Shorts: ECB, Padel, SailGP

The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has launched The Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund to ‘drive transformation in women’s and girls’ cricket’.

The announcement comes a year after Metro Bank became the ECB’s inaugural champion partner of women’s and girls cricket.

The fund, co-designed and jointly funded by Metro Bank and the ECB, focuses on ‘recruiting, educating, supporting, and celebrating the people that make girls’ cricket in clubs happen, with the ambition to triple the number of girls’ teams at clubs by the end of 2026.’ 

The fund will provide support to current and potential new coaches and volunteers, female and male, both in clubs with a girls’ section and those starting a new girls’ section.

Commitment to the fund on both sides extends right through until 2028 with at least the first three years dedicated to coaches and volunteers following insights from research commissioned with Women in Sport.

Leshia Hawkins, MD of Recreational Cricket at ECB, commented, “We’re delighted to be working with Metro Bank to launch the Girls in Cricket Fund today. This fund is going to turbocharge the growth of grassroots cricket among women and girls by creating even more coaches and volunteers who will support and drive the next generation of girls playing the game.

 “From that first moment of inspiration to become a volunteer, right through to expert resources for coaches, the fund is there to support every step of the journey. This is not just about getting more women and girls involved in cricket, it’s about inspiring them, empowering them to progress through the game in their chosen role, and helping to positively transform their lives in cricket.”

The Alfred Dunhill Padel Classic has partnered with wealth management and professional services group Evelyn Partners.

Evelyn Partners joins Dunhill, Aston Martin, Pragnell and several others as official partners of the celebrity pro-am padel tournament being held at the Hurlingham Club on the 15^th and 16^th May 2024. 

Andrew Middleton, Group Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer, Evelyn Partners, said, “We are delighted to be partnering with the Alfred Dunhill Padel Classic tournament, which combines the excitement of a new, fast-growing and inclusive sport, with the heritage of the Hurlingham Club.

“This very much resonates with Evelyn Partners position as a thoroughly modern wealth manager, but with a proud history of supporting people with their financial decisions for over 188 years. We look forward to being inspired by the action on court and to supporting Laureus Sport for Good’s work in the London community and beyond.” 

SailGP has announced its production technology, LiveLineFX, is now being developed for use in other sports. 

The patented in-house broadcast graphics package, which is produced remotely from SailGP’s broadcast studio in London for SailGP’s broadcast partners in 212 international territories, processes 1.15bn data requests per hour from each of the ten state-of-the-art F50 catamarans per hour. 

Supplied by Oracle Cloud, it is all done in real time to generate detailed performance information. 

SailGP Chief Technology Officer Warren Jones said, “From the outset, SailGP has prioritized patented, leading-edge immersive media technologies and LiveLineFX is an award-winning example of this. It is truly unique and hasn’t just been built for use by SailGP, it has been developed with other sports properties and broadcasters in mind where the viewing experience can be difficult due to the nature of the sport. We are now welcoming conversations with a range of potential partners and are excited to see how other sports can benefit from LiveLineFX.” 

Scottish Rugby has signed a two-year partnership extension with Saltire Energy. 

The renewal will see the firm continue its support of international matchdays for the Scotland’s men’s team and its commitment to ‘Saltire Energy Rugby Schools Week’ and Saltire Energy Caledonia Cup’. 

Mike Loggie, CEO of Saltire Energy, said, “We are delighted to continue our official partnership with Scottish Rugby. As a passionate follower of rugby, and during such an exciting time for the National teams, it is fantastic to continue our support. 

“We feel strongly about the role sport has in the lives of young people; its ability to motivate and empower which we witness during the school’s competitions which saw over 20,000 pupils engage in the game in one week.  Our core values at Saltire Energy very much align with the game; respect, leadership, achievement, enjoyment and engagement and because of that we are excited to continue the journey and be part of the future successes too.” 

Red Bull Advanced Technologies and Oracle Red Bull Racing have announced that they will be appearing at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard.

The world debut of the RB17 Hypercar and Red Bull Racing drivers past and present will all feature at the iconic event.

Drivers will include 13-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner David Coulthard, the Team’s very own Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner and Red Bull’s longest-serving exhibition driver Patrick Friesacher.

The RB17 will be revealed on Friday 12^th July in the Cathedral Paddock and will be on display for the duration of the festival weekend.

Christian Horner, CEO of Oracle Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, said, “We are excited to debut the RB17 to the public for the first time and couldn’t think of a better world stage than Goodwood Festival of Speed. The RB17 exudes rarity and engineering excellence. We’ve channelled everything we know about racing into making the ultimate performance car and can’t wait for the public to see the result. I’m also just as thrilled to be bringing such a remarkable selection of cars and drivers to the iconic festival and look forward to celebrating our 20^th season in front of such passionate motorsport fans.”

The 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard takes place from 11^th to 14^th July.

Running wear brand Saucony has been named as the new title partner to the Saucony London 10k.

Saucony has described the London 10k as a ‘moment to present its new brand identity’ and its supporting campaign Take On London will demonstrate Saucony’s ‘ongoing commitment to the community running space in London’. 

Cameron Black, VP GM Saucony EMEA, said, “Saucony and the event are perfectly aligned in values and vision, with a powerful commitment to getting the capital active. This is the first time Saucony has been the title partner of a UK race, marking an exciting moment and new direction for Saucony,” 

“We are looking forward to a long-lasting and meaningful partnership that will harness the well-established local run community to continue driving forward the sport with an inclusive, inspiring, and energetic environment in London each summer.”