Dear friends of sport,

As many of you will know, earlier this month we staged the first edition of THE SPOT. For us as organisers it was a very busy, exciting and ultimately rewarding two days. We were especially pleased with how everybody embraced the spirit of the event. It was simply amazing to see how open and accessible all the participants were and we would like to send out a big THANK YOU to everybody who supported us during this adventure in one way or another.

Our objective was to provide a special and valuable experience for all participants, and the feedback we have received so far has been very positive. We found the informal setting a constructive one — it allowed delegates to interact productively with each other and helped to ensure that all silos were left at the door. In this newsletter you can relive some of the highlights, including contributions from our world-class guest speakers, the winners of our international start-up battle, and the launch of a new incubator for start-ups specialised in sport-related fields in Lausanne and the surrounding region.

Given that this was only the first edition of THE SPOT, we are, as you might expect, already brimming with ideas on how to improve our event and take it to the next level. There will be more announcements to come, including the date of the second edition in 2019. 

As always, we are keen to listen to any ideas and input you may have. If you took part in THE SPOT, we would be very grateful if you took a few minutes to fill in our feedback survey. All of your comments will be read and taken on board.

There are many other exciting events happening around us these days. One of them is coming up soon: Sport Future Rendez-Vous 2018. If you are interested in sports governance, please have a look at our introductory piece on this event in this newsletter. Admission is free for ThinkSport members, though you will need to register through us, please.

Happy reading!

Anna Hellman, Director of ThinkSport