Mercedes-Benz sports sponsorship: Mercedes-Benz is the partner of the Wheelchair Basketball World Championship

Lived inclusion, top sport and entertainment await visitors to the Wheelchair Basketball World Championships (WBWC) https://2018wbwc.de/ in the late summer of this year. They will be able to experience the excitement of this fast-paced, attractive sport and Hamburg offers athletes with a disability the perfect stage for outstanding sporting achievements.

Mercedes-Benz, the official partner of the WBWC has for years been committed to making it possible for people with physical restrictions to enjoy more individual freedom. Alongside extensive driving assistance systems, the company offers a multitude of driving aids ex-factory https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/ex-factory-driving-aids/ for very different handicaps. Individual requirements and disability-specific requirements such as the operability of the instruments are taken into account just as much as the functionality, the durability and the characteristically high Mercedes-Benz safety standard.

“Mercedes-Benz is a brand with charisma and the extensive mobility service of our partner is unique in disabled sport. Mercedes-Benz also actively supports people with a disability in the world of work. More than 8000 members of staff with a disability are employed by the company in Germany. This also spurs us on to fly the flag for inclusion sustainably with the World Championship”, explains World Championship Director Anthony Kahlfeldt. 

For mobility during the tournament, the Stuttgart car maker is providing a fleet of vehicles. There will be a VIP shuttle service with V‑Class models, for example. Sprinter Panel Vans will take care of transporting the wheelchairs.

As with a multitude of other innovative projects, the driving aids ex-factory were developed from an idea from the innovation incubator Lab1886. The focus and strength of the incubator at Daimler AG is the fast and efficient implementation of an idea through to the finished product or an appropriate business model. “With the Lab1886 in-house incubator we offer creatives from the whole Group a platform on which they can realise first-class innovations at high speed. We are agile, target-oriented and we work with inspiring team spirit in order to develop new solutions for the mobility of the future”, explains Susanne Hahn, Head of Lab1886 Global at Daimler AG.

On and off the pitch, inclusion is in the foreground at the event and will be lived throughout the tournament. Numerous hands-on activities are being arranged by the event organiser. Each visitor can actively try out sport for the disabled or put their skills to the test in three against three basketball. Alongside sporty entertainment on the playing field, food trucks will be serving up various culinary delights. Free evening concerts will add to the event’s fun character.

By the time the group draw is held at the St. Pauli Museum on 29 January 2018 anticipation will be rising as everyone looks forward to thrilling duels and a high-calibre event. The first Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Germany is also the biggest of all time. Twelve women’s and sixteen men’s teams have qualified. On the basis of successes in the recent past, the German fans are full of hope and are dreaming of winning the title on home ground. The women are entering the tournament as runners-up from the Paralympics of 2016 and the men with an outstanding third place in the European Championship last year, so with plenty of confidence.

The national player and Mercedes-Benz Brand Ambassador Sebastian Magenheim can hardly wait for the tournament to start. “I’m really looking forward to Hamburg and the support from our fans, who always pull out all the stops. It’s brilliant that Mercedes-Benz is on board as our sponsor. As a Brand Ambassador and driver of a GLA optimally geared to my requirements, I am very well acquainted with the merits of these vehicles”.    

After the Paralympics, the WBWC is the second biggest event in disabled sport. There is a long tradition of major events in wheelchair basketball being held in Germany. After three European Championships in the past the Hanseatic city of Hamburg is now delighted to be hosting the first World Championship in Germany.

About Lab1886
Lab1886 serves as the new innovation laboratory of Daimler AG with its own incubator, and in addition to state-of-the-art hardware and software provides qualified staff that delivers competent support for the Daimler employees in the implementation. The aim is to get from the idea to the product or business model more rapidly. Lab1886 operates at four locations on three continents: Stuttgart and Berlin in Germany, Beijing in China, and Sunnyvale in the USA. Under working conditions similar to those at a start-up, Daimler is placing its faith in swarm intelligence at Lab1886. The goal is to get ideas of individual employees, teams and business units off the ground quickly. To this end, Lab1886 has all necessary infrastructures and skills as well as ten years of experience in the implementation of new business models. This freedom allows employees to work in shallow hierarchies and a creative atmosphere.