Career Profile
Job Summary:

Work hard, live like an athlete, get well known in one aspect of your sport and keep your sponsors happy.

Job Tasks:

A professional sportswoman or man is an ambassador for the sport and, by association, for a brand.  This is often a sportswear brand, but sponsorship can extend to all types of products ranging for cars to vacuum cleaners. You will almost always be expected to perform at the very top of your sport and you will be expected to keep social media accounts up to date with pictures and videos of your activities. You will write blog articles and attend events, gear demo evenings, tradeshows and talks. If you are sponsored ‘part-time’, you may be contracted in to deliver a certain number of these tasks for a set amount of money.  Training will form an integral part of your lifestyle and staying fit, healthy and successful may be required for continued sponsorship. The exact requirements will vary greatly depending on the sport and the company sponsoring you. The role may involve travelling for trips to get photos and videos, both for general interest and to help sell products to consumers.

Skills Needed for this Job:

To get companies to sign you up for a financial contract you need to excel in your sport and have something special to offer, along with having a personality that is open and comfortable with showing the media about your life. You will need the discipline and motivation to train consistently. Some sponsored athletes will need to train, compete or be participating in their sport for the equivalent of full-time hours: 35-40 hours per week.

Other skills you may need are:

• Communication skills: to keep your sponsors and the general public happy
• Good judgment: sponsors want ambassadors who lead by example. Bad publicity is likely to lead to loss of sponsorship, so making good judgments about your behaviour and actions is important
• Tech: you will need to know about social media and how to make the most of your status as a role model
• Finance: If you work as a freelancer, you need to know how to manage money, pay tax and keep track of your finances

Working Hours:

Take your pick with these. One of the great things about being a pro-climber/athlete is the flexibility it allows you. You can expect to work some evenings and weekends helping at events. If you are getting paid, many sponsors will have an agreement with you where you are expected to update your social media accounts (like twitter and instagram) and a blog a set amount each week or month.

Income:

Financial contracts vary widely, starting at £500 per year. There are many contracts which are for between £2000 and £7000, but even these are not easy to access.  Because of this, many ‘pros’ will spend time doing more standard work for much of the year. Financial contracts of between £20,000 and £40,000 are out there, but only for the crème de la crème of athletes

Training & Qualifications:

You most assuredly have to put in a lot of training to gain a sponsorship contract these days, which is somewhat different to how things may have been in the past.

Mentors, Industry information & Job Availability

Having a backup and exit strategy is highly recommended, because it is unlikely that you will have a lifetime career as a sponsored athlete. A professional sporting career pathway could be short, so building other income streams into your plan can help you to successfully navigate a flexible career path.

Do your research. Search out those who are or who have been pro climbers, follow their social media accounts and start to build your own online and offline profile using what you learn.

In the climbing world, some key professionals include:

Shauna Coxsey

James Pearson

Hazel Findlay

Leo Houlding

Dave Macleod

James McHaffie

James McHaffie says:

Training these days is an absolute must. I’d recommend undertaking a disciplined training programme at a young age, if you’re contemplating this avenue for a career. An example is the Tom Randall lattice board regime.