Airbnb Launches Athlete Travel Grant Program - Sponsor Spotlight

(ATR) Worldwide Olympic sponsor Airbnb this week announced a program to provide economic support for elite athletes, Olympians and Olympic hopefuls, and Paralympians and Paralympic hopefuls.

The Airbnb Athlete Travel Grant, supported by the IOC, will offer $2,000 in Airbnb promotional credit for use in training, qualification, and other travel accommodations to up to 500 athletes each year for the next eight years. The program totals $8 million in direct support over the life of the partnership.

Applications for the 2021 Airbnb Athlete Travel Grant are now open to all elite athletes, Olympians, Paralympians and hopefuls on www.airbnb.com/athletetravelgrant. Applications will close on May 14, 2021 at 11:59pm PDT.

Airbnb and the IOC last year launched the Olympian and Paralympian Experiences category, one of the largest long term athlete support programs the IOC has with a TOP Partner, in an effort to provide direct earning opportunities through hosting to athletes worldwide.

"We are very proud that together with Airbnb, we have developed the Olympian and Paralympian Experiences programme and now the new Travel Grant," said Kirsty Coventry, chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission.

"Through these two initiatives, athletes have the opportunity to create their own revenue streams and directly benefit from Airbnb’s partnership with the Olympic Movement."

Airbnb’s partnership with the IOC and the IPC spans nine years and encompasses five Olympic and Paralympic Games. To date, Airbnb and the IOC have allocated $40 million of the overall sponsorship to direct support for athletes.

BWF Reveals Partners for Major Championships

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Thursday awarded its Official Equipment Partners for BWF major championships from 2022-2025.

Victor was chosen for the BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals 2022 (Thailand) and 2024 (China), as well as the BWF Sudirman Cup 2023 (India) and 2025 (China).

Yonex will continue as the equipment supplier of the BWF World Championships in 2022 (Japan), 2023 (Denmark) and 2025 (France).

"We are extremely excited to partner with two established equipment suppliers for our Major Championships for the next four years," said BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund.

"We look forward to forging strong partnerships with both well-known global manufacturers to help us showcase world-class badminton tournaments across the world."

USA Cycling, CUORE Ink Apparel Deal

CUORE will be the Official Performance Cycling Apparel of USA Cycling for the next five years.

The Swiss company will outfit USA Cycling athletes at all competitions for cyclocross, mountain bike, road and track. CUORE will produce exclusive kit designs for both Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

In addition to National Team apparel, USA Cycling and CUORE will also be working collaboratively on several other apparel items for the Olympic Development Academy and Foundation Donors, as well as new National Championship Jerseys and Membership apparel.

"CUORE is excited to be back again with USA Cycling supporting the athletes, federation and greater community. CUORE strives to provide the best cycling apparel in the industry and our partnership with USA Cycling will push us to create even better products that can be shared with the larger cycling community in the future," said Scott Tietzel of CUORE of Switzerland.

The partnership between USA Cycling and CUORE will also mean USA Cycling Members receive 20 percent off any apparel purchased on cuore.ch and any USA Cycling registered club will receive 20 percent off Custom Club Apparel with their first order as a new CUORE partner.

New designs and replica gear from CUORE should be hitting the USA Cycling Store in mid-May.

Written by Gerard Farek

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