Early Winter Wonderland! The Wilder Kaiser-Brixental Ski World Kicks off the Winter Skiing Season This Weekend!
Winter has Begun: Even Some of the Lower Runs are Already Open!
Great news for all winter sports fans: this coming weekend (Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th November) the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser – Brixental in Tyrol starts the winter skiing season. Around 40 lift systems are waiting for snow-hungry winter sports fans – along with outstanding piste conditions.
The snow gods have really made an effort this year. The precipitation over the last few days together with the freezing temperatures mean that the first winter sports fans will find optimal piste conditions – a number of connections between runs and a few of the lower runs down to the valley are already open. Initially the facilities will only be open during this coming the weekend, with full operations commencing with the official start of the season on Saturday 6th December.
An early highlight this winter will be the well loved SkiOpening from 12th to 14th December. Ski tests with a diverse range of brands provide the perfect opportunity to explore the Skiwelt’s new pistes and courses. A public favourite is the floodlit parallel-slalom on Friday (12th December), in which everyone can test their form in race conditions. There will also be music as part of the evening programme (free entry!). On Friday the “Jungen Zillertalern” will provide a taste of genuine Tyrolean folk music and on Saturday there will be rocking party sounds courtesy of “Frontal” and the “Hermes House Band”.
Current information about lifts and ski runs can be found at http://www.skiwelt.at
SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser – Brixental is the largest area of connected ski runs in Austria. It has 91 lifts and over 279 kilometres of ski runs of all colours, the majority of which have modern snow-cannon facilities (including all grades of difficulty, with 210 kilometres of piste that can be furnished with artificial snow, 11 km can be made ready for skiing within just 3 days).
ECA Calls for Full Club Involvement in EU Initiatives on Football Governance
In a frank speech delivered today at the EU Sport Forum in Biarritz, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Chairman of the European Club Association (ECA), called on the EU to ensure that football clubs were included at the very heart of all decision-making in establishing guidelines and frameworks designed to improve governance and fair play in professional football.
“Consultation alone is not enough,” stated Rummenigge. “Decisions with a direct influence on clubs, their management, employees and fans need to be discussed and sanctioned by those stakeholders.”
Rummenigge questioned certain decisions taken in the past without proper consultation as having had an extremely negative consequence on football in general and clubs in particular. The Bosman ruling had some negative effect causing salary inflation, spiraling transfer fees and other practices which have undermined financial soundness in the game.
He went on to pledge ECA’s commitment to work with the football family to help set the sport back on a sound footing, based on solid investment over the longer term and on healthy competition, and pointed out the Professional Football Strategy Council as doing excellent work in the governance of football.
ECA
The European Club Association is the sole, independent body representing football clubs at European level, and takes its place at the high table of European football along with UEFA, and official bodies representing players and the leagues.
The formation of ECA marks an end to disharmony in the European football family, and clears the way for the collaboration of all parties in building the future of the game in Europe. Through ECA, and for the first time in some years, clubs now have a powerful voice in decision-making that shapes the future of professional football in Europe.
ECA replaces the G-14 group and the European Club Forum both dissolved early in 2008 and is fully recognized by UEFA and FIFA. ECA is committed to play a major and constructive role in helping shape the future of football, for the benefit of all concerned with the game.
ECA – LEADING THE WAY FOR FOOTBALL CLUBS IN EUROPE
Wounded Warriors to Visit Army-Navy Game
The Philadelphia Council of the Navy League is hosting service men and women wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan at the Army/Navy Game on December 6 at Wachovia Stadium.
Soldiers, sailors, Marines and their caregivers from Bethesda Naval, Walter Reed and Fort Meade military hospitals will be arriving in the morning for a “Welcome Wounded Warriors Day of Appreciation” on buses provided by the Philadelphia Council. The buses will be escorted to the stadium from the Delaware state line by the “Gathering of Eagles” motorcycle club. A post-game reception will be held at the Stadium Holiday Inn before the patients return to their hospitals
The project is being funded by contributions and the League is actively soliciting individual and corporate donors. Contributions can be made online to support this effort at www.navyleaguephilly.org. For information about corporate sponsorships, contact Fran O’Brien at 215-704-4319 or fobrien@navyleaguephilly.org.
The Welcome Wounded Warriors project is one of three activities of Operation Liberty sponsored by the League. The other two activities, which the League is also seeking donations, are:
- Shut Out Bowl – The USNL also will provide tickets for the crew of the Navy ships that will be in Philadelphia that weekend, for Marines, sailors and soldiers stationed in the area, and for wounded andecovering veterans who live in the Philadelphia area. For sailors on the visiting ships who are unable to attend the game, we will again host our “Shut Out Bowl.” Big screen TVs and good food will provide the “shut outs” with an opportunity to view the game in a fun Philadelphia setting. This year’s event will be held at The Fox and Hound at 15th and Spruce in center city Philadelphia.
- Navy Futures Program – Representatives of the US Naval Academy and the Navy Recruiting District will hold a Naval Academy – NROTC information event for targeted local high school students and their parents. The vent will take place at the Independence Seaport Museum before the game.
For more information on last minute details, arrival times for the service men and woman or to arrange advance coverage, please contact Terry Williamson at 215-576-5930 or terrywl@comcast.net.
Source: The Philadelphia Council of the Navy League
College Sports Fans Have a New Home on the Internet
Collegiate sports fans around the world are as passionate and dedicated as any athletics fans anywhere. Today, a social networking website and college sports news portal is transforming how athletes and their friends and family interact with each other and how they access current sports scores and news from more than 1,400 American universities of all sizes.
CollegeFanz.com (http://www.collegefanz.com/) is the brainchild of the legendary entrepreneur who brought us ESPN, Bill Rasmussen. Rasmussen’s expansive web site boasts more than 20,000 individual college team sports web pages and provides current information and news about college sports not just concerning NCAA Division I schools, but also from Division II and III schools. Additionally, many NAIA schools are given the opportunity to highlight their own athletics programs on the net.
Not Just College Football, Basketball, and Baseball
The website covers the traditionally best-known collegiate sports of football, basketball, and baseball, and it also highlights less visible college sports like: golf, gymnastics, water polo, wrestling, soccer, volleyball, lacrosse, track, cross country, rowing, bowling, field hockey, skiing, skating, and swimming. The site also features a blog by the 76 year old Bill Rasmussen.
“Instead of covering perhaps 200 of the most well-known college athletics programs, we are committed to helping the millions of college athletes and fans at thousands of American schools interact with each other and to create online resources to keep them informed about their schools,” said Rasmussen during a recent interview.
He is quick to highlight one of the powerful constants in achieving success in college athletics and business: enthusiasm. “College sports still seems the same to me as it did back in 1979. Sure, performance and training has improved, but the spirit in these young, dedicated athletes is the same,” Rasmussen opined.
The Future for www.CollegeFanz.com
Despite the current financial and economic crises confronting the United States, Rasmussen is optimistic that the passion of college sports fans around the world will help his venture succeed. “People look to college sports to escape for a while,” he said. “We want to be one of the top 500 websites in the entire world, and the members of our online community are going to be the engine to help us achieve our goal.”
Top Athletes Join Forces for a New Mission
Athlete-Engineered Skincare to Support Performance and Benefit Charity
Introducing MISSION Product(TM)
When Professional Basketball player Steve Nash, Gold Medal Skateboarder Ryan Sheckler, Professional Soccer player Mia Hamm, Gold Medal Snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, Gold Medal Swimmer Amanda Beard and Professional Basketball player Carmelo Anthony step onto the field, take to the slopes or enter an arena, it’s hard to not take notice.
Besides being some of the world’s most accomplished athletes, these esteemed sports stars have something else in common: They have joined forces as co-founders to revolutionize the skincare industry while doing good with the launch of MISSION Product(TM). This mission is further illustrated through a video starring the line’s founders by Meathawk Productions; a production company Nash recently started, and can be viewed at http://www.missionproduct.com/about_us.html.
Teaming up with scientists and skincare industry veterans, these esteemed athletes have established an entirely new category — athlete-tested skincare products for everyone that’s active. The MISSION products are designed and tested by elite athletes in all areas of sport, and being hailed by everyone looking for products that help them prepare, perform and recover in sports and daily activities. With vital nutrients and antioxidants, MISSION is the best equipment for skin, so you can feel good, when looking good – anytime, anywhere.
MISSION Product(TM) also makes an impact off the field. In addition to working closely with athletes in product innovation, MISSION Product(TM) proudly supports the charities of its athletes, including The Sheckler Foundation, The Steve Nash Foundation, The Mia Hamm Foundation and H2O Africa, among others.
MISSION Product(TM) was the brainchild of ultra-endurance athlete Charlie Engle, who conceptualized the line after finishing a 111-day run last year across the Sahara Desert and teaming up with entrepreneur and skincare industry veteran Josh Shaw. The aforementioned group of athletes then joined the MISSION Product(TM) team and are intimately involved in product innovation and development. Other sports superstars such as Hunter Kemper, Sarah Haskins and Jessica Mendoza have since signed on.
According to Steve Nash, two-time MVP, “I’m really proud to be a founding athlete with MISSION Product(TM). Using products that enhance my performance, while also benefitting important causes, is incredibly rewarding both on and off the court.”
Mia Hamm, Olympic gold medal soccer player, adds, “One of the key attributes that attracted me to MISSION Product(TM) is the ability for athletes to inspire the product development and innovation process. We’re looking forward to making an impact on the lives of the future generations of athletes at all levels.”
The starting lineup for MISSION Product(TM) includes a no-sweat sunscreen with SPF 30 and anti-aging technology, a vitamin lip balm with SPF 20, a long lasting anti-friction cream, a restorative foot gel and a after-sun revive gel for post sun and wind exposure. The company just launched its Signature line of Lip Balmers with Ryan Sheckler’s Orange flavor, Gretchen Bleiler’s Sweet Vanilla flavor and the MISSION Mint flavor. MISSION Product(TM) formulas are engineered with breakthrough technology, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and are preservative, irritant and animal-cruelty-free.