Sponsor Spotlight: New Innovation to Support Athletes in Tokyo

Team New Zealand Sponsor Boosts Athlete Morale

Team New Zealand sponsor ANZ Bank has come up with a way for the country's athletes to feel the support of their fans even if they aren't in the stands in Tokyo.

The ANZ Support Band is a Bluetooth wristband for those in New Zealand to send a "pulse of support" to athletes on NZ Team mobile app.

The athletes will receive the band, which can calculate the number of pulses received, and will vibrate upon acquiring pulses.

"We’re all part of the global Olympic family and not having our friends and families with us will impact us all – whether we’re representing New Zealand or one of the world’s 206 Olympic nations," said Kereyn Smith, CEO and Secretary General of the NZ Olympic Team.

The innovation couldprove even more valuable with it looking ever more likely that overseas spectators will be ruled out for Tokyo 2020.

A First for World Table Tennis

Shanghai Double Happiness (DHS) has become the first ever global partner of World Table Tennis (WTT).

A proud supporter of international table tennis since 1961, DHS has been providing world-class equipment to many high-profile events including the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Table Tennis Championships and the Olympic Games.

As part of this new partnership, DHS will now have the opportunity to further apply their equipment innovation to WTT events, engage fans through WTT’s digital and social channels, and support the ITTF’s developmental efforts globally.

"As a long-term partner of ITTF, DHS is pleased to be part of this journey. We are very excited to partner WTT for 2021-2022, covering a series of world-class events,"saidLou Shihe, General Manager of DHS.

Genius Group Selected as Major League Rugby Partner

Major League Rugby adds a couple of sponsors ahead of the kickoff of its fourth season on March 20.

In order to better connect its competitions with the betting industry, Major League Rugby this week signed a deal with Genius Sports Group as its official betting data partner

"We know there is interest in regulated betting on our matches and we have to take proactive measures to safeguard the integrity and transparency of our events," said MLR Commissioner George Killebrew.

"Genius Groups has access to capture, manage and distribute the League’s official data with sportsbooks across North America and worldwide."

Last week Major League Rugby named American Airlines as official airline and travel partner in a multi-year agreement.

The 12-team league has teams spread across North America including Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and Toronto.

Homepage Photo: NZOC

Written by Greer Wilsonand Gerard Farek

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