London Olympics countdown: 35 weeks to go

Wenlock and Mandeville get animated Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville continued their single-minded plan to popularise the Games this week amongst any of da youth that isn't too busy single-mindedly plotting the best time to go on an Olympic-themed looting spree next summer, with the release of their third animated film Wenlock and Mandeville's Rainbow Rescue . The film features animated versions of Olympic and Paralympic athletes Louis Smith, Zoe Smith, Victoria Pendleton, Shelly Woods and Tom Aggar, while Stephen Fry narrates. Written by children's author Michael Morpurgo, the plot sees our dynamic duo continuing their journey to the Games and along the way helping a school create a library in a bus after its own library is destroyed in a storm. "Rainbow Rescue, new film starring me and Wenlock. What more could you ask for?!" frothed Mandeville on Twitter, before Wenlock added: "Our new film is out today in ODEON cinemas!" as a representative from the Vue group looked on aghast, opened his chequebook and considered how much it might cost to have the pair continue their journey to the Games by playing chess with death in a remake of The Seventh Seal on behalf of his chain of cinemas. The film, which will no doubt be good wholesome fun, will be shown before selected family movies, including Arthur Christmas, Hugo, Happy Feet Two, Puss in Boots and Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, until 23 December, although parents may wish to take heed of the Toronto Sun in Canada which, still smarting from post-Winter Olympic Games criticism in the UK, described the cuddly pair as "terrifying penis monsters". Test events and latest ticket sales Judo and Taekwondo host test events at ExCeL Arena this week and although, sadly, neither are open to the public, it represents a chance for organisers to hone the facilities including technical officials, results, timing, processes and the fields of play ahead of next year and the chance for athletes to compete in the actual venue that will host their competition. Paralympics event Goalball also hosts a test event this week when the London International Goalball Tournament takes place in the handball arena at the Olympic Park. The sport is played by visually impaired athletes using a ball with bells inside and is a gripping, fast team sport. China, Canada, Sweden and the current Olympic champions, the USA, compete with Team GB and importantly the event ties in with tickets for the Paralympics going on sale again at 1pm on Friday from: tickets.london2012.com/homepage . So far 800,000 tickets have been allocated to more than 100,000 people, although there is still availability in the majority of sports, including athletics, wheelchair basketball and swimming, as well as for ExCeL and Olympic Park day passes. Women boxers shirty about skirts Whether women boxers will wear skirts or shorts at next year's Games remains undecided as yet despite several reports that the female athletes were to be required to wear skirts when competing next year. The sport is making its debut in London and there had been an angry reaction from many boxers when it was revealed that governing body the International Amateur Boxing Association (Aiba) had been discussing whether fighters should wear skirts at the Games in order to help them stand out from their male counterparts. The British lightweight Natasha Jonas, who was competing in an Olympic boxing test event at ExCeL Arena and defeated the Women's World Boxing Championships bronze medallist, Queen Underwood, in the quarter-final on Saturday, argued that: "There should be a choice – no one should be forced to do anything. In other sports like football and cricket, you aren't forced to wear skirts so I don't see why boxing should have to." Clearly the Aiba was listening as its president, Dr Wu Ching-kuo, attempted to soothe the ruffled lady pugilist feathers, announcing: "At this point in time, no decision has been made at all. But I must say that the most likely decision is that the uniform will be optional for women. Some like skirts and some don't like skirts so I think we should keep the freedom for the athletes." However, the issue is unlikely to be resolved soon, since the decision on clothing is currently being researched by the Aiba Technical and Rules Commission who will report to an executive committee, which will make the final decision in January. Volunteers to sport a touch of tradition Volunteers who will be helping everything go smoothly in 2012 discovered what they will be wearing this week, when the designs for the Games Maker uniform was revealed for the first time. Approximately 70,000 members of the public will be in action around the Olympics next year and will be the visible presence of the Games to British fans and visitors alike. The Games Maker scheme was oversubscribed but if you were one of the successful applicants to volunteer – welcome to your summer collection for 2012. The Locog chief executive, Paul Deighton, explained: "What we've come up with is a uniform which celebrates the best of Britain's heritage in a modern and sustainable way." A heritage the designers claim was inspired by the London 1948 Games, Wimbledon tennis and the Henley Regatta and features a colour scheme based on a contemporary twist of a regal purple and vibrant Grenadier Guards red. It is certainly striking and fairly tasteful too but, most importantly, is a world away from the primary-colour mash-up designed to look happening and edgy solely to trilby-wearing goons with their pants hanging out, that occurred with the 2012 logo. Volunteers should note, however, that keeping the light beige trousers clean throughout the period of the Games is going to be an absolute bugger.