Happy Fall everyone! It’s hard for us to believe that we’re at the tail end of 2019, but as they say, time flies when you’re having fun. We’ve had an incredible year here at Coeur and now we have started one of the most important efforts that we undertake every year. Our Ambassador program is now open for applications and the link to apply is at the bottom of this post. This “Call for Athletes” is a short way of saying “Call for endurance athletes who have a positive outlook on life, who will to support their teammates while encouraging other women to live a lifestyle of health and fitness.”
Ever since we started Coeur, we’ve tried to post a blog that describes what we look for in Ambassadors as well as what you’ll receive in return. We try very hard to make sure our program has a few unique elements, so please give this a read if you are interested in applying.
Before we get too far into this, we want to say how proud we are of the class of 2019. This has been an incredible group of supportive and encouraging women and we know that collectively they have done an enormous amount of good work in their communities. Every one of them has held some type of event designed to get women out onto their bikes, onto the running trails and/or into the pool. And a few have gone even further. We could devote 20 blogs to all the good work, but in the interest of time, we’d like to recognize two examples. In both cases, these were situations where our Ambassadors took it upon themselves to do great work after being faced with adversity.
The first ambassador we’d like to highlight is Michelle Bandur.
Michelle is a television reporter and she received a note with a dollar bill attached. Shockingly, the note said that she should use the money to fix her nose. Now we can’t say how everyone would respond to such a heartless letter, but we’re pretty sure most people wouldn’t do what Michelle did. Instead of lashing out, she decided to use the dollar to start a movement to draw youngsters into Triathlon. You can read about the result of her great work here in this Triathlete Magazine Article (she also made the cover of the magazine). Now, thanks to her amazing work, hundreds of kids will participate in her IronHawks Junior Triathlon Program.
The second example comes from Triny Willerton. Triny was training for Ironman Hawaii when she was hit by a driver who was trying to pass her while she was turning.
She suffered a punctured lung, a fractured pelvis, broken ribs and host of other injuries. After recovering, she too elected to take a road less traveled. Not long after the accident, Triny started her quest to make the roads safer for cyclists. First, she lobbied for a state bill that increased the penalty for drivers who injure cyclists.
Then she started a cycling awareness program called “It could be me”. As part of the It Could Be Me program, she asks cyclists to create and share videos that encourage drivers to think about the individuals with whom they share the road. We’d encourage you to read the Cycling Magazine article and to make your own video if you’re so inclined.
To be clear, we don’t ask our Ambassadors to create programs of this magnitude, but we think these two examples really showcase women that can take a negative and turn it into something positive not just for themselves, but for many others as well.
Ok, so now, we’ll talk a bit about what you get as an Ambassador and as importantly, what we hope you give. Here are the most common questions that have come up over the years about the program.
1. When will Coeur open the application process open and how will it be announced? We formally opened the program on Monday, September 16th. The Call for Athletes is on social media and the link to the application is at the bottom of this web page. The goal is to have the 2020 team selected by the end of October.
2. Do I have to buy my ambassador outfit or pay to be on the team? Nope. The program is 100% free. You get lots of free stuff (more on that later) and a whopper 40% site discount but you are not required to pay to be on the team or purchase a single thing ever.
3. Will I be expected to sell your clothing if I’m an ambassador? Nope, although we are after authenticity in our team so hope you actually do love the gear. However, the main goal of this program is to create a community of women who will help encourage other women to adopt a lifestyle of health and fitness. To be clear, we do advertise and we need to sell our gear since we need to do things like pay taxes, rent and our employees, but we’re not asking you all to serve as remote sales people. We just want you to be role models. Our belief is that if more people pick up running, biking, swimming, and/or triathlon (thanks to your great work), we’ll get our fair share of new customers and we’ll do just fine.
4. What are the main things you’re looking for in an Ambassador? This is a huge question and it’s one that we’d be well served to answer clearly. First, we’re looking for people with a positive outlook on life, especially when things get tough. We know that life can be challenging, but we look for those, like Triny and Michelle above, who find a way to make positives out of most situations. This trait can be a bit hard to articulate and even harder to discern from an application, but if you’re a “glass if half full” type of person, then you’re our type of athlete.
Second, we want you to be a role model who is relatable. Our view is that someone who people relate to has a better chance of connecting with others and finding a way to get them to take that first step into endurance sports.
Third, we look for our ambassadors to have a broad platform from which they can share our message. We look for women who have a influential reach both in their community as well as on social media. We aren't talking a ton of posed selfies and unattainable perfection. We want our gals to be real and powerful and honest. Which leads us to the last point.
Finally, we require our ambassadors to be nice and honest and real. A motto Coeur has is "Work hard and be nice."
If you are a doper or cheater, don't apply because that isn't nice OR honest. D'uh.
5. Do you only take people who are fast? Again, we take nice, hardworking, honest people. Doesn't matter if you are fast or slow. And we don't want fast jerkfaces representing our brand. All that being said, we had a lot of incredibly fast badass ladies on the team. Kona AG World Champs, Ironman Champs and the best part is that they are fun and approachable and inspiring. We’ve all known lots of fast people who think they are better than everyone else and that’s just not our jam.
6. What do I have to do and what do I get if I'm on the team? Let’s start with what you’ll get. You’ll get a free (we’re going to say free a lot, so hang on) team kit, free accessories (hats, water bottles and the like), free world championship gear if you qualify for Kona, access to free race entries for events we sponsor, significant discounts on our clothing as well as our amazing sponsor's gear. You'll also make a sweet group of new friends.
In return, we ask that you do something in your community to encourage people to get out the door and out on the running trails, onto the bike path or into the pool. We will help you with this. In addition, we ask that you go out of your way to be encouraging to your fellow racers (as in all, not just teammates) out on the course and that you support your teammates in a positive, uplifting kind of way, even if you are have a crap day. Try it, it probably helps you more than them.
So, that’s the scoop on our ambassador program. The team is very important to us and we feel like we have hand selected a group of positive and encouraging athletes. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in doing, we’d love for you to apply!
Your Friends at Coeur Sports
Here's the link to the application