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PRESS RELEASE
Specialized Bicycles Become Official Suppliers
Of The British Sailing Team until 2013
April 30th, 2010 – Chessington, UK Skandia Team GBR, the British Sailing Team in the Olympic and Paralympic Classes, are to use Specialized bikes as part of their aerobic conditioning programme with a new sponsorship agreement between the two parties agreed up until 2013.
Specialized are official suppliers to the British Sailing Team and will be kiting out members of the team, which includes Olympic medallists Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy and Nick Dempsey with road and mountain bikes that will be used in fitness training. Additionally, Specialized technicians will be supporting the team using the body geometry fit integration technology (BG FIT) system which will ensure, faster, longer and greater comfort for the sailors during their training.
Team members will be using Specialized bikes to ensure their aerobic fitness is maintained in the buildup to competition and regattas around the World.
Skandia Team GBR’s Lead Physiologist, Pete Cunningham, commented: "Aerobic conditioning is an important aspect of an elite sailor’s training programme and as such, cycling forms an integral part of the cross training model we use.
"With so many hours spent out on the road maintaining aerobic fitness levels, it is essential that we use the best equipment available. Specialized bikes and the BG FIT technology ensure the sailors are maximising their training in the most efficient manner.”
"Specialized are delighted to be the official bicycle supplier of Skandia Team GBR. Sailing is a very exciting sport and generates a huge amount of interest amongst cyclists but also within Specialized. So far this year we have helped over 40 world class sailors train using Specialized bikes and equipment. Being part of it all, enhancing the performance of world and elite calibre athletes, is a real privilege,” said Anne Immelman from Specialized.
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Notes for Editors:
Skandia Team GBR is the British national sailing team in the Olympic and Paralympic Classes, and is managed by the Royal Yachting Association.
The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is the national governing body for all forms of sailing, windsurfing, and powerboat racing.
The RYA is recognised by all government offices as being the negotiating body for the activities it represents. It continually fights for the rights and freedoms of its 103,000 personal members, the majority of whom choose to go afloat for purely recreational noncompetitive pleasure on coastal and inland waters.
It represents a further estimated 500,000 boat owners nationally through its 1600 affiliated clubs and boat owner associations.
Olympic and Youth sailing is a beneficiary of the Lottery funded World Class Programmes (WCP) and administered by the Sports Councils. The Programmes focus on performance sport with the aim of achieving sporting excellence on the world stage. Further information can be found on the UK Sport website at www.uksport.gov.uk and Sport England’s website at www.sportengland.org. The Volvo RYA Champion Club Programme, RYA Volvo Youth Squad, RYA Volvo Transitional training, RYA Volvo Youth National Championships and Trials and the RYA Volvo Zone & Home Countries Championships are supported by Volvo Car UK.
Further information can be found at www.rya.org.uk
About Specialized
Passion for riding and a ceaseless drive to innovate – it’s what makes Specialized and it’s what will allow us to make your next ride better”. Mike Sinyard, Founder of Specialized.
Despite being in business for more than three decades, Specialized’s founding principle – to focus on the riders’ needs through technically advanced products – is even more valid today than when the brand was first conceived. Its roots lie in innovation; the original Stumpjumper, built in 1981, led the way as the first mountain bike available for sale in local shops. 35 years on, Specialized now has an extensive product range that reaches far beyond the machines themselves; from men and women’s active clothes ranges to pumps, helmets, cutting edge optics and ergonomic sculpted saddles – all designed with the same attention to detail and up to the minute technology applied to its bikes.
Further information can be found at www.specialized.com
About Skandia
Skandia in the UK launched in 1979 and is now one of the leading international long term savings groups providing pensions, investment and protection products through intermediaries in the UK and overseas, with assets under management of £34.9n (as at 31.12.08). Creators of the MultiManager approach, Skandia has teamed up with the world's top fund managers to create a range of funds tailored for investors' individual needs.
Skandia UK is part of an international group founded in Sweden in 1855. The group is a leading, independent provider of long term savings solutions.
Skandia UK is a division of the Skandia Group, itself owned by Old Mutual plc. Old Mutual is an international financial services group, listed on the London Stock Exchange where it is a FTSE 100® company, making it one of the largest 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Old Mutual is headquartered in London.
Being a part of Old Mutual makes Skandia a key division of the seventh largest life assurer in Europe, with a strong financial base. The combined group has funds under management of £264.8 billion and has approximately 50,000* employees.
*As at 30 December 2008, Source: Old Mutual
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