It’s the final countdown 🎸🇯🇵
Good morning. Cejih here 👋
By the end of this week we will officially hit "100 days out" until the start of the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. The amount of work, cooperation and coordination that has gone on behind the scenes by the teams at the USOC, IOC, Japanese government and thousands of coaches and athletes is truly remarkable.
It's impossible to truly describe this cooperative feat, so here is a visual aid:
CG Sports has some cool things coming down the pipeline
We will be announcing a few major sponsorship deals with Fortune 500 companies. Athletes making appearances on primetime TV shows. New book deals added to CG Sports Publishing. And announcing our first big venture into the world of Esports.
Our internal team at CG Sports has also grown. In April 2016 we were a one person shop and the company's slogan was "Let's Have Fun" (true story). Five years later we are a team of 13 strong (and growing). Read below to meet our newest team member at CG Sports.
While we are still staying safe and cautious, it is exciting to see light at the end of the tunnel approaching fast.
Thank you for being on this journey with us - more good things to come.
Cejih
Jordan Wilimovsky Outpaces Competition in Mission Viejo
Jordan Wilimovsky was one of multiple Olympians in Mission Viejo for the 2021 TYR Pro Swim Series. Jordan outpaced the competition in both the men's 800 and 1500 yard free and finished third in the 400 free.
Haylie McCleney Featured in PEOPLE
Team USA Softball players Haylie McCleney and Dejah Mulipola explained to PEOPLE what it means to have softball added back to the lineup for the Tokyo Olympics. Team USA is one of six teams currently qualified to play at the Tokyo Olympics.
Alex Massialas guest stars on USOPC's podcast "Sasha Sessions"
Alex Massialas joined host Sasha Cohen for Episode 18 of "Sasha Sessions: A Team USA Podcast." Sasha and Alex discussed all things fencing, using his platform to restore varsity programs cut from Stanford, and speaking out against Asian American hate.
CEJIH EXPLAINS
Rule of Thumb for Selling Athlete Sponsorships
This week will mark 100 days until the start of the Tokyo 2021 Olympics. The market for athlete sponsorship deals is poppin' right now. While many deals will start to spring up, there is a good rule of thumb that I recommend following.
Can you make a case for why your athlete would be a good fit for this company, without relying on their athletic accomplishments. By this I mean, is there a good genuine story here that we can build a marketing campaign around - which will only be enhanced by what that talent has done athletically.
Athlete Merch of the Week: Erika Brown
At CG Sports, we believe in empowering athletes. Our mission is to help athletes develop their brand, so that they can tell their unique story. For the next few months, we will be featuring merch for each of our athletes.
Current spotlight: Erika Brown
The work from home vibe has more people dressing up their laptops. Dress yours up with a sticker (or more) from Erika Brown's collection.
WHAT’S HOT
A round up of the CG Sports Teams' favorite weekly content from the most athletes in the biz.
Tune in to @cgsportsco on Wednesday, April 14th and catch Beata Nelson's Instagram takeover.
Jonny Bornstein and the Chicago Fire concluded their preseason matches and will open the 2021 season at home on April 17th.
Coleman Stewart, Maddy Banic, and Natalie Hinds threw down top eight finishes at meets across the country.
SPONSORED CONTENT
SplashForward
SPLASHForward, a nonprofit based in the Seattle area, is busy planning for the future to bring new public aquatics facilities to a region that hasn’t seen any new public pools since the 1970’s. SPLASHForward is hosting a free one-hour virtual event on Saturday, May 1st for kids, professionally produced by us! The event will feature three-time Olympian Elizabeth Beisel as the event host, Pacific Northwest native and Olympic Gold Medalist Megan (Quann) Jendrick, Pacific Northwest resident and eight-time Olympic Medalist Rebecca Soni, and appearances by other PNW Olympians like Margaret Hoelzer and Tom Malchow.
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ
A collection of the CG Sports Teams' favorite random news of the week.
Ever seen a perfect softball game? Now you can. North Texas softball pitcher Hope Trautwein struck out 21 Arkansas-Pine Bluff batters on Sunday.
UFC middleweight fighter Julian Marquez called out several A-list celebrity athletes after his fight on Saturday. The challenge? To face him in a game of badminton (or pickleball).
On the calendar for April 19th: The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) will sit down with the NCAA to discuss the inequities between the men's and women's tournaments.
MY NAME IS...
Matt Haage, Athlete Partnerships Associate
I went to undergrad at Arizona State University and law school at Chicago-Kent College of Law. I've been working with sports agencies since 2016. My passions include swimming, working out, watching sports, and helping athletes succeed.
Rapid Fire:
Favorite food? Chicken tenders (quesadillas are a close runner-up)
Favorite quarantine purchase? Countless rounds of golf
Coffee order (or tea)? I order my coffee black...I'm an old man.
Favorite sports to watch? Football and swimming
Bucket list item? Complete an Ironman.
Favorite quote? "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."
PODCASTS
Career Competitor: Episode 86 - "Cierra Burdick"
Four-time gold medalist with Team USA Basketball
University of Tennessee torchbearer
SEC Finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year
Champion's Mojo: Episode 111, "Matt Biondi: Fighting to Right Wrongs"
Matt Biondi is one of America's most decorated Olympic swimmers -- but he left the sport 30 years ago due to unhappiness with the status quo. He felt forced to give up his dreams to become a professional swimmer and earned a Masters Degree in Education, teaching math for nearly two decades.
He joins Kelly and Maria to talk about his motivation, tenacity and desire to right past wrongs for others.
Sign up for your free consultation or health, leadership and life coaching with Kelly or Maria at ChampionsMojo.com/cm-coaching.
FINANCIAL FITNESS
CG Sports is partnering with Nav.it to bring weekly tips to navigate your finances, increase money mindfulness, and better your financial health.
Short Term Investments by Maia Monell
Your savings time-frame matters HUGELY when it comes to investing. So what should you invest in?
High-yield savings. Traditional savings accounts don’t pay a lot in interest, but their online cousins sure do. In fact, some online banks offer significantly higher-yielding savings accounts than their brick-and-mortar counterparts (think: 2-3% interest payments as opposed to 0.01% from a big bank).
And yes, they’re perfectly safe, as long as they’re FDIC-insured.
Check back next week for more short-term investment options!
