Thursday, October 30, 2008

Daniel Igali to Speak at The Sports Dinner


We are very pleased to announce that Olympic Gold Medalist, Daniel Igali will be the Guest Speaker for The Sports Dinner. We are now 2 weeks away from the dinner, and are excited to have Daniel speaking.

After coming to Canada in 1994 to participate in the Commonwealth Games, he applied for refugee status, and has made a great name for himself here in Canada as a positive role model and influential figure.

Amazingly he won 116 straight matches during 1997-1999 at Simon Fraser University, then moved on to winning the world title in 1999. That gold medal was followed by another during the 2000 Olympic Summer Games in Sydney. That same year he was named Canada's top athlete in addition to being named Canada's top male amateur athlete for the second straight year.

Daniel was inducted into the Canadian Sport's Hall of Fame in 2007 to recognize his achievements in Wrestling.

He has dedicated his time to improving the lives of those from his home region of Niger delta. He has accomplished his dream by opening the Maureen Matheny Academy. The school is a huge upgrade from the education that is offered in the region and boasts an auditorium, library, computer lab, a six-room accommodation complex and administration block. This has already made a huge impact to the region, and Daniel is only beginning. Phase two is underway so the school can expand.

Truly an amazing athlete and person, we are excited to have him as the guest speaker for The Sports Dinner.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Premier Week!


Its Premier Week in the NBA. I caught a couple of the games last night. Boston winning over Cleveland, and this year's Lakers absolutely spanking the Trailblazers. Wow, they sure are a different team with Greg Oden off the floor - hope he heals that foot quickly, Portland needs him. The Boston game was much more entertaining as it was a rematch of last year's playoff battle, well, sort of. The Cavs look in pretty good shape, some nice acquisitions in the off season, but Boston is still Boston - here's some early predictions, Lakers and Celtics to the finals...again.

Well, onto our local scene. As the NBA is kicking off their season, we're getting ready to start the second season of the PEEL. We have grown a bit since the summer league, changed a few things (hopefully for the better) and we're hoping that this season will be the best yet. For all you players out there from the PEEL - thank you for your patience during our September/October hiatus. We're launching The PEEL Winter League (now that we're running until January) on November 8, 2008. The teams look a lot stronger than the Summer league - but I'm not making any predictions until the exhibition games are over.

Monday, October 20, 2008

** The SPORTS Dinner **


The NHL Season has just begun, our Vancouver Whitecaps are the USL Champions, the World Series is about to begin, the BC Lions are gunning for another Grey Cup. Sunday is now dominated by NFL and we're almost into the NBA Season. Its a great time of year to be a sports fan! Its our pleasure, to extend another sporting related event to that list this fall:

The Sports Dinner to benefit Vancouver's Secondary School Student-Athletes will be held at the Pan Pacific Hotel on November 13th. This is the first year that the dinner will be held, and our goal is to have it as an annual event to benefit our student athletes. The VSSAA takes care of all the sporting events through out the Vancouver Secondary Schools, and as former athletes ourselves, we cannot imagine our high school days with out the effort they put in.

For more info, and to purchase tickets to this special event (limited seating) please visit www.vssaasportsdinner.com

There's also a huge opportunity here for local businesses to get some great exposure through our silent auction and event sponsorship, contact me for addition details.

It won't be the same without you! Your support determines the success of this event, and the fundraisers we hope to have in the future.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Kings Classic Tournament


We had the first KINGS CLASSIC 3 on 3, presented by Bravado Sports & Entertainment tournament on August 31st and it was a blast! We had 8 teams, and the winners, HoopStar, went home with the $250 cash prize. Thanks for all the great feedback, we're really excited for the upcoming Cash-Prize Basketball Tourneys!

Spread the word - we're in the midst of planning the Spring 2009 KINGS CLASSIC 5 on 5 Cash Prize Tournament. The Tournament will be held in the Vancouver BC area, and we'd like to see a handful of cities represented in the tournament. Here's the format we've got planned for Easter 2009: April 10, 11 & 12th.



$350 to enter your team (up to 12 players)

16 teams; all teams guaranteed 4 games over the 3 days!

Winners move on to the Elimination Round,

The Championship Team will go home with $2000


We'd love to expand the tournament if there is enough interest! More teams means the bigger CASH PRIZE for the championship team.

Many of the local hotels are on-board to give a discounted rate to teams travelling for the tournament, and we're also arranging a opening event, Friday Night, and a closing party Sunday Night!

Get in touch with us for more info - get your basketball team entered now!

info@kings-classic.com

www.kings-classic.com

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Branding?? Still can't beat a simple T-shirt!

With technology letting us avoid advertising by fast-forwarding through commercials with TIVO, reading the newspaper through your favorite feed, or listening to satellite radio to hear no commercials at all, new companies must use more than traditional marketing to brand themselves.

We'll never get to the point of TIVO blurring out the logos on athlete's uniforms and there is always going to be the pride of wearing your team's logo. I still wear the team gear that I've gotten over the years and look forward to getting more of it!

As we're looking to brand our events and teams, we're start with simple t-shirts before expanding into more apparel relevant to the event. Here's some of the t-shirts that are available now. The designs are constantly changing and always look awesome!





So many different business are adapting to the changing market, and the company we use is no different. We can design all the apparel, and they handle all of the production and distribution. In the clothing business, having no minimum order was only a dream 10 years ago. Its perfect for companies like us since we have multiple events and can push all of them with out having to pay upfront for large quantities.

We are continuously adding designs, keep checking back as we'll be posting the designs on our blog as they get released!

Friday, October 10, 2008

The Story Begins....

As many kids out there, I dreamed of making it BIG! I had no idea how that would become a reality, but I did see musicians and athletes living it up. Playing any sport I could get my hands on, football, soccer, ice hockey, roller hockey, basketball, track & field, and the list continues. Music was the balance in my life, starting with the piano, graduating to wind instruments, and eventually sticking with singing.

As the time flew by, and my high school days were coming to an end, I realized that becoming a professional in either of these industries was a long shot. That reality check didn't change my love for sports and music; instead it really opened my eyes to the business side and how they worked.

In the midst of all this in high school, I got a job selling sneakers and athletic gear (worked out pretty well - I always had the newest shoes on the team). I really grew into the sales position and really liked fulfilling people's needs. Nothing like finding the right item! On the bigger scale I got a taste of how the clothing giants do their marketing - and its pretty amazing how outside the box their campaigns can get!

So Marketing and Sales became a natural fit for school. Its easier to study when you're passionate about what you're doing (at least for me). The real education however, came as I stepped into the business world and got a wake-up call my teachers and professors couldn't really prepare me for - it was so much faster than I had expected - and I loved it! Being involved in sales, but creating that great fit for clients, the ideal look and strategy for their brand. Being creative and seeing things executed was a fantastic experience, but the one thing missing was the passion for music and sports.

Now a few years later, we find ourselves here: Bravado Sports and Entertainment.



Bravado started as all companies do, as a simple idea: how can we better sports & entertainment? There's something missing... and the first project was born, the PEEL Basketball League. The concept has all the features of your usual basketball league, but it adds the element that the other half of athletes (the ones who didn't make it pro) are missing.

Adding the element of interacting off the court is what we're brining to the table. Allowing people to log on to recap their game, and those around the league. By offering team and individual stats, articles, player features, action photos, the players can see what's happening and be more involved in the league. We're aiming to create a professional league for the community players. So far our pilot season was a success, and we're looking forward to now growing as the bumps in the road smooth out. We're looking to take the level of interacting to the next level by adding more features that typically you would only see at a professional level of sports (we'll keep those under wraps for now - but believe me, they are exciting!)

As for the entertainment side of our business, we're looking forward to our upcoming events, most notably The Sports Dinner, to benefit Vancouver's Secondary School Student-Athletes. A gala dinner yes, but an evening to interact and hear some great speakers who's athletic background will definitely warrant some great stories! Its happening on November 13, here in Vancouver BC and I think you all would have a great time while raising money for a great cause.

The goal with the entertainment side, as well as the whole business, is to grow events into a community culture where all members of the community can participate at some level. The days of the city shutting down for a local team's game are long gone, but that doesn't mean we should give up on, or ignore events happening in our city. Our goal is to hold events that will positively impact the community and create a win-win-win for all those involved. Generating customers for local businesses, passing on incentives to participants, creating awareness for organizations, showcasing talent, and most of all having a great time!

I'm excited to continue to work with the team that we have here at Bravado. The talent talent and ambition that is brought to the table every day is awesome. I'm looking forward to the growth in the very near future and for what's to come!