III. Sponsorships and Where to Look For Them
So lets say that you think you're finally ready to become a sponsored team, where do you start looking and how do you go about doing this?
Before you start to talk to people be sure that you have a good amount of tournament and other experience to bring to the table. By this I mean that you need to be able to come up with an impressive list of tournaments you've played in, placed in and won. These don't always have to be national for the sponsors I'm going to talk about first.
My suggestion would be to start with local fields and companies, using your connections and networking I told you about earlier. Here is what local companies are going to be looking for: Local wins and popularity. In my area there are two major stores, Warped Sportz and Drop Zone. These companies are going to want their products represented and shown to the most important crowd of all, their clientel. Say you win every local tournament you play and even in the higher levels. When you show up to fields people recognize your team and how can a company benefit from this? Oh, lets say you have their sticker on the side of all your hoppers, I wonder where they're going to go next. Establish a popular fan basis in your area and reap all the benefits. By the same token if people in your area don't like you, good luck to you sir! There's nothing I can do for you.
But where else? Honestly, that's up to you to send out the e-mails to different companies of your choosing. But be warned, do NOT go to them with either a badly written resume or LIES. DO NOT LIE! There was a local team that tried to lie to our sponsors saying that they were a sister team of ours and they are now on the Do-Not-Sponsor Blacklist. Yes, one does exist. There will be an upcoming section, not written by myself, that will give more detail on how to build and write a resume.
The best advice I can give is just play your game, get along with people and keep working on being the best. Life is still a popularity contest and this carries over to paintball as well. I wouldn't worry about sponsorships until much later, if at all. Concentrate on your playing and the rest will come, I promise, even if it takes a while. Just refer to section II about making life cheaper for you and you'll do fine
IV. Resume' Building (By: Not Your Psycho)
You are going to need a resume. It is very important and is made to set a first impression. Sponsorships are something that is earned. You usually must be a well delovoped team, and then apply for a sponsorship. Most likely, you'll get a discount. Type up a nice resume.
Most companies usually ask for something along the lines of...
1) Team name, home location and captain information.
2) Teams general history.
3) Names, ages and playing years of each team member.
4) Color printed photographs of each team member. (Can be scanned and printed)
5) Teams practice schedule and home playing location.
6) Future tournament event schedule.
7) Current head to toe equipment list of each team member.
8) Teams past tournament achievements.
9) Teams current sponsors.
10) Team goals for the future.
(this has been sent to all companys. They know it is provided as an example, so don't copy)
ETK’s motto has always been “forever progressing” and that is what we always seem to do. Starting out about a year ago, we have sadly watch team mates come on, improve our team and had to move, however, our roster is never complete until we have looked at every paintballer and figured out new ways to make ETK complete. With this year just beginning we like to think that our future is also just beginning and we hope to make it the best it can be. And I know with all the wonderful support we are receiving, and with your help, we can begin the climb to the top.
As the tournament scene is now growing, we hope the amount of tournaments close to us also is. We are already planning on going to XTPL, Bunkerfest, and we will be D3 in PSP. For the next few months, we will only be playing local tournaments and getting our roster straightened out. We practice at Xdrenalin Zone (
http://www.xdrenalinzone.com), which allows us to practice with some amazing talent such as Smart Parts Factory Team, Texas Storm, Diablo Storm, Richard and Gerald from Philly Americans and so forth. Xdrenalin Zone is currently looking into hosting a tournament series, which we are also looking into. We are also sponsored by the store, GatSplat, (
http://www.gatsplat.com) and are also looking into a sponsorship with Paintball Dynamics, as it is right down the road from Xdrenalin Zone. Our other sponsors do include Redz, Bawls Energy Drink, Countypaintball.com, *******************; Mac Dev’s, Paintball Kingdom and we are currently working with NXe, NPS, and JT.
We are looking into getting Empire Contact pants and jerseys, and getting custom printing put onto it. We would love to add your logo and promote you in the most positive way possible. We would not only wear these during tournaments, but also practices and other gatherings. We will strive to get the word out about NPS, and the great quality and selection they offer. I believe that player to player suggestions gets you farther in the big paintballing world, and ETK hopes we can help you reach the top. We will proudly hang your banner, and would love to be called one of National Paintball Supply’s sponsored team, wither we place, or even put up a great fight.
We now have 7 members on Equipped to Kill including – (Name, Age, Apparel, Marker, Paint)
David , 16
Dye jersey and pants, 2005 Lasoya, Empire Ramp
Kerr , 16
Empire Grind jersey and pants, 2004 Bob Long Alias, Diablo Heat
Amy , 16
Dye jersey and pants, 2005 Ego, Diablo Nightmare
John , 14
JT jersey and pants, 2005 Shocker, Empire Ramp
Robert , 17
Dye jersey and pants, Angel 05 Speed, Empire Ramp
June , 14
Proto jersey and pants, 2003 Matrix LED, Diablo Crucifire
Eric , 30
Evil pants and a Proto jersey, Ego, PMI Premium
We don’t ask for anything but support, and support is what we hope to give back, if not more. Anything else just helps us on our way to further success. As we go and further better the sport of paintball, we hope we can call ourselves an NPS sponsored team, and hope you would be proud to do the same. With our maturity, playing skills, high hopes, closeness as a team, and organization, we see no other way then up for the future, and we hope you are right there with us. ETK would like to thank you for taking time to look at this resume, and hopefully hear back from you, if not later to meet in person, and show the support you can only hear about.
Once again,
Thank you -
David , Kerr , Amy , John , Robert , Eric , and June
A.k.a ETK
Team ETK Records as of 2005
Extreme Paintball of Tyler 3 man - 2nd
956 Rookie Tournament 5-Man - 3rd
FALL FRENZY 5 Man - Finals
Fun on the Run KMT - 1st
Website:
http://www.freewebs.com/team_etk/
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