Shorts: Abbie Ward, Getty Images, Kia Oval

ITV has launched a new documentary starring England women’s rugby player Abbie Ward, which is available on the ITVX on-demand streaming platform.

Titled ‘A Bump in The Road’, the documentary follows the 31-year-old’s return to professional rugby with the Bristol Bears just 17 weeks after giving birth last July.

Since then, Ward also managed to make the England Red Roses squad for the 2024 Women’s Six Nations tournament.

Produced by Sue Antsiss and Jack Tompkins, the documentary explores aims to debunk myths regarding female athletes staying active both during and after pregnancy.

Ward said, “What’s most important to me is that my story can serve as an example for sportswomen in the future. 

“I hope I can be a test case to show what’s possible for female athletes when they have great support around them during and after pregnancy. 

“The world of women’s sport is changing rapidly, and enabling professional athletes to keep competing as mothers is another important milestone.”

American visual media company Getty Images has acquired London-based specialist motorsport archive Motorsport Images.

The acquisition, financial details of which were not released, includes Motorsport Images’ operative arm, LAT Images, and its Sutton, Schlegelmilch, Colombo and Dukes Video archives.

“We are thrilled to welcome Motorsport Images to Getty Images,” said Craig Peters, Chief Executive Officer, Getty Images. “The Motorsport Images team shares our commitment to capturing and bringing customers and fans the greatest moments from motorsports. Their impressive archive of iconic imagery and video will expand upon our premium motorsport offering to Getty Images’ global customer base.”

“I’m so proud of what the Motorsport Images team has built over our history and of the high‑quality service and outstanding visuals we provide our customers,” added Steven Tee, Managing Director, Motorsport Images. “Joining Getty Images marks a new chapter for us and I’m pleased to be joining a team who share the same passion for the sport and commitment to industry‑leading photographic coverage. Our customers will now benefit from having access to an even greater depth and breadth of content and services.” 

The Kia Oval, home to Surrey County Cricket Club, has announced a new two-year deal with Tata Consumer Products.

Under terms of the agreement, the food and beverages arm of India’s largest conglomerate will become the official tea advertising partner of the 27,500-capacity cricket ground, while the company’s flagship Tata Gold brand will be visible throughout the partnership.

Tata’s sponsorship includes advertising opportunities at The Kia Oval and across Surrey CCC’s social media channels. Fittingly the tea break during home Vitality County Championship matches will be rebranded as the ‘Tata Tea Break’ on Surrey’s live broadcast.

Sports technology and analytics company Kitman Labs and women’s motorsport initiative More than Equal have announced a new partnership to help close the performance gap for girls and women in motorsport.

According to a statement, ‘the partnership will provide More than Equal with an advanced operating system which will centralize data for female drivers participating in More than Equal’s pioneering Development Programme, a high-performance preparation programme that supports young, talented female drivers who have the potential to develop into elite racing drivers.’

“More than Equal is on a mission to revolutionize how female racing talent is identified, developed and supported,” said More than Equal CEO, Ali Donnelly.  “We are thrilled to collaborate with Kitman Labs to provide our driver cohort with access to best-in-class performance technology, allowing our coaches to optimize and personalise their talent development.”

“On a personal and professional level, we couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with More than Equal to help realise their vision as they pioneer a new model in providing elite training and development for talented female drivers,” added Stephen Smith, CEO and Founder of Kitman Labs. “iP: Intelligence Platform was created for this – to leverage the power of data and analytics to enable and inform foundational change; to convert that data into the meaningful insights and actionable intelligence necessary to unlock human performance.  We are on a shared mission.”