Coffee roasters of Jittery Joe's, Christian Hampton (left) and Charlie Mustard (right), show off the custom coffee tins they made for the 2015 Sandy Creek Sling division winners.

Story By: Marilyn Estes #55636

Three years ago, Athens, GA hosted its first tournament after a few years’ break, and I, a relative newcomer to the sport, had an idea about how to improve our level of sponsorship.  And it worked!

With overwhelming community support and around 30 sponsors, we raised nearly $2000 in cash and prizes for the C-tier. This year, despite our attempts to cut back (to maintain a more relaxed C-tier feel), the enthusiasm of our sponsors grew – Despite changing to major sponsorship this year after two years of being title sponsor, Terrapin Beer Company still shelled out a generous check and Terrapin gift pack prizes.

Local coffee roaster Jittery Joe’s upped their ante from serving free coffee the morning of the tournament to also creating customized “2015 Sandy Creek Sling presented by Athens Disc Golf Club” cans of their home roast for all the division winners. And new sponsor Urban Sanctuary, voted for years as the favorite spa in a town full of spas, donated four massage gift certificates – two for the men, two for the women – as first place prizes.

While that’s an impressive haul – and only a fraction of how the Georgia Super Series tournament day goes in Athens (this year’s registration sold out in 2 hours, with the Am division selling out in 30 minutes) – the bigger lesson in this disc golf sponsorship is what led up to it, and where that sponsorship can lead.

Avoid Disc Golfers?

My goal that first year was to avoid disc golfers as sponsors – I wanted to see non-disc golfers paying the sponsorships to show endorsement of the sport, infuse non-disc golf money into the sport, and give paying disc golfers a break. I was later told sponsoring each other’s tournaments is part of disc golf camaraderie, so I revised my view to allow for the camaraderie but still looked outside disc golf for most of our sponsors. 

Being a Southern girl, I wanted a theme for this plan of involving local businesses, so I went with “Welcome to Athens” for the out-of-town players and pitched it as a tourist opportunity to our local sponsors. The local businesses – most having no idea what disc golf was – loved it. They liked learning about the disc golf. They loved hearing how appreciative disc golfers are of a dollar (driving miles for small prizes and cash) in this inflated major sports world we live in. They loved being a part of the community’s welcome party. And they loved what we offered them in return.

As for what we offered, I don’t like the idea of asking for straight donations for a non-charity sporting event. I feel better if the other person gets something in return, so that we have a more symbiotic relationship (plus it makes it less likely they’ll say no). So, in addition to the classic logos on tee signs and programs, etc., I offered our sponsors the added value of online promotion. 

I wrote an article about Athens welcoming disc golfers to town for the tournament, naming every sponsor and linking back to their website, and posted it online using the Patch community news outlet, but any kind of blog would have worked just as well. That way, the sponsor’s name reached beyond the disc golf course, leading to future tourist business and internet sales, and it didn’t cost the club any money.

Less Is More

I had lofty ideas of going after the bigger businesses in town and asking for at least $50-$100, but tournament director Ryan Adams #37132 insisted the tee signs cost only $25 so anyone could afford to be a sponsor. That wound up being the charm in our success. Halfway through my pitch to businesses – and the pitches had to be door-to-door, face-to-face to be effective – the manager or owner would ask how much. When I’d say $25, they practically laughed and handed me cash from their drawer. At the Athens Farmers Market, the 3 Porch Farm owner smiled at the price when I was telling him about it, pulled out his wallet, and excitedly proclaimed we’d be the first thing they’d ever sponsored!

Then the sponsorships got creative and it began snowballing. Since there was one hole at the course that had a single tee that all the divisions threw from, Todd Emily of Morgan Stanley paid extra for that sign. Ideal Bagel donated breakfast, Donderos’ Kitchen donated lunch, and, while not a sponsor, a local popsicle stand set up at base camp during the sweltering afternoon to the delight of the players. 

To welcome the increasing number of women players to the tournament this year, The Pearl Girls donated jewelry and Condor Chocolates donated chocolate to compliment the spa and bath donations for prizes. And several restaurants continued to treat players with a “Taste of Athens” gift card.

Yet the heart of all of this sponsorship that we – Athens and other disc golf communities – enjoy comes down not to money and business, but to mutual admiration, respect and trust. 

Give Back!

People tend to think of sponsors as just businesses giving donations and getting their logo slapped on a few things. It’s more than that. They’re giving us disc golfers their products and cash while they're trying to keep their own livelihood businesses afloat. More importantly, they’re endorsing us. They’re allowing their business logo – their reputation – to be associated with disc golf.

In Athens, everyone we've spoken to who sponsors our tournaments tell us they're happy to support us. They don't really know much about us, but they seem to like us and the idea of our sport and the people who want to play it. Jessica at Heirloom was excited to tell me she had a bunch of disc golfers in her place after last year's Sling. Dave at Gyro Wrap has generously sponsored everything we've done, but while he was writing this year’s check, he said he doesn't know if it gets anyone in his door. 

So the key to success for disc golfers in sponsorship and community building is keeping the admiration, respect and trust mutual. 

Which means – and it sounds like a cliché at this point, but it’s crucial – we need to support our sponsors in return. Not just shop in their stores and eat their food, but let them know we’re disc golfers and we appreciate their support. Even if we just say it to a waitress or salesman, word gets back to the managers and owners, and they love it. We help keep them in business, and that’s one less sponsor we need to woo the next year.

Even easier (and cheaper) is thanking them through social media. Post a compliment on Facebook or Instagram, and when you see someone else’s sponsor post, share it, comment on it (nicely), or simply "like" it. (Seriously, consider the amount of time it takes to click a button compared to going out and getting a sponsor.) Sponsors see tagged postings, so every "like" makes them feel supported. Plus every interaction gets their name on to another set of newsfeeds, promoting them and their disc golf relationship even more. 

Which leads us to what all this community building is really leading us to: making your non-disc golf community more friendly to disc golf. 

Disc Golf Friendly Communities

Having the backing of local businesses - and us promoting those endorsements at every opportunity - helps us in the future when we're working with local government, planning more tournaments and events, or wanting to build another disc golf course. 

In Athens, several people, including county employees, told us we’d never be able to open The Crucible course to the public again, don’t even try. When the county turned down our first application, it was presenting our local business support and tourism to a commissioner that led to a much-needed phone call. That same presentation of business and tourism helped convince the county it was worth the effort, and The Crucible returned.

So when you’re planning that next tournament and thinking of sponsors, remember: a little creativity can really pay off, and a tee sign is just the beginning!

This image is posted at Sandy Creek Park year round announcing thanks to the Sandy Creek Sling sponsors.