Industry Shorts: Davis Cup, Liverpool, Tiktok
Gerard Pique has called for the Davis Cup Finals and the ATP Cup to form a ‘super event’.
The Co-Founder and President of Davis Cup investors Kosmos acknowledges that the ATP Cup, a similar tournament taking place before the start of the Australian Open in January, is a barrier to Davis Cup expansion but hopes a deal can be struck with incoming ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi, who will take over from Chris Kermode on 1st January 2020.
Pique said: “In the last year, we’ve tried to sit down with the ATP, obviously the situation with the former president wasn’t ideal to sit down and try to arrive to a deal. Now there will be some changes, so we are expecting that so we can sit down again. I think that in the future, ITF and Kosmos, we are really open to sit down with the ATP and try to arrive to a deal, to make a unique competition, a super event of two weeks and try to find the best part in the calendar.”
Liverpool have become the first Premier League club to pass 1m followers on TikTok.
The European champions first launched their channel on the platform in May, and have since garnered 6.5m likes and 81m views. The club says focusing primarily on fun and entertaining moments shared in short-form clips has been part of the key to its success.
British Canoeing has announced VOW Nutrition as the NGB’s new official nutrition partner.
The brand will supply products to senior athletes on the paracanoe, slalom and sprint high performance sport programmes in the build-up to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
British cycle clothing manufacturer Le Col has entered into a kit partnership with multi-day amateur cycling events company Haute Route.
The brand will create kits for participants in the three-day events throughout 2020, alongside special edition jerseys for those competing in the Haute Route Alps and Haute Route Pyrenees events.
The International Skating Union has launched a new digital fan engagement campaign entitled #UpAgain, designed to connect with new skating audiences throughout the 2019/20 season.
Working with London-based digital communications agency REDTORCH, the union’s campaign will focus on getting up again to overcome challenges, and will include elite skaters talking about overcoming challenges as well as featuring user-generated content inviting fans to share their stories on Instagram and TikTok through the #UpAgainChallenge.
Cricket Wales has appointed Leshia Hawkins as its new CEO.
Taking up the role in February 2020, Hawkins will join from the ECB, where she is currently Regional Head of Participation and Growth for the London Area, working with Middlesex, Surrey, Kent and Essex on their responses to the ECB’s new ‘Inspiring Generations’ strategy.
