Olympic Boost For Buddies Who Wish To See Heroes Train

Buddies could soon have the opportunity to see Olympic heroes training at close quarters.  

Scottish sporting facilities are being asked to register their interest in hosting pre-Games training camps for teams preparing for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

London 2012 organisers are producing a guide that will showcase the best sporting facilities that the UK has to offer.  Scotland’s national sports agency, sportscotland, will co-ordinate applications from Scottish venues that wish to be a part of the guide. 

Facilities interested in hosting training camps can find out more about the application process by visiting the London 2012 website at www.London2012/trainingcamps  

GOLF DRIVING THE ECONOMY  

Whether golf should be an Olympic sport is a matter of debate.  Whether it is good for our economy isn’t.  New figures suggest that the Senior British Open Championship at Turnberry will result in a £1.2 million windfall for the Scottish economy.  Renfrewshire will benefit from the influx of foreign golf lovers jetting into Glasgow Airport for the tournament.  By continuing to promote Scotland as the “home of golf” we will see golf tourism offering enormous potential for economic growth.   

SUPER SAINTS 

To sporting matters closer to home. Congratulations to St Mirren FC for their fine 2-1 victory away to Inverness Caley Thistle at the weekend.  Gus MacPherson and the lads are off to a flier in the SPL. Let’s hope that they can sustain this form throughout the season.  With a good squad, Premier League status and an excellent new stadium in the pipeline the future’s looking bright for Saints.   BIG DEAL FOR SMALL BUSINESSES  Small businesses in Renfrewshire have received a boost after the Labour-led Executive unveiled a range of measures this week to improve their chances of winning public service contracts. Small and medium enterprises have traditionally suffered when vying for public service business because of a lack of information, excessive red tape, too little transparency and inadequate debriefing.  However, all that is about to change.  The Executive has got together with business leaders, local authorities, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, CBI Scotland and the Federation of Small Businesses to create a blueprint for future small business success.  It’s called the Supplier Charter.  The introduction of the Charter gives businesses a right to “adequate publicity”. This is beneficial to small businesses because it ensures that lower-value contracts are more widely advertised. Small suppliers will also benefit from the creation of a model questionnaire for use across the entire public sector. This will tackle unnecessary bureaucracy in the tender process, making it easier for local companies to compete in the marketplace.  In addition, greater transparency in the form of a right to a debriefing will increase the chances of small companies gaining contracts.  Small businesses will also benefit from the creation of an internet portal, which will give them simpler access to authorities’ sites.  The introduction of such measures is necessary if small companies in Renfrewshire are to continue flourishing.  It is only by supporting small, local and regional businesses that our community will prosper.