dr. sandman Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 My daughter placed 16th in our state high school championships this year. Not too shabby for her first year racing, and her first year on an alpine set up (Oxygen board w/ Burton bindings and Raichle boots)! She has a great attitude and a strong desire to go for it. She has contacted Burton and Rossignol regarding sponsorship, but since they have both stopped making our type of equipment, she would like to find other options. Do any of you veterans know of any vendors or better yet specific contacts that we might pursue to give this aspiring champion a lift? I appreciate your feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Todd Stewart Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Sponserships in alpine are extremely hard to come by, even Mark Fawcett had trouble getting solid sponsership after he left sims, your best bet would be to contact the local board shops and see what they have to offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted March 23, 2004 Report Share Posted March 23, 2004 Another source of sponsorship money is local politicians. With the election in November, the timing might not be the best, but they all have money kicking around for just that kind of thing. Plus, they can put your daughter on their website and brag about supporting amateur sport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest slam Posted March 27, 2004 Report Share Posted March 27, 2004 also she may consider working in a shop for a couple hours a week, after a time period she will be able to get gear at cost, even if the shop doesnt carry it explicitly also consider: Instructing, Patrol, manufactures give steep discounts to these people too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted March 29, 2004 Report Share Posted March 29, 2004 Originally posted by Kent IMO, the best way to proceed is to find indirect opportunities...through car dealerships, pizza places, and other venues which typically fund amatuer athletics. (Our team was sponsored by Hyper Cow milk this year) It isn't going to come from the snowboard industry until she cracks a magazine cover...... How would a person go about contacting a local business about this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timinor Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 Be careful getting so hung up on sponsorship that it becomes the focus of the sport. I have seen boarders spend so much time and money chasing sponsors that one has to ask: Wouldn't your time be better spent getting a summer job? I've also seen (at the USASA nationals) young racers with downhill suits, hard boots and racing boards getting their **tts kicked by boarders on freestyle boards and soft boots. Those freestylers aren't even that serious about racing...they're just darn good all-around boarders who know how to board and don't let the lack of sponsorship and race equipment hold them back. I've also seen skiers and boarders fall into a mindset: If I could get sponsored, I could be really good. That, of course, morphs into: Poor me, poor me. I'm a victim. So 'n so has a sponsor and that's why she beats me. I can't succeed because no one will sponsor me. I don't mean to be harsh and I'm not suggesting that any of this applies to you or your daughter. It is just that everytime I hear the topic of sponsorship come up, I think of all I have seen go on over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfell Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 Getting sponsors for alpine snowboarding is a long and frustrating process. Most of the people I know who are at the top of the racing world in the U.S. and Canada pay for most of their equipment, such as boards, bindings, and boots. Our sport is too small for companies to give out too many free boards to racers. I had the best luck trying to get a clothing, goggle, shop, and engery bar (such as Clif Bar) sponsor. The key is to get a contract with a photo incentive, where if you are on T.V. or in any sort of print media with the company logo on it you will get paid depending on how widespread the media is. Personally I found it's better to just have a go at the sport on my own dime. I found that with all the time putting together resumes, sponsorship proposals, tracking down T.V. clips and newspaper articles, and sumitting these, and all the other stuff that comes along with trying to get sponsors it really isn't worth my time and frustration. My advise is to not make this a job for your daughter yet, let her win some events and it will come naturally. I don't want to burt your bubble, it's great that you support what your daughter is doing and want her to suceed, but like I said most of the top racers have to support themselves, 16th in state level high school isn't a hook that will attract many industry sponsors. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timinor Posted March 30, 2004 Report Share Posted March 30, 2004 Everytime a good friend of mine heard someone talk about looking for sponsors, he would burst their bubble by saying, "You know what? Good snowboarders are a dime a dozen...and they break." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr. sandman Posted April 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 timinor & philfell, thanks for the candid replies. no offense taken - this is the info we were looking for. fortunately, she has a great head on her shoulders, and knows that having fun riding is what really matters. in the mean time we'll keep surfing the threads and waiting for the next round of snowfall. hope to hike Mt. Lassen and ride the East slope and possibly do Red Banks on Mt. Shasta this summer. Ride on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timinor Posted April 4, 2004 Report Share Posted April 4, 2004 Sandman, Every once in a while I drift away from what you said, "having fun riding is what really matters," and I'm quickly reminded to get back to having fun...and my rewards are enormous. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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