Mountain Biking - Race sponsorship resume help.

Ok guy(and gals), i havent posted on the bike forums for a few month (due to lots of school work) and would like to say hey to yall!

My question is about race sponsorship resumes, a local bike shop is doing a application thing this year for sponsorships and on the aplication is askes for a "race resume" and why i want to race for them.

What are some good things to put on my resume and things to say on this aplication. I have a little background in XC racing from all last spring and summer (Did about 8 races and took 2nd overall in my class) aswell as knowing how the bike bizz works (our parents use to own a ski and bike shop for 12 years but had to close a few years back) but we never sponsored people and i dont know how this works exactly.

any ideas or opinions are welcome!

Thanks!
-Jonathan

How about taping a $100 bill to the app :)

haha, yeah right! :eek:

Try and get a copy of your results from the sanctioning body of the races you did.

Give them a reason why they should sponsor you, what can YOU do for their business? Do you attend riding clinics for kids/beginners? Do you help with trail maintnance? Are you part of a club or organization that helps promote cycling? what are your future goals as a racer/rider?

How can you bring in more business to their shop (biggest factor)? You may never win a race but if some one is going to sponsor you you need to be able to advertise thier products/services well and be professional about it.

You may also want to find out what you will get in return. Will they pay your travel expenses, discounted or free parts/service? will they offer tech support at the races?

Some times having a sponsor wont help you at all. case in point, a local shop wanted to sponsor me but all they offerd was discounted parts and service. Well, the guys at the shop give me a better deal the the racers and I do all my own service. So I did not benifit at all.

:beer:

If they are wanting a race resume, find links of your race results and make copies and attach them to the resume.

On the resume itself, list each race you entered and state your finishing position. Also, give a brief explanation as to why you did well. Here's a critical thing. Even list the races where you finished in a crappy position, give reasons for that too. (i.e., mechanical, flu,...etc.)

I would also give a brief description of your training regimine. This will give them a good indication of your commitment.

As DBD stated, explain how you will benefit them!

I was talking to a guy who sponsored a team. His captain, showed up to an organized group ride with an old jersey from his previous team! BAD IDEA! Don't do anything like that!

I'd offer to have a large sticker or decal to be placed on the back window of my vehicle. That way, I'm advertising for the shop when driving around town, at the trail head and when you're at the races.

Offer to work a booth or expo tent at the local or close races if the shop decides to set one up. When you're not racing, you'll be "working" the booth!

L8R

Good points! I will use many of them... Thanks!