What a summer of sport. The excellent Euros, a classic Wimbledon and now, a spectacular Olympics in which, at the time of writing, Team GB have two golds, a silver and a bronze. Amazingly, two of those medals came in the pool in the women's 400m freestyle in one of the most wonderful, brilliantly executed races I can remember seeing.

UK Gear has won the contract to supply training shoes to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Slazenger's England players recently unveiled bats from the new 2009 range of Slazenger Cricket Bats at Lords this week. England International Brand Ambassadors, Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell showcased the new range in England's first test series against South Africa.

Sportswear specialist Odlo announced at the recent OutDoor Show in Friedrichshafen its intention to roll out the biggest marketing campaign in the company's history this autumn.

Zoggs, the UK's leading swimming goggle, equipment and swimwear manufacturer, has announced that from January 2009 all of its goggles will be packaged in 90 per cent recycled materials and will be 100 per cent recyclable.  As one of the world's leading swimwear and equipment brands, this demonstrates the company's on-going commitment to reducing its impact on the environment.

For Surf Shop 2008 the organisers have created a dedicated outdoor demonstration area for visitors to test the kit on show for themselves.

The British athletes competing in Beijing were outfitted by Lee Cooper for the Olympic opening ceremony.

Selected inov-8 product has been updated in order to give it a sharper and more contemporary aesthetic. Additionally, all of inov-8's terroc, flyroc and also the roclite 320, have been given a medial and lateral posting which aids mild pronation or supination while allowing the shoe to remain neutral.

Ball specialists Molten have stepped in at the eleventh hour as title sponsor of the East Kent Youth Football League following Parker Steel's decision to withdraw its support.  From September 2008 the League is to be called the Molten East Kent Youth Football League and the agreement is to run for the next three years, up until 2011.

New Balance has announced European Sales Director Barry Mellis has left the company after four years in the sales management role. The company is currently working to secure his replacement.

The indomitable British endurance runner Elizabeth, "Lizzy", Hawker racked up another impressive result in July by taking second place in the Swiss Alpine Marathon in Davos, Switzerland. 32-year old Lizzie - who is sponsored by The North Face - currently holds the Swiss Alpine Marathon women's record time of 6:30:12, which she set in 2006. This year, Lizzy was only just returning to running following a pelvic stress fracture, but persisted to finish the race and take second with a final time of 7:11:05.

Rising British squash star Sarah Kippax has been appointed as an official ambassador for The Hi-Tec World Squash Championships - Manchester 2008. Kippax, 25, who is from Chester and trains twice a week at the National Squash Centre in Manchester will help to promote the event to a younger audience. The partnership will also run into 2009 with Kippax's ambassadorial role also encompassing the 2009 British National Squash Championships, to be held at the same venue next February.

Mazda Motors UK today announced that its first year as headline sponsor of the London Triathlon, the world's largest swim-bike-run event, has been a huge success. This year's event, held on 9 and 10 August at ExCeL in London's Royal Victoria Dock, was bigger than ever with over 13,000 competitors.

Greaves Sports has been forced to order extra stock of the new Partick Thistle pink away kit after a "phenomenal" response to the shirt's launch.

Shrewsbury Town FC has announced significant investment into the football club following the completion of two major sponsorship deals with international sportswear brand Prostar.

The STAG Buying Group continued its upward trend in the UK market as its member's sales were closing in on £200 million at retail. New signings such as Cat Footwear, Coleman, Magnum and Gola Sport stepped up the pace of the Group's march on new business, further cementing its leadership position in the buying sector.

Prince squash star Nicol David marched to her 30th successive WISPA World Tour match win since November when she beat world number two Natalie Grinham in straight games in the final of the CIMB Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur to claim the prestigious title for the fourth year in a row.

Nigel was just a few minutes late. He had driven some 80 miles to see me and was quite concerned. The fact that he had gone several miles out of his way to deliver one racket to a customer was quietly slipped in as we shook hands for the first time for some ten years.

Brooks are very well known among runners but their profile has really moved up a notch - along with sales - since the introduction of their MoGo midsole technology. Now that has been taken a step further, no pun intended, with BioMoGo which hits stores this Autumn in their flagship shoe, Trance. Martin Exley explains the company's beliefs and the way forward for the brand.

For 2009 SUGOI has introduced a new way of imagining technical apparel which includes a head-to-toe range of outstanding cycling-specific clothing developed through more than 20 years of passionate efforts. It contains both an outstanding colourful design combined with new fabrics like ultra light Gobi. Brand new are the categories Equipment and Culture.

Precision Training have unveiled a new and expanded medical range for 2008-09 for the treatment, prevention and cure of sporting injuries.

Precision Training  have unveiled a host of new additions to their medical range of athletic supports for the 2008-09 season.

There comes a time when enough is enough and I reached that point Good news! Thought that would give you a surprise and make you read on, after all not many articles one's read in the press recently start like that. So how come I've got good news when everyone else is doom and gloom?

This year saw my first trip to Friedrichshafen for the OutDoor show, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. All the talk beforehand had been about how lovely the place was, how brilliant the weather is at that time of year... In the event, I saw some pretty horrendous weather, met some wonderful people, saw some solid product and had a really fine time.

KEEN has opened its new European headquarters to support the brand's continued international growth and expansion. The office, located in Rotterdam, Netherlands, will support all aspects of the KEEN business in Europe and will house Customer Service, Operations, Finance, Sales and Marketing.

The Tent Show takes place once more in the grounds of Stoneleigh Park from the 31st August to the 4th September 2008 and this is the fifth year of this highly successful trade show.

Macclesfield-based distributor Edgar Brothers is recruiting an Internal Sales Advisor/Sales Co-Ordinator. The family-run company, with 60 years of trading behind it, is looking to the future as they seek to fill the vacancy, which is in the Leisure Division. This part of the business distributes outdoor and tactical equipment to the UK's outdoor retail market.

Simone Moro and Hervé Barmasse, both members of The North Face global athlete team, have summitted the Beka Brakai Chhok (6940m) in the Karakorum chain, Pakistan.

Washington-based Superfeet has been named in the inaugural "Best Places to Work" survey by the US outdoor magazine Outside. Superfeet (distributed in the UK & Europe by Anatom) was awarded second place in the medium-sized company category (50-249 employees). The awards were created by Outside magazine in partnership with the Outdoor Industry Association in the U.S. and Best Companies Group.

Hawkshead is relaunching for autumn winter 08 with a fresh new look and feel to the brand in terms of both image and product. The British Brand established in 1976  has been given a new lease of life  by brand owners Craghoppers.

Environmentally active apparel and footwear manufacturer Patagonia has launched a web site which allows consumers to track the route their garment has taken to get to them, so the end user can be aware of the journey and the environmental impact of the garment overall.

The North Face was honoured at the recent OutDoor Industry Show in Friedrichshafen with two prestigious awards. Both The North Face Reversible Mercurial Jacket and The North Face Minibus 23 tent garnered honors for their innovative technical features. 

Berghaus has announced plans to open its second flagship store in the UK.  The new outlet will be located in Covent Garden, London, and is due to open for business in October.  In a related development, Berghaus has appointed Matt Kemp as head of global retail and promoted Mike Clark to retail operations manager.

Wolverine World Wide has named Willie Irvine as Country Manager making up part of the Outdoor Group Europe team. With 15 years experience in the sports/fashion footwear and apparel markets, Willie joins the team from his post as UK Country Manager for Vans to oversee Merrell's operations for the Outdoor Group.

Outdoor enthusiasts can now send messages to mobile phones of friends, family and co-workers using the SPOT Satellite Messenger

SPOT customers in Western Europe can now send messages from their SPOT Satellite Messenger to a wireless mobile handset using short messaging service or SMS.  

For the third year in a row, the Outdoor Trade Show has sold out way in advance of the doors opening at the end of September.

Pacerpole, the UK manufacturer of the innovative range of ergonomically designed walking and trekking poles has appointed Anatom as its UK and international distributor in the outdoor market.

P2I's incredible ion mask technology, which HI-TEC brought to the boot market this autumn, has now been adopted by Regatta, in a deal which was announced at the OutDoor show in Friedrichshafen, Germany. It will first be seen in Regatta's SS09, as the company has produced a range of three shoes and boots for men and women incorporating the ion-mask technology to go in-store Jan/Feb 2009.

Anyone who loves the outdoors is likely to want to care for it, protect it, and conserve it. It's little wonder then that we, as walkers, climbers, cyclists, paddlers and all other variations of outdoor addicts, tend to have vociferous views on all matters environmental and ethical.

ion mask has raised many eyebrows since its groundbreaking entry into the outdoor market earlier this year, and for good reason. Applied to 'solid state' material like leather on a boot upper, ion mask is waterproofing without a membrane, staying cleaner for longer, saving weight, saving energy and a great deal better for the environment. The next step for HI-TEC is the broader introduction of the technology across the range, which they are terming HPi - Hydrophobic. It's not waterproofing as such, but it brings serious benefits to footwear, as Jason explained to SGB.

Berghaus, UK market leader in outdoor performance clothing, footwear and rucsacs, has teamed up with shock dispersal insole brand Sorbothane to deliver new standards of protection and comfort in its latest trekking boots. The Berghaus TORC ST 3-season seamless boot incorporates Sorbothane shock-absorbing pads in the forefoot and heel area of the sole, for maximum cushioning.

Available in both Mummy and Square styles, the Voyager is a perfect addition to adventure travelling or a backpacking trip.

 If you like timeless style and prefer comfort at the core of your footwear then check out Teva's two new additions to its DO. range.

C.A.M.P. JADE CR - This is the crag queen's crown. Several innovative features directly address the major discomforts women experience with a typical performance rock harness. An innovative Sliding Waist Belt System allows the waist belt padding to slide along the structural webbing making it easy to perfectly centre the padding and tie-in point, independent of your waist size.

Crew Gilet SRP £30

• Outer: Waterproof Taslon Nylon
• Lining: 100% Polyester Sport Mesh
• Windproof/Showerproof
• Fashionable shaped longer back panel
• Full front two-way zip fastening
• Zip closing spacious side pockets