The Financial fightback has started

The funding crisis that has hit British alpine ski racing as well as all the other winter sport disciplines is well documented. The reticence of business to support world class athletes has been disappointing yet in true pegasus style there are people out in the commercial world that are looking to stem the disappointment and support both the current World Class class racing under the British flag and those working their way up the competitive sporting tree.

Racer Ready is always happy to promote businesses and support that is being given to athletes. Without the support of countless companies that are putting their backing into winter sport, the next generation of athletes would have no chance.

There are people out there opening their contact books up and encouraging business contacts and colleagues to think about supporting the World Cup programme. With television coverage and increased media due to where they are on the competition structure, the World Class programme has the obvious appeal.

Tax incentives are well known for sponsoring sport, feel good factor of seeing your company name on the race suit and knowing that you helped the racers get there is also good. All sponsors want something back for putting their hard earned cash behind a sporting team or person.

Getting a big sponsorship deal is hard work. It takes time to develop. The £1000 project that GB Snowsport ran last autumn to help fund the World Cup programme was positive.

This summer sees a new initiative having started - Alpine100.

Alpine100 is there to help those at any stage in the winter sports lifecycle. People are asked to pay £5 a month and this helps to build a pot of money that athletes (and their parents) can apply online (at www.alpine100.org) for grants. From the elite programmes all the way down to those struggling to fund grassroots programmes, this is what Alpine100 has been designed for.

But it is not just about funding the athletes.

Every person that buys a ticket each month will be put in the draw each month for a chance to win one of four tickets to win cash from the pot that builds up.

You do not need to follow winter sport to take part, you do not need to be able to ski, snowboard or any of the winter sports. All you need is to know that you can win some money and also with your ticket, you are helping the next generation of sports stars.

While the initiative has already attracted support and interest, for this to really make a difference, we need the whole winter sport fraternity to get behind this and get their friends to buy into the project. A £5 ticket can go a long way in getting the next Dave Ryding, the next Charlie Guest and other racers some support. It can also provide you with a good night out should you win one of the lottery tickets!

Alpine100 is an independent funding initiative with a board of directors that are from across the UK. For more information follow them on Instagram at @alpine100_cic or go to the website www.alpine100.org

If you have any questions, drop neil@racer-ready.co.uk an email and he will help.

Here is the full press release about the project

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