Be nice to your parents.

I'm not being snarky with this...

Really work the search feature - there have been some really solid threads about sponsorship. Lots of opinions out there, but some common threads.

My personal suggestion would be to think about what value, if any, you provide them. Our team has been very fortunate with sponsors - in some cases we provide direct benefit (getting customers to a bike shop for example) and in other cases people sponsor us because they like our vision of growing the sport in our community or simply even because they have a good relationship with one of us.

Be ready to explain who you are, what you want to do and why you want to do it.

But most of all, read those other threads!

---

Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

I would say... win a lot.

LOL! Been there done that!

If I were to do it all over again, I would make a name for myself by winning and dominating at the regional level, with a national race or three thrown in there for good measure of performance against everyone else. Obtaining equipment sponsorship is relatively easy - contact enough manufacturers and you are bound to get "at cost" or "free". Find a little known manufacturer and offer to become their sponsored athlete and territory sales rep (this may help provide income). Securing income to eat, live and travel is a challenge, which is why the Bank of Mom and Dad might not be such a bad idea if they are willing to float you for 6-18 months. You are going to find out quickly that finding sponsors is going to eat up a lot of your training time, so good luck.

What are you looking for in terms of sponsorship? Free gear? Stipends? Reimbursements?
Where are you located?

If I were in your shoes, I would reach out to as many RADCs as I could and volunteer to attend as many HPT Skills Camps and other events you can. This would put you in front of hundreds of athletes and their parents. You can talk about your own personal development and the struggles of turning pro at such an early age. It could be a great networking opportunity. You never know if a parent is in the crowd that can help.

Tough place to be in and is one of the reasons our draft legal men are not strong. USAT needs to be giving out money to athletes 18 to 20 years old coming out of their Junior Program otherwise there is no where to go for these Junior Men. I have seen too many Junior Men walk away from the sport at this age just due to lack of funding. It is necessary for the Junior Men to turn pro around the age of 18 just to give them a chance to earn points on the continental cup level but there needs to be more funding for them to help them get on their feet.

there's been some good advice here. i'd agree with the others that there's sponsorship and then there's sponsorship. if you're racing hard, getting media, turning in decent results . . . you should at least be able to get pro deals (cost, or even free) on your key gear. do everything you can to cultivate relationships with local reps and be shameless about leaning on whatever inside connections you've got.

it's fairly rare, even beyond the "low end," to find sponsors who just write you cheques. for that reason it can sometimes be better value to find a quasi-sposorship in the form of a friendly job. for instance, could work a 2-3 days/week at a running shop or biking shop? if they understand you're training hard and are willing to be flexible about your racing/training schedule, in exchange for having the cachet of a "pro" on the sales floor, that's a great deal all around. plus, it gets you access to sales reps, pro deals, and so on.

i used to (vaguely) know - and even trained with, once or twice - a guy who raced tri at the olympics. during the lead-up, he had a good job with a really friendly employer who allowed to work flexibly part-time, often from home, and just generally accomodated his training and racing schedule. he got lots of positive press and everyone looked good. honestly, i think that was a way better deal for him (a solid paycheque, benefits, and something to do after retiring from tri) than a trunk full of free helmets, insoles, or gels.

-mike

---

____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

Being fast (or even pro) is less than half the battle. Be a shining example of a human being, focus on the value you can bring to potential sponsors, be articulate, etc etc etc.

---

Eliot
blog thing - strava thing