SPONSORSHIP – LG Electronics has agreed a one season title sponsorship deal with the International Ski Federation for the Snowboard World Cup, for the 2008/9 season. LG’s logo will appear on athletes’ uniforms, outdoor billboards and special product experience booths. The deal is to give LG an image of a company that takes on new challenges to create electronics that are stylish, innovative and in tune with customers’ needs. The Snowboard World Cup will be in 22 towns in 16 countries between September 2008 and March 2009. LG expects broadcasters from more than 80 countries to cover the event. OLYMPICS – as more “extreme sports” become olympic sports it is important to remark on the extreme journey the flame is having already between Greece and Beijing, with disruptions in both London & Paris. The flame has actually been extinguished several times in Paris (7 April). UK – in the legal pages of one of the Sunday newspapers, there’s a query about a boss wanting someone to stop doing extreme sports because of constant injuries and missing of work – is this legally possible. The answer: the boss can’t tell you what you can or cannot do outside of work hours but if your absences become a problem, he can consider the disciplinary route. In extreme cases, a clause could be put into contracts preventing people from taking part in certain sports. ALASKA – on the weekend of the summer solstice (June 20-25), Homer Alaska will host the first annual KiteFest Alaska at Mariner Park with the aim of getting Alaskan kitesurfers in one place to meet one another and form a tighter community. Kiters from outside the state are also welcome. There will be equipment demos and informal classes on topics such as: Self Launching, Self Landing, Water Relaunch, Board Tricks, Safety, and some general classes intended for total beginners. UK – BMX racing: the British Championships will take place at Orton Malborne, near Peterborough, on 23-24 August. Any rider wishing to race the British Championships must have a BC membership valid for the whole of 2008 and must also have qualified through their own summer region series. SURFING – The more big-points events that a region hosts, the better chance local surfers have to rise in the WQS and to break through into surfing’s major leagues. In North America, the ASP has nine WQS contests in 2008 – a 6 star, a 5 star, two 4 stars, four 2 stars and a 1 star. On the other hand, BrazilEurope has 13 WQS events – six 6 stars, one 5 star, two 4 star, two 3 star and two 1 star. has eight WQS events – four 6 stars, two 5 stars and two 4 stars: no low-end contests.