Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 116, March 2019 | Page 29

club’s members. Sponsors are the only way clubs can then create a profit/surplus
to fund or subsidise their administration, special function costs or development for
their members, and typically, a club may look to make R40,000 to R60,000 from an
event.
However, each year the cost of services goes up, and runners often forget that,
like us, the announcers, fencing contractors, water suppliers, timekeepers and
each and every staff member of these providers share the same challenge of
making ends meet in a country where inflation is on an upward trend. In short, if the
number of runners at events drops, the cost of entries has to go up. It’s a numbers
game that determines the viability of the event.
Benefits for Sponsors
Sponsorship is supposed to be an investment for a company, but in reality, this is
probably is not the case for the majority of club events. If the sponsor is looking for
anything other than ‘brand awareness,’ the investment as a sole sponsor in a club
event is unlikely to be justifiable, unless their business is directly linked to running
or the health market, with a product that requires significant one-on-one interaction
with the potential client, such as insurance, medical aids, etc.
Keep in mind that every day there are good arguments being put forward by
marketing companies as to why sponsors should not be investing that sort of value
on a one-day running event with just 2000 runners. For example, an advertorial
here in Modern Athlete would allow a company to talk to and interact with 70,000
runners/readers 12 or more times a year using the magazine and associated social
media outlets, at less cost than the typical club road race.
So if a company sponsors a race with 2000 entries to the tune of R250,000, then in
effect they are at best paying over R60 to interact with each runner and their family.
To be effective, they must then recruit over R400,000 in business to cover their
costs, as any interaction will also have costs. Therefore, reducing race numbers is
clearly a sure way to lose sponsors, and it is for this reason that mass organised
long runs clashing with fixtured races has come under the spotlight.
Knock-on Effect
The impact of an organised group long run, irrespective of who arranges or leads
it, can be devastating, turning an event that earns a club a R40,000 surplus into a
loss. Where a conflicting long run attracts 200 to 300 runners away from the race,
the loss is not simply the entry fees, say R20,000, but also the loss of earnings
from both the runner and his/her family support in sales of food and drinks, plus
other aspects.
Keep in mind that a club applies for the race date from the provincial federation
and pays a deposit almost a year in advance. But that is just the start of the
process, which then requires application for a Risk Assessment from the SA
Police up to six months in advance. Depending on this outcome (low, medium
or high), the requirements can then become quite considerable. The reality is
that organisational requirements and regulations are increasing each year: Safety
Officers, R10 million cover per incident third party insurance, increased medical
requirements, structural certificates, health certificates for food vendors, electrical
certificates and much more all have to be arranged and provided.
The point is, with all these requirements and costs, it is no wonder that race entry
fees are climbing. Neither should there be surprise that race organisers and clubs,
and hence the provincial bodies, are complaining when someone arbitrarily decides
a few weeks before a fixture race to host a ‘mass long run’ in the same area. That’s
because numbers count – it is the mass of participant runners, as opposed to the
elite frontrunners, who make a race financially viable.
On a related note, some ‘corporate club’ managers try to negotiate free entries
for their ‘elite’ athletes, which breaks IAAF rules. Apparently, it’s not enough that
these same people often complain that club races are paying too little prize money,
but then they want free entry as well! Let’s be clear that true elite athletes, as in
IAAF Bronze level or higher, deserve and are entitled to a negotiated appearance
package, but this is arranged by their contracted, qualified Athlete’s Representative
(AR), who has sat and passed exams on this role, including the sport’s rules and
processes. These athletes are also on the national or international ranking system.
This is totally different from an ‘elite club manager’ – a term which does not
officially exist in any rule – who often has exceptionally limited knowledge of the
rules.
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