Scarcity of Sponsors OC is all set and ok with terms

It might not be as big a deal as sponsorship of the Indian cricket team but the organizing committee (OC) seems more than satisfied with the terms, especially as it faces a scarcity of sponsors. Reebok, the international sportswear company, is to sponsor the uniforms of the Indian contingent at the Commonwealth Games 2010. The sponsorship, worth Rs 10 crore, is in the form of kits and accessories like shoes for the team, said OC secretary-general, Lalit Bhanot.

The sponsorship, which will have 750 Indian athletes sport the logo on all their apparel and kit, even casual wear, comes at a time when the OC has been desperately looking for sponsors. According to sources, the Committee had earlier come out with a request for proposal (RFP) for uniforms which had got dismal results. Said a senior OC official, ‘‘The only company which showed interest in sponsoring was Reebok. They wanted the Indian team to sport the logo, and sponsor their uniform. So the sponsorship deal was signed with them.’’ On being questioned, Bhanot admitted that the show major would be sponsoring three competition kits, two training kits, bags, accessories, shoes as well as the casual wear for the athletes and the technical officials who will be accompanying the team. Added Bhanot, ‘‘Its a value in kind (VIK) deal with Reebok. We are happy with the sponsorship.’’

Interestingly, the OC has also awarded a contract to the same company for uniforms for OC officials and volunteers, starting from the national sector of the
Queens Baton Relay (QBR). This contract is worth Rs 10 crore. This will include providing apparel and other sportswear to around 33,000 OC officials including volunteers and maintenance staff.

OC has been looking for sponsors for some time now. After Hero Honda, which signed on as a co-partner with the Games, and the Indian Railways, the only other company to sign on has been Coca Cola. Sources say OC is also hoping to rope in Tata Motors as sponsors for the national sector of the Queen’s Baton Relay. Tata Motors will be providing the vehicles that form part of the convoy. Said a senior OC official, ‘‘The deal has not been finalized yet, but we are in talks with the company to associate with the QBR through sponsorship of the convoy vehicle.’’ If the motor company comes on board, it would be the second such company after Hero Honda.

Till now, the OC has not been able to generate as much revenue from sponsorships and other avenues as had been expected. While it earned around Rs 300 crore from TV rights, it got Rs 100 crore deal from the Indian Railways. The loan taken by the OC for conducting the Games meanwhile is Rs 1,620 crore.

Successful staging of 2010 Commonwealth Games crucial for winning Olympic

Successful staging of 2010 Commonwealth Games crucial for winning Olympic

The International Olympics Committee President, Mr. Jacques Rogge has said that if India conducts the 2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi successfully, it would be a major step in winning the bid for Olympics in future. Addressing a press conference in the Chattrapati Shivaji Games Village at Balewadi in Pune this evening, the IOC president praised the infrastructure facilities for the Commonwealth Youth Games 2008 and said that staging Olympics would involve a difference of scale, which needed to be taken into consideration. Mr. Rogge also clarified that cricket won’t be a part of 2016 Olympics and said that International Cricket Council (ICC) needed to be a member of IOC to consider allowing cricket in the Olympics.

Speaking at the same press conference, Indian Olympics Association President Mr. Suresh Kalmadi said “the Indian youth was charged up after winning the first ever individual Gold at the Beijing Olympics and the results at the CYG’08 were there for all to see as India was leading the medal tally with performances across the board.” He said the country had launched the National Club Games aimed at broad-basing the sports in the country by spotting and nurturing the talent from the village level upwards. He said the National Club Games would involve training nearly 80,000 sportspersons and there was no lack of funds for sports.

Mr. Kalmadi also said the winners at the CYG’08 would be trained by foreign coaches for improving country’s performance at the London Olympics in 2012.

Officials Expressed Concerns over Games Preparations

I have posted on a topic about Delhi to learn from Chinese preparation model, in which I have quoted that some officials are visiting China to learn about their preparation of Olympic Games, which would help us in making better preparations for 2010 Commonwealth Games. Now when they have returned lets see what their opinion on the topic is:

Indian sports officials visiting Beijing to study the arrangements for the Olympic Games are having serious doubts about whether Delhi would be ready to host the Commonwealth Games by 2010.
‘‘It is not merely a question of infrastructure. It is the quality of organization. The manner in which the Olympics are being conducted makes me wonder if we can handle the job in 2010,’’ a senior official connected with the Commonwealth Games said, and added: ‘‘The Chinese are simply excellent in both allocating and implementing tasks. We work through committees with everyone escaping responsibility.’’
Visiting sports officials are expected to influence the decision-making process concerning the Commonwealth Games based on their experience in Beijing. But some of them worry that their feedback might be cast aside because it may hurt vested interests.
‘‘The Chinese have used existing infrastructure like the Workers’ Stadium and built new facilities as well. I am wondering if it was wise to reconstruct Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium instead of building a new one,’’ another official said. The official felt that there was very little time left for the Commonwealth Games to make major changes in design and layout and said ongoing work was already behind schedule.
‘‘Besides Beijing, the Olympic Games are being held in four co-host cities — Tianjin, Qingdao, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Why can’t we too involve other Indian cities instead of organizing all events in Delhi, which may not be able to handle the load?’’ an official said. This would also take visitors from abroad across the country and boost tourism, he added.
‘‘The Chinese seem to have planned meticulously right down to every minute detail. We are nowhere near them,’’ he said. Even the process of observing and learning from Beijing should have started much earlier, the official said.
The manner in which nearly 200,000 volunteers have been trained and mobilized is another lesson to be learnt for the 2010 Games in Delhi, an official observed. Volunteers are playing a key role in Beijing and helping develop a sense of nationalism connected to hosting of the Olympic Games. ‘‘A sense of nationalism is essential for any country not only to host such an event,’’ the official said.

Source: Times of India News Paper Delhi Edition

Delhi to Learn from Chinese Preparation Model

Senior officials are visiting china to learn about the preparation for Beijing Olympics

Municipal Corporation of Delhi, populariliy known as MCD is sending around six of its senior officials to Beijing, China, to ‘study’ the preparations made by China for the Olympic Games. As 2010 Commonwealth Games has to be hosted in the city in 2010, Mayor Arti Mehra who visited Beijing and just returned India, said on Sunday that six senior officials, probably executive engineers would be sent to Beijing, china to study the model applied by the Chinese, which can help improve our preparations for the commonwealth game in 2010. But these officials would visit there only after the Olympic Games are over.

The civic agency would bear the traveling cost, which would be approximately Rs 3 lakhs, the accommodation would be provided by China, according to the mayor. As per official records, the civic agency has made no significant headway on ground with regard to most projects under it for Commonwealth Games. This track record notwithstanding, the Corporation now plans to send its officials to China to ‘learn lessons’ from the Chinese.
Mehra thrashed the officials and commented that they are giving importance to solving matters; instead they are much interested in blame-game.

According to the mayor “The beautification along roads, infrastructure development etc was impressive in Beijing and we should learn from them”. She has discussed with the MCD commissioner K S Mehra about sending a few MCD officials to Beijing and also to get in touch with the Chinese Olympic Association to take MCD officials around and show them preparations that were made during the Games. Since the Association is presently busy with the Olympics games, MCD officials will be sent only after the Beijing Olympic Games are over.

The return ticket to Beijing costs around Rs 45,000 and the MCD will give them a daily allowance of around Rs 1,600 or more.
Mehra said there is need to fast track projects to ensure that everything is in place by then. Mehra herself has been to Beijing as part of the “Observer Programme” which was conducted by the organizing committee of the 2010 Commonwealth Games with other senior government functionaries.

Which games are included?

Almost every Sports which are played in Olympic games are included in Commonwealth Games .Also as the name suggest there are also games ,such as lawn bowls ,netball,rugby sevens ,which are mainly played in the Commonwealth Nations.