Over the years the X-Games have emerged as a spectacular sport with exceptional athletes. This new age of sports has many differences from the traditional sports and offers many lessons to be learned.
Interesting is the fact that gymnastics is the original X-Games without the skateboards, snowboards, bicycles, etc. If you add rock or alternative music, get rid of the rules that sometime inhibit the athletes, let the athletes create their own moves and allow for more updated apparel then artistic gymnastics fits right in.
It is important to look closely at this fast growing sport and in the X-Games there are many different types of sports. The audience continues to grow and these sports are entering the Olympic movement on a regular bases. The artistic Gymnastics World needs to take notice and see how can these two feed off of each other.
At present, the X-Game type sports are recruiting in the Gymnastics World and they are attracting the middle and upper middle level athlete. In time, the high end athlete may find his or her way there. So, what can be done to promote the artistic sport more?
I think it is time to look at the format of the competition. Can the sport become a more spectator friendly sport? Can the entertainment value be raised? This happens by competing with the X-Game excitiment but in a more professional way. The lighting, music and how the competition runs is criticial to becoming a better spectator sport.
Just having the gymnasts do gymnastics and waiting 3 to 5 minutes for a score is not going to cut it. I mean has the spectator base grown in the past 10 years? Stayed the same? Or fallen? This would be good information to have.
For a sport to survive and more importnatly grow in this day and age it needs to be creative. If a sport is not growing in advertising dollars then is it fading away over time.
An important part of being a successful sport is having rules that the spectators can follow. You have heard me mention this before. The spectators have to know who is winning and how close it is at the end to build the excitment. Do you think the rules are too complicated? Is it important to have the spectators know what is happening on the competition floor?
Look for the next blog – The Future scoring system.
Very interesting points. I’m always fascinated when people get wowed by gymnastics types moves in other areas. It’s like gymnastics is always welcomed by many watchers as long as the gymnastics is going on in anything but gymnastics.
Now admittedly I don’t know how Gymnastics can improve presentation value, but it’s also a good point. If Gymnastics can bridge some gaps it may help keep the sport alive.
Comment by davegymnastics — December 2, 2008 @ 12:43 pm |