racing for a club and sponsorship

trickydisco
trickydisco Posts: 173
edited April 2011 in Amateur race
Just out of interest. What happens if you ride for a local club (that is sponsored by someone local) and you have been offered sponsorship to race

Do you just add the sponsorship name to your entries and ride in the club jersey?

What are the rules on kit for races? Presumably you should wear the club kit as this is the club you are racing for?

Comments

  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    It's complicated. What level of racing are you doing?

    If it's Cat 4 - you can wear anything you want. Cat 3 or less and you are 'supposed' to follow clothing rules (I think).

    But normally you can wear pretty much anything.

    You would normally enter under your club name. And unless your club is OK with, don't add extra sponsors to your club clothing.

    If it's a big sponsor - they might have their own jersey?
  • trickydisco
    trickydisco Posts: 173
    Starting my 1st year of racing this year. Both cat 4 and xc racing (sport) ( i know.. seems weird to be sponsored already but i'm not exactly going to turn it down)

    i think xc racing is more relaxed but i know the club wouldn't be happy with me wearing anything other than the club kit for road racing (they've never had anyone racing ni xc before.. all road)

    I suppose the sponsor name would be down on the entry list and if you get results then this is effectively getting their name out
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    Again - not 100% on this, but if you are going to enter Cat 4 BC races, you are 'supposed' to be with an affiliated club. A private member can sign on, but if your club/team/sponsor isn;t registered with BC, you shouldn't be signing on with their name.

    But in Cat 4 racing, no one usually pays attention.

    Of course, if you start winning and getting points, the folks at BC might start to notice, especially when they go into your file to add the points and see the discrepancy between your registered club and your sponsor, etc.

    (but not certain about any of this)
  • gandhi
    gandhi Posts: 187
    There's a bit on the entry form for sponsors - it sometimes gets used in race reports. You could also wear sponsor logos before and after the race.

    When most companies start sponsoring (if they're not sponsoring an established team), they register as a club/team with BC, and you just ride for that entity.
  • trickydisco
    trickydisco Posts: 173
    SO i need to find out if they need to register with BC so i can put them down on the entry forms

    Just been reading through the rules

    http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/zuvvi/ ... _TRACK.pdf
  • SBezza
    SBezza Posts: 2,173
    You are suppose to enter in the name of your 1st claim club, and as Pokerface has said cat3 and higher, you should be wearing your club kit that is registered with BC.

    If you are a cat 4 you can wear any kit, as long as it isn't trade kit.

    As for putting down on the entry paperwork, again this should be as the club name that is registered with BC.

    If you are being sponsored by someone, and they want you to race in their name, get them to get some kit together, get the them to register with BC, leave your current club as a 1st claim member and ride for the sponsor as 1st claim
  • Tom Butcher
    Tom Butcher Posts: 3,830
    Officially your sponsor doesn't exist in the eyes of BC - they haven't paid to register their name as a team and your club hasn't paid to register them as a sponsor of the club so by rights they wont appear on any start sheet, results etc and you shouldn't wear their kit in the race.

    In practice you can probably get away with wearing their kit on the grounds nobody will know they are paying you to wear it - and the organiser may even stick their name down on the start sheet/results because they may not check if they are an affiliated club/team.

    If they do pay to register with BC then I am pretty sure you'll have to ride for them or for your club - not both - unless your club registers them as a club sponsor.

    x post with Bezza - basically what he said

    it's a hard life if you don't weaken.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,217
    My understanding is as SBezza says, you can either ride for your club or effectively set up a team with your sponsor (or just ask the sponsor if he wants to sponsor the club rather than an individual - more advertising for them!).
  • trickydisco
    trickydisco Posts: 173
    Cheers guys... All sounds sensible.

    Reading through the xc rules it doesn't seem as strict

    http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/zuvvi/ ... BIKING.pdf

    So looks like i'll ride for the club on road and xc i'll get them to set up with BC
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    SBezza wrote:

    If you are a cat 4 you can wear any kit, as long as it isn't trade kit.


    Even trade kit is pretty much OK in Cat 4 races! You just look silly. :oops:
  • trickydisco
    trickydisco Posts: 173
    So on the road entry form

    road.jpg

    Would the key sponsors box be the clubs sponsor?
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,217
    Yes (assuming the club has some).
  • Tom Butcher
    Tom Butcher Posts: 3,830
    Yes those are for club/team sponsors.

    The OP needs to look at section 9 of the BC rules for road and track.
    http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/zuvvi/media/bc_files/corporate/76-113_-_Rulebook_2011_-_05-GENERAL_ROAD_TRACK.pdf

    it's a hard life if you don't weaken.
  • Tom Butcher
    Tom Butcher Posts: 3,830
    Yes those are for club/team sponsors.

    The OP needs to look at section 9 of the BC rules for road and track.
    http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/zuvvi/media/bc_files/corporate/76-113_-_Rulebook_2011_-_05-GENERAL_ROAD_TRACK.pdf

    it's a hard life if you don't weaken.
  • SBezza
    SBezza Posts: 2,173
    So looks like i'll ride for the club on road and xc i'll get them to set up with BC

    I believe that is perfectly fine, as far as I am aware you can ride different disciplines for different clubs, though a check with BC might be worth it, just to clarify.
  • trickydisco
    trickydisco Posts: 173
    I believe that is perfectly fine, as far as I am aware you can ride different disciplines for different clubs, though a check with BC might be worth it, just to clarify.

    Just had a reply from BC
    You can wear your club kit at any race (so long as you’re a member of that club obviously!). Where things become a little more confusing is cross-discipline. Some clubs, as you say, are really only interested in one discipline so to race XC you are allowed a Second Claim club (perhaps a sponsor or MTB shop or similar) while on the road you wear your Club kit
  • BigDarbs
    BigDarbs Posts: 132
    Now lets talk real world. I have raced for 22 years and run a factory race team, in that time nobody has ever checked sponsors, kit, colours etc etc. Not one single occasion.

    When I ran the factory team we paid a lot of money to keep registering corporate sponsors, and there was never a single comment made about those that were or were not registered. We had a main sponsor and 9 other sponsors with 8 riders, work out how much it was just to register the team and riders with BC.

    There is no method of checking, or any desire for checks to be made by race orgainsers as there is no consequence if they are not correct. When is the check actually made? Its not at sign on, its not during the race, or at the prize presentation.

    In fact my frustration used to be (and still is) race organisers leaving sponsors off results or getting the spelling wrong when I have entered, very clearly, the required information!

    Wear what you want and get on with the racing. The only level that is any different is elite, where publicity information is more visible. If you are a cat 2/3/4 wearing club/sponsors kit you can wear what you want. Although obvioulsy wearing trade team kit such as HTC, Quickstep, Radioshack may draw comment from the bunch!

    To answer your question, if you have been offered sponsorship (and I don't know what that consists of) rule number one is ... don't upset the sponsor. So in this case race in their kit, enter in their name (and if you want to stay within the rules) register them with BC.