JAMAICA’S sports conference ‘The Business of Sports’ will be observed by a wider audience throughout the region and in North America via a live stream of the entire conference, powered by broadband service provider Flow.

The live stream will enable those who are unable to come to Jamaica to attend in person, to view the panel discussions and presentations that will be delivered over the two days of the conference — today and tomorrow.

Big names in sports including Bernard Stewart, ESPN vice-president; Ato Boldon NBC sports commentator and Olympian; Robbie Earl, ESPN football expert and former member of the Reggae Boyz; and Irwin Clare, CEO & co-founder of Team Jamaica Bickle who have just marked 18 years of supporting Jamaica’s track and field athletes to the Penn Relays, will give presentations at the conference.

They will cover a range of topics relevant to the development of the sports industry including presentations on marketing and brand building, contracts and legal issues, the psychology of winning, financial management and culture.

“The Business of Sport International Conference is not simply dialogue on the imperatives of the development and value of sport,” said Christopher Samuda, chairman of Strategic Corporate Interventions Limited, which is partnering with Carole Beckford & Associates in putting on the Business of Sport international Conference.

“It is an enterprise which recognises that sport is an industry and an engine for transforming the way we do business and treat the infinite value of our human athletic capital.”

Denise Williams, director corporate and government affairs at Flow, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to initiatives that support the development of sport in Jamaica and across the region.

“As the technology partner for the Business of Sport Conference, we are pleased to be able to demonstrate how the power of the Flow network enables national and regional efforts to leverage opportunities for the development of various disciplines of sport. Broadband technology facilitates all aspects of sports management including marketing, the exchange of information, training both on and off the field of play and telemedicine applications for diagnosis of injuries and rehabilitation.”

Beckford, President of the Business of Sport, says that the use of technology to facilitate the discussions around the business of sport is critical. “Our partnership with Flow is significant in communicating the values we have placed in Jamaica as a destination for sport performance and sport business. We plan to reach as many of our stakeholders across the region and the wider world community,” she said.

Flow has an established history of leveraging its broadband technology to enable sports development and fan engagement. For the past two years, a partnership with international cable channel ESPN to stage football coaching clinics has introduced over 100 Jamaican coaches and young footballers to iFootball, an online training and assessment tool which enables the development of players’ technical skills and identifies areas for improvement. Recently, the Flow National Basketball League kicked off the season with a live stream of the opening match and the use of social media channels to provide match reports, schedules and results.

Leaders in business, commerce and broadcasting from the Jamaican and international sports community gather in Kingston this week for second staging of this significant event. The conference is to be held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.