9/5/98
Sponsorship for Speedskaters
How does a speedskater find a sponsor? What does a potential sponsor look for in an athlete? Where does a company go to find an athlete to sponsor? Many athletes are in the dark when it comes to answering these questions. Inline speedskaters can learn from the Ice speedskaters. A number of Ice speedskaters use an agency to represent them. The main agency is
Q-Sports International.
While ice-skaters have the advantage that theirs is a full Olympic sport it is only a matter of time until inline achieves the same status. So while an inline speedskater may have trouble getting an established agent to represent them now the basic techniques are available for you to represent yourself.
Sponsors are interested in athletes with a positive image and who can command media attention so their products or services can gain exposure to the public. It will be necessary for you to prepare an athlete resume which you can present to potential sponsors. Sample resumes are available for viewing at the Q-Sports International Site. There you can also find sample web-pages for some top skaters and information on creating self-marketing materials such as brochures. The "Athlete Services" page may be especially useful.
Of course sponsors will want to see that you have placed fairly high in your sport and that you have commanded attention through local newspaper articles, TV coverage, progressing to national magazines and network coverage as you reach higher levels of sponsorship. So it is important to begin learning how to get media coverage and keep copies/records so it can be incorporated into your resume. Q-sports has a number of suggestions on how to approach potential sponsors. Good luck. On your mark! Set! Type those resumes!
Click to go back to the INDEX