Changing the Game of Womens Sport

Yesterday saw the launch of Nike's new sports exhibition, 'Changing the Game of Women's Sport', at the Blink Gallery in Soho. The exhibition is designed to celebrate the country's finest sportswomen highlighting their strength, passion and individuality. The exhibition has features on different female athletes from the entire sporting spectrum, including world championship 5000m Irish gold medallist Sonia O'Sullivan and sbowboard ace Zoe Gillings. The athletes were present at last weeks press launch (pictured below), and it is hoped the exhibition will do a lot to raise the profile of Women's sport in the U.K. and encourage more youngsters to follow in the footsteps of the stars. The exhibition runs from the 27th November until 7th December, so get yourself down there!

Above: Nike ACG Snowboarders Zoe Gillings and Rebecca Cullum, and all the athletes (top right).

Permin the King of Style

This past weekend France's Rich Permin clinched a sensational victory over a top class field in the King of Style Big Air, at the 2007 Winter Jam in Stockholm. He narrowly beat Canada's TJ Schiller into top spot, with American Simon Dumont in third. Sammy Carlson and Oscar Sherlin finished 4th and 5th, with Jon Olsson back in 9th. Each of the riders had three jumps, with the best two jumps counting, but each of the two tricks had to be different, adding a little twist to the traditional big air format. Jumps were also judged on style, rather than simply technical difficulty.

Rich did not fall all weekend and was putting down all variety of tricks. He won the contest on his final jump, putting down the smoothest of smooth switch 720 double tail grab (Rich’s own grab - check out his Solden Sweet spot to see it in action) to move into the lead. His spin was so slow that it looked like a 360 and he went super big. TJ then did a 1260 and event though he landed well the judges did not rate it about Rich’s super styley 7.

Rich thus continued his fantastic start to the season following a 4th place in the Frestyle.ch for the second year running. He said, ‘Last year I finished second so it was great to be able to step it up and get my first international title under my belt, the $10,000 is great too!’

The event was a great success and with a big crowd, live TV and perfect conditions, and it's going to be tough for the organisers to do better next year, but we'll definitely be there to check it out!

1) Richard Permin
2) TJ Schiller
3) Simon Dumont
4) Sammy Carlson
5) Oscar Sherlin
6) Colby West
7) PK Hunder
8) Henrik Harlaut
9) Jon Olsson
10) Jacob Wester
11) Peter Olenick
12) Charles Gagnier

(Image from newschoolers.com)

IOC Youth Olympics: Candidate Cities Are Being Whittled Down

as reported by Sport Business...

The International Olympic Committee short listed five cities as Candidate Cities to host the first Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010 - with Moscow seemingly heading the race.

The five cities - Athens, Bangkok, Moscow, Singapore and Turin - were chosen unanimously from the nine cities that submitted Candidature Files. Debrecen, Guatemala City, Kuala Lumpur and Poznan failed to make the cut.

According to the IOC, the selection of Candidate Cities was based on an analysis of the Bid Books submitted by the Applicant Cities, covering key Games factors such as venues, transport, accommodation, educational and cultural programmes and security.

Moscow was at the top of a list of applicants. The IOC scored each bid and Moscow emerged as a favourite - scoring highly in every category including accomodation, general infrastructure and the Olympic Village.

Moscow Mayor and the bid’s Chairman Victor Luzhkov said: “Today is the beginning of a decisive phase in our journey towards the 2010 Youth Olympic Games. We are committed to continue our hard work with dignity and respect to the Olympic Ideals. We know the other candidate cities are strong rivals and we have to remain focused. Moscow can and will contribute in making the first Youth Olympic Games a truly memorable and global event. We have a strong team, a detailed plan and the passion to materialise the dreams of millions of people”.

Deputy Mayor of Moscow and the bid’s CEO Valery Vinogradov said: “It is a great honour for Moscow to be selected as a Candidate City and we will do our best to prove that the IOC is right in choosing Moscow as a city that has the potential to host the first edition of the Youth Olympic Games. We remain confident that we will fully demonstrate Moscow’s unique proposal in the months to come”.

An IOC Evaluation Commission, chaired by IOC Executive Board member Sergey Bubka will now visit the five short listed cities, submitting its report to the IOC Executive at the end of January 2008.

Janne Rules In Stockholm

Janne Korpi led a Finnish clean sweep of the podium at the second round of the Nokia FIS Big Air in Stockholm. The 21 year-old Finn clinched victory with a spectacular Cab 1080 Nosegrab, relegating fellow countryman Risto Mattila to second place, with Sami Saarenpaa fighting off Slovenia's Domen Bizjak to come in third. It was the 2005 Halfpipe Junior World Champion's second Big Air victory, and third World Cup victory in all.

Korpi himself had not expected to make the Final against Mattila, after struggling somewhat in the qualification rounds: “I didn’t get along during the qualification. But just
after I changed my board for the K.O.-heats it was getting better and better. I’m super
stoked.”

In contrast, Mattila struggled to hide his disappointment in losing the final. The 2005 Big Air World Champion had put his stamp on the competition during qualification but struggled to maintain his form in the finals: “I’m disappointed with my riding because I wasn’t able to handle the landing at all,” he said.

Mattila was able to get away with being down after the first jump in both the quarter and semi finals, but after once again being down in the final, his luck ran out in the final against a by-then on form Korpi. He went on to say: “I wanted to have fun and enjoy my riding. I guess this is way I didn’t feel any pressure in the knock out duels. Janne deserves the victory today. He was doing very well!”

With his victory Kropi now head the World Cup standings, with fellow countryman Peetu Piiroinen, and Mattila third. Antii Autti, not present in Stockholm, is back in 7th.

Standings after 2 rounds:

Rk FIS-CODE NAME NAT #1 #2 TOTAL
1. 1184963 KORPI Janne FIN 400 1000 1400.0
2. 1184978 PIIROINEN Peetu FIN 1000 260 1260.0
3. 1668303 MATTILA Risto FIN 290 800 1090.0
4. 1184977 SAARENPAA Sami FIN 450 600 1050.0
5. 1184758 GIMPL Stefan AUT 800 240 1040.0
6. 1514901 MAURER Stephan SUI 500 290 790.0
7. 1184953 AUTTI Antti FIN 600 600.0
8. 7560008 BIZJAK Domen SLO 18.5 500 518.5
9. 9500006 NILSSON Jonathan SWE 450 450.0
10. 1424987 AANNESTAD Stian NOR 18.2 400 418.2
11. 9180005 LAIVISTO Juuso FIN 28 360 388.0
12. 1611461 RUHA Jaakko FIN 260 120 380.0
13. 9420002 HANSEN Kim-Rune NOR 360 18.8 378.8
14. 1404958 WAL, VAN DER Dolf NED 320 320.0
14. 9500062 GIDLUNDH Andreas SWE 320 320.0
16. 9510018 CAVIGELLI Gian-Luca SUI 110 200 310.0
17. 7560009 PETEK Matevz SLO 160 140 300.0
17. 1440353 MAUSSER Florian AUT 140 160 300.0
17. 7050153 FALKEIS Stefan AUT 150 150 300.0
20. 7510051 HALLER Christian SUI 180 90 270.0

There's hope yet: Rock & Roll

Fear not people, should we end up with nowt snow again this season (looking good so far I might add) there’s always some way of getting down the hill on a pair of planks…

Bumper Season in Prospect

Great news! It's dumping it down in Europe! That's right, this week has seen massive snow falls across much of Europe, with Austria in particular the main recipient. Kaprun is already boasting 250 cm on the upper slopes, and a fantastic 180 cm on the lower slopes, while Kitzbuhel and St Anton both have 150cm on the upper slopes as well! There are another 23 resorts across Austria that also have over a metre on their upper slopes. While other countries have not experienced quite so much, Verbier, Zermatt, Engelberg and Saas Fee are all looking great in Switzerland, so too Tignes in France, and also Livgno, Cervinia and Val Senales in Italy. To many of you this will be a godsend after the disastrous start to last season which saw warm temperatures and little snowfall, and just proves that all the talk of global warming's threat to the industry should not be taken as gospel. Bring on December!

















Above: It's already looking great in St Anton

Terje's Season Pass

News in from our friends at Friday (creators of the Sorsa Project and more recently Paddy Graham's Nike ACG Sweetspot) on their latest TV series...

BURLINGTON, VT (November 14, 2007) - Burton Snowboards and Friday Productions are pleased to announce the launch of their new TV co-production, Terje's Season Pass, starring Terje Haakonsen along with Nicolas Müller, Shaun White, Mads Jonsson and Kevin Pearce. The six-part TV series will air this January on major TV networks worldwide, including the world's leading action sports channel FUEL TV and Norway's largest broadcaster NRK.

Terje's Season Pass features snowboarding icon Terje Haakonsen as well as a talented group of Burton snowboarders as they ride some of the best mountains in the world, compete at events and live the life of modern-day professional snowboarders. What really happens on a heli-trip to British Columbia? What's going through Shaun White's mind as he drops-in in front of 30,000 screaming fans at the Air & Style? What is it like to travel with dog sleds and camp and snowboard in Greenland's harsh interior? Just how does Nicolas Müller make any type of terrain come alive? Terje's Season Pass takes an in-depth look at all of these scenes and many more, giving viewers a chance to watch the dramas, inside stories and key moments of the 2006/2007 winter snowboarding season.

Terje Haakonsen has this to say about the new show, "The show's story is very straight-forward: find good snow and shred it with friends. Jake's quiver of riders is so good, I would enjoy riding with any of them, but I really enjoyed riding and traveling with Nicolas, Mads, Shaun and Kevin. It was a strange season for snow, but we were lucky almost everywhere we went, and even when it was shitty, we had a laugh!"

"Traveling with Terje is always an experience and a lot of fun," said Jake Burton, Founder and Chairman, Burton Snowboards. "His riding is inspirational and his sense of humor is contagious. I know how excited all of those pros were to ride with 'the man'. I can't imagine how cool this TV series is going be ... I have my popcorn ready."

Shon Tomlin, FUEL TV VP of Programming and Development, says "Terje Haakonsen continues to be snowboarding's most celebrated living legend, and this unique series puts you front and center in his world. It's a rare look into the kind of access and adventures that play out in a winter with a world-class pro. Terje's Season Pass documents all angles in a way that hasn't been fully captured in the typical snowboard film or television series."

Terje's Season Pass will premiere on FUEL TV on Tuesday, 1/1/08 at 8:00pm ET/PT. Each of the episodes will then air on subsequent Tuesday nights at 8:00pm ET/PT. Re-airs will take place the following Sundays at 8:30pm ET/PT starting 1/6/08. The show will continue to air on FUEL TV throughout the winter.

The British Alpine Ski and Snowboard Team Official Launch

Wednesday 7th November saw the official launch of the British Alpine Ski and Snowboard Team at the Vue West End Cinema in Leicester Square.

It was an opportunity to meet the teams, find out about their ambitious plans for the season ahead and discover the strength and depth in British Snowsports. In addition, 2 new documentaries on the teams as well as an exclusive preview of the latest Warren Miller film, ‘Playground’, were aired.

The night was a great success, with a full cinema and several high profile attendees, including perhaps the two biggest names in British snowboarding, half-pipe king Dan Wakeham and boarder cross ace Zoe Gillings. For Dan the night had further significance because he was in fact himself commissioned to make the documentary on the snowboard team, which was received really well.

The event undoubtedly raised the profile of the British teams and hopefully ushered in what will be the most successful season for British Snowsports yet.

Youth Olympic Games Boil-Down to 9 Potential Host Cities—Skateboarding Possible Sport; Coca-Cola Pony’s-Up for Restoration of Ancient OlympiaSite

as reported bt Label Networks...

It’s come down to 9 potential cities that will be hosting the first ever Youth Olympic Games that will supposedly attract 3,500 athletes between the ages of 14-18, and bring relevancy and cool-factor back to the anachronistic International Olympic Committee (IOC) by 2010. The potential host cities that submitted candidacy by the October 26th deadline, include Athens, Greece, Bangkok, Thailand, Debrecen, Hungary, Guatemala City, Guatemala, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Moscow, Russia, Poznan, Poland, Singapore, Singapore, and Turin, Italy. These cities will be analyzed by a panel representing the Olympic Movement, with a final announcement for the host city to be announced this month on the 19th. What’s interesting about this, however, is that the sports to be chosen for the Youth Olympic Games must be from the stable of 26 sports that are to appear in to 2012 Games in London. As we’ve written about previously, skateboarding is on that potential list, as well as BMX. However, since both sports, which rank high in our Global Youth Culture Studies, may be potential sports within the real Olympic Games in London 2 years later, and of course include athletes within the 14-18-year-old age range, it remains to be seen how this will dilute the real Olympics if the first time these popular sports appear is during the Youth Games and potentially with the same athletes. It appears that the IOC may not have thought this through. The Youth Olympic Games concept started this year when the IOC, in its attempts to reach a younger demographic and be more relevant in the future, sought out ways to increase its appeal to global youth culture. One brilliant idea was the creation of the supposedly youthful and hip 2012 logo for the London Games, which has not only been blasted globally for it’s bad design, but has been removed from some sites for causing seizures. The other concept was to possibly introduce skateboarding into the 2012 Games; and the final one, was the launch of the Youth Olympic Games for 14-18-year-olds. However, the IOC doesn’t yet “recognize” any skateboarding organizations and have turned to the International Cycling Union (UCI) to introduce the sport to the Games. The way this whole process works is that skateboarding has to first be umbrella-ed under a sport that the IOC does “recognize” from which that organization can then make a formal proposal to the IOC to include it into the Games. This process can take years, often includes frustration on the part of the athletes and industry trying to get the sport into the Games, not to mention the tension created from having two very distinct sporting lifestyles try to get along as they are pre-packaged together for the sake of “recognition” by the Olympics. Look at the snowboarding and skiing relationship as a reference. London’s organizing committee of course is keen to have skateboarding on board and is pushing hard knowing that it will increase their cred-factor and global audiences. They even have a proposed location in the Olympic Park veladrome. And the UCI is keen to get skateboarding within their fold which will not only bolster cycling, but bring in money for their organization off the backs of skateboarding, thanks to their brethren with tiny wheels. However, if this popular sport first appears in the Youth Games, in say, a chosen city of Debrecen, Hungary, it will most certainly pop the bubble for London with the sport appearing in their big-daddy Olympics 2 years later. While of course it’s important to know which city will host said Youth Olympic Games, what may be far more important is first to figure out what sports are going to be in the Youth version. Then, it might make more sense what city to host it in—one with perhaps a history of supporting “youthful” sports. Out of this list, only about 1 (Moscow) has such a reputation, and ironically, no city like say, San Diego or Los Angeles or Cleveland or Mexico City, that have hosted youth-oriented X Games events have even thrown their names into the pot. Which says something. Finally, in other Olympic news, it sounds like Coca-Cola is doing a good thing: They’ve donated 2 million dollars to the Hellenic Olympic Committee towards restoring the ancient site of Olympia in Greece and the nearby forest which was struck by wildfire this summer. Coca-Cola is the longest running sponsor of the Olympics. Odds-on that this title goes to Mountain Dew for the Youth version.

PETITION TO STOP BRITISH AIRWAYS SURFBOARD BAN

To represent the needs of thousands of surfers who are shocked by the new British Airways (BA) ban on the carriage of surfboards (effective from 6th November), the British Surfing Association (BSA) has set up a petition to lobby the airline to reverse their decision.

The organisation is also urging all surfers to utilise a new members group on the social networking site Facebook, complain directly to BA and spread the word amongst other surfers.

Karen Walton, National Director, BSA, says, “If everyone who surfs could take five minutes to go online and follow our recommended action steps then we will have a real representation of the swell of support for the reversal of this absurd decision. The Facebook site already has in excess of 1,000 members and lots of our members have been making complaints to BA. Our new online petition means that people all over the world can add their support to our campaign and can add their personal comments about the issue. We will then be personally delivering the petition to the management at BA in the near future.”

Surfers are urged to take the following steps to help us lobby British Airways to reverse their decision:

1) Go onto www.britsurf.co.uk and click the ‘SIGN ONLINE PETITION OF PROTEST IN THE NEWS SECTION ON THE HOME PAGE’. Follow the easy steps to sign this online petition and add any comments.
2) If you have a Facebook account, join the Facebook ‘British Airways Surfboard Ban’ group
3) Click this link and register a complaint with BA directly
4) Encourage all other surfers to follow these steps

Bumper season in prospect?

With last season being one of the worst in recent memory for snowfall, its easy to get caught up in the doom-and-gloom of global warming and the implications that weather boffins claim it has for the sport we all love. However, one look at these awesome shots from Mt Bachelor in the U.S., taken on October 20^th, suggest that this season may be an altogether different story, with foot-upon-foot of fresh powder already! With European glacial resorts enjoying decent conditions too, it's surely promising to be a far better season this year!

Sweetspots arrives

After perusing the KAOS blog get yourself over to http://www.nikeacg.com/ to see Nike ACG's latest offering: Sweetspots. They've served up 8 films (so far) featuring their top riders who have each hooked up with some of the finest film production companies to document their own Sweetspot.

photo: Brian Becker

Each Sweetspot is a 3-4 minute short film, documenting something or somewhere of personal significance to the riders. They were given the chance to document a trip, session or trick that they'd felt passionately about and the result is a collection of films that each have their own flavour. From Andreas Hatveit defying gravity and sense in taking on the craziest box setup in Sandpoint (above) to Henning Marthinsen holding out for white gold in Revelstoke, the guys came back with something achieved and a story to tell.

More Sweetspots will be added over the course of the season and come spring the site will also take on kayaking and basejumping films. If you're up for submitting your own Sweetspot, or even joining an crack team to shoot their own film with Nike- keep your eyes out for the 'join the crew' feature on the site

Enjoy

IOC Announces Youth Olympics

Last Thursday saw the IOC make a landmark decision: they announced that the first ever Youth Olympics would be taking place in August 2010. This will be the first time that young athletes will get the chance to compete for Olympic gold, and they will be held over 12 days with an expected 3200 kids aged between 14 and 18 competing. The Winter Games will be held in 2012 and are expected to attract 1000 athletes.

IOC Supremo Jacques Rogge admitted that the scheme was not just an initiative to tackle child obesity but also a result of today’s youth losing interest in the traditional events involved the Summer Games. Indeed he acknowledged that the youth of today are more interested in competitions like the X Games, which feature BMX Freestyle, Skateboarding, Surfing and FMX.

The IOC has already added skateboarding to the London Olympics in 2012, and so the Youth Olympics is yet another attempt by the IOC to strengthen its reputation amongst teens, with many of these action sports touted to be amongst the events at the youth Olympics.
Mr Rogge stated:
“Just as the IOC has known, over our 100-plus years of existence, how to move with the times - so we must now adapt to meet the taste of today’s young generation.”

It is not yet known where the first Youth Olympics will be held, but 6 cities have already applied, and in line with tradition, they will be held every 4 years.

New Wave of hope for British Surfing

Sport England, in conjunction with the British Surfing Association (BSA), has announced that a £94,000 boost will see the funding of a new Regional Surf Development Coach within the South West. The position and the funding has been created to strengthen the quality of surf coaching that is available across the area and to build the crucial surf club structure which is integral to the growth of surfing as a regular sporting activity amongst people of all ages.

It is estimated that there are 500,000 surfers in the UK and over 52% of this number reside in the South West. Surfing forms a crucial part of the economy for the South West and at least 95% of Britain’s top surfers either come from the South West or have chosen to reside there.

Whilst there are a number of successful, strong surf clubs currently in existence, in recent years this important part of the UK sporting structure has eroded and the new three year position will see a person who is dedicated to the redevelopment of this area and a continual building of the style and quality of surf coaching that is available for people of all ages throughout the region.

The South West Regional Sports Board is supporting the BSA with a Regional Development Coach, as it has also done for women’s rugby, netball and swimming, via Community Investment Funding. The aim is to support these sports by identifying coaching gaps within their player pathways and to help plug these gaps through investment into coaching at the appropriate level.

The new position will be based in the BSA’s headquarters at Fistral Beach, Newquay, however the Regional Surf Development Coach will travel the length and breadth of the South West to examine the current structure and build a strong, new system.

The post will see the successful applicant working in consultation with the BSA National Director, to write and deliver an agreed strategic development programme to create and maintain an active surf club culture and network in the South West and to subsequently increase grass roots participation numbers in surfing.

Karen Walton, National Director of the BSA says, “The news that we had been given this invaluable grant is a major boost for the organisation and for British surfing. It has been over ten years since the BSA received any significant form of government backing so this new funding is a great opportunity for us to begin to build and strengthen the current structure and take the standards of surf coaching to a new level.

The new Regional Surf Development Coach will form a key part of our team in the South West and will bring new value and opportunities to current and potential surfers across the region. We’re looking forward to receiving applications and seeing the post become a reality.”

Jim Clarke, Sport England Regional Director says, "We are delighted to be supporting the BSA with this exciting new position which will help to support the development of surf coaches and coaching across the SW region. Sport England exists to sustain and increase participation in community sport, and we hope that this project will help to achieve both of these aims."

Above: Karen Walton, Barry Hall, Sam Limeroy, Tony Good Photo: Ralph Rutter/Event Media

Nike ACG Sweetspots are coming

Check out the teaser for Nike ACG's upcoming campaign, Sweetspots. It's a collection of films to be shown exclusively on www.nikeacg.com starring the likes of Andreas Hatveit and Henning Marthinsen. They have been filmed by the best in the business including Absinthe, Blank Paper Studio and PoorBoyz Productions.

You'll be able to find all of the above and more on www.nikeacg.com from 1st October, including UK pipe slayer Paddy Graham.

Jake Brown - Unbelievable @ X Games

ESPN X Games announces first ever X Games Global Simulcast

ESPN’s X Games, the world’s premier action sport franchise, has just announced the first ever worldwide simulcast of the opening of an X Games. Scheduled for Thursday August 2, 2007 at 9 p.m. ET, the first five minutes of X Games 13 will air live simultaneously on ESPN in the U.S. and 18 ESPN International networks around the globe reaching 267 million viewers in 145 countries. The entire opening show, as well as an additional 40 hours of X Games 13 coverage, will also be webcast on EXPN.com. Action sports fans in Australia, Asia, Brazil, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, India, Israel, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South America, Taiwan and the U.S. will share in the excitement as the world’s leading action sports event kicks off its annual competition in Los Angeles Aug. 2-5, 2007. This year the event will feature more than 150 of the world’s best athletes competing in BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, Surfing and Rally Car Racing. “We are thrilled to be able to bring the excitement of X to action sports fans around the world in this unprecedented multiplatform, multi-network effort,” said by Rick Alessandri, senior vice president, general manager, ESPN Consumer Products and X Games Franchise Managing Director. “We believe that the support and enthusiasm for the X Games brand truly transcends cultures and borders, and what better way to show that than with this unique showcase of X Games 13.” The opening of X Games 13 will feature memorable X highlights including last year’s unforgettable, world-record setting double back flip from Travis Pastrana. The opening will also be streamed live on www.expn.com and via broadband at ESPN360.com and ESPN360 Mexico. Also showcased on the ABC SuperSign Times Square in New York City, this opening will be seen by more than 32 million tourists annually.

Chariots of Fire: The skate kids going for Olympic gold

The Independent published an article in The Independent Extra on 23rd July about the future UK Olympic skateboarders.

Here they are at last.....The Stiletto Bindings!

Those crazy fashion people at Balenciaga have gone and designed this 'IT' shoe for their Fall 07 collection. It's being called the 'lego shoe' and a pair will cost you $4175USD, thats about £2000. Nobody seems to have realised the designers just made a shoe out of some old snowboard bindings.

School sports initiative to aid 2012 build-up

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced the Government is investing £100m in a sports drive that includes the launch an annual national school sports week. The aim is to give every child the chance of five hours of sport every week as part of a drive for a healthier Britain.

He has called for a "united team effort" in the build up to 2012 to make sport a part of every child's daily life. As well as offering greater opportunities to participate in sports both at and outside schools, plans include a greater emphasis on competition within and between schools, a network of competition managers and a new National School Sports Week.

The funding will provide up to five hours of sport a week for all pupils and three hours for 16 to 19-year-olds, a National School Sport Week, championed by Dame Kelly Holmes where all schools will be encouraged to run sports days and inter-school tournaments, and a network of 225 competition managers across the country to work with primary and secondary schools to increase the amount of competitive sport they offer.

Announcing the initiative the Prime Minister says: "We need to put school sport back where it belongs, playing a central role in the school day. I was lucky enough to have primary and secondary schools that had sport at the centre of their ethos. I want every child to have that opportunity to take part. Watching sport is a national pastime. Talking about sport is a national obsession. But now we need to make taking part in sport a national characteristic."

What if.......

Funny Nike SB commercial - Watch more free videos

IOC says must capture teenagers' tastes to survive

The International Olympic Committee must adapt to changing attitudes of young people if it wants to stay relevant and battle falling interest among youths for the Olympic Games, its president said on Tuesday. With the average age of Olympics viewers increasing in recent years and youngsters turning fast to other sports competitions like the X Games, the IOC has to change, Jacques Rogge said. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the IOC's 119th session in Guatemala City, Rogge said staging Youth Olympics, an event designed to raise the level of enthusiasm and participation of teenagers, was a step in the right direction. "Just as the IOC has known, over our 100-plus years of existence, how to move with the times ... so we must now adapt to meet the taste of today's young generation," Rogge said. The IOC has tried to counter the current trend by introducing disciplines in the winter and summer Olympic programme that are popular with young people, including BMX-cross cycling, skicross and snowboarding. It has taken a blow with the rising popularity of the annual summer and winter X Games, their 13th summer edition coming up next month, offering such sports as BMX freestyle, surfing and Moto X racing. "The Youth Olympic Games project is also on our agenda this week," Rogge told an audience that included IOC members, heads of internation sports federations and the president of Guatemala Oscar Berger. "For our movement, and all that it stands for, to remain relevant into the next decade and beyond, we must find ways to keep the appeal of our event," he said. The IOC though is not expected to limit itself to the Youth Olympics, should they be approved by the session as a project to pursue. It is also looking to bolster the popularity of the 2012 London Olympics by squeezing skateboarding into the programme, not as a new sport but potentially as a new discipline falling under the control of the International Cycling Union. (Source: Guardian.co.uk)

Our new ad!!

Check out our new press ad for KAOS Brands In Action and Creating Kaos. Click to enlarge and click the links for the relevant websites.

SevenX + Gold Coast Oceanfest = a seaside jolly-up

The SevenX collective hit the road and headed to the Gold Coast Oceanfest in Croyde at the Weekend to promote the brand and provide stylish clothing solutions for the local revellers. After a rainy Friday the sun came out and the weekend was enjoyed by all at the beautiful beachside location. Volleyball, grom surf comps, skate demos and bands entertained the crowd and the SevenX crew enjoyed a busy but fun weekend in Devon (or Blackthorn county for those cider-drinkers amongst you).
http://www.SevenX.co.uk

Skateboarding in the Olympics- the debate rages

An article was published in the Sunday Times highlighting the debate around Skateboarding becoming part of the 2012 London Olympics. Skateboarders and ambassadors for the 'slacker classes' Dave Allen and Kev Parrott, were interviewed to put their point across that the Olympics need them more than they need the Games.
(Sunday Times 17th June 2007)

Church installs a Half-pipe for young worshippers

The Methodist Chapel, in Polzeath, Cornwall has installed a half-pipe in the Church . The ramp has proved a hit with young surfers who head inside from the beach . Methodist minister Gareth Hill said 'We are a very forward-thinking congregation'.
(The Metro, 13/06/07)

Skateboarding likely to be part of the 2012 Olympic Games

Skateboarding may be elevavated to Olympic status to broaden the appeal of the London 2012 Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has held talks in Switzerland to agree a timetable for its conclusion. Jacques Rogge, president of the IOC is understood to be keen for Skateboarding to be part of the 2012 Games after the success of Snowboarding at the Winter Games in Turin.

Below are articles covering the story from various UK newspapers.
(from top to bottom: The Daily Telegraph, The London Lite, The London Paper, The Observer and The Times)

The June 4th edition of 'The Metro' newspaper featured an article highlighting various sports that can be done in London in the summer months. With the end of the ski season 'The Metro' offered alternatives sports to take part in in the city. Skateboarding is described in the article as free, accesible to virtually anyone, and a sport that keeps you fit.

KAOS - When Specailists Make the Difference

An important article in Sports Business Magazine about the future of independent sports marketing agencies. KAOS is identifed as a great example of where specialists are essential to work in areas when passion and knowledge are required for success (see the start of page 3). Click on the images to read the text.

Shaun White American Express Advert

IOC “Welcomes” Idea of Youth Olympic Games to Start in 2010 with “Relevant” Sports

This is great news for the potential development of action sports. It ties in to what we are doing in U.K. schools and what we have believed action sports stand for in general. Bring it on Jacques!!

	The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board Announced April 26th that they are putting forward considerations for a Youth Olympic Games to begin in the year 2010. Called the YOG, this initiative will be among the priority of discussions to take place during the IOC session in Guatemala City in July. The concept of the YOG is to address the decline in relevance of the Olympics among youth culture and, as the IOC described, to provide a system of “education based on the relevance of sport and education based on values.” The YOG would not be a mini-Games, but rather an Olympic series targeted to 14-18-year-olds including the adaptation of different sports that are more relevant to the audience. The format of the YOG includes a Summer and Winter Game series every four years with an anticipated number of athlete participants in the first Summer Games at 3,000 and another 1,000 for the first Winter Games. IOC President Jacques Rogge emphasized that the YOG would also offer a new platform for people to learn what the Olympic values are and why they matter to the contemporary world. The idea of the YOG has been long anticipated, especially with the ESPN X Games series clearly filling the void of relevant sports and competitions among youth culture for the past 13 years. However what the IOC doesn’t quite understand it seems, is that the Olympics, to many young people, have become so irrelevant not because they don’t believe in the “value” of sports per se, but because the Olympics simply aren’t relevant to their lifestyles. In addition, the complex system of getting a “new” sport into the Olympics is a tangled web of global bureaucracy. Without getting into the whole painful example of what snowboarding went through during it’s inauguration in the past decade, the real challenge for the Olympics is to re-examine the IOC movement in general. What do the Olympics mean today? Athletes in the year 2007 (and definitely by 2010) easily cross borders to qualify for national teams that may not have, say, a bobsledder in Jamaica or a marathoner from Saudi Arabia. And like the “America’s Cup” in sailing, also known as the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup, national teams and brand sponsors are such a mix of a “team” it’s hard to know if you’re rooting for a country or a brand-sponsored multi-national boat of athletes. In the Olympics, by the time a sport qualifies to be an Olympic sport, a decade may have already passed. Like “introducing” snowboarding 10 years after most 10-18-year-olds are already participating. Like highlighting a traditional athlete such as skier Bode Miller who failed miserably instead of wunderkind snowboarder Shaun White? It all makes the Olympics appear completely out of touch. Not that young people don’t know Olympic “values.” To many young people that we interview in Label Networks’ Global Youth Culture Studies, the problem with the Olympics are the following and in this order: Olympic sports are irrelevant; the Olympics are simply a marketing tool for corporations and advertisers; Olympics athletes are disconnected with reality. In essence, the Olympics misses the lifestyle crossover that is vital for attracting youth culture, particularly youth culture in North America. Is it likely that the YOG by 2010 will include skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, freestyle rolling, martial arts, Motocross, urban freestyle parkour, speed climbing, krumping? These would add youth “value” to sports. But not if the IOC takes the tired road of trying to “educate” through a media and marketing blitz about the benefits of exercise through examples of track & field, archery, and sailing. Still, the fact that the IOC is attempting to address the lack of youth culture interest in the Olympics is an interesting step in trying to maintain their future relevancy. Let’s just hope they can move swiftly enough, and in a credible direction that doesn’t cause more harm than good.

Jib-Vid 2007 Winner

Worth noting that the 2007 Jib-Vid has happened and from everyone i've spoken with that was there and took part, it was the best ever. That standard of films just keeps getting higher. Check out this years winner....

Who would be silly enough to do this? Skiing at Angel Tube!! Not anyone we know???

Check out these links....we don't know anything about it Mr Policeman??



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6501897.stm

Report from Orage Open 2007

The Nike ACG team had a big crew out at the Orage this year with Italian, British, Norweigen, French, Spanish, German Swiss and Austrian team riders. The event itself was very professional, well run and despite the weather which was not perfect, the event went off without a hitch. The crew at Laax really know how to do their job.

It was a bit of a bad start to the event with Roy Kittler doing his collarbone again in qualies and having to bail home to sort it out. Dude, take a rest now and get that thing better before coming back next time!!!

The slopestyle course was a challenge for everyone cause speed was hard to come by due to the snow falling etc. But Rich, Martin and Mirjam did their best in the semis unfortunatley not making it through to the finals.

In the womens pipe final, Kimmy Misof (4th) went bigger than anyone busting massive airs all the way down the pipe. She's only small too. Who knows where she gets that amplitude from but it was pretty amazing to watch. Everyone in the crowd were buzzing. But it was Mirjam Jaeger with all the tech that ended up placing third and winning a massive US$400 (come on Orage, whats with the womens prize money!!!) behind the UK's Emma Lonsdale and of course in first Grete Eliassen who was simply too good.

In the mens pipe, Murray Buchan, our youngest rider at the event showed almost everyone up making it through to the semis where he put down two super solid runs signaling to everyone there that not only can the Brits can ride but that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Murray has also grown a tash so that he looks older and will be taken more seriously on the scene. It's one of those really good ones that you can twist at each end. Check the photo....its true...no really!!

Making it through to the mens final for Nike ACG was Norways Olaf Brusletto who despite busting a binding after a pretty hard slam in his final training run (how's the nads Olaf?), managed to keep it together for a 9th finish overall. Well done dude and nice to meet you...although i don't know what that milky stuff you were drinking at the party was....you gotta sort that out!

The final winner of the mens pipe was Josse Wells from NZ. This kid was so smooth and stylie and deserved the result despite the protests of Simon Dumont who put a solid 12 in his final run but was just a bit sketchy overall.

Speaking of parties, the Orage party scene was pretty quiet until Saturday night when it went off. Champagne was the order of the night to celebrate Mirjams 3rd and a belated celebration for Paddys clean-up the week before at the Brits where he won the pipe and ss.

Well done to all the Nike ACG riders. Thanks also to Lionel from Giro who was driving me around in the sweetest ride at the Open....everyone wanted to be in that car dude...i was so proud!

For all the results, get to the Orage webite...can't remember it but just google Orage Open 2007 and you get there.