Advertisement

Canada's luge team 'for sale,' Calgary event declares

Canada's elite luge athletes held an event in Calgary on Tuesday to declare their team 'for sale' as they seek out a corporate sponsorship deal.

Canada’s elite luge athletes started their first training runs of the Olympic season today by sporting “for sale” stickers in place of corporate logos on the front of their helmets.

The luge team held a media conference at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary to get the word out that new corporate sponsors are needed.

A similar event four years ago landed the team a $1-million sponsorship agreement with a financial company ahead of the 2010 Vancouver Games. That deal has now expired, the Canadian Luge Association said in a release.

Corporate support helped Canada’s luge athletes achieve success at the World Cup and World Championship levels, the association said.

All four athletes on this year’s team — Alex Gough, Sam Edney, Tristan Walker and Justin Snith — are from Calgary.

Although they’re not in danger of missing out on World Cup events or the Sochi Games, Edney said, the team needs sponsorship to continue to develop the sport at the grassroots level.

"We need the support to sustain the program that we have right now," said the veteran luger. "The support that we got from [the previous sponsors] was going into the program for the past couple of years and now you’re seeing the result from that.

"The worry is that if we go any longer without a title sponsor, then what‘s the future like? How does the sport sustain the level we’re at right now? Because we don’t have a title sponsor, we can’t send a full junior team over to Europe, which is critical for the development of our sport and the younger athletes who are the future Olympians."