about one in a hundred'. 

 

The Lewis Review also stated that a climate of fear exists within youth football. Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson stated that 'an athlete often has a great deal more potential than he manages to use, but his fear of failing locks him into his performance cage'.  Indeed, Newcastle and England midfielder Joey Barton attributed his disappointing performance following his call-up to the England national side to being 'too scared of failing'. Despite the apparent presence of the fear of failure phenomenon, no research to date has examined it within football. Fear of failure has been principally studied in both academic and business domains. It is stated that failure itself is not feared, but the negative consequences that are perceived to follow it. Five main aversive consequences to failure that exist are (a) experiencing shame and embarrassment, (b) devaluing ones self-estimate, (c) having an uncertain future, (d) upsetting important others, and (e) important others losing interest. Fear of failure has been associated with increased stress, reduced performance, cheating, drop-out and unstable self-esteem.

 

This study looked to investigate how youth footballers define success and failure, what they perceive to be the consequences of success and failure, examine what the types and levels of fears of failure, explore how their fear of failure affects them, what contributes towards their fear of failure and how they cope with these fears.

 

In order to fully understand why a person fears failure, it is paramount to grasp how they define both success and failure. The footballers in this study reported that they defined success as a desirable match outcome (i.e. winning), personal satisfaction (i.e. playing to a high personal level) and receiving recognition and acknowledgement (i.e. trophies and awards). Failure on the other hand, was defined as an undesirable match-outcome, not performing well and not receiving any recognition/acknowledgement. It serves to follow then that when trying to motivate a large group of athletes, by focusing exclusively on one definition of success (i.e. exclusively results-orientated), this will not strike a chord with some of the athletes. As the emphasis on youth football should be on player development, a healthy combination of the definitions of success should be used in tandem with one another. Likewise, a range of consequences that were perceived to follow success included enhanced social status, enhanced perception of self and tangible gains amongst others. Where possible, those working with youth footballers are encouraged to find out which consequences individuals believe follow a success, which are most important to them, and then use this to encourage and motivate them in future endeavours.

 

81 male footballers aged 16-19 completed a fear of failure questionnaire. Results from this show that shame and embarrassment was the most pronounced fear, followed by upsetting important others, having an uncertain future, important others losing interest and finally devaluing one's self-estimate. No significant differences in the footballers' fears of failure were apparent based on their age, number of years experience playing football, hours spent training per week or the position that they play. It was present in everyone. Coaches are therefore encouraged to construct an environment where failure is not followed by teasing or negative comments from team-mates. By working alongside parents to ensure that they are supportive of their children following a failure, footballers will not be as worried about parental reaction to failure (upsetting important others).

 

Fear of failure was found to affect the footballers in three distinct ways. First, it had a negative affect on their sporting performance. When fearing failure, footballers stated that they felt they were less likely to take the sort of risks in a match that they usually would and tended to play it safe. An example of such would be goalkeepers being reluctant to come off their line to claim a cross or corner. Fear of failure also had a negative affect on their social interactions, leaving them more argumentative and shorter with other people. The final affect that fear of failure had was on the footballers' general well-being, e.g. becoming more moody and suffering reduced quality of sleep. Numerous factors were found to contribute to a footballer's fear of failure. These include bad performances, the score, time on their own, pressure to succeed (from parents and themselves), opponent reputation and making future plans.

 

The final part of this study examined the coping strategies that footballers use to deal with their fears of failure. Three distinct strategies were discovered. The first of these was avoidance-focused which are behaviours and thoughts that try and disengage from the source of stress. These included pushing thoughts of failure away, not talking about their fears and trying to think about other things. All the participants in this study detailed one of these avoidance-focused strategies. Though this has some potential short-term advantages, as it allows performers to block out any negative thoughts and focus on the task at hand, it has long term negative consequences as it does not address the root of the problem, nor the stress that follows it. Emotion- and problem-focused strategies are more positive coping strategies. These included talking about their worries with family members and training harder. Unfortunately, both these types of coping strategies were less cited by footballers than avoidance-focused strategies. As athletes use avoidance-focused coping strategies when they perceive a lack of personal control over the situation, these results suggest that the fear of failure is a phenomenon that they believe is out of their hands. Those working with youth athletes are encouraged to help them adopt a more positive coping style which incorporates both problem- and emotion-focused strategies. This includes questioning the rationale/logic of their fears and then working on a way to address the problem.

 

The fear of failure is a very real problem within youth football. It affects athletes in a range of ways and at this present time, athletes appear to be implementing worrying coping strategies to deal with it. One possible explanation is that athletes may believe that by admitting that they have these fears or worries, they are going to appear weak and vulnerable in the eyes of their team-mates and coaches. As such, this issue is not discussed, resulting in a lack of guidance on how to deal with these thoughts. Through coach and parental education, positive coping strategies can be taught to youth footballers. These will help lower their level of fear of failure and reduce the negative affect that it may have on their sporting performance, social interactions and general well-being.

 

Challenging for a first team place can be stressful time for youth footballers, with an ever increasing exclusive result-orientated approach resulting in a climate of fear. Alan Hansen was correct when he stated that in the current football environment, 'the pressures are intense, because the rewards for success and the penalty for failure are more and more'. The key is to managing that pressure and dealing in a positive way with any failures.   Miguel Indurain, 5-time Tour de France winner, summed up the effect fear of failure perfectly when he stated that, 'those who won't take the risk of failing and go for it, who won't see things out, they are the ones who come home early, never answering the challenge and never going anywhere'. Don't let the fear of failing mean that you and your players come home early.

 

Summary, Key Applied Suggestions:

 

  1. Try to use a range of definitions for success and failure, i.e. avoid exclusively being results-orientated.
  3. Find out which consequences each player believes will follow success and use this information to help motivate them.
  5. Build an environment where failure is not met by laughter/ridicule by team-mates (shame and embarrassment - the highest fear)
  7. Get parents on board. Players reported feeling most likely to talk to them about their fears of failure. Important to educate them on how to help their children.
  9. Encourage positive coping strategies for both failure and fear of failure. This includes both problem-focused (increased effort/training, learning from mistakes, seeking technical advice) and emotion-focused (support from family members and team-mates, turning a negative into a positive). This type of coping has long term player development benefits.
]]> http://www.istadia.com/article/BradleyB/125 Bradley Busch Mon, 29 Sep 2008 05:07:25 GMT http://www.istadia.com/article/BradleyB/125 Awareness - Car Self-Defense http://www.istadia.com/article/Karatesize/124 Carl Mills Fri, 26 Sep 2008 05:10:42 GMT http://www.istadia.com/article/Karatesize/124 Championing Sport - how history and reputation can get UK businesses onto the starting blocks The following is an article written by UK Trade & Investment South East and highlights the opportunities in the gobal development of sporting infrastructure. Whilst this is not immediately relevant to iStadia members it made me think that those involved in marketing, agencies, hospitality, event management etc. would have an interest in this. On closer inspecton, the growth in high quality stadia (sorry about the pun) affords some significant opportunities as exemplifed by Vancouver in 2010 (Winter Olympics) and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010 (see below). It also highlights the support that can be provided by UK Trade & Investment and the practical implications of being on their database. Read on. I have reproduced the entire article with their permission. Recently the world has marvelled at spectacular Olympic events in Beijing - a far cry from a small sporting festival that takes place at Much Wenlock in Shropshire, but it was these village games that were the inspiration for the modern Olympics.  We are a nation proud of our sporting prowess - the contemporary forms of football, rugby, cricket, lawn tennis, hockey, boxing, track and field, badminton and golf all originated in the UK. The spiritual home of these sports remain in renowned venues such as Wembley, Twickenham, Lords, Wimbledon, and St. Andrews.  Although other sports such as racing, polo, sailing and rowing might have originated elsewhere, the events at Royal Ascot, Smith's Lawn, Cowes and Henley have acquired global significance.  Now, in the light of our London 2012 Olympic bid win (visit competefor.com to bid for London 2012 contracts), UK companies - even those not obviously associated with sport - are ideally placed to become involved in other major international sporting opportunities. There is massive infrastructure involved in every great international sporting event: the arenas, accommodation and transport facilities together with all the financial and legal planning such projects entail, not to mention event planning, design, construction and management.

Think your business can't compete?  Even the most daunting sports event becomes more manageable when broken down into component parts. This is precisely what UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the government organisation that helps business to trade overseas has done. By establishing a Sports and Leisure Infrastructure Projects Team, UKTI are able to maintain a comprehensive online database of UK companies that can contribute to successful global sporting projects. UKTI services enable participation at selected trade fairs, outward missions and provide bespoke market intelligence; UK companies can then crack foreign markets and get to grips with overseas regulations and business practice. Exporting is good for productivity and company morale - and can also have a beneficial effect on the bottom line. But it's not just in sporting event delivery where UK companies can punch beyond their weight. There is a growing demand for help in security services, mobile communications and broadcasting, recruitment, training, media management, ticketing, temporary venues and ceremonials, as well as the obvious construction opportunities. UK companies have all these capabilities and skills, and excellent international reputations.

Which is why the Ukrainian football club FC Shakhtar called on UK know-how when building a new 50,000 seat stadium in Donetsk.  It will be used as one of the UEFA European Football Championship venues when Poland and Ukraine jointly host the competition in 2012. Sporting and other infrastructure opportunities existing in Poland will be explored at UKTI South East's 'Doing business in Poland and Central Europe' seminar in November 2008 which will introduce companies to the business opportunities in Poland and will provide a general overview of Central Europe.  In addition, UKTI South East will be holding a sports infrastructure event in October/November 2008, more details will be posted on www.uktisoutheast.com soon.

UK companies that have already found success are working on such innovative and iconic projects as the Budapest's National Indoor Arena, Shenzhen's Olympic New Town Stadium or the Johannesburg Athletics Stadium - and other opportunities arise constantly, all over the world, ready for UK companies to seize.

The FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa has opportunities for equipment supply; the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010 needs companies with security, event and venue and marketing identification, and the Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010 has key opportunities in security consultancy, broadcasting advice, VIP hospitality and management. 

With all eyes on London for 2012, there has seldom been a better time for UK companies to show their track records to the rest of the world. The starting pistol is about to go off - make sure your business is poised at the start line. Contact UKTI South East for information on the UKTI Sports and Leisure Infrastructure Database or expert advice on exporting or trading overseas. Details UKTrade & Investment South East 08452 789600 www.uktisoutheast.com

Keith Keith Irving iStadia ]]> http://www.istadia.com/article/keithirving/123 Keith Irving Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:23:51 GMT http://www.istadia.com/article/keithirving/123