A New Continent for Play the Game -- Conferences & Conventions

(ATR) The first Play the Game conference held outside of Europe begins on Sunday in Colorado Springs.

More than 150 speakers have signed up, including Russian Anti-Doping Agency Director General Yuriy Ganus and two IOC members.

Ganus will join Travis Tygart, the head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, in a panel debate that will also include new iNADO Chairman Michael Ask, WADA Athlete Chair Beckie Scott, and investigative reporter Hajo Seppelt, who has spent the past 13 years exposing doping scandals.

Two IOC members representing athletes, Emma Terho from Finland and James Tomkins from Australia, have confirmed their participation in an opening panel featuring various types of athlete representatives.

Click here for the full program.

The 11th edition of the international Play the Game conference will run from October 13-16.

Among the social activities on offer is an exclusive tour to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, home to nine Olympic and Paralympic sports.

SportelMonaco Celebrating 30 Years

SportelMonaco is marking its 30th anniversary with a party.

All registered participants are invited to celebrate on Oct. 21, the opening day of the three-day conference for sports marketing and media industry leaders.

Sportel CEO Laurent Puons tells Around the Rings that new media and new technologies are an important part of the event’s agenda.

"SPORTEL is the place to be to acquire sports technology to drive fan engagement, maximize reach, best understand how to monetize your data and much more. This has been a growing trend for many years and is now a crucial aspect for our community. I expect these trends to continue to grow, as technology continues to drive growth for many companies in the international sports business industry."

The SPORTEL Awards Ceremony will be held at the Grimaldi Forum on Oct. 22. Under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II and the Patronage of the International Olympic Committee, the evening will reveal the most outstanding images and the best illustrated sports book of the year.

Alain Prost will receive the SPORTEL Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring an international personality for his sporting feats.

Prost, a four-time Formula 1 World Champion, won 51 F1 races during his career and is still involved with the sport as non-executive director of the Renault F1 team.

SportsPro OTT Summit

Industry leaders from Sky, YouTube, BT Sport, UEFA and beIN Media Group will join a series of immersive case studies and deep dive sessions during the SportsPro OTT Summit in Madrid next month.

Among the sessions lined up is an exploration of the NBA OTT/Digital strategy with NBA Executive VP of Digital Media Melissa Brenner. Frank Arthofer, Global Head of Digital Media & Licencing at Formula 1, will identify how F1 leveraged their OTT platform to attract new global audiences.

More than 800 senior OTT and digital leaders will be attending the third edition of the summit, which begins on Nov. 19.

The inaugural SportsPro OTT Awards will be handed out on Nov. 21 to close out the conference.

Organizers say more than 300 senior decision makers will celebrate the nominees and winners live on stage, with each gaining a powerful new authority that boosts credibility and attracts clients.

Judges include executives from DAZN, Sky, UEFA, and the PGA Tour.

IF Forum Focuses on Athletes

‘Athlete Centred Sport’ will be the theme of the 13th annual International Federation (IF) Forum, which takes place from Oct. 28-30 at the Hotel Royal Savoy in Lausanne.

Safeguarding athletes, protection of clean athletes, athlete welfare, future financial wellbeing and strengthening the voice of athletes will be among the topics under discussion during the IF Forum 2019 conference sessions, workshops, keynotes and fireside chats.

"A sport cannot flourish without its athletes performing to their potential, so it is fitting that the focus of the IF Forum 2019 will be on how to nurture and strengthen relationships between International Sports Federations and athletes, who are sport’s most important stakeholders," said Raffaele Chiulli, President of both SportAccord and the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).

The IF Forum, which brings together more than 200 leaders from over 100 International Sports Federations, is organised by SportAccord for GAISF members and supported by the International Olympic Committee to tackle global matters related to the Sports Movement.

The annual three-day gathering is also limited to a small number of invited industry partners and gives them exclusive access to an authoritative networking environment and recognition as a supporter of the Sports Movement.

New Forum to Discuss Sport and Society

A new sport business forum backed by French President Emmanuel Macron makes its debut at the Louvre in February.

Global Sports Week Paris will receive financial backing through France’s Ministry of Sports alongside further operational support from the city of Paris.

The core agenda of the English-language event, which will be held from February 5-7, will focus on exploring the two-way relationship between sport and society at a time of disruptive change.

Organizers say it will feature well-known figures from the worlds of global entertainment and government as part of a programme of "talk show"-style discussions and interviews in the round.

French sports leaders were in London recently for the international launch of Global Sports Week Paris.

"We chose London for this launch, recognising the city’s long-time position as Europe’s sport business powerbase. At the same time, Global Sports Week is also a reflection of Paris’ emerging status as a new focal point of world sport." Lucien Boyer, President of Global Sports Week, said in a statement.

"But this is really a global initiative, with multilateralism at the heart. We want to bring together the leaders and disruptors from across all sectors, countries and generations. The idea is that we must collaborate in new ways if we are to fully realise sport’s potential – both commercially and as a vehicle of policy and social impact."

The plans are for Global Sports Week Paris to become an annual event.

Passes are now available at an early bird rate at the event website.

Written by Gerard Farek

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