The stage for hockey’s most anticipated competition is set. Four men’s and four women’s national teams gathered at the Deodoro Olympic Park, in Rio de Janeiro, from November 24th through the 28th for the test event called “Aquece Rio” – the most important technical rehearsal for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The Dow Chemical Company is contributing with its resins to ensure a world‐class, high‐performing surface for the Olympic hockey tournament in Rio. Dow is a Worldwide Olympic Partner and the Official Chemistry Partner of the Olympic Games.

The warm-up also marked the unveiling of an important component of Rio 2016’s “Look of the Games” visual identity: the colours of the field‐of‐play, a much‐anticipated feature since the success of London 2012’s Riverbank Arena and its eye‐catching blue and pink pitch.

For Rio, the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee and the International Hockey Federation (FIH) decided for a blue pitch with green sidelines – a colour pattern that matches Rio 2016’s visual identity and reflects the vivid spirit of the first‐ever Brazilian Olympic Games.

World‐class playing conditions

Rio 2016’s hockey competition will be played on an innovative synthetic turf system which uses Dow’s linear low density “DOWLEX” Polyethylene Resins in the yarn component as well as Dow’s polyurethanes technologies. The system is designed to deliver enhanced durability for increased pitch life, and a higher‐performing and consistent field‐of‐play throughout the busy Olympic competition schedule.

Colourability is a key attribute of the yarn component, enabling customised aesthetics and design for the playing surface.

The playing performance and quality of the pitch were a primary concern when developing the hockey turf system for Rio 2016. The tufted samples were inspected by the Rio 2016’s Venues Management and Look of the Games teams, as well as the FIH and the Olympic Broadcast Service (OBS), to ensure the selected colours met the specific requirements for players, officials, spectators and broadcasters alike.

“We are thrilled that Dow’s solutions and experience in supplying materials for world‐class playing surfaces are setting the stage for one of the world’s most anticipated competitions in Rio,” said Nathan Wiker, global marketing director for Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics.

“Hockey is a fast game. The colours of the pitch will allow the spectators in the stadium and on television to follow the action more clearly because of the deeper contrast between the ball and the pitch.”

The Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to take place at the Olympic Hockey Centre in the Deodoro Olympic Park from August 6 to 19, 2016. It will feature the 12 best men and women's teams from around the globe. The complex will include two competition pitches and one warm‐up area.

This article was contributed by Dow. For more information on their artificial turf at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, visit www.dow.com/artificialturfsolutions/rio 

With Lausanne recently confirmed as the location for the next SportAccord Convention, set to take place 17-22 April 2016, the organisation has now officially opened the application process for future host cities of the Convention in 2017 and 2018.

Held in a different city every year, the annual SportAccord Convention is a unique opportunity for key decision-makers from sport and industry to meet, network, and strategically shape global, regional and national agendas. As the premier event connecting sport and industry, approximately 90% of the participants are high-profile leaders, who seek to further the development of sport in an intimate and exclusive environment. In turn, this garners much attention and places cities firmly in the spotlight.

Speaking about the host city opportunity, Mr. Nis Hatt, Managing Director, SportAccord Convention commented:

“The SportAccord Convention is an important event in the sporting calendar for industry, International Sport Federations and organisations worldwide, so the earlier we start the bid process for the involvement of future cities, the better. The Convention provides an ideal platform to get business done - much is achieved in a short space of time - and for many organisations, the same opportunities may not present themselves as easily throughout the year.” Hatt went on to say:

“We are inviting cities to apply to become a host city in 2017 or 2018, and take advantage of the opportunities gained by being involved in this unique event”.

Further information can be found on the website at https://www.sportaccordconvention.com/about/bid-city-information-2017-and-2018.This includes the Bid City Application Information Pack, the Host City Bidding and Selection Process, as well as the Bid City Application Form.

The place Where Sport Meets, the SportAccord Convention is an exclusive 6-day event and attended by 2000 delegates. It is host to annual general meetings, a themed conference including City Forum, LawAccord and MediaAccord, as well as a Plenary Conference. An Exhibition is also held within the Official Programme and is represented by industries, sport organisations, government offices, cities, event services, media, and many more. International Sport Federations also take part in the Sports Demo Zone, and the Convention additionally provides a strong cultural and social programme for all participants.

Cities interested in bidding to host the Convention in 2017 or 2018 should contact Nis Hatt, Managing Director, SportAccord Convention, nis.hatt@sportaccordconvention.com to register their interest by Thursday, 28 January 2016.

For media enquiries, please email Jenny Edmondson, Media Relations Officer:

jenny.edmondson@sportaccordconvention.com

Gymnastics and Golf are to join the prestigious line up of leading sports who will stage their European Championships together in 2018 for the first time in their history, the sports’ European associations announced on Friday.

The dates of the inaugural Championships were also confirmed as the 1st to 12th August 2018.

The two new sports join Athletics, Aquatics, Cycling, Rowing and Triathlon, who have decided to come together for the first time for the European Sports Championships which will be staged in the Host Cities of Glasgow and Berlin.

 “One of the challenges this project had to face was to create a programme that could offer the best conditions for athletes to express themselves while also creating interest for the main TV networks in Europe. The result of very fruitful discussions allow me to express my satisfaction that Glasgow and Berlin will showcase one of the best events of all time,” said Paolo Barelli, President of the Ligue Européenne de Natation (European Aquatics.

“Each individual European Federation will create a fantastic programme that will maximise interest and LEN is proud to be a pioneering partner of such an ambitious project that will contribute significantly to the development of sport.”

The European Artistic Gymnastics Championships will be staged in Glasgow at the SSE Hydro while the brand new European Golf team championships will take place at Scotland’s prestigious Gleneagles course.

 “It is very exciting for Golf Europe to be invited to join some of Europe’s leading sports in the inaugural European Sports Championships, with three new European Golf Team Championships for female, male and mixed teams,” said Keith Waters, The European Tour’s Chief Operating Officer and Director of International Policy.

“This is part of our vision of encouraging all European nations to participate in golf, and it is fitting that Gleneagles will host the first staging of this event, having been the venue for last year’s Ryder Cup, when Europe memorably united through team golf.”

Berlin will host the 2018 European Athletics Championships from the 7th to 12th August, with Glasgow hosting the six other European Championships over the 12 days.

“As one of the key sports, European Athletics has been happy to lead the process in the creation of the principles of good governance for the inaugural European Sports Championships, and we are pleased to move forward with this strong framework in place,” said European Athletics President Svein Arne Hansen.

“We are looking forward to a fantastic European Athletics Championships in Berlin in 2018 as part of this exciting multi-sport concept. We are sure the European Sports Championships will bring additional values and benefits to athletics in Europe and to the Berlin championships.”

The partnership between European Athletics, Aquatics (LEN), Cycling (UEC), Rowing (FISA) and Triathlon (ETU) welcomed European Gymnastics (UEG) and Golf Europe is set to create a major new multi-sport event on the world stage, attracting a projected television audience of around 850 million and an even wider audience via multiple digital platforms.

The newly-formed European Sports Championships 2018 Board 2018 Board also ratified the organisational rules and decision-making processes to ensure strong governance going forward.

This innovative new approach by the governing bodies, who announced their plans earlier this year, brings the existing European Championships together from seven sports in a sustainable format once every four years in order to continue building their prestige, profile and media exposure.

Around 1,500 athletes will compete in Berlin as part of the European Athletics Championships while approximately 3,025 athletes will visit Scotland for the other six events.

All seven Championships will be staged within the agreed date window.

“With all the sports now confirmed for 2018 Glasgow is again ready to show the excellence and innovation with which it can stage world class events on the global stage,” said Councillor Frank McAveety, Leader of Glasgow City Council.

“Major events have become a crucial part of our city’s economy and we can now look forward with tremendous excitement and focus to partnering with this fantastic group of sports to continue to create opportunity and help improve health and well-being outcomes for our citizens.”

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the consortium for the continent’s public service free-to-air broadcasters, will be the broadcast partner for the combined championships, which are expected to generate more than 2750 hours of programming across Europe’s biggest broadcasters.

EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot, said: “With seven sports now part of the first edition, the European Sports Championships will be the centrepiece of the sports season in Europe and public service media is proud to participate in the promotion of European sports and its athletes through extensive free-to air coverage across television, digital and radio.”

The Golf event will be staged over 5 days and include men’s team, women’s team and mixed team competition.

Two male and female athletes per nation will participate, with the top 16 European nations included.

The Gymnastics event will include both the Men’s and Women’s Artistic Championships, with around 600 athletes competing in Glasgow over six days.

“We are really excited to be included in the 2018 European Sports Championships as it represents a huge opportunity for Gymnastics to further raise its profile right across Europe,” , said Georges Guelzec, President of European Gymnastics.

“We can also think of no better city than Glasgow to host our 600 competitors who will compete in the men’s and women’s European Artistic Championships.”

Innovative event hosting formats is a key theme of Host City 2015, which takes place in Glasgow on 9th to 10th November. Register your attendance at www.bidtowin-hostcity.net