BAA to strictly enforce members to wear full racing kit at all races

Wait, this isn't just for the subelite group, but for the entire club? Seems ridiculous, though 20% on Adidas is pretty solid for an open club discount.

For this to be justifiable, I'd want to know where the Adidas sponsorship money is going. If a lot of it is going to programs that directly benefit the average Joe BAA member who's being asked to represent, then I think it's fine. I'd resent it if the money was going elsewhere.

i'd be joining a new club asap.

what a bunch of b.s.

if they were giving that stuff away, sure, but for a fun club for hobby joggers and weekend warriors?

insane.

adi Z wrote:

i'd be joining a new club asap.

what a bunch of b.s.

if they were giving that stuff away, sure, but for a fun club for hobby joggers and weekend warriors?

insane.

Wrong. If adidas is sponsoring the team then they have a fair expectation of seeing their logo. And the statement is obviously implying that you can wear whatever you want on individual training days when there won't be potential pictures taken.

Seems fair to me wrote:

adi Z wrote:

i'd be joining a new club asap.

what a bunch of b.s.

if they were giving that stuff away, sure, but for a fun club for hobby joggers and weekend warriors?

insane.

Wrong. If adidas is sponsoring the team then they have a fair expectation of seeing their logo. And the statement is obviously implying that you can wear whatever you want on individual training days when there won't be potential pictures taken.

Do they issue all club members free gear? If not, I do not see how they can justify requiring you to wear it.

If this was a sponsored team/club where you were getting paid, or free gear, then I agree. BUT, this appears to be just a club that you pay to be a part of. I guess to some it may be important enough to them but no way I would do it.

It will be interesting to see how this impacts the club's membership.

Well that makes my decision of which Boston running club to join a lot easier.

I mostly don't see any problem with this as long as members are provided with this apparel that they are expected to wear.

Though one thing would be the breaking point for me - racing spikes. Until Adidas comes out with flywire ultra light spikes like Nike has with the Victorys and Matumbos, I would not wear them. Or maybe this product exists already?

Haji wrote:Do they issue all club members free gear? If not, I do not see how they can justify requiring you to wear it...

It doesn't seem like an unreasonable request to me. There is an easy out for anyone who doesn't want to wear adidas, just don't join the club. If you choose to be a member of BAA then it would seem to follow that you need to agree to the rules of the club, or work to get those rules changed. Doesn't matter if you're paying for the apparel/shoes or you're getting them for free, if you CHOOSE to be a member of BAA (or any club) you follow the rules the club sets. Don't like the rules, don't join.

It's not like BAA is the only gig in town, there are dozens of running clubs in the Boston area alone.

One thing I wonder about is how this will affect runners who have sponsorship in another area. Specifically I'm thinking of some runners who compete for BAA on the roads but have a different sponsor for trail/mountain running. For the most part I see these runners competing in their BAA singlets for the off road races but with different shoes.

Interesting new policy. In the past, some very talented runners have had to beg to receive a full apparel kit from BAA coaches.

It doesn't seem unreasonable to me. If you want to continue to be sponsored by someone else, don't accept sponsorship from BAA. It's that easy. These sponsored athletes have to abide by the rules set by their sponsor. Don't like it? Find another sponsor.

Sounds silly doesn't it?

just found this on a back page my club sponsorship thread is redundant, sorry

bump

right back at ya wrote:

It doesn't seem unreasonable to me. If you want to continue to be sponsored by someone else, don't accept sponsorship from BAA. It's that easy. These sponsored athletes have to abide by the rules set by their sponsor. Don't like it? Find another sponsor.

Sounds silly doesn't it?

Dude, this isn't about sponsored runners. Of course if you're sponsored you have to wear the gear. When I was on sponsored teams, I never complained about wearing one brand exclusively. But I was representing the brand IN EXCHANGE FOR FREE GEAR. The BAA is a huge organization, most of whose members pay to join. Imagine if the NYRR required their members to wear a particular brand whenever they were at an official event.

Dude, this is about a sponsored club. Adidas sponsors the Boston Marathon and these funds help support the racing team and everyone else's membership.

Mercantile Exchange wrote:

Dude, this is about a sponsored club. Adidas sponsors the Boston Marathon and these funds help support the racing team and everyone else's membership.

I was puzzled by the "and everyone else's membership" part at first. I mean, these members pay fees right? So I looked into it and BAA members pay $75 per year, for which they receive uniform shorts and singlet, a discount on adidas shoes and clothes at Boston running stores, access to a coaching staff, and year round workouts. If you can run in adidas shoes it doesn't seem like a bad deal.

BAA in the past had been very elitest when it came to giving away free racing gear as well as cool down and warmup clothing. If you we're not on the scoring team you didn't get merchandise. In all fairness you could attend coached track workouts and run in the Grand Prix races for free no matter how slow you ran.

800 dude wrote:

right back at ya wrote:

It doesn't seem unreasonable to me. If you want to continue to be sponsored by someone else, don't accept sponsorship from BAA. It's that easy. These sponsored athletes have to abide by the rules set by their sponsor. Don't like it? Find another sponsor.

Sounds silly doesn't it?

Dude, this isn't about sponsored runners. Of course if you're sponsored you have to wear the gear. When I was on sponsored teams, I never complained about wearing one brand exclusively. But I was representing the brand IN EXCHANGE FOR FREE GEAR. The BAA is a huge organization, most of whose members pay to join. Imagine if the NYRR required their members to wear a particular brand whenever they were at an official event.

That was my point. I was simply replying to the other poster with the same silly answer he provided.

It will be interesting to see how this impacts their membership.

Humans are a little too obsessed with uniforms, don't ya think?

I like clubs without uniforms or rules or meetings.

What if you join BAA (for the coaching) but don't take any gear or advantage of the discounts?

bump