This section of SportTechie, “Sports Tech Wire”, contains original press releases issued by various companies and industry organizations. The releases are reviewed by the SportTechie editorial staff to ensure relevancy to the sports technology industry. For information and access, send your name and email address to info@SportTechie.com
Silver Spring, MD. – In just the fourth year of existence, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s Industry Leader Summit reaches sold out status. After reaching full occupancy in early August, the SFIA expanded seating capacity to accommodate industry demand.
“Our goal every year is to give attendees an invigorating, enlightening and empowering summit,” said Tom Cove, SFIA President and CEO. “It’s evident by the overwhelming number of registrations, that we’ve accomplished our goal of making this Summit the ‘Premier Networking’ event in our industry.”
Major retailers Dick’s, Amazon, Target, Modell’s, eBay, FGL and Jet.com join the over 100 sports & fitness industry brands committed to attend, including: Under Armour, adidas, Brooks, Wilson, Mizuno, Nike, Life Fitness and New Balance.
A prestigious roster of speakers has been assembled to explore the theme of ‘Navigating Disruption’, highlighted by:
- Fouzan Mansuri, sports category leader, Amazon
- Ryan Elvers, sports marketing lead, Amazon
- Len Komoroski, chief executive officer, Cleveland Cavaliers/Quicken Loans Arena
- Thomas E. Perez, secretary of labor, United States Department of Labor
- John Heilemann, co-host, Bloomberg TV and MSNBC’s With all Due Respect
- Matt Farrell, chief marketing officer, USA Swimming
Topics during the two day summit will tackle many factors such as consolidation, new retail channels, technological changes and even how geo-political tension and terrorism affect our industry and factor in to the velocity of change.
The full 2016 SFIA ILS Agenda is now available online.
The Inaugural SFIA ‘Start-Up Challenge’ is the official kick-off to 2016 ILS. Over 50 Companies from across the globe involved in verticals including wearable technology, sports medicine, sporting goods products and sports management, were carefully vetted and five finalists were selected. OrderMyGear, Hookit, Shnarped, SymGym and Gearsay will have the opportunity to pitch their innovation to a panel of senior executive judges.
“As an organization, the SFIA strives to highlight leadership and innovation,” said John Peters senior director of sales and membership services. “The ‘Challenge’ offers a unique and exciting way to bring up-and-coming companies together with notable industry leaders.”
The winner, who will be announced at the Awards Ceremony, will receive a spotlight in the ‘SFIA Insider Blog,’ additional exposure through SFIA’s marketing channels and a winner’s plaque. In addition, the winner will receive one free year of SFIA membership and a public relations campaign from Uproar PR, an award-winning international firm specializing in sports and fitness companies.
Seating for the ‘Challenge’ is limited to the first 150 attendees; RSVP to John Peters at jpeters@sfia.org.
A waiting list for 2016 ILS has been created, to be added to the list, contact Alex Kerman, coordinator, business development & member services at akerman@sfia.org.
Be a part of 2017 ILS, September 12- 13 at the Drake Hotel in Chicago. Register today.
ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs, and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.