Shorts: Boxing, England Basketball, British Rowing

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board has recommended that boxing be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Boxing was initially excluded from the 2028 programme when it was revealed in 2022. However, last month, World Boxing was granted provisional recognition as the international governing body for the sport. The IOC’s recommendation is pending approval at this week’s session in Greece, with IOC president Thomas Bach expressing confidence in its confirmation.

The inclusion of boxing was contingent on the establishment of a new governing body, as the International Boxing Association (IBA) was suspended by the IOC in 2019 due to issues surrounding governance, finance, refereeing, and ethics. In June 2023, the IBA was stripped of its status after failing to implement necessary reforms.

The IOC has confirmed that only athletes from national federations that are members of World Boxing by the start of the qualification events for the 2028 Olympics will be eligible to compete. The dates for these qualification events have yet to be confirmed.

Boris van der Vorst, President of World Boxing, said, “I have no doubt it will be very positively received by everyone connected with boxing, at every level throughout the world, who understands the critical importance to the future of the sport of boxing continuing to remain a part of the Olympic movement.”

Basketball England has partnered with PlayHQ to introduce a single technology platform designed to support members, clubs, and leagues across all levels of the sport.

Through this partnership, Basketball England has replaced its existing membership portal with PlayHQ’s platform, which includes a user-friendly app to improve registration, competition management, and payment processes.

The system has been designed to simplify administration for clubs, leagues, and volunteers while providing an improved experience for players and coaches.

By uniting membership data, competition management, scoring, and payments in one platform, the initiative aims to enhance participation and accessibility at both grassroots and national levels.

Stewart Kellett, CEO of Basketball England, said, “This partnership with PlayHQ will enable us to modernise our systems and engage more clubs, leagues and communities.  

“By leveraging PlayHQ’s technology, we’re taking an important step toward making basketball one of England’s most inclusive and accessible sports.” 

British Rowing has extended its partnership with Waterrower.

As part of the renewed partnership, British Rowing members and will receive a 10% discount on the full range of Waterrower products, including rowing machines and additional fitness equipment from the NOHRD range.

For each machine sold through the partnership, Waterrower will contribute to British Rowing, supporting the organisation’s investment in grassroots rowing initiatives.

This continued collaboration builds on a long-standing relationship between the two organisations and aims to provide additional resources for the growth of rowing at all levels.

Chris Farrell, Head of Community at British Rowing, said, “It’s fantastic to renew this partnership after an extremely exciting year for rowing in the UK. Waterrower shares our vision of growing the sport of rowing, both on the water and on the machine.“

F45 Training and Red Bull have announced a multi-year global partnership.

This marks Red Bull’s first venture into global fitness studio partnerships.

The collaboration will provide F45 members worldwide with exclusive access to Red Bull fitness events and integrated HYROX activations. These include access to Red Bull fitness events, a unique “Red Bull 100 x HYROX” training experience, and Red Bull product sampling in studios.

Tom Dowd, CEO of F45 Training, said, “We’re honoured to partner with Red Bull as our official energy drink partner and cannot wait to introduce an even more electrifying training experience for members.”

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has entered into a five-year partnership with Endeavor Streaming.

The collaboration will relaunch Watch.Hockey to provide fans with access to live broadcasts of over 600 FIH events annually, including key competitions such as the Hockey World Cup, Hockey Pro League, Hockey Nations Cup, and the Hockey5s World Cup.

The service will be available on web, smart TVs, iOS, and Android devices.

The enhanced Watch.Hockey platform will be powered by Endeavor Streaming’s Vesper Platform, which has supported digital strategies for global sports organisations, including UEFA, NWSL, and World Rugby.

This partnership aims to provide fans with improved access to hockey content and create new revenue streams for the sport.

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