INTERVIEW
that every Games is identical, but it gives advice on, for example, the ex- pected number of buses, cars and hotel rooms required. The IOC Coordination Committee then visits the city twice a year, with project reviews in between. I’d say there have been about 20 phone calls a day between LOCOG and the IOC in different departments just to move things forward. “The contribution made by the IOC
to London’s share of international TV rights and sponsorship is probably in excess of £750m, about 40 per cent of the organising committee costs, which isn’t bad,” he says.
Clean sheet
Separate from his Olympic commit- ments, Reedie is also heavily involved with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). He’s a member of the Execu- tive Committee and has run its finances since it was set up in 2000. In addition, he helped establish the new UK Anti- Doping agency (UKAD) and was recently appointed an advisor. “UK Sport used to handle the anti-
doping work in Britain and in fact handled it very well,” he explains. “But there was a perceived conflict of inter- est in that they couldn’t or shouldn’t be granting funds to national govern- ing bodies (NGBs) and their athletes and then sanctioning them at the same time. Consequently an independent UK anti-doping agency was set up with gov- ernment money in the run up to 2012.
An artist’s impression of the expected experience inside the Olympic stadium
We tell our athletes that if you test positive then you’re not going to the Games – simple as that
Reedie explains that over the period
of the London 2012 Games WADA will probably conduct in excess of 5,000 tests on Olympic athletes. “There’ll be a new laboratory created to ensure overnight results of these tests,” he says. But he stresses the importance that no British athlete should be testing positive in the run up to the Games. “We need to make sure that kids
don’t believe that winning an Olympic gold medal is such an important thing that they are prepared to cheat to do so. Education is vital to deter people from wanting to win at all costs. We’re win- ning the occasional battle – just look at Vancouver. There were two very minor issues which were dealt with and one Swedish Paralympic curler whose doc- tor gave him a substance that he wasn’t aware was on the banned list so it’s
reasonable to assume that perhaps the deterents are beginning to work. “The ‘100 per cent me’ campaign run
by the previous anti-doping outfit set up at UK Sport will continue to be used by the UKAD. We tell our athletes what the issues are, which basically means if you test positive you’re not going to go to the Games – simple as that – and we have relatively few people who transgress.”
What’s next?
So what does Reedie think the future holds for sport in this country, particu- larly after the General Election? “I think whatever party comes into
power is going to have to stop spend- ing money and sport is likely to be a soft target,” he says. “Funding for NGBs through 2012 is in place and will not be taken away, but where I think sport may find extra funding is through the Lottery, which is holding up pretty well. I also believe that the key politicians should be encouraged to enjoy the Games to help them understand clearly what inspiration through sport is all about. “My job as a senior British Olympic
official is of course to promote sport both here and abroad,” Reedie con- cludes. “I see my role as helping to develop the Olympic movement, help- ing to fund the world of sport and see that it continues to grow.” ●
18 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital
Issue 2 2010 © cybertrek 2010
PHOTO: CIO/JUILLIART, RICHARD
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84