Athleta Sponsor USA Women’s Water Polo Team

March 16, 2012

Athleta, the women’s sports and active lifestyle apparel brand owned by Gap Inc., announced its official 2012 sponsorship of the USA Women’s Water Polo Team.

Starting now through the rest of the year, the brand will provide the team with dry-land workout and active lifestyle apparel to help ensure the team is well equipped with high quality, technical athletic wear as they prepare for the London 2012 Olympic Games and beyond.

The partnership kicks off with a celebratory event tonight at the Athleta store at The Grove in Los Angeles. The entire USA Women’s Water Polo Team, captained by the most decorated athlete in the world of women’s water polo, Brenda Villa, will make a public appearance where fans can meet the women and share their personal best wishes for a triumphant Olympics.

“We at Athleta are inspired by the remarkable things women can do when they come together as a team,” said Tess Roering, Vice President of Marketing for Athleta. “Athleta is committed to celebrating women and their amazing capacity, and we are honored to be supporting the USA Women’s Water Polo Team, a group that truly embodies what it means to achieve your personal and athletic goals while always reaching for more.”

The USA Women’s Water Polo Team is made up of 17 women – between them they have 12 Olympic medals, 16 World Championship titles and 85 years of experience. Behind all of these statistics are the stories that have made these women who they are today. In addition to providing workout and active lifestyle apparel to the team, through their sponsorship, Athleta will be telling the players’ inspiring stories through blogs, online profiles, store events as well as hosting team fundraisers.

“When the Olympics begin, we know our customers will be glued to their T.V.s to watch the festivities and cheer on their favorite athletes,” Roering continued. “Through this partnership, we hope to bring awareness to the amazing stories each USA Women’s Water Polo Team member has to tell and inspire our customers to do things they might not have thought they could do.”

The USA Women’s Water Polo Team qualified for the Olympic Games when they won gold at the Pan Am Games in Mexico last October. Since then, they have been training hard to prepare for this momentous event in their lives.

Jennifer Rottenberg, Chief Marketing Officer for USA Water Polo, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Athleta during such an important time for the team. In order for the women to perform and train to the best of their ability, they need sportswear that can withstand the toughest of workouts. We’ve found that Athleta’s products perform to the highest athletic standards, and we love that the apparel is designed by and for female athletes.”

Athleta offers premium women’s active lifestyle apparel for yoga, running, gym, hiking and skiing as well as an array of other products for both athletic and everyday pursuits.

by Ismail Uddin