Here's what I did:
Let's face it, triathlon 'ain't cheap. From all the gear, race entry fee's, associated travel costs, time spent training, there are a lot of personal and financial sacrifices we make to compete in this sport. When I first decided to move to triathlon from distance running earlier this year, I realized that it was going to be an expensive proposition. After finishing 3rd in my age group in my very first race, I decided to add a coach to my yearly triathlon budget. The wife freaked a little

I decided that one way I could help defer some of these costs would be to get some sponsorship. Now, I'm no pro and I didn't see Gatorade tossing any coin at a 37 year old age grouper. But, I do work for a very large corporation, UBS Wealth Management. I went to my office manager and told him about my particpation in triathlon. I explained that I was going to try and not only compete, but place consistantly in my AG, gave him my race schedule for the next year, and most importantly, showed him the demographics of the average triathalete. For a company like mine, triatheletes are the ultimate demographic sweet spot

I made hime a deal. I would put our corporate logo on my race and training gear giving our firm and local branch some very positive exposure at races, hopefully with me making the AG podium with some regularity, and in return the firm would reimburse me for up to $1000/year in race fee's and associated costs. He agreed and has even shown an interest in having UBS participate in some of the pre-race Expo's.

If you work for a corporation with any meaningful advertising budget, you should consider how your participation in triathlon could help them get to their customers. I found my company very willing to give this a try and I think the very positive perception of triathlon could be a very valuable association for many companies. If you don't work for a large corporation, sometimes small local business also interested in positive name recognition might be willing to pay for a race in return for the exposure. You don't need to be winning races, either. Simply your participation in such an incredible effort can make companies it up and take notice.

I just wanted to share this story and maybe get some minds thinking. You may be very suprised at how powerful a marketing tool triathlon can be even for non-sport related companies. You may be able to use that leverage your mutual advantage.

Should we be shorting the market ? I have a crazy prediction that the market drops 30%. lol

Only if I REALLY sucked! :D

http://www.active.com/sponsorship/sponsorship_applications.cfm?sponsor=07SM_application

1/3/07 deadline for snickers marathon bar team. good luck!

Our tri group got big enough that we approached a bike store for some sponsorship. Now we get 20% off on everything including sale items, parts, and labor. Our large group purchase of team jerseys was also nicely discounted. And if you bribe the mechanics with beer they are especially good to you. Another large tri group I'm in costs $40 annually and gets basically the same discounts. In addition though we get discounts on entry fees , massages, and coaching. Every little bit helps in this sport.

I'm the online editor for the delaware edition of transitiontimes.com - I know isn't that f$%^5ing impressive but I still count as the liberal media, kinda sorta maybe.

well I used to be with Tristate multisport but it appears they have gone belly up. I'm deciding between Guy's and High Road Cycles. I actually live in philly suburbsand got the gig cause they were kinda desperate. who do you ride with?