As the leading research and consultancy companies in international sport business, SPORT+MARKT and REPUCOM International have utilised the reach of iSportconnect.com as a networking platform for their upcoming International Motorsport Summit.

iSportconnect.com is the industry’s leading community portal combining social networking with the latest sports business news as well as events and job listings. The site will act as a virtual meeting room, enabling participants of the invitation-only March 1^st conference to interact before and after the event in a secured way, thanks to the site’s Strict Door Policy.

The International Motorsport Summit, hosted at the legendary Nürburgring race circuit, brings together key players from across the global motorsport business. Hosts SPORT+MARKT and REPUCOM are delighted to introduce this new event series, responding to and designed specifically to meet the special requirements of the business of motor racing.

Among the questions being raised: where is motorsport going? Who are the target groups of the future and what can be done to generate and revive interest? With many different rights holders in this market, how can companies ensure they select the right engagement and maximise their ROI? Crucially, can investment in this business be effectively planned and its impact measured on a global scale?

These and an array of other interesting topics will be discussed and presented by renowned speakers from companies such as Volkswagen, Sauber Motorsport, Aston Martin, Chevrolet Europe, Adidas and JMI.

The pre- and post-conference programme, peppered with attractions, will provide the participants with outstanding networking opportunities in a relaxed atmosphere. The congress itself will be hosted by renowned Formula1 moderator Wolfgang Rother.

The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) of America has declared that Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), a world leader in orthopedics and rheumatology, has been named the Official Hospital of The PGA of America. HSS will partner with The PGA on future health and wellness initiatives, including sponsorship of the Let’s Move On Course! program at the upcoming 93rd PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia.

The deal will make the HSS the Official Hospital for The PGA’s marquee events, including the PGA Championship, 2012 Ryder Cup, Senior PGA Championship and co-presenting sponsor of the PGA Winter Championships. HSS is the medical center of choice for many of New York’s professional sports teams.

As sponsor of the Let’s Move On Course! program, HSS will partner with The PGA of America to distribute 25,000 branded pedometers to spectators on-site,Aug. 8-14, at the 93rd PGA Championship. The course encourages golf fans to walk the course, enjoy the health benefits it provides and keep track of their steps. Fitness experts advocate a daily regimen of 10,000 steps – equivalent to five miles or walking 18 holes of golf – to improve one’s overall fitness and help control weight.

Joes Sterenka, PGA of America Chief Executive Officer, said: “The PGA of America and its member professionals could not be in better hands than with Hospital for Special Surgery. There is a reason HSS has upheld a lofty perch among the nation’s top medical institutions. It comes from a commitment to excellence in sports medicine and healthcare. We are fortunate to have HSS as a partner to support our industry’s efforts to proclaim the health and wellness benefits of exercise through golf.”

“We are extremely excited about our relationship with The PGA of America,” said Louis A. Shapiro, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hospital for Special Surgery. “This sponsorship, including the Let’s Move On Course!program and initiatives with PGA of America members, allows us to highlight the shared commitment between our hospital and the PGA to advance the benefits of staying active through a healthy lifestyle.”

Malaysian entrepreneur and team principal of Lotus Racing Tony Fernandes, has rejected an offer of almost US$10m to settle the ongoing dispute over who has the right to use the Lotus name in Formula 1.

In an interview with AFP Fernandes stated: “It was £6m ($9.67m) for an out-of-court settlement. Of course I would like to end it but the proposal by Proton would have bankrupted the company. We could not accept it.” 

Fernandes said that 250 jobs along with substantial investments by shareholders were at risk, adding: “We never created the situation. We had a five-year agreement. Proton thought they can bully us out. We honestly worked hard to revive the Lotus name in F1.” 

Fernandes did however, claim that he was willing to listen to ‘sensible’ offers prior to the court hearing to decide the outcome, scheduled for March 21. “I hope it will end soon,” he added. “The legal row does not help, that’s for sure.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board structure group met earlier this week in the first of two meetings and recommended to the ECB board to reduce the season by between eight and 12 days “to enable a coherent and balanced domestic schedule to be delivered”.

Changes are set to be made to the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition to bring it in line with international one-day cricket from 2011.

A statement said: “The group will recommend that quarter-finals for the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition be delivered from 2012 and that the competition should be played in four pools of five teams.

“The group further noted that following the ICC World Cup in 2011 the format of international ODI cricket will be reviewed and recommended that the format of the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition should mirror the international format.”

The statement added: “The group will meet again prior to the ECB board meeting in mid-November to consider the number of LV County Championship and Friends Provident Twenty20 matches to be played in future seasons.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) have signed a three-year partnership with deltatre to produce a new website and creative content.

The project will be managed by deltatre North’s Hugo Sharman alongside the company’s London office.

“We are delighted to be partnering with the RFU for the next three years.  We have delivered digital solutions to manage some of the most demanding and complex live sports events in the world, cheap ” he said.

“Taking the RFU’s digital presence to new heights brings unique challenges, abortion but it is also a great opportunity we are excited to be a part of.”

The RFU.com website will relaunch next summer and will be the first site to be built on the latest version of deltatre’s in-house content management system, Forge. This, the agency explained, means that the site can be optimised for mobile devices, and when combined with CRM, would enable “personalised user-journeys.”

“Our vision to connect English rugby and become a destination for rugby content has an ambitious digital strategy at its heart.  We have been very impressed not only with deltatre’s unique understanding of sport, but also their proven technology which will support us to meet our goals,” added Nick Shaw, the RFU’s head of digital.

The recently-launched US Pro Squash Series, a collaboration between the Professional Squash Association (PSA)and US Squash, has been given a further boost this week by the inclusion of the Life Time Grand Prix Squash Tour.

Life Time Fitness has 107 clubs with 44 squash locations and 116 courts nationwide, with more clubs being built in 2014. Events staged at clubs in Atlanta, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Chicago and Boca Raton this year will add to the growing list of events already included within the US Pro Squash Series.

Life Time Grand Prix Tournament Director & Promoters Andre and Danielle Maur are very excited, not only for the PSA Pro players, but also for squash in the US, which is growing at an incredible pace.

“This year’s locations are in Atlanta, Houston, Vegas, Chicago, Phoenix and Boca Raton, and next year we will add more locations to the tour,” said Andre Maur. “We have a fantastic team with tournament coordinators Jahanzeb Khan in Houston, Richard Glanfield in Vegas, Garry John in Phoenix and Franz Schwerer in Chicago, who are all excited to welcome players to their events.

“Our tour brings $60K in total prize money ($10K each) to the PSA,” Maur continued. “We will be adding one more location in 2014 and another in 2015 to round us out with eight stops on our Grand Prix Series.”

Maur, a former player on the PSA World Tour, has been promoting and directing tournaments for the past 20 years. “But this is by far my biggest challenge,” added Maur. “I know the expectations and how to treat the players to the highest professional level.”

United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced it has selected DDB New York as its agency of record.

The agency will be responsible for brand strategy and creative, including digital campaigns.

“We’re thrilled. First, the USTA has the potential of getting more people on tennis courts, which will make the world a lot better,” said Peter Hempel, Chief Executive Officer of DDB New York.”Second, we are uniquely qualified to help the USTA achieve its worthy goal because we can energize their current players while also acquiring new members.”

DDB New York was selected as USTA’s advertising agency because of its full service offering and understanding of the brand’s business model.