London, 8 May, 2006 – Vonage, the pioneering Internet telephone company, today announces its first major sponsorship deal in the UK with an agreement to become the Official Telecoms Sponsor to UK Athletics and the Great Britain and the NI Athletics Team.
The new multi-year agreement commences immediately and signals the company’s intent to support both the current generation of elite athletes as well as the potential British athletics medal winners in the next two Olympic cycles. Vonage hopes that the extra funding for UK Athletics will help provide crucial support for athletes as they strive for success.
In addition to the agreement, Vonage will form a close association with specific athletes by setting up “Team Vonage”, a selection of elite stars tipped for future success. By offering them an unrivalled telecoms experience, Vonage will facilitate their communication needs and give them the chance to be in constant contact with their coaches, thus aiding their on track development. This will see the company integrating their pioneering technology across the premier Olympic sport.
“We believe there is great potential in British athletes and look forward to providing support and sharing their successes with them,” said Kerry Ritz, managing director of Vonage UK . “One of the reasons we chose to support UK Athletics is because we feel particularly close to this sport as we share similar elements to the sport: drive, speed, reliability, honesty, ambition and constantly striving to be the best are values that are close to our heart.”
The agreement will see Vonage at many of the UK Athletics premier televised meetings across the year including the Norwich Union Grand Prix at Crystal Palace, European Trials and other international meets.
Adam Walker, deputy chief executive of UK Athletics, said: “We are excited about the opportunity to work with a brand so dedicated to innovative technology. Vonage will support our athletes by providing them with the resource to stay close to those important to them whether it be a coach, agent or family member, whilst competing as part of the GB team.”
Vonage’s Internet telephone service is easily installed and works using a standard touch-tone telephone handset and unlike software-based internet telephone services, making calls with Vonage does not require connection to a computer. As part of the Vonage plan, customers receive unlimited UK and Ireland geographic local and national calls and free Vonage-to-Vonage calls, as well as simple and extremely competitive mobile and international tariffs. In addition, consumers benefit from a number of advanced telephony features such as call waiting, 3-way calling, call forwarding, voicemail, etc., all of which can be managed online.
About Vonage® UK
Vonage is a pioneer in the Internet phone industry. In the UK, Vonage’s award winning service is sold on the Vonage UK web site and through national retailers and online retailers. Vonage UK is a member of Otelo (Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman) and is based in London, England. For more information about Vonage’s products and services, please visit http://www.vonage.co.uk/ . Vonage® is a trademark of Vonage Marketing, a subsidiary of Vonage Holdings Corp.
About UK Athletics
The governing body for the sport of athletics in the UK
Focuses on athlete development, improving performance and running a competition structure that meets the needs of all levels of athletes
Develops UK-wide programmes and initiatives including education programmes for coaches and officials, and attracting newcomers to athletics
Develops rules and anti-doping policies for the sport
Leads and coordinates the sport’s commercial, marketing and internal communications activities, from sponsorship support to promoting the GB Team at international events and reporting on performance
For further information, please contact:
Jenny Forbes
UK Athletics
Tel: +44 (0)870 998 6700
Email: jforbes@ukathletics.org.uk
Monika Fried
Vonage
Tel: +44 (0)208 600 2637/ 07985 174758
Email: mailtmonika.fried@vonage.com
Alex Brown
Fast Track
Tel: +44 (0)207 593 5275/ +44 (0)7803 037530
Email: mailtalex.brown@fast-track-events.com