Toyota Welcomes USA Curling to Family of Olympic and Paralympic National Governing Bodies

Partnership Includes Sponsorship of Paralympic Curling Team

PLANO, Texas (January 28, 2019) – Toyota is ready to take it to the house with USA Curling, the newest National Governing Body (NGB) to be welcomed into the Toyota family. USA Curling joins Toyota’s eight existing winter NGB partners: U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association; US Speedskating; U.S. Figure Skating; USA Hockey and the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team; U.S. Paralympics Alpine Skiing; U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing; and U.S. Paralympics Snowboarding.

"USA Curling is a fantastic addition to the Toyota family of Olympic and Paralympic partners," said Ed Laukes, group vice president, Toyota Marketing, Toyota Motor North America. "The sport of curling has been an integral part of American life for generations and continues to grow in popularity – even in communities that don’t typically see snow and ice. At Toyota, we believe that movement is a human right, and we look forward to working with a sport that is inclusive of and accessible to so many people."

Toyota’s partnership with USA Curling includes sponsorship of their Paralympic program, National Championships, Curling Night in America on NBCSN, and activation at one Paralympic Team and two Olympic Team Trials in 2021. As with other NGB partnerships, there will be significant opportunities for the Toyota brand to make an impact at sporting events across the country as it looks to also build awareness of its U.S. Olympic and Paralympic partnership.

"We are excited to be embarking upon this journey with Toyota, a company whose values are so aligned with the Olympic and Paralympic sport of curling – including those of teamwork, respect, challenge and ‘kaizen,’ or ‘continually striving for improvement’," said Rick Patzke, CEO, USA Curling. "This is not just a sponsorship deal; it is a partnership in the truest sense of the word. A building block of the USA Curling mission is a desire to help people achieve all the good things they aspire to, whether in sport, their careers, or life in general. Having Toyota in the house mobilizes the dawn of a new era for our sport, where nothing is impossible when the goals are for the greater good."

Toyota dealers and regions will have the opportunity to amplify the partnerships with local activations at a grassroots level with community-based activities. The NGBs provide a direct and authentic line of communication to consumers across generations, backgrounds and passions. With custom content and tailored messaging, Toyota will be able to demonstrate its commitment to mobility and societal contributions through USA Curling.

"We’re thrilled to be entering into a partnership with USA Curling. The level of exposure curling received during the Winter Games was remarkable and its popularity as a participatory sport continues to grow," said Dedra DeLilli, group manager, Toyota Olympic and Paralympic Marketing. "With local curling clubs popping up in small towns and big cities across the country, we see a tremendous opportunity to tap into the passion of Americans nationwide and activate the partnership at the grassroots level. And as a company committed to the advancement of the Paralympic Movement, we are very excited to support and work with the Paralympic Curling team."

In March of 2015, Toyota became a TOP (The Olympic Partner) of the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee in the newly created mobility category for 2017 through 2024. In addition to its relationship with the IOC and IPC, Toyota is a partner of Team USA; National Wheelchair Basketball Association; USA Skateboarding; USA Surfing; USA Swimming; USA Track & Field; USA Triathlon; U.S. Paralympics Track & Field; U.S Paralympics Swimming; and U.S. Paralympics Cycling.

Beyond the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Toyota strategically uses it relationships with sports properties and athletes as a way to connect with consumers in the United States. The brand has relationships with more than 40 major sports teams and nearly 30 major sports venues.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 33 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 46,000 people (more than 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.6 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2017 – and about 85 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 15 years are still on the road today.

Toyota partners with community, civic, academic, and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We share company resources and extensive know-how to support non-profits to help expand their ability to assist more people move more places. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

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