Juliet Slot joins Great British Racing board

Juliet Slot, Ascot’s Commercial Director, will join the board of Great British Racing (GBR) Limited – the marketing and promotional body for British racing – from 1st January 2018.

Slot replaces RCA Chief Executive Stephen Atkin, who has been a board member since 2007 when the organisation was originally known as Racing Enterprises Limited.

Whilst Atkin is set to step down from the board, he will remain an alternate director, representing all three racecourse board members as required, and will also remain Chairman of the Audit Committee.

Slot said of her appointment: “I am very much looking forward to taking on this post on behalf of all independent racecourses. The work of Great British Racing is of great importance to the industry and I am looking forward to being part of the strategy team.”

Tony Langham, Chairman of GBR, said: “Stephen is one of racing’s nice guys and has made an enormous contribution to the success of Great British Racing. His extensive racing industry knowledge has proven invaluable on numerous occasions and he has represented the racecourses very effectively.

“On behalf of the board, I thank him for his years of service and am delighted he will remain an alternate director to the existing racecourse board members, and stays on as Chair of the Audit Committee.

“We are pleased to welcome Juliet Slot to the board, who brings with her a wealth of experience which will be invaluable to the organisation and in shaping its future direction.”

Atkin added: “It has been a privilege to work with Tony Langham, Rod Street, and the talented Great British Racing team, and to have witnessed at first hand the very significant progress made by GBR and the great promotion it provides for our wonderful sport.

“I am delighted that Juliet has accepted the opportunity to represent the RCA and racecourses on the GBR Board and I know she will make a very substantial contribution. I wish Juliet and the whole GBR team the very best for 2018 and beyond, and I am pleased to be able to continue contributing in the years ahead.”

Rugby Australia launches new Super W Competition

Rugby Australia has launched the ‘Super W’ Competition that will re-define the landscape for Women’s XVs Rugby in Australia, with the five-team competition set to kick off in March 2018.

Australia’s five State representative teams; Queensland, NSW, ACT, Victoria, and Western Australia will compete around the country in a six-week competition which will conclude with a final in April.

The new Women’s National XVs competition, Super W, is the second national Women’s Competition to be launched this year after the successful first season of the Aon University Sevens Series that was held from August to September.

In a further exciting development for Women’s Rugby, Rugby Australia has also confirmed it will bid for the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Outgoing Rugby Australia CEO, Bill Pulver, said: “For a young girl picking up a Rugby ball for the first-time next season, she will now have a clear and accessible pathway to represent her country through the Buildcorp Wallaroos and Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens team.

“Super W will allow our Women’s XVs players the opportunity to play in a high-quality competition, fully entrenched within the professional programs at each state giving them access to elite Coaching and High-Performance facilities. This will make the Buildcorp Wallaroos a significantly stronger outfit moving forward.

“The pathway is now complete in both with the Aon University Sevens Series and Super W working in tandem to provide elite opportunities for players in both formats of the game.

“Bidding for the Women’s Rugby World Cup I hope signifies to the community how serious we are about making Rugby a game for all and growing female participation. If we are successful with our bid, it will have an immediate and significant impact on Women’s Rugby.

“The Australian Rugby community has been incredibly proud of the growth of the Women’s Game in recent times and I know that this crucial competition is going to supercharge this growth in future years.”

Three exclusive new events for Betting on Football 2018

Betting on Football 2018 will feature three exclusive new events targeting those involved in affiliate marketing, esports and football based sponsorship.

To mark the fifth edition of the largest international football and betting trade conference, held at Stamford Bridge from 20-23 March, SBC Events will launch the Affiliate Insider Bootcamp, Esports Insider Super Forum and SBC Sponsorship Forum.

The AI Bootcamp (21 March) is a set of sessions for delegates in the affiliate space, with content ranging from digital marketing hacks to the latest innovative technologies.

Lee-Ann Johnstone, the Digital & Affiliate Marketing Jedi behind the AI Bootcamp launch, said: “The Affiliate Insider Bootcamp provides a mix of great networking, tangible insights and in-depth knowledge sharing that is generally unavailable at larger scale events.

“Affiliates and Operators will come together to learn about digital disruption and how to harness this change within their own business to promote long term growth. This event provides intense learning and the ability to gain detailed commercial insight that will spearhead growth in any sports betting affiliate focussed business.”

Featuring six panels and workshops comprising more than 30 esports experts, the ESI Super Forum has been confirmed for the second full day of #bofcon2018 (22 March).

It has been designed to focus on the opportunities and challenges that exist within the worlds of traditional sports and esports, as the two become increasingly intertwined.

Sam Cooke, Editor-in-Chief at Esports Insider, commented: “We’ve built on the success of the recent ESI Forum Series by focusing the ESI Super Forum on a key area which we feel has not been amply attended to in the esports conference space – that is the where traditional sports and esports meet.”

The day two agenda will also include the invite-only SBC Sponsorship Forum, managed by former AC Milan Chief Commercial Officer Jaap Kalma, which looks to bring clubs and betting brands together to discuss opportunities in football.

Kalma added: “Sponsorship is the main marketing expenditure for bookmakers, and betting has become the single largest sponsor category for football clubs. And things aren’t standing still; markets are being regulated, expenditures are growing, and the use of sponsorship has much evolved.

“With such important shared interests, it is not surprising to hear there is a strong need for a dedicated forum where bookmakers and clubs can meet each other. To learn from best practice, to network with other experts, and to find business opportunities. The SBC Sponsorship Forum during Betting on Football has been organized for just that purpose.”

The AI Bootcamp, ESI Super Forum and SBC Sponsorship Forum all double up as stand alone events and individual tracks as part of the wider conference agenda.

The others five tracks are World Cup and beyond, Global Market Profiles, Leadership, Customer Journey and Betting on Innovation, a series of presentations by companies attempting to grow their business by bringing an innovative product to market.

Don’t miss out on the current 25% Early Bird Discount on tickets for Betting on Football 2018 – Go HERE to get it!
There are also still sponsorship and exhibition opportunities available – for enquiries about these please contact us on sales@sbcnews.co.uk.

Manchester City becomes first Premier League club to launch Facebook Messenger instant games

Manchester City has become the first Premier League club to explore instant games on the Facebook Messenger platform as a means of providing fans with another unique digital experience.

Commenting on Manchester City’s commitment to uncovering innovative fan engagement opportunities, Nuria Tarre, Chief Marketing Officer for City Football Group, said: “We are constantly introducing unique ways for our local and global fan base to connect with Manchester City via exclusive content across a broad spectrum of digital platforms.

“With over 27 million followers on Facebook, our social media network represents one of our most important means of reaching our fans and providing them with the content they want to enjoy. Facebook Messenger Instant Games is another way for us to connect with our fans and we look forward to seeing how this new digital offering could grow.”

Manchester City Football Striker, exclusive to Facebook and accessible to all across the globe, allows supporters to challenge fellow City supporters – and their friends – at home and on the go.

Game features include a cartoon footballer in action on the Etihad Stadium pitch and puts fans in control of the action. Fans get the chance to play as different Manchester City players with the aim of accurately striking as many bouncing balls as possible to advance in competitions, earn coins and unlock more players.

Fans can play anytime, anywhere, to have their high score added to the leader board. This means fans in the UK can now easily compete against their counterparts in Europe, Asia, the US and beyond.

READ MORE: ‘The tip of the iceberg’: Facebook’s Jerry Newman talks sports broadcast strategies, recurring audiences and OTT

Bozena Rezab, CEO and Co-founder of Gamee, who collaborated with Manchester City on the production of the Club’s new Facebook Instant Game feature, added: “Manchester City’s commitment to digital innovation is truly making a mark on the world of sport.

“To see a football club offer a suite of engaging apps, push the boundaries with VR and even host hackathons is unheard of. It was a fantastic experience to work with such an innovative team; Manchester City is definitely one to watch and I am looking forward to seeing what they do next.”

Manchester City’s Facebook Messenger Instant Game comes following a successful couple of seasons in which the Club not only introduced official platforms on Apple News, Amazon Fire TV and Dugout, but launched a new, global fan engagement platform and continued to see its esports activity develop and progress around the world.

Olympic Channel announces six new federation partners

The Olympic Channel has today announced that it has reached cooperation agreements with the Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport (AIMS), and the international governing bodies for fistball, muaythai, polo, powerlifting and tug of war to collaborate on content for the multi-platform global media destination.

The agreements with AIMS, International Fistball Association (IFA), International Federation of Muaythai Amateur (IFMA), Federation of International Polo (FIP), International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) and Tug of War International Federation (TWIF) bring the number of partners who have announced similar agreements with the Olympic Channel to 63.

Federation partners include international sports federations (IFs), recognised federations and organisations, multi-sport organisers and non-recognised federations.

“We are excited to welcome these organisations to the Olympic Channel’s robust family of federation partners,” said Mark Parkman, general manager of the IOC’s global Olympic Channel.

“As we look ahead to 2018, we are in a great position to promote all sports and athletes within the Olympic Movement, and help to distribute their content and grow their audiences worldwide.”

In addition to live event streaming, the Olympic Channel works with its federation partners to present event coverage, highlights, magazine shows, news coverage and original programming providing an additional platform to distribute content that are complementary to current broadcast and distribution arrangements.

The Olympic Channel is a multi-platform destination where fans can experience the power of sport and the excitement of the Olympic Games all year round, and is available worldwide via mobile apps for Android and iOS devices and at olympicchannel.com.

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iSportconnect adds Sky Sports and ICC to Broadcast Masterclass lineup

iSportconnect is delighted to announce that two additional guest speakers have been added to the lineup for the Broadcast Masterclass on February 28, 2018.

Jonathan Licht, Director of Strategy at Sky Sports, and Aarti Dabas, Head of Media Rights, Broadcast & Digital at the International Cricket Council, will bring significant value to the content programme, courtesy of extensive expertise in the broadcast space.

Peter Hutton, CEO of Eurosport, has also been confirmed as a guest speaker for the event, which will bring together industry thought leaders to focus on new ways for media companies, rights owners and technology partners to prosper, thrive and grow as the digital revolution continues to disrupt the sports broadcasting market.

Staying ahead of the broadcast curve has never been more difficult, with new opportunities coming online every single day, and the event offers a unique opportunity for leading executives to learn more about a crucial sector of the sports industry.

Debates are set to include a number of crunch topics, including the rise of OTT and the future of the broadcast rights landscape, while a series of networking sessions will ensure those in attendance are able to share experiences and best practises.

The event will be staged at K&L Gates’ London office, which is located in the modern iconic premises of One New Change in the heart of the city.

No agencies or press will be in attendance and, as we follow Chatham House Rules, all panel discussions will remain confidential, allowing delegates to forge new relationships in a relaxed atmosphere.

A full speaker lineup for the event will be confirmed in due course. Please contact Chris Edbrook (chris@isportconnect.com) to register your interest in attending.

Raelene Castle appointed new Chief Executive Officer of Rugby Australia

Highly-regarded sports administrator Raelene Castle has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Rugby Australia.

The former Chief Executive Officer of National Rugby League club Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Netball New Zealand will begin her new role in January 2018, following the resignation of Bill Pulver in August.

Castle will become the first woman to lead the national governing body for Rugby and in doing so will become the first female Chief Executive across all of the major national unions in world rugby.

Castle said: “I am honoured to be joining Rugby Australia and bringing to it my commercial and sports management and marketing experience.

“Having followed Rugby closely for over 30 years and having worked in the New Zealand and Australian sporting environments for the past 10 years, there is no doubt Australian rugby has a clear international and domestic offering for both male and female athletes that can be further developed and strengthened.

“I am especially looking forward to getting out into the Rugby communities across Australia and meeting the diverse range of people that make the game tick.”

Rugby Australia Chairman, Cameron Clyne, said Castle was the standout applicant from a list of over 200 candidates: “Raelene is an extremely impressive executive who covered every base as far as what the Board was looking for in a Chief Executive Officer to lead our game into an important new chapter.

“She offers an incredible wealth of experience in sports administration and business, with an outstanding track record in commercial, marketing and communications roles.

“Through her most recent roles as CEO of the Bulldogs and Netball New Zealand, Raelene has led sporting organisations at both a national and club level, giving her an in-depth understanding of what it takes to run a national sporting body as well as the unique challenges for clubs and the importance of building strong relationships and a unity of purpose within a sporting code.”

Baroness Harding and Sandy Dudgeon join The Jockey Club’s board as Julia Budd becomes Deputy Senior Steward

Baroness Dido Harding and Sandy Dudgeon will join the main board of The Jockey Club, which runs many of British horseracing’s most popular events, including the Randox Health Grand National, The Cheltenham Festival and The Investec Derby, and is the sport’s largest commercial group.

Harding and Dudgeon have been appointed to The Jockey Club’s Board of ‘Stewards’ for three-year terms from 1st January 2018. Stewards are Members of The Jockey Club elected to oversee the performance of the Group and ensure The Jockey Club lives up to its Royal Charter commitments to act for the long-term good of British Racing, which includes reinvesting all profits back into the sport.

Baroness Harding said: “I have been involved in horseracing all my adult life and it is a huge honour and privilege to be appointed a Steward of The Jockey Club. British Racing has never been stronger and I look forward to playing my part in helping The Jockey Club and the sport thrive going forward.”

Sandy Dudgeon said: “I am delighted to be asked to join The Jockey Club’s Board of Stewards. I very much look forward to all that will be involved and hope my experience both in the UK and more recently in Asia will be of some use as we seek to act in the best long-term interests of British Racing.”

Julia Budd, who has been a Steward since 2012, has been elected to the position of Deputy Senior Steward (equivalent of Deputy Chairman), succeeding Andrew Merriam.

Julia Budd said: “It has been a privilege to act as a Steward and now to be appointed as Deputy Senior Steward. I have big shoes to fill in succeeding Andrew Merriam after the tremendous contribution he has made in the role, but I look forward to the challenge very much.”

ITTF signs multi-year integrity partnership with Sportradar

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has signed a new integrity partnership with Sportradar and will utilise the organisation’s monitoring, intelligence and prevention solutions to help safeguard against match fixing.

Hundreds of matches each year will be covered by Sportradar’s Fraud Detection System (FDS), a service that credibly and effectively identifies betting-related manipulation in sport, across all ITTF’s major events.

As part of the agreement, the ITTF will also call on Sportradar’s bespoke Fraud Intelligence Unit (FIU) to develop an unmatched picture of those who may be looking to enable, organise and finance any integrity attacks on the popular global sport.

ITTF President, Mr Thomas Weikert, said: “We are very pleased to be signing a partnership with Sportradar, as the world’s leading supplier of solutions to help prevent the threat of match-fixing and other integrity concerns around table tennis.

“Protecting the sport from such activity is crucial in maintaining table tennis’ position as an exhilarating spectacle and professional sport. We are looking forward to working with Sportradar to keep our sport clean, which is one of the aspects that we pride ourselves on.”

Sportradar’s Managing Director of Integrity Services, Andreas Krannich, added: “Table tennis is a truly global sport, enjoyed in every corner of the globe and fan favourite at every Olympic Games.

“The ITTF have today sent a clear message to their stakeholders and fans: comprehensive and credible protection is now in place to keep the game you love honest. There will be no compromise in this regard. We are humbled by their trust and commitment.”

The Ticket Factory appoints Richard Howle as Director of Ticketing

The Ticket Factory has strengthened its offer for event organisers by appointing Richard Howle as Director of Ticketing.

Under the new leadership of NEC Group Arenas Managing Director Phil Mead, Howle has been appointed to take The Ticket Factory forward by expanding its technological capabilities and further improve the user journey for both client and the ticket buyer.

Having joined the business at the start of December, Howle boasts 18 years’ experience working in the ticketing industry with past appointments including Commercial Director for the Really Useful Theatres Group, and International Sales Director prior to this at AKA Promotions Ltd.

Howle is also a Director of the governing council which oversees the work of STAR (Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers), the live entertainment ticketing industry’s self-regulatory body.

He said: “I am thrilled to join The Ticket Factory and to bring my experience of running in-house ticketing operations to the role. It is a company I have long admired with a well-deserved reputation for delivering excellence.

“I am looking forward to building The Ticket Factory brand at this pivotal point in the company’s history, having just celebrated its tenth anniversary. Over the past decade, The Ticket Factory has established itself as an industry challenger in a highly competitive, fast-moving industry and has an exciting future ahead.”

Mead added: “Richard’s appointment will serve to further strengthen the offering of The Ticket Factory in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

“It has a unique partnership with the NEC Group Arenas, and with Richard’s direction, the businesses will be able to work even closer together to provide a seamless experience for clients and customers alike.”