COSMETICS – Tecare , the Paris-based cosmetics company not only has a range of creams and massage oils especially created for sports and especially extreme sports but, with Team Tecare, they also sponsor a range of professional athletes from the different action sports disciplines of water, mountain, urban and wheels: wake, freestyle ski, snowboard, MTB, BMX, surf, sk8… They’ve all got one thing in common – they’re hooked on the Tecare products and the whole innovative idea of the Tecare concept. We’ll be profiling the Team Tecare athletes, so keep in tune… MARKETING SECURITY – in an industry that has traditionally focused on more general themes like safety and comfort, Bravo Condom is billing its product as the condom of youth culture, infiltrating the adventure sport and rock music crowds with an aggressive advertising campaign. "We’re becoming the Red Bull of condoms," said Zac Mazzota, the founder. The company sponsors 15 athletes in the adventure, or extreme, sports realm, including surfers, skateboarders, bicyclists and a daredevil. POLAND – Baltic Games Extreme Sports Festival, Poland’s biggest extreme sports event takes place on 8-10 August in Gdansk. It’ll be a combination of extreme sports’ competitions, shows and live concerts, with each day featuring different types of music: Friday — Hip-Hop, RAP, Saturday — Punk Rock, and Sunday — Reggae, Ragga. As for the sports there’ll be 4 main competitions with skateboarding prominent. SCOTLAND – extreme sports competitors took part in the fifth annual Edinburgh Rat Race at the weekend testing themselves to the limit by mountain biking, climbing, running and kayaking around a mystery course – the exact route being a closely-guarded secret until the first day of the competition. The Edinburgh race was one of eight taking place across the UK and Ireland. Cash raised from this year’s activities will go to the Teenage Cancer Trust. OLYMPICS – a BBC investigation has found that there are serious question marks over a key drug test just two weeks before the start of the Beijing Olympics. The BBC has seen indications that labs are classing positive tests for the blood-boosting drug EPO as negatives. Some samples have been described as suspicious – giving rise to fears that no action will be taken against cheats. One sport drug expert told the BBC that many of the finalists in Olympic endurance events would be using EPO. “Copycat” versions of the drug are easily available on the internet for – and according to experts are often undetectable…. maybe the pollution will get ‘em? Surfing Life on the World Qualifying Series ain’t easy. Pro surfing’s junior league provides a steady stream of contests across the globe, each one loaded with pressure and cutthroat competition. Hundreds of talented riders fight for a handful of promotions to the elite World Championship Tour, where contests are occasional, while rewards and sponsorships are plentiful. The WQS is especially grueling on the women’s side, where just seven WCT spots open up every year. Several of those are often secured by WCT veterans in fear of relegation, leaving little room for error among newcomers… ah, the life on a ocean’s wave?? Boost Mobile and Hurley announced the names of the trialists invited to compete for the coveted wildcard entry into the 2008 Boost Mobile Pro Presented by Hurley, the only ASP World Tour event held on mainland U.S. The trials feature eight high performance surfers, including 2000 ASP World Champion, Sunny Garcia, who was unable to participate in last year’s trials but was granted a wildcard spot. Heat 1: July 24, 4:00pm: Sunny Garcia, Kolohe Andino, Brett Simpson and Tamoroa McComb Heat 2: July 24, 4:30pm: Evan Geiselman, Ian Walsh, Yadin Nicol and Corey Lopez Finals: July 25, 3:50pm: Top 2 Winners from Heat 1 and Top 2 Winners from Heat 2 Want to win a custom built surfboard? Get your entries in to win your brand new “Gold Coast Surfboards ” surfboard, custom made for this competition – the surfboard will be delivered to the winner, anywhere in the world.