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Do olympic athletes still have to represent their sponsors?

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--ski--
Posts: 1670 - Karma: 817

just wondering, each country has there uniform and clothing made by a chosen company right? but what if your say sponsored by oakley and your countries uniform is made by orage or whatever? cheeers

Feb 13 2010 7:50PM
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skithecanada
Posts: 638 - Karma: 56
Yes the entire world is watching the olympics the athletes better be repping their sposor.
Feb 13 2010 7:57PM
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123ski
Posts: 7374 - Karma: 1,415
they have to wear their team uniform, but everything else can be from their sponsors..the problem is..that most olympic athletes have very few..if any..sponsors..especially in men's freestyle skiing
Feb 13 2010 7:58PM
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Drail
Posts: 14012 - Karma: 10,010
Olympics, in all actuality, is an amateur competition. The athletes are generally not allowed to be considered "pro" during the year of the Olympics. If you win gold, you don't get prize money.

Really though - especially with team sports such as hockey, basketball, etc... this just isn't the case anymore. Even snowboarding, the competitors can compete in whatever comps they want during the year without worrying about getting kicked off the olympic team.

So the answer is no. Technically, they shouldn't really have individual sponsors in the first place.
Feb 13 2010 8:00PM
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TotesMcgotes
Posts: 413 - Karma: 39
I'm confused by this...
Feb 13 2010 8:06PM
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TotesMcgotes
Posts: 413 - Karma: 39
I mean isn't the Olympics meant to host the best athletes in the world? Why wouldn't they have sponsors?
Feb 13 2010 8:07PM
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the.hoffman
Posts: 1372 - Karma: 283
Actually, at least in freestyle skiing, skiers can show off their ski sponsor only. Anything on your goggles or helmet have to be taped over or covered.
Feb 13 2010 8:16PM
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kool.aid.man
Posts: 1416 - Karma: 526
One of my friends is on the olympic team for speed skating. She was telling me all athletes have to maintain a sponsor "blackout" from Feb 3rd to Mar 4th and they are not allowed to "support" their sponsors during olympic events etc.
Feb 13 2010 8:17PM
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nickyp
Posts: 5673 - Karma: 215
In the case of snowboarding, riders will use the boards and boots provided by their sponsors. But each national team is sponsoored by a company. So the have to wear the outerwear provided by the sponsors of the national teams.

Also, I know the UK Olympic Team is sponsored by Coca Cola, so if there was an athlete sponsored by an energy drinks manufacture, such as Monster they would probably be expected to be seen drinking Coca Cola instead.
Feb 13 2010 8:21PM
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--ski--
Posts: 1670 - Karma: 817
yeah exactly that is the kinda stuff i was wondering.
Feb 13 2010 9:18PM
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-ShredTheGnar-
Posts: 2038 - Karma: 111
Seeing all the alpine skiers and coaches they had duct tape or some form of tape covering all sponsor logos like on the racers helmets and coaches jackets.
Feb 13 2010 9:21PM
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styley.
Posts: 393 - Karma: 20
back in the day, you werent allowed to compete in the olympics if you were pro. if you got any money/sponsorships you werent competing. it made everything way more cool, but at the same time you didnt really know anyone.
Feb 15 2010 3:19PM
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toominator
Posts: 4792 - Karma: 120
It's supposed to be sponsor free, part of the Olympic ethos. Money isn't supposed to be a factor (obviously it is, but ideally it wouldn't be)
Feb 15 2010 3:57PM
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freelowda
Posts: 1311 - Karma: 1,583
The amateur-athletes-only thing has basically been thrown out the door in the last 20+ years...and the whole event is turning into a corporate schill as it is, brought to you by Coca Cola, Visa, and etc.

However athletes are not permitted to represent individual endorsements while participating in the Games. This doesn't really matter to most of the fringe sports anyway. Snowboarding though for example (where Shaun White is the highest paid athlete in the Winter Olympics) is more affected. Ralph Lauren is a major partner of the US team, and they have to wear that gear to all ceremonies, media events, etc. And Burton is the US team outerwear supplier (China & Finland as well)- so while Vito and Lago rep different brands outside of the Olympics, they have to wear the Burton made team outfits while competing. Branding visibility is tightly controlled though for obvious reasons- notice the really small Oakley logos on the goggle straps?

Click for larger imageClick for larger image
Feb 15 2010 4:01PM
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304NordMan
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 525
seems a bit stupid. apinsors want to be seen, and if the olympics are going to be really tight about it, they should make a profit. if i was on the board of olympians or watever it is, i would have the sponsers endorse the olympics, then allow them to be shown by their riders
Feb 15 2010 4:03PM
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freelowda
Posts: 1311 - Karma: 1,583
You're missing the point- it's meant to be a pure athletic competition free from any capital benefit or performance enhancing drugs. Though that is quickly being eroded anyway, it is one of the few remaining contests where athletes aren't mainly used as a billboard for their sponsors. The focus remains on the sport and ideally there is no conflict of interest between that and financial politics.
Feb 15 2010 4:11PM
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snowboardersrule
Posts: 1077 - Karma: 15
in snowboarding its a pretty fucked situation. the sponsors that support the riders, and the industry, for four or more years  while they are working towards the olympics get screwed big time. unless, of course a rider has the same sponsor that did the team designs.
Feb 15 2010 4:13PM
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smuggs
Posts: 6561 - Karma: 1,375
i think its sweet that U RIDE WITH YOUR TEAM IN YOUR TEAMS GEAR. ITS LIKE YOU ARE ON A TEAM! LIKE TEAM AMERICA!

who cares about stupid company logos that you have to be in one competition with out looking like you race cars for nascar.
Feb 15 2010 4:15PM
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Furrer92
Posts: 784 - Karma: 341
Well you don't get prize money from the Olympic Committee however individual countries often award their athletes money for bringing home Gold.
Feb 15 2010 4:20PM
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smuggs
Posts: 6561 - Karma: 1,375
soon before you know it skiers will be sewing patches onto their jackets and drinking mtn dews on the podium and red bulls in interviews and putting stickers all over their skis and helmets and i bet even a company like target would end up putting their gay bullseye on some 'pro' skier for a few dollars that they  took from the american people by selling some cheap chinese goods.....
Feb 15 2010 4:22PM
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freelowda
Posts: 1311 - Karma: 1,583
Not really though. Say if Scotty Lago won I'm sure Billabong would market the shit out of him following the Games, along with the Nestea's and Chevy's and whomever else hopped on the bandwagon after a mainstream mega-win like that. Though I will say the current US team's "partners" are certainly tailor made for Mr. White.

My main point is that the legacy of the Olympics is not meant to be inundated with a flood of outside sponsors. Sounds old fashioned but that's what the X-Games are for.
Feb 15 2010 4:22PM
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freelowda
Posts: 1311 - Karma: 1,583
Yeah I can do without energy drinks being shoved into the face of a rider on tv at the bottom of a course for one competition. Though how funny would that be after someone got off the skating rink or luge run?? Hah.
Feb 15 2010 4:27PM
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Dr.NS
Posts: 640 - Karma: 19
itd be awesome for pairs figure skaters.

step off the ice and get handed a his and her outfits from target and two ice cold redbull
Feb 15 2010 4:51PM
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Mykel
Posts: 1560 - Karma: 84
Is there a technical difference between sponsorships and endorsements here? I remember one of the mogul skiers at the last olympics was also a defensive back at CU. He had some sort of entanglement with the whole pro/amateur thing.
Feb 15 2010 4:54PM
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