IPC Athletics, therapy the global governing body of para-athletics has announced that Grosseto, medic Italy, will stage the 2016 IPC Athletics European Championships.

Around 700 athletes from 40 countries are expected to compete at the Carlo Zecchini Olympic Stadium between 10-16 June, a venue that has staged an IPC Athletics Grand Prix meeting for the last two years.

The successful bid will mean that the event will take place less than three months before the start of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Xavier Gonzalez, the IPC’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “It is testament to the hard work of FISPES, the Italian National Paralympic Committee and FIDAL that IPC Athletics has awarded the last major regional Championships ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games to the Italian city of Grosseto.

“The city has an excellent track record for staging para-sport events, as shown with hosting one leg of the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in 2013 and 2014, and we are hugely confident that this event will be a huge success.

“The 2012 European Championships provided the perfect stepping stone for many athletes in their preparations for London 2012 and a number went on to add Paralympic titles to their European crowns.

“This is yet another major addition to the rapidly expanding IPC Athletics calendar of events, helping to fulfil our objective of increasing the number of competition opportunities for leading athletes.”

FISPES President Sandrino Porru said: “I am extremely happy. It’s a dream come true to have a para-athletics European Championships in Italy, a first in our history.

“It’s a huge pride for FISPES and the entire Italian Paralympic Movement to host an event of this importance.

“Grosseto 2016 will be also a chance for Italy to support the growth of para-athletics ahead of the Rio Games with the aim of bettering the feat achieved in London.

“This important outcome has been possible thanks to the joint commitment and hard work of FISPES, IPC Athletics, the Italian Paralympic Committee and FIDAL. To all of them, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation”.

The Carlo Zecchini Olympic Stadium, the 2016 venue, features an eight lane MONDO track and has a capacity of 10,200 people. It has previously staged the 2001 European Athletics Junior Championships and the 2004 IAAF World Junior Athletics Championships.

USA Triathlon have announced today a new partnership with the USA Swimming Foundation.

The deal will help promote the importance of water safety and learning to swim through the organization’s Splash & Dash Youth Aquathlon Series.

Fifty swim-run events from across the United States comprise the third annual Splash & Dash Youth Aquathlon Series, store which runs from March through November 2014. Open to young athletes between the ages 7-15, buy the series focuses on participation and having fun rather than competition, and many of the events are not timed.

The USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash initiative promotes the importance of learn-to-swim and water safety to families and children across America. The partnership allows USA Triathlon to become a member of the USA Swimming Foundation’s Affiliate Coalition, and age-appropriate water safety and learn-to-swim materials will be distributed to series participants. Additionally, pre-event clinics will focus on basic water safety and strengthening skills in all bodies of water to prepare participants for all potential triathlon environments.

“We are proud to partner with the USA Swimming Foundation to provide the best educational opportunities possible to our youth members,” said Rob Urbach, USA Triathlon CEO. “Swimming is the barrier to entry in our sport and this partnership will enable significantly more youth to engage in multisport and reap the benefits of the lifestyle.”

“The USA Swimming Foundation is pleased to partner with USA Triathlon and their Splash and Dash Youth Aquathlon Series to promote the Make a Splash initiative,” said USA Swimming Foundation Executive Director Debbie Hesse. “The addition of USA Triathlon to our Affiliate Coalition positively impacts kids across the nation, saving lives through our joint message of learn-to-swim.”

The International Fencing Federation (FIE) has announced Kazan, Russia, will host the 2014 Fencing World Championships. In 2015, the World Championships will take place in Moscow, Russia. 

Kazan and Moscow were the only two cities submitting their candidature to the FIE Congress for the 2014 and 2015 World Championships. Kazan stepped in for Sofia, Bulgaria, that had to withdraw for financial reasons. 

The cities of Leipzig, Germany, and Doha, Qatar, presented their candidatures for hosting the World Championships in 2017. 

The 130 national federations represented voted also on subjects related to the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

The two team disciplines being rotated out of the Olympic Programme of Rio 2016 are men’s sabre and women’s foil. Since Beijing 2008, the FIE is rotating out two team disciplines as there are only 10 medal events for fencing at the Olympic Games.

FIE President Alisher Usmanov commented on today’s Congress meeting: “We would like to thank Kazan for their readiness to host the next year’s world championships. The Russian Federation and Kazan responded to our request as no other cities expressed their interest. In my capacity of FIE President I extend my sincere gratitude to Rustam Minnikhanov, president of Tatarstan, for his support.

“We are confident that Kazan can provide excellent facilities and infrastructure. Even with the little time left, the organising committee will be prepared to host a top level event. With regard to the team events in Rio 2016, the FIE has followed the logical order of rotation. I promise that we will not give up our hopes to obtain the two additional medals and will continue our efforts. In the meantime, we will work on developing fencing further.”

Phoenix Coyotes President & Chief Operating Officer Mike Nealy announced today that the NHL franchise have launched their new marketing campaign, case  “Join the Hunt” for the 2012-13 NHL season.

The campaign, sale which was developed by Anderson Advertising & PR, reflects the bold and stoic nature of the Coyotes with its clean illustrative imagery and concise, call to action, headlines. Appropriately named, the “Join the Hunt” campaign is a rallying cry to fans to “Join the Pack” and support their team that has been on the rise the past three seasons.

“Join the Hunt says that we are back, we are competitive, we are hungry, and in the hunt for the ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup,” said Coyotes President & COO Mike Nealy. “Not just the players, coaches and everyone in the organization but all of us; the fans and corporate partners alike. With Anderson, we found a true partnership, and hope that we’ve prepared a campaign that will reignite the spark and excitement of last season to get our fans excited about Coyotes hockey again.”

The Coyotes have made three consecutive appearances to the Stanley Cup playoffs and last season, the team won its first division title and advanced to the Western Conference Final against the eventual Stanley Cup champions. Coming off one of the franchise’s most successful seasons, the team is now looking forward to new ownership and an even brighter future promising fierce competition and exciting hockey beginning this season.

Ted Anderson, President of Anderson Advertising & Public Relations said: “We couldn’t be more proud to be a part of the Coyotes team this year, and we’re excited to be unveiling this season’s marketing campaign to such a passionate fan base. The Coyotes have an incredible organization, an amazing product and experience, and a great story to tell – we’re just happy to be a part of it.”

The “Join the Hunt” campaign began earlier this week with radio and TV spots, which highlight the team’s recent success despite their battles on and off the ice. The highlight footage from last year’s stellar season is intercut with the bold, clean graphics of the new campaign, culminating in an invitation to the viewer to “Join the Hunt”.

IMG has signed a deal to manage and operate the LPGA’s Kraft Nabisco Championship for the next two years.

The deal between IMG and Kraft Foods, asthma owner of the Kraft Nabisco event, cialis means IMG now manages two of the four majors on the LPGA. It also operates the RICOH Women’s British Open.

“This just opens us up to having a world-class golf owner/operator be in charge of this event, positioning us to go to the next level,” said tournament director Gabe Codding, who shifts from being a Kraft employee to working for IMG.

MG, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is best known for owning and operating tournaments around the world as well as representing top players in golf, including Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam and active players like Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis, Se Ri Pak and Michelle Wie on the LPGA. The company is perhaps best known for its work with Arnold Palmer in the 1960s as well as Tiger Woods in the 1990s and into the 2000s. In the desert IMG is known for having owned and managed the Skins Game from 1986 to 2008.

David Livingston, senior vice president and director of North American sales for IMG Golf, said his company is excited to be part of one of the LPGA’s most historic and well-known tournaments.

“I think our focus is going to be increased awareness of the history and prestige of this tournament on a national and international level,” Livingston said

The IMG contract will cover the 2013 and 2014 playing of the tournament at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage. That coincides with Kraft’s contract with the LPGA to operate the tournament.

David Blake-Thomas, the tournament chairman for Kraft Foods, said the deal with IMG was a result of an overall comprehensive review of all of Kraft’s business operations as that company was splitting into two companies in the last two years. That split became official Oct. 1, with Kraft Foods now operating North American activities and a new company called Mondelez overseeing an international food company. The Kraft Nabisco Championship was placed under the Kraft Foods umbrella.

William De Braekeleer, allergy Motorsport Manager at Honda Motor Europe believes their entry into the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) is the best showcase for the brand.

“We wanted to join a racing series that would showcase our production cars. The WTCC offers this and will help us increase awareness and visibility of the Civic in our main markets around the world, ” De Braekeleer said.

He added: “Racing the Civic also provides our many customers and fans with thrilling motorsport competition they can easily relate to. WTCC is a well promoted, worldwide championship and the perfect fit for our marketing and engineering needs.”

With the new F1 season fast approaching wireless audio specialists Raycom have announced the completion of a major deal to supply Wisycom radio microphone systems to Gearhouse Broadcast for their contract with Sky Sports for the new F1 HD channel. 

The all-new approach being taken by Sky Sports F1 HD has all audio being delivered wireless from pit-lane remotes to studio interviews. To achieve this, Raycom have specified a range of Wisycom radio equipment including the new intermod-free transmitters in belt-pack and hand-held form which feature the widest frequency tuning range in the world of 232MHz for global use. 

For receiving, a selection of rack-mount MRK960 dual receivers and camera-mount MCR42 dual- diversity receivers have been specified with up to 370MHz available RF bandwidth. 

Kevin Moorhouse, Group Operating Officer for Gearhouse Broadcast said: “Raycom provide some of the best wireless microphone systems available today. Their products are well designed and they fulfill the requirements we have for this prestigious project for Sky which are why we chose them”. 

Raycom’s Pyers Easton added: “The full range of F1 races present a real challenge to broadcasters and we were delighted to assist Sky Sports F1 HD, Gearhouse Broadcast and F1 in their search for the right solution with Wisycom wireless audio.”

by Ismail Uddin

Cox Architecture will lead the latest stage of redevelopment at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The firm will be the lead architect on the AUS$186 million (US$198.32 million) Northern Stand development, which will replace the existing Noble, Bradman and Messenger stands and see the stadium’s capacity raised from 45,000 to 48,000.

The practice, which has in the UAE as well as offices across Australia, will also be behind the improved media, player and hospitality facilities which are incorporated into Cox’s pavilion design.

Sports Director at Cox Architecture, Alastair Richardson, stated, “Cox Architecture is delighted to be part of the redevelopment of this unique cricket ground. The twenty-first century cricket stadium is being defined by the changing shape of the game”.

Completion is scheduled for the Ashes Test against England in January 2014.

Work is set to begin on the Northern Stand next month after the one-day international between Australia and India on February 26th.

With ongoing discussions over the NBA lockout entering it fifth month with no deal, advertisers are not panicking as they believe that most of the commercial activity in the NBA starts to ramp up in the second half of the season.

That’s a marked contrast to the situation earlier this year when it was NFL games on the chopping block. A protracted NFL lockout would have sent advertisers scrambling to make up the ratings they’d lose without America’s most popular and ubiquitous sport, but there are plenty of ways to reach the young, male demographic that tunes in for professional basketball games.

GroupM chief investment officer Rino Scanzoni, said: “Advertisers are somewhat concerned, but it’s much easier to plan around the lack of an NBA schedule than the lack of an NFL schedule. Those viewers can be recaptured in other programs.”

November’s games have already been lost, but ad spending on the NBA is heavily back-loaded to the second half of the season and the playoffs, when ratings and fan interest surge. ESPN is shifting early-season ad dollars into its menu of college football and basketball games, while Turner, whose TNT broadcasts were set to add Shaquille O’Neal as a commentator this season, is eyeing avenues such as TBS and Adult Swim programming to keep the ad spending in-house.

Turner spokesman Sal Petruzzi said: “Turner has a diverse portfolio of programming and platforms to provide our advertising partners with a broad range of options for their distinct brand message. Turner Sports is working together with our advertising partners on alternative programming options which reach the NBA-targeted demos across the company’s portfolio of brands, programs and platforms, including TBS, Adult Swim, truTV, and Conan.”

And so far, there’s no indication that advertisers are running much for the hills.

“There’s not that many people lying awake at night worrying about this,” said Peter Farnsworth, a former NBA executive who heads sports marketer Foxrock Partners and advises league advertisers. “With the NFL, people would have been rushing Capitol Hill.”

The relative calm also reflects advertisers and ad buyers’ continued optimism that at least half the season will be savaged — despite today’s deadline. The players’ union took a step in that direction Tuesday by signaling they’d accept the owners’ offer of a 50-50 revenue split in exchange for concessions on free agency restrictions. NBA Commissioner David Stern had set a 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline for players to accept the offer before it gets pulled and replaced with something worse. Players are mulling dissolving the union, which could ultimately land the battle in court.

While major sponsors with integrated league-branding deals and regional sports networks are more exposed to a long lockout, most advertisers have more flexibility, especially early in the season.

“Right now there’s a lot of other content to purchase,” said John Brody, a Wasserman Media Group principal and former Boston Celtics CMO. “There are other places you can get those ratings points back.”

TV advertising for NBA games on ESPN, TNT and ABC exceeded $600 million last season, according to an Ad Age DataCenter analysis of measured media data from Kantar Media. About two-thirds of the sum was spent after the All-Star break, with about half of that spent just during the playoffs. Some of the biggest advertisers include Kia Motors, Taco Bell and T-Mobile.

Brad Adgate, senior VP-research at Horizon Media, concluded: “The NBA just pales in comparison to the NFL, so that’s why we’re seeing a disparity in the reaction to a potential NBA lockout vs. an NFL lockout. You’re not going to really feel the loss of the NBA until the Super Bowl is over.”

The National Football League Players’ Association (NFLPA) which decertified earlier this month, has began contacting players found eligible to receive payments from its lockout fund this week.

The NFLPA’s accounting department has begun sending out notification letters and direct deposit slips to eligible players.

The payments will begin on April 15 and span six payments or the duration of the lockout.

An NFLPA source said that the maximum payments to an individual player would total US$60,000.