A very tacky development

[Inside Shoulder]

In this week's Wentworth Courier appears this spruik for the Scots College 7's tournament over the Easter Weekend. I did not attend last year but I assume that this picture comes from last season's tournament.

The inclusion of a commercial logo on a school's rugby jersey should be viewed by anyone with a concern for a proper emphasis on schoolboy rugby as a most unwelcome, not to say tasteless, development.

The commercialisation of children's sport is only likely to compromise the objectives of participating in school, or any, child sport. The GPS charter, and I'm sure the "mission statements" of all of the school systems and the schools themselves, promote sport, including rugby, as an adjunct to the education process. Taking money from sponsors and permitting them to put their name on the school's jersey ups the ante somewhat - in future why wouldn't the results achieved by schools determine which sponsors were attracted to supporting those schools? And why would not realisation of that imperative lead to a win at all costs mentality and place additional pressure on the participants for fear of losing the sponsorship for next season?

How long before we have the Scots College Investec 1st XV? How tacky.

Its hard to believe that a school that charges the best part of $30,000 a year can be short of money - not that they have travelling expenses for this tournament anyway.

Thats not what schoolboy rugby is about.

 

[random2]

Joeys were approached by BSC and asked to where the logo on 1st XV jerseys however they said no. I think the same thing may have happened with Kooga a few years ago so there's one school against it.

 

[Rob42]

Most junior clubs have sponsors on their jerseys, and are grateful for the money. How is this any different?

 

[suckerforred]

I think the schools are between a rock and a hard place on this subject. How do most schools afford to attend sporting carnivals, particularly if there is a lot of travel and accomodation involved? If having a sponsor makes participation easier for the kids to attend, why would this be a problem?

View attachment 2147
Its hard to believe that a school that charges the best part of $30,000 a year can be short of money - not that they have travelling expenses for this tournament anyway.
.

If it was a 'poorer' school or a state school would it make the logo any more acceptable? Is one of the parents an employee at Investec, and if so should this be any more or less acceptable 'Joe Smith's Panel Beating' who might be the parent of another of the kids?

Having been involved in trying to raise funds to send school teams to carnivals around the state, both while I was at school and since (and I don't have kids), it makes life easier if a company/business will step up and give a fair chunk of the funding required. Less raffles and begging letter to parents. In one of the cases I was involved in what we did was leave the jersey's alone (as we couldn't afford new ones) but had the business of one of the parents screen print major supporters onto polo shirts that the support staff and kids wore when not playing. Although I would guess people might see this as 'better' then having logos on jerseys, it could in fact increase costs. We were lucky and they were donated.

As I said - rock and a hard place. Rob42 has a point - Is it any different from sponsoring Junior clubs? As long as they do not have an undue influence on the make up and operations of the teams, I don't have a problem. We have to remember that in some cases schools can't send teams to such competitions because their community can't afford it. A situation that could be improved with some well placed sponsorship.

 

[barbarian]

That's classic Scots. I was out at the Head of the River this year and saw a number of brand new vehicles (smaller four wheen drives) parked with the Scots logo and 'Peter Warren Ford' or something written on the side.

Jeez it looked tacky.

It would be a very sad day when sponsors logos appeared on GPS shirts. Hopefully it is far, far away. I see the argument for poorer schools who may need the cash, but not the GPS. If there are any schools who don't need any more fucking cash it's them.

.

 

[Joe Mac]

When I was in my very early years at View I remember that the Schools were going along this path. I vaguely remember in 1996 they had an Adidas kit and remember hearing something about them sponsoring the team. I think Joey's had a sponsor for the season as well. After that GPS pulled the pin on sponsorship because as discussed above, it deviated from schooling part of going to school.

I would like to caveat my above comments with; I am not 100% on this. Its just something I remember vaguely from my school days...

 

[suckerforred]

...... it deviated from schooling part of going to school.......

To play devils advocate though..... Would the sponsoring of a school's sports team (for a major carnival not week in week out comps) by an external party free up funds to be spent on other more appropiate aspects of schooling, i.e. library resources, text books, science equipment? Just a thought.

I don't think that it is a 'black and white' issue. Lots and lots and lots of various shades of grey, blue, yellow, white and red.

 

[Joe Mac]

To play devils advocate though..... Would the sponsoring of a school's sports team (for a major carnival not week in week out comps) by an external party free up funds to be spent on other more appropiate aspects of schooling, i.e. library resources, text books, science equipment? Just a thought.

I don't think that it is a 'black and white' issue. Lots and lots and lots of various shades of grey, blue, yellow, white and red.

I see what you mean but I still think it's a worrying development.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

I'm surprised it's not done more often. My kids are in the state system and their school has a sponsorship relationship with several local businesses. They'll be going private in high school and when I think about it, the local PSA schools have totally "clean" sporting uniforms.

I don't really see the problem, to be honest.

 

[suckerforred]

I see what you mean but I still think it's a worrying development.

I think that the key will be finding 'appropiate' sponsors. McDonalds, for example (as I know it has been raised before in the media), is not an appropiate sponsor for a school sports side. A local business or even a multinational computer company on the other hand might been seen in a better light.

As I said in my original post, from my point of view, the money will have to come with no strings attached. No influence on the selection or operation of the team, no 'discounts' offered to the school as a whole or the students and parents. If you give the money then you do it for the exposure and the greater good.

 

[Bowside]

While I've never seen sponsorship on a jersey like in the original picture, pretty much all the big private school sporting programs are sponsored in some way. I've seen many rowing 8's with sponsors logos along the side - I agree it does look a bit tacky.

Like barbarian said - often you see cars with "John Smith Ford/Volvo/BMW proudly supporting the .... school/college"

When I was at school I think we were sponsored by McDonalds - which amounted to them giving us a few of those big yellow cordial dispensers, and a free meal on a tour one time. We were probably also sponsored by a raft of other businesses owned by parents. I doubt it is the most efficient way to spend sponsorship dollars but I figure the businesses sponsoring school sport probably just see it as a glorified donation anyway.

I wouldn't want to see it on the school kits, or even on the foam covering the goal posts - but if it is just a placard on the fence and an add in the sporting program I don't see the harm in it.

There is already a far more tacky development in school sport called importing.

 

[GTPIH]

Most GPS schools have sponsorship in one form or another, be it different jersey suppliers or ads in the rugby programme. I have a son at Scots and Investec sponsor the entire event and every school that participates has jerseys supplied by Investec bearing the Investec logo (although in 2010, Shore being Shore didn't). The only similarity to a school's normal jersey is the colours. I don't see the problem for what is essentially a carnival day.

 

[Joe Mac]

Forget the Investec logo, who is the weirdo bloke on the website for the 7's tournament? He looks like a member of the Chippendales!

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Junior clubs do not have a huge source of funds in the form of fees and federal government hand outs. They have to keep rego fees affordable so they are in a completely different boat.
Public schools are similar.
This is about some rich person putting his logo on kids presumably for a commercial benefit resulting from association with an elite event. The event and the integrity should not be for sale - if it is why shouldn't the participants who put on the spectacle be paid: are they the only ones not deriving a commercial benefit?
In relation to supplying kit - I would be surprised if the schools are given kit. The 1st may be but the quid pro quo is that the other 1185 odd boys have to buy there's.
I think the weird dude is Australia's Top DJ - an absolute necessity at a rugby galah day: what are they smoking in Bellevue Hill these days?
There's a lot in what Barbarian says - but I didn't want to inflame things

 

[barbarian]

Haha Timomatic! He performed at HT of the Reds-Tahs game at Homebush. No idea why he is going after the Rugby market, wouldn't have thought they are the demographic for his slick urban stylingz.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Why can't they have the pipe band? (seriously)

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Fellas I've just come back from the Republic and you ought to see the fanfare around THEIR schools rugby. Totally puts us in the shade. Banners all over town, sponsorship, the whole box and dice. It's massive over there.

 

[GTPIH]

Agree completely about the dj, although the boys probably like him. No idea why they don't use pipes, but it could be a perceived advantage to Scots - enough schools already complain about them at regular gps games. Investec only supply the 7's jerseys for this event - nothing to do with regular 1st's jerseys.

 

[Rob42]

I see from the website screenshot above that it's the "Investec Schoolboy Rugby Sevens", so perhaps all the teams have the logo? Though that would entail them organising jerseys for all the teams just for this comp, which seems unlikely.

Definitely tacky for a school like Scots.

 

[AngrySeahorse]

I'm happy with sponsorship for school level as long as the sponsors are for the competition as a whole so funds can be divided amongst school teams according to whether they actually need financial help. This collective way of doing things is a better alternative to teams having funds just for themselves which creates a "haves & have nots" scenario which is the bane of most sports at club level.