British Athletics has today announced that the Müller British Athletics Championships will take place on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th September, with events to be held behind closed doors at the Manchester Regional Arena. 
 
The format and shape of the competition and guidelines that will be adhered to for competitors and those helping to stage the championship will be subject to the government guidelines in place and will be communicated in due course.
 
The championships will be broadcast live on Friday night on BBC2, 1830-2100 and Saturday, afternoon on BBC1, 1315-1630.
 
Joanna Coates, CEO of UK Athletics said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our athletes an opportunity to compete and still become British Champions at the end of the summer in what has been the most unprecedented of circumstances for all sport.
 
“People will be aware of my passion for women’s sport and I am grateful that the gender mix in athletics means everyone gets to return to the field of play. However, for those sports where men and women compete in separate structures, I urge those organisations to ensure efforts getting women’s sports back up and running are championed with the same passion and sense of urgency.
 
“Thanks to the BBC for supporting us to showcase our sport under the Friday evening lights, and also to Manchester City Council for their investment into the facility and working with us to confirm we could stage this event in such challenging times.
 
“We are sorry that we cannot host our brilliant athletics supporters this year but hope for a healthy return for fans at sports events next year and to welcoming spectators to next year’s Olympic trials scheduled for 26-27th June.”
 
Councillor Luthfur Rahman, Executive Member for Skills Culture and Leisure said: 
“Although Mancunians will sadly not be able to attend in person, we’re delighted to be working with British Athletics to enable the 2020 Müller British Athletics Championships event to go ahead.  
“As a world-class sporting city with elite facilities such as Manchester Regional Arena, plus a strong commitment to encouraging and widening sporting participation, Manchester is the natural choice to play host to this prestigious event.”
 
Ticket purchasers will receive an automatic refund via the method of payment originally used to buy tickets and will not need to do anything or make contact. However, given the extraordinary circumstances and high volumes placed on banks during these times, the refund process may take slightly longer than usual.
 
Finally, discussions are still ongoing with the Wanda Diamond League in relation to the Muller Grand Prix Gateshead which we can confirm is no longer scheduled for 16th August.   We have identified 12th September as a possible alternative however confirmation cannot be given at this time due to UK Government guidelines and restrictions and the event will now be held behind closed doors. Ticket purchasers will receive a full refund.

Parents are being offered an online ‘sports day at home’ pack thanks to a leading housebuilder’s partnership with Team GB.
 
With the current Covid-19 crisis still unfolding, many parents have had to get used to home schooling amid the uncertainty of when their children will return to school.
 
Now Persimmon Homes Central, thanks to its ongoing partnership with The British Olympic Association, is offering parents the chance to download special sports packs for free and start planning their own sports day at home.
 
World Championship silver medallist and Team GB Tokyo 2020 hopeful Laviai Nielsen (athletics) helped to launch the virtual sports day scheme.
 
The campaign also includes a social media competition asking people to take a picture or video of their home sports day and either comment on Facebook or upload to Instagram with the hashtag #PersimmonSportsDay to be in with a chance of winning a £250 Amazon voucher.
 
Neil Williams, managing director of Persimmon Homes Central,  said: “We are all going through unprecedented times, and we hope that our sports day campaign will bring a smile to people’s faces and help households plan a day of fun and activity. These packs are designed to help inspire the sporting passion of the younger generation.”
 
The sports day packs support the British Olympic Foundation’s youth engagement programme, Get Set, created to inspire a generation of young people and celebrate the Olympic values of respect, excellence and friendship.
 
Last year, the housebuilder supported schools by sending out free Team GB sports day packs, to help give events a special Olympic and Team GB twist.
 
To download a virtual sports day pack, visit https://www.persimmonhomes.com/sportsday

After recent events that uncovered the appalling lack of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) presence at a leadership level in the sport sector here in the UK, Recently it was reported there were only 5 black women on sports boards out of 415. We at Sporting Equals felt it key to highlight the lack of equality of opportunity in recruitment in our sector and how it impacts BAME communities.

Equality of opportunity in employment translates to, fairness in which all job applicants are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers or prejudices or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. Allowing each viable candidate an equal chance of success in securing employment.

The lack of equality of opportunity is prevalent in the sport sector. With potentially 95% of senior management, board members and the workforce being white. This lack of presence had already been acknowledged with change implemented by the FA to remedy the problem of racial prejudice hindering hiring practices in the sector looking at coaching specifically.

The FA introduced the ‘Rooney Rule’ – this rule implements a procedure whereby sporting authorities– must interview a BAME applicant when recruiting for senior coaching positions, on the basis that they meet the role specification. There is no quota or preference given to BAME communities in the hiring of candidates the rule simply reinforced equality of opportunity to worthy candidates, while accounting for unconscious and conscious bias against race. This rule first trialled in the USA to aid with similar issues of racial prejudice impacting hiring procedure in the NFL.

The FA followed suit and adopted the ‘Rooney Rule’ in 2018.

We feel it is pivotal to replicate the ‘Rooney Rule’ across the sport sector at every level from Board and senior positions right down to entry level, to ensure the eradication of nepotism within the sector tackling conscious and unconscious bias and dismantling of racially prejudiced hiring practices by allowing for candidates of all backgrounds who fit the role specifications to have an equal footing. We wish to go beyond coaching and leadership, looking at the sector as a whole. We must extend this rule across the board to create fairer and more equal recruiting practices in our sector. Recently the Minister for Sport Nigel Huddleston highlighted that he is open to looking at targets and reviewing implementing a ‘Rooney Rule’ structure here in the UK.

There is a severe lack of representation, diversity and equality when looking at race in the UK’s sport sector. An implementation of the ‘Rooney Rule’ across all levels of the sport sector would only positively affirm and ensure we are vetting, interviewing and hiring the best possible candidate – thus allowing for and protecting equality of opportunity.

We must now act and commit to making changes that will give real and visible results which we can measure and evaluate, this is a necessity if progress and equality is to be achieved.

Famous Birmingham site, Sarehole Mill, is asking Birmingham’s citizens to grab their trainers and take part in a new 5K challenge, Run of the Mill, to help raise vital funds for Birmingham Museums Trust.

Over the last 11 weeks Sarehole Mill has adapted its offering to keep engaged with the local community and now the team are encouraging us all the explore the area around the 250-year-old watermill and enjoy the benefits of getting active with this new event.  

You can run, walk or jog the 5K distance anytime during July, as long as you start or finish at Sarehole Mill and complete the distance in one go. The £10 entry fee will help to raise money to support the work of Birmingham Museums, a charity with nine extraordinary museum and historic properties across the city, including Sarehole Mill, which is the inspiration for this fun run.

Participants will get an exclusive Run of the Mill medal, which they will collect from the Sarehole Mill Community Shop and can go the extra mile and fundraise further to help Birmingham Museums if they are able to do so.

During this time the team at Sarehole Mill have worked hard to adapt and support the local community. You may have visited the Community Shop, which is stocked with essentials, such as flour and tin goods; enjoyed a freshly baked loaf using the Bake and Take service made by resident baker Sis Kaur; or ordered a recipe kit box, with everything you need to make one of Sarehole Mill’s popular Bakehouse pizzas.  

While Sarehole Mill has been able to adapt, the other eight Birmingham Museums’ sites, including Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Thinktank, and Aston Hall, have had to remain closed because of the Coronavirus pandemic. These initiatives have helped to keep Sarehole Mill to stay connected to local people, but this continues to be a challenging time for Birmingham Museums.  

Alex Nicholson-Evans, Commercial Director at Birmingham Museums Trust, said: “We’ve had such an amazing level of support from the local community at Sarehole Mill during this time, and it’s been fantastic to see people visiting the shop, buying fresh bread and sharing positive feedback about the Bakehouse. But this is still a very challenging time for Birmingham Museums, as the majority of our sites are still closed. Run of the Mill is a great way to help us raise funds, whilst also getting active.

“Many of us are appreciating the outdoors more than ever and we wanted to capture this by launching Run of the Mill throughout July. Whether you walk, jog or run, you’ll get to explore the beautiful surroundings of Sarehole Mill, receive an exclusive medal, and help Birmingham Museums too.”  

For more information about how to enter the run and how to fundraise visit www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/blog/posts/run-of-the-mill-sarehole-mill-fun-run-open-for-entries. This includes a 5K route suggestion.

Formula 1 has launched an equality and diversity taskforce to increase the opportunities for minority groups.

The move is part of a wider commitment that will also see F1 support initiatives fighting against the coronavirus pandemic and promote sustainability.

It coincides with the start of the delayed 2020 season in Austria in July.

Formula 1 boss Chase Carey said: “At our first race in Austria, Formula 1 will stand united to say loud and clear that racism

It follows after Lewis Hamilton announced plans to set up a commission in his name to increase diversity in motorsport.

The current – and six time – world champion said that he wants the Hamilton Commission to make “real, tangible and measurable changes”.

In a newspaper column he said: “Despite my success in the sport, the institutional barriers that have kept F1 highly exclusive persist.

“It is not enough to point to me, or to a single new Black hire, as a meaningful example of progress”.

The return of Premier League football last night caused a nationwide spike in data traffic on the O2 network from the week before, as fans streamed the games live.
 
Data traffic started to increase after 4pm and began to peak at 6pm.

The busiest hour was 8pm – just before kick-off for the Manchester City vs Arsenal match – where O2 saw a 13% increase in the amount of data used nationwide.
 
The home cities of the four teams playing last night saw differing patterns. Interestingly, Liverpool saw one of the largest spikes (21% at 7pm) as fans hoped for a potential City loss.

Sheffield – 7pm 24% increase in data traffic
Birmingham – 7pm 13% increase in data traffic
Manchester – 8pm 21% increase in data traffic
London – 8pm 11% increase in data traffic 

Brendan O’Reilly, Chief Technology Officer at O2, said: “Our data shows that the football is bringing Britain together again – whether that’s chatting via text or calls, or online sporting ‘Watch Parties’ – with yesterday’s matches allowing us to return to some sense of normality. During lockdown, O2 has doubled elements of our network capacity to ensure Britain stays connected and it’s great to see we’ve been able to help fans watch football again.”
  
Since the lockdown began, O2 has offered its customers 388 million free minutes, as well as 3 million GB of data to NHS employees at the forefront of efforts to battle the coronavirus and rebuild Britain.
 
O2 experienced an initial 25% increase in phone calls as Britons checked on their friends and family, with people spending 30% longer on the phone since lockdown.