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@dubkev
Things like this have been very divisive amongst us in the past. Very little good has come from us participating in ads. I was busy with a new baby around the time of the Adidas thing so I dont really know what happened, but it seemed like it left a bitter legacy, and people fell out over it - and then didnt play again.
I was under the (perhaps mistaken) impression that we'd sort of reached a consensus on this - that in future we'd ask the advertisers to contribute to the association rather than pay individuals directly. If the ad didn't happen because there weren't enough volunteers, so be it. Do people feel differently now? Just asking.
There is very little we can do if individuals decide to 'own' it and take the £1200 for themselves, instead of contributing all or even some to projects that we're involved in as a community. But if so, it is sad that people see financial gains from advertising that way. The contact from Toby Forbes came through Herne Hill, and Shane you posted up looking for participants on LFGSS - but are either of those going to benefit financially from this? I dont know.
I am sceptical that ads from Lee Cooper or similar large brands 'promote London bike polo'. They don't post the forum URL or times and dates we play. They use polo to sell their wares, create a look, a brand, etc. I'm less concerned about this than I was in the past. I think we should just take the money and run. But by 'we' I mean us as a community. And by 'run' I mean we should take the money from big companies and put it into things like Herne Hill, so the game has a future and a home, when all of 'us' are long retired from it.
So I feel it's a bit unhelpful if people are taking a large amount of money which could go a long way towards our community, and pocketing it. We don't have the same sponsors that we used to, and opportunities to fundraise from this thing are less frequent.
The Adidas ad was a big campaign that really captured women playing polo in a very positive light. But that avenue of promoting the game led to zero new players coming forward - I'm unaware of any new female player coming along and saying "oh I saw this amazing sportswear ad and I want to play polo with you" in the last two years. In fact it could be argued that the ad ended up with our community losing players rather than gaining them.
I hope that the Lee Cooper players contribute something towards Herne Hill or the association.