Share the victories of aboriginal sports herores with Chiefs and Champions

 Toronto, ON (July 3, 2007) ~ A companion to the television series Chiefs and Champions, www.chiefsandchampions.ca is a place to celebrate athletic and coaching achievements. Personal bios include competition history, mentors, words of inspiration, and personal bests.

The ubiquity of online culture provides an opportunity for many voices to be heard. The Chiefs and Champions sports and social networking site contributes to trends in supporting Aboriginal youth to engage in the healthy and positive messages that sports delivers. By customizing Drupal content management software, the site leverages the best in open source technology, and being designed for longevity, the platform is scaleable and expandable.

Visitors to the site can watch and comment on previously aired episode clips, participate in polls, and invite others to join. Members can upload photos to their bio page, link to video content on other sites, send private emails to other members, and add to their circle.

Blogs allow athletes and coaches to share their experiences with others in this vibrant sports community. With the upcoming North American Indigenous Games in 2008 and the Olympics in 2010, this social and sports network is anticipated to grow exponentially in the near future.

Tribute II Productions Inc. partnered with The Nimble Company and Industrial Brand Creative to produce the Chiefs and Champions new media component.  Chiefs and Champions television series profiles such elite Aboriginal sports heroes as Tom Longboat, Fred Sasakamoose and Alwyn Morris as they journey through challenges, prevail over adversity and develop into inspiring leaders and role models.

The TV series is hosted by North of 60 star Tom Jackson, Season II episodes include Darren Zack, Billy Two Rivers, Angela Chalmers, Richard Peter, Sharon and Shirley Firth and Gino Odjick. The series premiered on APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network) and will also be broadcast on Knowledge Network and CLT/ACCESS.

Big Red Barn Entertainment and Good Medicine Media formed Tribute II Productions Inc. to produce Chiefs and Champions - Season II, the television series. Based on the television series created by Annie Frazier Henry, Chiefs and Champions' new media component is produced with the participation of the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund and with the assistance of APTN.

 http://www.decima.com/reports/index.php?q=taxonomy/term/2

_____________________________________________________________________

CHIEFS AND CHAMPIONS: Canada's First Online Sports and Social Network for Aboriginal Athletes and Coaches 

Delta BC (February 22, 2007) ~ A companion to the breakout television series, Chiefs and Champions New Media component is Canada’s first free online sports community and social network for Aboriginal athletes and coaches – a place to celebrate, learn and share with others in this vibrant athletic community. 

Joining is free. Users can showcase themselves through an Athlete or Coach bio or "profile page", blog about their activities, share their accomplishments, connect with others on the site by adding people to their circle of friends, watch and comment on Chiefs and Champions episode clips and receive inspiration from the Words of Wisdom and Coach Says clips.  

Chiefs and Champions: the online edition is packed full of useful sports information found in the convenient Resource section, which includes Links to the Aboriginal Sport Circle, as well as links to scholarships, bursaries, youth publications and directories.  

All this makes chiefsandchampions.ca a dynamic daily destination for athletes and coaches.

Chiefs and Champions television series profiles Aboriginal sports heroes as they journey through challenges, prevail over adversity and develop into inspiring leaders and role models. Hosted by North of 60 star Tom Jackson, Season II episodes include Darren Zack, Billy Two Rivers, Angela Chalmers, Richard Peter, Sharon and Shirley Firth and Gino Odjick. The series premieres February 15th on APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network). 

Big Red Barn Entertainment and Good Medicine Media formed Tribute II Productions Inc. to produce the Chiefs and Champions – Season II, the television series. Tribute II Productions Inc. partnered with The Nimble Company and Industrial Brand Creative to produce the Chiefs and Champions New Media component.  Based on the television series created by annie frazier henry, Chiefs and Champions New Media component is produced with the participation of the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund and with the assistance of Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.

The Nimble Company is a multiplatform new media company that exists where Television and the Internet meet. The Nimble portfolio includes service work as well as internal IP including hip hop social networking site RapSpace.tv Industrial Brand Creative is a Vancouver-based company specializing in creative services such as branding, marketing strategies, advertising, print and interactive productions. Recognized for their success in capturing audiences, the company’s award-winning creative team produces compelling and effective solutions for a wide range of clients.  

The Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund advances the Canadian broadcasting system by encouraging and funding the creation of excellent Canadian digital media, promoting partnerships and sustainable businesses in the broadcast and new media sectors, engaging in research and sharing knowledge and enhancing the national and international profiles of industry stakeholders.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Sheilagh Cahill at sheilagh@brbmg.com