Give them a break

Adventure sports in India have lamented the lack of corporate sponsors. Hopefully, the picture will soon change for the better.

Even as you read this article, adventure freaks Peter Dulvy, Desmond Roberts and Rahul Nobel Singh are busy travelling from the north of Kerala (Kasargod) to the southernmost tip of Kanyakumari, covering 600 km.

Dulvy, a London-based mara-thon runner, is sprinting approximately 25-30 km every day while photographer and cinematographer Roberts is filming and shooting the countryside.

Singh, an anthropologist and travel writer, also from London, is jotting down details while looking out for development and tourism stories that will be published in Men's Health and Runners World, a magazine co-published from South Africa and London.

Called Heels on Fire, "the endurance run", as Desmond calls it, "was planned over cups of coffee". Extremely keen to pursue the run, the idea that began on a small scale "snowballed with more people ready to join and support us", according to Desmond.

While friends, family and acquaintances encouraged the concept of Heels on Fire, what has really taken the trio by surprise is the corporate sponsors' interest in their humble adventure trail.

"Obviously, we started the concept with zero sponsorship, but today we are getting enough mileage what with a local television channel airing it," smiles Desmond, who is also trying to rope in long distance runner P T Usha to participate in the run, especially as her academy, Cayolli Express, is en route the path they have charted out for the run.

They are not the only ones delighted with the sponsorships for their adventure trails.

Recently, a sizeable number of employees from Zee television manouevred challenging bends from Mumbai to Jawahar on seven bikes sponsored by Royal

Enfield especially for the trip. In addition, the energy drink maker Red Bull stuffed the riders' bags with generous supplies of its energy drink cans.

Are adventure trips finally getting the much-needed rush of adrenaline with corporate sponsorships? Though a majority of adventure sports enthusiasts think otherwise and rue lack of sponsorships, somewhere the picture just might be getting better.

While companies like Maruti and J K Tyres have been sponsoring motorsports in India, newer players are taking the plunge to provide much-needed sponsorships for adventure activities.

"Sponsors don't fund our trips in entirety," complains Gaurav Jani, a self-confessed adventure freak who started his motorcycle riding club, 60 kph, in 2002.

"Royal Enfield funded spares and oil for two years for some of our trips, but later they stopped," he says. 60 kph with its 100-odd members usually invests money on its own.

But Jani says that an increasing number of companies are funding individuals on adventure trips. "A member who works in a software company received Rs 15,000," he says, adding, "We used the money to buy food for our trip."

Jani is hoping to get some sponsorship for his website www.60kph.com, that attracts people from all over the world to be a part of interesting trips from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh on roads that, according to Jani, "don't even exist on Indian maps".

While Jani hopes to attract sponsors on his website, soft drink company Mountain Dew is increasingly sponsoring events associated with adventure sports.

Promises Prateek Pota, executive vice president, marketing flavours, PepsiCo India "As a brand we have always been associated with adventure sports and we will continue our efforts to promote adventure sports in the country."

The company co-sponsored the first adventure reality show on TEN Sports that included adventure sports such as rock-climbing, rappelling, GPS navigated cross-country driving, white-water rafting and mountain biking.

The company had also invited Crusty Demons, renowned dirt bikers, to the country to perform in India. "Adventure sports lovers in India don't get the right platform and our idea is to provide them with just that," says Pota.

Mountain Dew has earmarked a sum of Rs 2 million for sponsoring adventure sports every year. Royal Enfield too spends a considerable amount on organising trips and maintaining biking clubs, and has been assisting a lot of biking clubs across the country. The company has official biking clubs in which you could enroll to take part in biking and trekking expeditions.

But what is it that the avid adventure sports lovers usually expect from corporate sponsors? Jani sketches out details. He asserts, "On a daily basis each individual needs at least Rs 700 for such adventure trips. Usually our trips last anywhere between 10-15 days and I still need to come across a sponsor who can fund our trip completely."

Shashank Shekhar, software engineer with TCS, Chennai and an avid biker, feels, "Automobile companies, for instance, could provide mechanical support, since going on long trips involves regular maintenance of bikes."

Desmond pitches in, "If it's a bigger event or an adventure sport planned on a large scale, something like the Delhi or Mumbai marathons, then companies are more eager to dole out sponsorships."

However, he is positive about the changing scenario as far as sponsorships in adventure sports is concerned. "As long as you have a good idea, corporates are ready to come forward, " he says with confidence.

While corporates still need to take a giant leap in supporting adventure sports, some of the baby steps have been taken. And that is what is adding a rush in adventure sports in India.

With inputs from Abhilasha Ojha