PPWTF

Many - possibly even most - retired top athletes/swimmers etc - even rugby players - are successful businessmen and women. But you're right, make sure there is a strong business element involved in sports admin. Ok, so a charitable trust, headed up by ex atheltes, coaching staff and professional administrators* (as Sean mentioned) specifically to produce Olympians. (the template used by UKon> cycling) http://www.fasttrackagency.com/ - where is the SA equivalent? * The already established teams here in South Africa benefit directly, as they are able to champion South African talent on a bigger stage, giving South African athletes exposure to international performance levels, as Barloworld originally did. Domestically there is an established 'production line' which is central to professional development of talent - a feeder route from which to drive the long term talent development (sheltering developing talent is a vital roll in actually successfully nurturing it), in conjunction with the already established teams. Socially these athletes are representatives of a programme which gives to the community. Sponsors are able to directly benefit through all the usual means http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/08/24/ccolymp124.xml "The tier one sponsors have many reasons for doing it - the team's success is just a fantastic added bonus," said Jim Glover, managing director at sports marketing agency Fast Track, whose clients include Land Rover, Camelot and Heineken. As well as BA and Lloyds, Team GB's sponsors include Adidas, B&Q, BP, BT, EDF Energy and Michelob Ultra. None are likely to have joined up with the aim of driving sales in the short term. Glover picks out two types of companies that can particularly benefit from association with the Olympics: those looking to set themselves apart from close competitors that fulfil similar functions - Lloyds fits this category - and those facing staff issues - employees at B&Q and BA have been at the sharp end of the economic downturn in recent months. "For a challenger brand the Olympics provides a fantastic point of difference," said Glover. "On the other hand, for a company having a tough time, the Olympics can act as a unifier." He adds that companies work out the cost they face from losing staff during difficult times, such as mergers or economic downturns, and judge it against the cost of the sponsorship and its likely effect. Setting itself apart from its peers was a key motivation for Lloyds, Hancock said. "It was particularly about making a bold statement of belief in itself as a bank. There has been a perception of the bank as a relatively conservative organisation," she said, suggesting the sponsorship was being used to shake up that image. PPWTF2008-08-25 03:55:11

http://www.fasttrackagency.com/ - Ex Olympic athletes doing exactly as you've just mentioned Were is the SA equivalent? Please point me in the right direction. PPWTF2008-08-25 03:26:04

Sean, do you think that there is enough interest and collective will power to form a charitable organization that would have; - one Aim; producing South African Olympic cyclists -serviced by many goals; those already targeted by many community outreach programmes? As a registered charity it would able to receive Lottery funding, and any sponsor knows that funds raised are driven directly into the sport and social programmes required to reach the Aim, unlike the current administrative black hole.... PPWTF2008-08-25 03:23:57

This is kinda what I was thinking of...... http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/48/18446.html http://www.biz-community.com/Article/196/48/2574.html feel free to point me in the direction of good weblinks, source info etc

Ok , after my little brain started doing back flips about corporate sponsorship of a velodrome?.. https://www.bikehub.co.za/forum_posts.asp?TID=31129&PN=4 .....I was wondering if anyone had some idea of the value of the sponsorship received for the more major cycling teams and events in SA. Ball park figures / guestimates are all welcome as at themoment things are not quite adding up as I'd thought I know how to do the basic math on what the equivalent 'media buy'would cost Vs exposure received by association with the team / event (plus new market / consumer exposure lead value), but that still isn?t providing the kinda data I was expecting ? so I figured I?d as those in the know; hubbers

Learn how to ride your bike off a 3,000 foot drop and live to tell about it Answer: Use a parachute. That's exactly what Stefan Oberlander did (you knew there had to be a catch, right?). It's called Base-jumping and Oberlander was the first man to successfully land a base-jump on a mountain bike. Just in case you think that sounds easy, I'll let Stefan explain: Keeping the bike and landing on it changes everything. If you keep it, you enter a totally different level of commitment as you must attach the bike to you; with all the possibilities for entanglements of your gear and only 1 parachute quite a step. So far, everybody who has tried Base-jumping on a bike dropped it due to the complexity and the dangers involved in keeping the bike during freefall, deployment and landing. old news as it happened in July of 2006, however, I don't remember it getting much coverage at that time. http://www.goclipless.com/2007/02/base_jump_mtb.html

WSD is often under played in LBS simply because they don't carry any.... Reality is there is a fair degree of anatomical difference (aside from the obvious ) Shorter torso = shorter reach shorter reach = shorter top tube and / or stem This has a major impact on the way the bike rides, and feels to the rider. Whilst this won't apply to every female rider (remember; one size fits nobody) major manufacturers are well aware of it, hence Trek and others do offer WSD. As for which bike, Silverback, Giant and Merida will give you most bang for buck in the price range. The closer you are to the top of the budget, the more upgradeable the bikes frame will be, as and when all the other bits start wearing out... What every you do, remember - 'buy cheap, buy twice!' Buy smart, look for a frame that is worth upgrading components on as and when and you'll 'save' in the longer term

Even worse news...FIAT owns them all!! Bar Bughatti I think!! Fiat Group owns them..... but does not build them, not to say some minor electrical components don't end up doing the rounds of the group.. but you won't find Ferrari or Maserati bits in a Fiat or Alfa (Ironically both the exotics have become better built and more reliable under Fiat ownership.....)

Funny how manufacturers wanna give us the impression they are just that; "manufacturers", that the product is totally their work from drawing board, through manufacturing process, all the way to completed product rolling out the factory doors, yet when push comes to shove they're really nothing more than design houses, putting there name on product manufactured through outsourcing.... yet charging boutique prices. To make a comparison, it would be like Ferrari doing the design work and then contracting out the build work to fiat............! Makes me laugh. In all fairness it's industry wide, so this isn't an anti Cervelo rant PPWTF2008-08-21 00:12:37

Wolfie, you da man gonna be like counting the days 'till father Christmas arrives........... damn, did I just say that out loud

"True Italian class" "Built by Lightweight in Germany"...... when 1 + 1 does not = 2 no offense intended, just couldn't resist a giggle at the mistyness that old bike manufacturers can conjure up with a little marketing based on their 'heritage'..............

Agreed Sean, there needs to be a 'living link' from a current Olympian to the future generations, and despite the rather bleak results for the SA team so far, cycling is actually pretty rosy. Burry and Cherise are exactly what is needed to bring in sponsors and attract the public. The coaching talent is clearly here as well; how else do we turn out talent, despite no central direction or support? Couple that with the number of major new cycling events taking place here in SA (Intaka Tech Worlds View Challenge, UCI junior worlds, BMX et al) and this is sponsor heaven, a marketing managers dream. I know none of the back story, but on the face of it Joe Freil setting up training bible SA is as strong an indicator that the potential is here as you could possibly get. If I am in the business of making money, no politics involved, and am looking to expand my coaching business, I can be damn sure I'm gonna think very carefully about where I expand. The guy opened shop here.... There is so so much potential, and so many people are already doing great work. To me, take the next step, in my mind I visualize what would be produced with a central drive, funding and direction; a pooling of talent for a single purpose......... I don't mean to piss anyone off with the constant stream of 'British' links; it's simply where my base of knowledge is at..... http://www.norwichunion.com/sponsorship/gr-on-camp-with-kelly.htm "The Camp itself, funded by Norwich Union and held at Kelly's base in Potchefstroom near Johannesburg, took place in November 2004 and gave the girls the opportunity of experiencing what it is like to be a full time athlete and train at a world renowned venue at altitude in South Africa. From masterclasses from other Olympic athletes, to tough training schedules and lectures, Kelly became the girls' mentor." Reading back through this post, there is a pattern or sequence of events that you can see in other nations. Sport runs itself (pre LA '84) - moderately successful, without major sponsorship or administrative direction (isolated success down to sheer will and talent, outside of the college or high school setups and scholarships, almost 'by accident not by design') Athletics goes 'Pro' / European sport embraces American marketing First generation sponsorship deals are largely for specific athletes / sports events (not the bodies supposedly directing sport) Government steps in to national team affairs - mayhem ensues Sporting professionals (retired athletes, unpaid professional coaches - successful despite no previous formal support outside of the coaching group, Administrators with elite sporting backgrounds) step in to give focused direction (effectively removing Government from the equation - except for funding), real direction is give - measurable and sustainable success steadily follows There comes a point when 'government' actually has to listen to those driving the success (fingers crossed) apologies all round for the long post - just thinking out loud - I hope it doesn't come across as self important or OTT. I'm not saying I have answers, just observations made

Porky, almost all of the above is as it was (is) in the UK. Non of it is a total barrier to Olympic success. For sure I see a lot of tough questions, but I also see a lot of answer to those questions. If the government can't sort themselves out then it will always fall to those with the drive and vision to go it alone. There's at least 1 Hubber who's already actively at work providing answers for those who want a slice of the elite sporting pie (I'm sure there's many more; I say 1 as he's already post comment here). I firmly believe that we have everything we need to turn out successful Olympians, right here in South Africa. Sean mentioned that the reason for a total lack of Olympic sponsorship was down to the National Government Administrative body failing to do it's job. Any Hubbers out there with major corporate connections? We should be beating a path to the door of companies / corporations interested in 'Sponsorship' of a velodrome and equipment, funding for an elite group of coaches and athletes. What sponsor wouldn't want to cut out the middle man and deal direct with an elite coaching group / performance director / private organization driven by performance goals and outcomes..... (that oh so popular mass participation sport rowing managed to get covering costs sponsorship in the UK even before the Lottery came along) I'm probably hopelessly over ambitious and naive in assuming some or all of the above, but I'm a 'glass half full' kinda guy (most of the time any way) PPWTF2008-08-18 11:54:51

totally agree chunky and sean - corporate sponsorship, cycling specific deal, cut off the interference from outside, build an elite environment for elite athletes - I'd have said 10 years, Dav Brailsford has said he's surprised by the rapid rate of fruition of the UK project. Thing to note is that there is already a generation of younger athletes emerging from withing the system, not just a few big names at the top of the tree, as in Chris Boardmans' day.... PPWTF2008-08-17 11:35:55

What I wanna know is how we fix this over the coming 8 to 12 years. Is it possible to put something together that will roll outside of a central organization, for example if cycling raised its own funding. Thing is, the knowledge of how this should work, and ideas of who should be heading things up are there. If the finance was there, in the form of corporate sponsorship, would it be possible, or is there simply to much red tape?.? The thing is the British, of all people, have shown that you can turn total failure into sporting success, despite being practically allergic to anything even remotely 'elite', and the beauty of their model is that it has been the 'small' minority sports - rowing and cycling, which have taken care of business themselves, to staggeringly successful outcomes. So much so that now track and field looks like the poor relation, with even swimming turning a major corner. PPWTF2008-08-17 10:34:24

funny thing about the threat to expel cycling from the Olympics, never have I heard anyone utter the same sentence about weight lifting, which must account for more positive tests per major sporting event, than any other sport on the planet. Not one person has suggested that the 100metres be dropped because of rampant doping amongst sprinters either.... funny that. Guess it's got nothing to do with the media profile of cycling Vs weightlifting, with it's mass market appeal and regular features in global media.......! Mainstream media driven scapegoat anyone... PPWTF2008-08-15 02:28:23

never mind the 'in disguise' raleigh/gaint/cervelo.... that looks like a Hammer gel packet sticking out from the left shirt sleeve... how long was the TT course again?

a rowing 'defector' who turns out to be a bloody amazing cyclist.... prime example of talent relocation. She'd already won medals in rowing, hated the way the sport was run, and was pointed in the direction of UK cycling's elite coaching staff..... hovering for sporting talent in field of gold and diamonds was the analogy i red somewhere..... PPWTF2008-08-13 01:56:25

Awesome news! Endura stuff rocks; the product of choice and tested to destruction by London cycle couriers, now in South Africa. Will be on the look out for it for sure. Thanks for the heads up Mampara

Order form completed and emailed back just now when do we get the bill? PPWTF2008-08-11 05:37:41

the way ahead for mountain biking. Only time Lycra is needed is for racing. Will keep any eye out for these as my UK purchased Endura baggies are starting to take strain PPWTF2008-08-11 05:00:23

back to a previous post.... Ian Thorpe, failed dope test.... Google it! Funny how quiet that announcement was.... They got problems just like any other sport..... PPWTF2008-08-11 03:36:52

Foe Fighter, I'd agree with most of that - except the very last part - "the cheats and their scientists are so far ahead of the testers" When old bigmouth let the cat outta the bag at the TdF - that testers are working in tandem with pharmaceutical companies to 'mark' new product for detection purposes...... we'll, now we got a game on. Couple that with the FBI investigation in to Conti et al, and we can see that this is finally moving beyond the boundaries of sporting governing bodies, and into mainstream, where law and order is a real issue, and offenses are not simply met with a 2 year ban, but more likely to result in 'go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect R200....' - dealing in drugs has consequences, whether they're disco biscuits or PEDs PPWTF2008-08-11 03:30:46

whitesox, I am not saying that 'all' improvements are coming form Doping - I am simply saying that many close to the sport are strongly suspicious of some of the performances being turned in, and the attributing of these performances to the suits. Funny thing is, I grew up in a house with a 'professional' athlete for a father, back in the day when no money was made, except what you found in the generously given new spikes from international manufacturers of note. Now I love sport because of him - all sport. Unfortunately he looks back on a career knowing that many of those whom he competed against were 'assisted'. He's never talked about it directly, but you can see the anger. No words need to be said. Hence my dilemma - I love sport, but will not have my eyes closed to the dark side of professional competition.

not physically hiding something, but that the performance benefits attributed to the suit may be being used a smoke screen for some of the significant performances seen in recent times........