After winning the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Raissa Leal’s Instagram account’s followers skyrocketed from 630,000 to over 9 million.Getty Images
It wasn’t It takes time after BMX freestyle It was added to the program for the 2017 Tokyo Olympics so riders can experience the Olympic effect. With new funding, they have the opportunity to compete in even more competitions around the world.
Sponsors saw the benefits of young athletes in new sports and disciplines and placed them on their rosters before the Olympics. And even without spectators at the Olympics (postponed to 2021) due to coronavirus restrictions, the new event will further increase its appeal to young people, and the International Olympic Committee will benefit from it in Paris and beyond. I hope so.
“Once the Olympic rings welcomed us into our realm, a lot of talented people started paying attention to a different audience,” said Ryan Nyquist, USA Cycling’s head coach of BMX freestyle. he said.
The IOC might say much the same thing.
The additions of skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing in Tokyo, along with the new disciplines of BMX freestyle and 3×3 basketball, represent a shift in the tournament’s appeal to younger viewers and fans, which will continue to grow next summer. We are continuing to prepare for the event. Olympic.
Organizers in Paris proposed these new sports along with the addition of breaking (or breakdancing) and gave them a prime spot at the competition. Convinced of its appeal, the IOC built everything but infiltration into the program, rather than leaving it up to future organizers.
IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell said: “We had a very clear vision for an Olympics that was aimed at more young people, more urban areas and more women.”
It’s not difficult to understand why. An IOC post-Tokyo survey found that younger age groups said the Olympics, which included skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing, were more appealing.
The IOC did not provide specific figures regarding the broadcasting of these sports, but noted the popularity of athletes on digital and social platforms. Brazilian teenager Raissa Real, a silver medalist in street skateboarding, saw his Instagram followers jump from 630,000 the month before the competition to 9 million the following month. Nyjah Huston is a top-ranked American skateboarder on the street, with more than 5 million followers on Instagram.
McConnell said new sports have become an important part of sponsorship efforts as athletes celebrate and embrace being Olympians. Olympic officials expect a similar appeal from Blake, whose content was viewed more than 2.5 million times during the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
“When you go to these events, you see a lot of people who are there, kids, teenagers, twenty-somethings,” said Rocky Harris, director of sports and athlete services for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Told. “There’s a different level of excitement around them.”
New summer sports, with support from the IOC, have created an intentional approach to embrace those cultures.
McConnell said, “We always said that what attracted us to having them in the Olympics is what we need to protect when they’re in the Olympics, and that’s the vitality… It’s really keeping that athlete feeling around, a strong community filled with community, a centered approach, a sense of self-expression across these sports. ”
Part of this includes the creation of the Let’s Move Street Challenge, a virtual BMX freestyle, breaking and skateboarding competition sponsored by TOP partner Samsung. More than 3,200 participants from 83 countries submitted 30-second clips of their best moves in September and October.
On November 12, the IOC will select 21 winners who will participate as fans in the Olympic qualifying series to be held in Shanghai in May.
“Every time the IOC tries something different, even if it’s risky, it’s not in their DNA, so I applaud it,” Harris said. “Because they’re making an effort. They’re trying to reach new audiences.”
The contest is similar to the one the IOC used for qualification before the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, with part of the qualification taking place through a video contest. This will help the IOC foster the connection between urban sports and the Olympics, while also leveraging community action in sports where athletes double as content creators.
“They’re great athletes and great people,” McConnell said. “We are trying to bring it together and give them a platform to showcase their skills, their individualism and their personalities to the entire Olympic movement.”
For the breakers, Paris is a one-shot representation of their sport. Los Angeles organizers have not selected it as an event for the 2028 Olympics.
Steve Graham, who founded the nonprofit Urban Dance & Education Foundation, said some breakers were hesitant to be under the control of the World DanceSport Federation and feared being taken advantage of by ballroom dancers, but they He said he has come to embrace the platform the Olympics can provide. In addition to the Pro Breaking Tour, he also helped fund the U.S. National Team.
“Many of the other sports that are classic Olympic sports don’t appeal to young people,” Graham said. “In fact, it’s expensive for organizers to organize. You can have Olympic breaking news in your living room.”
Graham talks about what he knows. In fact, his living room has a broken floor.
As a sign of their enthusiasm for urban sports, Paris organizers concentrated them on Place de la Concorde. Breaking, skateboarding, BMX freestyle and 3×3 basketball will be competed there.
“We know it’s going to bring something very special,” McConnell said.
It will at least bring fans. Tickets for Breaking, BMX Freestyle and Sport Climbing (held at unique venues) sold out on the day they went on sale.
Sports leaders and athletes hope to reap the benefits of Olympic participation as a symbolic venue where they can introduce their sport to themselves and new audiences.
“They’re definitely setting the stage,” Nyquist said. “I’m ready to be surprised.”