Manny Shareland of Coventry Crusaders

Main Manny shoots the hoop

Coventry schoolchildren were able to live out their sporting dreams thanks to a sponsorship deal struck by the Coventry Crusaders and Carole Manship from the Chamber's Business Link service.

Carole, a native New Yorker, has been working with the BUPA Crusaders basketball team to help improve its marketing strategy in order to increase revenue and its existing fan base.

Crusaders joint playing star and marketing executive, Manny Shareland, struck upon the idea of giving local schoolchildren a chance to see their local slam dunking heroes free of charge.

The Chamber sponsored the first two Coventry schools to be offered the deal - Caludon Castle and Woodway Park - allowing 50 pupils to see the Crusaders live and meet the stars before the game.

Crusaders star, Manny Shareland, coaches at both schools when he is not helping to develop the team's fan base and revenue through marketing activities.

He said: "Sponsorship is very important when helping any club to promote its image and stay at the forefront of public consciousness. Sponsorship schemes like this one are of mutual benefit for both organisations, with the Chamber using the Crusaders as an avenue to help promote their training and the Crusaders using The Chamber to get kids to come along and get involved in basketball. Working in partnership is the key to any success and by continuing to develop a good working relationship with The Chamber, it is benefiting not only ourselves but the local community at large.

By encouraging schoolchildren to stop playing computer games and start getting some exercise, they can get healthy and learn all about teamwork - they could even try out for the Crusaders' junior team.
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Coventry Citizen, 24 November 2000 - Fri Sep 06 10:09:59 2002