The NSW Rugby Union "has backed down in a bitter dispute with the Australian Rugby Union over controversial new user-pays insurance and participation levies set to hit club land's grassroots." Under an agreement reached at the last minute between the NSWRU and the ARU, NSW "agreed to implement a new national participation levy" worth about A$900,000 ($700,000) to the state union, but will shield struggling clubs from any extra cost stemming from changes to the national insurance scheme. Clubs "are being forced to move to a per-player insurance model" -- worth A$60 a senior and A$8 a junior -- instead of the existing per-team fee of A$1,790 for seniors and A$140 for juniors (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 2/4). ... The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority told the Australian Football League that "it will not support a special deal allowing Essendon players accused of doping to take part in NAB Challenge games." ASADA "is adamant players participating in the pre-season competition should lose their right to backdated bans if later found guilty by an AFL tribunal" (HERALD SUN, 2/4). ... The England & Wales Cricket Board said that cricket umpires "should be forced to retire at the age of 65 because their reactions become too slow for the game." ECB Umpires Manager Chris Kelly said that "it was right to dismiss two long-standing umpires, under a rule that stops them working beyond the male age of retirement." Peter Willey, 65, and 64-year-old George Sharp, who together have 45 years of first-class umpiring experience between them, "have taken the ECB to an employment tribunal, claiming unfair dismissal and age discrimination" (London TELEGRAPH, 2/3). ... Despite the pull out of Chinese Volleyball League side Guangzhou Evergrande, the CVL "still saw a boost" in the '14-15 season. Chinese volleyball administrative center Deputy Dir Li Quanqiang said that the season of '14-15 "was considered an eventful one for Chinese volleyball, as there are much more young players have emerged than before." He also said "that the volleyball league is in fine health although the professionalization process moved slowly" (XINHUA, 2/4).
