National Sponsor Opportunities
The following guidelines were passed by the USARS Board of Directors. It was determined that sponsorship advertisements and/or logos appearing on competitive uniforms or costumes of athletes engaged in skating or training in the venue of USARS sanctioned competitions shall be governed by the following rules:
ARTISTIC: Because of the elaborate nature of artistic costumes, the size of the advertisement/logo must be limited to 3" at the largest dimension. A singular club patch or USARS-approved sponsorship logo may be thus worn on either shoulder, the chest or in the case of females, on the skirt. This restriction applies to warm-up events prior to a competition, and the competition itself. However, for all award ceremonies, artistic competitors may wear something other than their competitive costumes (substitute costume, warm-up suits, jackets, etc.) without any restriction on the numbers or size of logos or advertising, limited to USARS-approved sponsors.
HOCKEY and SPEED uniforms have no restraints on the total number of sponsorship logos or the size that can be worn on a competitive uniform, except that they must not obscure the required contestant numbers in the positions stated by the rules. All such advertising and/or logos must receive USARS approval as competitive sponsors.
WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP UNIFORMS: USARS reserves to itself the right to restrict the use of all logos on World Championship Team uniforms in compliance with FIRS rules. A member of a World Championship Team must abide by USARS requirements concerning wearing of advertisements and/or logos on World Team costumes or uniforms should USARS establish a National Team sponsor. If there is a conflict between the USARS sponsor and contracts with individual members of World Teams, USARS rights shall take precedent. Under no circumstances will an individual place an advertisement or logo on a World Team uniform, either before, during or after a World Championship, without the written permission to do so from USARS Headquarters. World Championship uniforms are furnished by USARS and remain the property of USARS, and may be recalled at any time.
RIGHTS FEES: Approved Annual Team/Athlete licensing fees for competitive skaters are based upon the effective range and importance of such advertising within the community of roller-skating. Two categories of influence are established.
- Local businesses or corporations whose operations are confined to a single city or state: $100 annual USARS registration fee.
- Multi-State or national businesses or corporations and skate equipment manufacturers or suppliers: $1000 annual USARS registration fee.
Once a sponsor is registered with USARS, the number of individuals that the sponsor may wish to support in competition is without limitation. USARS will not be party to such negotiations, the financial terms of these agreements being between the skater and the sponsor. USARS registration fee licenses are renewable each competitive season on September 1st. USARS will not approve cigarette, liquor or other advertisers that run contrary to generally accepted youth standards.
Wearing of unlicensed sponsorship logos during competitive events (includes warm-ups) and awards ceremonies is prohibited. Violation penalties are outlined in the USARS General Rules, GR 3.06.04 (e).
Sponsorship Without Product/Company Identification
Skaters may continue to solicit sponsors that do not hold a license with USARS if these sponsors do not seek product identification with the skater. In other words, should any entity wish to support a skater or team without being identified on the competitive uniform or during awards ceremonies or in print and media advertising, there is no need to register such sponsorship with USARS, and the funds can be provided directly to the sponsored skater.
Print or Electronic Advertising
National USARS registered athlete sponsors have the right to use the images of USARS champions for both print and electronic advertisement, provided they also receive the individual skater's permission and it does not represent or imply sponsorship support of a championship event of the USARS organization unless separate arrangements have been concluded.