Snowboarding sensation sponsorship

Sure has signed a major agreement to sponsor Manx snowboarding sensation, Zoe Gillings.

To sign the contract, and celebrate the start of the agreement, Sure paid for the British number 1 to fly home to attend the Isle of Man Sports Council’s Awards. Miss Gillings recently finished 7th in the women’s snowboardcross World Cup standings.

At the awards Miss Gillings was named sportswoman of the year and was the newest person inducted into the Isle of Man Sporting Hall of Fame. She was also presented with her British Olympic award for skier/snowboarder of the year 2007 by Nigel Mansell, the former F1 driver.

Sure has established itself as an active supporter of local sport since launching its mobile network last year. The company is the major supporter of Manx football and is the new sponsor for the Isle of Man TT sidecar races. Sure will now support Miss Gillings in a number of ways by providing her with free BlackBerry Pearl and Nokia N95 8MB handsets and a calling plan so that she can easily keep in touch with friends, family and fans when at home and abroad.

Sure will also be featuring images of Zoe in action in upcoming advertising campaigns in both the Isle of Man and Channel Islands where it also has operations.

Miss Gillings said:

“It’s great to be developing a partnership with a company which is so involved in my home island. While I am competing it is really important for me to be able to contact my family back home as we are really close and the support from Sure will greatly assist me with this and will help me in my sport every day.”

Simon Last Sutton, Commercial Director for Sure in the Isle of Man said:

“Zoe Gillings is a wonderful ambassador for sport for the Isle of Man and we are delighted to be able to offer her our support. As we are already involved with major, high profile sports it is great that we can also support a sporting champion on an individual level in an area where we could really make a difference. We hope to not only help her by providing international connectivity, but also to raise her profile in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man by using her in upcoming advertising campaigns. Our aim is to make sure this sponsorship really helps her career.”