Samsung and the IAAF Create New Global Partnership
Three-Year Agreement Begins with World Championships in August in Berlin, Extends Through 2010 in Qatar and 2011 in South Korea
Samsung Electronics and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced a new three-year agreement, naming Samsung an Official IAAF Partner. Samsung is also appointed the IAAF’s official equipment provider in the categories of Wireless Communications and Audio/TV/Video.
The new marketing partnership will span the World Championships in Berlin in August this year; the 2010 World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar; and the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
Additionally, the Samsung and IAAF partnership encompasses the IAAF Continental and National Championships programs during the three year agreement.
“We are delighted to welcome the IAAF to our elite roster of global sports marketing partners,” said Gregory Lee, Chief Marketing Officer of Global Marketing Operations, Samsung Electronics. “Athletics help to unify cultures and inspire new levels of personal achievement – the very qualities that Samsung seeks to realize in our constant pursuit of innovation and passion for excellence.”
Sangheung Shin, President of Samsung Europe, joined IAAF President Lamine Diack near IAAF’s headquarters in Monte Carlo for the announcement.
The new IAAF partnership expands the range and quality of Samsung’s European and global sport platforms, which in the last two decades have encompassed dozens of engagements, including ongoing support of the Chelsea football club, and a TOP partnership with the International Olympic Committee through 2016.
The IAAF partnership also reflects Samsung’s increasing commitment to the EU, the company’s largest market. In 2009 alone Samsung is launching several new cell phone portfolios in the EU and UK, following the introduction of breakthrough LED flat screen TVs earlier this year.
“This new agreement has great significance. It demonstrates the fundamental strength and value of the sport of athletics,” said Lamine Diack, IAAF President. “It’s especially gratifying that our partnership with Samsung supports not just the IAAF, but also our Area associations and Member Federations in a direct manner.”
At the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Samsung will feature the Samsung Digital Gallery, a full scale interactive event program enabling athletes, spectators and media to engage with the latest technologies in LED TV, Mobile Phones and Digital Cameras.
Samsung’s commitment to the IAAF reflects the company’s broad investment in building a sustainable society – one that balances increasing reliance on technology with equally robust efforts to promote health and physical fitness. Overall, the IAAF’s activities embody Samsung’s corporate values of fair play, passion for excellence, and building of mutual understanding across different languages, cultures and geographies.
Source: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
SportScape Debuts as National Network Dedicated to Sports TV Viewing Away From Home
Network to achieve scale in key football markets by start of 2009 season.
OnSite Sports, LLC, announced the launch of SportScape(SM), a TV sports network engaging away-from-home sports viewers via a unique platform that combines live network TV sports programming with original digital message management. SportScape provides a new way for marketers to engage sports fans-an on the go demographic of young adults that most traditional media struggles to reach.
SportScape is broadcast in top sports-oriented bars throughout the U.S. and utilizes patented technology and processes to enhance the away-from-home sports viewing experience by wrapping live broadcast television with dynamic sports-fan-relevant content. The SportScape affiliate network will have a significant presence in every city with a professional football team in time for the start of the 2009 season. All existing OnSite Network locations have been converted to the SportScape brand.
SportScape offers an innovative way to reach sports fans that go to sports bars to watch their favorite games on TV. While 21-45 year-old sports-oriented adults are typically on the go and hard to engage, research shows that they’ll come together in venues to watch televised sporting events for an average of 105 minutes per visit. The SportScape platform provides marketers-especially those in the sports equipment, men’s personal care, automobile, travel, alcoholic beverages, and fast food categories-with the unique opportunity to sponsor the viewing experience of this valuable demographic.
“For decades, marketers have sought out opportunities to connect their brand to the powerful emotional ties sports fans have with their favorite team,” says Rick Sebok, CMO of SportScape. “SportScape makes that connection when TV viewing is done away from the home, which now represents up to 30-percent of all sports viewing. Marketers may struggle getting their message to disinterested consumers with changing in-home TV viewing habits and growing DVR presence, but the away-from-home sports TV viewing experience remains passionate and strong.”
SportScape understands sports fans and delivers the content they want-enhancing the sports viewing experience and driving consumer engagement. SportScape delivers narrowcast content and messaging through an L-shaped banner that partially frames the broadcast or cable television network. There is never any disruption of the selected TV programming. Research shows that highly targeted digital message management delivered in this way is hard to ignore and increases the length of stay at the venue and intent to purchase.
SportScape also offers interactive features to boost viewer participation, including on-premise games that match the televised sports event, whether it is football, baseball, hockey, basketball or auto racing. Additional SportScape capabilities include text messaging for contests, sponsored promotions or topical surveys.
Another unique aspect of SportScape is that it provides a national reach with a true local focus. Each affiliate location within the network receives a customized daily SportScape feed featuring 90 minutes of original sports commentary, and entertainment and event information that is relevant to consumers in the affiliate’s local market.
SportScape provides its affiliate venues with new opportunities to build revenue. The SportScape system provides a turnkey, no-cost digital in-house advertising solution for sports bar and sports-oriented restaurant operators. The system is compact and attaches easily to each TV screen, and communicates with SportScape’s network using a wireless Internet connection.
Because SportScape content is customizable for each individual venue, it also provides affiliated venues with an opportunity to promote and drive sales of their full range of venue offerings including local food and beverage specials, events, amusements, catering services and premium priced products.
Source: SportScape
Scheide Wins Walmart FLW Tour Walmart Open on Beaver Lake
Scheide Earns First FLW Outdoors Victory In Five Years
Team BP pro Ray Scheide of Dover, Ark., caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 21 pounds, 1 ounce to win $200,000 in the $1.1 million Walmart FLW Tour Walmart Open presented by Kellogg’s on Beaver Lake. Scheide topped his closest rival, Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., by one pound, four ounces to earn the win and 200 points toward qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol and BP, which will be held July 30-Aug. 2 on the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pa., where they could win as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.
“It really feels good today to have a little redemption,” said Scheide, who won his first event with FLW Outdoors in more than five years. “Yesterday I missed some opportunities, but actually today I only had five bites. I caught the big one about 11 o’clock, but didn’t get my limit until after one.
“I had some options to go out and catch spots. But there was only one way to come back and try to make a run at this thing and that was to fish for largemouths.
Scheide said the fish were relocating each day. “One day they would be in real shallow water, the next they would be under trees. Today I actually got my first two bites in about eight to 10 foot of water. I just started running through new water and caught a majority of my fish on banks I had not even fished.”
“It was slow out there today,” said Scheide, who fished from Prairie Creek down to Coppermine. “I got my first bite around nine and another about 10. I was throwing a chigger craw and a big profile bait, alternating between them. That just shows my confidence in flipping baits right there.”
Scheide opened the tournament Thursday in 13th place with five bass weighing 11-7. He moved to seventh place Friday on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 10 pounds, 9 ounces to advance into the final round of 10 pros with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 22 pounds even. On Saturday, weights were cleared, and Scheide caught five bass weighing 8-13 to advance to the final day of competition in fourth place. Scheide added another five bass weighing 12-4 to his final-round total Sunday.
Rose caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 19-13 to claim second place and $55,000.
“I started off catching the same fish today as I had been, they were just smaller,” said Rose, who would catch his limit early and then move on to new water searching for bigger fish. “I stayed there too long. I caught about 15 keepers, but I was still trying to get to seven or eight pounds.
“I was running out of time to go flip and when it got down to it, I only had about an hour and forty-five minutes to go fishing and I culled three times. Had I done that three hours earlier, who knows?”
Rose was using a topwater bait early in the week, but on the final day said he had to slow down using a shaky head. “I weighed in every fish today on that except one right at the end. I flipped in a trash pocket where I had to put it in four-wheel drive and go get it.”
Rose, who said it was hard to feel bittersweet about finishing second, said, “I wish I could finish second in every one of these. I have been at this 11 years and it would feel great to win one. I have finished everywhere from second to 200th and every place in between in those 11 years and I haven’t won one. How can you be upset with second place?”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were Team Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas (nine bass, 19-12, $45,000); Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla. (eight bass, 18-11, $35,000); Keith Combs of Del Rio, Texas (10 bass, 16-14, $30,000); Team Chevy pro Jay Yelas of Corvallis, Ore. (eight bass, 16-4, $28,000); Team Pringles pro Gabe Bolivar of Ramona, Calif. (eight bass, 16-1, $26,000); Team Berkley pro Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla. (nine bass, 13-10, $24,000); Rob Kilby of Hot Springs, Ark. (10 bass, 13-6, $22,000); and Team National Guard pro and current Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif. (eight bass, 12-3, $20,000).
Overall there were 43 bass weighing 84 pounds, 14 ounces caught in the Pro Division Sunday. The catch included six five-bass limits.
Brent Bridgeman of Elkmont, Ala., won the Co-angler Division and $40,000 Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 7 pounds, 5 ounces followed by Zac Cassill of Fairfax, Iowa, in second place with five bass weighing 7-3 worth $15,000.
Bridgeman opened the tournament in second place Thursday with five bass weighing 9-14 while fishing with Bobby McMullin of Pevely, Mo. On Friday he slipped to third place with a five-bass catch weighing 6-0 while fishing with Team Febreze pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Team Berkley pro Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla.
“I didn’t even practice for this event,” said Bridgeman, who is fishing his rookie season of the FLW Tour. “I showed up barely in time for the meeting.
“My first cast on Beaver Lake I caught my first keeper fish,” Bridgeman added. “First cast, first fish, first time on the lake. That’s a lot of coincidences.”
A custom airbrush artist for 21 years, Bridgeman decided to relocate from the west coast to fish the FLW Tour in 2009. Bridgeman grew up fishing tournaments with his father and won his first at age seven.
Bridgeman got the idea to fish the FLW Tour after researching Fantasy Fishing online. He had competed in a tournament at one point against angler Gary Yamamoto and had success and decided he could fish at the sport’s top level. Once he was verified to fish the Tour, Bridgeman packed his bags and moved to Alabama. That turned out to be a profitable move for Bridgeman.
“I figured I was in the top six or five,” Bridgeman said. “I thought it would take nine or 10 pounds to win it. I knew I had seven to eight pounds, and I’m glad it held up. I used a balance beam, and I bet that balance beam saved me.”
Bridgeman said he caught all of his fish on a green pumpkin with green and purple flake 6-inch Gary Yamamoto Swimming Senko rigged on a shaky head jig head.
“The fish would catch it on the fall,” Bridgeman said. “If they didn’t catch it on the fall, I’d just reel it in.”
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Todd Lee of Jasper, Ala. (three bass, 6-3, $7,500); T.R. Fuller of Auburn, Ala. (four bass, 4-13, $5,000); Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md. (two bass, 2-10, $4,000); Eddie Laster of Morton, Miss. (one bass, 2-2, $3,500); Dirk Davenport of Delaware, Ohio (one bass, 2-1, $3,000); Shane Lehew of Charlotte, N.C. (two bass, 2-0, $2,500); Kevin Hawk of Ramona, Calif. (one bass, 1-15, $2,000) and David Hudson of Jasper, Ala. (one bass, 1-4, $1,750).
The total purse for the Walmart Open event on Beaver Lake was more than $1.1 million, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division.
Coverage of the Beaver Lake tournament, hosted by the Rogers Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Bentonville Convention & Visitors Bureau, will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors,” will air June 14 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, including internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to such countries as Canada, Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.
The FLW Tour will award more than $8 million cash to the world’s top bass anglers in 2009. Regular season competition includes three qualifiers and three opens. Each event takes anglers a step closer to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol, which will be held July 30-Aug. 2 on the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pa. The prestigious championship and outdoor show hosted by Visit Pittsburgh will feature 77 pros, 77 co-anglers and bass fishing’s largest cash award – a potential $1 million first-place prize for the winning pro.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.
For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
FLWOutdoors.com
Source: FLW Outdoors
Baseball Swing Guru Making Impact With Major League Players
With the Major League Baseball cracking down on steroids, what will players turn to next? Maybe… Jaime Cevallos. Cevallos (“The Swing Mechanic”) believes he has found the secret to the baseball swing and is pioneering an innovative approach to hitting that’s improving players at the highest levels of baseball. “The numbers we saw from the Steroid Era will pale in comparison to what’s to come in the ‘Video Era,’” says Cevallos who works independently with Major League Players to improve their swing mechanics through a method that he calls “Micromechanical Video Analysis” and “Position Training.”
Ben Zobrist (Tampa Bay Rays) worked with Cevallos in the winter of 2007/2008 and his improvement has been nothing short of astonishing. In 303 plate appearances before working with Cevallos, Zobrist had 3 home runs and a .259 slugging percentage. In 309 plate appearances since, Zobrist has 17 home runs and .520 slugging percentage. “The numbers before I worked with Jaime compared to after speak for themselves,” says Zobrist.
Cevallos also worked with Drew Sutton (Cincinnati Reds) who had a .269 average and 9 home runs in 2007. After working with Cevallos, Sutton hit .317, 20 home runs, earning an All Star Team selection and team MVP honors in 2008. “He has made a huge difference,” says Sutton.
Cevallos’ passion for swing mechanics came in 1997 when playing Division 1 baseball. Cevallos had reached the height of frustration after finishing his freshman season batting .197 with just one extra base hit. He looked into the mechanics of the baseball swing on his own that summer and returned to hit .364 with four home runs and earned first team all-conference. Cevallos continued to study the swing by volunteering his time to film hitters in the dugout of college and professional teams during games. It would be ten years before Cevallos would teach. Zobrist was one of his first students.
Cevallos has turned hitting into an equation with a very clear formula. “Babe Ruth has the best swing I’ve ever seen. He scores a 474 on my CIR test,” said Cevallos who has created a way to measure swing mechanics by drawing angles on video and plugging the angles into an equation. Cevallos believes he will be instrumental in creating the next .400 hitter and first 80 home run hitter. We shall see. One thing is for sure, the “Video Era” has come.
Source: Jaime Cevallos
SIRIUS XM Radio Announces Comprehensive Broadcast Coverage of Indianapolis 500
XM subscribers and SIRIUS subscribers with the “Best of XM” will hear live broadcast of the Indy 500 plus exclusive programming leading up to the race
For first time, Indy 500 is available to both XM and SIRIUS listeners
SIRIUS XM Radio the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the Indy Racing League (IRL), the sanctioning body for the IndyCar(R) Series and Firestone Indy Lights, announced that it will offer comprehensive coverage of the Indianapolis 500 to both XM subscribers and SIRIUS subscribers with the “Best of XM” programming package.
SIRIUS XM will broadcast “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” the Indianapolis 500, live from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 24 on Indy Car Series Racing, XM channel 145 and SIRIUS channel 211 (part of the “Best of XM”). Motorsports fans will hear pre-race programming, including pre-race commentary and analysis by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network broadcast team, interviews with drivers and live coverage of driver introductions. When the green flag drops at 1:00 pm ET, SIRIUS XM listeners will hear live wheel-to-wheel action on the track through every turn and straightaway.
In addition to the Indy 500, SIRIUS XM will broadcast the Firestone Freedom 100 race from the Firestone Indy Lights Series on Friday, May 22 (12:15 pm ET) on Indy Car Series Racing, XM channel 145 and SIRIUS channel 211 (“Best of XM”). The 100 mile race from the Indy Racing League’s developmental series features some of the world’s best young open wheel drivers. After the race, SIRIUS XM will air IMS Radio Network’s review of all the action from Carb Day, offering a recap of the day’s Indy 500 practice, the Pit Stop Challenge and the Indy Lights Series race.
On Community Day, Wednesday, May 20, SIRIUS XM’s exclusive all-sports talk channel, Mad Dog Radio, will broadcast a special Indy 500 preview live from the infield at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (10:00 am – 2:00 pm ET). Host Gary Williams will preview Sunday’s race, interview some of the series’ top drivers, team owners and past Indy 500 champions, and talk with IndyCar fans from around the country. Mad Dog Radio is available nationwide exclusively on SIRIUS channel 123 and XM channel 144.
SIRIUS XM’s coverage will include live broadcasts of all Indy 500 qualifying sessions, including “Bump Day” on Sunday, May 17, the final day of qualifying. “Bump Day” allows teams and drivers who did not qualify for the field of 33 on the first three days of time trials one last chance to drive their way into the grid.
IndyCar(R) Series races have aired on XM Radio since 2005. This year marks the first season the races will be available to both SIRIUS and XM subscribers.
For more info visit www.xmradio.com/irl.
SIRIUS XM’s motor racing coverage on Sunday, May 24 will also include the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race from Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC (5:45 pm ET on SIRIUS channel 128 and XM channel 128 with the “Best of SIRIUS”) as well as the Formula One(TM) Monaco Grand Prix from Monte Carlo (8:00 am ET on SIRIUS channel 126 and XM channel 242).
Source: SIRIUS XM Radio
KT Tape: Secret Weapon of Elite Athletes – Now Available to Everyone
Lumos Inc. introduces KT Tape(TM), the first-ever kinesiology tape to come in pre-cut strips specifically designed for consumer use. Kinesiology tape is a high performance elastic athletic tape used by medical professionals for treating muscle and joint injuries. Kinesiology tape has never been available direct to consumers, and required special cutting and training to use it. Athletes no longer have to suffer through painful injuries, or sit out their favorite sports. KT Tape is fast and easy to apply and provides the same professional quality treatment on which Olympic champions rely.
By lifting the skin and relieving pressure on pain transmitters, KT Tape provides muscle-pain relief and support without restricting motion. KT Tape comes in convenient pre-cut strips and is available in a variety of colors. It provides 24-hour relief for up to five days per application and is water resistant, so it stays on in the pool & shower. KT Tape provides relief for runner’s knee, tennis elbow, Achilles tendonitis, shin splints, sprains, and general back and shoulder pain, as well as most muscle soreness or pain. All of these injuries respond well to treatment with KT Tape, allowing people to remain active while injured.
KT Tape is launching world-wide this year in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and South Africa. The product will be available to US consumers at Sports Authority, Eastbay, Dicks Sporting Goods, Big 5 Sporting Goods, as well as thousands of independent sporting goods retailers nation-wide.
Olympic gold-medalist Kerri Walsh has officially endorsed KT Tape:
“Kinesiology tape allows me to compete at my peak, even when I’m injured. I switched to KT Tape because it is hands-down the highest quality, most durable and comfortable kinesiology tape that I’ve ever found,” says Kerri Walsh, two-time Olympic gold medalist. “I wouldn’t play without it!”
For a complete list of retailers, and videos demonstrating a wide variety of taping techniques, please visit www.kttape.com.
KT Tape(TM) provides muscle pain relief, increased mobility, and enhanced recovery for athletes of every level. Developed by Utah-based Lumos Inc., KT Tape(TM) is packaged in easy-to-use, pre-cut strips. KT Tape(TM) is officially endorsed by Kerri Walsh, Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist.
Source: KT Tape
New Online Resource for Consumers, Athletes and Coaches Concerned About Athletic Banned Substances
nsfsport.com Can Help You Make More Informed Decisions When Choosing Nutritional Products
Recent news stories on steroid use in sports continue to emphasize the importance of screening dietary supplements and sports nutrition products for banned substances.
NSF International, a not-for-profit organization committed to protecting and improving public health, has launched a new online resource, www.nsfsport.com, that provides information to help consumers, athletes, and coaches choose safer, quality products. Additional information, such as recent news stories on doping in sports and educational resources, can also be found at www.nsfsport.com.
“We are pleased to see more user-friendly resources being placed in the hands of the public. The Clean Sport Initiative, which provides a forum for discussions on accidental doping will now have the support of value-added informational sites that provide consumers with the guidance they need when choosing nutritional supplements,” said Liliana Begg, Manager, Clean Sport Initiative.
NSF’s Athletic Banned Substances Certification Program certifies sports supplements that have met NSF’s certification guidelines and provides key preventive measures to protect against adulteration of products, verify label claims with product contents, as well as identify any banned substances in the finished product. The certification program has been recommended by key athletic organizations, including Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association, the National Football League, the Professional Golf Association, the National Football League Players Association and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports.
Products that have been certified by NSF are listed on NSF’s new Web site (www.nsfsport.com), as well as bear the NSF Certified for Sport(TM) Mark to demonstrate that they have met all program requirements, which include:
- Toxicology review
- Facility inspection/Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) audit
- Annual laboratory testing/analysis
- Product certification
“We’re pleased to expand our online resources to offer additional services to meet clients’ and consumers’ increasing needs,” said Edward Wyszumiala, General Manager of NSF’s Dietary Supplement Programs. “As an independent, not-for-profit organization, one of NSF International’s primary goals is education. Our free product listings and informational fact kits, provide consumers and athletes helpful information that they can use to make informed decisions when purchasing dietary supplements and other nutritional products.”
Source: NSF International