Carlo and Big Star underlined their already superior credentials by winning two of the toughest Grands Prix in Europe on consecutive weekends – Carlo at La Baule, France last Sunday and Big Star at the Global Champions Tour (GCT) Hamburg event yesterday, where he jumped one of the class’s only two triple clears.

“I have two absolutely fantastic horses. It makes my job a lot easier,” said Skelton, who over several years has nurtured both for London 2012, safe in the knowledge that owners Gary and Beverley Widdowson share his ambitions and have resisted offers to sell.

The remaining three show jumping riders for London 2012 are still to crystallise.  Scott Brash won the winter World Cup qualifier in Wellington, Florida with Hallo Sanctos, the expensive horse secured by Lords Harris and Kirkham during the December horse transfer window. But this pairing faces its only first real test against remaining team contenders in this coming week’s Rome superleague Nations Cup – Tina Fletcher, Guy Williams, Peter Charles and Will Funnell.

Ben Maher and Tripple X may be forgiven their fences down in the opening superleague at La Baule, having won the Olympia World Cup qualifier and more recently the GCT Valencia Grand Prix. Michael Whitaker is right back in the picture with the wayward Viking, runner-up in Valencia, though GIG Amai’s recent comeback (after minor injury) did not go smoothly in Hamburg today– clear in the first round, he retired from the second. John Whitaker is getting a good tune out of newcomer Maximillian, but with only two months to go it is asking a lot of even a Whitaker to deliver an Olympic performance from a horse with which he has so little history.

Time may also run out for Robert Smith. British team manager Rob Hoesktra has given Nations Cup opportunities to many more horse/rider combinations than his predecessors, but results alone do not make a team. Hoekstra needs a happy camp, and Smith’s dour assessment of Britain’s team medal prospects in a radio soundbite will not have endeared him to his peers. Smith has yet to be named for a 2012 superleague squad, as has Tim Stockdale who, against the odds, has fully recovered from the three broken vertebrae sustained last autumn.

Having said that, so few superleague Nations Cups take place before the London selection deadline that GCT shows seem equally relevant. This shift in emphasis may be even more marked from 2013 when the Nations Cups  is shaken-up, as recently announced by the FEI (International Equestrian Federation). Some have already warned about unintended consequences which will “play into the hands” of the GCT, a private jumping tour that owns its TV rights.  GCT was only embryonic in the previous Olympic cycle, but now stages 13 mega-money events a year, and regularly attracts Skelton, Maher and the rest of the world’s top 30. Jan Tops, the powerful Dutch horse dealer behind it, surreptitiously chose Olympic year to renege on an understanding that GCT would avoid the FEI’s superleague dates. The first deliberate clash is next weekend – Wiesbaden v Rome; who goes where is yet to become clear.

A relatively dry weekend has, ironically, seen no domestic eventing of significance. Laura Collett was the only Brit to take a possible Olympic team horse to Saumur in France, though her gamble did not pay off.  This spring, Rayef had appeared back on form after elimination at the European championships in 2011, and he led the dressage in Saumur. But yesterday he stopped twice at an accuracy fence, unseating his rider.

Rained-off Badminton and Chatsworth entrants mostly divert to the Subaru International at Houghton Hall in Norfolk next weekend, and the Equi-Trek Bramham Horse Trials in Yorkshire (June 7-10), both of which have doubled capacity to help riders of all nationalities.

Ironically, the reduced-length London cross-country  – because of shortage of space at Greenwich – means that the 2012  Olympic competition will be as much akin to a one-day international as a full-blown three-day like Badminton. This has not, though, assisted contenders for the fifth team place: Francis Whittington and Zara Phillips were still required to show top strings Sir Percival and High Kingdom at a full blown three-day. Phillips has, by necessity, entered Bramham, though this does not seem to be her favourite venue – she last started a horse here in 2007.

Meanwhile, equestrian officials are putting a brave face on the logistical challenge that is the London 2012 equestrian park at Greenwich; we now learn that, aside from stadium stability problems caused by unprecedented rain and mud, LOCOG is extending construction works into the evening and weekend – a significant increase on the originally agreed hours – to catch up.

It must therefore have been a relief to present an established venue for Britain’s 2015 European eventing championship bid. This is Blair Castle, already home to a popular annual three-star. Horse trials organiser extraordinaire Alex Lochore runs Blair – Houghton Hall too – and took time out from his day job as eventing manager at Greenwich to join Sports Minister Hugh Robertson in a recent deputation to FEI HQ in Lausanne.

Blair would be the first-ever FEI championship in Scotland but there is another reason why it should be considered.  Aachen has applied to host combined European eventing, dressage and show jumping championships in 2015, but while the FEI has an appetite for multi-discipline festivals it should remember that 2015 regional championships qualify nations for Rio de Janeiro 2016.  To hand any one country the home advantage in all three Olympic disciplines would be grossly unfair.

Article source: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/pippacuckson/100024945/london-2012-olympics-skelton-finally-set-for-a-podium-place/

They’re focused on the Games and they’ve got a big job at the moment. Beyond
the Games, who knows what will come out the other side?”

UK Athletics is hoping to capitalise on the spotlight that will be shone on
the sport this summer, especially as the country will be hosting the
Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 and the World Championships in London
three years later.

Coldplay, meanwhile, have been unveiled as the headline act of this year’s
Paralympic Games closing ceremony. The ceremony, entitled “Festival of
Flame” and featuring around 2,000 performers, will be staged on the evening
of Sept 9 to formally mark the end of the 11-day event.

“Being asked to play at the closing celebrations for the Paralympic athletes
in London is such a great honour for us,” said Coldplay lead singer Chris
Martin.

“It will be one of the biggest nights of our lives and we’re very excited to
try to create a performance for the last night of the Games that will close
London 2012 in style.”

Article source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/paralympic-sport/9278589/London-2012-Olympics-Paralympian-Sophia-Warner-lands-key-job-with-UK-Athletics.html

Article source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/20052012/58/london-2012-daley-gets-brilliant-gold.html

By
Sportsmail Reporter

PUBLISHED:

05:50 EST, 20 May 2012

|

UPDATED:

10:04 EST, 20 May 2012

A Royal Marine who lost an arm and both legs when he stood on a landmine in Afghanistan described carrying the Olympic Torch as a ‘humbling experience’ on Sunday.

Mark Ormrod is a triple amputee who was told he would never walk again after he was badly injured on Christmas Eve 2007 while serving with 40 Commando.

The former Royal Marine, from Plymstock, Plymouth, Devon, has defied doctors to become an inspiration for many people with his charity work.

Humbling: Mark Ormrod carries the Olympic flame on the second day

The 28-year-old compared carrying the Olympic Torch with the completion of his gruelling 3,500-mile charity run across America two years ago.

The married father-of-one, who now works for the Royal Marines Association, and a team of Royal Marines completed the eight-week coast-to-coast journey named the ‘Gumpathon’ in aid of injured service personnel.

‘It’s on the same level,’ he said.

‘Anything to do with representing my country is a really big thing for me.

‘It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and would love to continue doing.

‘In fact, this probably ranks slightly higher than that and I am just proud to be a part of it.’

Mr Ormrod added: ‘”Humbled” is the world I would use. Humbled at all the people that contacted me to say they had nominated me and then to get selected.

‘It is a humbling experience and hopefully I’ll do Plymouth and England proud.’

Mr Ormrod, who carried the flame from Finnigan Road to Sugar Mill Business Park in Plymouth, said he was incredibly nervous ahead of his big moment.

Speaking at the Plymouth Life Centre, he said: ‘It’s all real now.

‘We came in here this morning and being greeted by all these people – it’s finally starting to hit home now.’

Mr Ormrod and the other Plymouth torchbearers were at the new £46.5million leisure centre for a ceremony to light the first torch to mark the start of day two of the relay.

Magic moment: Aaron Lloyd (left) and Jordan Anderton carry the flame

‘Now that it’s starting it’s a really exciting time,’ he said.

‘I’m a little bit nervous now. I wasn’t until I walked out here and saw all these people that I wasn’t expecting.

‘I’m looking forward to it. It’s a very proud day.’

This year Mr Ormrod – nicknamed “Rammers” – has set himself the challenge of cycling nearly 3,000 miles round the British coastline.

The event – Tour de Forces – will raise money for four military charities and sets off from Plymouth in September for the anti-clockwise circumnavigation.

Mr Ormrod and his team will run, cycle and hand cycle their way around the coast of the country.

A total of 8,000 torchbearers are carrying the Olympic Flame 8,000 miles over 70 days to where it will light the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Games.

The second day of the relay started at the Plymouth Life Centre at 8.07am when the flame began its journey out of the city.

Jordan Anderton, 18, from Ivybridge, was the first bearer to carry on the torch on its Sunday relay.

Generation game: Jordan Anderton with former athlete Audrey Uglow, aged 91, and Evangeline, age six, and Oscar Piper, five

The teenager, who wore the number 001, said: ‘I’m quite nervous actually but very excited.

‘It is such a great honour to have the opportunity to carry the Olympic Torch and be a part of history.’

Describing the torch, he said: ‘It’s quite light actually – I thought it would be quite a bit heavier.

‘It’s quite nice to hold. It feels unreal really as I was watching it on TV yesterday and I’m here today in front of all the crowds.’

The Cardiff Metropolitan University student, who also plays rugby for Ivybridge RFC, was nominated after surviving a very rare form of childhood cancer at the age of 14, before raising £86,000 for charities fighting the disease.

Even early on a Sunday crowds were lining the streets out of the city to see the Olympic Torch on its way.

The Olympic Torch arrived in Plymouth on Saturday evening to a crowd of more than 40,000 people gathered on The Hoe.

Madeline Wood, 12, had the honour carrying the torch onto the stage and lighting the huge cauldron.

Earlier, chart topper Labrinth, Britain’s Got Talent finalists Twist Pulse and local dancers from Plymouth Dance entertained the huge crowds.

Councillor Michael Wright, Lord Mayor of Plymouth, said: ‘This has been such a wonderful experience for people in Plymouth.

Relight my fire: Jordan Anderton holds the torch as it is lit

‘Seeing the Olympic Torch carried by our inspirational torchbearers through the city was fantastic and I’m proud so many people turned out to cheer them on.

‘The Evening Celebration on the Hoe was a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle, there was a fantastic atmosphere and what an amazing way to show off our spectacular waterfront to the world.’

Hundreds had lined the Tamar Bridge to watch the torch carried into Devon after a day-long relay brought it across Cornwall.

Duncan Goodhew carried the torch in South East Cornwall and six of the Military Wives were among those carrying the torch in Plymouth.

Communities stretching from Plymouth to Exeter will see dozens of unsung and hard-working individuals get their moment in the spotlight.

The torchbearers range in age from 12-year-old Henry De Trogoff to 72-year-old Jacques Collet.

Henry will be among the youngest of the 8,000 torchbearers who will carry the Olympic Flame on the way to the July 27 opening ceremony.

The youngster from Paris will carry the flame through Paignton.

His nomination tells of how he tries to push his friends to make good, to be a peacemaker at school when children fight and to help with daily tasks. He does this ‘always with a smile,’ it said.

Mr Collet, of Les Noyrelles, will carry the flame through Paignton after more than 50 years as a volunteer with the French Athletism Federation.

Lining the streets: The Olympic flame is carried through Modbury

The former junior international athlete became a trainer after getting injured and helped others at national level.

He organised the pole-vaulting masters in Grenoble, is a French Federation of Athletism Federal referee and has won the FFA Platinum award.

There is also 69-year-old great-grandmother Yvonne Budd who gets to carry the flame in her hometown of Exeter.

She has worked at Exeter Gymnastics Club since 1972 and Olympic gymnastics has been her ‘lifetime passion giving hundreds of children the opportunity of participation’, her nomination said.

Hats off: Katy Henderson begins her leg at the Britannia Royal Naval College

Cool runnings: Georgia Lock carries the flame on the leg between Stoke Fleming and Dartmouth

She is still actively coaching four nights a week for three hours at a time, attends competitions and remains as dedicated as ever. She has helped the club membership grow from 90 to more than 1,100 in the past 40 years.

Organisers will be hoping for a repeat of the packed-out scenes that were part of the first day excited people lined the streets in Cornwall to catch a glimpse of the torch.

The day started at Land’s End with the torch in the hands of three-time Olympic sailing champions Ben Ainslie who later tweeted: ‘Wow. Most amazing experience and honour, awesome atmosphere. Bring on the Games.’

Devon and Cornwall Police estimated there were 15,000 in Falmouth and in Truro, while there was another 5,000 in St Austell and in the centre of Newquay.

The convoy travelling with the flame is made up of 14 core vehicles, including a pilot car, torchbearer drop-off and pick-up shuttles. There are also sponsors, media and security vehicles plus a command car.

The lead convoy provides some entertainment for the crowds. The torchbearer follows about five to seven minutes later.

A crew of approximately 350 people are set to be working on each day of the 70-day relay.

The relay also relies on the work of staff from London 2012, the Metropolitan Police Torch Security Team, the sponsors plus the host police forces and town halls.

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Article source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-2147075/London-2012-Olympics-Torch-relay-day-two.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Article source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/9278258/London-2012-Olympics-Jessica-Ennis-denied-career-best-time-in-100m-hurdles-after-blunder-in-Manchester.html

The unnamed seller’s location was given as Probus in Cornwall, the south-west English county where the relay had started in the morning after the flame was flown in from Greece on Friday.

The Sun named the seller as Andrew Bell, who finished his leg of the relay in Marazion. He was nominated for the relay as a result of his coaching and fundraising efforts for a local rowing club.

He told the paper that the torch – pictured with triple Olympic yachting gold medallist Ben Ainslie - looks “weird” in his home and said he needed the money.

“I understand some people may find the idea of selling an Olympic torch offensive but we could genuinely use the money,” he said.

“Without giving you a sob story, we’ve a lovely baby boy and my wife has just gone back to work after maternity leave.

“Also, the torch is nearly a metre long and looks weird on the mantelpiece.”

Put on sale at midday, the items had attracted 24 bids by 5.30pm with the price soaring above £3,000.

However a raft of what appeared to be fake bids sent the figure to £50,000 and Bell ended the auction early shortly after 6pm, cancelling all bids.

Some of the bearers nominated by the relay sponsors have been allowed to keep their triangular-shaped torches, made of gold-coloured aluminium and perforated with 8,000 holes, at no cost while others have been asked to pay for theirs.

Several other torches have since been listed on the auction website, most of them in advance of the people taking part in the relay.

Organisers LOCOG had set a cost for their nominees of £199 if paid for before May 1 and £215 thereafter. They said they are actually worth £495.

“The torch and uniform are the torchbearer’s to do what they want with, we hope they find a good home,” said a London 2012 spokesperson when asked about the eBay sale.

Some 90 per cent of the torchbearers were nominated through public campaigns, with the emphasis on rewarding local heroes and those who have made a difference to the communities in which they live, and the rest selected by invitation.

Banners and publicity emphasise it as the “Moment to Shine”.

The relay started at Land’s End on the south-west tip of England just after 7am with Ainslie handed the honour of completing the first 300 metres.

Some 8,000 people are due to take part in the relay around Britain and into Ireland before the cauldron is lit at the opening ceremony on July 27.

One seller jokingly listed ‘Not a London 2012 Olympic Torch’ with the following description:

“I don’t have an Olympic torch or uniform and, to be honest, couldn’t give a monkeys about the Olympics.

“However, I am skint and as the whole thing appears to be coming out of my taxes, I wouldn’t mind a bit of cash back.

“Therefore, please only bid if you are willing to give me some money and get nothing in return except good feedback and a warm feeling having done a good deed.

“Remember, you are bidding to be the person that gives me some money and will get nothing in return except my thanks. Paypal only please. Non payers will be hunted down and made to watch repeats of the X Factor for 24 hours non stop.”

Article source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/londonspy/london-2012-torch-sale-ebay-100324684.html

Brutal qualifying

As in the modern games, the athletes arrived in Elis a month before
competition got under way for their final selection and preparations. All
potential competitors were required to report to the city 30 days before the
Games and subject themselves to training and selection by the Elians.

The strict regime, in which slackers were flogged or dismissed, was used to
winnow out the weakest athletes.

Unhappy punters

Around 40,000 people would flock to Olympia to watch the five days of
competition, with the class divide between wealthy and ordinary punters as
marked as at a modern Games. The rich would arrive with caravans of servants
to nab the best camping spots, while ordinary fans who had trekked on foot
to get there had to sleep in the dust in the heat of a Greek August.
Conditions were appalling, with no sanitation and limited water as nearby
rivers dried up. Thankfully there was a thriving army of licensed vendors
ready to sell them food and wine.

‘Plastic Greeks’

To win a place in the Games competitors had to prove that they were the
legitimate son of a free-born Greek. While women, slaves and the
illegitimate were banned, the definition of what constituted ‘Greek’ could
be more flexible. The boundaries of the Greek empire meant that some had a
tougher job proving their heritage, and following the Roman conquest in
146BC the rules were relaxed to allow anyone who spoke Greek to compete. It
was common for athletes to change their citizenship between Games, switching
their city state for cash. Others were less welcome. A Spartan who claimed
he was Boeotian to avoid a ban was flogged.

Exposing the cheats

The ancient games were held in homage to the gods but that did not prevent the
athletes succumbing to earthly vices. Those found to have rigged results,
usually by paying off the opposition, were shamed by the ancient equivalent
of the BOA by-law, having their names inscribed on stones lining the
athletes’ tunnel. BOA chairman Lord Moynihan pointed them out at the torch
lighting in Olympia last week, but did not comment on whether he had brought
his chisel to add a name or two of his own.

Article source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/torch-relay/9270606/London-2012-Olympics-torch-lighting-one-of-many-similarities-between-ancient-and-modern-Games.html

Article source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/9277493/London-2012-Olympics-Philips-Idowu-and-Mo-Farah-make-flying-starts-to-Olympic-campaigns.html

And by the time the torch reached Plymouth and its first overnight stop, it wasn’t Ainslie or the handful of other well known faces carrying it on the inaugural leg of the 70-day, 8,000-mile route who had proved the stars of the day. Across Cornwall, it was the torch itself – and the ordinary people nominated for good deeds by others who carried it – that was mobbed in scenes that will cheer organisers hoping it will galvanise the public before the Games.

They would certainly settle for a repeat of Saturday’s celebratory atmosphere in July. The only hint of protest was a loud volley of tuts when latecomers threatened to spoil the view of the relay.

After surviving a close shave when the flame blew close to his eyebrows, Ainslie ambled rather than ran his requisite distance before handing over to Tassie Swallow, an 18-year-old surfer from St Ives.

“It was one of the more nervous moments in my life because it’s so special. That particular moment ranks right up there with winning a gold medal,” he said.

Olympic organisers were breathing a sigh of relief too after successfully negotiating the first of 70 days they hope will build to a crescendo for Danny Boyle’s Opening Ceremony on 27 July. As a succession of politicians and executives from Locog, the Games organising committee, repeatedly told us, this was the point when they hoped to take a back seat and let the public define their Games.

The hope is that talk of budget overruns, undesirable sponsors and ticket allocation will fade as a celebratory mood takes hold. The relay is a marathon not a sprint, but they made a good start.

Watching Ainslie set off from Land’s End were the Norris family from Bishopsteignton in Devon, who were first on site at 5am to bag a prime lookout.

“We want our children to be able to say to their children ‘my Mum and Dad took me there and we were there when it happened,’” said Richard Norris.

They were joined by 2,500 others, a Lycra-clad circus troupe, various local dignitaries and a media scrum. It may have been a self-selecting crowd, but it was hard to find much dissent. “It’s a big deal for the country, it’s fantastic,” said Will Rees, from nearby Sennen. Everyone’s moaning about how much we’ve spent on it but this year is going to be the UK’s year.”

Others brought messages from further afield. Shelok and Dawa Tsering mixed traditional Tibetan dress with union flag accessories and clutched a sign reading: “Tibetans are here to support London Olympics”.

Such was the popularity of the relay that, true to national stereotype, it was running half an hour late by the time it reached Truro at lunchtime amid large crowds estimated at 30,000.

There was, though, some confusion as to what was expected of them beyond cheering the torch on its way. Was this a parade, a town fair, or a carefully choreographed promotional vehicle for the Games and its sponsors?

In truth, it was a bit of each. But cynicism was left at home by the thousands who thronged the route to cheer the torchbearers. There were 40,000 nominations for the 8,000 slots and the vast majority have an inspirational story to tell.

Eric Smith, 76, was awarded the George medal in 1962 as a helicopter rescue winch man on the wreck of the Jeanne Gougy at Land’s End. After running the third leg, watched by his family, he said that it had been “very emotional”.

“It is a little bright light shining in a time of depression and it’s just what this country needs right now,” he added.

Dave Jackson, 61, was nominated for his volunteer work with the coastguard. “It was absolutely fantastic, to see the crowds was so uplifting. I was carried up the hill on this sea of emotion,” he said.

If it sometimes felt a bit stage managed, it was. The main torch procession was preceded by vehicles from the three “presenting partners” – Lloyds TSB, Coca-Cola and Samsung – doling out promotional items in their brand colours. But if the Coca-Cola “Move to the Beat” bus blasting out Katy B across the bay at Marazion seemed a bit incongruous, it was forgotten by the time the torch arrived. Not everything ran smoothly. There were angry calls to local radio stations from a crowd of hundreds, including wheelchair users, who had been advised to line a road near Marazion to watch the torchbearers run only to see nothing but the convoy speeding by.

If there was a common complaint, it was that there was not enough clarity as to when the lengthy caravan would be in “torchbearer mode” and when it would be in “convoy mode”.

For Hitler, whose Berlin 1936 Games organisers popularised the idea, the torch relay was a mix of Greek tradition and carefully choreographed promotion that could push both the Games and his ideology.

Alexandros Philadelpheus, a Greek who helped devise the lighting ceremony, wrote later that it was “chillingly ironic” that a relay designed to symbolise peace had been subverted by Hitler.

But the tradition was revived by London organisers in 1948 as they realised its power to rouse a postwar public unsure of the merits of hosting the Olympics in austere times.

The parallels are not lost on 2012 organisers who have long claimed that the 8,000-mile trek will be the point at which enthusiasm for the Games ignites. The rhetoric can seem cloying, but those in Cornwall were sincere.

“A real community spirit has come through. It’s been really exciting and enjoyable, with street parties, school involvement, charity fundraising,” said David Bryans, Heritage Great Britain’s general manager at Land’s End. “It’s also been an opportunity to showcase what’s best in Cornwall.”

Locog chief executive, Paul Deighton, said Cornwall would lay down a marker for the rest of the country. “This is the beginning. The beauty of it is that it is for the public to define it. You don’t want it to feel too orchestrated.”

In Cornwall, that meant much mocked mascots Wenlock and Mandeville were conspicuous by their absence and instead local performers such as the Swamp Circus held the crowd. In Falmouth, schoolchildren sang specially composed Cornish songs on the Quay. In the county capital of Truro, a procession of local sports clubs preceded the main event.

On and on it went – the flame lit from the rays of the sun in Olympia on 10 May and ferried back to Britain by David Beckham now carries the hopes of organisers with it.

To Newquay, where the atmosphere resembled that of a bank holiday, to the rainforest biomes of the Eden Project (where the TV presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle flew with the torch in a helium-filled balloon above the trees), across the Tamar bridge and finally into Plymouth for its first overnight stop. Just 69 days to go.

Article source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/may/20/london-2012-cornwall-olympic-torch?newsfeed=true

Some 300 workers can be seen climbing over the blocks in these pictures taken
over the last few months. The Queen Elizabeth is like a bee hive – its scale
does no justice to the intricacy required to construct it, while inside the
workers move between hundreds of compartments.

Construction is already so advanced that workers can walk through finished
corridors and stand in the missile room, the engine room, and the crew’s
accommodation. “It is a jigsaw puzzle coming together,” says Mr Bowsher.

The block was built in five parts around the ship’s engines and then welded
together by highly skilled engineers over a 12-week period, often working
upside down inside the vessel.

“The secret is having a good plan,” Mr Bowsher, a Scot, adds. “You need to
have a plan B and I think I am on plan Z. But please don’t write that.”

The Queen Elizabeth and its sister ship, the Prince of Wales, will be three
times larger than Britain’s Invincible Class Aircraft Carrier and, at 65,000
tons, will be the second biggest in the world behind America’s 90,000-ton
Nimitz class.

10,000 British workers across six dockyards and three companies – BAE, the
owner of the Portsmouth dockyard, Babcock International and the electronics
group Thales – are building the ships.

The scale of the £7bn project means it has attracted significant political
attention. The Coalition initially wanted to scrap the second ship to save
money in the defence spending review and earlier this month made an
about-turn on the type of aircraft that will be used by the carriers. It
decided to order the short take-off and vertical landing (Stovl) version of
the F-35 joint strike fighter, rather than the carrier variant, which would
have required costly electromagnetic equipment to help the planes launch and
land – so-called “cats and traps” .

“It’s a sensible decision,” says Peter Rogers, chief executive of Babcock. “If
you go back to the original proposal there was risk in the Stovl version of
F-35, but that has now changed. The US Marines like it very much.”

Mr Rogers insists the change is unlikely to have much impact on the
construction of the carriers. “I don’t have any real argument with the
process,” he insists. “The change probably won’t cost anything if we get it
properly synchronised.”

However, the choice of fighter jets will appear a minor political debate
compared with the furore that threatens to break out if BAE closes the
Portsmouth dockyard, over which there is a major question mark.

Once the dock has finished work on the Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales
carriers, which are due to be handed over to the Royal Navy in 2016 and
2018, there appears to be a shortage of new work. BAE has hired consultants
to review its three UK dockyards.

“We are reviewing how best to retain the capability to deliver and support
complex warships in the UK in the future, in line with our commitments under
the terms of business agreement signed in 2009,” a company spokesman said.
“This work is ongoing and we will keep our employees and trade union
representatives fully informed, as it progresses.”

The closure of Portsmouth dockyards would end hundreds of years of history and
cost 1,300 jobs.

Standing in the Dauntless Building, the potential loss of such unique skills
appears even more devastating. More than 700 apprentices across the UK are
working on the carrier project.

“Everybody is aware of the speculation but the intense schedule means everyone
is focused,” says Mr Bowsher. “Honestly we are just managing the schedule.”

It is clear, however, that he passionately believes think Portsmouth should
not close.

“This is a great facility and we need to use it to its maximum.”

Article source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/defence/9277559/BAE-Systems-building-the-UKs-new-aircraft-carrier.html