Who should determine your goals?

There are goals that we set by ourselves, others that we set with our team. Your personal goals can affect different spheres related to your sport: weight loss, technical aspects, stress management, fitness, etc.



A goal can include your technique, your diet, your personal life, your lifestyle or your recovery – in short, ANYTHING that can affect your performance!

One step at a time

Your goal is to win the Canadian Championships? Perfect! But that does not tell you what to do when you set foot in the club tomorrow. Start by determining your long-term goal, then break it down into medium-term goals (between 2 weeks and a few months), then divide these into short-term goals.

To formulate your goals, ask yourself: What should I do to win the Nationals? Who should I beat? What do I have to do specifically in the ring for the judges to grant me the rounds against this or that opponent? This will help you determine more accurately what to do during training week after week.

"I want" versus "I do"

Everyone wants to win. Everyone wants to be the best. So, what makes the difference between one boxer and the next? It is not the one who decides he wants to win who will win, but rather the one who does the work. Every day, your work at the gym must match your goals.

Ambitious but realistic goals

A goal should be challenging enough to motivate you, but realistic enough to be achievable. If it’s not, it will end up having the opposite effect!

If you want to win the Provincials, for example, you must first assess whether you are close or far from your goal, in other words, you need to know your abilities in relation to your opponents. It’s important that you don’t let your opponent define what you do in training. Rather use it as a measure to see how close you are to your goal and to make sure that you are aiming for a realistic goal.



Your coaches are the ones who know you best. Once again, do not hesitate to ask them what, for you, is both realistic and ambitious.

Winning versus progressing

A realistic goal is to evaluate you in a specific context. It does not have to be winning,; it could be being able to execute something in the ring, maintaining a high pace during 3 rounds or systematically throwing 35 jabs per round in training.

Know that aiming for a second place does not close the door to a gold medal. If this objective is sufficiently ambitious and realistic for you, it will only predispose you to a good performance and help you avoid feeling unnecessary pressure, among other things.

Measurable and time-bound objectives

Once you know what you want to work on, make sure that your goals are easily measurable. You want to throw more punches per round or more combinations? How many? Also determine when you will evaluate yourself and how.

Exercise

Using the sheet below, I suggest that you set 2 medium-term goals, which you will divide into 2 or 3 short-term goals. Keep in mind that each of them must meet the 5 SMART criteria (see box). I encourage you to complete it yourself, discuss it with your coaches and then modify it according to their recommendations. Do the exercise

Feel free to reach out to me at arianefortinbrochu@hotmail.com if you need a hand :)

Much of life is defined by challenges and how you overcome them. I have certainly overcome a number of unique obstacles in my young life, and they have shaped me in ways unparalleled. After an incredible 8-year journey, I am able to embrace everything that I have fought through and for to become the strong and confident woman I am today. Here is my story….

Dwindling Down

When I first began my journey into Muay Thai, I was the last person you ever would have imagined capable of stepping into the ring. I was scouted as a high fashion model at the young age of twelve, and by the time I retired at 21, I was haunted by body image issues and headed down a very dark road. I moved back to Calgary after my modelling career as a very physically and mentally weak person, and I desperately needed a guiding light at the end of my emotional darkness.

That light arrived with the help of a great therapist who helped me understand how my eating disorder had evolved to become my main coping mechanism. Severe anxiety had arisen from years of incongruence between my emotions and how I dealt with them; I never had the opportunity to grow my inner voice as a teenager, as my key developmental years were spent trying to do and be what other people expected of me in a predatory and adult world.

Enter The Gym

Heading To The Top

Becoming Limitless

Through fighting I’ve become physically and mentally stronger than I ever imagined myself capable of being. The most unique thing about the sport of Muay Thai, is that it forces you to confront yourself in ways that a normal person never would voluntarily choose to. No one is born brave enough, or tough enough, or strong enough. In so much of our lives we are able to fake our way through our challenges in a society that is built around catering to

comfort. But when you’re in that ring, there is no parading behind the version of yourself you would like others to believe. There is no one coming to save you. Any fighter will tell you that their greatest opponent is not to be found in the ring but in the mirror; we are our only real adversaries, and our opponent is the direct representation of everything we struggle against and everything we struggle to become.

The beauty of Muay Thai is that it allows you to know the most raw and real version of yourself, and provides a way out: I have proven to myself that I am not condemned to being weak and unwell in my mind, body, or spirit. You cannot be brave without first having been afraid, and the only way to cultivate courage is to embrace the discomfort of the unknown and choose to step into your strength. This is what we do as fighters, every single time we choke back tears of fear or frustration in training, or silence the voices of doubt and lace up our gloves again stronger.

Marie-Claude de Montréal, Québec, Canada est une athlète en Taekwando depuis l'âge de cinq ans et qui vient de réussir sa campagne de crowdfunding (socio-financement) sur MAKEACHAMP. Sa campagne est à 236% de son objectif de campagne, un pourcentage record. Elle a amassé $2,362 en un mois et demi. Nous avons interviewé Marie-Claude pour savoir ce qui a bien marché pour la réussite fulgurante de sa campagne. .

Pourqoui une campagne de socio-financement? 

Comment Réussir sa Campagne de socio-financement?

Pendant sa campagne, Marie-Claude a promu sa campagne en utilisant les réseaux sociaux au maximum de leur potentiel et de pousser les autres à partager le plus possible. Quand Marie-Claude recevez une contribution immense gratitude pour ceux qui croient en moi et en mes capacités. C’est touchant de voir à quel point les gens peuvent être généreux. 

Chaque participation à une compétition est un moment fort. Un de ses moments les plus faibles est arrivé récemment alors qu’elle avait atteint un plateau dans ses performances et que elle avait de la difficulté à s’en sortir. Elle a une démotivation, mais elle a tout de même réussi à s’en sortir de ce plateau récemment et elle voit maintenant des résultats positifs qui la poussent à continuer. La persévérance est la clé, car le parcours sera en montagne russe sans cesse.

Pour ce préparé pour une compétition Marie Claude fait beaucoup de visualisation de ses performances et de ce que elle doit faire. Il est certain que elle veut gagner lors d’une compétition, mais sa mentalité est de toujours performer au meilleur de elle-même et de toujours être satisfaite du résultat. La semaine avant une compétition un entraînement est dédiée à la récupération, donc elle ne fait pas beaucoup d'entraînement physique, mais elle travaille sa mémoire et elle reste concentré sur les objectifs qu’elle veux atteindre dans cette compétition.

Objectif De Cette Année?

Cette année Marie-Claude veux évidemment s’offrir une belle performance à la coupe du monde, tout en maintenant un niveau de santé physique et mental optimal. Elle ne veux pas se détruire pour un sport, elle veux le pratiquer longtemps et elle fait tout ça avant tout pour le plaisir et l’amour du sport. Marie-Claude définit le mot inspiration comme étant “Ce qui m’inspire est ce qui me motive à chaque jour à persévérer et continuer de m'entraîner et de prendre soin de moi à travers tout ça”.

Pour ces dernier mots Marie Claude nous a confier qu’elle a adoré l’expérience avec MAKEACHAMP et elle va définitivement s’en servir de nouveau. Elle a dit, “c’est une plate-forme intéressante qui permet de donner un coup de main non négligeable aux athlètes et qui permet d’atteindre un éventail important pour les contributeurs qui ne pourraient le faire autrement”.



Phase 1: Creating a group of followers

1. Collecting Emails on your MAKECHAMP profile

2. Create a social media following

3. Create blog posts

Phase 2: Creating the campaign

Phase 3: Campaign-ing

1. Send the preview link to some key family members and ask for their feedback

2. Organizations, Media & Journalists, Sponsors, etc

3. Get your updates ready

Week 1 :

Week 2 :

Week 3 :

Week 4 :

Week 5 :

Week 6 :

Phase 4: Post campaign

If you need funding for competitions and tournaments, crowdfunding is the best and fastest way. You can get started here. You can also have your fan-page up and running collecting emails of potential supporters and sponsors. To learn more about MAKEACHAMP's product click here. Also, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@makeachamp.com. 

Warning : the following tips could help you increase the amount of funds you raise!

Too often, we see great campaigns with great stories that simply do not create the impact we thought they would.

On the other hand, a title should not try to draw pity but rather it should inspire. A powerful title should seek to inspire supporters to contribute and join the athlete's journey. Later on, supporters and journalists will reuse the same powerful title when writing about your campaign.

Our Research = Your Success

We took the most successful campaigns (those that reached 100% or more) and we compared their titles with the titles of the least successful campaigns (raised less than 30% of their goal). What we found out was a bit shocking - there are clear patterns - clear steps that you can take to create an incredible title.

Here are some examples of highly successful titles :

- Lets get Gold at the 2014 World Muay Thai Championships!

- Help Strike Team Take on the World!

- Rowing for Gold at World University Championships!

We broke it all down for you below :

Short and Powerful

Highly successful campaigns have an average length of 7.5 words. On the other hand, unsuccessful campaigns often have extremely short titles or very long ones.

- Extremely short titles such as "New Equipment" or "KARATE JR TEAM" get little to no contributions. It's probably because friends and family just don't see the point.

- On the other hand, long titles get one or two contributions but have a hard time taking off, such as "Help us to attain all of the tools we need to succeed at the Canada Winter Games!"

- "IBJJF World Champion Heavy Weight Adult Purple Belt 2015 California Long Beach" is loaded with keywords, however its too much information for supporters and hardly a memorable rallying cry.

Mention your event

82% of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns mention a specific competition such as "Rowing for Gold at World University Championships" or "Slide with me to World Champs". Others were looking to fund their dream or passion. Only 1 was looking to fund their season.

Unsuccessful campaigns do not have a reference to a specific event. When they do, they mention training camps or vague titles such as "Help offset the overwhelming expenses of my fight camp."

Note : If you are raising funds for a world championships or Olympics, make sure to mention it because 48% of the most successful campaigns have World championship or Olympics in their title. Only 6% present a national or continental champion.

We learn from this that supporters prefer to support specific competitions especially international ones rather than vague goals or passions. Leverage this point by mentioning your competition in your campaign title.

Use a verb - create action

74% of the most successful campaigns are using action verbs at the beginning of the title such as Send, Get, Join, Rowing, Striking, Slide, etc. Only 21% of unsuccessful campaigns use a verb.

Mention *WHO* is involved

68% of successful campaigns reference the athlete or the team, using either me, my, us or directly the name of the athlete. Unsuccessful campaigns only reference the athlete in 17.5% of cases.

Mention your sport

36% of the most successful campaigns find a way to reference their sport. Although this helps, it doesn't make a dramatic difference as unsuccessful campaigns also reference their sport 28% of the time.

Join my Journey

Of the most successful campaigns, 34% reference "journey" or "road". 18.5% of unsuccessful campaigns also reference a journey however.

Careful use of an exclamation point

30% of successful campaigns use an exclamation point to end their title. On the other hand, only 10% of unsuccessful campaigns also have an exclamation point. We recommend not to overuse punctuation. A well-placed exclamation point can transform a weak title into a more powerful title!

Is a good title enough?

There are clearly more factors playing into the success of a crowdfunding campaigns. For example, the top 5% campaigns are shared 4.4 times more on social media than average campaigns. The athletes generate more engagement (likes, retweets, comments etc.) than their "unsuccessful" peers. Their video is better made, and the text & rewards are more convincing. However, a good campaign title clearly present your crowdfunding goal in the best light possible. Beyond the title, here are some things that you can do to reach the crowd with your MAKEACHAMP campaign.

Ready?

Let's get crowdfunding success at your next world championships!

Beyond your crowdfunding for athletes and sponsorship opportunities, grants are great sources of funding for athletes. There are a variety of different organizations and foundations in Canada that give grants for athletes. Each grant has a different process or application that you will have to fill out or apply. bursary or grant also has a different application that you will have to fill out. I'd highly recommend that you go through all the bursaries or grants that are applicable for you and pick out the common things that you will have to fill out. Next make sure that you put work on those you should also try to collaborate with your parents and coaches. Next,fill out the application but modify the content to the specific bursary program.

Below is a list of bursary programs that you can apply to.

St. John Jeux Canada Games Foundation

This is the only grant/bursary (to my knowledge) that is offering financial support for athletes who are not yet carded (funded by the government). This is a great opportunity for all up and coming athletes who have potential to be the best in the country. This bursary/grant program also offers funds for coaches. How awesome is that!

- Spring And Summer program Applications must be submitted the first Monday in March.

- Fall and WinterProgram Application must be receive by the first Monday in September.

For athletes:

2000$ - athletes who are in the top ten nationally

1000$ - athletes with good national results

500$ - athletes with fair national results

For coaches :

1500$ - National level coaches

1000$ - provincial level coaches

500$ - club coaches

Petro Canada Fueling athletes and families

Petro Canada is a great supporter of amateur athletes and their coaches and families. This is a great bursary/grant program because reflects the fact that athletes must be in a good environment to flourish. There are two types of bursaries:

1. Fueling Athletes and Coaches Excellence - This bursary offers 500,000$ to 50 coach-athlete pairs giving 10,000$ per duo.

2. Canadian AthleteFamily Program - Petro Canada also offers the Canadian Athlete Family program which is a program that helps the families of athletes travel to Rio to watch their athletes compete.

Team Investor Group Amateur Athletes fund

The Investor Group is another corporation that cares for the amateur athlete. In collaboration, AthleteCan, this fund awards 20 bursaries of 5,000$ each year.

Check out all the criteria to apply for this fund here. 

Canadian Athlete Assistance program

The Canadian Athlete Assistance Program (AAP) is government funding that goes to the National Sport Organizations (NSO) who then have a criteria to select the top 16 athletes worthy of receiving this funding. This assistance program gives a senior athlete 1500$/month and a development athlete 900$/month. To learn more about this funding opportunity for athletes head to your national sport website.

Athlete Excellence Fund

The Athlete Excellence Fund gives Olympic Medalists 20,000$, 15,000$, or 10,000$ for Gold, Silver or bronze respectively. Also, it gives 5,000$ during the non-olympic years to help with training and competing.

CAN Fund

Cover image credit: Olympic.ca 

Many athletes don't believe that they can reach the crowd with their campaigns. As a result, they are aiming to get most of their contributions from their small social circle. However, with the right ingredients and the right amount of work, athletes can launch campaigns that gather contributions from the crowd. Below, we've gathered some information to help you do exactly that!

Market Yourself

The amount of work that you put into marketing yourself as an athlete prior to your campaign, will determine how far your campaign will go - how many contributions will come from the crowd. When you market yourself you are sharing your journey with others - inspiring them to reach their own goals. This has merit, people will contribute to you to see you succeed - however, they need to feel a connection to you - to feel that they know you. We've written blogs about how to market your athlete brand on Instagram and also on Twitter.

Marketing yourself as an athlete doesn't have to be complicated but it does have to be consistent.

Here is a very simply post by Leah McCourt, showing her workout. That is all it takes, share your journey on a daily basis and you'll have people following you and supporting you when needed.

11 weeks post surgery #whodaboss #mma #determination #strength #singlelegsquats

A video posted by Leah McCourt (@leahmccourtmma) on May 17, 2016 at 10:52am PDT

Your Story

I can't emphasize how important this is. Your story needs to be impactful, unique, and enticing. You should ask yourself, "what makes my story unique?". There can be a variety of answers but regardless, try to highlight it in your title, story and even video. The campaigns that end up reaching hundreds of thousands are those that have unique stories. The media catches those stories much faster.

Here is an example of a campaign with a really nice story. Christopher George is a judoka from Trinidad and Tobago who qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. His story caught the attention of the media after he advertised his campaign on Facebook. Since then contributions to his campaign have been coming from people he doesn't know in his community. Below is a Facebook post by BuzzHub, sharing an interview with Christopher George.

Networking

Sometimes getting your campaign to reach the crowd involves networking - pulling the right connection can make all the difference in your campaign's success. Most athletes try to get contributions from their supporters, however, there are some supporters that can help in different ways - such as getting you published in a newspaper or local magazine. The success of your campaign depends on your ability to network, your connections and your ability to gather a community behind your goals.

Below is an example of MAKEACHAMP athlete Zak Vinter sharing the story about his campaign with the media. Since the interview his campaign sky-rocketed, reaching the crowd.

I've stumbled upon some great wisdom in a book called ‘Crazy Good' by Steve Chandler.

Steve, has a lot of practical wisdom that as an athlete, I found incredibly useful in improving my performance. Below, I outline some of the lessons that I took away from reading 'Crazy Good' and I hope that you will gain as much insight as I did.

Here is a video summary of what I learned & below is the written summary :

A bit about the author :

Steve Chandler had an challenging life but he was able to turn things around and create a 'Crazy Good' life where he authored 30 books and consulted more than 30 500-fortune companies.

Steve's mission with Crazy Good is to broaden the limit of what we think is possible for our lives. As athletes, we are constantly riding that line of what is possible, so it’s incredibly comforting to find Steve’s words resonate so deeply with what intuition has been telling me for so many years.

So what is 'Crazy Good'? Steve calls ‘Crazy Good’ when we witness a performance that over-delivers to the point of goosebumps.

So let's dive in!

1. Verb versus noun

Becoming crazy good requires a relentless dedication to growth. Growth requires a welcoming attitude toward challenges but many athletes shy away from challenges due to a error in their mindset and thinking. Steve calls this 'verb versus noun' mindset, and Carol Dweck in her book 'the Mindset', calls this 'growth versus fixed' mindsets. When we define ourselves as a noun - an entity – something solid with boundaries we enter a fixed mindset. A fixed mindset causes us to try to protect our "identity" and, as a result, we shy away from challenges that threaten our fixed definition of ourselves. Steve Chandler and Carol Dweck both recommend that in order welcome challenges and leverage them to grow, we should adapt a growth mindset by defining ourselves as a verb - something fluid and dependent on constant movement and actions. As a verb your actions and movement define who you are and as a result, you will welcome challenges. Furthermore, loses and wins will not derail you from your path because you will have to continuously put in action and work - those "actions" accumulate to who you are.

Couple of examples. When I tell myself, ‘I am strong’’, or ‘I am fast’ - this is a fixed mindset because I have defined myself with something static. If someone were to challenge my strength - it would bring anxiety because my entire identity relies on this. But with a growth mindset, I define myself with a verb such as 'I push myself in races." Therefore in a race I will simply have to push myself and in doing so I will be congruent with my self-definition - regardless of the result.  

A cool example that Steve brings up is when people make a mistake they immediately call themselves stupid. Stupid is both a noun and it is also an excuse. Saying that you are stupid is blaming an external factor such as innate intelligence, which you have no control over. You are essentially making an excuse and "removing" yourself from any responsibility. If you catch yourself calling yourself stupid, try to instill more discipline and wisdom into that specific scenario and notice how you no longer have the excuse of being "stupid".

2. Creating versus reacting

This is something that I have installed into my day-to-day training to becoming a crazy good judo athlete. Creating versus reacting is a choice that we have in every day situation. The decision we make determines if we move towards our goal or if we move away from it. Let’s use an example to illustrate the difference between creating and reacting. A situation arises – you get injured, you get fouled, your coach yelled at you - your choice is to react or create. If you react – you will get angry, sad, afraid, or simply retract. Your reaction depends on instinct or what is culturally and socially expectable. However, before you react, you can create by stopping yourself and asking, “Given the circumstances presented, WHAT DO I WANT TO CREATE.” By doing this, you are connecting yourself to your purpose and goals and now, your response becomes productive towards reaching your goal rather than moving away from your goal. If you react based on your instinct you are “wasting energy” moving away from your goal, not only is it unproductive – it is counterproductive because it takes you more energy to get back to the right track.

Example, I injured my hip – my reaction was depressed because I couldn’t train… etc. However, instead of reacting I decided to create - I wanted to create new strengths that will aid me in my competition. I’ve decided to create new mental strength-skills and upper body strength. I’ve went out to execute a program to build up those strengths. When you are creating – a challenge becomes an opportunity, when you reacting a challenge becomes a problem.

You have this choice every single day, and every single moment in the day. With every scenario that arises whether sports or non-sports related you have an option to react to it or create something new, humans are creative creatures we were meant to create and that includes every single moment, create a strength, create a relationship, a skill a story a piece of art, create happiness or create misery, its up to you. – Ask yourself, what do I want to create here and now?

3. Systems versus dreams

In this concept, the first thing that Steve says is that a lot of people have dreams - they have fantasies without any resolve to doing the work it takes to achieve those wishes. Many simply think that by "wishing", positive thinking or putting a picture on the wall that these dreams will come true. Instead, Steve explains that in order to achieve certain results we need to invest in an appropriate system. His following words are incredibly power, he says that “systems are perfect for the results that they deliver, if you want different results, change your system”. This statement has been incredibly empowering and led me to some serious advancement.

So what is a system? It is 'a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized scheme or method'. However, when it comes to your athletic performance you have a variety of different systems. Everything that you do in preparation for a competition is a system and even everything you do at the tournament is another system. Your thinking and behaviour are parts of systems.

The magic happens when you look at your current system that you've unconsciously implemented and the results that it delivers. Then try to change that system and witness your results change. What is causing you your results? Is it your physical preparation? Is it your technique? Is it your mental strength? What can you change, add or improve in your system to create better results? You don’t need to take results so personally - they are only a by-product of your system of training, preparation, and competing. Systems are not single actions - they are habits that develop over time. In order to do that you need a sustain amount of motivation and the concept below (game versus shame) will help you create habits and your new winning systems.

4. Game versus Shame

Steve points to the fact that most people (including athletes) shame themselves into motivation. We do this by pointing to how “bad” or inadequate we are in comparison to others or what others will think if we don't accomplish what we set out to do. All that type of "self-talk" aims at motivating us - it works but its unproductive because it takes energy and it deflates you - leaving you feeling guilty and empty. Furthermore, you still have to work your way back up to get moving and you'll do it out of spite with anger and hatred. Some people rely on shame so frequently that it becomes part of their nature. We identify with the oppressing and self-criticizing language – the language we’ve borrowed from our families and society. This type of motivation is simply not sustainable if we want to build winning systems that help us become "Crazy Good".

Next time you try to motivate yourself into working out, listen to your self-talk and ask yourself if this is a way you’d motivate a young child. The answer will usually be no!

Instead, how would you motivate a young child? Using, positive encouragement and games. Encouragement and game-playing improve a player’s performance – we should turn to fun, find a way to make games out of problems. It is only this type type of motivation that will be sustainable long enough for habits to start forming and your new system to be in place.

5. Victim thinking

This realization had an incredible influence on my mindset in helping me move my judo forward. Steve points out that people's potential is cut off without even their awareness by their unconscious victim-thinking. When facing adversity, we fall to our default inclination of blaming external factors and circumstances for the current condition. This type of "victim thinking" is so ingrained into people's mental thinking that it has literally become society's default mindset. Individuals are so identified with their victim thinking that it has become part of their character - and we all know at least one person who is always a victim regardless of the situation.

The reason for this mental virus is that it is incredibly easy to simply be a victim rather than take responsibility which puts "power" over your situation back into your hands. It is very easy to be a leaf in the wind and let life bring us what it may. Once you learn to take responsibility over everything in your life: the good, the bad, the loses, the wins, your mental and physical strength or weakness - you have created everything and as a result it is you who can change it. Victim thinking gives away your power and renders you powerless over your future. If you seek to be a Crazy Good athlete, introspect deeply to find which aspects of your performance you are blaming external circumstance and then proceed to change them by taking responsibility.

Conclusion

Words can be nice. Concepts can be inspiring. But if you are not implementing them they won't get you anywhere. In fact, your results will remain the way they have always been unless you commit to making a change. I hope this helps you reach your potential in your sports. Let me know what concepts resonated with you and once again, make sure to check out the book 'Crazy Good' for the full story.

On November 6th the The National Collegiate Athletic Association dropped a bombshell of an announcement for the crowdfunding community. On the NCAAs Legislative Database a series of questions were asked about prospective students using crowdfunding a year ago and the answer seemed rather convoluted however recently the NCAA posted a new set of rules and regulations which can be summarized, giving the method of personal fundraising (crowdfunding) explicit approval under guidelines :

• An athlete may set up their own crowdfunding campaign as long as the funds raised are used for actual and necessary expenses related to competition and practice (for team athletes) or an event and practice immediately preceding the event (for individual athletes).

• An athlete may not receive funds (via crowdfunding or otherwise) from an agent or a representative of an institutions athletics interests (e.g. a booster club) or an institutional staff member.

• An athlete may participate in non-sports related crowdfunding provided that there is no relationship to nor mention of athletics. For example, a soccer player could conduct a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to make a documentary film about pollution as long as she did not mention her status as an athlete.

• An institution or booster club may not accept crowdfunding donations on behalf of an athlete.

• Except for a few very specific exceptions, a student-athlete is not permitted to use his or her name or picture to advertise or promote a for-profit crowdfunding service. That is to say, a student athlete cant act as a spokesperson for a company (crowdfunding or otherwise).

• A crowdfunding entity cant independently solicit funds and promise them to the student-athlete upon graduation or exhaustion of athletics eligibility. Once the student-athlete accepts the promise of pay, the student-athlete has jeopardized his or her eligibility for intercollegiate athletics, even if the funds will not be disbursed until after completion of his or her intercollegiate athletics participation.

• A college or university may use crowdfunding in conjunction with its institutional fundraising efforts if the rules of the institutional, charitable, education or nonprofit promotions regulations are satisfied. However, an institutions crowdfunding campaign may not include a co-sponsorship with a for-profit organization and use a current student-athletes name, image or likeness.

These points above are summarized from the LSDB here. Also, here is a presentation regarding the subject with some examples to help you better understand.

I know for some this blog post may still seem confusing and convoluted but the main importance is that the NCAA has finally clarification and permitted the use of Crowdfunding for athletes in a very specific sense. Athletes and colleges are ultimately responsible for assuring that they do not contravene any of those rules. We at MAKEACHAMP are glad that the NCAA has finally made specifications. We are happy to get involved with NCAA and CIS athletes to enable them to reach their full potential with any crowdfunding campaigns.

MAKEACHAMP was created in 2012 to specifically provide assistance to athletes so that they could raise funds to cover the costs of their athletic goals. Since then, we have significantly broadened our mission to include teams and organizations. Currently we are excited to announce that MAKEACHAMP has expanded our mission one major step further.  We always want to empower people around the world to achieve any sport-related goal. We now want to include the development of sports technology.

Sport Technology has a wide ranging appeal across a global audience. It transcends gender and makes any sport more accessible. New technologies in sport are an ever growing occurrence especially for startups involved in crowdfunding. General Crowdfunding companies such as Ulule and Indiegogo have a growing range of sports technologies which demonstrates there is a growing market for it. Campaigns are being launched due to the fact that there is a demand by a portion of sport amateurs or athletes. New ideas are engulfing the market and crowdfunding is embracing these ideas and changes head on.

Recently MAKEACHAMP has plunged into Sports Tech on a new project.The Hiboux de Montréal, a visually impaired hockey team, created a team campaign to raise funds for the development of a sound-emitting hockey puck.Visually impaired hockey teams have been playing with painted tin cans until now, and the Hiboux, in partnership with UQAM (Université de Québec à Montréal), have taken it upon themselves to bring this game into the 21st century. With a prototype already developed they have raised 107% of their goal. It is no surprise to us that our first sports technology campaign is a success. MAKEACHAMP is the ideal candidate for this project and for all Sports Technologies that require crowdfunding. Our personalized experience in the world of sports crowdfunding makes the perfect recipe for success.

The future for sports tech is a very bright one that will get brighter. The tech industry alone is ever evolving and growing so undoubtedly the sports aspect of tech is going to expand. The Sports Tech world is bridging the gap between reality and idealism every day. Athletes and sports amateurs are the ultimate beneficiaries of this gap bridging. Sports will change for the better in the future because of the rise of sports technology. Rules and regulations will also probably change. Finally, crowdfunding’s involvement in Sports Tech will grow and change as well. We can all watch in excitement as these new ideas are brought into the limelight of reality and MAKEACHAMP puts itself in the front ranks of these changes.

Radiate Campaign on Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/radiate/radiate-athletics-the-future-of-sports-apparel

Alpha Wrist Watch by Mio Global:

https://www.mioglobal.com/Default.aspx

This link directs you to their campaign page: https://makeachamp.com/hiboux/22140

This video is about their campaign: