The British Open Golf is just around the corner and this year’s event will take place at Turnberry for the first time since 1994 when it was won by Nick Price of Zimbabwe. The British Open is often seen as the toughest Major to win due to the nature of the links courses used and the elements can often play a big part. Even the best players can struggle when the wind gets up at The Open Golf Championship and experience of playing in these conditions can prove vital at the end of the weekend, and Turnberry is expected to be no different in 2009.
In the 2009 British Open Betting Tiger Woods is the favourite with the bookmakers heading into the event and he will be going for his 4th British Open win and 15th Major in all at Turnberry and although he has been inconsistent so far since returning from injury it is difficult to argue against him being the strong favourite. Woods is great friends with Roger Federer and he will be very keen to match Roger's recent 15th Grand Slam victory at Wimbledon with is own win in the Open thus levelling their Major/Grand Slam scores. Woods returned from knee surgery earlier in 2009 and his form has been up and down since then with his driving proving particularly erratic on occasions although he looks to be turning that around slowly. There is proof Woods looks to be hitting form at just the right time as he won the PGA National Championships in Maryland recently and that performance looks ominous for the other competitors with Turnberry on the horizon.
A fit and firing Woods will as always be difficult to beat but he has never played at Turnberry so that maybe a crumb of comfort for the other players who have designs on the Claret Jug. The bookies believe that Tiger is a sure thing and as such there are some short prices available for Woods out there as always with any golf tournament he enters.
Padraig Harrington will be going for his 3rd straight British Open at Turnberry after dominating the event for the last couple of years and he is of course a player that is attracting big support in the betting market for that very reason. Punters know that Harrington picks his game up for the Open and he will tee-off well backed despite showing poor form in 2009. Harrington has spent most of the year trying to make cuts let alone winning tournaments but he will be hoping he pulls it out of the bag at Turnberry. Ian Poulter looks an interesting bet this year having finished 2nd in 2008 and he will be looking to go one better at Turnberry and with some good value out there he is sure to attract some support. He finished 3rd in the recent Open De France and also performed well at the US Open and looks ready to make that step up and win his first Major Championship and is likely to shorten in the betting as the British Open Golf gets closer.
The UK and Irish Online Bookmakers are offering excellent free bets and special offers including Paddy Power and Boylesports who are offering 6 places on you each way selections while the others are only going 5 places.
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Monday, 6 July 2009
Beale beats off adversity to become first female ‘master’ in the UK
Sandra, 41, achieved 5th Dan karate grade within Tsuyoi Ryu which has been part of the UK and international martial arts scene since 1977. Sandra achieved this colossal feat despite suffering two bouts of cancer during her life, and in addition to her tireless 17 years work with NAKMAS National Governing Body.
Sandra said: “It is a great honour to achieve my 5th Dan. I could never have imagined achieving this level. Without the support of my husband and the constant dedication and loyalty of my students, I wouldn't have reached this stage.”
Sandra was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, Ewings Sarcoma, when she was nine years-old and was told she had a fifty-fifty chance of survival. After surgery, radiotherapy and two years of chemotherapy she survived, but the extensive treatment caused other illnesses, including damage to the heart.
As Sandra grew older, she developed skin cancer, and recently needed hip resurfacing. Undeterred, Sandra aimed high within karate and became instrumental in reshaping the NAKMAS National Governing Body, being the driving force behind securing NAKMAS the Equality Standard in Sport accreditation and the International Quality Management Standard (BS EN ISO 9000).
Richard Fowler, Deputy Chair of NAKMAS National Governing Body, says:
"Not only is Sandra a valuable asset to the NAKMAS team, she is also an inspiration to others faced with adversity, a role model for other women and an example of someone who commits themselves to overcoming any challenge.
"To become the first woman Shihan is testament to Sandra's determination and, add to that what she has achieved for NAKMAS, illustrates her importance to the martial arts in the UK. NAKMAS has taken giant leaps in developing a nationwide strategy for martial arts, and Sandra can take a lot of the credit for being one of the architects of that progress."
Sandra has been practising karate for 18 years. As well as being the national director of operations to NAKMAS she is the joint chief instructor to the Kent Karate Schools (www.kentkarateschools.co.uk), teaching her classes in Ashford and Canterbury, specialising in teaching children, including those with Asperger Syndrome and those with other special needs.
Away from her many martial arts commitments, Sandra's true passion is dance and she has competed in professional dance competitions since she was four years-old. She continues to dance, practising and teaching alongside her father, Alan Beale.
Sandra is also an academic and attained a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Kent. She is about to commence study for a Doctorate in Education at the Sheffield Hallam University, specialising in autism within sport and physical activity.
npower encourages businesses to bat for England
npower, official sponsor of the Ashes Test Series, has conducted new research to find out how businesses and their employees across the UK are going to follow the Ashes series while at work.
Kind-hearted bosses are planning to let employees get behind the England cricket team this summer, according to npower, with one in 16 UK employees saying that their boss was letting them follow the hotly-contested npower Ashes series between England and Australia during the working day, with many installing TVs and radios to make sure they don't miss a minute of the action.
npower surveyed over 1300 UK workers to see if they would be getting behind Kevin Pietersen and the rest of the England cricket team this summer, with nearly one third (28 per cent) of workers planning to follow the Ashes while at work. While the majority (37 per cent) said it was because they are cricket fans and wouldn't miss it, over one in 10 (11 per cent) said it would be good for staff morale during difficult economic times. However, one in 30 bosses admitted it was because they feared employees would take sick days if they weren't allowed to watch the cricket at work.
While applauding patriotic bosses, npower is urging businesses planning to install extra TVs and radios to consider switching other appliances off on order to keep energy consumption to a minimum.
Julia Lynch Williams, director of energy services at npower, said: "It is great that UK businesses are planning to get behind the team and follow them during the Ashes. However, just installing one extra appliance, such as a TV or radio, and keeping it on for the duration of the working-day will increase a businesses' energy consumption. All we are asking is that if you are getting behind Strauss, Pietersen, Collingwood and co, that you adopt a 'switch on switch off' policy during the test series. Fingers crossed it's going to be 2005 all over again."
Former England cricket captain Alec Stewart is also backing npower's campaign, commenting: "The Ashes is the test series that all English, and Australian, cricket fans look forward to and it is great that npower has been such a huge part of English cricket for so many years. It is also fantastic that the nation's workforce is planning to get behind the team, whether that is via TV, radio or online.
"Since hanging my bat up I have been involved in a business venture myself, so I know how important it is to save energy, both in terms of cost and carbon emissions, which is why I am backing npower's 'switch on switch off' initiative - get behind the lads but just turn off a printer or photocopier instead."
Julia Lynch Williams continued: "Many people don't realise that many local businesses are integral to the success of the Ashes series. As part of our commitment to providing energy advice to SMEs, we want to showcase some of those businesses that are working so hard behind the scenes, whether it's at the grounds or entertaining the fans."
Kind-hearted bosses are planning to let employees get behind the England cricket team this summer, according to npower, with one in 16 UK employees saying that their boss was letting them follow the hotly-contested npower Ashes series between England and Australia during the working day, with many installing TVs and radios to make sure they don't miss a minute of the action.
npower surveyed over 1300 UK workers to see if they would be getting behind Kevin Pietersen and the rest of the England cricket team this summer, with nearly one third (28 per cent) of workers planning to follow the Ashes while at work. While the majority (37 per cent) said it was because they are cricket fans and wouldn't miss it, over one in 10 (11 per cent) said it would be good for staff morale during difficult economic times. However, one in 30 bosses admitted it was because they feared employees would take sick days if they weren't allowed to watch the cricket at work.
While applauding patriotic bosses, npower is urging businesses planning to install extra TVs and radios to consider switching other appliances off on order to keep energy consumption to a minimum.
Julia Lynch Williams, director of energy services at npower, said: "It is great that UK businesses are planning to get behind the team and follow them during the Ashes. However, just installing one extra appliance, such as a TV or radio, and keeping it on for the duration of the working-day will increase a businesses' energy consumption. All we are asking is that if you are getting behind Strauss, Pietersen, Collingwood and co, that you adopt a 'switch on switch off' policy during the test series. Fingers crossed it's going to be 2005 all over again."
Former England cricket captain Alec Stewart is also backing npower's campaign, commenting: "The Ashes is the test series that all English, and Australian, cricket fans look forward to and it is great that npower has been such a huge part of English cricket for so many years. It is also fantastic that the nation's workforce is planning to get behind the team, whether that is via TV, radio or online.
"Since hanging my bat up I have been involved in a business venture myself, so I know how important it is to save energy, both in terms of cost and carbon emissions, which is why I am backing npower's 'switch on switch off' initiative - get behind the lads but just turn off a printer or photocopier instead."
Julia Lynch Williams continued: "Many people don't realise that many local businesses are integral to the success of the Ashes series. As part of our commitment to providing energy advice to SMEs, we want to showcase some of those businesses that are working so hard behind the scenes, whether it's at the grounds or entertaining the fans."
Monday, 29 June 2009
Freestyle Interactive launches new website for Olympian Rebecca Adlington
Double Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington and her management company Elite Sport Properties (ESP) have launched a new website for the record breaking swimmer.
The site Rebecca Adlingtonwas designed by Freestyle Interactive – one of the largest independent digital agencies in the UK and the biggest in the Midlands.
Rob Woodhouse, Director, ESP (a former medal winning Olympic Swimmer) said: “There has been enormous interest in Rebecca since Beijing, and this will continue to grow over the next few years. This new website is a great way for Rebecca to keep people informed about her progress as well as allowing people access to important information about her from the school projects she’s involved in to media stories.”
Rebecca is currently training to compete in the World Championships in Rome at the end of July, but it was her blistering performance at the Beijing Olympics, taking two Golds in the 400 and 800 metres freestyle and breaking the longest standing swimming world record in the longer distance, that has made her Britain’s most successful swimmer of the last 100 years.
Most recently Rebecca became an ambassador for the Encephalitis society.
Suzanne Linton, Freestyle's Managing Director said: “Winning the Rebecca Adlington website is great news for us. It's especially apt because Freestyle has a strong sporting pedigree with competitive swimming running through its core - Freestyle’s founders swim competitively at world class Masters level and our Art Director represented Wales in the pool in his youth. Rebecca is an incredibly inspirational all-round sports personality with a wide fan base beyond the swimming community and it is a great privilege to have worked with her and her team on this project.”
www.freestyleinteractive.co.uk
The site Rebecca Adlingtonwas designed by Freestyle Interactive – one of the largest independent digital agencies in the UK and the biggest in the Midlands.
Rob Woodhouse, Director, ESP (a former medal winning Olympic Swimmer) said: “There has been enormous interest in Rebecca since Beijing, and this will continue to grow over the next few years. This new website is a great way for Rebecca to keep people informed about her progress as well as allowing people access to important information about her from the school projects she’s involved in to media stories.”
Rebecca is currently training to compete in the World Championships in Rome at the end of July, but it was her blistering performance at the Beijing Olympics, taking two Golds in the 400 and 800 metres freestyle and breaking the longest standing swimming world record in the longer distance, that has made her Britain’s most successful swimmer of the last 100 years.
Most recently Rebecca became an ambassador for the Encephalitis society.
Suzanne Linton, Freestyle's Managing Director said: “Winning the Rebecca Adlington website is great news for us. It's especially apt because Freestyle has a strong sporting pedigree with competitive swimming running through its core - Freestyle’s founders swim competitively at world class Masters level and our Art Director represented Wales in the pool in his youth. Rebecca is an incredibly inspirational all-round sports personality with a wide fan base beyond the swimming community and it is a great privilege to have worked with her and her team on this project.”
www.freestyleinteractive.co.uk
Thursday, 25 June 2009
New partner
188BET, the Isle of Man licensed online gambling provider,has announced that it is working with Foolproof in its bid to become one of the UK’s mainstream online gambling providers. It has commissioned Foolproof to help design the online experience, based on the specific requirements of the UK gambling audience with the intention of relaunching its UK site later this summer.
Andy Scott, CEO at 188BET explains: “Foolproof’s understanding and interpretation of the behavioural and appetite differences in local territories across our global audience is helping us to refine a UK-specific proposition. As a result we are able to incrementally deliver improved offerings that are designed with the local customer in mind. We engaged with our customers to identify what they want, how they want it presented and have employed best practice to deliver against those requirements.”
Peter Ballard, founding partner, Foolproof, said: “We believe the 188BET team is taking a progressive approach. It is important to them to be sure users are provided with a genuinely rewarding experience. We have helped the 188BET team to ‘get under the skin’ of consumers by employing our experience design methodology where users help us to build a prototype structure, navigation and content model before any design is started. The focus has been on acquiring customers and engaging them in a wider range of betting activity. Subsequent releases will target retention via the delivery of a best-in-class customer experience.”
Andy Scott, CEO at 188BET explains: “Foolproof’s understanding and interpretation of the behavioural and appetite differences in local territories across our global audience is helping us to refine a UK-specific proposition. As a result we are able to incrementally deliver improved offerings that are designed with the local customer in mind. We engaged with our customers to identify what they want, how they want it presented and have employed best practice to deliver against those requirements.”
Peter Ballard, founding partner, Foolproof, said: “We believe the 188BET team is taking a progressive approach. It is important to them to be sure users are provided with a genuinely rewarding experience. We have helped the 188BET team to ‘get under the skin’ of consumers by employing our experience design methodology where users help us to build a prototype structure, navigation and content model before any design is started. The focus has been on acquiring customers and engaging them in a wider range of betting activity. Subsequent releases will target retention via the delivery of a best-in-class customer experience.”
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
ESPN enters the Premier League but future of Setanta still unclear – DigitalChoices.co.uk comments
Michael Phillips, product director at DigitalChoices.co.uk said: “It’s good news that an established sporting broadcaster like ESPN has secured Setanta’s forfeited Premier League rights for next season and the three years thereafter.”
“Whilst a company with ESPN’s financial firepower should bode well for opening up competition and choice for sport on digital TV, you do have to remember that Sky has secured 115 out of 138 Premiership games from 2010 to 2013.”
“ESPN will want to secure carriage on as many digital TV platforms as possible to maximise the audience they can reach and the revenue they can generate. This bodes well for consumers.”
“It will be interesting to see how the 46 matches are marketed and priced – clearly Setanta got this wrong, given the lack of demand for their services.”
“The question of Setanta’s future – and that of the other sports rights they own and broadcast – still remains an unknown. Their website was this afternoon displaying what is arguably an unrealistically upbeat message to existing and new subscribers.”
“Setanta Sports subscribers should get in touch with them using the customer services number on their site. Those customers receiving Setanta Sports through a different platform (for example, Virgin Media), would need to speak directly to their provider to understand what refunds or alternative channel packages might be on offer to them.”
“Whilst a company with ESPN’s financial firepower should bode well for opening up competition and choice for sport on digital TV, you do have to remember that Sky has secured 115 out of 138 Premiership games from 2010 to 2013.”
“ESPN will want to secure carriage on as many digital TV platforms as possible to maximise the audience they can reach and the revenue they can generate. This bodes well for consumers.”
“It will be interesting to see how the 46 matches are marketed and priced – clearly Setanta got this wrong, given the lack of demand for their services.”
“The question of Setanta’s future – and that of the other sports rights they own and broadcast – still remains an unknown. Their website was this afternoon displaying what is arguably an unrealistically upbeat message to existing and new subscribers.”
“Setanta Sports subscribers should get in touch with them using the customer services number on their site. Those customers receiving Setanta Sports through a different platform (for example, Virgin Media), would need to speak directly to their provider to understand what refunds or alternative channel packages might be on offer to them.”
Monday, 22 June 2009
Tour de France mountain accommodation special offers
Mountain Summers has some great special offers for Tour de France accommodation in beautiful mountain chalets.
Running from Saturday July 4th to Sunday July 26th 2009, the 96th Tour de France features some amazing mountain challenges, and this gives you a number of great choices for combining a stay in the mountains with watching one of the world's greatest sporting events.
The mountains will really be on the map this year with 9 days of racing in the mountains and the riders will be in Mont Ventoux on the day before the Champs-Élysées.
Now is a great time for booking your summer holiday in the alps and Mountain Summers can help find that perfect chalet to catch all the cycling action, with many owners offering special rates and “Tour” packages finding customers the best spots to watch all the action!
Experience the Tour Live with www.mountain-summers.com!
This year the tour passes through or near by to many of Mountain Summers resorts, including Samoens, Le Grand Bornand, and Verbier.
Mountain Magic in Chatel have 3 chalets available for the week that covers stages 15-18 (Sat 18th – Sat 25th July,) for only €5043 for a whole chalet, fully catered including transfers from Geneva and transport to the Tour route daily.
Neil Bastion, owner of Mountain Magic, says: “We offer the luxury of your own private chalet with easy access to 4 stages of the Tour de France. We are situated in the Haute Savoir right on the Swiss boarder and stages 15-18 circle round behind us, and include the mountain stage into Verbier and the Annecy time trial.
We will tailor make packages to suit clients, but our basic proposal is to drop them of at pre-arranged spots on the route with a picnic lunch to view the tour passing. They can also ride their bikes to the spot and/or be driven back (or vice versa) to take in the full ambiance of the tour.”
Or, on 22nd July the Tour will pass the Col de Colombiere, only half an hour’s drive from Samoens.
Mountain Summers can offer a special rate to stay in the Chalet Myrtle in Samoens for w/c 18th July special rate of €1200 for the entire chalet. This is only €120 per person (sleeps 12).
B&B at the Chalet les 4 Vents in Morzine is offered at a special rate of €30/ night for the duration of the tour for Mountain Summers customers (normally €35).
Meribel Apartments are offering Mountain Summers customers a 10% discount on bookings for w/c 4th and 11th July.
To book a place to stay to see the race, visit our accommodation search area
To find out more about the tour, click on the link: www.letour.fr
Running from Saturday July 4th to Sunday July 26th 2009, the 96th Tour de France features some amazing mountain challenges, and this gives you a number of great choices for combining a stay in the mountains with watching one of the world's greatest sporting events.
The mountains will really be on the map this year with 9 days of racing in the mountains and the riders will be in Mont Ventoux on the day before the Champs-Élysées.
Now is a great time for booking your summer holiday in the alps and Mountain Summers can help find that perfect chalet to catch all the cycling action, with many owners offering special rates and “Tour” packages finding customers the best spots to watch all the action!
Experience the Tour Live with www.mountain-summers.com!
This year the tour passes through or near by to many of Mountain Summers resorts, including Samoens, Le Grand Bornand, and Verbier.
Mountain Magic in Chatel have 3 chalets available for the week that covers stages 15-18 (Sat 18th – Sat 25th July,) for only €5043 for a whole chalet, fully catered including transfers from Geneva and transport to the Tour route daily.
Neil Bastion, owner of Mountain Magic, says: “We offer the luxury of your own private chalet with easy access to 4 stages of the Tour de France. We are situated in the Haute Savoir right on the Swiss boarder and stages 15-18 circle round behind us, and include the mountain stage into Verbier and the Annecy time trial.
We will tailor make packages to suit clients, but our basic proposal is to drop them of at pre-arranged spots on the route with a picnic lunch to view the tour passing. They can also ride their bikes to the spot and/or be driven back (or vice versa) to take in the full ambiance of the tour.”
Or, on 22nd July the Tour will pass the Col de Colombiere, only half an hour’s drive from Samoens.
Mountain Summers can offer a special rate to stay in the Chalet Myrtle in Samoens for w/c 18th July special rate of €1200 for the entire chalet. This is only €120 per person (sleeps 12).
B&B at the Chalet les 4 Vents in Morzine is offered at a special rate of €30/ night for the duration of the tour for Mountain Summers customers (normally €35).
Meribel Apartments are offering Mountain Summers customers a 10% discount on bookings for w/c 4th and 11th July.
To book a place to stay to see the race, visit our accommodation search area
To find out more about the tour, click on the link: www.letour.fr
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