Stadion Money Management has announced they will return as the title sponsor of the Web.com Tour pro golf tournament which will also return to the UGA Golf Course in 2013.

“Stadion is proud to once again serve as the title sponsor for the Web.com Tour’s tournament at the UGA Golf Course,” said Jud Doherty, the President of Stadion. “The Stadion Classic at UGA has been a tremendous success and a great opportunity to see some of the best golfers in the world compete right here in Athens. The best part is through the TICKETS Fore CHARITY program almost $310,000 over the last three years has been invested in the Athens community. We hope this year local charities will be able to raise even more.”

“I am pleased that the Stadion Classic will return to the UGA Golf Course in 2013,” UGA President Michael F. Adams said. “This is a great event for a great cause, and it has been embraced by the Athens community as one of the highlights of the spring. I am grateful to the PGA TOUR for its partnership and support of this event.”

The Stadion Classic at UGA will take place April 29-May 5, according to the PGA TOUR.

This will mark the fourth straight year that UGA has hosted the Stadion Classic. The tournament was known as the Athens Regional Foundation Classic from 2006-09. Watkinsville-based Stadion Money Management has been the title sponsor since the event moved to the UGA Golf Course in 2010.

The Stadion Classic at UGA continues to be the only PGA TOUR-sanctioned event that is owned and operated by an institution of higher education. The South Georgia Classic in Valdosta is the only other Web.com Tour event played in Georgia.

The tournament will be operated by UGA’s Auxiliary Services Division. Net proceeds from the event will benefit the University’s need-based scholarship program. Additionally, the Stadion Classic at UGA supports TICKETS Fore CHARITY, which benefits non-profit organizations in communities where PGA TOUR, Web.com Tour and Champions Tour tournaments are held.

The Stadion Classic at UGA has developed into a showcase for the success of the UGA men’s golf program. Twenty-five players with connections to the Bulldogs have teed it up in Athens over the past three years. On the final day the last two years, a Bulldog — Russell Henley in 2011 and Hudson Swafford in 2012 — has held the Stadion Classic at UGA trophy. Henley won the 2011 event as an amateur, becoming just the second man in Web.com Tour history at that time to do so. He had secured his place in the field with one of the two sponsor’s exemptions given to current members of the UGA team with the season’s best scoring averages. Swafford won the 2012 tournament by ending with three consecutive birdies, including a hole-out from a greenside bunker with his final shot.

“The Web.com Tour is delighted to announce its return to the University of Georgia,” Web.com Tour president Bill Calfeesaid. “We’ve enjoyed a wonderful partnership with the University since making the move to UGA in 2010 and, with their leadership and the support of Stadion Money Management, the tournament continues to grow. The UGA Golf Course has become a real favorite among the players. Having Russell and Hudson win the last two years made for some great storylines and did a lot to energize everyone involved with the Stadion Classic at UGA. We think the Web.com Tour has a very bright future in Athens.”

Canon Inc. announced today that the company will sponsor four of the International Skating Union’s most prestigious figure skating competitions, spanning the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 seasons.

Canon will sponsor a total of four International Figure Skating Championships: the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, and the ISU World Figure Skating Championships. As part of this sponsorship, Canon will provide products, technologies and services to contribute to the success of each event.

At numerous sporting competitions both in Japan and overseas, Canon has provided behind-the-scenes support to members of the press covering these events, including camera and lens maintenance services and product loans.

To further improve on-site media support at all eight Canon-sponsored competitions spanning the two seasons, the company is planning to establish a camera service center at each event to assist the numerous journalists and sports photographers from various countries and regions across the world.

Inetol Headwear, sale a leading international headwear manufacturer, has extended its partnership with the Asian Tour for another three years until the end of 2015, officials announced today.

Inetol Headwear signed up as “Official Headwear Supplier” of the Asian Tour in an initial three-year agreement in 2010 and its CEO Albert Chow was delighted to maintain its proud and successful association with the region’s elite professional golf tour.

Based in Hong Kong with factories in Zhuhai (Southern China) and Qingdao (Northern China), Inetol Headwear is recognised as a leading manufacturer for retail and promotional headwear. It also has been involved with NFL, Nascar and a host of other leading professional golf tournaments on the Asian Tour.

Chow said: “We are delighted to extend a new three-year agreement as the Official Headwear Supplier of the Asian Tour until 2015. The Asian Tour is the leading professional circuit in Asia and we are proud to be associated with an organisation which is making giant strides in the world of golf.

“As the leading headwear manufacturer in China, we distribute 10 million caps a year and we are excited with this new extension as the exposure that we receive through our partnership with the Asian Tour is immense and complements our position as a leading headwear manufacturer.”

Inetol Headwear takes pride for their track record for on-time delivery, fast turnaround, consistent quality and unparalleled customer service.

Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han expressed his gratitude to Inetol Headwear for their extended support, saying it reinforces the appeal of the Asian Tour.

“On behalf of our talented players, we would like to extend our fullest appreciation to Inetol Headwear for its belief and confidence in the Asian Tour. We have enjoyed three very good years with Inetol and this new agreement will see us extend our partnership for another three years,” said Han

OneMain Financial announced a partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing to be the primary sponsor of the No.11 OneMain Financial car driven by Elliott Sadler in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2013.

OneMain Financial will also have associate sponsorship on two additional Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide Series entries.

Mary McDowell, President and CEO of OneMain Financial stated: “We are thrilled to continue our incredibly successful presence in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Our customers and employees are huge supporters of this great sport, and we could not be happier to continue our relationship with Elliott Sadler and team up with Joe Gibbs Racing in this new partnership. Elliott and our racing program were integral components of the OneMain Financial brand launch last year, and we are looking forward to continuing to leverage this platform to grow our brand and our business in 2013.”

The 2013 season will mark OneMain Financial’s 10th season as a sponsor in NASCAR, and the company remains committed to the sport and the connections it enables them to make with its customers and employees. Over the last two seasons, the OneMain Racing program with driverElliott Sadler has recorded four wins, 9 poles, 27 top-fives and 48 top-10 finishes in 68 starts.

Sadler comes to JGR as an experienced NASCAR veteran and will start the next chapter of his 17-year career by continuing his relationship with OneMain Financial as he runs for a championship in 2013. Voted the 2011 Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver, Sadler finished second in the battle for the championship in 2011 and 2012. In 195 career series starts, Sadler has accumulated 9 wins, 46 top-five and 85 top-10 finishes. In 2010 Sadler became the 21st driver to win a race in each of NASCAR’s national series (Sprint Cup, Nationwide, Truck Series).

“OneMain Financial has been a flagship sponsor in the NASCAR Nationwide Series since 2005,” Sadler said. “I consider myself very fortunate to have shared in much of their success on and off thetrack. We’ve won poles and races together and hope to continue our winning tradition in 2013. Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota have been a dominant combination in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and I’m elated to have an opportunity to join forces with them as well.”

”We’re excited about the partnership with OneMain Financial and having Elliott Sadler join our team in 2013,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. “OneMain Financial has been a tremendous supporter of our sport and has developed a successful program that engages both their customers and employees. Elliott is obviously a great talent and his experience will be an asset to our entire Nationwide Series program.”

ATB Financial has become the title sponsor of curling’s Canadian Masters which will now be hosted under the new banner of the 2014 ATB Financial Canadian Masters Curling Championship, Mar. 31 to Apr. 6.

Daryl Wilson, the branch manager at the Coaldale ATB, said the sponsorship was a natural fit considering the sport is so popular in the community.

“We saw it as a good opportunity to profile, not only the Town of Coaldale, but curling in general.”

ATB Financial’s sponsorship and the hosting of the Masters will also lead into the development of two junior curling scholarships, a legacy from the event.
“Maybe we can extend this into more years,” said the championship co-chairman Roger Hohm of the scholarships.

Although the Masters is a national curling competition, the local committee anticipates most of the spectators will be from the Coaldale region.

“Curling is one of those big Canadian sports and a big Southern Alberta sport,” added Hohm who is co-chairing the Masters with Larry Taylor.

Lana Walsh, who is sponsorship co-ordinator, said having ATB Financial sign on as title sponsor is a big relief and gives the committee a springboard as they move forward generating additional sponsorship for the event.

She said having a title sponsor in ATB fits in with the focus of the Masters which includes community involvement and a youth aspect.

“This is a great way to showcase sport and recreation,” she added.
She said hosting the Canadian Masters in Coaldale is also a good way to show how curling really is a sport for all ages.

Hohm said having a title sponsor in place this early in the planning should help the event come together more quickly. Walsh agreed and hopes it will also attract other sponsors to the event now that a major sponsor has shown their support for the Masters in Coaldale.

It came as no real surprise to the committee that ATB Financial has come on as the major sponsor. Hohm said the committee had discussed who would be a good fit for the event in Coaldale and ATB Financial was a natural choice.
“It’s very important for us to be out there,” said Wilson.

Not only will ATB be providing financial support for the event but it will also be promoting the event, serving as a ticket outlet for the Masters and providing volunteer support.

“That’s just what we do,” said Wilson.
Volunteerism is a big thing for ATB staff and he said he has no doubt staff members would be signing up to help with the Masters even if the bank was not the title sponsor.

“We don’t even have to ask.”

Walsh said the committee wants ATB to be visible at event and to gain from their sponsorship partnership with the Masters.

“We want to give back to the Branch,” she added.

Wilson said the staff are excited to be involved in the Canadian Masters.
“We have some curlers here.”

Hohm said two staff members had already signed up as volunteers at the committee level before ATB Financial became a sponsor.

Walsh said the host committee is targeting the first three months of 2013 as its time frame for locking down the additional sponsorship needed to host the Canadian Masters. They would like to involve sponsors in both the 2013 and 2014 Coaldale Granite Club’s curling seasons including having their company names and logos visible at the curling rink.

“It’s starting to get exciting,” said Hohm.

Barilla, the Italian food company, announced today that since the start of the season it has started collaborating with the U.S. Ski Team’s Mikaela Shiffrin. 

The 17-year-old, who recently secured third place at the slalom in Levi, Finland and is considered one to watch for heading into the World Cup in Aspen, Colorado on November 24, 2012 and Sochi, Russia 2014, will now take to the slopes wearing the well-known Barilla logo on her helmet.

Die Wirtschaftsprüfungs- und Beratungsgesellschaft PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) verlängert ihre im vergangenen Jahr begonnene Partnerschaft mit der Stiftung Deutsche Sporthilfe für weitere vier Jahre bis Ende 2016. PwC bleibt exklusiver Partner des Förder-Modells ElitePlus der Deutschen Sporthilfe. Den im ElitePlus-Programm eingebundenen Spitzensportlern gewährt die Deutsche Sporthilfe mit finanzieller Unterstützung von PwC bis zu den Olympischen Spielen 2014 in Sotschi und 2016 in Rio de Janeiro für maximal achtzehn Monate eine regelmäßige Monatszahlung von 1.500 Euro. Im Programm Sotschi 2014 sind fünf Athleten vom Gutachterausschuss der Sporthilfe sportfachlich aufgenommen worden, asthma so die viermaligen Eiskunstlauf-Weltmeister Aljona Savchenko und Robin Szolkowy.

“Medaillen gewinnen und gleichzeitig ein Turbo-Studium mit Topabschluss absolvieren ist unmöglich. PwC freut sich, for sale Athletinnen und Athleten auch künftig finanziell zu unterstützen und zusätzlich mit Praktikumsmöglichkeiten, capsule Fortbildungsprogrammen bis hin zu möglichen Job-Angeboten ihre Chancen auf eine berufliche Karriere nach dem Sport zu fördern”, so Prof. Dr. Norbert Winkeljohann, Sprecher des Vorstands von PwC Deutschland, in Frankfurt. “Eine duale Karriere muss für Hochleistungssportler selbstverständlich werden. Die Vergleiche mit der Sportlerförderung anderer Nationen in London haben gezeigt, dass Deutschland trotz hoher Ansprüche nicht die besten Rahmenbedingungen für Sportlerinnen und Sportler schafft. Wir möchten als eines von mehreren deutschen Unternehmen hier mit gutem Beispiel vorangehen. 17 Medaillen der insgesamt 33 ElitePlus-Athletinnen und Athleten in London zeigen, dass unser Programm funktioniert; und wir freuen uns, mit dem Judo-Silbermedaillengewinner Ole Bischoff seit dem 1. Oktober 2012 auch einen neuen Mitarbeiter gewonnen zu haben.”

“Wir sind sehr dankbar, dass die neue Partnerschaft mit PwC in den vergangenen eineinhalb Jahren so gut verlaufen ist. Die Verlängerung bis 2016 beweist, dass PwC eine nachhaltige Sportförderung auf Spitzenniveau betreibt. Das ElitePlus-Programm versetzt die Athletinnen und Athleten in die Lage, sich angesichts des internationalen Wettbewerbs bestmöglich auf den olympischen Höhepunkt vorzubereiten”, sagt Dr. Michael Ilgner, Vorsitzender des Vorstands der Deutschen Sporthilfe.

Folgende fünf Athleten sind aktuell im Förderprogramm ElitePlus: Anja Huber (Skeleton, zweifache Welt- und Europameisterin), Frank Rommel (Skeleton, Welt- und Europameister), Aljona Savchenko (Eiskunstlauf, viermalige Weltmeisterin), Robin Szolkowy (Eiskunstlauf, viermaliger Weltmeister), Jenny Wolf (Eisschnelllauf, fünffache Weltmeisterin)

Aljona Savchenko, Eiskunstlauf-Weltmeisterin: “Die Sporthilfe hat mir in meiner Karriere immer sehr geholfen. Doch dieses ElitePlus-Programm hat eine völlig neue Qualität, und besonders freue ich mich über das Vertrauen, das mir auf diese Weise entgegen gebracht wird. Ich habe mit meinem Partner Robin schon öfters ganz oben gestanden, in Vancouver wurden wir Dritte. In Sotschi wollen wir optimal vorbereitet an den Start gehen und die Besten der Welt endlich auch bei Olympia besiegen.”

Jenny Wolf, Eisschnelllauf-Weltmeisterin “Die Sporthilfe hat mich bereits seit 1994 unterstützt und dies auch in Jahren getan, wo es nicht so gut lief. Für die Aufnahme in die Eliteförderung und nun in das ElitePlus-Programm bin ich der Sporthilfe sehr dankbar, das verbessert meine Aussichten für Sotschi nochmals. Kein Sportler sollte so etwas als selbstverständlich erachten.”

Voraussetzung für die Aufnahme in ElitePlus ist in besonderer Weise die Aussicht auf einen Medaillengewinn bei den Olympischen Winterspielen 2014 oder den Sommerspielen 2016. Dies trifft auf Athleten zu, die bereits der Eliteförderung der Sporthilfe angehören, im Ausnahmefall auch auf Athleten, die in der Nachwuchs-Eliteförderung der Sporthilfe eingestuft sind, sofern sie die definierte Perspektive für die Olympischen Spiele aufweisen. Darüber hinaus können dies auch Athleten sein, die zwar keinem der beiden Förderprogramme angehören, jedoch beispielsweise als Mitglieder der Top-Teams Sotschi oder Rio des DOSB nachweislich Medaillenperspektiven haben. Das Programm ist dynamisch konzipiert und basiert auf Leistung: Es können neue Medaillenhoffnungen hinzukommen, gleichzeitig kann zum Beispiel bei einer Nicht-Qualifizierung für Sotschi oder Rio der Anspruch der Athleten aber auch verfallen.

Für Athleten, die bei der Bundeswehrfördergruppe, der Polizei, der Bundespolizei, dem Zoll oder vergleichbaren Institutionen angestellt sind, ist das ElitePlus-Programm der Sporthilfe nicht vorgesehen, da in diesen Fällen bereits gute Rahmenbedingungen vorhanden sind, die durch die öffentliche Hand finanziert werden.

Zu PwC: PwC ist der weltweit und in Deutschland führende Anbieter von branchenspezifischen Dienstleistungen in den Bereichen Wirtschaftsprüfung, Steuerberatung und Unternehmensberatung. Weltweit arbeiten in 158 Ländern mehr als 180.000 Mitarbeiter, in Deutschland 9.300 Mitarbeiter an 28 Standorten.

Brasileiro club Corinthians has inked a shirt sponsorship deal with Brazilian bank Caixa Econômica Federal.

Corinthians had been without a main jersey sponsor since April when its deal with pharmaceutical company Hypermarcas expired. U

Until now the club had agreed to a number of temporary jersey sponsorship deals for its games but no long-term contract. The agreement with Caixa Econômica Federal will run through 2014.

The bank will be Corinthians’ only jersey sponsor when it plays in the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan later this year, as football’s governing body only allows participating clubs one jersey sponsor for the tournament. For the rest of the contract, Caixa Econômica Federal will not have exclusivity on the jersey of the São Paulo club.

The official announcement is expected later on Tuesday.

Champion Racing Association officials have announced that Scorpion Racing Products has agreed to continue its sponsorship of the ARCA/CRA Super Series for the 2013 racing season, ailment including supporting the ARCA/CRA Super Series Southern Tour, order which has its season opening event on January 27th with SpeedFest 2013 at Watermelon Capital Speedway.

2013 will be Scorpion Racing Products fourth straight season of supporting the ARCA/CRA Super Series as it begins its 17th season of competition.

Scorpion Racing Products will award the seventh and eleventh place finishers in each series point’s event with $50 Product Certificates. Scorpion Racing Products will also award the seventh and eleventh place finishers in final 2013 ARCA/CRA Super Series and ARCA/CRA Super Series Southern Tour points with $250 product certificates. Scorpion Racing Products will also be the sponsor of the popular At The Track Web Updates for two series events during the 2013 season.

Scorpion Racing Products is the marketing and distribution company for the products that Scorpion Performance manufactures.