QUEEN'S BATON REACHES SAINT HELENA ; BRINGS JOY TO OLDEST RESIDENT OF 99 YEARS AND 7 MONTHS

Thesynergyonline Sports Bureau

SAINT HELENA , FEB 06 :
AFTER an epic journey across the Atlantic ocean on board the RMS St Helena, the Queen's Baton 2010 Delhi reached the world's most isolated island; Saint Helena.

The entire island showed up to greet the Queen's Baton amongst a lot of cheering and hooting. Governor of Saint Helena, Governor Gurr was the first to receive the Queen's Baton before it was passed to the school children who had lined the 699 steps, Jacobs Ladder to the top.

The Baton then went on to cheer and bring joy to the older generation when it visited an old age home and was greeted by the oldest resident of Saint Helena, Hilda Clingham aged 99 years and 7 months, who also has the distinction of holding the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Baton.

The Baton travelled through the length and breadth of the picturesque island and was carried by the residents and athletes in a highly charged and happy atmosphere.

The historical island, Britain's second oldest remaining colony has seen the exile of Napoleon Bonaparte, Dinuzulu KaCetshwayo and over 5,000 Boer prisoners.

Saint Helena with a history of over 500 years is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. Britain's second oldest remaining colony (after Bermuda), Saint Helena is one of the most isolated islands in the world and was for several centuries of vital strategic importance to ships sailing to Europe from Asia and South Africa. Saint Helena measures about 16 by 8 kilometers and has a population of 4,255

The baton is being carried by legendary RMS St Helena which is a unique vessel. She is one of the only two ocean-going vessels in the world still to carry the venerable title of Royal Mail Ship, held in the past by so many famous British passenger liners.

In addition to carrying passengers in well-fed comfort, she is almost the sole source of supply of all goods for her island namesake. RMS St Helena is not just a passenger vessel; it's a working ship, plying the Atlantic Ocean, carrying goods and people nearly halfway around the world. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)

200 TRACK AND FIELD EXPERTS TO BE TRAINED BY OC CWG DELHI 2010

Thesynergyonline Sports Bureau

NEW DELHI, JAN 30 :
TRACK and Field events will form an important portfolio during the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi beginning from October 3 this year. The Organising Committee has taken up the task in right earnest by training the best available talent to conduct various competitions in Athletics.

In this respect, a three day Athletics Officials Workshop jointly conducted by the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi and Athletics Federation of India has commenced at the OC's Headquarter. The workshop is expected to train a pool of about 200 Technical Officials Track and Field events for the Commonwealth Games.

The Chariman of the Organising Committee Mr. Suresh Kalmadi, MP, said, "the workshop is a reflection of the commitment of the Organising Committee towards enhancing the knowledge of the technical officials in India across various sports. This is to ensure that we conduct successful Games."

Taking part in the workshop are top experts including Mr. Bill Bailey, Council Member of International Athletics Federation and the designated Technical Delegate of XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi and Mr. Tarek Souei, the designated Technical Delegate and International Paralympic Committee Member. Other experts are Mr. C. K. Valson, Athletics Competition Manager for the Delhi Commonwealth Games and Mr. R. K. Chaudhary, Deputy Competition Manager (Athletics). They are conducting the workshop which is updating the technical delegates about how to conduct and officiate the international athletics events like Commonwealth Games. The topics covered include new rules, roles, protocols, duties, reporting, sports equipment, venue and store, etc.

Mr. Bailey said, "The workshop is very well attended with around 188 technical officials from all over India. It is beginning of the process of training various teams of judges and officials to organise and conduct big competition. The participants were very enthusiastic and cooperative. We will be following it up with opportunities for further training and practice."

Mr.Md. Nizamuddin, former triple jump Asian medalist in 1987 and 1989 said, "It is a very good workshop with Mr. Bill Beiley. He is very experienced. We earlier had 10 workshops under Mr. C K Valson and team and have learned lot of things on changing international rules, their adaptation and implementation on ground. The participating officials are selected through a rigorous process and this is for the first time that we are conducting lAAf's level 1 exam for 6 groups of 20."

Mr. Krishnan, a technical official from Delhi who is attending the workshop said that it is a very good initiative. We are getting a chance to know about new international rules and regulations and it is helping in increasing the cooperation between different officials.

Another technical official, Mr. Annavi from Tamilnadu said, "We are getting very important information for the total conduct of the event. We are informed about our specific duties and systemization of the games conduct as per international standards."

The three day workshop will conclude tomorrow and all participating technical officials will be officiating in the National Cross Country Championships which is going to be held on 31 January 2010 at Central Secretariat Ground, New Delhi. (editor@thesynergyonline.com)