Mass Participation

Cake has confirmed the arrival of adidas and M&C Saatchi S&E alumnus Rosie Holden as the Havas sport and entertainment agency’s new Managing Director.

It follows the departures of CEO Adrian Pettett, MD Jim Dowling and COO Joanne Warnes from the agency in recent weeks.

Holden arrives at Cake following a short spell as a Managing Partner at Accenture-owned marcomms group Karmarama, which she joined in April this year.

Sport England is to provide £3 million in investment to help create 200 new parkrun events across the UK over the next three years.

The investment, funded by the National Lottery, is to assist the free community-based event to specifically increase participation among women and individuals from lower socioeconomic groups, two targets in Sport England’s strategy Towards an Active Nation.

The new project is to specifically target new parkrun events in communities that have the most to benefit from free, weekly social activity in open spaces.

UK Coaching (formerly Sports Coach UK) - the non-profit which exists to support coaching excellence in the UK - has become a full member of the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) for the first time.

The move will see UK Coaching join an international group of coaching leaders across the world, working together to support the development of sports coaching. UK Coaching’s director of coaching Emma Atkins, said: “We are thrilled to join the ICCE family to ensure that we assist UK coaches and coach developers to work across the international community.

Square Mile Sport has released a new video coinciding with news that The Bloomberg Square Mile Relay Global Races Series is to expand next year.

Mumbai and Paris will be added to the roster of cities in 2019, joining Dubai, Hong Kong, London, New York, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo.

The Relay sees over 10,000 professionals from over 700 different city and financial firms compete in ten-person relay teams throughout the biggest financial districts of the world, battling it out to find the fastest firm in each city.

Commonwealth Games England (CGE) has launched a new ‘Team England’ brand identity, looking ahead to the opportunity of Birmingham 2022.

The new logo was unveiled at an event on the site of the proposed Athletes’ Village in Birmingham, which will house 6,500 athletes and officials during the next edition of the Games.

CGE Chief Executive Paul Blanchard was joined by five medal winners from the successful England team at this year’s 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games to launch the new, consumer-facing identity.

UK-born businessman Jasper Donat is consolidating his presence in the Asian sports market with a second edition of 'Sports Connects – the China Sports Forum' being staged at the Mission Hills sport and leisure resort in China at the end of next month.

Senior speakers taking part in the event are set to include Mailman Group CEO Andrew Collins, David Yang, CEO of Wanda Sports China and Martin Slumbers, CEO of the R&A, alongside representatives from Alibaba and Weibo and regional rightsholder chiefs.

NBA legend and Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan has become the latest high-profile figure to invest in esports, joining a $26m funding round by leading US esports organisation aXiomatic.

The star is among several new investors in the parent company of Team Liquid – a powerhouse of esports across multiple titles, including League of Legends.

It follows a trend of significant fundraising by north American League of Legends Championship Series franchises this year.

Sport England has launched the next phase of its landmark “This Girl Can” campaign.

The new film by FCB Inferno, “Fit Got Real”, features real women of various ethnicities and ages showcasing ways to incorporate fitness into their lives.

The Royal Parks Half Marathon presented by Royal Bank of Canada has announced plant-based health drink TENZING as its Energy Partner for this year’s race. 

The partnership is designed to enable TENZING to communicate directly with the running community and showcase its product as an alternative to sugar-laden synthetic drinks. 

Finishers of the 13.1 mile race – which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year – will be able to sample TENZING’s drink – a product inspired by simple Sherpa teas and filled with naturally sourced caffeine, Vitamin C and electrolytes.