http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk...iteid=50002&headline=World Championships plea ------------------------------------------------------------ World Championships plea May 15 2003 By Lisa Mccarthy, Evening Mail Pressure is mounting on a sports organisation to reschedule the World Indoor Badminton Championships in the city. The championships were postponed amid fears of the Sars virus. The event's army of volunteers have thrown their weight behind a renewed bid to bring the championships to the city. They had originally been due to take place this week. Stephen Baddeley, chief executive of the Badminton Association of England, said he has been "swamped" with offers of support if given the chance to stage the championships at the National Indoor Arena. "The response has been quick and positive," said Mr Baddeley. "With them behind us we are even more determined to press on with our plans." The BAE is hopeful the championships will be given the green light now the NIA has offered the weeks commencing August 4 and 11 as possible dates for the event. Mr Baddeley said the £280,000 lottery cash provided by UK Sport to stage the event was still available and the television companies who were signed up to broadcast the champion-ships were still on board. "We need a quick decision so we can retain momentum gained from the work done so far as well as reducing the cost of the recent postponement," added Mr Baddeley. The decision to postpone the championships, which had attracted 337 players from 48 countries, was taken because some of the leading players were from Asia, where Sars has taken hold. Fans had already snapped up 7,000 tickets for the postponed championships which could cost the city up to £2 million in lost revenue. Neil Cameron, chief executive of the International Badminton Association, said that a decision over the fixture would be taken after the IBF's next executive meeting in June. "It is feasible that it will go ahead but we will have to monitor the situation with Sars," he said.
Lets play ball I think August may be a good time for WC 2003 to go on. As long as all the necessary precautions are being taken, I think the game should go on unless there's a sudden rise in new cases of SARS. Unfortunately, the Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia Opens are doomed.
Re: Lets play ball Yeah, I hope they'll stage the WC soon! (So I can record and convert to VCDs... and also share with you guys!) Singapore, Indonesian and Malaysian Open might not take place but I'm keeping my fingers crossed! S'pore will be offically declared SARS free today if there're no new cases. There have been no new cases for 2 weeks plus! Perhaps by August, everything will have stabalized.
