Latest news with #Popham
Scoop
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
JNGL25 Is Coming: Northern Bass Announces Major Format Change For 25/26
After 13 unforgettable years of delivering one of Aotearoa's most loved New Year's festivals, Northern Bass is shifting gears. This summer, Northern Bass will press pause on the traditional three-day, three-stage format and reimagine what the event looks like for 2025/26. The festival will return as NORTHERN BASS JNGL25, a tighter, more focused two-day experience, centred around the iconic Jungle Stage and with more stage and entertainment details to come. This evolution allows the team to double down on what makes Northern Bass truly special: the energy, the vibe, the music, the production values, and the deep connection with its community. 'Last summer was a high point,' says Festival Director Gareth Popham. 'But behind the scenes, the squeeze was real. Attendance didn't quite hit the mark, and with the continued rise in production costs, it became clear that something had to change.' NB JNGL25 is not a step back - it's a pivot. Festivals worldwide are facing similar pressures: economic uncertainty, audience expectations, and the increasing cost of hosting large-scale events. For Northern Bass, this is an opportunity to adapt without compromise, protecting what matters most and shaping the future experience. Important information: In line with the updated format, ticketing is also shifting. As of 8am today, all sales have transitioned to the new NB JNGL25 ticketing model, with more affordable two-day and one-day passes replacing the original event tickets. The capacity for NB JNGL25 will be strictly limited to 6,000 people, half the size of previous years, to ensure every attendee can fully experience the entire Jungle Stage. This reduced capacity is key to the reimagined format, meaning tickets are limited and will sell out quickly. 'We want to be clear,' adds Popham. 'If you already have a ticket, hold onto it; you're one of the lucky ones. And if you haven't bought one yet, don't wait. Once these are gone, they're gone.' This change isn't permanent. Northern Bass remains committed to returning to its full three-day format when the time is right. For now, the focus is on delivering the same unforgettable energy in a refined and intimate setting. If you've already purchased a ticket, thank you for supporting us early. You should have an email in your inbox with all the details on transferring your ticket, the amount of credit you are due, or how to request a full refund. The full NB JNGL25 line-up will be announced at 5.30pm on Thursday, August 14.
France 24
28-05-2025
- Health
- France 24
Ex-Wales flanker Popham wants his day in court with rugby authorities
The former Wales flanker, who won 33 caps between 2003 and 2008 and played in two World Cups, was diagnosed in 2020 with probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at the age of 40. CTE is a progressive brain condition that is thought to be caused by repeated blows to the head and episodes of concussion. The basis of the legal case is that rugby's governing bodies failed to provide sufficient protection from the risks caused by concussion. "The press are talking about 500 players, but I can tell you by the end of May, which is the deadline to join the suit, it will be double that," Popham told AFP in a phone interview. "Everyone is in a different situation. However, I want to go to court and eyeball some of the people still involved in the game, who are part of the reason why we are in the mess we are in. "Over the past six years what I have read and the evidence we have got needs to be public and go on the record. "It is very powerful." The sport's governing body World Rugby said the ongoing legal action prevented them from engaging with players "concerned in this story." However, in a statement to AFP, they said: "We would want them to know that we listen, we care and we never stand still on player welfare." 'Measures in place' Popham, who realised something was seriously wrong when in 2019 he got lost on a bike ride close to his home and had to use an app to find his way back, is not just investing his time in the lawsuit. He has also been going to schools and spreading the word about the risks involved. He hopes the Brainsafe programme -- which is the "baby" of Popham, his wife Mel and two others and endorsed by the charity Head for Change -- will be rolled out nationally in September. "We have seen 350 children, coaches and parents since January and are tweaking it now," he said. "It is not all about doom and gloom, it is sports-specific as any child can have brain traumatic injury. "We inform them of the signs and symptoms." Popham, who is in training for an ironman event later this year, said the lack of knowledge about the risks had astonished him. "Around 90 percent of parents, player and coaches still do not understand that every contact is causing damage," said the 45-year-old. "Key rugby schools do but others less so, and some of the parents unfortunately are not interested." Participation in rugby in schools in England is on the decline. In the 2022-23 school year, 8.3 percent of children aged five to 16 played rugby, down from 9.7 percent four years earlier. The decline was highlighted in last October's Review of Rugby in Schools which said the RFU, which commissioned the report, faced "an urgent issue approaching crisis point." As a result the RFU invested £5 million ($6.8 million) into TI, a version of touch rugby that replicates scrums, lineouts and other technical aspects of the 15-a-side game. On the other hand there are those who argue that in the contact format it is better that youngsters learn how to tackle aged nine rather than 14 when they are physically bigger. Popham strongly disagrees. He said it was "easy to say about nine-year-olds the younger they learn the technique the better it is," but equated it to encouraging young children to smoke. "It is better to put measures in place to protect them," he said. In terms of warning about the risks, he believes public health advertisements are the way forward. "Like those used in the past to advocate how bad smoking is for your health or how you can save your life by using seat belts," he said.
Int'l Business Times
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Int'l Business Times
Ex-Wales Flanker Popham Wants His Day In Court With Rugby Authorities
Alix Popham, one of hundreds of former rugby players to bring a lawsuit against the sport's authorities for head injuries, told AFP he wants his day in court so he can look in the face some of the officials "who are part of the reason why we are in the mess we are in." The former Wales flanker, who won 33 caps between 2003 and 2008 and played in two World Cups, was diagnosed in 2020 with probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at the age of 40. CTE is a progressive brain condition that is thought to be caused by repeated blows to the head and episodes of concussion. The basis of the legal case is that rugby's governing bodies failed to provide sufficient protection from the risks caused by concussion. "The press are talking about 500 players, but I can tell you by the end of May, which is the deadline to join the suit, it will be double that," Popham told AFP in a phone interview. "Everyone is in a different situation. However, I want to go to court and eyeball some of the people still involved in the game, who are part of the reason why we are in the mess we are in. "Over the past six years what I have read and the evidence we have got needs to be public and go on the record. "It is very powerful." The sport's governing body World Rugby said the ongoing legal action prevented them from engaging with players "concerned in this story." However, in a statement to AFP, they said: "We would want them to know that we listen, we care and we never stand still on player welfare." Popham, who realised something was seriously wrong when in 2019 he got lost on a bike ride close to his home and had to use an app to find his way back, is not just investing his time in the lawsuit. He has also been going to schools and spreading the word about the risks involved. He hopes the Brainsafe programme -- which is the "baby" of Popham, his wife Mel and two others and endorsed by the charity Head for Change -- will be rolled out nationally in September. "We have seen 350 children, coaches and parents since January and are tweaking it now," he said. "It is not all about doom and gloom, it is sports-specific as any child can have brain traumatic injury. "We inform them of the signs and symptoms." Popham, who is in training for an ironman event later this year, said the lack of knowledge about the risks had astonished him. "Around 90 percent of parents, player and coaches still do not understand that every contact is causing damage," said the 45-year-old. "Key rugby schools do but others less so, and some of the parents unfortunately are not interested." Participation in rugby in schools in England is on the decline. In the 2022-23 school year, 8.3 percent of children aged five to 16 played rugby, down from 9.7 percent four years earlier. The decline was highlighted in last October's Review of Rugby in Schools which said the RFU, which commissioned the report, faced "an urgent issue approaching crisis point." As a result the RFU invested GBP5 million ($6.8 million) into TI, a version of touch rugby that replicates scrums, lineouts and other technical aspects of the 15-a-side game. On the other hand there are those who argue that in the contact format it is better that youngsters learn how to tackle aged nine rather than 14 when they are physically bigger. Popham strongly disagrees. He said it was "easy to say about nine-year-olds the younger they learn the technique the better it is," but equated it to encouraging young children to smoke. "It is better to put measures in place to protect them," he said. In terms of warning about the risks, he believes public health advertisements are the way forward. "Like those used in the past to advocate how bad smoking is for your health or how you can save your life by using seat belts," he said. "That is what needs to happen -- to disabuse people of the attitude of 'oh it won't happen to me'." Alix and Mel Popham are taking their Brainsafe programme into schools to warn people about the risks of rugby AFP
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Ex-Wales flanker Popham wants his day in court with rugby authorities
Former Wales flanker Alix Popham wants to go to court in the legal suit against rugby authorities so he can face those he holds responsible for his brain condition (ADRIAN DENNIS) Alix Popham, one of hundreds of former rugby players to bring a lawsuit against the sport's authorities for head injuries, told AFP he wants his day in court so he can look in the face some of the officials "who are part of the reason why we are in the mess we are in." The former Wales flanker, who won 33 caps between 2003 and 2008 and played in two World Cups, was diagnosed in 2020 with probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at the age of 40. Advertisement CTE is a progressive brain condition that is thought to be caused by repeated blows to the head and episodes of concussion. The basis of the legal case is that rugby's governing bodies failed to provide sufficient protection from the risks caused by concussion. "The press are talking about 500 players, but I can tell you by the end of May, which is the deadline to join the suit, it will be double that," Popham told AFP in a phone interview. "Everyone is in a different situation. However, I want to go to court and eyeball some of the people still involved in the game, who are part of the reason why we are in the mess we are in. Advertisement "Over the past six years what I have read and the evidence we have got needs to be public and go on the record. "It is very powerful." The sport's governing body World Rugby said the ongoing legal action prevented them from engaging with players "concerned in this story." However, in a statement to AFP, they said: "We would want them to know that we listen, we care and we never stand still on player welfare." - 'Measures in place' - Popham, who realised something was seriously wrong when in 2019 he got lost on a bike ride close to his home and had to use an app to find his way back, is not just investing his time in the lawsuit. Advertisement He has also been going to schools and spreading the word about the risks involved. He hopes the Brainsafe programme -- which is the "baby" of Popham, his wife Mel and two others and endorsed by the charity Head for Change -- will be rolled out nationally in September. "We have seen 350 children, coaches and parents since January and are tweaking it now," he said. "It is not all about doom and gloom, it is sports-specific as any child can have brain traumatic injury. "We inform them of the signs and symptoms." Popham, who is in training for an ironman event later this year, said the lack of knowledge about the risks had astonished him. Advertisement "Around 90 percent of parents, player and coaches still do not understand that every contact is causing damage," said the 45-year-old. "Key rugby schools do but others less so, and some of the parents unfortunately are not interested." Participation in rugby in schools in England is on the decline. In the 2022-23 school year, 8.3 percent of children aged five to 16 played rugby, down from 9.7 percent four years earlier. The decline was highlighted in last October's Review of Rugby in Schools which said the RFU, which commissioned the report, faced "an urgent issue approaching crisis point." Advertisement As a result the RFU invested £5 million ($6.8 million) into TI, a version of touch rugby that replicates scrums, lineouts and other technical aspects of the 15-a-side game. On the other hand there are those who argue that in the contact format it is better that youngsters learn how to tackle aged nine rather than 14 when they are physically bigger. Popham strongly disagrees. He said it was "easy to say about nine-year-olds the younger they learn the technique the better it is," but equated it to encouraging young children to smoke. "It is better to put measures in place to protect them," he said. Advertisement In terms of warning about the risks, he believes public health advertisements are the way forward. "Like those used in the past to advocate how bad smoking is for your health or how you can save your life by using seat belts," he said. "That is what needs to happen -- to disabuse people of the attitude of 'oh it won't happen to me'." pi/gj
Reuters
26-02-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
UK startup Volklec to make EV batteries with licensed Chinese technology
LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - British startup Volklec has reached a licensing agreement with China's Far East Battery (FEB) to use its technology to make batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles, it said on Wednesday. FEB, a unit of Far East Smarter Energy Co ( opens new tab, will also provide engineers and other support to help Volklec scale up production at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), a partly government-funded battery factory in Coventry. The Chinese company will also provide Volklec with access to its supply chain to lower costs. European battery makers have struggled with the challenges of developing a viable chemistry for EV batteries while also raising funds and scaling up in an industry dominated by China. After prominent failures like Britishvolt and Sweden's Northvolt, which is undergoing restructuring, industry experts predict more European battery firms will need Chinese cash and expertise to scale up. Volklec said in late 2025 it will start producing "energy cell" batteries for e-scooters, e-bikes and EV chargers as well as energy storage, with a "power cell" for EVs coming in the second half of 2026. UK investment company Frontive Group has committed 20 million pounds ($25.3 million) for production of the energy cell. Volklec executive director Phil Popham told Reuters the company will need to raise 80 million pounds for a new 1 gigawatt hour (GWh) production line at the UKBIC for the power cell. Volklec is talking to a number of automakers about using the cells, he said, declining to disclose which companies. Popham said FEB has supplied cells for about a million EVs so far. "Volklec's approach is all about getting to market quickly using proven technology to give confidence to customers and investors," Popham said. "We know where we're going to buy it, where we'll produce it and what we'll produce."
