Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category
Posted on April 8, 2011 - by admin
Web interview with Tracy Evans
This is a interview I recently did with three time Olympian Tracy Evans. She is owner of AthleteSource Casting, but does quite some nonprofit organizational work in sports in Utah, Rwanda and Malawi (Africa).
What fascinated me about Tracy’s story is that she is living a “3 dimensional life” in sports:
- as an athlete
- as a professional
- as a volunteer
Management is part of all these dimensions, and therefore I approached Tracy for this interview.
In the first part of the webinterview, Tracy talks about her company AthleteSource Casting, and the organization of the Golden Games. She also gives some tips to consider, when organizing a fundraising event.
The second part of the web interview starts with the promo video of the project Kids Play International, and than continues with Tracy elaborating on this project.
Do you have anything to share? Please leave your comments in the fields at the bottom of this page.
Posted on March 23, 2011 - by admin
One of the reasons I am in sports
Last year I had the opportunity to be part of an international group of Managers in Sport, participating in a higher level of sports management course. It was one of those moments that I realized that the potential of sports is so high, that it opens doors. Doors which normally are closed based on religious, cultural and political reasons.
During a dinner I sat next to Maria from Costa Rica and Joel from Eritrea. It wasn’t until Joel showed me a military pass stating that he is a soldier, that I got involved in their conversation. I learned that five years after Eritrea got independent, and the war began against Ethiopia, every man in Eritrea was obliged to join the army. Joel told us he was one of the soldiers, but he didn’t answer Maria’s question whether he also killed people.
Maria spoke very negative about the war, and clearly stated to don’t understand why people still own weapons or even start wars. She described her peaceful situation back home and told us that her country doesn’t even have an army.
I expected that Joel would leave the conversation for what it was, but he surprised me by asking Maria with a smile the following question: “How would you feel if your neighbor country started a war, for the simple fact to get access to the harbor and the ocean?”
He explained us the motives behind the war, and got Maria really thinking. She said later that in principle she is against any war, but that she understands now why Joel has fought for his country. We continued talking about sports, and how Eritrea tries to use sport to give the youth some alternative opportunities for the future.
I later realized that if it wasn’t for sports, we wouldn’t have had that dinner and interacted about this topic. I felt fortunate to have been there and especially grateful to be working in sports. I have different reasons that I choose for sports, like helping athletes, and being on a daily basis involved in a healthy and positive environment.
But the secondary reasons were not so obvious when I made this choice. The humanitarian effects of sports, connecting cultures and social development are aspects that make it even more challenging and interesting.
Are you in sports? If so, please share your motives with all of us.
Posted on March 18, 2011 - by admin
To multi task….or not?
This is just a short video, where I show you a simple test to analyze whether multi tasking on the job, at home, or in sports is as productive as we think it is.
Posted on March 15, 2011 - by admin
The backbone of a Sponsorship Proposal
Let’s say your sports organization is planning to have a major competition, and you’re in the marketing commission, assigned with the specific tasks of finding suitable sponsors for your event. It seems like a piece of cake – find potential sponsors; call them up; give a sales pitch; and you’re done. Problem is… each company you called asked you for a sponsorship proposal. You sit there, brainstorming on a plan but have no idea how it should look like.
The good thing about this is that you’re not alone. I bet that the majority of administrators assigned to recruit sponsors on a voluntary basis never really thought of the process involved in getting sponsors. The reason for this is that sponsorship in sports has evolved from being a philantropical gesture to a big (and serious) business.
You can decide to outsource the development of a sponsorship proposal to a professional, or in cases that your sports organization doesn’t have such resources, make your own sponsorship plan. There is no perfect framework, but the blueprint below targets the two main targets that every sponsorship proposal should aim at – avoiding rejection and securing a meeting with potential sponsors.
What your sponsorship proposal should have
Before writing your proposal plan, key points such as the overall budget, the type and number of sponsors should be established. These points are important considerations since they will be part of your ‘physical pitch’ in order to lure your potential sponsors
Executive Summary
The executive summary should be located at the beginning of the sponsorship proposal. This will provide your target sponsor a brief but informative description about the event your organization will be holding. The opportunities, benefits and gains should be included as well as the deadline for the sponsor’s decision and their investment. Keep this summary simple and easy to understand.
Introduction
Like every introduction, provide the necessary information your sponsor/s would want to know. This includes details about your organization and the upcoming sports event. Basically provide a background that will let the sponsor know the nature of the organization; the reason for holding a major event; any relevant and important that help in creating a positive response from sponsor prospects.
Description Sports event
In the introduction, though the event is mentioned, it is not broken down detail by detail. It is rather in this section of your sponsorship proposal that you give a comprehensive insight to every detail the upcoming sports event has. Such points may include the day, date and time; the venue of the event; the number of athletes/ teams, what should be achieved in the event and the reason behind each.
Any information about similar and/or past events that the organization has had can be included. This provides the sponsor prospects to see the pattern of how the events went and if it would be ideal for them to support it.
Financial Sponsoring
Simply put, this area of the proposal is a break down of what you want your sponsor to support. This is your organization’s request for the sponsor’s resources which may be their service, cash, prizes, product/s, promotions/advertising, or expertise. It is vital to include a price in this part.
Taking account of the actual and realistic costs will give the sponsor the idea that your organization is ready to make such a commitment. Also make sure that the benefits you propose to offer the sponsor prospect/s corresponds to the amount or level of support your organization is asking from them.
Value in Kind Sponsorship
In some cases you are not only looking for financial support, but for value-in-kind sponsorship. Instead of money, the sponsor could sponsor you with t-shirts, rental cars, beverages, computers to use for free. It is important to be very creative, as this VIK sponsorship could be of great value!
Sponsor Gains/Benefits
This part of the sponsorship plan should be an outline of all benefits and opportunities that the sponsors will gain from supporting the event. Benefits specified should involve tangible and intangible gains.
Quantifying the benefits is also encouraged to give the sponsors a bracket of measurement that they can refer to when considering their decision. Remember to always be flexible and ask the potential sponsor whether they have their any other ideas of getting exposure with the event.
Sponsor Decision Deadline
A deadline of about two weeks lets the sponsor prospect see that your organization is willing to wait a span of time that is reasonable for sponsor consideration. At the same time, it is also a message that sends out a time constraint so that the prospects can give it the proper attention.
This area should be clearly stated so that a timeline can be established. Also so that other scheduled activities, such as setting up a meeting and further presentation, can be followed through on time.
Appendice/Reference
As with every proposal, this part should be a page of reference or sources that were used in stating facts and statistics that support the proposal. This area also includes relevant tables, charts, budget lists, background sources and the like that should help in the enhancement of the sponsorship proposal.
You may understand that one article cannot cover the topic of finding sponsors in sports. I will conclude with some tips, that I will elaborate on in future articles:
- Always over perform
- Don’t be afraid to refuse a sponsor
- Be professional
- Protect your sponsors
- Involve your athletes
- ……leave your tip in the comments below………
Posted on February 23, 2011 - by admin
We have to think outside of our box
Whenever you look at sports, you may notice an innovation in the use of materials, rules, gadgets and much more. The goal behind these developments is to become better and getting ahead of the competition.
A simple technique used in sports, which I wasn’t aware of is for example putting tipex on the nails of the catcher in baseball. By applying this it is easier for the pitcher to see the signals on a distance of 18 meter (60ft). In the Tour de France of 2009 there was a big discussion whether the cyclists were allowed to have radio contact with their team managers. The International Cycling Federation (UCI) introduced a ban on radio communication, but the riders protested and the ban was soon canceled.
We have seen the referees in soccer for some years already with their headsets on the fields, and in tennis they now also analyze video images during the play, whenever a referees decision is doubted. And the list goes on and on….
But can we apply similar innovation in sport management, can we think outside the box? I am convinced that we can !
Meetings
There are different ways to call for, participate in and take minutes of meetings. Have you for example already experienced meetings by skype?
Sponsors
The approach of sponsors could also be more innovative. Interview some of your (young) athletes, and make a video of them. Track the marketing manager of the potential sponsor on facebook, and send them a link to the video. I bet you will be the first one approaching them this way.
You can share your video on www.dropshots.com, www.youtube.com or of course www.facebook.com
Website & Social media
A website is more than just a medium to communicate ‘one-way’. There are simple and free tools, to interact with your viewers by giving them the opportunity to participate in surveys, give comments and ideas. It doesn’t matter how big your sports organization is, just be sure that you don’t miss the boat on implementing social media!
Setup your website (blog) with functionality for free at www.wordpress.com (I actually use wordpress for this website)
Evaluation
Whenever you have a competition, workshop, trainingscamp or a fundraiser, it is utmost important to evaluate how it went. Your participants will feel more involved, and you will know what to improve next time. A simple interview could also be done online, by setting up a survey and letting your athletes, parents and volunteers fill it in. There is no need anymore, to print evaluation forms, get them back, and then spend hours to count all of the responses, and calculate the percentages. You’ll have your report with a click on the button.
Why don’t you try www.surveymonkey.com or www.surveygizmo.com
Communication
Communication is very important whenever you are part of the management of a sports organization. I think that is the area where we can be most innovative. You can make the first steps by analyzing what instruments and media you are using for your communication. Which ones are the most effective, and which one have the lowest costs for you as a organization?
I have made this diagram, so you can also evaluate whether your communication is successful or not.
I know that there are a lot of ways of making the management of a sports organization innovative, fun and modern. If you have any suggestions, please share them with us as a comment.
Posted on January 6, 2011 - by Carole
Managing Sporting Organisations in Jamaica
Sporting organizations are faced with challenges even in good economic times and even more so now in really harsher economic climate. So it is important for leaders and managers to ensure that the structure they lead is always in a position to adjust to changes.
Even in the more developed countries, the structure of sporting organisations barely allows them to meet the challenges of being a professional outfit. However there are best practices which are available, making it easier for a good act to be followed.
Take the Jamaican situation for example, we have a scenario where there are major and minor sports. These are so defined because of crowd support. So, football, cricket, track & field, netball and basketball are the major ones; while volleyball, hockey, swimming are considered minor.
My issue this time though, is how the organisations are managed, if at all.
Here are some issues:
- The organisations are managed by technical personnel, teachers and sport lovers primarily
- These persons may exercise passionate over rational decisions
- They take these associations personal
- Some of them do not want to let go
- What then happens, they fail to recognize the value sport is to
- National development
- Community development
- Creating opportunities for economic development
So my recommendation for these leaders to undergo training in the areas of
a. Management
b. Communication skills
c. Public speaking
d. Protocol
I am always appalled at the behaviour of sporting leaders who use the media to showboat, as opposed to doing the work. Sport in Jamaica deserves better than the current leaders we have. And while I chide the private sector to put their monies where their mouths are, I want the federations to continue to work on being attractive.
So here are some tips:
- Maintain close relationship with your international federation (not sucking up to them)
- Learn how to plan ahead
- Consult with experts
- Use the technological tools available
- Have manners at all times
- Do the research necessary to create inclusivity
- Ensure the environment is friendly for paid employees, officials and volunteers
- From time to time, retreat, so new ideas can come forward
- Don’t be a one-person show…the same way you rise, it may be harder when you fall!
- Look for funding outside of the traditional areas
- Listen!
You are only a good leader if you acknowledge shortcomings, take remedial steps and apply recommendations to make the situation better.
By Carole Beckford, publicist of Usain Bolt
Posted on January 4, 2011 - by Remco
SPORT INDUSTRY - robust growth predicted up to 2013
Price Waterhouse Coopers in a research mid 2010, predicted that the sport industry will grow on average of 3.8 per cent each year to 2013. The global sport industry at the time was valued at US$114 billion and is expected to reach US $133 billion. Julie Clark, UK head of sport, Price Waterhouse Coopers suggested that “an underlying trend of steady spending is emerging.”
Gate receipts will expand from $43.2 billion in 2009 to $49 billion in 2013 and remain the largest component of the market.
Sponsorship will be the fastest-growing sector of the industry, increasing value from $29.4 billion in 2009 to $35.2 billion in 2013; while media rights will grow from $23.1 billion in 2009 to $26.7 billion four years later.
The PWC article is published here
Source: Carole Beckford (Publicist of Usain Bolt)
Posted on December 21, 2010 - by Brian
We must be the change we want to see
There are a couple things we need to keep foremost in our minds when we talk, think or discuss sport—it could be sport in your country or international sport.
What we see on TV and read in the media and internet is 90 per cent professional sport. Professional sport is or should never be considered a reflection of sport on the whole. Nowhere in the world will grassroots sport develop without dedicated volunteers. Amateur sport remains a reality and will not survive without a base of volunteers willing to commit their skill, knowledge, time, energy and money. There are individuals who have a passion, love and desire to give back to their country, society and community through sport. In the past those individuals were plentiful in Trinidad & Tobago (T&T). As we celebrate the season of goodwill, and for Christians the birth of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, a Christmas wish and prayer would be for a huge influx of gift wrapped volunteers.
The concept of professionalisation and commercialisation of sport cannot be taken out of context.
Taking solutions from other countries without a clear appreciation and understanding of the realities, strengths and weaknesses inherent and apparent without first putting in place the foundation and infrastructure that supports professional and commercial sport is akin to a death wish. At this time Trinidad & Tobago lacks the culture, facilities and market orientation required to sustainably support a commercial sport sector. This is not to say that sport cannot be efficiently and effectively managed and administrated. It can and should be. The mistake that must not be made is adopting a commercial mindset without the enabling infrastructure and systems. There is the potential to build a vibrant sport business—in particular sport tourism—sector.
However, there are few sports that can meet commercial prerequisites. Sport administrators must therefore objectively look at the realities of their respective sports. Third world and developing countries require a dedicated Government policy that will facilitate sport and professional sport. The challenge is that many third world governments seem to orient to the view that facilitating sport means controlling sport, and the decision making and election process within sport. A problematic situation when the tendency of the international governing bodies is to frown upon government interference. It therefore requires a mature, sincere and honest approach to the issue. Don’t for one second sit on your arm chair and assume that it is simple. It is not! A critical ingredient for viable and sustainable professional sport is television and media. There is not one media house in Trinidad & Tobago fully committed to sport. The sport department and journalists are usually not well resourced.
Without television revenue opportunities, professional sport will be a bust. Professional sport requires spectators. T&T supports events not sport. The people who support sport are those who play sport. T&T is not the UK or USA where attending supporting sport is part of the cultural and national DNA. Any move to a professional sport environment must make sense. Otherwise nonsense will result and hard lessons will be learned. The victims as always will be the athletes and the youth. Christmas is the season of goodwill and an opportunity for those who believe that negativity and fighting personal battles are the only way to function in life, to adopt a new way of thinking and behaving. We live in a beautiful country with wonderful citizens. This Christmas let us dedicate ourselves to advocate for what we want and to be the change we want to see. Let us not allow the minority and the miscreants to spoil our beautiful country and quality of life. Remember keep Christ in Christmas. Let moderation be your watchword. There is a morning after.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
The author Brian Lewis is the honorary secretary general of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee