Sponsorship

[willpenny 0]

It's amazing how certain companies treat their sponsored athletes. Very few, if any, seem to treat them with the respect and value that they deserve.

All companies give mostly a technical sponsorship, ie gear only, even to multiple world champions. If you ask, you always hear the same reply "its a small industry, there is no money"

Is this the truth, or is this what we've been led to believe for so long and we take it as fact? I'm really starting to wonder, are the big manufacturers all broke?

At the end of the day, a technical sponsorship costs the companies very little, in return for what they receive. There are too many people who are happy to say they are "sponsored" and not enough who speak their mind and demand to be treated professionally. While some sponsors will always ask for more, it always seems to be difficult to get the minimum from them.

I only know one company that actually pays a salary to their athletes, Turbolenza, www.turbolenza.eu.

Why do we accept this? Has anyone even thought about this. Maybe its about time that we unite and set some standards!

I realize most of the details 'behind the scenes' and am not expecting nor asking for a salary from the sponsors, I'm simply rocking the boat and putting this "taboo" on the table, is it ever something that could change?

Whould love to hear some opinions on this.
Blue skies

[diablopilot 2]

From the other side of the industry I'll tell you there IS very little margin to be giving away free gear, or paying for jumps.

In addition look at how little many "sponsored" athletes give back to the sponsors. How does giving a container to a competitor benefit a company? Better to offer that to an instructor who will be working closely with students soon to buy gear?

How about a set of jumpsuits for a team, who will then keep to themselves while training because they have to "focus", and when time comes to send in photos of the suits in action they complain that they have to pay a photographer.

I think anyone who gets a sponsorship in this business should feel lucky, and should be always trying to "earn" it. The gear may not have a monetary cost, but it still must be "paid" for.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[mjosparky 4]

I would think that long before you reached 8,000 jumps you would have figured out that skydiving is not a gold mine for sponsored jumpers. All of skydiving worldwide doesn’t make a pimple in the grand scheme of sports or advertizing. You would have a better chance getting sponsored as a bowler.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[AggieDave 6]

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You would have a better chance getting sponsored as a bowler.

Have you ever heard of Travis Ortimeyer or Derek Poundstone?

They're Strong Man competitors who have said that the sponsorships for their sport were really weak in the US and they're trying to grow the sport to make it better (and make more money). They both pull around $60k a year from sponsorships and contest wins.

Name a skydiver who makes $60k a year from contest wins and sponsorships. Ok, name one that makes $40k. Not supplemented with coaching and instruction, just on the sponsorships and contest wins alone.

The best you can hope for, if you're not apart of the top 25 jumpers in the world, is some discounted or free gear and probably some free t-shirts. Those top 25 jumpers in the sport might score some money for jumps and competition fees paid.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[davelepka 4]

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The best you can hope for, if you're not apart of the top 25 jumpers in the world, is some discounted or free gear and probably some free t-shirts. Those top 25 jumpers in the sport might score some money for jumps and competition fees paid.

To be fair to all the 'hopefulls' out there, the other Dave is painting a grim picture.

Even if you're not in the top 25, you can get gear sponsorship, to a point. You may not get free gear, but you might be able to score a discount, especailly if you buy for the whole team. Four (or maybe five) matching rigs is a nice order for a manufacturer, and if you're willing to have them logo'd, and agree to send in team pics, it's not out of the question to get a discount. You might end up paying the base price, and getting options free, but of course, you have to cough up the base price.

You can also get discounted jumps from your home DZ (sometimes). First you have to be a 'regular' at the DZ, and not a regular because you're a staff member being paid to be there, but a regular who pays for jumps on a regular basis. Beyond that, you might have to agree to a min. number of jumps, and maybe even prepay for that number. So if you're willing to buy 250 slots at once, for 50 team jumps for your 4-way team, you can get a deal. Again, you have to pony up for the 250 slots in advance.

So maybe the other Dave was right. There is no true 'sponsorship' for many in skydiving, but if you look at the point of sponsorship, it's not a surprise. A sponsored athelete has to produce more in additional revenue to the company than the company pays the athelete, or the sponsorship is a waste of their money (and that company will soon be out of business if that's the way they roll). What do skydivers offer in return for their sponsorship? How will the company benefit in the end, in terms of increased revenue or market share based on the sponsorship?

The answers is nothing and no way. Without a commercial platform for skydiving to hawk non-skydiving gear, or some sort of massive increase in the size of the market, the opportunities are just not going to be there. Like I outlined above, if you are willing to put out an extraordianry effort and make a financial commitment yourself, some businesses in the industry will cut you a break and offer a discount in the name of 'giving back'. That discount will never be enough that the company is actually losing money on the deal, but they might be willing to cut their margins on the slim side for a motivated, dedicated, 'good guy' who knows how to talk the talk.

[AggieDave 6]

I'm not one of the top 25 jumpers in the sport, although I am a canopy piloting competitor, but I have scored some discounts on gear. The discounts I've received were due more from my instructing than my competition record (which on the national level has been consistently around the middle of the pack).

So there isn't "no hope" but the dream of making any significant money is just a dream. Even the PDFT has to go out and do a lot of instruction and coaching to make their dollars.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[normiss 845]

Does living in Dubai during sponsorship count???

[airtwardo 7]

If you want to know how the sponsorship biz works talk to Divot, I don't know if he's still doing that job, but at one time he was the guy crunching the numbers regarding who gets how much and why. Different industry but same concept.

One needs to not only bring a whole lot of return to the company for their dollar, but be able to prove it.

Paying someone a living salary to skydive with a certain product is not going to happen anytime soon..the target market is just to small to recoup the 'investment'.

Paying someone to have something like 'Coke' on their canopy, and make a lot of jumps into high profile events reaching a larger target market, makes more sense regarding cost per exposure & and return on 'investment'...Gee that just might work, maybe I should get into demo jumping!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[AggieDave 6]

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Does living in Dubai during sponsorship count???

Those guys are the exception to the norm. Hopefully they will continue to live that life at the Prince's pleasure, since they are doing some great things to promote the sport!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[mjosparky 4]

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The discounts I've received were due more from my instructing than my competition record

Which from a marketing stand point makes better sense. For better or worse an instructor can have a lot of influence with students making their first purchase. That first purchase can create brand loyalty for the rest of their jumping career.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals