You see some great things in my line of work, and journalists, members of the press, can often enjoy some terrific privileges; receiving press releases is often not one of those great things. I got something in my inbox last week which was a press release about how online 'forums' are boring and how their client's online forum isn't dull at all, because it has a different name.

"When I decided to move on from New Balance last year, I hadn't fully considered what the next stop should be.  I knew I didn't want to venture into another sales position with a sporting brand, but wasn't convinced of what the alternative might be. 

Precision Training have unveiled their biggest ever catalogue of sports apparel and specialist training aids for the 2009-10 season. At 76 pages, the new catalogue underlines the increasing range of equipment now being produced by the UK's market leader in the field.

Midlands shop Birmingham Runner has been crowned as the overall winner of the New Balance NBX Elite dealer initiative for 2009.  Apart from the accolade the guys from Birmingham Runner also receive a brand new New Balance Van.

The new X-Socks / X-Bionic website is now launched online, and it's a great hub of information and community for growing numbers of X-Sock and X-Bionic fans.

Aqua Sphere has become the official, exclusive swim sponsor of Eurosport for the 13th FINA World Championships Roma 2009, its first TV campaign. The high visibility of the campaign's 180 spots have the potential to reach 115 million homes across 59 European countries from 18th July to 2nd August and effectively convey the 'Long Lasting Comfort' values of Aqua Sphere's distinctive wide angle aquatic eyewear which can significantly enhance everyone's swim experience, whatever their fitness  objectives. 

Slazenger S1 has expanded its hypotonic sports drinks range with a new powdered format stick, available now. The new addition from leading hot and cold beverage supplier Aimia Foods will be available in 31g stick sachets in two flavours, Raspberry and Orange.

Lady Luck is shining on disabled children's charity Whizz-Kidz which has hit the jackpot and is sponsoring rugby league's Wigan Warriors for its match against the Catalan Dragons.

The Football League has announced that sportswear brand Macron is to become the Official Kit Supplier of The Football League in a brand new two-year deal beginning next season.

Hi-tech clothing merging technology with textiles to improve quality of life for the active ageing population will be created in a ground-breaking research project launched at the University of Wales, Newport recently.

A new Equipment Safety achievement badge, developed by the Pony Club in conjunction with the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA), will encourage young riders to choose and use hats and body protectors correctly - and check their tack for safety.

HEAD has announced the launch of a brand repositioning effort designed to put an increased focus on individual athletes' personal interaction with the game of tennis. The new marketing campaign showcases the passion for the game of tennis with its claim "The Power of You".

Suunto have added to their wonderful range of wrist-worn training partners with a new triathlon collection which ties in with the company's partnership with the International Triathlon Union.

In recent weeks 12 new businesses in Ireland have joined The STAG Buying Group bringing the total of STAG members in Ireland to 36. Ward Robertson, Managing Director of STAG said: "The reaction to STAG from retailers in Ireland has been first class, the business reasons to join the group have been well received and many well established businesses have already joined."

 "We feel we have signed up to a renewed, revitalized and re-invigorated INTERSPORT," Sandy Greaves, Managing Director of Greaves Sports, commented on the new association.

Adrian Giblett, the current managing director of the business, tells, in some ways, a classic story of a family business. Tony Pryce (who formerly was a butcher in the mid-Wales town of Welshpool) moved to Minehead and opened his first store. But he wasn't just a retailer, he was an entrepreneur. A year later he had opened a second store in Tiverton, followed a few years later by one in Taunton. Adrian Giblett joined the business in 1985 to manage the Minehead store - he's married to one of Tony Pryce's three daughters and Pryce's two other sons-in-law are also involved in the business.

Summer running is a different animal; common sense dictates that running in Autumn, Winter and Spring is preferable; temperature and humidity in the British Isles is more agreeable to such hot, sweaty work. But Summer is also when people's thoughts turn to how they'll look on the beach, and how best to shed those excess pounds - plus it's a hell of a lot easier to motivate yourself to get out on a sunny morning than on a cold, wet day.

NISTEX has returned as the pre-eminent sports trade show for the industry. Organised and run by INTERSPORT, in association with SGB, the event offers independent retailers the exclusive opportunity to meet with the world's leading brands, such as adidas, Asics, Canterbury, Nike, Puma, Speedo, Umbro, and Under Armour.

One of the privileges of working on SGB is the superb gear we see, test and use every day, but even seeing such great equipment and apparel, sometimes you see something that surprises or intrigues. That was the case with X-Bionic, which SGB encountered at a recent consumer exhibition, and we came away both impressed and excited.

SGB: How do your garments work compared to other wicking systems out there?

Professor Lambertz: People have been misled for the last 35 years. Everybody was writing that it's important to keep your skin dry. This is an absolutely incorrect theory. Everybody is announcing they will keep the skin dry; this has been announced and advertised for the last 35 years.

The value of sports retailers selling to schools can hardly be exaggerated. In the first place, PE is part of the national curriculum and as such schools have a legal requirement to provide sports of varying types (see below). They are therefore buyers of a wide range of sports goods and in significant quantities which they need to replace and update on a regular basis. They are also financially secure customers. Equally important, the kids listen to their teachers (believe it or not), and so turn into customers. The purchasing habits formed in one's teens can and do last a lifetime. Being a respected supplier to local schools also engages your business with the local community. It adds authority to what you do; if school sports departments deal with you, you must know what you are about.

Like many, the time of getting all my year end figures together has coincided with all the publicity surrounding MPs claims for questionable items on their expenses and it has caused me, and perhaps others, to realise we're being a little bit dim. Naturally, my accounting books include the costs involved with running the business but I realised that I had been very modest in my claims and there was a lot more in my life that could be related to running a sports shop that should, if I am to follow the inspirational behaviour of our elected parliamentarians, in future be included. I must just be more creative in what I call things. I thought I went on a skiing holiday in March but I realise now it was a research trip.

First up this month, I'd like to congratulate Ardblair on becoming distributors for Polaroid sports glasses, they should be a great addition to an already very strong portfolio.

The UK's leading outdoor performance footwear manufacturer, brasher has announced a unique, revolutionary programme of sales support to help ‘Premier Stockists' with effective sell through of its Spring/Summer 2010 range.

TEKO, the ultimate eco-friendly performance socks, was launched into the UK market last February and is now the country's fastest growing sock brand. Within a year TEKO has received some amazing accolades that include the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild award for innovation, TGO magazine's highest recognition "best in test" and being voted 1st in Country Walking magazine's Three Season sock test.

The Outdoor Industries Association (OIA) has announced details of a major membership drive, linked to a suite of enhanced benefits and services. Recognising that the economic climate is particularly challenging at the moment, the OIA is introducing a ‘pay what you can' scheme for members that renew for 2009/10. In addition, a introductory flat rate subscription of £100 has been confirmed for organisations who decide to sign up as new members this year.

Apparel and footwear manufacturer Helly Hansen has opted for Atomium, a software application which will help support their team of international sales agents, distributors and marketing staff, and also help the company reduce its reliance on paper resources for sales materials.

Montane has appointed Keith Hutcheon as Product Director. Well known in the outdoor industry as an accomplished and respected design professional, having been Head of Design at Mountain Equipment for the past four years, Keith is one of the top outdoor clothing designers in Europe. In addition to this, being a very active outdoor enthusiast, Keith is able to draw on direct experience for design inspiration.

Etón's brilliant line of radios, aimed in part at the outdoor market, have hit the UK and are being distributed here by Nevada Distribution.

Distributors Anatom have added Jean Parker, aka JP, to their staff; Jean will be heading up the sales team for the Life is good brand within the UK and Ireland. Life is good has been distributed by Anatom since 2007.

Staff from Craigdon Mountain Sports in Aberdeen recently found themselves halfway up a snow-clad mountain with Andy Cave, having won a competition run by Lowe Alpine.

GoLite, pioneers of the lite-weight revolution for the outdoors, have had a spectacular start to 2009 experiencing a 93% global increase in sales in Q1 compared to Q1 in 2008.

Calling all adventurous retail staff - the Kendal Outdoor Retail Show (KORS) organisers are announcing the KORS Retail Expedition Award, an annual award supporting outstanding expeditions involving outdoor retail staff.

Snugpak, the leading British manufacturer of high quality sleeping bags has received a Queen's Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category.

Whitby & Co have made a very good start to the year - and they've also been busy making strategic personnel changes which include the promotion of Marketing Manager Garry Woodhouse to the new position of Sales and Marketing Director.

Teva has announced two new ranges: Sierra Collection, and Lava Falls. The Sierra Collection is a selection of ladies' sandals with soft neutral colourways and casual and fashionable styling. The range comprises the Meadow (SRP £55.00), Keelie (SRP £50.00) and Lillee (SRP £50.00) three super-sleek and comfortable sandals.

Haglöfs' Top-Of-The-Line collection is now strengthened with two new backpacks for demanding tours. The newcomers are each other's opposites when it comes to areas of use, but they are equally able to manage extreme challenges without being extremely complicated.

The brand new Zetes from Vango is so simple it's brilliant. The effortless tunnel structure and all in one pitching ensures the Zetes is an ease to pitch, ideal for couples on a short break and groups of festival goers alike. And with generous living space to sleep, store and sit, it is surprisingly big for a small tent.

Their trail running shoes are hardy, well-constructed and double up nicely as walkers; the hiking boots look the absolute business. They've paid great attention to launching with the right products for the right customers, and it should stand them in good stead as they embark on their first full year as a footwear company.

Few brands have the name recognition of Clarks, linked forever to the British high street and school days with comfortable shoes... But the brand has moved on since the 80s, forging a hard-earned reputation as both a place to go for fashionable women's shoes as well as comfortable, hard-wearing shoes.

Big Bear distributes a range of brands, from snow sport-based (Spyder, Level, POC, SOS, Kask, Goode) to cycle-oriented (SiDi, POC Wheels, FRM, Pearl, POW, CicloSport) and straightforward outdoor (Cloudveil, and Mountainsmith); this breadth allows them to trade with at least three seasons of gear, so they're not as affected by the seasonality of certain sports as some.

This April I was back in Greenland for a third time guiding a week-long private expedition for two clients. Yes - just two, who are time-poor and somewhat cash-rich old chums. They wanted to do their own thing, when they wanted, with no strings attached. We arrived at Constable Point on Greenland's east coast via Iceland and from the airport (there's only an airport there actually) we were met by two skidoos to take us into the mountains. We rummaged through our kit in a hangar that had been shipped months before and dressed for a bracing journey across Hurry Fjord, up the Sodel valley and onto the icecap of Liverpool Land. Paul, the airport manager, handed a rifle over to me for protection from "ice" bears and we were suitably warned about them by the Danish airport cook. My last expedition to Greenland in 2006 was rudely interrupted by a polar bear attack and I needed no reminding.