Bobsleigh success coughing up more opportunities
Published:Wednesday | January 28, 2026 | 12:10 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
With Jamaica to send three teams to the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games, Jamaica Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (JBSF) president Chris Stokes says their success came down to leveraging their long-term corporate sponsors.
Jamaica will be represented in the women’s mono-bob, the two-man, and the four-man bobsled races at the upcoming Winter Games.
Stokes said their qualification to the Games, and much of their success in the sport, can be ‘blamed’ on strategic planning with their core sponsors and supporters.
The federation implemented their ‘Back to the Well’ programme, which saw them prioritising the need to build a strong pool of local talent to compete on the world’s stage.
But their lofty ambitions needed financial backing, which they found through leveraging Brand Jamaica.
“The approach that we have taken was, first and foremost, to create a brand and to develop the brand to the point where it is monetisable; where people want to sponsor and be aligned with the brand,” he explained.
Stokes explained that one of the brains behind their plans is Neil Fortier.
With his past experience in marketing and sponsorship for former NBA champions Cleveland Cavaliers, the JBSF felt he was the right man to bring on board.
“We brought on board a gentleman named Neil Fortier who was responsible for marketing, business development, sponsorships for the Cleveland Cavaliers. In fact, he has a ring from the last time Cleveland and LeBron won the NBA Championship,” Stokes said.
“We engaged him. It took us a while, but we showed him the dream that we were pursuing and persuaded him to come on board, and he has been very helpful in terms of refining and aligning the brand,” he continued.
“We have spent a lot of time and money in getting our social media up and running well. It’s not unusual now for our posts to get one million views, for example. So we have the persons on board, and we have spent the time to enhance the brand.”
But their ambitions needed the right financial backings, which they found through positive relationships with several corporate entities.
The Jamaica bobsleigh teams have found major sponsors with Reve Digital Wallet, S Hotels, Montefiore Einstein Sports Medicine, USANA, the Sports Development Foundation, and the Jamaica Tourism Board.
Home base
The federation also leveraged its good relationship with Hotel Saranac in New York to establish the team’s home base at Saranac Lake.
Stokes explained that not all their sponsorships are financial-based as each sponsor brings different types of support, whether through equipment, accommodation, training facilities, or healthcare.
Their success has also opened the door to new opportunities as the federation recently announced a new partnership with Backcountry and Xpore, which will provide the athletes with world-class winter gear for the Olympic Games.
“Of course, given that it’s an Olympic year, you have people who come up who are willing to support,” Stokes said.
The federation has also finalised a partnership with AirBnB, which will handle their accommodations throughout the Winter Games.
“We finalised an arrangement with Airbnb,” Stokes announced.
“They are going to be providing us with two chalets in Cortina, with a value of about US$750,000, that we will use to establish the Jamaica Bobsled House as a point of socialisation during the Games,” he explained.
“We plan to have opportunities to meet our athletes there, interact, get some Jamaican food, things of that nature. So Airbnb has come up with, not cash, but they have provided us with really luxurious accommodations during the Games, so we are very grateful for that.”
Stokes also revealed that the team is set to film two sets of advertisements, one with the Jamaica Tourism Board, to help boost Brand Jamaica, and another with Italian automobile manufacturers Fiat.
He said both opportunities would go a far way in boosting the profile of bobsleigh in Jamaica.