aw basics

How to get SPONSORSHIP

Are you a talented athlete who needs support to get better? Then read on …

ONE of the most common questions Athletics Weekly receives is from young athletes or their parents who ask, “How can I attract the interest of a sponsor?”

Typically, the athlete is in their teens and has achieved a top 10 national ranking for their event and age group. They may be struggling to fund the cost of new kit and equipment and travelling to competitions. They see other athletes with sponsorship deals and feel they would benefit from some help too.

So, if you think you deserve sponsorship and want to try to find it, then here are some tips from AW.

► Improve

The best advice by far is to run faster, jump higher and throw further. Being ranked No.7 in your event in the UK is great, but why should a sponsor support you when they can support the top six ranked athletes?

Rise to the status of No.1 and you will be in the best possible position when it comes to attracting a sponsor. Win your events and lead the rankings and the kit sponsors usually find you.

And if a sponsor is not immediately forthcoming, do not sulk and complain. Get on with your training and use the fact you haven’t been noticed as a motivational driving force.

► Choose your event carefully

Unfortunately, you are more likely to earn sponsorship if you compete in a so-called glamour event such as sprints or distance running. In short, runners have an advantage over jumpers or throwers, but this is not an impossible hurdle to clear – plenty of big sponsorship deals have been struck over the years in jumps and throws.

► Choose your target

If you cannot wait to get noticed, be proactive and make an effort to get the attention of potential sponsors. But choose carefully. Shoe companies such as Nike and adidas get bombarded with letters, phone calls and emails from young sportspeople and their parents, all desperate to wear a swoosh or three stripes.

More sensible athletes in search of sponsorship will try to contact smaller kit companies. Or better still, do not pin all your hopes on a kit sponsor – there are often good local businesses who enjoy the idea of supporting a talented sportsperson from their area. For example, garage firms have been known to sponsor athletes – providing a car for them to travel to meetings and the athlete’s name is then often written on the side of the car.

► Make a good approach

An overly-long and badly written email will not have great effect. Write a short email or letter and follow it up with a phone call. If you are not a good writer, then ask a friend or relative to help.

► Use your contacts

Think of all your friends and family – is there anyone, or do they know anyone, who might be able to help? You have a much greater chance of finding a sponsor through an existing contact than a ‘cold call’.

► Think what you can offer

Put yourself in the shoes of the sponsor and think what you can offer them. Will your athletics success lead to coverage in the local or national press? Will your athletics kit carry the name of the sponsor? Do you meet hundreds of athletes at training get-togethers and competitions, therefore giving you an opportunity to mention your sponsor? What is the most attractive aspect of your athletics? Describing yourself as a budding 2012 Olympian in the long jump might be more attractive than saying you’re the third-ranked under-17 long jumper in the south of England.

► Making specific requests

The potential sponsor might have more desire to back you if they can see that you need help to get to meetings. Or perhaps, for example, there is one big international event you are aiming for and you need sponsorship to get you there.

► Maintaining the relationship

Once you have attracted your sponsor, do not ignore them. Nurture the relationship and try to pay them back with as many glowing mentions in the press as you can.

Call them to let them know how you are doing. Write to them to say thanks.

Best of luck, but remember that the best way to attract a sponsor is simply to keep on improving. Very few Olympic champions are sponsorless.

► IF you are a newcomer to athletics and have a question for AW Basics, write to jason.henderson@athletics-weekly.co.uk  and we will do our best to gain an appropriate answer from one of the many people associated with the magazine

► NEXT WEEK: “Run Easy” – the new Reebok campaign that emphasises fun

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