Perhaps due to my previous life as a literature major and a reporter, I am steadfast in my belief that words matter. Fearfully of being accused of what Winston Churchill called ‘terminological inexactitude,’ we made a conscious decision to call our sponsored athletes “Ambassadors”. We initially decided to use this term instead of “Team Member” since most endurance sports are individualistic at their core, and the first definition of “Team” is: “a group of players forming one side in a competition, game or sport.”
On Friday of last week, SOAS announced our sponsored amateur athletes for 2013. Our elite gals will be announced this coming week. To select these 22 amazing age-group ladies, we read and re-read hundreds of applications, checked blog posts and solicited feedback from others in our industry. We endeavored to find those individuals who embody the spirit of endurance sport and best represent the SOAS brand.
One of the things we are always struck by when reviewing these amazing applications each year is the theme of friends, training partners and groups. The vast majority of entries and blog posts written by the applicants talk not about their speed and PRs, but rather how they have their friends to thank for getting them into the sport, staying in the sport and improving in the sport. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not because SOAS girls aren’t fast. Among our athletes we’ve been fortunate enough to have the fastest overall female amateur in the 2011 70.3 World Championships, as well as an Ironman Champion, and multiple Ironman Champion age-groupers.
But universally, instead of getting a spreadsheet full of swim, bike and run splits, these ladies shared stories about how friends got them into the sport, and how they, in turn, convinced other friends to give running, cycling or triathlon a shot....not to mention how much better a painfully long training day was thanks to being able to suffer with a “bestie.” These friendships always outweigh any race result.
That’s a big part of what SOAS is all about. Sure, we also aim to create the MOST comfortable, functional and best-looking clothes in our sport. But more than that, we want to be a grass-roots company that encourages a community of friends who share their love of health and sport. Ladies who love to compete, for sure, but who also like to laugh, have an occasional glass of wine….and who want to bring along other people for the ride. We want to be a team that cheers other athletes along, even when they pass us or we are having a bad day.
So with that, as a backdrop, let me share another definition of the word “Team.” This one is for the verb and it means: “to come together to achieve a common goal.” Our team certainly does that.
Please say hello to the 2013 SOAS Amateur Team. Don’t hesitate to say “hey” if you see them out on a race course somewhere!
Our PRO team will be announced this week.
Kebby
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