Over the last year-plus, Squash Source has been sponsoring a couple of American pros, Olivia Fiechter and Amanda Sobhy. Here’s a quick video about it:
Thanks to everyone who supports Squash Source and allows me to do that. I think it’s a struggle for most pros to make a living on the tour and I’m proud to contribute in some way.
One thing I should’ve said in the video is there are plenty of great companies and individuals that’ve been sponsoring pros for a lot longer and to a greater extent than I ever have. Much respect to those organizations — they are an inspiration to me.
Here are the mechanics of how I’ve done the sposorship, in case anyone out there wants to sponsor a pro through their business or personal funds.
Outreach
You can reach most of the PSA pros through social media, particularly Instagram and Twitter. Sometimes they have a website with a contact form.
The basic approach is “Hey, I’m a squash player from [location]. I’m a fan of yours and I’m interested in sponsoring your career.”
Explain whether you are proposing to help through a business or just out of personal interest. Lay out how you would like to help — do you propose to send them money? Ongoing or one-time? Buy them equipment? Some other assistance?
Be clear about what, if anything, you want in return. A shoutout on social media? A signed autograph for your kid? Your name on their jersey? In my case I asked for a link from their website. Whatever you ask for, the pro will consider whether they are comfortable with it.
Payment
I send money monthly through Venmo. It’s widely available in the US and there are no transaction fees, so it works in my case where everyone is US-based. You may need a different solution for payment in your location or cross-border.
I just set up a calendar reminder and send the payments manually each month.
One Piece of Advice
Keep it simple. I spent a while dithering about how to reach out and how to set things up. You don’t need to have everything figured out in advance. Just dive in!
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