To some degree Canadian national sports organizations are in competition with one another, even if they're playing different sports. Teams compete against one another for natioanl funding and for sponsorship dollars, which they rely on to bolster government funding. High performance isn't cheap.
But while there will still be competition in the future, there's going to be some more cooperation as well. All seven of Canada's national snow sports organizations — Alpine Canada, Canada Snowboard, Canadian Freestyle Ski Association, Cross Country Canada, Biathlon Canada, Ski Jumping Canada and Nordic Combined Canada — have joined forces to create a new group they're calling the Snow Sports Consortium.
They have hired the TwentyTen Group as their agency to attract more corporate sponsorship that would provide some funding to all of the snow sports teams, while providing sponsors with more exposure.
Now, instead of weighing the cons of supporting one sport over another for exposure, participating sponsors could be featured on seven different sets of team jackets at the same time.
The TwentyTen Group has been credited with securing some $200 million in sponsorship dollars in a three-year period for its clients.
"Alpine Canada is excited to be part of this innovative new approach, which will provide great value to corporate partners," said Max Gartner, president of Alpine Canada. "The Snow Sports Consortium's ability to combine its impressive roster of athletes, and the unique events we host, will offer our partners something that hasn't been available before in winter sports. Most importantly, we hope it will help Canada's snow sports to provide consistent funding for generations to come and enable our young athletes to chase their dreams."
The consortium's partnership with the TwentyTen Group extends through the end of the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, or roughly five years.
