SPORTS CONNECTS – the China Sports Forum – announces initial speaker line-up

Sports Connects – the China Sports Forum – will feature a 2-day international summit in English and Mandarin to connect 300+ senior industry executives from the global and Chinese sports industry. The programme will include a cross-section of speakers representing stakeholders from the global and Chinese sports fraternity. Currently confirmed to speak at Sports Connects 2018 are:

Sports Connects – 中国体育论坛 – 将举办为期两天的英语和普通话国际高峰会，汇集来自全球和 中国体育产业的300多位资深高管。议程将包括代表全球和中国体育相关的发言人。目前确认出 席Sports Connects 2018演讲者有:

Andrew Collins, CEO, ​Mailman Group
Arjun Chowdri, Senior Director, Global and Corporate Strategy, ​PGA of America
Caroline Darcy, Group Head – Advertising, Social Media and Sponsorship APAC, UBS
Catherine Gibbs, Head of Sponsorship, ​AIA Group
Chris Robb, Founder & CEO, ​Mass Participation Asia
Danielle Jin, Vice President, Head of Marketing of Greater China, ​Visa
David Yang, CEO, ​Wanda Sports China
Derek Chang, CEO, ​NBA China
Edmund Chu, Founder and Executive Director/Managing Director, Kosmos/SECA
Eric Geng Hui, Senior Director Strategic Business Development, ​China Sports Media
Helen Soulsby, Managing Partner, APAC, ​Sports Recruitment International
Ian McGibbon, Global Marketing Lead, Brand Partnerships & Sponsorships, ​Bose Corporation
Jason Fung, Global eSports Director, ​Alisports,​​ ​Alibaba Group
Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive, ​The R&A
Michael Patent, CEO, ​Culture Group
Richard Young, Managing Director, ​NFL China
Robbie McRobbie, CEO, ​Hong Kong Rugby Union
Scott Dinsdale, Managing Director, ​FutureNext Pty Ltd
Steve Tew, CEO, ​New Zealand Rugby
Tenniel Chu, Vice Chairman, ​Mission Hills Group
Tianyi Zhou, Operations Director, ​Weibo Sports
Victor Cui, CEO International, ​ONE Championship

Said Branded CEO Jasper Donat: “China has addressed its need to modernise in its continuing journey to commercialise a sustainable sports infrastructure. There is a discernible difference in today’s China sports industry and it is largely due to the contribution, expertise and calibre of the speakers we feature at Sports Connects.”

Branded 执行长Jasper Donat说:「中国理解在实现可持续体育基础设施商业化的持续发展中需 要实现现代化。今天的中国体育产业有这样的明显差异，主要是要归功于我们在体育连接上演讲 者的贡献，专业知识和才能。」

Jason Fung, Alisports, Alibaba Group stated: “To build competition IP, we are looking to build our international presence – one of the programme tenets at Sports Connects.”

Tianyi Zhou, Weibo Sports added: “With the development of the Internet and new technologies, how Chinese audiences consume information has completely changed. More and more sports fans are checking news on the Weibo platform during their fragmented time, with short form videos around events and tournaments, to engage with sports in every way. China’s sports industry is undergoing earth-shattering change.”

微博体育运营总监周天一说:「随着互联网新模式新技术的发展，已经彻底改变了中国人信息消 费的习惯。越来越多的体育迷通过微博平台获取赛事新闻、利用碎片化时间消费赛事短视频、全 方位的参与互动，中国的体育产业也因此发生了翻天覆地的改变。」

Sports Connects, the China Sports Forum, is presented by Weibo Sports, Mission Hills, Mailman and ONE Championship and Branded.

Sports Connects – 中国体育论坛，由微博体育, 观澜湖, 邮人体育,One冠军赛和Branded一同举 办。

Event scheduled for 26t​h​ – 28t​h​ November 2018, at Mission Hills, China
活动将于​2018年​ ​11​月​26​日至​28日​ 在中国观澜湖举行

About Weibo

Weibo is a leading social media for people to create, share, and discover Chinese content. Weibo provides individuals and organizations with public opinions in real time, interacts with others, and maintains contact with the world in an unprecedented and simple and convenient manner. Any user can create and publish microblogging and attach multimedia or long content. The user’s relationship on Weibo may be asymmetric, and each user can follow any other user, comment on any one Weibo and forward it. The simplicity, asymmetry, and fragmentation of

Weibo make it possible for the original Weibo to evolve into a real-time viral communication flow.

关于微博
微 博 是 ​专 ​供 人 ​们 创 ​作 、 分 享 和 ​发 现 ​中 文 内 容 的 ​领 ​先 社 交 媒 体 。 微 博 为​ ​个 人 和 ​组 织 实 时 ​公 开 表 达 自 己 的 意 ​见 ​， 与 他 人 ​进 ​行 社 交 互 动​ ​， 与 世 界 保 持 ​联 ​系 提 供 了 前 所 未 有 和 简​ 单 ​便 捷 的 方 式 。 任 何 用 ​户 都 可 以 ​创 ​作 和 ​发 ​布 微 博 ， 并 附 加 多 媒 体 或 长​ ​篇 内 容 。 用 户​ ​在 微 博 上 的 关 系 可 能 是 不 对​ ​称 的 ， 每 个 用 ​户 ​都 可 以 关 注 其 他 任 何 用 ​户 ​， ​对 ​任 何 一 条 微 博 ​发 ​表 ​评 论 ​并 转​ 发 ​。 微 博 ​简 单 ​、 不 ​对 ​称 和 碎 片 化 的 特点使原​创​微博能演化​为实时​的病毒式​传​播​对话​流。

About Branded

Founded in 2002 and recognised as a top 10 Event Marketing Agency by Marketing Magazine, Branded produces live media that matters, connecting businesses, brands, celebrities and fans through large and small scale events, specialising in the media, entertainment and sports industries.

Branded owns and operates the award winning “Matters” series including Sports, Online, Marketing, Gaming and Music Matters. We are Global Partners with Google on the YouTube FanFest, the world’s largest touring live celebration of online content and recently created It’s a Girl Thing, a festival designed to empower teenage girls.We excel in the conceptualisation, programming, organisation, and production of dynamic conferences, live music festivals, educational academies, and fan events globally. We are an independent company staffed by passionate multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-talented individuals with offices in Hong Kong and Singapore and affiliations that reach all corners of the world. Most importantly, we really enjoy making it matter for everyone we work with.

关于Branded公司

Branded​成立于​2002​年，被​“Marketing Magazine”​评为​十大活動​营销​机构之一，​专​门​从事媒体，

娱 乐 ​和 体 育 ​产 业 ​， 通 ​过 ​大 型 和 小 型 活 ​动 ​， 製 作 重 要 的 ​现 场 ​媒 体 ， 连​ ​接 企 ​业 ​， 品 牌 ， 名 人 和 粉 ​丝 ​。

我​们拥​有并运​营​屡获​ ​殊荣的“​Matters”​系列，包括体育，在​线​，​营销​，游​戏​和音​乐​事宜。我​们​是 Google​的全球合作伙伴并同一制作Y​ ouTube Fanfest​，全球最大​庆​祝在​线​内容的巡回​现场​活​动​， 并在 ​最近​创​建了“​It’s a Girl Thing”​，一个旨在​赋​予少女​权​力的活​动​。我​们​是全家​动态​会​议​，​现场 音 ​乐 节 ​， 教 育 学 院 和 粉 ​丝 ​活 ​动 ​的 概 念 化 ， ​规 ​划 ， ​组 织 ​和 制 作 方 面 表 现​ ​出 色 。 的 公 司 ， ​拥 ​有 多 文 化 ， 多 ​语 ​种 和 多 才 多 ​艺 ​的 人 才 ， 在 香 港 和 新 加 坡 设​ ​有 办​ ​事 处​ ​， 并 且 遍 布 世 界 各 地 。 最 重 要 的 是 ， 我 们 ​真 的 很 享 受 为​ ​所 有 与 我 们​ ​合 作 的 人 提 供 服 ​务 ​。

About Mission Hills Group

Mission Hills Group, owner and operator of Mission Hills resorts in the heart of the Pearl River Delta and on the tropical island of Hainan, is synonymous with leisure, wellness, entertainment and luxury.

Founded in 1992, Mission Hills is recognised as one of the world’s leading golf brands and a pioneer in China’s hospitality, sports and leisure industry. The world-class integrated leisure and wellness resort destinations have been accredited by the Guinness World Records as the “World’s Largest Golf Club” and the “World’s Largest Mineral Springs and Spa Resort”.

Mission Hills’ properties sprawl over 40 square kilometres, including 22 championship courses, five-star resorts, award-winning spas and volcanic mineral springs, international convention centres, state-of-the-art golf academies, a 20-pitch football training base, Asia’s largest basketball school and Asia’s biggest tennis facility. Mission Hills is also the official training headquarters for China’s Tennis, Football and Golf Associations.

The Group’s ‘golf and more’ leisure philosophy has seen its tourism-related business expand into shopping, recreational, business, education, entertainment, leisure and cultural experiences. MissionHillshasalsoextendeditsforayintothehospitalityindustrybypartnering with world-renowned hotel brands Hard Rock, Renaissance and Ritz-Carlton

Other significant projects include Movie Town, China’s first Wet’n’Wild water park and ground-breaking partnerships with FC Barcelona and the NBA.

For more information and latest updates, visit us at ​www.missionhillschina.com or follow Mission Hills China on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

关于观澜湖

观澜湖集团，拥有观澜湖度假区，位于中国珠三角中心区以及中国唯一的热带宝岛，海南，是一

个集休闲，保健，养生，娱乐为一体的大型休闲产业群。 创建于1992年，观澜湖被认定为世界领先的高尔夫品牌之一，也是中国休闲运动产业的领航者，

被吉尼斯世界纪录认定为“世界第一大高尔夫球会”以及“世界最大矿温泉及水疗度假区”。

观澜湖产业占地约40平方公里，拥有22个冠军球场，5星级度假区，矿温泉，及国际会议中心， 最先进的高尔夫学院，及20块足球训练基地，亚洲最大的篮球学校及亚洲最大的网球设施。观澜 湖也是中国网球，足球和高尔夫协会的官方的训练总部。

观澜湖集团的“高尔夫及多元”的理念也见证了集团不断扩大与旅游业相关的业务，如购物、康 体、商务、教育、娱乐、休闲及文化体验等领域。通过与世界知名的酒店品牌“硬石酒店”、“万 丽”、“丽思卡尔顿”等合作，观澜湖也扩大了其在酒店行业的业务。其他多元业务还包括:电影公 社，中国首家狂野水世界以及与FCB和NBA的合作。

更多详情及最新报道，请访问www.missionhillschina.com或者关注观澜湖的微信、微博、 Facebook、Instagram、LinkedIn、Twitter 以及 YouTube官方账号。

About ONE Championship

ONE Championship is the largest global sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, ONE Championship is the home of martial arts and is the world’s largest martial arts organization, hosting bouts across all styles of martial arts such as Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Karate, Kung Fu, Silat, Sanda, Lethwei, Mixed Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do, Submission Grappling, and more.

ONE冠军赛是亚洲历史上最大的国际体育传媒公司，公司本部设于新加坡。ONE冠军赛本着回归 格斗本源的初衷将世界各种武术类型如:泰拳、体拳、跆拳道、功夫、散打、综合格斗、巴西柔 术等等展示给全世界的观众们。

About Mailman

Established in 1999, Mailman is China’s leading sports digital marketing agency. Mailman helps professional sports organizations build a successful business in China through digital strategy, social media, PR & brand activation, content production, sponsorship, ecommerce and merchandising. Mailman clients include Man Utd, Bundesliga, UFC, Kobe Bryant, NHL, Tottenham Hotspur, Juventus, NFL, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Laureus and more.

关于邮人体育 成立于​1999​年的​邮​人体育已​经​成​为​了中国首屈一指的体育​营销​公司。​为​世界最有影响力的品牌， 运​动员​和运​动团队​管理其数字媒体及商​业项​目。公司服务​ ​的客​户​包括​曼联​、​托特纳姆热刺、​德甲 联赛​、​UFC​、​NHL​、科比​和康纳·麦格雷戈​等世界​级​俱​乐​部及明星运​动员​，同​时还​包括托​迈​酷客体 育等世界​级​运​动​类​品牌，​邮​人体育的主​营业务​包括数字媒体服​务​、媒体​公关​服​务​、品牌推广服​务 以及商​务​合作服​务​。