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Five year deal set to take surfing to the next level
by Howard Swanwick
04/11/2007:// The British Surfing Association (BSA) today (Friday 2nd November) announced an exciting five year sponsorship deal with children’s healthy drinks specialist, Calypso. For years Britain’s best young surfers have been starved of the vital funding needed to compete at the peak of their ability in international events but now, a new £75, 000 five year deal will provide crucial investment and an invaluable new training programme.
The major deal will include the sponsorship of several junior competitions in the UK each year between 2008 and 2012 and support for the ongoing development of the BSA’s junior schemes. As the sole soft drinks sponsor of the BSA, Calypso will help to fund expert coaching and provide logistical support for the 12-strong British Junior Surfing team as they compete in the World Junior Surfing Games, with the next event due to take place in France in May 2008.
British surfers have to put in hours of gruelling training to get to a competitive standard but often struggle to fund their trips to the vital European and International contests. This year funds were so scarce that the British Junior Surfing team had to pack bags at local supermarkets to gain the cash to get them to the World Surfing Games, but now, thanks to Calypso’s generosity they can put all their time and energy into their invaluable training.
Thanks to the deal, the BSA will now be able to run a full programme of winter training camps for the current junior squad of 25 young surfers, who come from as far apart as Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Jersey as well as South Wales, South West England and the Isle of Wight. It’s from this squad that the 2008 team of four boys under 18, four girls under 18 and four boys under 16 will be picked to represent Great Britain and the Channel Islands at the World Junior Surfing Games in May, in France.
National Director of the BSA, Karen Walton says, “This sponsorship is one of its kind and is a massive boost for Britain’s elite young surfers at a time when they are on the verge of long, professional careers in what has become one of the country’s fastest growing sports. We at the BSA are all very excited about what this sponsorship means and what it will enable us as a country to do. At the last World Junior Surfing Games we came 11th and that was before any financial help and assistance with training.
Karen continues “The talent of our young surfers has never been in any doubt, but despite strenuous efforts, until now, no organisation has backed our junior teams to the required level. This deal with Calypso now means our surfers can concentrate on structured training and receive the very best coaching and support without having to worry about where the money is coming from. We are extremely grateful to say the least.”
As a ‘warm up’ before the main sponsorship begins in 2008, Calypso has joined some of the biggest brands in the sport as a Gold Sponsor of the BSA, a move that will help the association to continue its vital role in developing surfing at all levels. Calypso has already worked with the BSA on a number of events including being an associate sponsor of the Hunter/Billabong British Schools event at Woolacombe in April. Later this month they will also be supporting the Billabong British Junior Championships at Widemouth Bay, Bude.
Richard Cooke, Calypso’s Sales and Marketing Director says, “Surfing has to be one of the most exhilarating, exciting and accessible sports for British youngsters and it’s a perfect match for our own emphasis on drinks which are healthy, fun and refreshing. There’s some spectacular talent out there in the junior squad and we hope our sponsorship will help to make a real difference to their future success.”
The 2008 junior team are determined to improve on their placing in the 2007 event in Portugal, where they finished 11th out of the 40 nations taking part. With the announcement of the Calypso sponsorship following hot on the heels of the new £94, 000 coaching scheme from Sport England, it’s looking like their ambitions are in sight.
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