can amatuers have sponsors?

[Coffman]

are ams allowed to have sponsors and still play in am division or do they have to play pro? I know ams cant accept cash payouts but wasn't sure if they could have help with entry fees.

 

[Karl]

Remember, the word "sponsorship" means different things to different sponsoring companies. I know an Am who gets all his discs and other said company items for free but that's all. So sponsorships come in many flavors....

 

[DavidSauls]

Receiving cash payouts is the only disqualifier. Ams can even receive cash at tournaments, from sidegames, and are still considered amateurs. They can receive cash prizes at non-PDGA events. Even if they were paid cash by a sponsor, it wouldn't affect their status.

 

[mark996]

They can still play AM. I believe the only caveat to playing AM is you can't accept cash payouts in tournament play, even as an AM playing in a Pro division, you'd have to accept merchandise in lieu of cash, if I understand the rules correctly.

 

[scarpfish]

I know a number of Am players who have vendor sponsorship. In many respects, their shirtback is probably better than a pros, since a lot of the vendor's potential customers play in Am divisions.

 

[araytx]

There are amateur players sponsored by major manufacturers. I know.

 

[cjdiscgolf]

ace pools and side cash does not affect amateur status.

http://www.pdga.com/rules/competition-manual/section-2-division-qualifications/23-reclassification

Most companies have amatuer sponsored players either as ambassadors, juniors or up and coming players

 

[Jimb]

Chico's Bail Bonds!