Sliding Sports Struggle in Poor Economy
Sports are commonly seen as recession proof, but the struggling economy has proven much more challenging for the smaller Olympic sports such as bobsled, skeleton and luge.
With the economy dropping steeper than the new Whistler track, Olympic sports are feeling the pressure to perform at higher levels on reduced budgets. Sadly, sliding athletes are often more focused on how they are going to pay their way instead of just focusing on performing. High performance is becoming synonymous with high cost, making it more difficult for athletes without deep pockets to compete.
This past season the U.S Men’s Bobsled Team was only able to fund 2 World Cup Teams for half the year while the third team was to be self funded. After the winter break only one team was sent to finish the final two European World Cup races leaving two back home to train for World Championships. Athletes just want to compete, and currently money is getting in the way.
Ironically enough, USOC chief executive Jim Scherr has been quoted claiming that “they [the athletes] will be the last group to be affected.”
Even USBSF CEO Darrin Steele says, “We all saw the recession coming. It was a big concern for us. We rely on sponsorship dollars. That’s how we pay for everything we do.”
It appears that Mr. Scherr has not been around the sliding sports or he would have realized that many athletes are barely to be able to pay luggage fees, rental cars, and lodging leaving very little (if any at all) for a coach. Athletes should also have an issue with the Darrin Steele’s blaming budget constraints on a lack of sponsorship dollars even though he foresaw the economic downturn.
If there was concern about a future lack of funding, then other options should have been investigated rather than just relying on conventional sponsorships to “pay for everything”. Now I don’t pretend to know everything that Darrin Steele and the USBSF has done, nor is it my goal to bash him on how things running things, but it is apparent that what has been done is not working. My point is just that in this economy we need to look at changing the status quo and find ways outside of conventional sponsorships to fund these sports.
The economy isn’t just squeezing individual sports either – it has forced both the Vancouver and London Organizing Committees to revamp budgets for hosting the next two Olympic games. On January 21 the VOC completely redid their budget because of difficulty over finding sponsorships. The London organizing committee has already been forced to deal with a £40m loss because of the bankruptcy of major sponsor Nortel. Although not a primary concern of the athletes, it still appears that the focus of competition and sportsmanship of the Olympics is being overshadowed by the bill associated with it.
I mentioned above that the status quo needed to be changed – so how can we change the way these sports are funded?
- Look for smaller sponsorships – Some companies just can’t justify spending a lot of money in this economy, but that is no reason to reject their offer. Even a smaller deal could help fund athlete lodging, food or even transportation during the season.
- Ask for services rather than money – This may be just finding a metal shop that will do a certain amount of welding for free. Or perhaps organizing a deal with an airline such that all overweight fees are waived. This can take very little out of the pocket of the company, but would be a great help to the athletes.
- Produce a product – Host corporate events, give motivational speeches, etc. Perhaps even a sexy speed suit calendar?
- Be creative – Conventional sponsorships may not be the way to go. The British Olympic Team is a great example by using its national lottery to fund a the teams.
See Secrets to Surviving the Recession for more ideas.
Now I know many of the examples given were for the U.S but this is a global problem and it isn’t just the U.S team that is struggling. Also many of the above suggestions would require support not just from the individual sports but also from the national olympic committees. Rather than waiting for the poor economy to pass like thunderstorm we all need to become more proactive and work towards new ways of funding our sports.
Sources:
The Big Question: Is the economic downturn going to blight the 2012 London Olympics?
A recession of Olympic proportions
Organizers revise 2010 Olympics budget in face of economic slowdown
For U.S.O.C., Sponsorships Become a Challenge
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"They [the athletes] will be the last group to be affected." ~ Jim Scherr USOC chief executive