Off the dribble - Teams qualify for London 2012 Olympics

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British Basketball teams are into the London 2012 Olympics

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Britain Awarded Spot in 2012 Olympic Basketball Field

The wait is over for Great Britain’s men’s and women’s national basketball teams. Basketball’s international ruling body, F.I.B.A. voted, 17-3, to include Team Great Britain in the 2012 Olympic tournaments during its Sunday meeting in Lyon, France.

It’s usually nearly automatic for the host country to be awarded a spot in the Olympic tournament, but the British teams had to prove they were worthy due to their weak competitive history. The British national teams have undertaken significant reorganization, and consequently won more games over the past two years of international play. The changes were significantly aided by adding N.B.A. and American university players.

The road to the London Games would have been difficult without the automatic bids, as both the men’s and women’s teams would have reach the finals of this summer’s EuroBasket tournaments.

“I’m really excited. We’re really happy to get it,” Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng, who will be one of the biggest stars of the British Olympic team, told the B.B.C. “We’ve been waiting for this decision for a while. We put in a lot of work to get to where we are. This is great for basketball back home. Basketball has been getting better and better and this is another step to where we want to get to.”

Former N.B.A. forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu, also part to Team Great Britain, added, “The thought that I could miss out on the Olympics in my home town has been haunting me for a while, but now it’s something to look forward to. Although we’ve got it now, I don’t think it will sink in for a while.

The British men’s team has only been in the Olympics once, and that was when London hosted the games in 1948. The British women have never participated in the Olympic tournament.

F.I.B.A.’s welcome news came with an order that Great Britain’s basketball federation must make further organizational progress. The English, Scottish and Welsh basketball federations merged temporarily in 2006 in an effort to qualify for the 2012 Games. They now must decide to make their new entity permanent, or be forced to disband after the 2016 Rio de Janiero Olympics.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720. www.spyns.com.

How to get tickets to the London Olympic in 2012 - Tickets on sale March 15, 2011

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Tickets will be hard to buy
 for many Olympic events

If you want a luxury tour to the London 2012 Olympics without the hassle of having to go into a ballot for Olympic session tickets, finding a hotel suite in already crowded hotels, and sorting out what attractions are the best in London that still have tickets available; then book an intimate tour with www.london-olympiad.com. We have impeccably planned 4, 5, 7, and 10 day small tour packages that include Olympic tickets (opening and closing as well as session tickets), Luxury and premiere hotels, VIP pass to some of London most sort after attractions and Royal treatment in a handful of afterhours tours exclusive to our clients. These are just a few of the benefits for travelling with Spyns. For Testimonials from past clients that have enjoyed the Spyns tour experience check out http://spyns.com/testimonials.asp

Winning the right to buy some of the 6.6 million London 2012 Olympic Games tickets will be a keenly sought-after prize next month, so bookmark this Telegraph guide to work out which of the 645 sessions you wish to apply for and which category of seat you can afford.

How do I buy tickets?

You can apply for tickets from between March 15, 2011 to April 26, 2011. Because tickets are not sold on a first-come, first-served basis, the orders can be submitted at any stage during the 42-day period. There is no advantage in applying early.

How do I submit my orders?

You can do this online at www.tickets.london2012.com or by filling in a paper form and posting it. Forms will be available from Lloyds TSB banks and through Bank of Scotland in Scotland, from March 15, 2011. In Northern Ireland, the forms will be available from public libraries.

How do I pay?

Online payment is exclusively by VISA debit card, VISA credit card or pre-paid card. Paper forms can be paid for by cheque or postal order as well as VISA.

Payments will be taken from successful applicants between May 10 and June 10. This is the same whether you are using VISA, cheque or postal order.

Is there a limit to how many tickets I can apply for?

Yes, each session has a ticket limit. This is clearly shown in the guide which follows. The most popular sessions, such as the opening ceremony, are limited to four tickets per order.

Most sessions have a limit of six, but some sessions held in big stadiums have a limit of 20.

What happens if the session I applied for is oversubscribed?

Organisers will conduct a ballot.

Can I have a second chance for my selected session at a different price point if it is oversubscribed?

Yes, you can indicate on the application whether you want to be considered for higher, lower, or both higher and lower price categories, as well as the category being ordered, for every session you for whcih you apply.

Organisers will determine the priority of ticket allocations – whether they ballot from the lowest price point or from the highest price point after the ticket process has closed.

What is included in the ticket price?

As well as the Olympic session, the ticket you purchase includes VAT and also a Travelcard for travel in zones 1-9.

Which events are most popular?

Track cycling, swimming, gymnastics and weightlifting will be highly sought after, mainly because these sports are played in smaller venues.

The opening and closing ceremonies, along with the athletics finals and beach volleyball, are also very popular.

How much will tickets cost?

Ticket prices are listed in our guide and range from £20 to £725. The top- of-the-range ticket price is £2,012 for a small number of the very best opening ceremony seats.

Organisers say that there will be a small number of opening ceremony seats at a price of £20.12.

What are my chances of getting tickets in each price category?

Organisers say that each price band has approximately the same number of seats available. Two notable exception to this are the opening and closing ceremonies, where the bulk of tickets are in the middle price bands.

How many tickets are available?

The public application process will involve 6.6 million of the total 8.8 million tickets available at the London 2012 Olympics.

A further two million Paralympics tickets will be sold in a similar process from Sept 9, 2011. Tickets for the London 2012 Festival (part of the Cultural Olympiad) will be available from October 2011.

Can I return tickets that I do not want?

Once you have apllied for the tickets you want, you cannot then cherry pick which tickets to keep, and you will be charged for all of the tickets you have been successfully allocated.

However, organisers will set up an online ticket exchange next year, where any unwanted tickets can be offered for sale (at face value) to other consumers.

Are the tickets available to people outside Britain?

Yes, the tickets and application process will be open to all of the European Union. People in the UK and designated European countries can apply through www.tickets.london2012.com

Do children pay the same prices?

At more than 220 lower-demand sessions the cost of the ticket is the same as the child’s age (up to age 16) on July 27, 2012). This £16 cap will also be offered to seniors aged 60 and over.

Are there any other avenues for buying tickets?

Organisers have already sold off a small percentage of tickets to premium ticket wholesaler Prestige Ticketing, which is packaging high-end corporate hospitality deals, while Jet Set Sports is packaging high-end deals for overseas markets which include luxury accommodation.

In addition, sponsor Thomas Cook is providing UK short break packages of accommodation, transport and event tickets for the Games from £99 up to £6499.

More ticketing information is available at www.thomascooksport.com/London-2012-Games and www.tickets.london2012.com

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720. www.spyns.com.