Three year sponsorship deal with Slazenger slashes Scottish Hockey's youth international costs

Scottish Hockey has managed to slash the rising costs of its international programme for under 16 and under 18 players this week via a three year sponsorship deal with sports equipment giant Slazenger. "Slazenger's support will supplement expenses for key international test matches in the build-up for the U18 Europeans and the U16 Four Nations Tournament", explained Scottish Hockey Performance Manager Callum McLeod.

Hockey, as a major contender in upcoming high profile events like the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games, appears to be becoming a hot ticket for sponsorship, offering increasingly valuable brand exposure. Chloe Passant, Slazenger's Sponsorship Executive, outlined the brand's rationale for agreeing the deal: "We are delighted to enter into partnership with Scottish Hockey. The deal demonstrates the Slazenger commitment to offer market leading hockey equipment to players of all levels, and to continue our support of the development of junior hockey. We are well placed to do this from our position at the forefront of the hockey brands in the marketplace." Across the sports marketplace generally, the Slazenger brand has been marketed through sponsorship agreements with several tennis players (including Tim Henman), cricketers (including Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell and the Pakistan national team) and field hockey players and associations (including the England national team).       Through the agreement, Scottish Hockey will also participate in the Team Slazenger programme which aims to help talented junior players by providing them with the highest quality sticks and equipment. On top of funds supplied to develop Scotland's youth programmes, Slazenger will also give additional support to selected players. Competitions Slazenger's funding for year one has been matched by sportsmatch through sportscotland, with additional support going to Scottish Hockey long term player development (LTPD) targets. Targets include the development of a national under 16s league, organising additional competitions for schools or education and training for staff, volunteers and partners. Ben Glencross, Development Manager added: "There's no doubt Slazenger and sportsmatch support will make a huge difference to our resources and the development of youth hockey in Scotland."