I have been busy, since July, filling out various sponsorship applications, looking for sponsors for the 2010 race season. Each company has it's own set of guidelines as to when they accept applications, what type of athletes they are looking to sponsor and what kind of information they require the athlete to send them in the sponsorship proposal.

Bike Diva's Sponsorship Application

I have an 8-10 page sponsorship application that I send to the companies that accept snail mail applications. My sponsorship proposal contains the following information:

1. Cover page - photo of me racing down the Card Sound bridge at the 2009 MS150. The cover page has the date, on the top right corner, and my name and contact information on the bottom of the page.

2. Cover letter - brief letter of introduction, addressed to the appropriate company contact. Contains date, companies name/address, my name/address, 2-3 paragraphs of personal information.

3. Race results - my race results for the past 2-3 years.

4. Tentative race schedule for the next year.

5. Media coverage - magazine/newspaper clippings, links to any websites, etc.

6. Volunteer work - do you do any charity athletic events? I mention my involvement with Team in Training, for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, in this section.

7. Meat and potatoes - what are my expectations from the company that sponsors me? What kind of media/promotional coverage can I provide the company that sponsors me? What other companies sponsor me?

8. Race photos - 2 to 3 pages of photos at various racing events; cycling, running, crossing the finish line, on the awards podium, etc...

Bike Diva's Newest Sponsor

The companies that only accept email applications, or have an online sponsorship application for you to fill out are a little trickier. You can't include that much information in an email or online application.

But I am happy to report, that the Saris Cycling Group has just made me a 2010 Athlete Endorsement offer. Cool beans. Saris Cycling Group makes a terrific line of products including:

• Saris bike racks
• CycleOps indoor spinning bikes
• CycleOps trainers
• CycleOps rollers
• CycleOps power meters

I look forward to working with the Saris Cycling Group for the 2010 race season.

Finding Saris Cycling Group

Visit the Saris Cycling Group website: www.saris.com

Visit the CycleOps website: www.cycleops.com

Visit CycleOps on Twitter: twitter.com/CycleOpsPower

Visit CycleOps on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/CycleOps-Power

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Bike Diva

View Original Post at bikediva.net

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• Cycling, Sports, SportsPLUS, Gear & Equipment, Sponsorship