Corrupt sports betting and match-fixing was a high profile issue in the lead-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games and continues to dominate the sports headlines. In this article Kendrah Potts looks at what we can learn from some of the processes that were put in place for the London 2012 Olympic Games to identify those involved in conduct which could undermine the integrity of sport.

Andy Parkinson, CEO of UK Anti-Doping talks to LawInSport about his career and his work during London 2012.

Find out how he moved from the Paralympic movement to UK Anti-Doping and then onto running what is recognised as the most successful Olympic and Paralympic anti-doping programme.

Most of what has been written in relation to the modern Olympic movement has focused on the Games or more recently on the failings (both in terms of ethics and more practically of governance) of those operating within the Olympic movement. Yet the Olympic movement was intended by Pierre de Coubertin, the central figure in the revival of the Olympic Games, to be based upon a philosophy, 'Olympism'. This book evaluates the moral project of Olympism, developing an analysis of the changing value positions adopted in relation to the ideology of Olympism from the 1890s to the present day. The book also explores contemporary concerns with youth, governance, sport for development and international relations.

By Dikaia Chatziefstathiou and Ian P. Henry

Before the London 2012 Paralympic Games ('the Games') began this summer I attended a talk by Michael Beloff QC, a leading sports law practitioner and prominent Court of Arbitration for Sport ('CAS') arbitrator, titled 'CAS and the Olympics 2012'. At the end of his review of the cases before the CAS ad hoc Division ('AHD') at the Olympics a question was asked, "Is there going to be an AHD at the Paralympics?" He replied that there wouldn't be because the International Paralympic Committee ('IPC') had not asked for one.

Three Paralympic powerlifting athletes tested positive for human growth hormones prior to the London Paralympic games. The athletes, two from Russia and one from Georgia, were tested as part of the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) most efficient and effective testing regime ever implemented at a Paralympic games. Each athlete has received a two year ban and £1200 fine for the offences.

The GB wheelchair rugby team finished a very credible fifth at the London Paralymics.

The team was mixed and included Kylie Grimes. In 2006, an 18-year-old Grimes sustained serious injuries, leaving her paralysed from the chest down, when she dived into a swimming pool at the home of a friend. Her subsequent claim gives an interesting insight into the courts' perspective on sports-related risk: Grimes v Hawkins [2011] EWHC 2006.

With the start of the London 2012 Paralympic Games less than a week away I came across a disconcerting phenomenon I had never previously been aware of: "boosting". "Boosting" involves intentionally raising one's blood pressure to stimulate the body's energy and endurance, allowing those Paralympians who practice it to artificially enhance their levels of performance. In a survey completed in 2009, funded partly by the International Paralympic Committee ('IPC') and partly by the World Anti-Doping Agency ('WADA'), it was found that nearly a fifth of the 99 Paralympic athletes surveyed had "boosted", which I am sure you would agree is a worrying proportion. Indeed the real figure is thought to be closer to a third.

The Sport Lawyer and everyone in the Sports Group at Thomas Eggar LLP wishes Team GB and all the athletes competing at London 2012 the best of luck for the coming fortnight. It is sure to be a great celebration of sport and competition.

In this Olympic special edition of The Sport Lawyer blog we share our views on topcia Olypmic issues:

• To select or not to select....
• Disputes at the Games?
• The Sports Resolutions Pro Bono Legal Service
• Fighting ambush marketing – Paddy Power V LOCOG
• Use of Twitter by competitors at the Games 

With the London Olympic and Paralympic Games now less than 6 months away businesses are being urged by the organisers to put in place measures for coping with the challenges which could arise during the Games. According to Deloittes, in a report following a survey last year, over two thirds of UK businesses expected the Games to have virtually no impact on their ability to operate as usual and had no plans for dealing with the potential disruption or any employee relations issues which may occur. However, in a survey in January this year, Deloittes found that most businesses have now assessed or intend to assess the impact the Games will have. So, what should employers be doing in this regard and what, if any measures, should they be taking?

Fans of Eamonn Holmes, Christine Hamilton and Michael Parkinson will have been perturbed to read that the ‘Great Exhibition 2012’, a cultural and social event taking place in London next year supported by them, has reportedly received an objection from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (‘LOCOG’) to its attempt to register its name as a trade mark.

Ricardo Gentzsch of Schiller Abogados, Bilbao, and Ryan S.Hilbert of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, Palo Alto examine FIFA’s and UEFA’s eligibility rules for a FIFA World Cup national team and to compare those rules to those of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

James Hennigan and Tim Taylor of Hammonds explain what ambush marketing is, why it can sometimes be unlawful and how companies can avoid falling foul of ambush marketing rules when planning marketing activities and campaigns.

By Gary Rice, Beauchamps Solicitors

The UK government is conducting a review of the ‘listed events’ legislation which ensures that certain sporting events must be aired on free-to-air television. As you might expect, there are two sides lobbying strongly. The BBC has argued that there are millions of ‘main-eventers’.

By Gary Rice, Beauchamps Solicitors

UK Sport has agreed to enter a side letter arrangement with British athletes after some British athletes expressed disquiet at the Team 2012 sponsorship arrangements. Team 2012 is an initiative designed to get funding for British athletes for the 2012 Olympics Games.

The Government must ensure that lottery money diverted from Wales to help fund the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics is recouped as soon as possible, MPs say in a report published today.