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According to Luís Avelar, surfing is a sport
that represents the values of the TMN brand |
“With this support, TMN wishes to underpin and promote national sport and above all, get closer to the younger generation. Surf in special reflects values held by the brand such as enthusiasm, energy, respect for nature and freedom”, explains Luís Avelar, Board Member, PT.
TMN announced its latest bet in terms of Surf in Portugal during a press conference as sponsor of Rip Curl Pro Search, the ninth event of the of the ASP World Tour 2009, the world championship of surf that takes place in Portugal for the first time and will count on the presence of Tiago Saca Pires, the surfer of the TMN Dream Team.
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Scott Hargreavef,
from Rip Curl Internacional |
According to Scott Hargreavef, from Rip Curl International, and José Farinha, from Rip Curl Portugal, it is an honour for them to organise this event in Portugal. “We thank TMN for their sponsorship, fundamental for the organisation of this event in Portugal. We hope that people may become part of the event, therefore, the TMN Trial will be most important to involve the local community”, they add.
The mayor of Peniche, António José Correia, also expressed his thanks to TMN for their sponsorship of the event, to Rip Curl’s representatives and the surfers for having chosen the waves of Peniche.
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José Farinha, from
Rip Curl Portugal |
Rip Curl Search will bring the elite of international surfers to Portugal and it will be marked by the organisation of the TMN Trials on 18 October, a key moment in the choice of another Portuguese surfer to compete on this edition. The winner, selected among the 16 best national surfers will be entitled to a Wild Card, an exclusive access to Rip Curl Pro Search 2009, an opportunity to compete man-to-man with the top-ranking athletes of the ASP World Tour and who knows, as it would not be the first time, reach the final victory. The goal is to promote national athletes in the surfing world, making them prominent in the world’s sport scene.
The TMN Trials are a qualifier round within Rip Curl Search, and TMN “would like to have another Portuguese surfer I the competition side by side with Tiago Pires. Through this patronage, we would like to make TMN’s blue confound itself with the blue of the sea”, stresses PT’s Board Member.
16 Portuguese surfers compete at the TMN Trials. João Guedes, Vasco Ribeiro, Frederico “Kikas” Morais, Miguel Ximenez, David Raimundo and César Rosa who are part of the TMN Surf Team as well as other national surfers such as champions Ruben Gonzalez and João Antunes, and other surfers of reference such as Justin Mujica, Edgar Nozes, David Luis, Nuno Silva, António Ribeiro, Alexandre Ferreira, Eduardo Fernandes and Acácio Grandela. One of these will become the champion of the TMN Trials.
To celebrate this unique event in Portugal, the mobile operator wishes everyone to ‘catch the wave’ having therefore just launched another TMN exclusive, the Samsung B2100 Surf Edition. TMN offers a limited special edition of this mobile phone, a fall-, dust- and waterproof device that includes surfing videos, photos and tunes.
Another high moment of the event will precede the men’s final, on the last day of the competition. To celebrate this round of the World Tour in Portugal, the TMN Express Session will put the best surfers face to face, fighting for the prize of the most radical surfing manoeuvre: a championship that will fill up the beaches of Peniche with enthusiasm, energy and freedom.
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António José Correia,
mayor of Peniche |
Respect for nature is always present in TMN’s initiatives, which is reflected on the ecologic footprint, a public awareness action aiming at respect for the environment and the beaches. “Leave only your footprints on the beach!” is the appeal left behind by TMN through its ambassador, Tiago Pires.
Luís Mestre who is responsible for TMN’s young segment explained that TMN’s initiatives to get closer to the younger generation go a lot beyond sponsoring surf. Another example is the ‘I Moche You’ campaign, support for music events, Guest List, specific tariffs, among others.
TMN and Surf
Surf is present at TMN through the products and services made available for their customers such as Beach Live TV or TMN Spot Report as well as the association with emblematic personalities of this discipline, the support for various entities and events such as the National Surfers Association, major surf championships and surf schools.
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Luís Mestre announced a few
TMN actions for youngsters |
TMN organises the TMN Saca Tour every year, an event that gathers surf practitioners plus Tiago Pires over two days of intensive surfing. Between 2007 and 2009, circa 500 youngsters aged between 10 and 16 years got together in the scope of this initiative thus contributing to the development and improvement of this discipline in Portugal.
TMN has been sponsoring several surf championships: national (PRO Junior National Open) and international (WQS Ericeira, WQS Estoril) since 2007. This year, TMN will sponsor the National Championship of Surf Open, having already taken place the Porto and Azores rounds, the next one being the Nazaré Surf PRO, between 5 and 7 December, which will close the championship.
2009 saw TMN sponsor two rounds of the National Surf Open, the main sponsor of the 1st round that took place in Porto in May and secondary sponsor of the round in the Azores, which took place in September on S. Miguel island. TMN will also sponsor the last round – Nazaré Surf PRO – which will take place in December (5 to 7), thus closing the national surf year.
Read here about TMN and Surf.