Scottish soft drink manufacturer A.G. Barr p.l.c. has been announced today as an Official Supporter of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The company, whose links with Glasgow date back more than 100 years, will be supporting the Games through its wide portfolio of brands including: IRN-BRU, Scotland’s ‘other national drink’, Rubicon, the UK’s number one exotic juice drinks range, as well as Strathmore Scottish spring water and Barr, Scotland’s favourite range of soft drink flavours.

Strathmore water and other beverages will be supplied by A.G. Barr to the Athletes’ Village during Games time, and IRN-BRU, Strathmore, Rubicon and Barr will be made available across Glasgow 2014 venues.

Barr Soft Drinks was established in 1875 when former Chairman Robin Barr’s great grandfather Robert Barr set up a soft drinks business in Falkirk.

In 1887, a second business was established in Glasgow’s Gallowgate and since then A.G. Barr has continued to grow to become one of the UK’s leading independent manufacturers of branded soft drinks.

The company has a long history of sports sponsorship dating back to the early 1900s when IRN-BRU was associated with sporting heroes of the day Donald Dinnie, all round Champion Athlete of the World, and Alex Munro, Champion Caber Tosser of the World and Champion Wrestler.

In more recent times, there is Rubicon’s association with Twenty20 cricket in 2010/11, Strathmore’s support for Glasgow and Edinburgh Road Races, IRN-BRU’s backing of the Scottish Football League and its support for the Rugby Football League in England as well as its sponsorship of Glasgow-based Queens Park FC.

Glasgow 2014 Chief Executive David Grevemberg said: “I am delighted to welcome such a well-known Scottish brand into the Glasgow 2014 family of supporters.

“A.G. Barr is known around the world for being distinctly Scottish and has grown to become one of the largest soft drinks producers in the UK while remaining synonymous with the warmth and humour of Scots.

“The company has a strong track record of supporting sport at all levels from grass-roots to elite and we look forward to working with them.”

A.G. Barr Chief Executive Roger White added: “We are hugely proud of our strong roots in Scotland and our long standing Glasgow heritage, which dates back more than 100 years.

“Glasgow 2014 is massively exciting, whether you’re taking part, volunteering or watching. The Games will bring something extraordinary to a very special city, and we are delighted to play our part in that.”

Stone Brothers Racing have announced they will enter a multi-year partnership in 2013 with the renowned apparel brand KooGa, look in what is the first integrated merchandise partnership in V8 Supercars.

The locally owned and operated Gold Coast company will have their logo featured on the #47 Lucky 7 Racing Falcon at this weekend’s GC600 event with the full range of KooGa brand SBR merchandise going on sale at the Clipsal 500 in February 2013.

Jeff Reibel Commercial Manager for SBR said the partnership represents an important move forward for both SBR and KooGa.

“The partnership is so significant because, from our knowledge, it’s the first ever integrated apparel retail program in V8 Supercars. That partnership is actually with another locally owned, family run business based on the Gold Coast, which is exactly what SBR is.

“KooGa is an international brand who is well regarded throughout the sporting world and we are fortunate enough to have them partner with us for their foray into motorsport.

“What they’ll be able to bring is a different angle on the look, feel & quality of our apparel and also set us apart from other teams,” said Reibel.

Shannon Moore Chief Operating Officer of KooGa said that while their company is well known in football codes both in Australian and around the world, they are now looking forward to bringing the same quality and cutting edge designs to motorsport.

“At KooGa we are extremely excited to be in partnership with SBR. We are a proud Australian apparel manufacturer and to be able to partner with a business that shares so many of our values is something we cherish,” said Moore.

“SBR are innovators, market leaders, have a no nonsense approach and are a family owned and oriented business. All of these things are what has grown our brand to the level it is today.

“We anticipate a long and exciting partnership with SBR and hope to be able to introduce a new way of looking at V8 Supercar race team apparel that will enhance the ability of the team to perform.

“That will also translate to a better offer to the fan with more emphasis on garment quality and value than ever before.

“We see our partnership with the Stone Brothers Racing as a significant part of our strategy locally and nationally and will supply innovatively designed apparel as part of a meaningful and proactive partnership,” said Moore.

SBR merchandise will be available for purchase at the first V8 Supercars event in 2013 and will be available online through the current merchandise supplier Apparel Designs.

Italian golf apparel, in fiamme has announced it will sponsor the 2012 Charles Schwab Cup Championship, the Champions Tour season-ending event to take place Nov. 1-4  at Desert Mountain Club (Cochise Course) in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The annual field for the Schwab Cup includes the top 30 players on the Champions Tour, according to a season-long points-based competition.

“We are indeed proud to be a sponsor of this year’s Charles Schwab Cup Championship,” said Art Kimbrough, vice president of business development for in fiamme. “This is a defining event for the Champions Tour, and we look forward to our participation.”

Jay Don Blake won the 2011 Charles Schwab Cup Championship, while Tom Lehman was victorious in the season-long race for the 2011 Charles Schwab Cup title, finishing just ahead of Mark Calcavecchia to win the title and the $1 million annuity.

iON Worldwide, a global consumer electronics company today announced that snowboarders Eero Ettala and Eric Jackson, Olympic snowboarder Scotty Lago and freeskier Nick Goepper have signed on as ambassadors of Team iON.

These elite snow athletes will be sharing videos shot using their iON Air Pro cameras with fans and the iON Worldwide community, and some will participate in iON-sponsored events, such as theDew Tour iON Mountain Championships, a winter action sports event that will be held Dec. 13-16 in Breckenridge, CO.

Ettala, Goepper, Jackson and Lago join BMX rider Corey Bohan, surfer Reef McIntosh, FMX rider Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg and pro rally driver Petter Solberg as the newest members of Team iON.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be working with Eero, Eric, Scotty and Nick, who are all very respected in their disciplines. These talented and fearless athletes will be shooting and sharing some amazing video footage, which we will make available at the iON website as well as all the major social media sites,” said Giovanni Tomaselli, CEO, iON Worldwide.

The Warmup Cycling Team, cialis which competes in the New Zealand domestic road racing scene, site  has signed Chain Reaction Cycles and Specialized as two new sponsors for two years.

The Christchurch based team has also signed up with electric underfloor heating brand Warmup for another two years. Existing sponsors, medicine media and events company Enthuse and practical skills and mentoring coaching business Total Training, have also recommitted to the team. Pushbikes Cycle shops 18 month sponsorship of the team has ended.

Team spokesperson Kelly Chapman said the team appreciated the support it had received from Pushbikes but was now looking forward to the new relationships with Chain Reaction and Specialized.

“We’re grateful for the support our sponsors are committing to cycling. We are conscious of delivering value and supporting the brands and business’s that support us.”

Owner of Chain Reaction Cycles Darryn Giles said: “We look quite hard at sponsorships and how they fit the culture of our business,” he said. “The Warmup guys are all well performed riders at the level they race at and I know they will represent Chain Reaction well.”

Giles said he was excited at what was planned and the new sponsorship was just the first of several new initiatives Chain Reaction Cycles have planned for the Christchurch cycle market this summer.

English Premier League club, therapy Tottenham Hotspur have announced a new partnership with T.M.Lewin that will see the Jermyn Street tailor and shirt maker provide formal suits to the club throughout the 2012-13 season.

As part of a one-year relationship, T.M.Lewin will fit both players and staff with their hand finished tailored suits, shirts and ties.

It will not be the first time the company’s designers have worked with leading luminaries from the world of sport. T.M.Lewin is already Official Formal Wear Provider to The England Cricket team and provides suits, ties and shirts to both the Welsh Football Association and the Irish FA.

Tracey Keenan, Head of Global Partnerships at Tottenham Hotspur said: “We are delighted to announce that we will be partnering with T.M.Lewin over the coming year. As an established brand with a reputation for style and quality, T.M.Lewin is a great fit with the team and the club and we look forward to working together.”

Geoff Quinn, CEO at T.M.Lewin said: “Like us, Tottenham Hotspur has a proud and distinguished history and to this day play with a quality and style that appeals to those who appreciate how football should be played. We are delighted to be associated with such a great club.”

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and the BMO Harris Bradley Center, home to the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks have announced that the naming rights to the arena’s four main entrances have been sold to four companies, in multi-year deals.

The four companies are Miller Lite, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Kohl’s Department Stores and Potawatomi Bingo Casino. 

It is the first time the BMO Harris Bradley Center has secured corporate gate sponsors. The practice of selling naming rights for entrances is common in college and professional sports. The Green Bay Packers have sold the naming rights to its main entrances at Lambeau Field.

Kohl’s will sponsor the northwest corner gate, near N. 6th St. and W. Highland Blvd. Miller Lite will sponsor the southwest gate, near the corner of N. 6th and W. State streets. Northwestern Mutual will sponsor the southeast gate, at the corner of N. 4th and W. State streets. And Potawatomi will sponsor the northeast gate, near N. 4th and W. Highland Blvd.

The announcement comes just months after BMO Harris Bradley Center officials and the MMAC were able to secure new financial commitments to operate and maintain the building over the next few years. Earlier this year, the MMAC, working with the BMO Harris Bradley Center, created a campaign called Champions of the Community that secured about $18 million to support the arena. That commitment included the decision by BMO Harris to purchase the naming rights for the arena.

At the same time, the BMO Harris Bradley Center board of directors received a $5 million grant from the state to pay for proposed maintenance and upkeep inside and outside the arena.

In effect, the new revenue buys time to keep the arena operating while MMAC and other civic officials continue to study the possibility of financing and building a new arena.

“The BMO Harris Bradley Center helps to make Milwaukee a distinct and attractive community,” said Tim Sheehy, president of the MMAC. “These investments by some of the area’s most respected corporate citizens will provide a foundation not only for the BMO Harris Bradley Center, but also for our future as we look forward to a new arena.

“We are thrilled to have Kohl’s, Miller Lite, Northwestern Mutual and Potawatomi Bingo Casino as gate naming sponsors, and we are grateful for their support,” said Marc Marotta, chairman of the BMO Harris Bradley Center board. “The Champions of the Community effort has made an important difference in helping to preserve and maintain the center for the next several years.”

The new gate names take effect immediately. Interior and exterior signage will be installed in the next 30 days.

Rabobank is set to end their cycling sponsorship at the end of the year after losing faith in the sport following the recent drug scandal surrounding Lance Armstrong.

The Dutch lender decision to end its long association with the sport follows publication of a report by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) last week which the Dutch bank said “spoke volumes” about the extent of the drug problem facing the sport.

“We are no longer convinced that the international professional world of cycling can make this a clean and fair sport. We are not confident that this will change for the better in the foreseeable future, viagra ” Bert Bruggink, online Rabobank board member, cialis said in a statement.

“We are pulling out of professional cycling. It is painful. Not just for Rabobank, but especially for the enthusiasts and the cyclists who are not to blame in this,” he added.

Armstrong is set to lose his record seven Tour de France titles after USADA said the American took part in and organised an elaborate, sophisticated doping scheme on his way to his unrivalled success.

The 41-year-old cancer survivor has always denied taking banned substances but has decided not to challenge the USADA charges. Nike on Wednesday ended its sponsorship of Armstrong, who also announced he was stepping down as chairman of the cancer support charity he founded.

In a nation obsessed with both amateur and professional cycling, Rabobank is the biggest sponsor in Dutch professional cycling with total sponsorship worth 15 million euros ($19.64 million) a year.

Ticket2Final and EHF Marketing GmbH, capsule the marketing arm of the European Handball Federation, mind have announced a ticketing partnership for the VELUX EHF FINAL4 event.

The VELUX EHF FINAL4 will be played on 1/2 June 2013, cough in Cologne, Germany.

With Ticket2Final’s service, fans also have the opportunity to make a reservation for this event.  Fans will be able to reserve and guarantee their seat at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 event starting from today, months prior to the event. They will be able to decide whether to purchase the actual ticket should their favourite team qualify for the event. This can be done via Ticket2Final’s website: www.ticket2final.com.

Reservations are registered under the fan’s name alongside other reservations supporting their team and converted to the ticket’s face value only when the fan’s team makes it to the VELUX EHF FINAL4. The sooner a fan makes a reservation, the less expensive the reservation fee. T2F has been marketing its unique service successfully for several years to the Euroleague Final 4 event in addition to other major events in Europe.

VELUX EHF FINAL4 Manager, David Szlezak said: “We are always open to new ideas and concepts for our event. With the service from Ticket2Final we are taking another step into making the VELUX EHF FINAL4 not only innovative but also ready for the future.”

Ticket2Final’s CEO, Eyal Bechor commented: “Our service –  reserving a ticket for a small fee –  vastly reduces the risk in securing a ticket and reserves a fan’s place at the event. No longer do you need to worry about exorbitant last minute ticket purchases or buying on speculation ahead of time a ticket for hundreds of Euros when your team may not qualify. Ticket2Final simply allows you to reserve a ticket today, for a negligible fee, for the FINAL4 in six months. If your team does not make the finals, you do not pay for a ticket. You have only paid for the reservation. We allow real fans to be a part of the real experience at the game.”