September 2007 Newsletter
Welcome to the Design for Sport newsletter. We hope you enjoy it and feel able to contribute to future editions - our aim is to showcase the role of innovation and great design.
News
The news seems to be even more dominated with worries about obesity, specifically in children. We are passionate about changing this disasterous trend, through education, products and partnerships. If you are thinking along the same lines, contact us and we can have a chat about our proposals.
Research and Development
Shimano dominate the world of cycling components. The Japanese firm have driven the technology found on full on racing bikes but also the retail consumer bikes that the rest of us use. However there has been a sharp drop off in sales in recent years, a trend that has been assessed as being, at least in part, due to the off-putting complexity of the latest gear. So how can Shimano reverse the trend, in a way that doesn't go against their technology driven corporate culture.
Green Sport
Morgan, the English sports car manufacturer, could never be accused of being too backward thinking in the world of performance sports cars. However, in a notable move that probably targets their ideal purchaser and shows how well they know their customer, they are developing a true green vehicle. Using a hydrogen fuel cell the car's only emissions would be water vapour. And since Morgan cars have a reputation for longevity, they can truly be seen to be setting a standard for other manufacturers. Read about it here.
Olympic News
Bid delegations for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games gathered yesterday in Lausanne, Switzerland, for the start of an IOC workshop about the 2016 candidature process. The series of seminars, held over three and a half days, aim to instruct the Delegations of all Applicant Cities in all the technical aspects required to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. These include elements such as security, accommodation, transport, technology, sustainable development and legacy. A shortlist of the candidate cities will be announced in June 2008 and the announcement of the host city will take place on 2 October 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The seven candidate cities are: Baku (Azerbaijan), Chicago (USA), Doha (Qatar), Madrid (Spain), Prague (Czech Republic), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Tokyo (Japan).
Source: Sportsbusiness
Media
More than 12 million viewers in Britain – 51 per cent of the television audience - tuned in to watch England beat France in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals on ITV1.
An ITV spokesperson said that the figure was higher than for any other peak sporting audience this year. England’s unexpected march to the semi-final was expected to generate an extra £2 million in advertising for ITV last weekend, while the team’s win over France could take ITV’s windfall to between £5 million and £7 million.
ITV bosses now expect 15 million to watch this Saturday’s final, topping the viewing figures for England’s Rugby World Cup triumph in 2003.