Team spirit packages

Cheer and gymnastics families already buy a large amount of branded and practical gear, and the relatives who come to competitions want a way to participate. A spirit package bundles both into something with an obvious buyer.

What goes in one

• Team shirt, hoodie or jacket in an adult size — for the grandparent, which is the point
• A stadium seat cushion and a blanket, because bleachers are bleachers
• A team bag, water bottle and keychain
• Bows, scrunchies and practice wear for the athlete
• A competition survival kit: snacks, chargers, wipes, hairspray, safety pins
• A programme advertisement or a shout-out in the competition programme
• A photograph of the athlete or the team, framed

The adult-sized team jacket is the item that carries this. Grandparents want to wear the team's name at a competition, no shop sells one to them, and it costs a supplier order.

Tier them properly

Spirit packages work as a tiered set rather than a single lot, because the buyers range from a great-aunt who wants a shirt to a grandparent who will fund a season.

• A small tier — a shirt and a shout-out, priced so anybody can buy one
• A mid tier — the full spirit bundle with the seat and the bag
• A top tier — the bundle plus a season's competition entry or a sponsorship credit

Offer several of each rather than one. These are not scarce and there is no reason to make relatives compete for them.

Athlete sponsorship, carefully

Relatives frequently want to sponsor a named athlete, which is the natural instinct and needs a structure.

• Where the entity is charitable, sponsoring a named individual's costs raises the same crediting issue as everything else — take it to an adviser
• Where the gym is a business, it is a payment toward that family's bill and should be described as such
• Do not create a public ranking of which athletes attracted sponsorship, which the athletes will read
• Offer a general team sponsorship alongside, so a relative who wants to help without singling anybody out can

Sell them to the right list

Spirit packages are sold to relatives, not to the parents. Every family forwarding one link to five relatives is the whole distribution plan, and it works because the buyer is somebody who wants to show up in a team hoodie.

And check the branding

Where the programme uses a school's name and marks, or a national organization's, producing merchandise needs permission. A school cheer squad in particular does not own the school's logo.

General information, not legal or safeguarding advice. Whether your gym is a for-profit business, a nonprofit or a school programme changes what a donor may claim, and your governing body's safeguarding rules govern anything involving an athlete — check both before fundraising.