The first ever Barclaycard World Freerun Championships come to
London
Released
on: October 14, 2008, 8:15 am
Press
Release Author: Barclaycard
Industry:
Entertainment
Press
Release Summary: Barclaycard announce the inaugural Barclaycard
World Freerun Championships to be staged at Camden's iconic Roundhouse
Press
Release Body: Barclaycard has announced the inaugural
Barclaycard World Freerun Championships which
will be staged in September at Camden's iconic Roundhouse.
This standout occasion for the capital features a specially designed
course constructed as a massive challenge for more than 20 top-flight
international freerunners.
Freerunning
began as an urban expression of freedom and athleticism in Paris
in the 1990s. Its exponents perform breathtaking combinations
of running, climbing, jumping, vaults, spins, flips and somersaults,
usually across an urban landscape.
This
groundbreaking Barclaycard
sponsored event will be a global celebration, showcasing the awesome
artistry of the world's best athletes in this incredible urban
sport. Each will perform to the accompaniment of his own individually
selected soundtrack and in a unique twist, each will be judged
by his fellow competitors. The Barclaycard World Freerun Champion
will be the athlete who displays the greatest skill, complexity
and above all, fluidity or "flow".
Sponsorship
of the World Freerun Championships marks an exciting
time for Barclaycard. Dan Mathieson, Barclaycard Head
of Sponsorship, said, "Barclaycard is really
excited to be bringing the inaugural World Championships of this
spectacular, fast growing sport to London. We feel the fluidity
and freedom of movement associated with free running mirror the
key needs of Barclaycard customers, especially those using the
Barclaycard
OnePulse card in London allowing contactless travel and purchases
across the capital."
Championship
organisers, World Freerun Ents, share a similarly
upbeat view of Barclaycard's involvement.
"World-class brands have been getting more and more into
the freerun thing," said Championship spokesman and
Urban Freeflow supremo, Ez, "but we always make sure
that we are comfortable with any commercial tie-ups and that they
make sense for the freerun lifestyle. The clincher for us here
is that Barclaycard's global ambitions for the sport match our
own."
Barclaycard's
role as main sponsor complements that of associate sponsors Sony
Ericsson, The Carphone Warehouse and
Adidas.
Dave
Hilton, Head of Marketing at Sony Ericsson, UK & Ireland
said "Everyone at Sony Ericsson and The Carphone Warehouse
are really excited to be an associate sponsor of the Barclaycard
World Freerun Championships. The event is a celebration of artistic
freedom mixed with high-value entertainment - the same attributes
as the new Sony Ericsson C702 and W760i handsets. As experts in
mobile entertainment, we're proud to support this unique event
by developing compelling freerun content for our customers."
Jascha
Muller, responsible for Global Sports Marketing at Adidas
said, "Adidas is proud to support and sponsor the Barclaycard
World Freerun Championships. Freerunning is an inspirational activity
and adidas is working closely with the athletes to create the
adiScape range; bespoke footwear and clothing that perform to
the specific needs of the sport."
- Ends -
Notes to Editors
About
Barclaycard
Barclaycard is a multi-brand credit
card and consumer lending business which also processes card
payments for retailers and merchants and issues credit and charge
cards to corporate customers and the UK Government. It is one
of Europe's leading credit
cards
businesses and has an increasing presence in the United States.
Outside
the UK, Barclaycard provides credit cards in
the United States, Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal. In the
Nordic region, Barclaycard operates through Entercard, a joint
venture with Swedbank.
Barclaycard
OnePulse
Barclaycard OnePulse is the name of the unique card that combines
the ease and convenience of Oyster with the security and flexibility
of Barclaycard and new contactless technology, ideal for commuters
who live and work around London.
Web
Site: http://www.barclaycard.co.uk/
Contact
Details: For further media information contact:
Andrew Bond
Barclaycard Press Office
1234 Pavilion Drive
Northampton
NN4 7SG
01604 251229