Sponsor Spotlight: Karbon
Originally printed in Sport Quarterly, March 2011

Even though they’re based in Ontario, the team at Schure Sports Inc. tuned into the Canada Games opening ceremonies and watched with pride as Team Nova Scotia marched into Metro Centre.

Schure Sports owns the brand Karbon—the official uniform supplier of Team Nova Scotia at the Games.

“I was telling everyone to watch the opening ceremonies,” says Eric Risen, Corporate Sales Coordinator for Karbon. “When we see kids wearing our product, we really feel a part of it, like we’re there with the team.”

Sponsoring amateur competitors is Karbon’s bread and butter. The winter sports apparel brand focuses entirely on grassroots marketing—dressing athletes for success.

“You won’t see us advertising in print or on billboards. That’s just not what we do,” says Risen. “The way we build our brand is by sponsoring amateur athletics.”

The Canadian-owned company dresses dozens of Olympians and 15 international sport organizations around the globe from Australia to Slovenia to Chile. They outfit many of Canada’s national teams, including luge and biathlon.

Karbon supplied apparel to four teams at the 2011 Canada Winter Games: Nova Scotia, Ontario, the Northwest Territories and Newfoundland and Labrador.

“The reasons why we like doing things like sponsoring Team Nova Scotia is that these are our future Olympians,” Risen says. “As a company our goal is to sell products, but we believe that by supporting these kids we’re helping them and also building our brand by dressing them in our products.”

Karbon outfitted Nova Scotia’s athletes with the same quality gear that world-class athletes train and compete in, Risen says. “What the Olympians wear, that’s what Nova Scotia is wearing.”

But at the same time, the team put plenty of thought and care into designing something specifically for Nova Scotia—like the rich signature blue that made the home team stand out at the Games.

The goal, Risen says, was to design something the athletes would be proud to wear—and not just while they were competing.

“Our hope is that the kids will still want to wear their jackets long after the Games are over.”

Even though they’re based in Ontario, the team at Schure Sports Inc. tuned into the Canada Games opening ceremonies and watched with pride as Team Nova Scotia marched into Metro Centre.

Schure Sports owns the brand Karbon—the official uniform supplier of Team Nova Scotia at the Games.

“I was telling everyone to watch the opening ceremonies,” says Eric Risen, Corporate Sales Coordinator for Karbon. “When we see kids wearing our product, we really feel a part of it, like we’re there with the team.”

Sponsoring amateur competitors is Karbon’s bread and butter. The winter sports apparel brand focuses entirely on grassroots marketing—dressing athletes for success.

“You won’t see us advertising in print or on billboards. That’s just not what we do,” says Risen. “The way we build our brand is by sponsoring amateur athletics.”

The Canadian-owned company dresses dozens of Olympians and 15 international sport organizations around the globe from Australia to Slovenia to Chile. They outfit many of Canada’s national teams, including luge and biathlon.

Karbon supplied apparel to four teams at the 2011 Canada Winter Games: Nova Scotia, Ontario, the Northwest Territories and Newfoundland and Labrador.

“The reasons why we like doing things like sponsoring Team Nova Scotia is that these are our future Olympians,” Risen says. “As a company our goal is to sell products, but we believe that by supporting these kids we’re helping them and also building our brand by dressing them in our products.”

Karbon outfitted Nova Scotia’s athletes with the same quality gear that world-class athletes train and compete in, Risen says. “What the Olympians wear, that’s what Nova Scotia is wearing.”

But at the same time, the team put plenty of thought and care into designing something specifically for Nova Scotia—like the rich signature blue that made the home team stand out at the Games.

The goal, Risen says, was to design something the athletes would be proud to wear—and not just while they were competing.

“Our hope is that the kids will still want to wear their jackets long after the Games are over.”