As the Canadian snowboard team was finishing its best season on the World Cup circuit, the bills and the bad news were rolling in like an avalanche.
Sponsors for a team with big Olympic potential still hadn't emerged and high profile star Alexa Loo, whose parents had already put about $50,000 into her career, had gone public saying she'd run up thousands more in travel bills on her credit card because the Canadian snowboard federation was cash-strapped. She'd even missed the world finals because she couldn't afford to travel any more. Then, despite the snowboarders' success, one of the team's top snowboard cross coaches, Rene Brunner, was let go.
This week, there was a break in the clouds.
On Friday, as the national championships kickied off, LG Electronics stepped forward as the new major sponsor for the Canadian Snowboard Federation and in a branding deal worth millions of dollars, LG will become to title sponsor for the entire International Snowboard Federation World Cup circuit next season.
The good news came on the same week that Canadian business law firm Lang Michener LLP, adopted the Canadian snowboard team in a three-year sponsorship deal. In addition to its sponsorship of the team, Lang Michener will be a sponsor of Canadian snowboarding events including a role at the World Cup at Cypress Mountain.
"This is a very important and very exciting development for our sport," said Tom McIllfaterick, Chief Executive Officer of the CSF.
"Snowboarding is a really great pick for us," said Andrew Barrett, vice-president of marketing for LG Canada. He did not reveal the value of the Canadian support package.
"Canada won the first Olympic medal in the sport. It's a sport on the rise and the Canadian team has just had its best year in history."
The Canadian team led the standings in World Cup competition this season, winning a total of 24 medals. In addition, North Vancouver's Maëlle Ricker won the Crystal Globe as the World Cup champion in snowboardcross.
Ricker and Drew Neilson, a 2006-07 World Cup champion also from North Vancouver, are fighting to get Brunner reinstated and were seeking a metting with officials of Own the Podium this week, the $110-million program designed to get more athletes bon the Winter Olympic podium with better coaching, technology and sport science.Both Ricker and Neilson have high potential and don't want support structures undone this close to the Games
The Austrian Brunner has directed the snowboard cross success since 2005.
LG, the fifth largest mobile phone seller in the world, has taken over the snowboarding World Cup title sponsor's position from Nokia, one of its top rivals in the cell phone market. LG's global marketing arm has supported various sports events that fit the company's image as a challenger in the electronics market Barrett said.
"It was a good fit. We know a lot about rising up quickly, and our brand is about finding the harmony between style and technology," he added.
As a first demonstration of support to the Canadian team, LG Canada put up a $10,000 prize purse for the top performing Canadians at this weekend's Canadian Snowboard Nationals presented by Telus at Cypress Mountain.
Although LG is not an official Olympic sponsor, identifying with the sport, the top team and Canada's World Cup event at Cypress Mountain the year before the Vancouver Games gives the company some Olympic cachet. The International Ski Federation's (FIS) Snowboard World Cup series travels to 22 hills in 15 countries and is broadcast in 80 countries.
Current name sponsor of the Cypress Mountain Canadian championships, TELUS, put up $50,000 in performances bonuses for Canadian athletes, said Steve Podborski, the former Crazy Canuck World Cup skier who is now executive director of TELUS Sport Marketing.
"We're happy these cash awards will help our country's elite snowboard athletes focus on winning rather than fundraising as they continue driving for the podium."
Athletes earned performance awards for alpine races, snowboard cross and halfpipe by a number of routes, including podium finishes, first wins and first top-eight breakthroughs.
On the payout list were Ricker; Jasey-Jay Anderson of Mont Tremblant, Que.; Drew Neilson of North Vancouver; Rob Fagan of Cranbrook, B.C.; Tom Velisek of Squamish, B.C.; Dominique Maltais of Montreal; Derek Wintermans of Vancouver; Mike Robertson of Canmore, Alta.; Ryan Hickey of North Bay, Ont.; Matt Morison of Burketon, Ont.; Brad Martin of Ancaster, Ont.; Jeff Batchelor of Oakville, Ont.; Crispin Lipscomb of Whistler, B.C.; Sarah Conrad of Halifax; Neil Connolly of Whistler; and Ryan Rausch of Vancouver.
In Pictures:
