British bookmakers William Hill have become a new sponsor of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace in London after signing a two-year deal with the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).

The seven-figure deal will see William Hill become the title sponsor of the event – which will now be known as the ‘William Hill World Darts Championship.’

 The 72-player tournament, staged by the PDC and broadcast live on Sky Sports, will be held throughout December and January, with play spanning the Christmas and New Year period before the first world champion of 2015 is crowned.

The William Hill World Darts Championship will be the online firm’s second darts sponsorship, following on from their successful three-year sponsorship of the Grand Slam of Darts at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall from 2011-2013.

Kristof Fahy, Chief Marketing Officer at William Hill, said, “The World Darts Championship is a great addition to our brand sponsorship portfolio.

“It’s a great fit. The UK’s biggest bookmaker and the biggest event in Darts.”

Andy Lee, Managing Director of William Hill Online said, “We are delighted to announce our sponsorship of the William Hill World Darts Championship.

“Our online business has shown strong growth in recent years and we believe sponsorships like this will help us reach new audiences and continue to help us grow.’

PDC Chairman Barry Hearn said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome William Hill as the new title sponsor for the World Darts Championship.

“Since first being staged in 1993-94, this tournament has grown into the biggest in darts, not only in terms of prize money and stature – with over £1 million paid out in the sport’s richest event – but also with the fantastic crowds who flock to Alexandra Palace every year.

“With over 50,000 fans attending live and hundreds of millions more watching on Sky Sports and around the world, the William Hill World Darts Championship has an amazing global reach.”

Equipment brand Lynx has been announced will be the Official Golf Club of the Ricoh Women’s British Open for the next three years.

Under the terms of the agreement, drugs Lynx becomes the Official Golf Club at the event when it takes place at The Royal Birkdale Golf Club, vialis 40mg Southport, pharm on 10-13 July.

As a key sponsor, Lynx will have a 100m² exhibition stand, a hitting bay on the Official Practice Range, manufacturer status access to the tournament’s practice putting green and major on-course branding, as well as a host of other benefits.

Announcing the agreement, Lynx Golf UK managing partner, Stephanie Zinser, said: “Becoming the leading equipment brand in the ladies’ market is just one of the goals we have for Lynx in a long-term vision for our brand.

“This is a huge leap forwards and demonstrates the level of commitment and investment we are prepared to put behind Lynx in the next few years.

“The success and development of the ladies game is extremely important to us and we are delighted to be playing a key role in its future by being a partner in this high profile event.

“The decision to support Ladies’ European Tour player and rising star Lydia Hall was the first step in this direction and we are consolidating and strengthening our intent with this next relationship.”

Lynx will now have the right to use the Official Title and Championship logos in its marketing and enjoy significant exposure through the Golfing World media channels, as well as staging an exclusive visitors’ putting clinic and trick shot demonstration during the Ricoh Women’s British Open.

Ross Hallett, IMG Tournament Director, speaking on behalf of the Ricoh Women’s British Open Championship said: “We are delighted at this new partnership with Lynx Golf and we are excited about the long term opportunities that this brings to both parties.

“Lynx Golf has a strong tradition with ladies’ golf as well as being an innovative and high quality brand, which mirrors the values of the Ricoh Women’s British Open very nicely. We look forward to working together.”

Ladies European Tour golfer Charley Hull has secured a financial boost after Ricoh UK agreed a two-year sponsorship deal.

Charley currently leads the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit and is one of the top 70 ranked players on the Rolex Women’s World Rankings. The arrangement further strengthens Ricoh’s sponsorship of women’s golf, cialis expanding on its support of the Ricoh Women’s British Open.

Carolyn Scrivener, thumb head of marketing and communications, pills Ricoh, said: “Charley is an exceptional sportswoman who is blazing a trail for women’s golf. We are committed to supporting emerging British talent and are looking forward to watching our passionate and dedicated new brand ambassador continue to develop her golfing career, starting with this week’s Kraft Nabisco Championship.”

Ricoh branding will appear on Charley’s cap and she will make appearances for Ricoh during the year.

Charley said: “I’ve had a really good start to the year with my first win in Morocco and I am very excited to play at Mission Hills this week. Having Ricoh behind me is real boost and I am very grateful for their support which will allow me to concentrate on playing my best golf. I’ll be proud to wear their brand when I compete in major tournaments all over the world, and especially so when I play at the Ricoh Women’s British Open this summer at Royal Birkdale.”

Vicky Cuming, Charley’s manager at IMG said: “We are delighted that Ricoh has chosen to support Charley at such an important juncture in her career. Since turning Pro a year ago, she has taken the golfing world by storm. Just two weeks ago, and still only 17 years old, Charley captured her first Professional win at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco, where she won the event with a five shot deficit to the overnight leader. Ricoh’s support will help ensure Charley continues to compete at the world’s major golfing events.”

Kia Motors have secured a two-year extension with World Archery for sponsorship of Archery World Cup and other top international competitions. 

As one of the original partners of the Archery World Cup when it was launched in 2006, Kia Motors has supported each step of archery’s evolution to its current status as in-demand spectator sport.

The organisation will continue to have sector exclusivity as Official Car Sponsor of the Archery World Cup for the duration of the partnership extension. Kia’s brand, one of positivity, economy, adventure and openness – evidenced in its current marketing strategy of inviting customer reviews – is seen as the perfect complement for archery.

Over the last eight years, Kia has seen the value of its association with World Archery consistently increase as the sport gains wider exposure. Archery is now regularly broadcast on television channels around the world, offers one of the best live event experiences on the Olympic programme and gets more press coverage than ever before.

In 2013, the company expanded its live archery event sponsorship to include partnerships onEurosport programming and awareness campaigns. World Archery recently signed a three-year deal with Eurosport that will keep archery on television until at least the end of 2016.

Kia Motors’ overseas subsidiaries and distributors, in cooperation with global HQ, often offer additional support to archery events. In Europe, the company recently supplied official vehicles to the World Archery Championships in Belek/Antalya, Turkey and the indoor championships in Nimes, France.

Archery in Kia Motors’ home country of South Korea is as popular as ever as athletes prepare for this summer’s Asian Games, which are being held in the Korean city of Incheon. The nation’s archers won both recurve events at the World Cup Final under the Eiffel Tower in Paris last year, and at London 2012 Korea won three of the four available Olympic gold medals.

World Archery Secretary General Tom DIELEN said: “World Archery’s long-standing relationship with Kia has been crucial in the success of the Archery World Cup since its inception. With Kia Motors’ continued support, the sport will continue its adventurous approach to finding iconic and unusual venues to host international events and broadcast them worldwide.”

Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Euisun CHUNG said: “Kia supports the passion and excitement in archery, emotions close to the company’s values. Kia Motors is proud to be a long-term supporter of this fascinating sport, and looks forward to the future of its partnership with World Archery.”

Automotive e-commerce destination Newegg has announced it is renewing and expanding its sponsorship of the 2014 Formula DRIFT Championship.

In addition to the event’s official Livestream, this year Newegg is sponsoring 2013 Formula DRIFT Championship winner, Michael Essa. Kicking off this year’s competition is the Long Beach GP Street Course on April 4 and 5. 

“Newegg is thrilled to sponsor Formula DRIFT’s Livestream broadcast again this year,” said Soren Mills, Chief Marketing Officer of Newegg North America. “It’s a great privilege to sponsor 2013 Champion Michael Essa in this year’s event. His driving skill, automotive knowledge and do-it-yourself approach align perfectly with many of Newegg’s tech and automotive enthusiasts.”

On April 6, Newegg.com will kick off a landing page dedicated to Formula Drift activities. Viewers can watch a livestream of Formula DRIFT events and shop great deals covering a huge selection of automotive products.

“We are happy to have Newegg back with Formula DRIFT for the 2014 Championship,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT Holdings, LLC. “Newegg’s custom computer builders, gamers and digital lifestyle early adopters are a great fit with our tech-savvy audience.”