Turkish Olympic Committee Expands Nike Partnership -- Sponsor Spotlight

(ATR) The Turkish Olympic Committee is continuing its fight against physical inactivity by expanding its Active Kids project from two to five schools.

The Active Kids project is backed by Nike and now has more than 1,500 participants throughout Istanbul. The initiative encourages and promotes the benefits of physical activity among youths before, during and after school.

The TOC set up parent seminars after the announcement of the expansion and more than 320 parents attended the first conference. The parents learn about the program that encourages youths to be active on the weekends by inviting them to local schools and organizing a variety of sports and activities.

TOC president Ugur Erdener tells Around the Rings the Active Kids project would not be possible without Nike’s support.

"The ‘Active Kids’ project was inspired by Nike’s global ‘Designed to Move’ initiative and they have brought a lot of invaluable experience and expertise to the project," says Erdener. "With their support we have been able to engage more than 1500 children in sport as we look to promote healthy lifestyles among our country’s young people."

The program also surveys the children and parents involved to measure the physical activity and stress levels of participants.

"We have no doubt that over the coming years the project will expand further and play a key role in our mission to make sport accessible to Turkey’s 30 million citizens under the age of 25," Erdener tells ATR.

Commonwealth Games Ink Television Deal

Television New Zealand is the new exclusive broadcast rights holder for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast.

TVNZ will offer the most extensive free-to-air coverage of the Commonwealth Games taking place from Apr. 4-15, 2018 in Queensland.

The deal allows for live television coverage on TVNZ’s two primary channels, live online streaming, highlights and delayed broadcasts with OnDemand services. The deal also ensures islands in the Pacific have access to the live coverage provided by TVNZ.

"New Zealand has a proud Commonwealth sporting history, and thanks to TVNZ’s innovative and extensive plans for free-to-air coverage, I have no doubt that New Zealanders will have a memorable Games experience," said chief executive of the Commonwealth Games David Grevemberg.

TVNZ has gained much experience covering the Commonwealth Games over the years, covering all but the last two editions and as host broadcasters in 1974 and 1990.

The 2018 edition of the event will be the first time it returns to Australia since 2006 when it was staged in Melbourne.

ITTF Signs New Trophy Designer

World Sport Design is the newest partner of the International Table Tennis Federation with a deal lasting through 2018.

The Prague-based design company has been the official trophy supplierfor the ITTF in past tournaments such as the 2015 World Tour GrandFinals. The new partnership agreement arranges for WSD to providetrophies for the ITTF Star Awards as well as the World Tour Grand Finalsfor the next three years.

ITTF president Thomas Weikert says the federation is looking forward to "a long and successful partnership".

"The trophies at the 2015 Grand Finals were very well-designed, and I amcertain that World Sport Design will continue to outdo themselves andproduce prestigious trophies fitting the Star Awards and World TourGrand Finals," said Weikert.

"World Sport Design specializes in creation of luxury sports trophies,medals and design sets handmade from glass, precious metals and othermaterials," said WSD president Jiri Smidl. "We anticipate theopportunity to deliver our design trophies to more events, with highquality awards to represent real and lasting value for the awarded."

The World Tour Grand Finals are set to take place Dec. 15-18. The location for the tournamentis yet to be determined.

Written by KevinNutley

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