Moves to develop a professional association for the specialist sports security sector are gathering pace after delegates at the second International Sports Security Summit gave their support to outline proposals

Delegates attending the recent International Sports Security Summit at London's Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre offered their "overwhelming support" for outline proposals aimed at developing a professional association for this niche sector, writes Brian Sims.

The two-day Summit - organised by Rushmans - attracted more than 200 delegates from 30 different countries, the majority of whom are desperately keen to see the formation of a dedicated body that can promote Best Practice in the discipline while at the same time facilitating learning and information exchange among practitioners.

Work aimed at developing the new body is now underway, and those Summit delegates representing sporting bodies, police services, private security companies, security equipment suppliers and consultants will be among the first individuals and organisations invited to apply for membership of the new organisation.

At this year's Summit, London 2012 security chief Andrew Amery was joined by Metropolitan Police Service colleagues Stephen Swain and Simon Gately to deliver an overview of the Capital's established expertise in handling major sporting and cultural events, while the KeyNote Speaker on Day Two - Giovanni Pulice, managing director of the 2006 Winter Olympics - talked about his experiences in securing the Turin showpiece.

The third International Sports Security Summit is scheduled to take place at the same venue between 18-19 January 2007. "Our objective is to make the conference more useful and relevant each year," suggested Kevin Roberts, editorial director of Media Partner Sport Business International.

Source

SMT