Craxel, creator of the Black Forest, the multi-modal platform delivering constant-time data infrastructure, today announced its sponsorship of RAF Angling, the angling association of the Royal Air Force.
RAF Angling supports serving personnel across four disciplines including Carp, Coarse, Game and Sea angling, providing opportunities to develop skills, compete and represent the RAF at every level, from local leagues through to Inter-Service and UK Armed Forces competition. The partnership begins during a successful season for the association, which recently secured its 20th consecutive Inter-Service Boat Angling title against a resurgent Royal Navy team.
As a company working at the forefront of defence, national security and critical infrastructure, Craxel is proud to support an organisation that strengthens the people behind those missions. Angling develops resilience, discipline, patience and teamwork, qualities that matter both on the water and in the environments where Craxel's customers operate every day.
The sponsorship also reinforces Craxel's long-term commitment to the UK, where the company operates from Belfast, Northern Ireland, alongside its headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia.
"Supporting the communities that serve is part of who we are. RAF Angling does more than organise competitions; it builds resilience, camaraderie and wellbeing among Service personnel. We're proud to play a small part in helping that work continue while strengthening our relationship with the UK defence community."
Gary Connolly, Managing Director, Craxel
“We are delighted to welcome Craxel on board as a sponsor. This support helps us grow grassroots events, look after our Veteran network and keep our competitive teams performing at the highest level. Beyond competition, we are also developing plans to use the mental health and wellbeing benefits of angling to improve the operational efficiency of our people, building on the work I recently presented at the RAF Mental Health Symposium as the first Sports Association to do so. This sponsorship will be a key part of that next chapter,"
Wg Cdr Karl Bird BSc (Hons) MA RAF, Chair, RAF Angling Association and RAF Representative, UK Armed Forces Angling Association.
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Craxel builds Black Forest, a patented multi-model database platform delivering constant-time indexing across graph, vector and time-series data. The platform enables organizations to process and query complex, high-volume datasets at speed, supporting mission-critical applications across defense and space, cyber and national security, and financial markets.
Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, with a UK office in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Craxel serves enterprise and government customers solving some of the world's most demanding data challenges.
The RAF Angling Association is part of RAF Sport, and is supported by the RAF Central Fund, which funds sport and physical activity to safeguard the health and wellbeing of serving personnel.
The association oversees Carp, Coarse, Game and Sea angling, running development days, RAF Championships and league competitions throughout the year while providing opportunities for personnel to represent the RAF in Inter-Service and UK Armed Forces competition.
The RAF Angling partnership joins Craxel's sponsorship of the UK Armed Forces Polo Association as part of Craxel Causes, the company's programme supporting organisations that strengthen the defence community.
Through Craxel Causes, the company invests in initiatives that improve wellbeing, build community and support serving personnel, veterans and military families. By partnering with organisations such as RAF Angling, Craxel aims to help sustain grassroots participation, strengthen Veteran engagement and ensure competitive teams continue to thrive across all four angling disciplines.
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