Soccer Smoking & Prevention

Athlete Recipes

Soccer Recipes

Before Contacting a Team . Get to know public relations direc­tors, community events coordina­tors, and certified athletic trainers from your local professional teams. . Find out if any of your colleagues have ever worked with the team in the past. Ask them about their expe­riences with the team and with indi­viduals working for the sports organization. If the experiences were negative, find out why. . Get names of helpful contacts within the sports organization. . As you must do when working with individual sports spokespersons, you must make sure that athletes on the team do not use any tobacco prod­ucts and are not involved in other unhealthy lifestyle practices, such as steroid use, or any illegal activities. Also make sure that the team and its members are not associated with any businesses that are affiliated with a tobacco company.

When You Make Contact . Contact the team's public/commu-nity relations department office as soon as possible to set up a meeting so that you have plenty of lead time to organize your event. . If your state health department or organization has a high-profile hon­orary chair, be sure to mention that this person will be invited to attend the event. . Provide sufficient background about your state health department or organization and your tobacco con­

trol efforts. Bring samples of newsletters, news clips, and albums with photos of previous high-profile community events. Discuss in detail what you expect from the event. . Make it clear that you would like to involve their team's health care pro­fessionals such as the physician, cer­tified athletic trainer, and dentist, as well as an athlete to serve as spokespersons for your activities and high-visibility events. . Clearly identify the roles and responsibilities you have in mind. Because they are well-respected health care professionals, the team's physicians and athletic trainers can take charge of educating youth about the negative, addictive health effects of all types of tobacco (including bidis, cigars, and spit/chew) and about the benefits of a healthy, physically active lifestyle. In addition to discussing the harmful effects of tobacco use, they could stress tobacco's negative effects on athletic performance, strength, and endurance. The athlete's role is to draw attention to the event and to highlight the importance of the tobacco-free messages. . Sell your activity and emphasize why getting involved in this educa­tion campaign will benefit the team. Mention all the media coverage you expect to capture and how the team will benefit from such high-visibility support of a good cause to help children. . Discuss the activities and materials that you intend to provide. If you are planning giveaways touting your anti-tobacco message, avoid items like plastic disks or baseballs, which can be tossed onto the field and dis­rupt the game.

xxii The Tobacco-Free Sports Playbook

Scout for Sponsors and Media Support . Find out if any professional teams in your area have a media partner who could provide advance promotional support, especially on radio stations. . Discuss the sponsors of your event and seek approval of outside spon­sorship. Make sure the events' spon­sors do not conflict with any of the team's sponsors. Ask the communi­ty relations department for ideas about sponsorship opportunities. . See if any local businesses, such as sporting goods stores, want to spon­sor your tobacco control events. Ask the team's community relations department for ideas, too. . Check with local departments to see what other sporting events-such as road races-are scheduled during the time that you are planning your awareness events. Find out if you can create a partnership to get your messages out through those events. . Learn the names of sports editors and writers who cover the team and sporting event you are considering to partner with so they can help promote your activity and message. . Go to the meeting with a plan for the physical setup of your informa­tion booths or activity area. Ask if the team would be interested in hav­ing an information van on site where you could distribute education materials as part of the event. . Ask if the team mascot can be desig­nated smoke-free and participate in activities with the team's physicians, certified athletic trainers, and ath­letes. Find out if the mascot would also appear for media events and