Int. J. Sport Management and Marketing, Vol. 1, Nos. 1/2, 2005 69 National sports organisations and sponsorship: an identification of best practices Benoit Séguin School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa 125 University St. (332) Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada E-mail: Benoit.seguin@uottawa.ca Kenneth Teed* Department of Sport Management, George Mason University 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, USA E-mail: kteed@gmu.edu E-mail: ken_teed@yahoo.com *Corresponding author Norman J. O’Reilly Faculty of Business, Ryerson University 350 Victoria St. Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada E-mail: noreilly@ryerson.ca Abstract: The purpose of this investigation was to develop a list of critical best practices that could be used to advantage by other Canadian Amateur Sport Organisations in the future. Specifically, a marketing management audit collected all historical and current marketing abilities and was compared to the sponsorship literature. The audit was complemented by a series of field interviews of key executives. Results are presented in terms of: (a) The Sponsor and its Objectives; (b) Leveraging Activities; and (c) Sponsorship Evaluation. The resulting data revealed a number of very distinct best practices. Recommendations for further research are provided. Keywords: sport sponsorship; best practices; sport management; research. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Séguin, B., Teed, K. and O’Reilly, N.J. (2005) ‘National sports organisations and sponsorship: an identification of best practices’, Int. J. Sport Management and Marketing, Vol. 1, Nos. 1/2, pp.69–92. Biographical notes: Dr. Benoit Séguin is Assistant Professor in the School of Human Kinetics (Sport Marketing) at the University of Ottawa, Canada. In 2000, he received a grant from the International Olympic Committee to conduct a comprehensive research on Olympic Marketing, specifically looking at the issue of ambush marketing. Dr. Séguin has considerable practical experience in the sport industry including consultation work with Sport Canada, International Olympic Committee, and a number of National Sports Organisations (NSOs). He also worked several years as Marketing Director for two NSOs. His research is primarily on sport sponsorship, ambush marketing and Olympic Brand. Copyright © 2005 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.