byLarry Eder
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The USOC has announced a new partnership with BMW, going through 2016, focused on USA Bobsled & Skeleton, US Speed skating, USA Swimming, USA Track & Field….
Includes Support of USA Bobsled & Skeleton, US Speedskating, USA Swimming, USA Track & Field
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.
– The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and BMW Group announced
today that BMW will be the Official Mobility Partner of the USOC from
now through 2016. BMW Group will also be the Official Mobility Partner
of four National Governing Bodies (NGBs): USA Bobsled & Skeleton,
US Speedskating,USA Swimming and USA Track & Field.
Jack Pitney, Vice President of Marketing for BMW of North America; USOC Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Baird; and short track speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno,
the most decorated U.S. winter Olympian of all time, were all in New
York City to make the partnership announcement on Monday, July 26.
This
multi-million dollar agreement goes beyond financial support to also
provide the USOC with fundraising opportunities and the four individual
NGBs with BMW Group technical expertise. BMW Group will use its
experts, deep technology base and facilities to help the Olympic and
Paralympic Teams improve their training and performance. An example of
this has been the company’s work with BMW ORACLE Racing to improve its
performance. BMW Group’s expertise in light weight construction and
aerodynamics helped the BMW Oracle Racing Team design a technically
advanced yacht that won the America’s Cup sailing competition this
year.
“As a company dedicated to joy, performance and
efficiency, BMW Group is a fitting partner for the USOC, whose mission
of achieving sustained competitive excellence and inspiring Americans
dovetails perfectly with our own values,” Pitney said. “It is important
to us to add substantive value to a partnership that is more than just
a financial sponsorship. We are excited to share our resources, which
include some of the world’s leading engineers and technology experts
and an enthusiastic owner and dealer community, with U.S. Olympic and
Paralympic athletes over the next six years.”
Pitney revealed
that BMW Group will also raise awareness for the Olympic Movement by
supporting cause-related efforts to generate additional funds to
support the training of Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls.
“BMW is
a premier, powerful brand that is recognized for competitive excellence
and dynamic performance, just like our U.S. Olympic and Paralympic
Teams,” said USOC Chief Executive Officer Scott Blackmun.
“Joining together these two performance-driven organizations will
provide a tremendous asset to America’s top athletes while providing
the unique value of investing in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams.
We thank BMW Group for providing this tremendous funding for our
athletes and, through future activation, keeping the Olympic spirit
burning bright.”
BMW Group (including BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad)
will be the Official Mobility Partner of the USOC, as well as the 2012,
2014 and 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, and the 2011 and 2015
U.S. Pan American and Parapan American Teams. BMW Group will develop
exclusive programs to support Team USA and will have a presence at the
three Olympic Training Centers. These facilities welcome America’s top
athletes to live and train among the nation’s best, including bobsled
and skeleton sliders, speedskaters, swimmers, and track & field
standouts.
BMW Group will also have a presence at the major
events of the four NGBs, beginning with the USA Swimming National
Championships Aug. 3-7, 2010, in Irvine, Calif. BMW Group’s sponsorship
of USA Bobsled & Skeleton, US Speedskating, USA Swimming and USA
Track & Field will include support for coaching and training
programs, as well as increasing awareness of the NGBs and their
athletes.
“Sponsors are critical to the success of Team USA,”
Ohno said. “What’s truly unique about BMW is their willingness to go
beyond financial assistance and make available their engineers and
technology experts to work with Team USA athletes and try to enhance
their training programs.”
BMW has a long standing commitment –
globally and in the U.S. – to performance-driven sports. Within
Motorsports, BMW of North America is currently campaigning the M3 GT2
in the American Le Mans Series. BMW of North America is also the title
sponsor of the BMW Championship, the third tournament in the PGA TOUR
Playoffs for the Fed Ex Cup. The BMW ORACLE Racing Team recently won
the America’s Cup, bringing the trophy back to American soil for the
first time in more than a decade.
BMW Group also has a long
standing commitment to the Olympic Movement. BMW played an active role
in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, the home of BMW Group. In 1996,
BMW Group was a sponsor of the Atlanta Olympic Games and U.S. Olympic
Team. Now with two years to go until the London Olympic Games, BMW UK
is proud to be the Automotive Partner and a Sustainability Partner of
London 2012.
BMW Group’s partnership with the USOC is one more
example of the company’s commitment to America. BMW Group entered the
U.S. market in 1968 and since then has been a solid contributor to
America’s economic, social, and sustainable advancement. Today, the
U.S. is BMW Group’s second home with a growing footprint. BMW Group has
manufacturing, engineering, design and technology centers which employ
7,000 people and has built more than 1.5 million vehicles in the U.S.
to date. Direct and indirect employment accounts for 50,000 jobs in the
U.S. Its Spartanburg, S.C., manufacturing facility is the largest new
vehicle exporter to non-NAFTA countries, contributing to America’s
positive trade balance.
For a link to photos, video and more information about BMW Group’s USOC partnership, please visit: http://www.bmwusanews.com/sport or www.newscastus.com/BMW/10079/10079.html for a multi-media press release.
BMW Group In America
BMW
of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The
BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales,
and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor
vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce
brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in
California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other
operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South
Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the
exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and
X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is
represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car
centers, 336 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle
retailers, 99 MINI passenger car dealers, and 31 Rolls-Royce Motor Car
dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for
North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, N.J. Information about BMW
Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at: www.bmwgroupna.com
About the USOC
The
United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is recognized by the
International Olympic Committee as the sole entity in the United States
whose mission involves training, entering and underwriting the full
expenses for the U.S. teams in the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American
and Parapan American Games. In addition to being the steward of the
U.S. Olympic Movement, the USOC is the moving force for support of
sports in the United States that are on the program of the Olympic,
Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games. For more
information, please visit www.teamusa.org.
