“No sled, no problem”
... Red Stripe offers to help bobsled team
ANDREW ANGUIN, Red Stripe’s senior marketing manager for Caribbean imports, says that his company is serious about coming to the assistance of Jamaica’s bobsled team in light of their most recent issues at the Winter Olympics, adding that this was possibly the start of a long-term relationship.
Jamaica’s Cinderella-esque qualification for the women’s bobsled event in Pyeongchang, South Korea, took a less-thanideal turn when driving coach Sandra Kiriasis quit the team after a role dispute with the Jamaica Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (JBSF) on Wednesday (Jamaica time).
Kiriasis also threatened to take with her the team’s sled, which, she says, she owns – a claim that is disputed by the JBSF.
In a response to several questions posed by The Gleaner on Wednesday, the JBSF stated that the team’s sled was not owned by Kiriasis and pointed out that they did not expect any equipment changes ahead of the team’s competition next week.
Nonetheless, the beer company has offered to fully fund the purchase of a new sled should the Jamaican team require one.
Red Stripe took to Twitter at 10:07 a.m. yesterday to offer its support, posting: “No bobsled, no problem, if you need a new ride @Jambobsled, put it on @Red Stripe’s tab. DM us and we’ll be in touch.”
With t he Olympic Games being protected by strict marketing restriction and antiambush marketing laws, Anguin made it clear that the aim is simply to assist the Jamaican team in their time of need.
“We are prepared to spend on a new sled if and when the Jamaica (Bobsled and Skeleton) Federation reaches out to us,” Anguin said yesterday evening. “This really comes from a special place for us because we are the Jamaican beer ... we are happy to just play our part.
“We just saw the entire story unfolding, and as the ‘national beer of Jamaica’, we thought it very important to be involved in the conversation, especially in the US, where it’s very important for us to ground ourselves in that Jamaican authenticity, and we wanted to show that we were truly supporting the brand at home and abroad,” added Anguin.
RACE AGAINST TIME
Up to late yesterday evening, contacts were still being established between both parties, and with the team scheduled to have their first training run today, it is a race against time if a new sled is to be bought.
“As soon as we get in touch with the representative of the team, we will have some dialogue around cost, but at this point, to be honest with you, there is no cap (on monies available for sled purchase). To be quite honest, we are not sure of the technicalities, but with the right dialogue, we can come together to figure out the right solution. We have a little time, so it ’s hopeful we can get something done,” said Anguin, who also didn’t rule out a longterm relationship with Jamaica Bobsled.
“It might be to early to say, but coming out of this opportunity one might say it’s destiny, you never know. So we are keeping an open mind about it (relationship with JBSF), and we will see how things unfold,” Anguin added.
Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian and Carrie Russell are expected to feature in the Two-Woman bobsled competition on Februar y 20 at the Alpensia Sliding Centre.