Athletes Risk Supplement Contamination
As the UK’s leading athletes prepare to compete in the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games, the latest research into supplement contamination highlights that athletes risk a 1 in 10 chance of testing positive for banned substances, when using supplements made by manufacturers who do not regularly screen products for contaminants.
The research, funded by Lucozade Sport and conducted by HFL Sport Science - a laboratory that tests supplements for substances prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) – discovered that 10.5% of 152 supplements tested were found to be contaminated with steroids and/or stimulants. Non-UK brands purchased online are potentially a higher risk to athletes than those purchased from supermarkets or specialist stores/gyms. A previous study published in 2004 revealed that almost 15% of 634 supplements tested were found to contain banned steroids, none of which were declared on the label.
While it is clear that a number of supplements explicitly contain banned substances (as declared on the label), it has also become clear that a number of commercially available ‘clean’ supplements may be inadvertently contaminated with substances that could lead to a positive drugs test.
‘It is vital for athletes to be provided with an informed choice about their diet and supplements,’ explains David Hall, HFL Chief Executive. ‘Only a small number of supplement manufacturers follow the necessary quality control procedures to ensure the safety of athletes and the general public who use their products. Athletes need to be aware of these manufacturers.’
One athlete who is aware of the dangers of supplement contamination is Liz Yelling, British Olympic Marathon runner. ‘These findings are worrying because athletes have a right to know that any supplements they use are totally clean. As an elite athlete preparing to compete in the Beijing Olympics it is vital to know that the supplements I use come from a reputable manufacturer with rigorous quality control procedures.’
A new initiative from HFL seeks to help athletes assess the risk when deciding to use supplements. Its Informed-Sport programme works with supplement manufacturers to evaluate their process integrity and to screen supplements and/or ingredients for the presence of substances that appear on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s List of Prohibited Substances and Methods. HFL provides a list of screened products at http://www.hfl.co.uk/uploadedPDF/Sport%20Supp%20Web%20All.pdf.
‘Our role is to help athletes make sensible, informed decisions to minimise the risks of inadvertent doping,’ says Andy Parkinson, Acting Director of Drug-Free Sport at UK Sport. ‘Part of the process athletes need to go through when thinking about using supplements is to distinguish between companies that follow quality assurance procedures to the highest standards and those companies that do not. This is particularly important with so many products readily available via the internet which may lay claim to being ‘drug-free’ when there are no guarantees that this is the case.’
Lucozade Sport is one manufacturer leading the field by pioneering product safety and quality assurance. ‘While the findings suggest that the issue of supplements and contamination is improving, the fact remains that any athlete not buying from a reputable manufacturer risks a one in ten chance of potentially ending their career by testing positive for banned substances,’ warns John Brewer, performance director at the Lucozade Sport Science Academy (LSSA). ‘We understand that elite athletes competing at the highest levels need the confidence of knowing that the products they use are screened for prohibited substances. As a result, Lucozade Sport products are tested by HFL for the presence of a range of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned steroid and stimulant contaminants.
To find out more information on quality control measures undertaken at HFL on behalf of supplement manufacturers, visit http://www.hfl.co.uk/Sport/SupplementsNutrition.html and www.informed-sport.com.
LONDON 2012 BOOST FOR SPORTS JOBS
The London 2012 Olympic Games have already had a major impact on the sports jobs market in the UK, according to Leigh Hine, head of Public Sports at London-based Sports Recruitment International.
"The announcement that London had won the Games gave the whole nation a lift and although there have since been budgetary and planning issues which have inspired negative headlines, the fact that the Games are coming has been the catalyst for a re-focus at all levels of sport," he said.
"The Games have had the sort of galvanising impact on sport that government policy has never had. They will happen on a definite date and can’t be put off or delayed. That means that everybody involved in sport has to concentrate on the opportunity right now or risk letting it pass by."
Hine, has observed a significant change in the approach of the UK sports community to recruitment issues since the day in Singapore when London was granted the right to host the games. Some of the old established practices have been blown away because of an understanding that everybody has to raise their game if they are going to benefit fully from the advantages the Games will deliver in terms of finance and exposure.
"At the senior and middle ranges of public sport the emphasis has shifted from simply filling roles with whoever happens to be available, to going all-out to find the best possible candidate. That means, among other things, that the sector has become more open to candidates from other areas of commerce and industry, so long as they have the skills and capabilities to do the best possible job."
There has long been an understanding that administrators and executives whose experience was confined to sport may not always be the best candidates for today’s senior sports roles which demand a higher level of commercial acumen and broader managerial skill-base. That is currently being underscored by a move away from recruiting via the Old Boys Network.
"The prospect of the Olympic Games in 2012, and the Common Wealth Games in 2014, has accelerated the understanding that sports bodies have to operate as businesses. Those on the boards of these organisations have become more professional in their approach to recruitment issues and are applying the same criteria to their sports bodies as they would to their own businesses.
"Instead of simply putting the word out on the grapevine that they have a role to fill, they are become more accustomed to using an intermediary to ensure that they identify and attract the right candidate."
Evidence for this trend comes from Sports Recruitment International’s own files. Hine and his team have recruited five CEOs, or their equivalents, for UK public sports bodies in the last five months, an unprecedented number.
"Because these bodies understand that they have to have the best people they are coming as a means of getting beyond the historic sports closed shop," he said.
"We provide a range of constancy services based around finding the best candidates, from writing job specs and advertisements to organising and structuring the interview process.
"Often clients don’t have any particular expertise in interviewing and this is another area where they may need help. We make a point of getting to know the candidates well beyond the interview. After all, many people can interview well for an hour or so but that doesn’t always mean they are right for a given role."
According to Hine, the legacy of the London Olympic Games will extend way beyond new facilities and infrastructure. There will, he says, also be a legacy of business best practice and the first tell-tale signs are already in place.
"We are already seeing the transfer of skills, understanding and knowledge to a certain extent thanks to the BOA / FTSE initiative which was set up to enable sports bodies to learn form the country’s leading businesses.”
"And you only have to look around to see how individual organisations and the sector in general are benefiting from the arrival of senior executives able to draw on a broader range of experience and influence from the world of business.”
"That simply has to be positive for the future of sport and in many cases it has been the prospect of staging an Olympic Games which has provided the impetus for change," he said. While the Olympic Games is likely to have the greatest impact for obvious reasons of size, the impact of major events on the sports jobs market is not restricted to those cities and countries fortunate enough to stage the Games.
Every event creates new opportunities, both for the indigenous workforce and for the developing breed of events specialists whose skills are essential to making big events happen.
The net effect of any sizeable event should be a growth in the local skill base which raises the bar on professionalism in the sports sector. Yet the international dimension should not be overlooked.
On 23rd and 24th January, Icon will be showcasing the new fabric_frame® display solution (for which Icon has secured the exclusive UK rights to distribute) at the Event Show at London's Olympia.
Icon is well-known for delivering memorable and effective event branding and signage solutions, and the opportunity to exclusively distribute a new, innovative and versatile display structure which can be adapted to form interview backdrops, promotional, exhibition and hospitality displays, stage sets, sponsor monoliths and a wide range of other applications for all kinds of event and promotional campaigns, offers a unique string to our bow.
fabric_frame® has already been used to outstanding effect at a number of prestigious events by rights holders, event organisers and sponsors, as well as a number of conference, exhibition and commercial property branding projects.
We would be delighted if you could join us at the Event Show on 23rd and 24th January at London's Olympia, where we will be demonstrating a selection of examples which you can see and experience at first hand.
For further details about how you can register to attend the Event Show (free entry) please contact jonathanm@icondisplay.co.uk.
haysmacintyre wins the ‘Overall Service’ award in the Charity Finance Annual Audit Survey Charity Finance’s Annual Audit Survey has ranked accounting firm haysmacintyre highest in the category of “Overall Service”.
The survey, in its 15th year, includes data from 1,100 organisations with combined income of £19.9bn paying audit fees of £20.5m.
haysmacintyre was also placed in top positions across the other three categories surveyed – Charity Expertise (3rd), Commitment to the Voluntary Sector (3rd) and Technical Competence (2nd).
Richard Weaver, Charities Partner, was delighted with the result and believed it was further recognition of the high standards set by haysmacintyre and of the effectiveness of the 2006 merger with Trustient.
“Last year haysmacintyre won the overall award, and we are pleased that our clients have again responded positively to the survey and that we retained the overall service award”.
For further information please contact:
Sarah Bannister
020 7969 5575
sbannister@haysmacintyre.com
Inheritance Tax Changes
Anne McMahon Partner of Enterprise Partner Needham James, brings you up to speed with an important legislative changes that will affect CCPR members
The Pre-Budget Report 2007 introduced a welcome change to inheritance tax that will benefit many couples. With immediate effect all existing widows/widowers and surviving civil partners and all married couples and civil partners will be able to make full use of their deceased partner’s unused inheritance tax nil rate band. This will be a welcome relief for many couples where the value of their house alone exceeded the nil rate band threshold and where inheritance tax was potentially payable on second death.
The nil rate band remains at the current rate of £300,000 for an individual. No inheritance tax is paid on the first £300,000 of an estate but if the estate is worth more than £300,000 inheritance tax will be paid at the rate of 40% on the value over the nil rate band. No inheritance tax is payable between spouses or civil partners. If the first spouse or civil partner to die passes their estate wholly or partly to their surviving partner they would previously have wasted an opportunity to utilise their nil rate band. In future this will not be a problem since on the death of the survivor their partner’s unused nil rate band will be available to use against the value of their estate as well as their own.
For example, if a husband died when the nil rate band was £250,000 and in his Will he utilised part of his exemptions by including a legacy of £50,000 to his children, his unused proportion of his nil rate band is 4/5ths. If his wife then dies while the nil rate band is £300,000 on her death she will have an additional allowance of 4/5ths of £300,000 meaning that she will be able to leave a total of £540,000 (£300,000 + £240,000) free of inheritance tax.
This new ability to transfer allowances means that it is no longer necessary to utilise the nil rate band allowance of the first to die immediately after their death in order to make use of their nil rate band.
Unfortunately for any families where both parties to a marriage or civil partnership died on or before 8th October 2007, these measures have come too late to have any positive benefit.
For those people who have already made tax planning nil rate band Wills, there is no disadvantage in retaining such Wills but the administration of them after the first death may be easier in future.
If you have already established a tax planning scheme following the death of your spouse it may be worth reviewing the arrangement, although there should be no tax disadvantage of continuing the scheme and, in most cases, it will generally be better to leave the existing arrangements in place.
There are still considerable benefits of including discretionary trusts or indeed other trusts in Wills and it will still be important to consider whether such structures are required. The use of trusts in Wills may help to reduce the possibility of care costs eating into your assets. A trust will also enable your children or ultimate beneficiaries to have more choices available to them which may benefit their own tax or personal situation. Trusts can also protect the family’s assets from being unnecessarily reduced by a divorce or bankruptcy situation and still play a vital role for those people who have children by a first relationship.
In addition, if property subject to agricultural or business property relief is owned, then the structure of the Will can in many cases reduce the ultimate inheritance tax that may be payable.
Despite the changes, therefore, the tax implications of your Wills still need to be carefully considered so as to ensure that you are taking maximum advantage of all the allowances available. With careful planning it may, in future, be possible to considerably reduce your family’s IHT bill.
For more information without obligation, please contact Finula Allen on 0845 630 8833 or email: finulaallen@needhamandjames.com
Needham & James LLP
Needham & James House
Bridgeway
Stratford upon Avon
Warwickshire CV37 6YY
www.needhamandjames.com
Speed Networking proves a quick hit for CCPR Enterprises
Monday 10 September saw the inaugural CCPR Enterprises Speed-Networking Event take place in Central London. The event was a great success and part of a whole range of activities designed to integrate Enterprise Partners with the 270 governing bodies in the sports and leisure industry.
Enterprise Partners, a number of whom were enjoying their first CCPR Enterprises event, and CCPR Members were paired up for a series of mini-meetings. Each meeting lasted just eight minutes, which proved short enough to concentrate the minds but long enough to gauge the potential for future business relationships.
The CCPR members present, including Jim Croxton from the Professional Golfers Association, Tom Hill from the RFU and Liz Eaton, of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, were enlightened about the diversity of services that the Enterprise Partners cover. All discovered new business opportunities and ways in which they can improve their existing operations.
Tom Hill, Marketing Manager of the RFU, said, “the concept of the Speed-Networking Event was excellent, giving members a real insight into the breadth of activity amongst Enterprise Partners. I’m sure all members took away some new ideas about how they might develop their activities and that the event marked the start of some closer working relationships. I look forward to taking part in future events of its kind.”
Similarly the day enabled Enterprise Partners to promote their services to the CCPR members and also catch up with members with whom they already work. The Enterprise Partners all have track records in supplying the sports and leisure industry and offer quality services in a range of industries including IT solutions, finance and sports marketing consultancy.
James Conchie, Director of Consortea, one of the newest Enterprise Partners, stated, “the speed-networking format was an undoubted success. It focuses the mind and means your time is spent most effectively. Definitely a worthwhile first meeting for us.” Gary McLeod, Director of long-standing Enterprise Partner Traveleads, added, “it was great to have access to multiple members in one place. It was a good effort by Goodform.”
Goodform, the Warwick based Sports Marketing Company, who have recently taken on the management of the Enterprises scheme on behalf of the CCPR, are planning to make the events more frequent and varied both in terms of activity and location. A number are planned giving CCPR members and Enterprise Partners the chance to network and discover potential opportunities with each other.
For further information contact Jonathan Cockcroft at Goodform on 01926 458180.
