Industry Shorts: London Marathon, West Brom, NFL UK

London Marathon Events has confirmed that more than 150,000 children from more than 500 schools across the UK have signed up to take part in the first virtual Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon.

Registered children will complete 2.6 miles before Friday 9th October as part of the Mini Marathon, while the virtual event will cater to participants of all abilities, allowing finishers to complete the distance over two days, three days or longer. Those taking part can also run, jog or walk their course.

The 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon takes place on Sunday 4th October as a series of elite-only races in St James’s Park, encompassing men’s, women’s and wheelchair events. Meanwhile, 45,000 people in the UK and around the world will run the first virtual London Marathon, completing the 26.2 mile distance on the course of their choice between 00:00 and 23:59:59 BST on the same day.

Newly-promoted Premier League side West Bromwich Albion have announced a new partnership with Stanley Black & Decker.

The construction sector brand will become the club’s Official Tool Partner.

NFL UK has renewed three long-running partnerships as the new season gets underway.

The UK arm of the American football league has extended its partnership with Official Charter Airline partner Virgin Atlantic for another five years, and with Official Haircare partner Just for Men for a further three years. 

NFL has also extended its long-running partnership with Snack Media, which sees the London-based digital media company provide digital ‘tune-in messaging’ as well as its network of sports media outlets to target new potential NFL viewers in the UK and Ireland. 

ASICS has announced the launch of its inaugural ASICS World Ekiden 2020 – a new virtual mass participation initiative which will see teams of up to six people from all over the world come together to complete a combined marathon.  

Teams can complete the full marathon with participants running varying distances in a virtual relay, captured on Race Roster and the ASICS Runkeeper app through devices such as Apple Watch, Garmin and Fitbit. 

Inspired by a century of Japanese running culture, the race is split between different distances, allowing runners of all abilities to take part in the experience. 

The LPGA has appointed CSM Sport and Entertainment as its Sponsorship Sales Agency of Record.

The global integrated marketing firm will help the LPGA identify, develop and secure commercial partnerships across entitlement and official marketing partnership opportunities.

The LPGA Tour is broadcast in 170 markets, and the CSM partnership is set against a full calendar that features over 30 events in more than a dozen countries. 

World motorcycling’s governing body, the FIM, has appointed Eurosport Events to promote Speedway around the world.

The 10-year deal sees the Discovery-owned event management company promote FIM Speedway events including FIM Speedway Grand Prix, Speedway of Nations, Speedway U21 and Speedway Youth World Championships globally. The new agreement will begin in 2022 and builds on the existing partnership between the organisations for the promotion of the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) since 2015.

Established following a competitive tender, the new partnership will seek to expand Speedway GP’s international calendar, extend its distribution on TV and digital platforms, bring the sport into new territories, and increase its audiences around the world. 

BUCS has announced a new partnership with performance cycling brand Le Col, who will become a supporting partner of the 2020/21 BUCS cycling programme, as well as the organisation’s chosen cycling kit provider. 

1200 student athletes from 120 institutions across the UK will compete in the cycling programme, which counts Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton as alumni. The programme covers a range of disciplines including Time Trials, Downhill Mountain Bike, Hill Climb and Road Race. 

The partnership will see Le Col further support the higher education sector, and work with universities and university cycling clubs to offer access to the kit. 

The 2023 UCI World Championships in Glasgow has appointed five new Non-Executive Board members.

Rupert Dickinson, Alexandra Innes, David Hornby, Nick Peel and Susan Ahern all joined the Board, bringing a breadth of experience from across a range of specialisms and sectors including financial services and investment, consultancy, legal and legislative affairs, media, retail development and real estate. 

Five-time BMX and Track Cycling World Champion, Shanaze Reade, will also join the Board in October as a Co-Opted Board Member.

Howard Kennedy hosted the latest Sport Industry NextGen event for the 2020 cohort, providing a session on positive action on equality, diversity and inclusion.

The session, which took place virtually, saw the cohort discuss the differences between positive action and the unlawful positive discrimination; the measures businesses should put in place to ensure protected groups are proportionately represented; and included a look at the direct action Leaders can take now within their own organsiations to promote equality.