I get a lot of requests for assistance from riders to help them travel to overseas races. I thought it would be a good idea to outline some of the things I look at (and from talking to Hop what he looks at too).
1. Are you a regular customer of my business or do you generally get your gear somewhere else in Oz or overseas?
2. Are you known to me? Have you introduced yourself when we have attended the same races, or at least spoken to me on the phone, rather than just by pm or e-mail?
3. If you are going to try to convince me that sponsoring you will increase my sales, please explain how? Are you a reasonably high ranking rider? Are you well known and respected in the community? How will you promote my business (just having my business name on your leathers isn't necessarily promotion unless you are high profile - Jacko, Steve D, Leeso, etc and liable to be interviewed by the Australian media).
What a lot of riders don't appear to realise is that there are very few, if any, fully sponsored riders in our sports. Most have jobs and have to save to travel to races. Many live on noodles for months to scrimp and save for racing. Many of the really top riders get gear from their sponsors, but the sponsor doesn't pay them to skate and very few are given assistance to travel.
I hope this will explain to crew why I haven't been able to help some of them and also why I have helped others.
Personally I would love to be able to help everyone who wants to travel, including myself, but I would rather put my limited funds into local events (MOTH, BtB, Newtons) that a lot of riders of all levels of ability can enjoy and that by running these events we can foster a stronger Australian scene that overseas riders will want to travel to.
Cheers
Ado
Tags: sponsorship
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