Did you know that there is a thriving college sport in the US that gets absolutely no media attention? As college football pulls in 12 million dollars per team per BCS bowl, sailing is stuck in the back.
"How come sailing is not an NCAA sport?
The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) is the governing body of intercollegiate sailing, not the NCAA. Early in the 20th century a group of savvy business types got together and founded an organization purely devoted to competitive sailing at the collegiate level (the Inter-Collegiate Yacht Racing Association). In this manner, sailors ensured that they could govern their own sport rather than some ex-basketball coach who couldn't care less about a bunch of sailors. Most importantly to college sailors, the ICSA hosts the North American championships each year to determine which college is, in fact, #1."
--Straight from collegesailing.org
Now, I'm not saying that the folks over at ICSA have done a bad job of managing the sport. In fact, I believe they have done a terrific job given what they have. Each year the fleets become more competitive and more active.
Unfortunately, 80% of the teams are club teams, receiving little funding from the school and likely with no coaching. Some have volunteer coaches from the yacht club, some have no yacht club at all. Sailing is a very expensive sport for the school to support and it takes in no profits. There are no paying spectators but new boats and sails cost a lot. Not to mention travel. Then you mention that you really only need four people on the team to compete (unlike other large team sports) and the funding drops even more. It's a difficult area to excel.
College sailors race mainly in 420s, Lasers, and FJ's. These are the perfect boats. While many criticize these boats for being underpowered and uninteresting for the sailors, I believe they are simple, cost efficient boats that force sailors to sail strategically. While it would be more fun to sail faster and more dangerous with spins and traps, the costs for programs would skyrocket and new sailor training would take any longer. The budgets of these teams are already stretched and they can't afford to stretch any more.
Many of the top sailors in the country and world have come out of the ICSA program. Many all-americans become future Olympians and even AC drivers. Others give up sailing for a while and then go back to it when they can afford it. But the point is, it is the breeding ground for future sailors, both professional and club level.
Would making the sport apart of the NCAA help the sport? Possibly. I don't think the ICSA would give up the program and I don't think the NCAA wants it but it would certainly help. Monetary support would increase but it might also widen the gap between schools. Many athletic programs would not pick up the sport as apart of their varsity programs and the lingering problems would remain.
A new sailing event could use this talent. It could even restrict its competitors to this age group. Instead of 40 year old million or billionaires, fans could watch young kids battle just like in all the other sports. The drama would be higher, the boats could be faster, and the 18-30 market could be reached much easier. Plus, the racing could go on in the summer and not interfere with classes!
If you attended college or live near one, consider donating to your team. They would most certainly appreciate it or any kind of advice you could give them. Most likely, they would love a monthly coaching session. Too many college sailors graduate and then forget about their college hobby. As the college scene expands, everything above it will expand also.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Southern Ocean is Crowded
I was so excited for this winter to come. Not because I got to break out my new spraytop, but because my favorite race is going on. The Vendee Globe. Ever since I read about the solo circumnavigation I've loved this race. All the way back to when it was called the Golden Globe. But even with 30 skippers on the starting line, only one American has entered. One. This is the pinnacle of Ocean Sailing! The New York Times has an interesting article about the races popularity in France. Of course with only one racer it's hard to spread the races popularity in the states but come on. I was simply shocked to learn that only one American is participating.
A little further south, the Volvo Ocean Race is still going strong. I haven't looked a whole lot at their website and what they have going, but I have listening to their podcast for the past year or so. That should tell you how good they are with connecting to the public. Very nice. They even had some money left over to race in the Extreme 40 series! Also good stuff.
Ocean racing just goes along with what kind of brand I think will sell. Extreme. High Definition. Drama. It's all there. And as you can see, it's flourishing in the foreign markets. So how do we get the race to flourish here? How about adding more American skippers for one thing. What if someone started a race just like the Vendee Globe but that set off from the US? Only United States sailors could enter. Put the start live on TV out of New York or San Francisco and have a weekly recap show with maybe some live interviews. Races like the Vendee globe and VOR already have the equipment to broadcast this information, just not the medium in the US to do it. What company or what person is going to force ESPN or a network to broadcast this stuff? No one. Why? Because they will laugh you out of their office.
No one would watch the Vendee Globe. No one wants to watch the French sail around the world just like they don't want to watch the Russians have another spacewalk. But show little Jimmy from Houston out there in space and then you've got something. Returning national pride and interest to sailing is something that would jumpstart the AC's US interests and other programs. The problem is, these organizations don't care that they are losing out on the US because they can do so well in Europe. But I think they are missing a HUGE market.
The cable sports program was born here. Reality TV was born here. Fantasy football was born here. If there is ever a sports hungry market, it's the US.
Someone...one day will make it happen.
A little further south, the Volvo Ocean Race is still going strong. I haven't looked a whole lot at their website and what they have going, but I have listening to their podcast for the past year or so. That should tell you how good they are with connecting to the public. Very nice. They even had some money left over to race in the Extreme 40 series! Also good stuff.
Ocean racing just goes along with what kind of brand I think will sell. Extreme. High Definition. Drama. It's all there. And as you can see, it's flourishing in the foreign markets. So how do we get the race to flourish here? How about adding more American skippers for one thing. What if someone started a race just like the Vendee Globe but that set off from the US? Only United States sailors could enter. Put the start live on TV out of New York or San Francisco and have a weekly recap show with maybe some live interviews. Races like the Vendee globe and VOR already have the equipment to broadcast this information, just not the medium in the US to do it. What company or what person is going to force ESPN or a network to broadcast this stuff? No one. Why? Because they will laugh you out of their office.
No one would watch the Vendee Globe. No one wants to watch the French sail around the world just like they don't want to watch the Russians have another spacewalk. But show little Jimmy from Houston out there in space and then you've got something. Returning national pride and interest to sailing is something that would jumpstart the AC's US interests and other programs. The problem is, these organizations don't care that they are losing out on the US because they can do so well in Europe. But I think they are missing a HUGE market.
The cable sports program was born here. Reality TV was born here. Fantasy football was born here. If there is ever a sports hungry market, it's the US.
Someone...one day will make it happen.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
The America's Cup
*Disclaimer* Obviously at this time there is so much legal crap surrounding that AC that any discussion of its merits should involve these topics, yet, mine will not.
The AC is the prized glory of all sailors. In fact, in the movie "Wind" (the best attempt at a popular movie about racing that I know of) the plot is based on the lure of this trophy. But it seems that since the 80's, the cup has lost popular attention in the US. But why? Well that's a pretty easy question. There is no American team. While BMW Oracle claims to be an American team, it is sponsored by BMW (not American) and has a non-American crew. Now, I'm not anti-everyone else as some "patriots" are, but I believe that in some respects, you have to remain strict. BMW Oracle is a fine campaign, but it is never going to rally the American people. The problem is, they don't care. As long as they can keep the sponsors happy, any extra support is icing on the cake.
Many people have suggested that the AC return to a competition between nations. But there is a problem to this, and also the reason they changed the rule. Not every country is equal. Even with billions of dollars, it would be difficult for Egypt to put together a citizen team and compete with the Kiwis. It's just a fact. But with billions of dollars and no citizenship rule, they can buy out all the Kiwis and win! You see this way, more money and sponsors can enter the scene.
The way I see it is, if you can increase the popularity of the AC to the public, you don't have to worry about having huge sponsors because they will come flocking! Sponsors originate from people seeing their advertisements. So instead of trying to sign more sponsors, why not invest that labor into finding more ways to get more viewers! Change the rules if you have to so that the AC returns to being popular.
It's so cool to see the spinnakers in the Olympics because they are the flags of their countries. Imagine seeing that on an AC boat. Instead of the US team flying a big BMW kite, it would but a beautiful USA flag.
There's a reason that in the NFL, they don't wear advertisements on their jerseys, they don't have to. They have so many fans already that they don't have to worry so much about the sponsors wanting more advertising space. They have found more subtle ways to introduce the advertising. Naming the stadiums, having tons of commercials, sponsoring the "first down line", etc. But the sport itself isn't suffocated with corporate advertising as sailing is.
But there are some sports that are also saturated with marketing. Look at European football (soccer). There jerseys have ads on them. Why can't sailboats? Because sailboats are meant to be named beautiful names. Not corporation names. These giant syndicates and race heads need to find more subtle ways to introduce the sponsors into the AC.
You don't hear about "Courageous" anymore or the other incredible boats. It has all been bought out.
So is the AC lost forever to the US market? Of course not. But more Americans need to be involved in the process and they can't be afraid to market and advertise their teams to the American public. They need to have brave, interesting skippers like Dennis Conner again who would die for the cup, not die for more money.
The heart of the AC used to be passion for sailing, but as of late it seems to be simply a passion for money.
The AC is the prized glory of all sailors. In fact, in the movie "Wind" (the best attempt at a popular movie about racing that I know of) the plot is based on the lure of this trophy. But it seems that since the 80's, the cup has lost popular attention in the US. But why? Well that's a pretty easy question. There is no American team. While BMW Oracle claims to be an American team, it is sponsored by BMW (not American) and has a non-American crew. Now, I'm not anti-everyone else as some "patriots" are, but I believe that in some respects, you have to remain strict. BMW Oracle is a fine campaign, but it is never going to rally the American people. The problem is, they don't care. As long as they can keep the sponsors happy, any extra support is icing on the cake.
Many people have suggested that the AC return to a competition between nations. But there is a problem to this, and also the reason they changed the rule. Not every country is equal. Even with billions of dollars, it would be difficult for Egypt to put together a citizen team and compete with the Kiwis. It's just a fact. But with billions of dollars and no citizenship rule, they can buy out all the Kiwis and win! You see this way, more money and sponsors can enter the scene.
The way I see it is, if you can increase the popularity of the AC to the public, you don't have to worry about having huge sponsors because they will come flocking! Sponsors originate from people seeing their advertisements. So instead of trying to sign more sponsors, why not invest that labor into finding more ways to get more viewers! Change the rules if you have to so that the AC returns to being popular.
It's so cool to see the spinnakers in the Olympics because they are the flags of their countries. Imagine seeing that on an AC boat. Instead of the US team flying a big BMW kite, it would but a beautiful USA flag.
There's a reason that in the NFL, they don't wear advertisements on their jerseys, they don't have to. They have so many fans already that they don't have to worry so much about the sponsors wanting more advertising space. They have found more subtle ways to introduce the advertising. Naming the stadiums, having tons of commercials, sponsoring the "first down line", etc. But the sport itself isn't suffocated with corporate advertising as sailing is.
But there are some sports that are also saturated with marketing. Look at European football (soccer). There jerseys have ads on them. Why can't sailboats? Because sailboats are meant to be named beautiful names. Not corporation names. These giant syndicates and race heads need to find more subtle ways to introduce the sponsors into the AC.
You don't hear about "Courageous" anymore or the other incredible boats. It has all been bought out.
So is the AC lost forever to the US market? Of course not. But more Americans need to be involved in the process and they can't be afraid to market and advertise their teams to the American public. They need to have brave, interesting skippers like Dennis Conner again who would die for the cup, not die for more money.
The heart of the AC used to be passion for sailing, but as of late it seems to be simply a passion for money.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Round the World Racing
I love ocean racing. It is my dream to one day race around the world. I, like perhaps many of you, have sat at home for hours figuring out the finances of starting a mini (the boat) campaign. Of course, this will probably never happen. But wow, these races are incredible.
Unfortunately, like all things sailing, they are hard to spectate. Being 3000 miles offshore doesn't help either. Equipment failures and weather keeps from live transmissions being broadcast. But at the same time, it is extremely easy to follow. There aren't any complex rules to follow, the boats simply go fast and find wind. The main problem is, they are slow. Although the boats move at incredible speeds, the races themselves last for months! What a difficult proposition.
The boats are what keeps me coming back for more. They are, first of all, gorgeous. The incredible graphics and shapes of these machines are amazing. Then there's the speed. I figure the top speed I've gone on a sailboat is 14 knots or so. I can't imagine going 30 or more! Much less 3000 miles from land in essentially a hurricane. These guys are the real deal.
I do believe that these races present an excellent opportunity for sponsors, especially the ones with multiple ports (VOR). But, there are very limited opportunities for US sponsors. You won't see even a commercial featuring offshore sailing in the US. My thinking is, how is a whale splashing around or a talking head more attractive to an audience than your name on an insanely cool offshore racing sailboat. It is classy, professional, and fun. I saw a BMW commercial online two years back featuring their AC boat and it was very cool looking. Why not broadcast those? I understand they've expensive to shoot but when you already have the footage, use it!
One day we'll see a well done ocean campaign or race, one that includes heavy United States publicity. Just not right now.
Unfortunately, like all things sailing, they are hard to spectate. Being 3000 miles offshore doesn't help either. Equipment failures and weather keeps from live transmissions being broadcast. But at the same time, it is extremely easy to follow. There aren't any complex rules to follow, the boats simply go fast and find wind. The main problem is, they are slow. Although the boats move at incredible speeds, the races themselves last for months! What a difficult proposition.
The boats are what keeps me coming back for more. They are, first of all, gorgeous. The incredible graphics and shapes of these machines are amazing. Then there's the speed. I figure the top speed I've gone on a sailboat is 14 knots or so. I can't imagine going 30 or more! Much less 3000 miles from land in essentially a hurricane. These guys are the real deal.
I do believe that these races present an excellent opportunity for sponsors, especially the ones with multiple ports (VOR). But, there are very limited opportunities for US sponsors. You won't see even a commercial featuring offshore sailing in the US. My thinking is, how is a whale splashing around or a talking head more attractive to an audience than your name on an insanely cool offshore racing sailboat. It is classy, professional, and fun. I saw a BMW commercial online two years back featuring their AC boat and it was very cool looking. Why not broadcast those? I understand they've expensive to shoot but when you already have the footage, use it!
One day we'll see a well done ocean campaign or race, one that includes heavy United States publicity. Just not right now.
Monday, October 27, 2008
ASL Video
Well, good work from the ASL team. They are getting some strides in the right direction. I would love to meet those guys and give them a couple of ideas but what they've got is great. Probably the main concern of any sailing broadcast is what market to aim the broadcast at. You can market it toward sailors with limited background information on the logistics of the sport and ignore new viewers or you can market the broadcast toward new viewers. Of course, this bores the experienced sailors. But the thing is, you can have both.
The "old" sailors are going to watch the broadcast either way. At this point in sailings "career" in the mass media experienced sailors aren't going to turn off a broadcast targeted towards a beginner audience. You might as well target the show toward new viewers. This gets you both audiences.
The ASL is the only organization that I know of doing this kind of work and they simply do a great job. Keep up the good work friends!
The "old" sailors are going to watch the broadcast either way. At this point in sailings "career" in the mass media experienced sailors aren't going to turn off a broadcast targeted towards a beginner audience. You might as well target the show toward new viewers. This gets you both audiences.
The ASL is the only organization that I know of doing this kind of work and they simply do a great job. Keep up the good work friends!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
American Sailing League Video
Well the ASL has finally posted their first "production"? video about their championship regatta this summer. I haven't had time yet to watch it (yet I have the time to post on this blog) but I'm very excited. It will be a good thing to show people and get their reaction of a similar weekly series like this event. Would they watch it? Ever? From what I've flipped through, they did very nice work all around. Very cool camera views and angles. I look forward to watching it and letting you know what I think.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Nationwide Sailing Part III
The Spectating
The way the fans view the sport is what is strangling sailing. The thing is, it's a shame. Where baseball might flourish in a radio market, sailing would suffer. It is a visually appreciated and understand sport. This is what is so confusing. Nowadays with HD TVs and the gorgeous landscapes of sailing, you would figure it would be an easy sell in this market.
Unfortunately, sailing is not easy to video. You can't just set a camera on the bleachers and capture most of the action. A helicopter is almost a necessity. Besides that you need in boat cameras and multiple on the water applications. It's a very expensive project.
The other problem is that sailing is impossible to view adequately from shore. Unless the races are held within 50 yards or so of a high platform, you might as well be asleep. This in my opinion is the biggest problem facing the marketability of our sport. As great as it would look on TV, you have to draw in the locals. Of course, many have tried with carnivals, games, and even free booze but the truth is they never come for the sailing.
I only see one way to fix that problem. Check out my first post about an indoor sailing arena with artificial wind and grandstands of spectators. Of course, I don't plan to ever see this in my lifetime but in my opinion that is still the perfect situation.
As I've said before, the best regattas I've watched in person have been ones where the sailing came within 20 yards of me or so. This happened once at a collegiate regatta and it was incredible. The gybe mark was 20 yards from the 2 story dock-house and everyone could see/hear/feel the action! Of course this is almost impossible in most venues for many reasons. First of all, you set the course in the middle of the lake for a reason, no effects on the wind. A giant spectator dock would have disastrous effects on the wind if not in the perfect location. Second, not all areas have a perfectly situated viewing platform. In fact probably close to none.
So, how can you attract local viewers to gain support? I have a couple of ideas. :)
1) Spectator Platforms. I'm going to go way past the elite yacht owners who park their second homes next to the racecourse to bask in the light of our glorious sport! Let's anchor some big platforms out near the marks and start for some close up action! A "ferry" boat could travel back and forth to transport the fans
2) Other events. I stated before that it isn't a great idea but it does work. Incorporate the racing into an already popular location (as the American Sailing league did) or host a popular event during or after the racing. Family carnivals and such are great events and usually draw a lot of hungry fans.
3) Commentators/Televisions. If possible, have a designated "race-viewing" area with information on the boats/races/sport and have a commentator explaining what's going on and everything sailing related. If possible, some sort of live television shots would be incredible. I already discussed how difficult this is and the thought of broadcasting them live and wirelessly back to the shore hurts my brain and wallet. Nevertheless, perhaps a zoom camera on a hill or high spot with a great vantage point could be used. Perhaps a shot from the committee boat, maybe some in boat cameras? Something to give a good view.
4) Sell more than sailing. As I discussed in the "The Sailors" section, sports fans are interested in more than just the sport. Try and let everyone know who's favored to win and who's the underdog. Imagine going to a horse race without knowing any of the stat lines or backstorys. It would be very boring. If there's advertising, in addition to the basic ads (YEAH, SAILING!) try and include an interesting story about one of the boats/sailors. Perhaps a very young crew or a very good crew, this is what the sport desperately needs.
Perhaps one day a major network will have a weekly sailboat race broadcast with gorgeous shots of spinnakers flying and great drama but it's not going to start out that way. The local interest, the media interest will come. Can you imagine if you got a couple of thousand sports fans to show up to a regatta? You don't think ESPN would cover that?
Unfortunately no one has found out a way to have thousands of people show up to a regatta without giving away free cars and then, is it really a regatta?
The way the fans view the sport is what is strangling sailing. The thing is, it's a shame. Where baseball might flourish in a radio market, sailing would suffer. It is a visually appreciated and understand sport. This is what is so confusing. Nowadays with HD TVs and the gorgeous landscapes of sailing, you would figure it would be an easy sell in this market.
Unfortunately, sailing is not easy to video. You can't just set a camera on the bleachers and capture most of the action. A helicopter is almost a necessity. Besides that you need in boat cameras and multiple on the water applications. It's a very expensive project.
The other problem is that sailing is impossible to view adequately from shore. Unless the races are held within 50 yards or so of a high platform, you might as well be asleep. This in my opinion is the biggest problem facing the marketability of our sport. As great as it would look on TV, you have to draw in the locals. Of course, many have tried with carnivals, games, and even free booze but the truth is they never come for the sailing.
I only see one way to fix that problem. Check out my first post about an indoor sailing arena with artificial wind and grandstands of spectators. Of course, I don't plan to ever see this in my lifetime but in my opinion that is still the perfect situation.
As I've said before, the best regattas I've watched in person have been ones where the sailing came within 20 yards of me or so. This happened once at a collegiate regatta and it was incredible. The gybe mark was 20 yards from the 2 story dock-house and everyone could see/hear/feel the action! Of course this is almost impossible in most venues for many reasons. First of all, you set the course in the middle of the lake for a reason, no effects on the wind. A giant spectator dock would have disastrous effects on the wind if not in the perfect location. Second, not all areas have a perfectly situated viewing platform. In fact probably close to none.
So, how can you attract local viewers to gain support? I have a couple of ideas. :)
1) Spectator Platforms. I'm going to go way past the elite yacht owners who park their second homes next to the racecourse to bask in the light of our glorious sport! Let's anchor some big platforms out near the marks and start for some close up action! A "ferry" boat could travel back and forth to transport the fans
2) Other events. I stated before that it isn't a great idea but it does work. Incorporate the racing into an already popular location (as the American Sailing league did) or host a popular event during or after the racing. Family carnivals and such are great events and usually draw a lot of hungry fans.
3) Commentators/Televisions. If possible, have a designated "race-viewing" area with information on the boats/races/sport and have a commentator explaining what's going on and everything sailing related. If possible, some sort of live television shots would be incredible. I already discussed how difficult this is and the thought of broadcasting them live and wirelessly back to the shore hurts my brain and wallet. Nevertheless, perhaps a zoom camera on a hill or high spot with a great vantage point could be used. Perhaps a shot from the committee boat, maybe some in boat cameras? Something to give a good view.
4) Sell more than sailing. As I discussed in the "The Sailors" section, sports fans are interested in more than just the sport. Try and let everyone know who's favored to win and who's the underdog. Imagine going to a horse race without knowing any of the stat lines or backstorys. It would be very boring. If there's advertising, in addition to the basic ads (YEAH, SAILING!) try and include an interesting story about one of the boats/sailors. Perhaps a very young crew or a very good crew, this is what the sport desperately needs.
Perhaps one day a major network will have a weekly sailboat race broadcast with gorgeous shots of spinnakers flying and great drama but it's not going to start out that way. The local interest, the media interest will come. Can you imagine if you got a couple of thousand sports fans to show up to a regatta? You don't think ESPN would cover that?
Unfortunately no one has found out a way to have thousands of people show up to a regatta without giving away free cars and then, is it really a regatta?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)