Sports, ATA Carnets and the U.S. Bobsled Team

No matter what sports equipment you use, ATA Carnets provide savings and ease clearing goods through customs when traveling to international competitions. Whether you are a competitive racecar driver, equestrian, sailor, dog sled musher, the NBA, NFL, NHL, or member of a bobsled team, you can travel to compete or play with cost savings, ease, and peace of mind when you use ATA Carnets for equipment, gear, or live animals.  The ATA Carnet, also known as “The Merchandise Passport” and “Passport for Goods”, enables your sports equipment and paraphernalia to move into and out of other countries for up to a year while avoiding payment of import-duty or -tax.  In a webinar we recently participated in with The International Trade Association of Greater Chicago (ITA/GC), Curt E.H. Wilson, President and CEO of boomerang carnets® highlighted the savings carnets provide so not-for-profit teams dreaming of victory in international competitions can bring home the gold, too. 

Boomerang carnets® is a longstanding sponsor of The United States Bobsled Association, whose mission is to enable U.S. bobsled and skeleton athletes to achieve sustained competitive excellence in international and Olympic competitions.  The team trains in Canada quite often and travels globally for qualifying trials.  They also compete in the World Championships and the Olympics and when they do, their bobsleds are shipped in uniquely shaped customized crating along with gear required for the sport.  These are high pressure competitions for all involved and the last thing they need is a snag at Customs or financial concerns.  ATA Carnets help to alleviate those concerns.  The bobsled team uses carnets quite often and in 2010, won the Gold Medal in the World Cup Championships in Canada.  For that trip, they used 15 ATA Carnets for their sleds and gear valued at $500,000. The Team cleared Canadian Customs with no trouble on route to Whistler, British Columbia and because they used an ATA Carnet, they avoided paying $25,000 for that trip alone.  

Whether you are a professional athlete, a sports enthusiast, or a member of a team or league competing internationally, ATA Carnets will provide significant savings and ease through customs.  The winter Olympics will be held in Beijing, China in February 2022.  China now accepts ATA Carnets for the temporary import of goods for sport purposes, effective as of January 2020. If you are going to the Olympics and are an athlete, sports manager, media, freight forwarder, vendor, or part of an Olympics team—the time to plan is now.  ATA Carnets are a flexible international trade tool and boomerang carnets® will apply our 30+ years of experience.  Call us at our Carnet HelpLine® 1(800)ATA-2900 | 1(800)282-2900, tell us your story.