The Professional Darts Corporation have confirmed Coral as the title sponsor of the UK Open.

Leading bookmaker Coral has extended its association of Professional Darts Corporation events with their sponsorship of the UK Open, which will see the Televised Finals broadcast live on ITV4 from March 7-9.

The tournament, previously staged in Bolton since its inception in 2003, will see play split across eight stages in the Televised Finals at Butlins Minehead, as top stars compete alongside emerging professionals and amateur hopefuls over three days.

“The UK Open has become a massive favourite for both players and fans of darts in the past decade, and I’m delighted that Coral has continued its support of the world’s best tournaments with its sponsorship of the 2014 Coral UK Open,” said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.

“Many stars have enjoyed their first taste of the big time in the UK Open previously, and the open draw format is ideal for providing shock results, massive match-ups in the early rounds and a fantastic few days of action for both fans at the event and watching live on TV.

“With both a new venue at the Butlins Minehead Resort and a new broadcaster in ITV4 showing this year’s Coral UK Open, the tournament promises to be better than ever.”

Simon Clare, PR Director for Coral, said: “We are delighted to strengthen our relationship with the PDC through another major darts sponsorship and one which, thanks to its format, promises to thrill sports fans and appeal hugely to Coral betting shop and online customers.

“Darts is one of the most popular sports to bet on and by associating the Coral brand with one of the PDC’s premier events we aim to to attract even more sports betting customers to open accounts and bet with Coral.”

The 2014 Coral UK Open kicks off in February, when professional players on the PDC ProTour compete in six Qualifiers, each worth £50,000 in prize money.

The professional Qualifiers will be held from February 7-9 and 21-23 at the Robin Park Tennis Centre, and are open to PDC Tour Card Holders and PDPA Associate Members.

ZF Friedrichshafen AG has become an official series partner of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship for the 2014 season.

The premier sportscar series in North America, features 12 races throughout the United States and Canada.

The new, multi-year partnership with the TUDOR Championship series enables ZF to focus their North American motorsports efforts toward the further development of the new sports car series, helping establish a firm presence and increased awareness of the ZF brand in North America.

Several teams in the TUDOR Championship are already using ZF racing clutch systems and ZF dampers, as well as benefitting from ZF’s track-side technical support, including Audi, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche and many of the Daytona prototype entries.

Racing teams are supported by ZF Race Engineering – a dedicated motorsports engineering and service team established in 2006, for the company’s growing North American racing program.

ZF will also use the TUDOR Championship affiliation to bring its unique Race Reporter program to North America. The series of social media video programs, established in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) in 2012 and Japan’s Super GT Series this last year, invites motorsports fans behind-the-scenes for glimpses of the racing series. Fans have the opportunity to experience the real excitement of racing while also gaining an understanding of how ZF’s products contribute to racing teams’ on-track success and how that technology translates to production vehicles.

“Around the globe, many renowned racing teams and car manufacturers have relied on ZF’s innovative technologies and first-class service to help them win – from the top Formula 1 teams, DTM competitors to the World Rally Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” said Dr. Stefan Sommer, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen AG. “The new TUDOR United SportsCar Championship series fuses elements of DTM and Super GT, opening up an international growth perspective for worldwide sports car racing. It is the perfect stage for us to demonstrate the technical excellence of ZF products.”

“Today’s announcement of ZF’s investment in IMSA and the TUDOR Championship is particularly gratifying as it is the first example of a new corporate partnership that is a result of the merger,” said Scott Atherton, IMSA president and chief operating officer.

“We have spoken to ZF before, but it was the unification of sports car racing that caught their attention and brought us together. We are honored that ZF has entrusted us with the opportunity to help them build their brand’s awareness acrossNorth America. ZF has been a major provider of leading drivetrain technology for over 100 years and we look forward to working with them to jointly build the TUDOR Championship and the awareness of the ZF brand. Today marks the beginning of what we hope will be a long and mutually beneficial collaboration.”

A-League team Central Coast Mariners have announced long-term major partner Mars Food Australia have reaffirmed their commitment to the club.

They have extended their front of shirt sponsorship via their MASTERFOODS brand until the completion of the Hyundai A-League 2014/15 season.

Mars Food Australia have made a significant increase in their financial pledge to the Club, sale with the locally based but internationally recognised company eager to build upon their alliance with the Central Coast’s only professional sporting franchise.

Mars Food Australia directly employs overs 300 Central Coast people in a variety of roles, malady with the company’s state of the art factory based just kilometres from the Mariners’ training and administrative headquarters in Tuggerah, check New South Wales.

Through their MASTERFOODS brand, Mars Food Australia have been a Central Coast Mariners principle partner since the Hyundai A-League’s inaugural season, and via a number of innovative and unique activations the company’s sponsorship with the Club has since grown to become one of the most recognisable and effective in the competition.

Central Coast Mariners Commercial Manager, Mr Grant Cremer, said: “The MASTERFOODS brand and the Central Coast Mariners Football Club have become synonymous over the past 15 months with fans and media alike generating a wide range of MASTERFOODS inspired content over a variety of mediums,” Cremer said. “For instance, the light-hearted skits produced by the likes of Fox Sports’ B-League boys and Santo, Sam & Ed have certainly enhanced the fundamentals of the partnership, enabling us to deliver increased value to MASTERFOODS.”

“With Mars Food Australia now significantly increasing their financial commitment to the Mariners, it is up to everyone at the Club to continue thinking of new and distinctive ways to promote the MASTERFOODS brand not only to the Australian football family, but Australian sports fans in general.”

“But as of today I am delighted to confirm that the much-loved MASTERFOODS sauce bottles, and the MASTERFOODS blimp, will remain important and celebrated features of our Hyundai A-League match days at Gosford’s Bluetongue Stadium,” Cremer said.

Mars Food Australia’s Chief Financial Officer, Andrew Poll, said the locally based company is proud of the long-standing relationship with the Central Coast Mariners.

“We believe in bringing Australian families together to share great food and strong connection, likewise our partnership with the Central Coast Mariners helps both organisations bring the local community together in our wonderful environment,” Poll said.

“Our partnership with the Central Coast Mariners has developed significantly over the past 15 months, with our brand becoming iconic with the Club’s supporters and Hyundai A-League followers.”

“We look forward to working with the Mariners to drive new ideas to football fans and media in order to strengthen the wellbeing of families and the community through this relationship. It’s an exciting time to be involved in football in Australia and on the Central Coast, and MASTERFOODS is proud to be playing a part,” he said.

Scuderia Toro Rosso has signed a sponsorship agreement with Sapinda Holding B.V. for the upcoming season.

The Sapinda Holding logo will be visible on the drivers’ and mechanics’ race suits and on the mirrors and front wing end plates of the cars. 

Sapinda Holding is a privately owned Principal Investment holding company, prostate which focuses on investment opportunities across continental Europe, adiposity Asia and Africa. Sapinda manages a global portfolio of long-term holdings in selected sectors and industries, bronchi with current focus on agriculture, mining, oil & gas and technology.

As an international company with plans to expand into other markets, Sapinda sees Formula 1 as a relevant global networking platform and expects the partnership with Scuderia Toro Rosso to be a key step within their global business development. 

Sapinda Holding B.V. is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, while its largest office is located in London. The group has offices across Europe, Africa and Asia, including London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Moscow and Hong Kong, and employs a large team of professionals in management, back office and execution functions.

Baltimore-based STX, LLC, a global sporting goods leader, today announced the signing of US Ice Hockey player Hilary Knight to a five-year agreement.

Knight will begin using STX product at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, to be held Feb. 7-23. In her role with STX, Knight will serve as the key ambassador for STX women’s ice hockey and continue to help the company support awareness and growth of the sport globally. Additionally, the Olympian will be heavily involved in the testing and development of STX ice hockey equipment.

“I am so honored and excited to partner with STX,” said Knight.  “With their commitment to excel in the sport of hockey and their deeply rooted background in technology, I look forward to working with them to develop top-tier products and embark on this journey together.”

Knight has won four World Championships, two NCAA National Championships, an MVP title in the 2011 National Championship game and three All-American titles in women’s hockey.  In 2010, she made her Olympic debut at age 20 in Vancouver as the youngest member of the US team, which captured the Silver Medal. Knight was then drafted first overall to the Boston Blades in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL).  In her rookie season, the forward emerged as leading scorer and was the first American to be named MVP of the CWHL.

“Our partnership with USA Hockey and Hilary provides STX a unique opportunity to connect with female hockey players around the world,” said Matt Hoppe, STX Senior Global Brand Manager.  “Hilary is an athlete at the top of her sport and we are incredibly excited to have her join the STX family. We look forward to supporting her Olympic goals and developing a long term partnership with her.”

Cotton Incorporated and Phoenix International Raceway announced a partnership for an at-track denim recycling initiative and entitlement to the Blue Jeans Go Green 200 presented by Cotton, sale The Fabric of Our Lives NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday, order March 1.

“The partnership with Phoenix International Raceway places the Blue Jeans Go Green denim recycling program in the unique position of being both in the national and regional spotlight, discount ” said Andrea Samber, Co-Director, Strategic Alliances, Cotton Incorporated. “The NASCAR audience is large and diverse and Cotton Incorporated is excited to be able to promote its environmentally-responsible program to keep old denim out of landfills and give it new life by converting it into denim insulation for communities in need.”

The Blue Jeans Go Green 200 will be supported by an at-track recycling program in which race weekend attendees will be able to drop off any type of denim at one of four recycling collection bin locations that will be set up around the track. Phoenix International Raceway is proud to provide a 20 percent discount on tickets to the November 2014 PIR NASCAR Nationwide Series race to fans who recycle denim with Blue Jeans Go Green during the Spring race weekend. The denim will then be converted into UltraTouch Denim Insulation by Bonded Logic, located in Chandler, Ariz.

“We are thrilled to welcome Cotton Incorporated and the Blue Jeans Go Green program to Phoenix International Raceway as the title sponsor of our Nationwide event,” said Bryan Sperber, President of Phoenix International Raceway. “We are tremendously proud to be associated with such a great organization and I encourage our fans to recycle their jeans and denim to this great cause.”

To date, Blue Jeans Go Green has diverted more than 600 tons of waste out of landfills and generated approximately 2 million square feet of UltraTouch Denim Insulation to assist with building efforts in communities in need. Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona will be one of the primary beneficiaries of insulation manufactured from denim collected during the Blue Jeans Go Green 200 race weekend.

“We are new to NASCAR but have learned quickly that the sport’s fans are incredibly brand loyal,” Samber said. “If that support translates into participation in this cause marketing program then the Blue Jeans Go Green 200 event has the potential to be the largest weekend collection since we introduced the denim recycling program in 2006.”