NEWPORT (WALES) Thursday, July 24: British Cycling today secured a major new investment in the sport with the announcement of Sky as its Principal Partner for the next five years. The multi-million pound partnership will provide increased support for cycling in the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games in London and beyond.
Every level of the sport is set to benefit from the investment, from the Elite Team of World, Olympic and Paralympic cyclists to British Cycling’s talent development programmes and grass-roots initiatives in schools and local communities. The partnership will cover all forms of the competitive sport from BMX to track cycling and road racing, with the aim of bringing on the elite teams and accelerating the development of emerging talent.
The partnership also aims to build on Britain’s love of cycling with participation programmes in schools, youth clubs and the wider community to encourage everyone to get cycling. In addition to its financial investment, Sky will use its marketing expertise and relationships with one in three families across the UK to help British Cycling to encourage participation in cycling for sport and leisure among people of all ages and abilities.
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About Sky and its support for participatory sport:
The partnership with British Cycling is the latest in a series of Sky initiatives encouraging people to get more involved in sport. Earlier this week Sky Sports was confirmed as the sponsor of the London Freewheel event, taking place in September 2008.
In addition, Sky Sports Living For Sport – developed with the Youth Sports Trust - uses sport to re-engage young people in school life and has reached more than 17,000 pupils to date in over 600 schools across the UK. The Sky Sports ECB Coaching the Coaches scheme has helped the England and Wales Cricket Board to train over 5,500 coaches.
