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RBC kicks in for snowboard team

Canadian Snowboard Federation still seeking long-term corporate sponsorship Canada has had a leg up in the world of competitive snowboarding as the sport has evolved.

Canadian Snowboard Federation still seeking long-term corporate sponsorship

Canada has had a leg up in the world of competitive snowboarding as the sport has evolved. By the time snowboarding was included in the Olympics and the FIS started to run regular World Cup competitions, Canada already boasted a strong core of athletes, allowing us to be competitive with the rest of the world at every event.

Staying on top will be harder, as more countries and patriotic corporations start to support snowboarding and snowboarders, taking the sport from the fringe to the mainstream. European countries with strong alpine and freestyle programs are already actively identifying and training the next generation of Olympic snowboarders.

To stay in the game, the Canadian Snowboard Federation (CSF) knows it has to help foster the creation of a progression in Canada, and to increase funding for the sport and athletes if Canada wants to be as competitive in 10 years as we are today.

A large piece of the puzzle fell into place last week with the announcement that the RBC Financial Group had committed to a nine-year, $1.3 million sponsorship of the national team through 2012.

In addition to helping the athletes, part of the funding will go towards the development of a grassroots program to encourage the sport of snowboarding at the local and regional level.

"What we’re trying to do is to follow the path of other successful amateur sports in Canada by increasing the number of corporation sponsorships for teams and events," said Tom McIllfaterick, the CSF’s chief executive officer.

"We’re still a young organization in a lot of ways, so we’re doing this for the first time, and it’s taking a while to develop those partnerships," he added.

McIllfaterick says the challenge is finding corporate sponsors who are willing to commit to long-term support, rather than supporting the CSF during the Olympic cycle. What makes that difficult is the fact that the CSF is still figuring things out, and needs to create the types of programs that sponsors can get behind.

The team isn’t that hard to sell, he says. What’s difficult is ensuring that sponsors get some value for their investment.

"Our product is great," said McIllfaterick. "Snowboarding is probably the most exciting winter sport around, it’s in the Olympics, our athletes are on the podium, and millions of Canadians out there are doing it. Most of them are in that demographic group that sponsors are looking for.

"The challenge we have is making sure we deliver on the commitments we make to our sponsors," he said.

The RBC sponsorship was particularly positive because the people at RBC recognized that the CSF is still developing programs at the regional, provincial and national level to support athletes, and still committed to the team.

"What we need for the long-term health of the sport is an entry level program, a way to bring younger kids into the sport, teach them the skills they need, and teach them the safety, and help develop and support them until they can represent Canada on the world stage," said McIllfaterick.

"We don’t have that yet. We have designed it, and we’re starting to test it in different places with a pilot project next year, but we don’t have anything yet we could show the sponsors."

Once that program, and others, have been more fully developed, the CSF will be in a better position to actively recruit sponsorships. The Catch-22 is that the CSF won’t be able to develop those programs without some sponsorship in the first place.

In that sense, last year’s sponsorship by Honda and the recent RBC decision will help the CSF land more sponsors, says McIllfaterick.

The CSF currently operates with a budget of $1.1 million. McIllfaterick would like to see that figure nearly double to $2 million. With government sources limited by a number of factors, most of that growth will have to come from the corporate sector he says.

"Like most amateur sports, we’re funded by a mix of corporate sponsorships, agencies like Sport Canada, the Canadian Olympic Association and CODA (Canadian Olympic Development Agency), and by member fees, event fees from holding competitions and things like that," said McIllfaterick.

The national snowboard team is also in the unusual position of receiving funding for programs from the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games through programs like 2010 LegaciesNow.

"Usually the Olympic organizing committee focuses just on the event, so we’re pretty lucky that our committee has shown an interest in helping amateur sport organizations as well," said McIllfaterick.

At current funding levels, McIllfaterick says Team Canada won’t be able to continue to compete with other nations whose funding has increased.

"Can we compete? I would say not," he said. "We’ll have a better answer to that question in 2006 (at the Winter Games in Torino).

"We have great athletes, who have trained amongst those who have invented the sport, and we have a good head-start as a result.

"But you compare the support here to European countries with standardized, well-developed sports programs, and a high level of support in sport science, medicine, mental training, training technology, product development and support – when they put the full might of these systems in effect their presence is going to be felt," said McIllfaterick.

"I don’t believe we have the money we need to remain competitive. We have to find that money if we want to give our athletes all the support and resources they need to be the best they can be on the hill."

It takes a long time to develop corporate sponsorship, says McIllfaterick – the CSF was in discussions with RBC for more than a year before the Olympic decision was even made.

The Olympics will make it easier to find long-term sponsors in the future, and McIllfaterick says the CSF is in negotiations with a number of companies that are interested in long-term partnerships with the team.

"I’d say we’re very optimistic that we’re going to be announcing more sponsors in the next few years," he added.

In addition to increasing sponsorship, McIllfaterick is encouraged by recent moves to create summer training facilities for on-snow athletes at the Farnham Glacier near Panorama Mountain Village.

A skiing facility funded for the benefit of Canada’s on-snow athletes could help save the CSF, Alpine Canada Alpin, and the Canadian Freestyle Ski Team money in the future because athletes will no longer need to travel to the Southern Hemisphere and Europe to train in the off-season. That money could be redirected back into the snowboard program, says McIllfaterick.

The RBC sponsorship boosts overall funding for the national team by about 10 per cent annually, to more than $1.2 million a year through 2012. The money will be used to help athletes with travel and training costs, and to hire more coaches, physiotherapists and sport psychologists.

A portion of the money will go to help fund a pilot project to develop young athletes.