thousands of miles to the west and the Oceania National Olympic Committees’ General Assembly in New

Zealand.

  The fact that BackSoftball’s team in New Zealand was an all-female affair reflects our

  The presence of Danielle Stewart in New Zealand also underscored the global nature of softball

    By David Sparkes - 20 March 2009   Recent cutbacks at UK Sport have meant there is a massive financial hole to fill if Britain is to qualify two teams for the water polo tournament at the London 2012 Olympics.  

been spending money more wisely in previous years instead of taking trips further afield such as to New

Zealand/Canada etc.

Raise awareness fund 2 teams in the Olympics and give hope to new and existing players.

By parent of a new player 23 April 2009 at 16:57pm It's an unfortunate fact that water polo are not

By New B.S.CEOneeded 7 May 2009 at 08:04am I'm getting a bit fed up with all the negativity about

been spending money more wisely in previous years instead of taking trips further afield such as to New

Zealand/Canada etc.

Raise awareness fund 2 teams in the Olympics and give hope to new and existing players.

By parent of a new player 23 April 2009 at 16:57pm It's an unfortunate fact that water polo are not

By New B.S.CEOneeded 7 May 2009 at 08:04am I'm getting a bit fed up with all the negativity about

March 17 - Jonah Lomu today became the latest international star to throw his weight behind rugby’s campaign for Olympic re-inclusion at the 2016 Games.  

The former New Zealand star was in Dubai earlier this month to watch the World Cup Sevens 2009 and

Lomu played for New Zealand when they won the gold medal in sevens at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in

“It is effective in reaching new audiences, broadcasters and sponsors and I think Sevens would

Zealand crash out.  

"Not just for the teams who were competing in Dubai, but in reaching out and developing new markets.

March 17 - Jonah Lomu today became the latest international star to throw his weight behind rugby’s campaign for Olympic re-inclusion at the 2016 Games.  

The former New Zealand star was in Dubai earlier this month to watch the World Cup Sevens 2009 and

Lomu played for New Zealand when they won the gold medal in sevens at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in

“It is effective in reaching new audiences, broadcasters and sponsors and I think Sevens would

Zealand crash out.  

"Not just for the teams who were competing in Dubai, but in reaching out and developing new markets.

- Heineken have signed up to become the third international partner of the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New

Zealand, it was announced today.

further the promotion of the game as the global rugby community looks ahead to Rugby World Cup 2011 in New

Zealand."  

starting in early 2010 to support the partnership, building up to the opening match of the tournament when New

Zealand takes on Tonga on September 9 and running through to the Final on October 23.  

MARCH 7 - AUSTRALIA created history today in Dubai when they won the inaugural women's tournament at the World Cup Rugby Sevens as Wales upset the odds to win the men's event.

However, when Rebecca Tavo was sent to the sin bin for two minutes, New Zealand made the most of the

The 80-1 Welsh outsiders had already rocked the rugby world by knocking out heavyweights New Zealand

But John’s men set the tone on a remarkable finals day with a 15-14 victory over New Zealand, their second

Like New Zealand, England crashed out in the quarter-finals, while defending champions Fiji were beaten

Wales had earlier made that sensational start to the day by toppling the top seeds, New Zealand, with

MARCH 7 - AUSTRALIA created history today in Dubai when they won the inaugural women's tournament at the World Cup Rugby Sevens as Wales upset the odds to win the men's event.

However, when Rebecca Tavo was sent to the sin bin for two minutes, New Zealand made the most of the

The 80-1 Welsh outsiders had already rocked the rugby world by knocking out heavyweights New Zealand

But John’s men set the tone on a remarkable finals day with a 15-14 victory over New Zealand, their second

Like New Zealand, England crashed out in the quarter-finals, while defending champions Fiji were beaten

Wales had earlier made that sensational start to the day by toppling the top seeds, New Zealand, with

  PRIME MINISTER Gordon Brown has tonight backed England's bid to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

England's leading rivals to host the 2015 World Cup are Japan, who controversially missed out to New

Zealand on the 2011 tournament, and South Africa while Italy and Scotland also registered their interest

using the facilities they have, particularly the Millennium Stadium but also the Ospreys and maybe the new

  FEBRUARY 17 - NETBALL is getting a Twenty20-style makeover with a new tournament to be held in Manchester

  The top six netball nations will play by new netball rules announced today by the International

England, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Samoa and Malawi are all due to take part.  

NWDA), a launch event in Manchester’s Arndale Centre saw the unveiling of the rules and logo for the new

promising a fast, ferocious and vibrant competition raising the profile of the sport and attracting new

Netball is planning to launch a bid to be included as an Olympic sport in 2020 and is hoping that the new

  FEBRUARY 16 - TRIATHLON NEW ZEALAND has appointed Greg Fraine (pictured), a former Commonwealth Games

silver medallist cyclist, as its new head coach to oversee preparations for London 2012.

  The 46-year-old had been a coach on the New Zealand team that competed in last year's Olympics in

executive of Tri NZ, said: "We attracted interest in this role from right around the globe; such is New

"The fact the person to come through that process as the number one candidate was a New Zealander is

Zealand team that competed in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.  

New Zealand has an outstanding record in triathlon since the sport made its debut at the Olympics in

FEBRUARY 14 - OLYMPIC team Chef de Mission Dave Currie (pictured) has been appointed manager of the New

Zealand cricket team for the series against India starting this month, it was announced today.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Justin Vaughan confirmed the appointment for a three-year period

Currie was head of the Halberg Trust from 1988-2005, and was New Zealand Chef de Mission at the 2002

It had been reported that former Rowing New Zealand (RNZ) chief executive Craig Ross had been appointed

 FEBRUARY 5 - NEW ZEALAND athletics officials do not think that Valerie Vili, the Olympic shot put champion

 The 24-year-old, who in Beijing last year won New Zealand's first athletics gold medal in athletics

Zealand to Britain, partly because of the extra support he would receive here in the build-up to London

But Scott Newman, the chief executive of Athletics New Zealand (ANZ), believes that Vili, who is also

Zealand with a real boost, Newman said.    

Olympic and Commonwealth golds really resonate with the New Zealand public.    

  FEBRUARY 3 - SOUTH AFRICA'S Government has offered its support for the country to bid for the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cup tournaments as England consider withdrawing because of the economic crisis.

A bid to host the 2011 World Cup was unsuccessful and the tournament will be played in New Zealand.

  FEBRUARY 3 - VALERIE VILI (pictured), the Olympic shot put champion, today pleaded for more financial support in the build-up to London 2012 but claimed that if cash was her motivation she would compete for Britain.

Vili receives an annual grant of NZ$40,000 (£14,116) from Sport & Recreation New Zealand, the country's

"I stay in New Zealand because I'm loyal.  

my father [he was British], because you can make a lot of money, but I don't do that because I love New

Zealand."  

Villi, who was born to a Tongan mother and Scottish father, claimed New Zealand's first Olympic gold