Budget
The IBU is a non-profit organization, in the sense that the IBU's income would be spread among the athletes, and especially those who had fared worst with the end of the Soviet Union. The IBU has contracts with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and APF Marketing Services. There are sponsor advertisements along all the biathlon courses, the most notable ones being Viessmann, Bauhaus, Krombacher, Toyota, Adidas, and E.ON Ruhrgas/ Erdgas, who is the main sponsor. Most of the sponsors are German, Scandinavian, and Eastern European, where most of the interest in biathlon is. The IBU keep their administrative expenses at a minimum, and have created a financial reserve, so that if losses in income occur, such as a cancellation of an Olympic Games, the IBU would be able to draw on the reserve to ensure the survival of biathlon.
The biathlon events most people are familiar with are the World Cup events, which is the season for the elite athletes; there is a second class season called the Europa Cup which has existed since the IBU's foundation. The men and women that finish in the top ten in the overall leader board have their travel and accommodation paid for the next season by the IBU.
During the 2002/03 season EUR 2.7 million (USD 3.4 million) was made available for bonuses and competition participation, development programmes, bonuses for events, free access of data and result services, and free execution of the accredition. In the 1994/95 season prize money awarded in World Cup events was 1500DM (2900EUR) for first place, 1000DM (2000EUR) for second place and 500DM (980EUR) for third place. However due to an increase in sponsorship money, increased attendance, and television audience, prize money for first place is now 9000EUR (7000USD), and over EUR 1.69 million (USD 1.3 million) was made available for prize money.
In 1996, as part of the IBU development project, partnership contracts were established with some companies, which supplied free materials and equipment, to the less fortunate member federations. The IBU now has partnership contracts with five companies, and equipment contracts with fifteen. These contracts insure the IBU can supply free, good quality clothing and equipment in large quantities to national federations. And during the 2002/03 season the IBU secured a contract with VW-Sponsoring, so that VW-busses are available to most of the teams taking part in IBU competitions.
Read more about this topic: International Biathlon Union
Famous quotes containing the word budget:
“You can fool all the people all the time if the advertising is right and the budget is big enough.”
—Joseph E. Levine (b. 1905)
“We might come closer to balancing the Budget if all of us lived closer to the Commandments and the Golden Rule.”
—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)
“A budget takes the fun out of money.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)