Reigning 2009 Speedway Elite League Knockout Cup champions, The Lakeside Hammers, have announced their pride and delight in confirming that The Royal Navy will be a key Corporate Sponsor for the entire 2010 Elite League season.
The partnership, which follows the successful alliance established during the Hammers KO Cup winning 2009 season when The Royal Navy sponsored two of the Hammers live Sky Sports meetings, will see The Royal Navy branding on the 2010 Hammers team kevlar’s, bike covers and air fence banners along with a range of other joint promotional and branding opportunities, including live Sky Sports broadcasts, full colour programme adverts throughout the season and a range of interactive initiatives.
“Sponsorship deals of this calibre are a rare entity in British Speedway, but this will pave a way forward for all Speedway clubs in the UK,” said Hammers owner, Stuart Douglas. “If a brand as magnificent as The Royal Navy can exhibit this kind of confidence in us, then it is demonstrable evidence of the marketability of our Sport. I hope this will provide inspiration for us all.”
The exciting relationship has been developed with Commander Steve Pearson, who heads up The Royal Navy’s Media and Communications PR division. His main role is to help increase the awareness and understanding of the vital role that The Royal Navy plays both in UK waters and around the globe.
Commander Pearson commented: “We are always looking at new channels and initiatives to tell our story, to inform people why we have a Royal Navy. The Royal Navy is important to our Country as over 90% of all our trade arrives by sea everything from electrical goods to food and of course lots of our energy needs and we need to make sure that remains protected.”
“Along with global security via our surface fleet, Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, aircraft, submarines and our Royal Marines, The Royal Navy also delivers much more, some of which is often unknown, including our activities in global counter narcotics and counter piracy patrols, also providing humanitarian support as seen recently with RFA Largs Bay in Haiti, through to fishery protection and search and rescue closer to home.”
Cdr Pearson added: “Speedway is a vibrant family Sport that crosses the generations and we saw a really positive effect from the Sky Sports meetings last season, so this is a really exciting opportunity, to get our brand out there throughout the season and also, and as equally important, for Armed Forces personnel to follow one of the most dynamic British team sports”
Along with Commander Pearson, Hammers co-promoter Jon Cook and five members of the 2010 Hammers team, Captain Adam Shields, Krzysztof Kasprzak, Stuart Robson, Paul Hurry and Kauko Nieminen recently visited HMS Kent at The Royal Navy Dockyards in Portsmouth, where they met crew members and took part in an official press shoot to launch the partnership.
A buoyant Hammers Co-Promoter, Jon Cook added: “The tie up of The Royal Navy and the Hammers is manna from heaven. To be associated with such a prestigious name and a prestigious force is beyond our dreams. We had a smaller tie up last year, and it’s grown from there. If you look at the history of
The Royal Navy, protecting all of us, for the Hammers to have such a tie up is a real feather in our cap”
HMS Kent, a Type 23 frigate, will be The Lakeside Hammers affiliated ship for 2010, with updates of her activities provided throughout the season. In addition a range of local community based initiatives, including ship visits will, hopefully, be established as a part of the Hammers forthcoming community programme.
