I think the biggest part of the problem is the combination of cost and steep learning curve/skill levels that it takes to even enter the sport, let alone successfully compete. Just think about it, anyone can swim, anyone can hit a golf ball, everyone drives a car, etc. The average person can get into those sports easily. They obviously aren't going to compete on the national or world level, but the widespread interest that gets the sport on TV is generated at the entry level.
Our entry level is at least 10 times as expensive as most sport's entry level costs.
Not to mention the skill required. Not just anyone can even get on a standup let alone do anything but ride in a straight line. How many of you have tried to get family members, neighbors, etc. up on a standup? Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. How can we expect to get the level of widespread interest generated when it is so difficult for the "average" person to even try our sport, let alone to get them interested enough to watch it on TV?
It's not that I want just anyone to be able to ride a standup, part of the appeal is being able to do something that not just anybody can do, but this aspect is part of what limits the appeal to the general public. Most people have never even tried to ride a standup and have no clue how difficult it is to do the tricks we all take for granted (even the most "simple" hood tricks, etc).
What's the cost to get into MX? A used entry level bike can be found easily for 2K and the average rider may never feel the need to do any mods. You can easily find a SN for 2K with some mods, but then almost everyone will want/need to make some mods if they want to progress in the sport. Not everyone is capable of wrenching on their ski and we all know how hard it is to find someone we trust to wrench on the ski.
So, we have a combination of things that limit the generation of widespread interest in the sport. How do we get past this combo? We need to somehow make the sport more accessible to the masses if we really expect sponsors to help out the competitors at the level of other televised sports.
Any ideas on this? We can't expect the manufacturers to sell their boats below cost, we can't go back and change all the boats already made to make them more ride ready, and a beginners level freestyle event would be even more boring to watch for most people.
Let's look at what they do for SX - put kids on identical bikes and stage quick races between the main features. Can we do an equivilant? Get a major sponsor to make the basic mods to a set of skis that travel to each comp? Not so good, it takes practice on a particular boat to be successful in competition. So, we're back to bigger money going in to entry level comp. again.
Anybody out there got any other ideas? I've tossed this around a lot, everytime one of these threads gets started, but I've not thought of any good solutions. I keep butting up against the combo of the high entry level cost and the very high skill levels that it takes to be successful at even the earliest level of comp.
I hate to be negative, but it's a tough combo to conquer. When we can resolve at least part of this problem, then we might have a chance of finding the widespread appeal that it takes to really grow the sport and get the wider exposure we all seem to crave for our sport.
So maybe we need to focus on the more basic entry level issues to find the larger solution we're looking for. What are your ideas on this? Anybody got a brainstorm how we can get more newbies in?
I think we also need to stop the war between standups and sitdowns. I see the sitdown rider as the closest equivilant to entry level as our sport has. How many of you first rode a sitdown, then got into standups looking for more challenge?:wave:
The sitdown rider may be OUR salvation! Treat them as such and we just might be able to find the widespread appeal that OUR sport needs.
