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One Year to Go: Sir Clive Woodward is SJA guest

With the London Games just one year away, Sir Clive Woodward, performance director of the British Olympic Association, is the SJA’s latest high-profile lunch guest.

SJA lunch guest: Sir Clive Woodward

Sir Clive will be our guest at our regular venue on Fleet Street on Thursday August 18, available to answer questions about the progress being made towards the 2012 London Olympics.

This SJA lunch represents an outstanding opportunity for feature writers, chief sports writers and correspondents to meet the man charged with delivering gold in the Olympic Stadium next summer.

The lunch will be at the Olde Cock Tavern and is open to those who are not members of the SJA. Demand for tickets is expected to be high, and to ensure we maintain the relaxed, intimate atmosphere that helps generate plenty of backpage headlines, there is a strict limit on the number of tickets for sale.

The two-course lunch has to be booked in advance, and costs £25 (plus VAT) for SJA members and £40 (plus VAT) for others.

As is usual at SJA lunches, our guest of honour is prepared to answer questions from the floor, although we expect attendees to respect his wishes if he makes any “off the record” remarks.

Journalists hard at work at a typical, headline-generating SJA lunch. Photo by Steve Rowe/SJA

Provision will also be made for a separate briefing for Sunday newspaper writers. We hope to make rights-free images available from the event.

Please note: all attendees are also expected to ensure that they make mention of the Sports Journalists’ Association event in their published or broadcast reports.

If you needed any convincing of the value of these lunches in terms of generating worthwhile storylines, please check this week’s coverage of our first One Year to Go lunch with UK Athletics’ Charles van Commenee last Thursday:


HOW TO BOOK
The SJA lunch will take place from 12.30pm at Ye Olde Cock Tavern, 22 Fleet Street on Thursday, August 18.

The venue is less than half a mile from Blackfriars, Temple and Chancery Lane stations and City Thameslink rail. Click here for a map of the location.

Places are expected to be in great demand and will be allocated on a first-come, first-reserved basis, with preference given to SJA members.

The cost is £25 (plus VAT) for fully paid-up SJA members, and £40 (plus VAT) for non-members, to include a two-course meal and coffee. Guests are expected to buy their own drinks.

All attendees will be invoiced by the SJA Treasurer.

Contact Steven Downes by email to website@sportsjournalists.co.uk (please indicate whether a vegetarian meal or if you have other special dietary requirements).

All details are subject to change.

First posted July 18


UPCOMING SJA DATES

  • Mon Sep 12: SJA Autumn Golf Day, Muswell Hill GC. Click here for more details and to book yourself in for the day.
  • Wed Dec 7: SJA 2011 British Sports Awards – Booking now open. For more details, click here.

All details subject to alteration. Keep checking sportsjournalists.co.uk for updates