Dirtybird Racing 2011 Sponsorship Proposal 1
Table of Contents Introduction... 2 Background... 3 Aims and Objectives... 4 Schedule of Events... 5 Benefits to Sponsor... 6 Sponsors Obligation... 8 Contact Information... 8 2
Introduction Dear Santa Cruz Natural My name is Joseph Clemenzi, an aspiring bicycle racer. The intent of this Sponsorship Proposal is to educate a potential sponsor with the needed knowledge about myself and my intentions this racing season in order to justify aid for my bike racing team Dirtybird Racing. My experience and participation within and around the cycling community has been exponentially increasing ever since I swung my leg over a bike eighteen years ago. I have worked in a bike shop for three years, raced throughout the Eastern US for the last four years and ran the UMass Bicycle Racing Team for the last two years. The result is the formation of my own one-man bike racing team, Dirtybird Racing. This season I will be focusing on one discipline of mountain bike racing: cross-country mountain bike racing. In a general definition: Cross-country Mountain Bike Racing: the endurance aspect of mountain bike racing which can span in time anywhere in between forty-five minutes to twenty-four hours and span in length anywhere in between twenty miles to one hundred and fifty miles. I have lived in Massachusetts for all of my life but decided to move to Crested Butte, Colorado, a small, very active cycling community, with the intention of furthering my mountain biking career. I have made a dramatic life change in order to pursue a passion. With the right knowledge, the right training and the right resources, I know I can be a competitive force within the bicycle racing community this season. I am contacting you because I need resources in order to be successful. Please take the time to read this sponsorship proposal which will give you an understanding of what I am looking for and what I will give in return. Thank you for your time! Sincerely, Joseph Paul Clemenzi 2
Brief Background Name: Joseph Clemenzi MTB Racing Discipline: Cross Country Number of Years Racing: Four -Cross Country: since 2010 -Downhill: 2006-2010 -Road: 2009-2010 Age: 23 Hometown: Beverly, MA Current Residence: Crested Butte, CO Education: B.S. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst Occupation as of 3/20/2011: -Lift Operations (Crested Butte Mountain Resort) -Busser (The Avalanche Bar and Grill) 3
Aims and Objectives For the 2011 racing season I have multiple goals which I am trying to accomplish. They are all possible with help. Integration My first and foremost objective is to integrate myself within my local cycling community. I had a strong name in New England, but in my new home, Colorado, I am unknown. I want to become an active member within the Western United States cycling community simply because it is my passion. Integration will allow me to give back to the sport that has given me so much. Health Proper nutrition, proper training and rest - that is the key. Living a healthy lifestyle is the determining factor between an amateur athlete and a champion. With help from a coach, a nutritionist and a comfortable bed, I am confident in my abilities to progress to a new personal best this season. My health objective for this season include being able to gain five-ten lbs of lean muscle, maintaining a low body fat percentage and being able to sustain a healthy immune system throughout the season. Results Although racing is about having a good ol fashioned time, progression is something I want to see. As long as I can keep progressing, I will be as happy as a clam. It is my goal to podium several times and win at least three Cat 1 XC races. Event Attendance It will be difficult, but I want to be able to attend at least ten events this racing season: four XC races in New England, six Mountain State Cup Series races and multiple other local and or relevant races. 4
Schedule of Events April 17, 2011 Rt. 66 #1 Fat Tire Classic Farmington, CT April 23, 2011 Rt. 66 #2 Massanoit Lung Opener East Taunton, MA April 30, 2011 UMBRC Orchard Hill Assault! Amherst, MA May 15, 2011 Rt. 66 #3 Bikers Edge Winsted Woods Race Winsted, CT June 3-5, 2011 Mountain States Cup #4 Chile Challenge Angel Fire, NM June 24-25, 2011 Mountain States Cup #5 Wildflower Rush Crested Butte, CO July 8-10, 2011 Mountain States Cup #6 Full Tilt in Telluride Mountain Village, CO July 22-24, 2011 Mountain States Cup #7 Keystone Classic Keystone, CO August 5-7, 2011 Mountain States Cup #8 Blast the Mass Snowmass Village, CO September 2-6, 2011 Mountain States Cup #9 Sol Survivor Granby, CO The beginning of the season I will be racing in the East Coast. I am going to participate in the first 3 races of a series called the Rt. 66 XC Mountain Bike Race Series. It is a popular New England series that usually pulls in between two hundred t0 three hundred cross-country racers per event. In the middle of the Rt. 66 Mountain Bike Series, I will race at the UMBRC Orchard Assault which is a cross-country race that is put on by my former cycling team, the University of Massachusetts Bike Racing Club. This race is held in the middle of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst campus during the last weekend of the school year. It attracts many spectators and on average two hundred racers. I will then move back over to Colorado to race in the last six Mountain States Cup races. These races are fairly large as they consist of multiple disciplines of mountain bike racing (downhill, xc, stxc, sd, and 4x) over a course of two or so days. These races attract a fairly large spectator group as well as a plethora of racers from all over the Western part of the United States. 5
Benefits to Sponsor The purpose of this section is to explain what kind of representative I will be and what kind of exposure I will provide for said sponsor. Representation I took my time choosing companies that I share ideals with in order to make myself a proper, genuine and positive representative. The following quote is from your website: By offering high-quality organic products to consumers, the Santa Cruz Organic brand continually raises awareness for the health and economic benefits of organic agriculture while strengthening the market for organic fruit worldwide. (www.scojuice.com/about_us) I have been raised to be a health food fanatic by two loving hippies, my parents. I am telling you this because I take my personal health seriously, especially being an endurance athlete. I treat my body with care, eating the best foods I can. I am a vegetarian that is a close step away from being a vegan, which means I need quality protein and fat substitutes. Nut butters are a major part of my diet for this reason. As far as representation goes, the first thing that would run through my mind, if I was a sponsoring company, is trust. A representative is the face: they are on the front line giving off an essence of the personality associated with said sponsoring company. I want to delve into some of my own experiences in order to convey why I am a trustworthy, exemplary representative. I have been a part of the UMass Crew Team and the president of the UMass Bicycle Racing Team for the last two years. These two extracurricular activities aided in developing a strong work ethic, modest personality and exceptional social skills. This can be seen by the welfare of the UMass Cycling Team: within two years the active team grew by thirty percent, our sponsors grew by twenty-five percent and our budget grew by five thousand percent. In addition, I worked for Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colorado during the last six months running their biggest lift. I was a major part of their highest customer satisfaction award in the ski resort industry this year. I was in an extremely social environment, full time, which taught me to ease my nerves in any circumstance. In conclusion I would like to add that cyclists are active and healthy people. Sharing knowledge and experiences about common interests is welcome and accepted within the cycling community. In light of our overlapping interests and my social capabilities, I believe that communicating your brand and services to fellow cyclists, and beyond, can be accomplished with upmost ease. Helping to promote a company from my previous home is a huge benefit, too! 6
Exposure/Advertising via social media: I have created three means of connection with the public: Blog: dbracing.wordpress.com - this blog was made in order to give anyone and everyone a chance to follow my racing season. A report of every event I attend along with training updates will be posted when applicable. This blog also will serve as a homepage for Dirtybird Racing. As seen on the right, it will supply information about my team, racing photos, racing schedule and sponsors. Positive mentions of sponsors will be posted in blogs frequently. Twitter: dirtybirdracing - Twitter will be used when the blog is not accessible. There is a widget on the side of the dbracing blog called Dirtybird Tweets that lists the five most recent tweets. Twitter is a good means of expressing short comments in any situation. Sponsors will also get positive mentions via tweets. Facebook: Dirtybird Racing - I have created a facebook webpage for Dirtybird Racing. It will provide brief updates and links to blogposts along with recent twitter posts. This is yet one more way to get more of my friends and family to tell their friends and family about my team which will result in more exposure for my team and sponsors. Exposure/Advertising via physical objects: Along with three means of social media, stickers and other means of graphics of sponsor logos will be placed on my helmet and travel vehicle at the preference and quantity of said sponsor. 7
Sponsors Obligation The following is a list of obligations that I am expecting from said sponsor. This list is not by any means final. I am very excited to be working with new companies and am willing to negotiate new terms. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns. Product: two twelve pack cases of any nut butter, a variety if possible sample of a variety of nut butter to give away at races stickers and/or other means of advertising for my personal bicycle frame, helmet and vehicle stickers and/or other means of advertising to give away at races one lg Santa Cruz Natural shirt, or any style, to wear while attending every event Podium Reward: Cash reward for placing well at events (placing well equals more advertising for said sponsor): 3 rd place: $15.00 2 nd place: $30.00 1 st place: $40.00 Podium Rewards can be dealt with in two different manners: 1) they can be tallied and submitted to said sponsor at the end of the season via an excel spreadsheet 2) they can be submitted to said sponsor after every event where qualifies Contact Information 8
Joseph Clemenzi Address: PO Box 2479 Crested Butte, CO 81224 Phone: 617-640-3963 Email: jclemenzi@yahoo.com dirtyb.racing@gmail.com Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing back from you! 9