Sport sponsorships

Sports are as popular as ever and a great business opportunity for those that want to be involved.

 

Due to the fan base and engagement, sponsoring sporting events/teams/leagues can be a valuable part of a business marketing strategy. By leveraging the built in support of the organization, you can align your business with that organization and capture their market. Building on this sponsorship via additional advertising and promotions can be a valuable way to create new customers, engage current customers and support your community.

 

If you are the sport organization, then getting sponsorships from businesses is a great way to develop partnerships, generate revenue and build community support. Aligning with local businesses allows you to use the business to reach potential fans and offer cross over services to fans through special promotions.

 

The benefits of sport sponsorship are valuable to both sides of the equation and when groups work together, everyone benefits.

 

http://www.thebusinessofsports.com/2016/01/20/tips-for-building-your-brand-through-sports-sponsorships/

Data use in the fitness industry

As industries are using data, analytics, models and aggregating information to better understand their customers, is the fitness industry next?

 

Can data help the fitness industry be more profitable and create better value for their consumers? Many argue yes. By reviewing journals and customer information, managers can make better decisions regarding their client base. We know that the majority of members choose a gym based on the location to their home and work. Knowing this, how can you market to appeal to a greater segment? Or, perhaps you have already done this and now you want to know how close to the club your members live or work. Looking through demographic information can help you understand that question.

 

What other possibilities exist for using data in the fitness centers? Things like equipment use, traffic, packages, and retail sales are all potential items. As are personal metrics like visits, goals, weight lost of performance metrics improved. Having a data base to enter this information and then showing the members how successful they have been is a great way to improve engagement.

 

Utilizing data to make decisions is here to stay. If you haven't thought about what you can look at in your gym, now is the time to start.

 

 

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/apps-software/data-mining-the-health-and-fitness-industry.html?eid=277204494&bid=1283932

Event security

When it comes to security at sports events, it can be hard to gauge how much is too much.

 

Like most things, it is dependent on the situation and the variables involved such as the teams playing, how close the game is, how the officiating is perceived, how many people are there, and alcohol are just a few of these variables. The challenge for administrations is how to keep things safe, fair and inclusive. We want people coming to events, cheering on their team and having a good time. We do not want people that are disrespectful, abusive or causing harm.

 

Knowing the teams and the fans is a good first step. If you know who is attending it is easier to keep things controlled. Having a trained security staff can also help. They don't  have to be police officers, although that helps at certain events. One of the good ones I have seen is to enlist teachers of the school to stand near the student section to keep things under control. This simple gesture sent a strong message that the fans were there to have fun, but it had to be controlled.

 

There are many ideas on maintaining security, and even national conferences dedicated to the subject. The point to remember is that if you are going to an event, you are there to have a good time and be supportive. As for the administrators, they are there to put on a good event and to keep it safe.

 

​http://www.athleticbusiness.com/event-security/controlling-unruly-fans-at-all-levels-of-sports.html?eid=277204494&bid=1282052

NCAA sport survey

As a part of this year's NCAA student survey, they included a section on youth sports participation.

 

It appears that many collegiate athletes were playing their sport competitively by age 9 and by age 12, specialization was starting to occur for some sports. What is interesting is that some athletes wished they had played other sports when they were younger, despite the success they enjoy in their primary sport. Other athletes thought that they played too many games when they participated in youth sports.

 

Many of the D1 athletes expressed expectations placed on them that they would play their sport at an elite level. These expectations may be contributing to their early specialization. 

 

As I discussed in a previous post, early specialization does not in any way guarantee participation at a higher level. For lifelong enjoyment of movement, athletics and fitness it is more beneficial to participate in a variety of sports to learn different motor patterns and appreciate different ways of engaging your mind and body through athletic endeavors. 

 

If you are one of the few elite athletes destined for Collegiate success and beyond, participating in different sports will not change your athletic ability, on the contrary, it may enhance it. Varying your participation can also decrease your risk of suffering certain injuries and lessen the impact of burnout.

 

Even though a lot of current College athletes specialized in their sport at an early age does not mean that the youth of today should follow suit. Let their interest, desire and skill blossom through changing the sport and when they get to high school look at doing more specialization. Even then, taking down time and following a strength program will offer greater yields then continuous sport activity.

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/2016/01/17/ncaa-survey-sheds-light-on-athletes-youth-sports-experience/?utm_source=followingweekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20160118#2d95b21d4683357f71374683

Relative age and injury risk

The ACSM released a study investigating the risk of injury based on their relative age. During sports, athletes are generally grouped together based on age with an arbitrary cutoff. This study looked at whether those 'younger' athletes were more at risk compared to their 'older' peers.

The study assessed how many injuries were sustained and where the athlete fell in the age range. Their results demonstrated that those athletes whose birthdays were closer to the cutoff and thus were younger, chronologically, speaking were more prone to injury.

I think this study is pretty interesting in that it is demonstrating that just because athletes are the same age, does not mean that they are equal. It is important to remember that an athlete's birthday falls in one of twelve months and their may be pretty large physical differences for those that are on opposite ends of that age spectrum.

When working with youth athletes it is important to match them based on maturity and skill in practice. This is not easy to do in games, depending on the sport, we have all seen those enormous size mismatches on opposite ends of the field. But, every effort should be made to allow kids to have fun, learn a new sport and play safe.

I will be looking forward to seeing if they expand on this initial study to ascertain the effects of chronological age in sport on a larger scale and what ramifications it has not only for injury, but skill development, drop out and long term success.

http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/pages/results.aspx?txtkeywords=relative+age

Rams stadium impact

The ongoing discussion of football stadium economic debate continues. On one hand the stadium owners claim that they generate additional revenue to the region and that ticket taxes, or payments per ticket sold, effectively contribute to the local coffers.

On the other hand, there are economists and local officials who say that the numbers do not accurately portray the true state of affairs. They say that the revenue that stadiums are claiming is actually coming from local money that would have stayed in the area anyway. They also argue that while the stadiums bring people in, it can cause traffic issues and local residents to leave.

No matter what side of the fence you are on, it is clear that the large stadiums and accompanying amenities are here to stay. As stadiums continue to expand there will surely be more studies that seek to better understand the financial relationship between stadiums and communities.

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/stadium-arena/some-economists-downplay-impact-of-new-rams-stadium.html?eid=277204494&bid=1278202

Career progression

When I started my career, I wanted to be an athletic trainer in order to help other injured athletes return to their desired level of activity safely. Since I did not have any sports medicine care when I was younger, I struggled with injuries that could have been prevented, detected and properly treated.

Over time, I realized I wanted to be more involved with the business side of health, sports and fitness, and this is what prompted me to get my graduate degree in sport management. Since I never took any business courses in my undergraduate program I thought this would give me the theoretical background I would need in order to be a better business person. I have always liked numbers and investing, but I didn't realize how much I enjoy the concept of business, management and leadership. I have discovered a passion for diving into the financial information of organizations to better understand how they function and to drive decision making.

Since I wanted to progress into administration, I also started talking with those that held positions I was interested in obtaining. During these conversations there emerged some trends.
Quite a few of the executives I met with got their start by having a manager who took an interest in their career and helping them develop the skills they needed to progress. When opportunities arose, these managers then had the chance to step into larger organizational roles.
Another trend I noticed was similar to the first and it was that their manager took a chance on them based on something that they saw inside. While they may have lacked education or experience in the position they were chosen for, their manager hired them anyways and then trained them in how to perform the job and even set up with continuing education opportunities. In this way, they hired the person based on intangible characteristics and developed the experience that they thought they needed to succeed.

From what I gathered, few people make their own way. They tend to perform well in a job with a manger who takes the time to work with them to progress their career. Then, when an opportunity arises they are able to move into a larger role.

I want to share this with you to help you progress your own career. When you are looking for jobs, look for those managers who take an active interest in developing their people, this will fast track your career learning and progression. If you are already in a management role, remember how you got there and don't forget to pay it forward. There are a lot of talented individuals out there just waiting for someone to notice them and take an interest in them so they can achieve great things. Don't miss out on identifying these future stars.