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VIDEO GAMES FUEL YOUNG ATHLETES: NIMBL SURVEY SHOWS PARENTS SPENDING OVER £500 ON GAMING GEAR

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LONDON, July 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — With Paris 2024 Olympics just one day away, video games are increasingly recognized for their role in nurturing young sporting talent. A new survey by nimbl, the leading pocket money card and app for 6 to 18-year-olds, highlights how video games are helping to shape children’s sports skills and enthusiasm for real-life sports.

 

 

Bridging the Gap Between Virtual and Physical Sports

Sports video games like FIFA, NBA 2K, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater are increasingly recognised for their educational value. Renowned sports professionals such as Jadon Sancho (Football), Ben Simmons (Basketball), and Erica Bougard (Athletics) play video games to study skills, game strategies, and fine-tune motor skills.

A nimbl survey of 410 parents across the UK found that sports video games have helped 41% of children understand sports rules and strategies, 37% have seen improvements in cognitive skills such as problem-solving and teamwork, and 42% in fine motor skills like reaction times, hand-eye coordination, and anticipation.

Sandy from Epsom, whose 12-year-old daughter Lilly plays football for her school and local clubs, said, “Gaming has given her a better understanding of the rules, strategy, and skills she can develop. It’s been great socially, as she can play with family and friends, learning about teamwork and cooperation.”

Inspiring Participation and Passion

Beyond entertainment and skill development, video games inspire curiosity and passion for sports in children. The immersive nature of the games allows them to explore new sports, discover new skills and take risks in a ‘safe space.’

The nimbl survey showed action and adventure as the most popular genre (35%), followed by sports (23%) and online platforms such as Roblox and Minecraft (11%).

Of those surveyed, 35% of children were inspired to try sports after playing video games, from football (27%), basketball (5%), and tennis (3%) to skateboarding (3%), gymnastics (3%), and motorsports (3%).

Jo from Watford said, “My son Issac (11) enjoys bowling and playing tennis online and offline. Gaming has inspired him to try new sports like golf. After playing a Nintendo golf game, he wanted to go to the driving range and loved it!”

Finding Balance and Getting Fit

The survey found that 69% of children game over 4 hours a week, with 28% playing over 10 hours a week. Finding the right balance is key.

While most parents feel there is no substitute for spending more time playing sports or getting exercise, 25% said motion-based video games have improved or maintained their child’s physical fitness, especially for those with disabilities, not participating in out-of-school activities, or during bad weather.

Summer Boredom Buster Promotion

The Met Office estimated up to 50 wet days this summer, nearly two days out of every three (TimeOut). To keep young minds active, nimbl has launched a Summer Boredom Buster promotion. From July to September, nimbl is giving away an Xbox Series S or a Nintendo Switch OLED Model in weekly and daily prize draws.

Alana Parsons, nimbl Chief Executive, explains, “Our survey found 42% of parents spent over £500 on gaming equipment, with 8% spending over £1000. With many families feeling the pinch and putting off holidays, our Summer Boredom Buster promotion aims to bring some fun on rainy days!

“Recognising the educational and inspirational value of video games, we can foster well-rounded athletes and inspire lifelong passion for sports.”

Notes to Editor 

Full release here.

About nimbl

nimbl is an award-winning pocket money card and app, designed with parents, carers, and young people in mind. https://www.nimbl.com/

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Ultra Clean Announces Retirement of the Chief Financial Officer Sheri Savage

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HAYWARD, Calif., April 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: UCTT), today announced that Sheri Savage, CFO, will be retiring from the company.

“On behalf of the Board and the entire UCT team, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Sheri for her remarkable 17 years of leadership and service,” said James Xiao, CEO. “Throughout her tenure, Sheri has played a pivotal role in shaping UCT’s financial strength, operational discipline, and long-term strategic direction. Her steady leadership, deep expertise, and unwavering commitment to excellence have helped guide the company through multiple industry cycles, positioning UCT for the next phase of growth. Sheri has been a trusted partner to me, the Board, and the broader global finance team, and her positive impact on this company will be lasting. We thank her sincerely for her dedication and wish her all the very best in her well-earned retirement.”

“It has been an incredible honor to be part of UCT’s journey over the past 17 years. I am deeply proud of what we have built together – strengthening our financial foundation, supporting our customers, and growing alongside a truly talented and committed global team,” said Sheri. “I am grateful for the trust and support I’ve received from my colleagues, our leadership team, and the Board throughout my tenure. UCT is well positioned for the future, and I look forward to watching the company continue to grow and succeed in the years ahead.”

The Board has initiated a comprehensive search for Sheri’s successor, considering both internal and external candidates, and will provide an update in due course.

About Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc.

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. is a leading developer and supplier of critical subsystems, components, parts, and ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services, primarily for the semiconductor industry. Under its Products division, UCT offers its customers an integrated outsourced solution for major subassemblies, improved design-to-delivery cycle times, design for manufacturability, prototyping, and high-precision manufacturing. Under its Services Division, UCT offers its customers tool chamber parts cleaning and coating, as well as micro-contamination analytical services. Ultra Clean is headquartered in Hayward, California. Additional information is available at www.uct.com.

Contact:

Rhonda Bennetto
SVP Investor Relations
rbennetto@uct.com

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SOURCE Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc.

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SandboxAQ CEO Jack Hidary at Davos: GPS Jamming and AI Cyber Threats Now Converge

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CEO tells The National that navigation interference and AI vulnerabilities now form a single threat surface for critical systems.

PALO ALTO, Calif., Apr. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Jack Hidary, CEO of SandboxAQ, warned that GPS jamming, GPS spoofing, and AI-enabled cyberattacks are converging into a single operational threat to critical systems. In remarks to The National, Hidary said the threats are no longer separate concerns but overlapping challenges requiring unified resilience.

SandboxAQ addresses both fronts with two technologies: AQNav, which uses the Earth’s magnetic field — the same signal birds and animals navigate by — to deliver resilient positioning, navigation, and timing in GPS-denied environments, and AQtive Guard, which unifies AI security and cryptographic posture management.

GPS interference is shifting from edge case to operational norm:

In June 2025, residents across multiple Middle Eastern countries reported location-service disruptions affecting consumer devices, ships, and aircraft, according to The National.In September 2025, media outlets reported GPS jamming on a flight carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, attributed to Russian interference.

“Recently, there was a plane flying and because it lost GPS because of jamming, the autopilot would not engage,” Hidary said, citing pilot reports of cascading failures inside aircraft systems. AQNav, tested by the US Air Force and several aviation companies, has drawn interest from Middle Eastern airlines.

Hidary linked GPS disruption to a parallel AI threat: “Large language models are also a vector of cyber attack.” He cited nation-state hackers exploiting generative AI tools, plus the Samsung incident, where engineers entered confidential information into ChatGPT.

The WEF’s 2026 Global Risks Report ranks cyber insecurity #6 among short-term global risks, with adverse outcomes of AI technologies showing the sharpest long-term rise — moving from #30 in the two-year outlook to #5 in the ten-year outlook. The report warns that “technological risks are also anticipated to worsen in severity over the next decade.”

Learn more or request a demo at sandboxaq.com. Read the full Davos coverage in The National.

About SandboxAQ

SandboxAQ is an enterprise company delivering AI solutions at the intersection of machine learning and science. Spun out from Alphabet in 2022, it develops Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) for life sciences, cybersecurity, financial services, navigation, and advanced materials. Visit www.sandboxaq.com to learn more.

 

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SOURCE SandboxAQ

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Tech-Access Canada Welcomes $165M Federal Investment to Accelerate Commercialisation

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OTTAWA, ON, April 28, 2026 /CNW/ – Tech-Access Canada, the national network of Canada’s Technology Access Centres (TACs), welcomes today’s federal Spring Economic Update, which includes an investment of $165 million over five years to extend support for the College and Community Innovation (CCI) Program.

Delivered through Canada’s tri-council research system and administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the CCI Program enables businesses to access applied R&D expertise, specialized facilities, and technical services to advance innovation and bring new technologies to market.

This investment will strengthen Canada’s capacity to support commercialisation and productivity by helping businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, accelerate the development, validation, and adoption of new products, processes, and technologies.

“Continued support for the CCI Program reinforces a proven model that connects businesses with the expertise and infrastructure they need to innovate and compete,” said Melanie Ross, Research Chair, Green Building Technology Access Centre, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, and Chair of Tech-Access Canada’s Board of Directors. “Technology Access Centres deliver practical, industry-driven solutions that help companies move ideas forward and translate innovation into real economic outcomes.”

Each year, TACs work with thousands of companies across sectors to advance technologies along the commercialisation pathway from early-stage validation through to deployment and scale-up. By providing objective, non-dilutive support, TACs help companies make informed decisions, avoid costly missteps, and accelerate time-to-market.

“This investment helps ensure that innovation developed in Canada stays in Canada,” said Ken Doyle, Executive Director of Tech-Access Canada. “TACs help companies commercialise here at home reducing risk, accelerating time to market, and driving real outcomes. As Canadian firms scale and export globally, that success returns to the Canadian economy.”

Tech-Access Canada’s network includes more than 70 Technology Access Centres located across the country, providing businesses with access to over 2,100 applied R&D experts, millions of square feet of specialized facilities, and hundreds of millions of dollars in equipment and infrastructure.

About Tech-Access Canada

Tech-Access Canada is the national network of Canada’s Technology Access Centres (TACs), which help businesses access the expertise, facilities, and support they need to advance innovation and bring new products and services to market.

www.MeetTheTACs.ca

SOURCE Tech-Access Canada

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