Cavaliers Promotions

In watching the recent playoff games between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls, the pride of the Cavaliers is evident in the way they promote their products and image. The sponsorship that shows up the most during a home game in Cleveland is the Quicken Loans logo. This is because Quicken Loans sponsor the venue in which the Cavaliers play, Quicken Loans Arena. This logo is seen on the basketball court, on various signs aroung the arena, and the pretzels sold during game are even in the shape of a Q.

The most evident way that the Cavs promote their sponsors via the television is through signage. The signage seen mose often is the advertisements on the side of the scorers' table. These signs most often show the Cavs sponsors, but at times, they also promote the Cav's website or ways to buy playoff tickets.

Having been to Cavs games in the past, I know that the Cavs also sell media guides with information about the team and players. I think this is a great idea because it makes the players seem more real. There is information about where the players grew up, and even random information about their favorite food and favorite type of music. Another way that the team makes their players seem more real is through short interviews that shows up on the scoreboard during time outs. In these interviews, the players answer questions about other players on the team, like "who is the worst singer" and "what is Anderson's worst habit?" Just by doing these things, it makes the fans seem as though they are more in-touch with the players.

You can not watch a Cavs game on TV without seeing the arena full of wine and gold shirts. The Cavaliers fans have a lot of pride for their team and their city. The Cavaliers expand on this fact, and it is evident that their merchandise sales surpass all other sales.

Typical Day

When you are a competitive gymnast, nothing can come between you and the thrill you get when you're flying over the vault or twisting in the air, or doing tricks on a beam only four inches wide. For some, these scenarios may sound crazy, but for the gymnasts at Zero Gravity, it sounds like just another typical day at practice.
There isn't a day, and rarely is there a minute, that goes by that these girls don't think about the sport they have grown to love--gymnastics. Many of the girls have wanted to be gymnasts since they can remember, always watching gymnastics on television growing up, aspiring to be the next Mary Lou Retton or Dominique Dawes, both admirable gold-medal winning gymnasts on past U.S. Olympic teams. The fact that anyone watched the girls on T.V. fly through the air, and more often than they would like, fall back down, and try the same things is admirable, and to me, a bit crazy. I was in gymnastics since the age of three, but I only stuck to the floor, where there was a nice, stable surface below me at all times. When I teach at the Y and watch the Zero Gravity gymnasts, some of them really do believe there is zero gravity. The daredevils will try anything once, and usually keep pushing themselves until they can do it perfect. The amount of dedication and concentration it takes to fly across the vault, jump from bar-to-bar then release and jump back, and flip around on a beam that is smaller than my hand is unfathomable to most, but understood and loved by the boys and girls who call themselves gymnasts.

Young People in the Spotlight

It is astounding to me how many young people have been in the spotlight in recent years, usually for acting or singing, but the number of young athletes being spotlighted is growing. Just a few short years ago, women's gymnastics saw a 16-year-old win the all-around gold medal, and it wasn't too long ago that Tara Lipinski, a figure skater, was winning world championships and Olympic gold medals as just a teenager. In the summer, it seems like almost everyone in America and even around the world is glued to their televisions watching pre-teen and young teenage boys play in the Little League World Series. Some of these boys travel from the other side of the world to showcase their talents, and how they don't fold under the pressure is beyond me.
I have been a cheerleader for over half of my life, so I would not consider myself shy and not one for the spotlight, but I don't think I would ever have the guts it takes to be in the spotlight all on my own. I was a competitive cheerleader for five years, and when I was in the spotlight as a ten-year-old, I had my team there, too. To be only two years older than I was and traveling all over the world to do what you love to do is extremely admirable, and after thinking about this topic, when I watch the Little League World Series, or even one of the Zero Gravity Gymnasts competing alone on just a balance beam, for them I have developed a whole new respect.

A Season To Be Proud Of

The Zero Gravity Gymnastics team competed in their final meet in Toledo this past weekend and took fourth place as a team. Coach Becky Bohn and the gymnasts were pleased with their season overall and are looking forward to next year. Bohn says that this year was a learning experience for the girls, as many of them were competing in their first full season. The pre-team currently has 14 members who are working their way up to becoming part of the team. Coach Bohn and her team are looking to grow in size and skill as the current team members will be expected to advance to the next competition level during their off-season.

Small Town Sponsorships

After thinking about the sponsors of the USA Gymnastics team, I started to think about the positive aspects of having sponsors would be, even for a small-town gymnastics team like Zero Gravity.

A problem that the Zero Gravity Gymnastics team is currently having is the mats are getting old and over-used because of all of the other progressive gymnastics classes that use the gym as well. If they had sponsors, then they would be able to purchase new mats and equipment. Each team member also has to purchase her own leotard, and they only have one to wear for the whole season. A possibility for a sponsor in Tiffin would be Viewpoint or Rush Graphics. These places could sponsor leotards and other apparel for the team, such as bags, in exchange for publicity for the businesses. When the team travels to a meet, each member is responsible for getting to the venue on her own. A potential sponsor could be a car dealership in Tiffin who can donate vans for the day for the girls to travel to the meets together.

It is important to think locally when brainstorming potential sponsors for the gymnastics team. Because Tiffin is a small town, there are many privately owned businesses with ties to the town and will be more likely to sponsor Zero Gravity.

I found a Web Site called Sponsor Park that can be used to search for sponsorship opportunities. It's an interesting site with a great concept.
http://www.sponsorpark.com/

Sponsorships

Gymnastics is commonly overlooked as a potential sports team to sponsor. In reality, gymnastics is an excellent choice because of the multiple competitions they enter and how far they travel. Some examples of potential sponsors of a gymnastics team are health food companies, sports apparel companies, radio and television stations who will have exclusive broadcasting rights of all home meets, and even travel companies who will sponsor their trips to meets, if they put their logo on their website or warm ups.

Below is a link to the sponsorship page of the USA Gymnastics team. Their most notable sponsors are AT&T, Adidas, NBC Sports, and Tyson. They are also sponsored by Secret and CoverGirl, companies whose products target teenage girls. This is a positive move for the gymnastics team, since their largest fan base is pre-teen and teenage girls. These brands are recognizable to the girls watching, and when it shows up that the gymnasts use Secret brand deodorant and CoverGirl make-up, then they will want to do the same.

Below is a link to the sponsorship page for the USA Gymnastics team.
http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/aboutus/pages/sponsors.php

Family Bond

I’ve always thought about how much sports has had an impact on my family, but I didn’t realize just how much sports brings us together until this weekend. My sister has played softball for basically her entire life up through college. My mom, dad, grandma, and I even traveled to London, England to watch her play in a tournament there. She graduated college last year and has now gone on to helping coach a softball team in the Lima area. Her team was playing in my hometown last weekend so my mom and I went to watch. My sister wasn’t even playing and the only thing we got to see of her was when she went to coach first base, but my mom, my grandpa, my grandma, and I went to watch anyway.

That’s always how it was with my family. If it was a sporting event, my family was there. I have been a cheerleader for 13 years, and my parents never missed a football or basketball game until college. Even still, they come to all of the games they can, along with my grandma and grandpa. I was a competitve cheerleader for 5 years, and along with the normal expenses that competitve cheerleading involved, from the uniforms, shoes, tumbling lessons, and practice 3-4 times a week, my parents were also at every competition no matter how far away it was. We would sometimes leave my house at 5:00 a.m. just to make it to Cincinnati, Dayton, or Cleveland on time. I can’t even count the number of times my parents had to drive me to tumbling classes and cheerleading practices, not to mention driving to the football and basketball games, competitions, and now driving almost an hour and a half to watch me cheer now. I don’t know if I would have continued to do what I love without the support of my parents, and here I am, 13 years later coaching gymnastics at the YMCA and still cheering with hopes of opening my own gym someday. If I do, I know my parents, grandparents, and sister will be right there supporting me.

Go For It All

The Zero Gravity gymnastics team is gearing up for their biggest meet of the season, the regional meet in Toledo, Ohio. Here, the gymnasts will compete to see who will be going to the state competition held in two weeks. Zero Gravity is taking nine girls to the meet, with hopes of at least four of them qualifying. Coach Becky Bohn believes that the girls have a really good chance of qualifying for the state competition, as they have been pushing themselves harder over the past month. Two girls chose to compete at a higher level than they have been competing all season, a risk that they were willing to take in order to show themselves that they had it in them. This is the meet that the competitors have been waiting for all season. Good luck ladies!

Season Best

The gymnasts of the Zero Gravity Gymnastics team have a lot to be proud of as they sweep the competition at their own meet. The first annual Icicle gymnastics meet was held at the Tiffin YMCA. Zero Gravity competed against teams from Toledo, Bucyrus, Sandusky, and Sidney. Zero Gravity had five girls finish with a "no fall" on the beam and four with "no fall" on the bars. Three gymnasts finished with at least a 9.0 on all events.

Tiffin YMCA will host a second meet this season on Saturday, February 26.

Spotlight

Zero Gravity's Lydia Arnold has been leading the team this season. Coach Becky Bohn said that Arnold has been leading the team in top three finishes as well as the most improved gymnast. Arnold has been the highest scorer on the team, with two first place finishes, four second place, and three third place finishes under her belt so far this season. This is an improvement over just four top three finishes for Arnold last season.

Coach Bohn believes that Arnold has shown great improvements this season and shows great promise to finish the season strong.

Season Preview

Zero Gravity Gymnastics is having a promising season and looking for finish strongly. The gymnastics team is lead by 11 returners:

Level 4: Lydia Arnold, Brandi Gabrielson
Level 5: Zoe Meyer, Kennedy Smith, Mikayla Overmyer, Alex Falter, Karlee Kirby, Madison Auble, Holly Wadsworth
Level 6: Trisha Reinhart
Level 7: Megan Briggs

New to the team this year is Marissa Hutchinson, a level 4 gymnast who has made great strides in adapting to the competition world.


Remaining Schedule
Feb. 13 Sweetheart Invitational AWAY @ Sandusky
Feb. 20 Frogtown Invitational AWAY @ Toledo
Feb. 27 Dual-league HOME
March 20 District Championship Defiance YMCA

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Many girls dream of being a gymnast, and the girls on the Zero Gravity Gymnastics team are well on their way to the top.

The Zero Gravity gymnastics team is out of the Tiffin Community YMCA. Team members are chosen based on performance in progressive gymnastics classes and the team currently consists of 12 team members who are working their way towards their dreams.


These gymnasts practice every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with many attending open gyms and as much extra practice time as they can, practicing as many as 6-8 hours a week. They travel throughout the state of Ohio competing on floor, bars, beam, and vault.

My Sports Autobiography

I have been an avid sports fan since before I can remember. I have been a cheerleader for 14 years, with six of those years spend on a competitive cheerleading squad. My sister has played softball her entire life, including her four years of college, so I came to know the game extremely well. Our family bonded over sports, whether it be cheering on the Dallas Cowboys and Ohio State Buckeyes via the comfort of our living room, or driving to Cincinnati a couple of times a summer to watch the Reds. I still remain a huge fa, donning my jerseys every game day and going home to watch the games with my family when I can.

My dream when I was 5 years old was to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. That, needless to say, is no longer my dream, but I do wish to remain in the sports industry. I hope to someday work in the Public Relations department of a professional sports team. Aside from working, I will also remain involved in the sports industry as I continue to remain an avid fan.