Sponsorship for youth sports is a fairly common thing. But you’re probably used to hearing about it in the context of businesses sponsoring teams.
Tonight, meet an individual athlete seeking sponsorship. She’s a West Seattle 9-year-old who’s in the early stage of a promising gymnastics career, already training long hours every day, and piling up state championships. She’s Finley Young, aka “Finley the Fearless” (that’s her Instagram handle). Finley’s mom Jennifer explains, “Our daughter is desperate to continue with her elite gymnastics career. She is seeking a local sponsor to help her with expenses.” She lists Finley’s achievements on this flyer:
Here’s Finley in action, at a recent meet:
Jennifer explains that the costs of competing at the elite level of gymnastics can be up to $10,000 a year. Travel is the greatest cost; Junior Olympic-level coaching and competition fees are next. Gym fees, regulation leotards, summer training camp – it all adds up. So Finley is seeking sponsorship. She incidentally has a role model in the family – older sister Tessa also has won state and regional championships.
However, their mom says, Tessa isn’t interested in long-term training at the elite level; Finley is.
So what’s in it for a sponsor? For one, it’s tax-deductible, through a booster club. And as with other kinds of youth-sports sponsorship, there’s exposure, and gratitude. Contact info is on Finley’s flyer, above or here (PDF).
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