Curtly Richards - page 37

Sponsorship is a crucial source of income as much for clubs as for leagues, federations and even players. Getting the right supporters takes time and effort. Sure, you can send out a cookie-cutter sponsorship proposal to a large number of companies, promise them “exposure” in exchange for sponsoring you and hope for the best, but at Lynx F.C., we make sure we understand a sponsor’s objectives for being involved, beyond branding. We help build relationships with our sponsor’s clientele and expand their network, we become ambassadors for them. Sponsorship will continue to develop in the coming years, as new technologies contribute to the progressive professionalisation of the sector, allowing for increasingly profitable investments. 

Grupo Casais has been an integral part of Lynx F.C.’s success for over the past three years and a loyal force behind the reigning Futsal champions. This season we were thrilled to also secure “Resolve Salvage & Fire” as the main sponsors of the Senior Football Team along with GBZ Media and Gibraltar Insight.  

These partnerships have been visible in our 2019/2020 campaign with the Football team sitting in fourth place – short of third which qualifies for a UEFA competition. Clubs qualifying for Europe are reaping the benefits financially and this expands their opportunities, both in terms of assets that can be sponsored and the activation of sponsorship rights. 

Developing a sponsor partnership can be beneficial for any team in the national league, especially for those not qualifying for the UEFA Competition. It has helped Lynx F.C. finance travel costs, equipment, grow the youth infrastructure and shoulder other investments. At the same time, our sponsors have benefited from increased exposure and a positive marketing opportunity. However, finding a sponsor with whom there is a genuine synergy and to whom you are able to deliver exactly what they are seeking can be challenging. We understand that it only takes one mistake to lose a deal. Knowing what to look out for is half the battle, as are persistence and resilience. 

Seeking sponsorship is time-intensive especially with volunteers at the club, and takes a lot of hard work. For that reason, it’s usually not a thing that someone can do on the side. This is why the Lynx Committee has worked tirelessly as a team placing time, energy and belief to make it work. Pulling together increased our chances for success and we are extremely proud to have gone the extra mile for our sponsors, who are the backbone of our Club. We wouldn’t be writing this article to start with if it wasn’t for the support from the Gibraltar Insight team, who give us this page each month, in addition to cash sponsorship. 

Finding a sponsor is not just about a financial transaction, but creating a real opportunity with measured deliverables and forging long-term relationships that are mutually beneficial. We’ve never been afraid to ask, we may be told no, but as long as we’re determined and don’t give up at the first hurdle, we’ll be sure to succeed. We will forever be grateful for all those that believed in us and help Lynx F.C. continue to grow. 

Please get in touch for more information about sponsorship: lynxfc.com 

You can learn more about our main sponsors here: 
Grupo Casais: www.casais.pt/en/ 
Resolve: Salvage & Fire: www.resolvemarine.com 

For further information, please contact the club on lynxfc@mail.com or 200 69695.

The Med Golf 2019-20 Season continued with its 4th event at Alcaidesa on the Heathland Course on Sunday 9th February to contest the Bassadone Motors Trophy. 

The more recent of the Alcaidesa’s two courses, the Heathland was designed by Dave Thomas and opened in 2007. At over 6000 metres off the yellow tees with wide fairways and generous, but fast, greens, the course can be a real challenge in the wind. While the wind on the day did change direction during the round, it was light enough not to have a great impact on the golf and the dry, unseasonal, warm   conditions set up a very enjoyable day’s golf. 

Alistair Knight was Champion of the day, winner of the Bassadone Trophy, a £150 voucher redeemable at Cohen and Massias, jewellers and agents for Tag Heuer, and a coveted Winner’s shirt that qualifies him for the Med Golf Masters at San Roque Club in July. Alistair scored a very fine 37 points off handicap 17 to beat Paul Miles (handicap 19) by virtue of a lower handicap. 

As a consolation, Paul won the Category 2 prize which also earned him a Winners shirt and entry into the Med Gold Masters, as well as the Best dressed golfer chosen by Med Golf’s Judith Benezrah – “Best in Show!”. To complete his run of good fortune, Paul also won the card draw prize of a golf bag.

The best gross score of 73 was posted by Matthew Bruce-Smith, handicap 0. A serial winner, Matthew was also the Category 1 winner with 35 points beating John Hunter (5.2) on handicap. Matthew also won the best gross score on the par 3s and nearest to the pin in 3 on the par 5 10th hole. 

The best senior with a score of 33 points was John Robbins and Richard Atkinson had the longest drive on Hole 17. Best pair was John Hunter and Chris Warren with a joint score of 67 points 

The best guest was Brian Griffiths with 32 points which earned him a one year free membership of Med Golf.

Our handicap category prizes were won as follows:

Category 1 (handicaps 0 to 13): The winner was Matthew Bruce-Smith who won a Med Golf voucher for 40€having previously qualified for the Med Golf Masters. 

Category 2 (handicaps 14 to 21): Paul Miles won with 37 points and received a Winners shirt and entry into the Med Golf Masters,  

Category 3 (handicap 22 to 30): The winner was Russell Eldridge a score of 34 points. Russell also received a Winners shirt and entry into the Med Golf Masters.. 

Nearest the pin winners were: Matthew Robinson, Russell Eldridge, Matthew Bruce-Smith and John Robbins. Nearest to the pin in 2 on a par 4 was Richard Atkinson and Matthew Bruce Smith was nearest to the pin in 3 on a par 5.

Sponsors of the day, Bassadone Motors, not only displayed sample vehicles on the course, but also generously donated extra prizes for the winners for which they were sincerely thanked. Gareth was invited to present the prizes. 

Guests are made very welcome at all events and are encouraged to join us and enjoy a great day out. While they are not eligible to win the trophy or category prizes, they can win the many mini-competition prizes and even a best guest prize if warranted by numbers.