No matter what level you are, or how long you’ve been in the industry, all of these are valuable and make sponsorship worth going after.
Being sponsored is not the holy grail of every snowboarder. Getting hooked up is cool but it's not for everyone.
This article didn't mention any of the negatives of being sponsored: having to help with shop events when you'd rather be riding pow, all the crap to deal with at contests - like badly built jumps, bad weather etc, having to perform even when you're not feeling well or are injured etc. The thing to remember is "nothing in life is free". So, even if you are getting free gear, you're paying for it somehow.
