Shorts: British Gymnastics, Excel London, 50 Sport

British Gymnastics has announced a new record deal with global sportswear provider Kukri Sports.

The agreement is the biggest teamwear deal ever signed by the national governing body for gymnastics in the UK and will see Kukri continue as official teamwear partner of British Gymnastics up until at least 2028.

Under the partnership, Kukri will supply official teamwear for gymnasts and coaches that represent Great Britain internationally across all gymnastics disciplines and will focus on ‘purpose and impact’ throughout the collaboration.

Sarah Powell, CEO of British Gymnastics, commented, “We are thrilled to be able to continue working together with Kukri. Everyone in the BG community is united by gymnastics, and this partnership will harness and enhance the pride and the passion that brings us all together, ensuring the athletes who represent our country can feel special with national kit they are proud to wear, as well as providing access to quality teamwear to everyone in our community.

“This is much more than a kit deal for us though – it’s a true partnership with purpose that will support our vision and values to benefit gymnastics and see us working together to drive the positive impact our sport can have for people, communities and society. Kukri’s commitment to this really stood out in our conversations with them, and we’re proud we will continue to have them as part of our family of BG partners. We’re really looking forward to the impact we can make over the coming years, together.”

ExCeL London has launched the first phases of Immerse LDN, set to be the UK’s largest immersive entertainment district and offering new afterhours and hospitality opportunities for the events industry. 

Spanning more than 160,000sqft once fully complete, Immerse LDN will be dedicated to showcasing ‘world-class immersive experiences and original productions’ across brand-new purpose-built venue spaces in the heart of London’s Royal Docks – set to the backdrop of ExCeL London’s newly developed waterfront.

Opening in August 2024, one of Immerse LDN’s first events will be Formula 1®: The Exhibition. Having already taken place in Madrid last year, it is described as ‘an interactive journey through the extraordinary story of motorsport’s greatest spectacle.’

EFL League Two football club Carlisle United has launched a new streaming service, CUTV.

Powered by Endeavor Streaming’s Vesper platform, CUTV will replace the EFL-operated iFollow platform, enabling the club to stream events such as press conferences and fans’ forums on its own TV service. 

CUTV will be the place to watch United matches for international fans, and fans based in the UK will also be able to watch live games when they are available for domestic streaming. This will continue to be a pay-per-view service. 

A monthly subscription priced at £4.99pm will give fans exclusive access to manager and player interviews, extended match highlights, full match replays, training content and pitchside match footage.

Carlisle United Chief Executive, Nigel Clibbens, said, “The development of our own streaming service and new content powered by Endeavor Streaming’s Vesper platform is a significant development for the club.

“It opens a huge number of potential opportunities to us for the first time. This is an exciting time and we look forward to working with Endeavor Streaming as we bring the new service to our fans.

“The initial launch is just the beginning, the service will allow us to produce live pre and post-match shows, stream events such as friendlies and forums and even more. These are being planned now for the upcoming season, starting with exclusive content from the pre-season camp at St Andrews this week. 

“After the launch of the club’s new website, this is another really exciting step on our new digital journey and we are looking forward to seeing where it will take us.” 

Social-first creative agency 50 Sport has launched a new incentive scheme for all staff called the ‘performance share’.

The new scheme aims to reward all employees on a quarterly basis against a percentage of the agency’s profits in each quarter. This is distributed to all and enhanced for those who are over performing against their objectives.

James Campbell, 50 Sport Co-Founder, commented, “We feel that the days of an annual bonus scheme paid once a year is archaic. A lot can happen in one year and it might go up and down. We feel it’s important to reward on a regular and consistent basis with clear action plans and objectives against it. This aims to do exactly that. Focussing this scheme around profits also means that when the business wins, the team wins as a result and we couldn’t imagine a better way of doing something like this.”

Nick Jackman, 50 Sport Co-Founder, added, “Our people are our greatest asset so this incentive scheme has been a long time coming in terms of how it’s developed over the years. We’re really proud of where it’s at and we believe it is unique in the industry. To be able to reward people on a quarterly basis and for everyone to feel bought into the success of the agency is really important to us as founders and owners, so we’re really happy to put it in place.”

Loughborough Sport has partnered with global cosmetics brand Weleda Arnica.

The initial 12-month agreement will see Weleda Arnica work closely with the Loughborough Sport physio clinic, supplying arnica-based products for use in massage therapy. 

Arnica a popular plant-based ingredient included in its product range and is recognised for its active ability to ease sore muscles and relieve stiffness and cramps pre and post sport activity. 

Matthew Parker, Loughborough Sport physiotherapist, said, “As a therapist it’s great to use such a quality product as Weleda Arnica. Small and compact packaging to fit in any therapy bag, it’s really easy to use without having to worry about repeatedly going back to the bottle to add more throughout treatment. It’s refreshing to see a product like this on the market.”