The 2008 – 2009 Volvo Ocean Race has recently added Singapore as one of its ports of call. The Volvo Ocean Race, is a yachting competition that lets yacht owners race around the world in a test of will, strength and wit. Originally, the Volvo Ocean Race route starts with yacht owners crossing the Atlantic, moving south towards Africa and capping the race off in and around the Southeast Ocean. This is the first time that an Asian destination, like Singapore, has been added to the route.

The yachts will stopover at Singapore’s Sentosa Island, a glorious white sand beach located at the tip of Singapore. The fleet will be staying at the One Degree 15 Marina Club, one of Asia’s premiere marinas.

Glenn Bourke, Volvo Ocean Race CEO, believes that Volvo has made the right decision with including Singapore in next year’s Volvo Ocean Race. He says,

“Singapore is vastly experienced in managing major sporting events and, as a testament to this, has just recently acquired the Formula One Grand Prix. The facilities provided to us by One Degree 15 on Sentosa Island will be world class.”

Arthur Tay, chairman of One Degree 15 Singapore Ocean Race Pte Ltd and chairman of One Degree 15, is equally pleased with Singapore’s inclusion. To quote Mr. Tay,

“We are privileged to host such a high-profile event like the Volvo Ocean Race, often referred to as the F1 of the sailing world. Singapore is fast gaining a reputation as an international sailing hub and an exciting lifestyle destination. Now we are all set to welcome the world’s fastest ocean racing yachts. These are truly exciting times for Singapore.”

The2008 – 2009 Volvo Ocean Race will begin in Alicante, Spain on October 11, 2008 and will finish in the Russian port of St. Petersburg.

Both the inclusion of a Southeast Asian port of call (Singapore) and the commencement of the yacht race in St. Petersburg are firsts for the Volvo Ocean Race. This season appears to be a very interesting one. Make sure to stay tuned when the Volvo Ocean Race starts. View for free and keep updated with play by play accounts on Volvo Ocean Race TV.

Sources: Singapore Confirmed as Stopover, Singapore Confirmed as an Asian stopover –>

Volvo moves the car industry further towards increasing the standards of automotive safety with another new award. Volvo Cars Corporation’s two -step booster seat wins the “Best of What’s New” Award from Popular Science magazine.

Booster seats are an innovation that makes riding in a car and wearing a seatbelt safer for young children aged 4 – 11 years old. Booster seats are meant to elevate a child’s seating position while riding inside the car. When it was found out that normal car seatbelts were fitted for full sized adults, children ran the risk of injuries when strapped to the adult – fitted seatbelts. The lap belt rides too high up the child’s abdomen and the shoulder belt is uncomfortable because it cuts across the throat. Since the seatbelt is ill – fitted for a child’s smaller frame, there was a risk of internal injuries for the child. The booster seat solves the problem. By elevating the child’s seating position, the lap belt rests firmly on the child’s thighs and the shoulder belt is safely on the child’s shoulder.

Booster seats are commonplace in most North American cars. But Volvo’s new two –step booster seat, takes “booster seat technology” (if there were such a thing), a step further. The two step booster seat not only boasts of being able to safeguard a child by elevating seating position, it also has inflatable side curtains which absorb energy and cushion impact in the event of a collision. The “Best of What’s New” award is the second award that the Volvo two – step booster seat has received. It has also merited an award for its innovative booster seat in the World Traffic Safety Symposium last April (2007).

Booster seats have been proven to protect children from vehicular injuries and many parents advocate having one in their cars. But the question that remains is how to convince a child to ride these safety seats. Most children, it seems, would refuse to ride a booster seat because they feel that they are already too big for “kiddie” seats. Taking this into account, there is a need for the creation of booster seats that will be more appealing to bigger children. Volvo has looked further into child safety and child psychology with its two – step booster seat. Thomas Broberg, Senior Safety Advisor of the Volvo Car Corporation is quoted saying: “We took into account the child’s physical size and weight, seat belt misuse, child physiology, along with redesigning our vehicle side body structure and side impact inflatable curtain to come up with this new, integrated two-step booster seat. There will be better fitment of our three-point seat belt, a wider age and weight range, and better attitude for the child who can now easily see outside with the added benefit of reducing driver distraction.”

Sources: Volvo Cars booster seat wins Popular Science “Best of What’s New” award , Booster Seats: Fight the Good Fight , Volvo Improves Safety For Children , World Traffic Safety Symposium Awards Volvo Cars For Innovative Child Booster Cushion System –>

The 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing on 08/08/08. But the Swedish Olympic Team is already hot on their heels with practicing for the games. Aside from the athletes spending many hours doing strength training for their particular sport, they also do team building activities to strengthen the team’s bond. The Swedish Olympic Team got together last November 8 and 9 for the Olympic Camp in Beijing and on the list of their team building activities was a trip to Volvo in Göteborg.

100 athletes and their coaches trooped to the Volvo production plant to try out various Volvo vehicles in the Volvo Demo Centre. As part of the team building activity, the athletes were challenged to reverse a Volvo truck that was filled with gravel. The truck itself was already a big thing to maneuver but what made the challenge more exciting was that the athletes had to do so without the help of rear – view mirrors. Whomever was driving would have to rely on his or her team mates to give directions while backing up the rear view mirror – less truck.

The idea of the exercise was to build trust amongst the Swedish team mates. The athletes enjoyed the “exercise”. Hurdler Susanna Kallur says, “It was easier than I expected. Getting together like this isn’t just great fun, it’s also a vital tool for forging a good team spirit among everyone on the Olympic team”.

The Volvo corporation has long been known to be solid supporters of the Swedish Olympic Committee. The athletes’ and coaches’ visit to the Volvo production plant was capped off with a dinner at the Volvo Group’s headquarters. The entire Swedish Olympic team, representatives of the Volvo Group and previous Swedish Olympic gold medallists got together for a night of good food, fun and camaraderie.

Source: Olympic team charged their batteries at Volvo
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