Industry Shorts: Inov-8, Gray-nicolls, Hyundai…
The Obstacle Course Racing World Championships are to return to the UK, with sports brand inov-8 confirmed as the event’s official footwear brand.
Last year saw the Adventurey-created event held outside North America for the first time in its history, with racers from 65 countries taking part.
The 2019 OCRWC will see 5,000 of the world’s best obstacle course racers once again head to Brentwood, Essex to compete over muddy terrain to overcome the technical obstacles in the pinnacle of the sport.
Michael Price, inov-8 Product & Marketing Director, said: “We are proud to once again be the official footwear brand of the OCR World Championships here on home soil in the UK. 2018 was a fantastic experience for us, and we can’t wait to return this year.”
The 2019 event is to debut the 100 Metre Sprint Championships, alongside the 3k, 15k, team and charity competitions usually associated with the event, which was first staged in 2014.
Sir Alastair Cook, the leading run scorer in England’s Test history, has collaborated with equipment sponsor Gray-Nicolls to produce a limited-edition cricket bat collection.
Thirty three ‘AC Excalibur’ cricket bats have been created, with each one to commemorate one of the former England captain’s Test Match hundreds for his country.
Signed by Cook himself and branded with both Gray-Nicolls’ iconic red flash and the insignia of the AC Excalibur, each of Cook’s Test centuries is also detailed with the date it was achieved and the opponent it was scored against.
Cook sits fifth on the list of all-time Test match run scorers, with 12,472 runs.
Richard Gray, Sales and Marketing Director of Gray-Nicolls, said: “We are extremely proud to have partnered with Alastair for every single one of his Test runs.
“From when he joined Gray-Nicolls as a teenager he has been the model ambassador, and it gave us immense satisfaction watching him bat so successfully for England for 12 glorious years.”
South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai has extended its partnership with World Archery until 2021, building on a relationship that began in 2016.
As part of the new agreement, Hyundai will retain the sponsorship rights to World Archery’s showcase events, the Archery World Championships and Archery World Cup circuit.
he automotive brand says it will now look to leverage its exclusive relationship to actively communicate with archery followers globally through its various channels and communities.
Ugur Erdener, World Archery President, commented: “Hyundai’s support has enabled the growth of our world-class events, and the investment translates into measurable growth in archery’s broadcast reach and international engagement.
“It’s a relationship that continues to benefit both parties and one we’re proud to prolong.”
