2014 -2015 Sponsorship Proposal Cheltenham Hockey Club | Charlton Kings | Cheltenham | Glos. |GL52 8QF

The Club The 2013-2014 season has been an historic one for the club with the Ladies 1st XI gaining promotion to the Investec National League. This makes us one of only 16 clubs in the country with both men’s and ladies teams playing top flight hockey in the national leagues (England Hockey have over 950 affiliated clubs). Also this season our men’s 2nd, 3rd and 5th and Ladies 4th teams have all been promoted.   We are an ambitious and dynamic club looking to create a meld of performance sport and the more social side of club sport. We currently have around 700 members through all ages from 7 years upwards. We have 5 men's teams, 4 women's teams, the ‘Wednesdays’ plus various age group squads and indoor sides Our junior section is one of the largest in the country running training groups from under 9 upwards and currently operates a waiting list for membership. We are looking for sponsorship in funding and / or in kind. Securing sponsorship is vital to enable us to develop the Club itself and support our players. We aim to build long term, sustainable partnerships with a range of sponsors at all levels, and offer tangible benefits from an involvement with one of the most successful clubs in the country.

The Environment Hockey is finally starting to gain a higher profile. India are now operating the Hero Hockey India League, working in the same way as the cricket IPL, auctioning off the world’s best players to the highest bidders. The Euro Hockey League (the first major professionally based hockey league) is in its 6th season and continuing to grow in strength. Both competitions are giving hockey, more exposure and attracting more spectators, backed up with high quality global TV coverage.   On a more national level English hockey is going through a transitional period where some clubs are starting to attract big sponsors, East Grinstead HC are sponsored by Emirates and a growing number of other clubs are attracting large cash backers, enabling them to ‘buy-in’ and pay high profile international players. Whilst this has been happening in countries like Holland and Belgium for some time, this change is creating a disparity between the clubs that can afford to ‘buy-in’ and support high profile players and the clubs without these sponsors who have to continue to operate in a more traditional ‘amateur’ way. Now is a good time to get involved in this fast evolving sporting environment. Without a sponsor we have to charge our ‘elite’ players for part of their kit, membership fees and match fees. This makes it financially difficult for some of our players and also makes it difficult to attract new players to the club. We are very lucky to have a strong reputation and a strong club ethos but our aim is to be able to help our elite players compete in this environment, build on the success we have already created and establish ourselves as one of the premier hockey clubs in the country. Your sponsorship would take the financial pressure off both the players and the club and would allow us to concentrate on the sport itself.

  Why Sponsor us? Brand exposure and awareness on a local and national platform. Association with an organisation at the centre of a large local community which encourages a healthy lifestyle through sporting participation to all ages at all levels. Advertising opportunities on the club website, pitch-side banners, in the clubhouse and through club newsletters, match day programmes, weekly updates and selection emails. Business-to-business links and contacts within the club and with other sponsors. Publicity through association in regular newspaper coverage. Ultimately help us to realise our ambition to establish ourselves as one of the premier clubs in the country and compete at the highest level possible.

Main 1st XI sponsor   Both the men’s and ladies ‘1sts’ are the flagship teams of the club and require support to function competitively at the national level they play at. If we are to succeed consistently at National league level we need to support our players through training and competing for the club. We are currently supported by Mercian Hockey who supply kit for our first teams and most players have stick sponsors. But we as a club have to employ professional coaches, team managers, supply after game food and have to cover our travel and league entry fees. National League entry fees alone are in the region of £1500 per team per season. As a main sponsor we would offer (Exact scope is dependent on support offered): Logo on playing shirt front Logo on the back of tracksuit Prime pitch side advertising banners Full page Match Day programme advert Website Banner and link Logo on club newsletters and communication Access to 1st XI for marketing Each team would be looking for a two year sponsorship deal of around £2,000 per season.

Club Partners   We incur many operating costs throughout the season. As a partner you could provide vital support to help the smooth running of our ever expanding club. We have packages available to suit all budgets – we recognise that one size doesn’t fit all and all aspects can be negotiated to suit your requirements. Partnership initiatives include (exact scope is dependent on support offered): Minor kit sponsorship. e.g. logo on sleeve of shirt/shorts/kitbag , link & banner - £650 Large pitch side advertising banner  (4900mm x 750mm) - £250 (limited numbers available) Small pitch side advertising banner (2450mm x 750mm) & link  - £175 (limited numbers available) Individual player sponsorship – links with a player in the 1st XI - £100 Website banner with link - £50 Inclusion in match day programme - POA Junior/senior end of season awards - POA Bar sponsorship - POA Match teas - POA Physio support Medical kit sponsorship If you have any other ideas on how you can help let us know!

CHC History Founded in 1887, Cheltenham Hockey Club (CHC) is 127 years old. The earliest reference to a CHC is in an article in the Cheltenham Examiner of October 1898. In 1904, a left winger, H S Slade became the first club player to win international honours appearing for England against Wales. The club had a chequered history around that time and on at least two occasions it nearly folded. The second of these was during the First World War. Afterwards it was set up by J A Lovell, who was to be a leading force in the club in the post war years. The annual subscription was one guinea and match fees were 2s 6d for the men's 1st XI. During this period Cheltenham players won International Honours notably E S Hoare who won 30 England caps between 1926 and 1937. By 1957 CHC was fielding 2 Men's and 2 Ladies teams on a Saturday and the midweek men's Wednesday XI. There were no Leagues and fixture meetings were held on a Monday at a coffee bar in the Promenade. Teams were selected and the selection cards were sent by post as few people had phones. Also very few ladies had access to a car so ordinary buses were used to get to away games! The post war years saw Cheltenham consolidate itself into one of the strongest clubs in Gloucestershire helped in the 1950s by D J Carnill, a full back who won 45 England caps and captained Great Britain at the Rome Olympics in 1960. Since then we have had a number of our players achieving international status. League Hockey came to the West of England in 1978 and Cheltenham were runners up in the first two years of the premier Division (78/79 and 79/80). The winning of the Premier Division of the Sun Life West Hockey League in 1990/1991 gave the 1st XI automatic promotion into Division 2 of the National League. In more recent times, CHC has taken part in a successful Lottery Bid alongside Balcarras School. CHC has been based at the school since 2002 and the Club now boasts some of the best facilities in the South West. Since the move, the club has seen a team(s) promoted into higher leagues nearly every season, culminating in the successful position we are in now.

www.chelthockey.org For more details please contact: Mike Byrd Tel: 07879854886 Email: chcsponsorship@gmail.com www.chelthockey.org