Endorsement pressure on skaters

[KwanIsALegend]

I know skating is an expensive sport and skaters need money. I have so far noticed that Nathan and Ashley both have a few different endorsements already. Nathan has Coco Cola and Ashley has Bridgestone tires among others. These posters and commercials are stopping just short of calling the skater a 2018 Olympian. I am wondering what kind of pressure that puts on a skater.

I remember back in 2014 when Ashley skated a not so great LP and she said in the K & C "There's so much on the line"
I took that to mean her endorsers had already pinned her as a member of the women's Olympic team. The pressure on her to do well must have been through the roof.
I wonder if that pressure can be too much for a skater.
I know they want hype people up for the Olympics and but I wonder if it is really a good idea for the skater?

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I know skating is an expensive sport and skaters need money. I have so far noticed that Nathan and Ashley both have a few different endorsements already. Nathan has Coco Cola and Ashley has Bridgestone tires among others. These posters and commercials are stopping just short of calling the skater a 2018 Olympian. I am wondering what kind of pressure that puts on a skater.

I remember back in 2014 when Ashley skated a not so great LP and she said in the K & C "There's so much on the line"
I took that to mean her endorsers had already pinned her as a member of the women's Olympic team. The pressure on her to do well must have been through the roof.
I wonder if that pressure can be too much for a skater.
I know they want hype people up for the Olympics and but I wonder if it is really a good idea for the skater.

Remember when Samsung were sponsoring some of the Russian skaters during the last Olympic season. Liza Tuktamysheva was one of them, because everybody assumed she was guaranteed to get into the Olympic team for Sochi. But then she didn't have a great season and so didn't get selected for the Olympics team.

Well, she ended up having to go to Sochi during the Olympics anyway to carry out contractual obligations of doing promotional things for Samsung.

At the time, I thought that must have been humiliating for her. Having to go to the Olympics, but not to compete. Just to flog phones.

But, after reading your post, I am starting to think that it was maybe because of all the expectation from her sponsors that she ended up succumbing to the pressure.

I know that most sportspeople need sponsors, as not everybody has the money to fund themselves. But it's not a good thing when these sponsors put pressure on you.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[MGstyle]

Certain coach also adds to the pressure...

 

[Alex D]

I don´t think that it puts a lot of pressure on you as an athlete, if your sponsor calls you an "Olympian". The pressure does come much more from knowing that this is a once in 4 years or maybe once in a lifetime chance. Especially for sports that is very competitive in young age, such as Figure Skating for the Ladies, Gymnastics and the like.

A contract with a sponsor always has a realistic goal that both parties agreed on, but since nobody of us knows the contract of Ashley, we can only speculate if said is a medal at the Olympics or just taking part in it, or if its just a medal at some event during the season, top 10 worlds ... That being said, unless the athlete completely screws up, a sponsor won´t just kick you out, as this can also backfire. If your athlete has millions of followers, then they might no longer buy your product if the athlete is no longer endorsed.
Therefore, a sponsor will look at sales of their product, did they benefit, how often was the sponsor in TV, social media activities and how popular the athlete is in general.

Sharapova was one of the most endorsed players, even though Serena did beat her all the time and won Slams. Your reputation, the look, social media followers... can be much more important than your actual success.

Besides that,

there are round about three tiers of sponsoring. Level 3, which is what happens a lot in kiddie age. You are just given products, like boots, jerseys, rackets, dresses to wear during competition and in practice. This level, does not necessarily come with a contract, or money and is often bound to the club you practice at. You don´t have any special arrangement there, so you could in theory wear Nike in private, even if your sponsored by Adidas.

I suppose this is a common entry level for Russian Novice and Junior skaters, but also the Finnish athletes. Not sure if dresses are included though, but practice jackets surely are.

Level 2, adds outfits that an athlete is supposed to wear while off ice, off court and so on.

(example Kaety https://www.instagram.com/p/BZy0Zf3hYqP/?hl=de&taken-by=kaetkiss )

It is quite often managed by some type of goodie bag that the sponsor sends you once in a while or some type of Voucher, that you can spend in the sponsors shops. If its a clothing line, you usually buy outdoor and indoor clothes, the stuff that your fans will then also buy. You are encouraged to not wear or show other brands, so a contract is the usual thing to do. Just like above, you are usually not offered any money and you must not cover the brand, so always sit straight for photos, put on your jacket at VC´s and the like. (Alina was "encouraged" by Eteri to not cover the sponsor at a recent event)

I would guess that most senior athletes from Russia, USA and Canada fall under this level, while some such as Osmond, Wagner, Chock - Bates, are most likely also in the premium department.

Said premium, is the highest tier you can be in. Madi & Evan have blade and boot sponsors at their Website, Kaety is the Ambassador for Nulo, a company that creates food for pets.

While not exclusively, this is still the one where you talk money and why it´s called premium after all. You can benefit from this in various ways, like for instance the money, or you have access to free accommodation, watches and so on.
The sponsor expects you in return, to use social media as often as possible, but especially when you are at certain locations like the sponsors hotel group, the sponsors practice facility and if you receive goods from the sponsor, you are encouraged to unwrap it on camera or at least post a picture with it, where you thank and name the sponsor.

Here is an example for it, by Kaety.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZPSsQXhjuK/?hl=de&taken-by=kaetkiss

But this is not all. You are also asked to visit VIP´s and accompany them for pictures, chats or autographs (the ice bath has to wait...), you are asked to actively promote the product, like holding a paper at some red carpet event, give interviews where you mention the sponsor, join photo shootings (that can be everywhere, from Qatar to New York) and the like. This premium sponsoring is while very lucrative, also very demanding on an athlete.

Needles to say, the above are just examples and can vary, so don´t kill me if a skater mentioned above has a different level of sponsoring, I don't know their contracts .

Also to note is, that there are indeed kids with premium sponsoring and quite a lot of adults without. That being said, the first contact with sponsoring is usually at early age at your club and then if you stand out, you are contacted for the second tier and then comes the big one. That´s why your reputation is so important these days, but also the bad boy, can have something that sponsors want.

 

[SkaterX]

Certain coach also adds to the pressure...

LOL. Pretty overbearing but it does look immature when the skaters are sitting there hidden behind their giant plushies.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

LOL. Pretty overbearing but it does look immature when the skaters are sitting there hidden behind their giant plushies.

Coaches are also there to make sure skaters conduct themselves with decorum, and some are more serious than the others. Obviously Eteri was the most serious.

Funny enough when Danill put the giant bear over her, I'm like "The sponsors aren't going to like that...", and cue Eteri removing it. The sponsors pay them money, and they have obligations like showing their logo in the K n' C... so while Eteri looks like she's being strict, she actually has her skaters' interest in mind in that moment.

Also, I've watched her reaction a couple times, but it was HILARIOUS watching Sakamoto's coach attempt to contain her genuine, adorable, excited reaction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZjnbY_raRE&t=8m20s