Action sports camera company iON is serving as the title sponsor of this weekend's Dew Tour Mountain Championships in Breckenridge, CO., and the event could be "setting the stage for a not so subtle David versus Goliath battle for the top spot" in the category, according to Joe Moylan of the SUMMIT DAILY NEWS. The deal by iON Founder & CEO Giovanni Tomaselli to sponsor the event was an "unanticipated but nonetheless calculated move" in his plan to "unseat GoPro, the formerly unchallenged and reigning champ of the action sports camera market." The iON name this weekend will appear on the "competition bib for every athlete, even on those of well-known GoPro-sponsored athletes." Tomaselli said, "It's great seeing people like Shaun White, who is a GoPro rider, wearing a bib that has our name on it." Moylan noted Tomaselli has "been around long enough to know he can't depend solely on one mainstream event to drive sales." While iON also title sponsored the U.S. Open of Surfing last July and has a deal with Team Lucas Motorsports, Tomaselli is "banking on more advanced technology in the hope of grabbing his fair share of the market." He also has "built a team of action sports athletes to rival those at GoPro," including skiers James Woods and Nick Goepper and snowboarders Kelly Clark and Scotty Lago (SUMMIT DAILY NEWS, 12/12).
