2020 Olympic events: Why surfing is more likely than climbing as a new sport
Chess and bridge didn't make the cut.
But eight new sports are vying for inclusion in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan. And the decision is likely to be heavily weighted toward the sport that has the largest market appeal to big international sponsors 鈥� giving the surfing the advantage over, say, climbing.
The short list of sports considered for addition to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics includes: Baseball, softball, bowling,听聽(from speed skating to pairs),听,听,听聽and the martial arts of聽听补苍诲听.
On Monday, the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) executive board whittled the list of聽聽down to eight while also announcing its intentions to boost female participation and youth appeal for both the 2018聽聽and 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo.
The board also introduced a recommended cap of approximately 2,900 athletes that may shrink teams and limit the games to 100 events for the Olympic Winter Games for the sake of continued sustainability, the聽聽website states.
罢丑别听聽site lists the following criteria for new sports: added value; youth appeal; attractiveness for TV, media and the general public; gender equality; minimum impact on the number of events and/or quotas, infrastructure and operational costs and complexity.
聽(AI) Sports Marketing in Houston, Texas, works with corporations, helping them to get the biggest bang for their聽sponsorship bucks, says that while baseball and softball are popular in the United States, the Asian market may lean toward surfing. It's a sport that would also have an advantage over the others by being cross-promotable with snowboarding and skate boarding sponsors. It also will appeal to a larger, more diverse demographic.
鈥淭here are a lot of factors that go into what makes a sport attractive to a sponsor,鈥� says Adam Nisanson, vice president of AI. 鈥淭he sponsors are only going to be drawn to something that鈥檚 going to draw聽an聽audience and is the sport a fit for sponsors.鈥澛�
In other words, can the sponsor's customers also relate to the sport?
Surfing is also an ideal fit for the younger demographic the IOC is courting.
While Olympic surfing may require the construction of an expensive wave-generating stadium, Mr. Nisanson says that it could produce the wow-factor needed to draw fans, TV and media, and big international sponsors.
鈥淚 would love watching that,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or me, if I have a sponsor, surfing has everything: It has nature, good looking guys, good looking girls, waves, swimsuits, you can tie it together with exotic destinations for travel sponsors,听health products, summer gear, and of course, the beverage market. There鈥檚 just a lot more to tie it too."
For any of the sports up for consideration, Nisanson says 鈥淚f it鈥檚 non-traditional, there鈥檚 value to that, too.鈥�
However, from the marketing standpoint he adds, 鈥淎s a sponsor, really, how is competitive climbing going to translate on TV?鈥�
There is also the notion of how much marketing work would have to go into educating viewers and attendees about any new sport.
鈥淪quash might be something I would watch or wushu, but I already know about baseball, softball, karate and surfing, for example. It鈥檚 an easier sale," Nisanson remarked.
Sports psychologist Patrick Cohn, a former athlete and coach, with Peak Performance mental training for athletes, adds: 鈥淪ome people would say, 鈥榃ell golf isn鈥檛 a sport鈥� just because you鈥檙e out there walking and it鈥檚 not super vigorous. But to me a sport is any activity that you engage in and have a competitive nature to the sport,鈥� he says.
鈥淪o, is chess a sport? You could argue that it鈥檚 very competitive and it鈥檚 certainly head-to-head so you certainly could consider chess a sport even though we think of it as a game.鈥�
Chess and bridge were among聽聽on the initial list for consideration for inclusion in the 2020 games.
鈥淚f they鈥檙e looking for the entertainment value of the sports, what鈥檚 going to engage fans then certainly they鈥檙e just thinking about how entertaining it is for the spectator,鈥� says Dr. Cohn.聽
The federations of the eight sports will next make presentations in Tokyo on聽Aug. 7-8, and organizers will make recommendations to the International Olympic Committee by聽Sept. 30.
The IOC will make a final decision on which sport 鈥� or sports 鈥� will be added in August 2016, when it meets ahead of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
