Rugby Business Awards Winners Announced - 18th November
The winners of the first ever Rugby Business Awards were revealed last night at the RugbyExpo gala dinner in London.
Whilst many may have predicted that the work of 02, Magners and Guinness would be successful, there were surprises and giant-slayers amongst the winners, not least in the form of the WRU claiming the Union of the Year accolade.
All Black’s legend and chair of the Rugby Business Awards judging panel, Sean Fitzpatrick said ‘The Awards were established to recognize and celebrate commercial achievement in both codes of rugby worldwide. I certainly feel we did this as there were winners and commendations from around the globe and from both codes of the sport. Whilst some of the victors were household names, there were several nominations that were new, even to me. Organisations like Opta Sportsdata, TourAid, Future Hope, StadiArena and Arri Media do really excellent work that will translate to improving the game and its image for fans, governors, spectators, players.’
The list of categories and winners are:
- Commercial Department of the Year: Leeds Rugby Limited
- Union of the Year: Welsh Rugby Union
- Outstanding Advance in Technology, Innovation or Research: Opta Sportsdata Ltd
- CSR Programme of the Year: SOS IRB Kit Aid
- Rugby Correspondent of the Year: Mick Cleary, The Daily Telegraph
- Rugby Business Person of the Year: Reg Clark, Rhino Rugby
- Sponsor of the Year under US$500,000: The Co-operative Group
- Sponsor of the Year over US$500,000, Tournament: Guinness
- Sponsor of the Year over US$500,000, Team: 02
Rebecca Hopkins, founder of the awards concluded ‘We are delighted with what the awards have achieved in the first year and how warmly they have been welcomed and supported by the industry, from South Africa to Serbia and Australia to the USA. We were keen to be transparent as to how we reached our conclusions and to this end the team at Deloitte adjudicated every stage of the judging process to ensure all entries received a fair hearing. So if someone didn’t win, they were fully considered and if they did win then they were a very worthy winner.’
Deloitte To Adjudicate Inaugural Rugby Business Awards - 26th September
Today saw Deloitte confirm its involvement in the first ever Rugby Business Awards in the role of Independent Adjudicator of the judging.
Rebecca Hopkins of the Rugby Business Awards explained ‘Since the awards are global and celebrate commercial excellence in both codes of rugby, we wanted to ensure that the decisions of the judging panel would bear close scrutiny. We approached Deloitte because its reputation is outstanding and we knew that they would apply the necessary rigour to all stages of the judging process which would put our choices beyond reproach.’
Dan Jones, Partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: ‘Awards can be left open to question simply because the organisers do not have an external, independent check of their processes. Deloitte applauds The Rugby Business Awards for approaching the judging with so much transparency - and we think it is testament to the organising team’s knowledge and confidence in their own abilities that they have partnered with us. We look forward to providing stringent, independent adjudication so that all entries and winners feel that they participated in a worthwhile initiative.’
Hopkins concluded ‘Speaking on behalf of the organizers and judges of the awards, we don’t mind if people don’t agree with the winners that are picked - but we are determined to be confident that no one can find fault with how the winners were determined.’
The Rugby Business Awards have been established to recognize and celebrate commercial work in Rugby League and Rugby Union globally. Deadline for entries to the awards is 1st October and the winners will be announced at the RugbyExpo gala dinner in London on 17th November 2008.
-ENDS-
Book your table or ticket to the Rugby Business Awards - 9th September 2008
You can now go to the RubgyExpo site to book your ticket or table.
Press Release - 18th August 2008
PRESS RELEASE
Global Rugby Welcomes the Rugby Business Awards
The inaugural Rugby Business Awards will take place in November this year and have been launched to recognize and celebrate commercial achievement in both codes of rugby worldwide.
With the off-field side of rugby becoming increasingly professional and with exciting advances in the sport’s emerging nations, these awards have been set up to identify and promote this work.
Awards categories will include sponsorship, media, CSR and work in Unions, Federations, clubs, regions, teams and franchises as well as outstanding achievement by individual former players.
The Rugby Business Awards is being endorsed by the Rugby Football League as well as the European Sponsorship Association. Paul Kimberley, Commercial Director of the RFL said 'Both codes of rugby are hugely popular sports amongst players and spectators alike making them powerful and popular choices for commercial partners. The awards demonstrate the force of both codes of the sport and its outstanding achievements from a business perspective. The Rugby Business Awards is a welcome new aspect to the game globally and one that we support.’
Entries for the awards are now being called for and the deadline for submissions is 1st October 2008. Unions, federations, clubs, regions, teams and franchises, relevant agencies, consultancies and third parties are all eligible to participate.
Winners of the awards will be announced and presented on 17th November 2008 at RugbyExpo’s gala dinner at the Sheraton, Park Lane, London, UK.
For a full list of categories or more information about the Rugby Business Awards visit www.rugbyawards.org or contact Sam Bowman on 020 7934 9301 / info@rugbyawards.org
-ENDS-
Partners:
