LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Conversation at a baseball game led to birth of Team Challenge Cup
Perched high up in a hospitality suite in section 113 of the Spokane Arena, Van Wagner Sports and En-
tertainment executives Jeff Knapple and Chris Pearlman could only smile as Team North America, Team Europe and Team Asia battled for global skating supremacy in front of a nearly full house at Spokane Arena during the inaugural KOSÉ Team Challenge Cup. It was a proud moment for the New York-based fi rm, which more than 18 months before had com- mitted to joining its longtime partner, U.S. Figure Skating, in making this unique competition a reality. “We came into this with pretty high expectations, and this has exceeded every one of those expec-
tations,” said Pearlman, who is the executive vice president of sales at Van Wagner. “T e excitement of the crowd, the way people are viewing this sport in a new light, the way the athletes seem to be enjoying it, the way continental teams have come together and are cheering for diff erent coun- tries within their continent. It’s been great.” T e concept for the Team
Challenge Cup started with a conversation between Pearlman and U.S. Figure Skating’s Exec- utive Director David Raith and Chief Marketing Offi cer Ram- sey Baker as they drove to a New York Yankees game after a day of sponsorship strategy meetings at Van Wagner’s offi ce. By the end of that game, Bak-
er remarked that creating such a unique international event was an idea worth exploring. “Coming off Worlds in the
United States, they thought the April window would work well,” Pearlman said. “Finding the right city was next and Spokane has absolutely become that city. We benefi tted from having some great local sponsors, as well as KOSÉ coming on board as the title sponsor. T at was enor- mous for us.” Pearlman credited Baker’s vision of having three continents competing against each other, as well as the idea for team captains and the unique scoring system. “It’s fun to see over the course of a year and a half that a conversation that we had at a Yankees game
Van Wagner’s Jeff Knapple, left, and Chris Pearlman, right, enjoy the moment with KOSÉ Team Challenge Cup winners Team North America.
turned into this, with all these people here, the buzz in the arena and the skaters having such a great time. It’s special.” Given the success of this inaugural event, Pearlman and U.S. Figure Skating are open to hosting similar
events in the future. “It’s our hope and expectation that there could be a second Team Challenge Cup and a third and a
fourth,” Pearlman said. “Our focus had solely been on this event, so we will take a deep breath, get togeth- er and reassess where we are with everything. But this is a blueprint for what we want to continue to do.”
U.S. FIGURE SKATING Sponsors
U.S. FIGURE SKATING Suppliers
U.S. FIGURE SKATING Licensees
4 JUNE/JULY 2016
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