Three ways to fund your season
A guide for racers — and for the parent reading over your shoulder. None of the three needs you to be famous, to have a following, or to win races. Together they take about one afternoon.
Before you start: the money goes to your club. Everything you bring in goes to your club, earmarked for you. That sounds like a detour, and it makes everything simpler:
- You do not have to be of legal age.
- It counts as a contribution to a sports club, not as pay to you.
- Your club can issue an invoice, which the sponsor needs for their bookkeeping.
So talk to your coach or the club treasurer before you start, not after. It takes five minutes and saves a lot of trouble.
1. Make your page yours — 15 minutes, once
You already have a page on Race Point. It is built from the official FIS points list, so it exists whether or not you have ever done anything. But it holds nothing except numbers until you fill it in.
- Go to racepoint.net/alpine-skiing/lagg-till.html.
- Fill in your FIS code, your name and your email.
- Add your accounts — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, your own site.
- Add your sponsors: name and web address. They appear as logos on your page.
- Send. We check the links and put them up, normally within a day.
Why it matters: your page is the one address about you that a sponsor can open and take seriously. An Instagram account is hard to show an accountant. A results page with official FIS points and a logo on it is not.
Two things to do straight afterwards:
- Put the address of your page in your Instagram bio. It is the only link you need there.
- Leave the Sponsorship box on your page. It lets a company that finds you get in touch without you having to publish your email address. If you would rather not have it, ask us to remove it.
What it pays: nothing directly. But it is what makes point 2 possible, and point 2 is where the money is.
2. Find a local sponsor — one afternoon, and this is the one that pays
This feels like the hardest of the three and it is by far the most productive. One afternoon can bring in the equivalent of five hundred to two and a half thousand euros, and the sponsor usually stays for next season.
Who to ask
Not big brands. They have marketing departments, long processes, and they say no.
Instead: businesses in your own town where one single person decides.
- The garage, the tyre shop, the car dealer
- The builder, the electrician, the plumber, the painter
- The dentist, the optician, the physiotherapist, the hairdresser
- The estate agent, the accountant, the insurance broker
- The restaurant, the pizzeria, the café, the gym
- The sports shop, the paint shop, the florist
Best of all: businesses your family already buys from. You have a relationship. Start there.
Why they say yes: to them it is not marketing. It is a local business owner backing a local kid in a sport the town cares about. It is a pleasant decision to make, it takes ten minutes, and the money is already in the budget under entertainment or marketing.
How to ask
Phone them or walk in. Do not email. Email works for booking a meeting, never for asking about money. A conversation face to face says yes far more often than an email does.
Take a parent along if you are under 18. Wear the club jacket.
“Hello, my name is Anna Andersson and I ski race for Storängen SK. I am racing FIS races in Sweden and around Europe this season, about twenty-five starts between November and April.
I am looking for local sponsors who want to come along for the season. For five hundred euros you get your logo on my helmet and on my page on Race Point, a post from me after every race weekend, and a framed picture to put up in here.
The club sends the invoice, so it is an ordinary deductible cost for you.
Is that something you would be interested in?”
Then silence. Say nothing more. Whoever speaks first after a question about money loses.
Have your page open on your phone when you ask. Being able to show “this is where your logo goes” makes the whole thing concrete in ten seconds.
What to offer and what to ask for
Always name the figure yourself. Never ask “what would you like to give?” — you will get half.
| Level | Per season | What they get |
|---|---|---|
| Club friend | €200 | Logo on your Race Point page, a mention in your season post |
| Season sponsor | €500 | The above + logo on the helmet + a post after every race weekend + a framed picture |
| Main sponsor | €1,000 | The above + name on the race jacket + an invitation to a race + a photo of their own with your logo |
| Family partner | €2,500 | The above + exclusivity in their trade + named in everything you do |
The figures are a rule of thumb. Wherever you live, ask what a local business in your town would consider a normal amount to back a young athlete with, and pitch there.
Always sell a whole season, November to April. Write into the agreement that you will talk again in September next year. That one sentence is what turns a sponsor into a five-year sponsor.
Expect to hear no
Of ten businesses you ask, roughly two or three say yes. That means seven say no, and that is completely normal. Ask ten, not three. A no is not a judgement on you — it is usually a matter of timing or a budget that is already spent.
What decides whether they are back next year
This is the whole difference, and almost everyone misses it.
- After every race weekend: a photo and one line. “Fifth in Åre this weekend, thanks Berg’s Garage.” Ten seconds. Send it even when it went badly.
- Once a month: a proper post where you tag them.
- At the end of the season: a summary, a thank-you picture, and a conversation where you ask about next year.
A sponsor who has heard from you fifteen times during the season says yes again without hesitating. One who paid in November and then heard nothing says no.
3. Ask for help towards one specific trip — 30 minutes, once per trip
Relatives, neighbours and club mates are happy to put money towards a season. But only when it is about one concrete goal with one concrete price.
| Works | Does not work |
|---|---|
| “Europa Cup in Italy in January — €1,800 for travel, accommodation and entry fees” | “Support my season” |
| A closing date | Open for ever |
| An update when you are halfway | Silence |
| A picture of you on the hill | No picture |
How to do it, today:
- Write the goal in one sentence, with the amount.
- Write three lines on what the money is for. Be specific: flights, accommodation, entry fees, wax service.
- Ask your club for their account details, and what the giver should put as the message — your name.
- Add a picture and set a closing date, ideally four to six weeks out.
- Share it — and ask your club and your parents to share it. It is their network that gives the money, not yours.
One important thing about words: this is a gift, not sponsorship. Whoever gives gets nothing back — no logo, no thank-you video, no merchandise. That is why it is not taxable. If someone wants their name on the helmet they are a sponsor, and they belong in part 2 instead.
What is being built right now
Two things do not exist yet, and we would rather not pretend they do.
- Your own link. If you share your page and someone buys something through one of the partner links on it, 80 per cent of the commission goes to your club, earmarked for you. 10 per cent goes to the Race Point Foundation, which awards grants, and 10 per cent to running the site. It opens during the season.
- The support button. A button on your page where relatives and neighbours can give directly, instead of you having to pass round the club’s account details by hand. Also during the season.
Tick the boxes at the bottom of the form at racepoint.net/alpine-skiing/lagg-till.html and we will let you know when they open. You are not committing to anything, and nothing is switched on for your page without us asking you first.
What to ignore
You will be told to build a brand, make content, sell your own beanies and chase ambassadorships with energy drink companies.
Don’t. It takes an enormous amount of time and returns almost nothing while you have a few hundred followers. The same hours spent on three local businesses bring in a thousand euros.
Build content when you have something to build it on. Start with the three things above.
In short
| What | Your time | What it brings in a season |
|---|---|---|
| Fill in your page | 15 minutes | No money in itself — but it is what makes the next line possible |
| A local sponsor | One afternoon | €500 – €2,500, and it renews |
| One specific trip | 30 minutes | €300 – €2,000 |
Start with the page, because it takes a quarter of an hour. Then do the sponsor visits, because that is where the money is. Save the fundraiser until you have a trip you actually need to cover.
Good luck. See you on the hill.