Invitation for Sponsorship
36th Annual The Great Ski Race^®
Sunday, March 4th, 2012

Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue Team, Inc.
P.O. Box 7703
Tahoe City, CA 96145

The annual The Great Ski Race^® is the main fund raising event for the Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue Team (TNSAR), a non-profit all-volunteer organization based in the North Lake Tahoe/Truckee area since 1976.

The success of The Great Ski Race^® is evident in the numbers: race participation has gone from 60 racers being manually timed in 1977, to more than 600 racers with electronic timing in 1985, to 994 racers in 2003. Since 1983, racer registration has always surpassed 598, with the highest turnout of 1109 registered racers in 2005.

The Great Ski Race^® has grown to consistently be one of the largest Nordic ski races west of the Mississippi, with Nordic skiers competing along a spectacular 30km route from Tahoe City to Truckee. While the race is a test of strength and endurance, each year we continue to attract plenty of recreational Nordic skiers who return year after year simply for a fun day with some effective exercise through some amazing scenery. The entertainment not only includes the race, but also the post-race activities which include live music and hot food prepared at the finish line.

Each year the funds required to organize and present The Great Ski Race^® has grown; financial resources are required to cover such items as registration, T-shirts, bibs, prizes, activities and refreshments. Your support in sponsoring The Great Ski Race^® is greatly appreciated by the TNSAR team and the 1000+ racers that we anticipate participating each year in TGSR.

Please take a look at the demographics of the participants since the 2002 Races. This information should be useful to you in determining if your target market audience is amply represented in the race.

On-line race registration was added in 2002, along with other information available at www.thegreatskirace.com; included in the web page are the race results. Here are a few of the website traffic statistics since the 2002 Races which show the increased web exposure and growth that the site is continually experiencing.

	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Total Race Registrants	1022	994	1038	1109	810	888	1032	768	1060	790
On-line Registrants	148	288	429	505	375	532	606	498	773	598
Results web page post-race hits	1144	1806	583	3233	964	2005	1956	1757	2176	2391

We fully expect the visibility of The Great Ski Race^® web page to continue to mature, offering an effective vehicle to provide Sponsorship identification for strong association with The Great Ski Race^® event (with T-shirts, paper registration, and the start and finish area being other options for Sponsorship identification).

Each year the TNSAR Team presents The Winter Wilderness Survival Program to all the North Lake Tahoe and Truckee 4th grade students, designed exclusively by the TNSAR Team and given on school grounds. Additionally, in 2002 the TNSAR team released their first professionally prepared video "Winter Aware", with participation from local professional skiers and boarders, intended specifically for high school kids to educate them on the importance of Winter safety and survival. The video has received extensive coverage in the school systems of the Tahoe Basin, the greater Reno area, and also the Bay Area, with extremely positive feedback. Free copies have been distributed to all High Schools in Northern California, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Washington, and Oregon to date.

The TNSAR team is well organized, highly motivated, completely non-profit, and all volunteer. After more than 30 years the goals remain the same: Conducting fast, safe rescues and educating the public on winter safety.

Conceived in 1976, the Team now boasts over 100 members who fulfill numerous functions, including:

The Team has EMT's, emergency room nurses, firefighters, professional ski patrollers, paramedics, and MD's as active members. The level of medical, mountain, and skiing skills among the members is very high. To date, the TNSAR Team has located over 330 individuals; 60% of these have been patrons of a ski resort that have strayed from the area's boundary into unfamiliar and rugged mountain terrain. The majority of these searches (and rescues) have historically occurred at night and during blizzards. The TNSAR Team has conducted searches originating from most all of the Lake Tahoe ski areas, with a 100% success rate for finding these lost recreationists.

The TNSAR Team works with a number of agencies, including Sheriff's Departments of Placer, Nevada, El Dorado, Washoe, Douglas, and Toulumne Counties, WOOF and CARDA search dogs, OES, American Red Cross, Civil Air Patrol, Naval Air SAR, and the California Highway Patrol.

The TNSAR Team has full tax-exempt status and is incorporated in California. Donations may be tax-deductible; the teams non-profit tax ID is #94-2737988.

The following four levels of sponsorship participation are currently defined for The Great Ski Race^®:

$6,000 or for at least a three-year commitment, $5,000 per year. Only one Peak sponsor will be accepted and will be considered the Title Sponsor of The Great Ski Race^®. In-kind products or services will be in addition to cash sponsorship.

In addition to the basic sponsor benefits specified above, the following will also apply to the Peak Sponsor:

Donation options:

A maximum of five Summit Sponsors will be accepted. In addition to the basic sponsor benefits specified, the following will also apply to each Summit Sponsor

Donation options:

A maximum of eight Alpine Sponsorships will be accepted. In addition to the basic sponsor benefits specified, the following will also apply to each Alpine Sponsor:

Donation options:

A maximum of twenty Timberline Sponsorships will be accepted. In addition to the basic sponsor benefits specified above, the following will also apply to the Timberline Sponsor:

*In-kind Donations (in-kind donations are considered for their retail value)

In-kind sponsorship provides products, equipment, or services in lieu of cash; this would include prizes, food/beverage donations, and services. Donations of food and beverage products to give to the racers before, during, and after the race are always desired. Items in particular that we need include: cookies, soda water, non-alcoholic beverages, energy snacks, soup, bread, yogurt, and other healthy foods. In-kind donations that replace necessary merchandise or servies that would normally be purchased for producing The Great Ski Race^® may be given additional sponsorship value.

Competitive and Division Prizes are awarded in the categories as shown below. If you have services, or products, which could be used for any of the following categories, please help us with your donation; 48 prizes in total are required.

Should you have better sponsorship ideas, products, or services which can be of benefit to us in putting on the best possible The Great Ski Race^® event, please feel free to make offers and suggestions, as we are open to your input.

The Great Ski Race^® is in its 36th year and has consistently been the largest cross-country ski event in the U.S., west of the Mississippi. It is produced entirely by volunteers from the Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue Team and the local community. This event is a testament to the dedication of this non-profit group and is one of the high points on the Tahoe winter activities calendar and the annual Tahoe Snow Festival.

Thank you for your interest and consideration; we hope that this information will help you to decide to participate in The Great Ski Race^® as a sponsor. If you have further questions, or would like more information about The Great Ski Race^® or the Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue Team, please contact us via email.

Please check out the TNSAR website and The Great Ski Race^® websites.