Final Post

Over the course of my blog entries I have truly gained a much more extensive knowledge of the snowboarding sport as a whole and the team. I never realized how important the fans are to the sport and how the snowboarding sub culture has helped shaped the sport and made it grow in popularity. Snowboarding is a growing sport, “By the launch of the more aggressive youth movement by the (International Olympic Committee), snowboarding is now one of the coveted sports, Snowboarding has the staying power.”

The snowboarding team I have learned is appearing all over the media, particularly in snowboarding magazines and print ads. These traditional forms of media are a successful way of generating awareness however it is necessary for the use of social networking sites to further promote the brand and reach a larger audience.

Sponsorship programs of the team are very popular and many companies want to be associated with life style sport and cool, hip image that that the team represents. As well as these aspects the team stands for competitiveness, determination and winners.

I have learned also that although snowboarding is growing in popularity, it will never be a sport such as football. Snowboarding is considered an extreme sport, which many people are afraid to try and some will never try because it is deemed too difficult to learn. With injuries and scandals of the team members definitely sets the team back at a disadvantage, as many people worry that the sport is becoming too extreme for the riders with career ending injuries.

The snowboarding team represents two of its most famous athletes Shaun White and Gretchen Blieler that have benefited the team and the support by generating buzz and awareness. The team is promoting itself through sporting goods and apparel trying to get the logo out there in front of the public.

Learning the history of the sport and seeing how snowboarding over the years has differentiated itself from other similar sports such as skateboarding has given me a new found respect for the sport and the riders. Snowboarding did not always have the best image however today it has grown to be one of the most popular Olympic events and is only rising.

Us Snowboarding sporting goods

Now being sold at Dicks Sporting Goods is the official U.S. Snowboarding Team backpack created by High Sierra in support of the team. The backpack is a must have for gear when your on the slopes, including adjustable snowboard straps, boot holders, that can be tucked in when you don’t need them, and a flap for your helmet.

High Sierra also produces a snowboard bag with the logo of the U.S. Snowboarding Team on it as well as other duffle bags and products. These products can be found at Olympia stores, Sports Authority, Dicks and Modells.

The licensed goods sold at these stores is a way to receive brand recognition, support, increase awareness and increase sales.

Pictures -

http://www.gearbuyer.com/products/high_sierra_us_ski_team_drop_bottom_wheeled_duffel.html

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3373644 - backpack

Endorsements

It is snowboarding, out of all the Winter Olympic sports that is climbing the endorsement ladder. Elite snowboarders today such as Shaun White and Gretchen Bleiler are earning top sponsorship dollars and signing major endorsement deals. It was stated by Kathy Connors, a KMC consultant (a sports entertainment and PR agency) who has worked with White and Bleiler, that “endorsements are earned through performance and personality. And the thing that matters more and more? The personality part”.

With the majority of snowboarders ranging from ages 12-24, and 80% of them are single, the sport is seen as cool and hip. With this image in mind and the success of the U.S. snowboarding team in the 2002 Olympics at Salt Lake City companies are thrilled to make endorsement deals with these top athletes. Elite snowboarders can earn up to $1 million dollars a year, and around 90% of that may come from endorsements.

Gretchen Bleiler, 26-year-old female snowboarder has made many endorsement deals with high-end fashion brands such as Oakley, Hewlett-Packard and Burton. With in this deal Bleiler is required to represent the world of snowboarding as well as the entertainment business within the snowboarding industry. Bleiler is a sports icon which makes these companies want to be associated with her. Just recently ESPN magazine showed Bleiler on the cover, her being the first female athlete on the cover.

Shaun White has signed a Ten Year Endorsement Deal with Burton Snowboards; which is in fact the longest partnership deal in the snowboarding sport. With in the deal White will be riding for Burton’s Global Team and working with the company to expand his signature line, The White Collection. The White Collection includes outerwear, signature boards and boots, clothing accessories, hoodies and tees and luggage. The line will also offer a collection for women.

As well as his sponsorship deals with Burton; White has also made deals with Target, HP and other companies. White trained on a private 22-foot deep pipe called Project X, personally crafted for him and all paid for by Red Bull.

Images-

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/white-234688-sport-olympic.html?pic=8 -gretchen + white

http://daveibsen.typepad.com/5_blogs_before_lunch/2010/03/shaun-white-and-target-partnerup-with-authentic-skate-shoes.html

http://business.transworld.net/50843/press-releases/shaun-white-and-burton-winter-kick-off/

http://oculosoakley.com/oakley-signature-series-gretchen-bleiler/

Links-

http://www.carlsbadmagazine.com/Stories/bleiler.html

http://www.snowrev.com/News/Rider/Shaun-White-and-Burton-Snowboards-Sign-Ten-Year-Endorsement-Deal

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Shaun-White-is-the-richest-Olympian-in-Vancouver?urn=oly-218580

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35085223/ns/business-us_business/

Scandals

There were quite a few scandals that arose during the 2010 Winter Games, one involving U.S. snowboarder Scotty Lago. After winning the half-pipe Olympic bronze medal Lago voluntarily left the ceremony on Friday after racy photos of him were released online Thursday. The photo showed a woman kissing his bronze medal near his waist and the second photo shows Lago sticking the medal in the woman’s mouth. Lago replied, ‘Just keeping my medal in a safe spot for now, ha ha’.

Both images surfaced online and appeared on TMZ Friday afternoon. Lago was forced to leave the Olympics by United States Ski and Snowboard Association and was forced to defend himself and apologize on U.S. television.

A scandal such as this does not look good for the team or the organization. Although Lago is a great athlete through his stunt he was not showing responsibility of proper conduct and was not demonstrating acceptable behavior. This is not what the Ski and Snowboarding association stands for and a scandal like this does damage to their image.

http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/news10661.html - pics of scandal

http://www.popcrunch.com/scotty-lago-picture-scandal-cuts-olympic-dreams-short/

Injuries affecting dynamic of U.S Snowboarding Team

It has been a rough season for the men’s U.S. Olympic halfpipe riders and the snowboarding community as a whole due to some of the best riders Kevin Pearce and Danny Davis suffering from injuries just weeks before the Winter Games in Vancouver. Kevin Pearce was injured on December 31^st in Park City while training on a 22-foot-high halfpipe. Hitting his head, Pearce was placed in critical condition suffering from traumatic brain injuries. One week later Danny Davis was involved in an ATV accident in Utah causing damage to his back and surgery on his L3 vertebrae.

With the US halfpipe riders doing so well in previous years winning in 2002 and receiving gold and silver in 2006 it awful news to hear that two very talented riders on the team have been injured. Riders Shaun White, Kevin Pearce and Danny Davis represent an American dream team for the halfpipe. With two of the riders injured the dream is slipping away.

When accidents such as these occur the U.S. team must work off of their plan B and it is hard to keep morale high for the team when issues such as these happen. Neither will be able to compete; however Pearce’s injuries, far more serious, require him to have to learn to walk again. According to NBC Nightly News his family states that he has suffered memory loss and impaired vision, however within time a full recovery will be seen.

Although Pearce’s injury is considered a fluke, snowboarding is a dangerous sport. However some are saying that the sport may be evolving more quickly than its athletes are. The new halfpipe version of 22 ft high is definitely more dangerous than the previous 18 foot high version. The pressure is on for these athletes who are attempting to do very dangerous stunts and tricks that are causing serious injuries.

Head of U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), Bill Marolt, states that safety is always a primary concern when it comes to their athletes, but he does not anticipate any immediate changes in protocol due to the Pearce accident. As the higher halfpipe is used in competitions, those in charge will be monitoring closely whether or not there is an increase in accidents and injuries.

Major life threatening accidents and career ending injuries affects the other riders on the team, aspiring athletes, the chances of winning in the competition and the industry as a whole. With snowboarding classified, as an extreme sport it will always be seen as more difficult and more dangerous by the public, lessening the number of players of it. Injuries negatively affect the snowboarding sport, and those in charge by the quickly evolving sport.

Link for blog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZsYPBacfRs - pearce vid

http://newsfall.com/2010/08/23/kevin-pearce/ - pic of pearce

http://www.snowboard-mag.com/content/totinos-signs-danny-davis-36422 - dd

http://saltlakecity.injuryboard.com/miscellaneous/us-snowboarders-suffer-injury-setbacks-in-advance-of-olympics.aspx?googleid=277078

http://www.grindtv.com/profile/adryan%20roane%20ritter/blog/12645/injuries%20changing%20the%20dynamic%20for%20mens%20us%20olympic%20halfpipe%20team/

Fan Loyalty

Loyal fans of the US snowboarding team endure all of the teams success and hardships. Some fans are loyal to the team, no matter what the outcome of the events are and whether there was success of not. Individual athletes on the team are also competing against each other in certain events and fans continue to prefer an athlete to another if they are loyal enough. Many players such as Shaun White and Gretchen Blieler are particularly preferred by fans and the popularity and buzz that such celebrity fans cause brings many provided benefits to the team over time.

Fan loyalty to the Snowboarding team comes about through the entertainment value of the sport. Snowboarding is fast paced and exciting. Whether Olympic events or not the sport is an action sport and thought of as a way of pushing the limits. The brand image of the sport is retro and cool and the atmosphere of events increases fan motivation.

Most fans of the team are snowboarders themselves or fans interested in extreme sports. Fans can relate and identify with the team, especially the athletes more seen in the media. For example Shaun White, 19 year old with a quirky personality and creative moves is an idol that fans love.

“He’s the one action sport athlete that we can point to in our coverage where ratings go up when he’s competing.” Says ESPN X Games creator and founder Ron Semiao. The success and power of one athlete can in turn affect the popularity of the how snowboarding team and the sport itself. White is a global phenomenon who appeals to all types of fans. White has relationships with HP, target and others and it is said that he has marketing instincts on what will sell. People love his charismatic attitude and to earth personality, which keeps, fans rooting for him and his team.

The value of the sport in the snowboarding community is very high. Such events such as the Sprint Big Air in Denver was a huge success in increasing fan loyalty in the winter sports community of Denver.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://blog.imgacademies.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/shaun_white.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blog.imgacademies.com/2010/02/03/shaun-white-most-endorsed-winter-olympic-athlete/&usg=__gcYipKhgmD2Sv7BKJ33hM1RqqEk=&h=400&w=300&sz=77&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=Dt832l7X-CSe9M:&tbnh=171&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dshaun%2Bwhite%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1065%26bih%3D513%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=310&vpy=99&dur=745&hovh=310&hovw=232&tx=112&ty=159&ei=wRn0TLjmEcKC8gbhwYShDA&oei=uhn0TOjeGZ62nAfq1NWJCg&esq=3&page=1&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0 - shaun white

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://news.about-knowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/shaun-white-olympics-2010-1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.about-knowledge.com/shaun-white-olympics-2010-video/&usg=__pl5OAEBaNAX_VW_RacH6m50AKk4=&h=418&w=450&sz=46&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=jxds-x5BPanBBM:&tbnh=175&tbnw=188&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dshaun%2Bwhite%2Bolympics%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1065%26bih%3D513%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=270&vpy=123&dur=251&hovh=259&hovw=279&tx=140&ty=123&ei=5Rn0TJ_7DsWTnQf1l72fCg&oei=5Rn0TJ_7DsWTnQf1l72fCg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=9&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0 shaun white

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/vancouver/snowboarding/2010-01-26-white-mogul_N.htm

8th post – internet and website

The U.S. Snowboarding team’s website is very dynamic and straightforward. One of the website’s major strengths is how it is easy to navigate around the site and the layout is very user friendly. It is a very attractive website with many videos and other highlights that is a way of interacting and engaging the audience. The list of upcoming events and highlights are very informative for the user and keep viewers updated. Being a Graphic Design major I find the website particularly aesthetically pleasing and a very well done website that appeals to the target audience of young people.

I particularly like the Athletes section on the website. All of their pictures are featured and makes the viewer become more aware of the athletes themselves and makes them more easily identifiable.

The U.S. snowboarding team also has a twitter and facebook page. These forms of media are necessary in promoting and generating awareness. The twitter updates its audience on events and the athlete’s personal lives, creating interest in a quirky way to engage the audience. With 1,650 followers, the twitter site is growing in popularity!

The facebook page portrays many albums, mobile uploads and videos of the team and their travels. There are many promotions taking place trying to gain more traffic to the sight and more interest in the team. One promotion currently taking place is a signed snowboardcross poster up for grabs to be one as long as the facebook site breaks 5,000 fans by November 20^th.

Another status is, ‘The secrets of Olympic Snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis/Beauty on the go’. An article from fitness magazine on facebook creating buzz and attracting a female audience on the beauty secrets of a successful athlete. This is exciting and advertises for women athletes, getting them involved in the sport just as much as men.

https://twitter.com/ussnowboarding

http://www.facebook.com/ussnowboarding