Niche items are popular, release fitness vitality
——Why is the emerging movement so popular (Part 1)
In the scorching summer, people's enthusiasm for exercising outdoors cannot be stopped.
Throwing frisbees, paddleboards, playing flag football, the niche projects of the past are attracting more and more attention and participation.
Behind this boom, there are business opportunities, trends, and industrial chains.
The dynamic figures reflect the people's yearning for a better life and release the value of sports to social life.
This edition will launch a series of reports on "Why Emerging Movements Are So Popular", so stay tuned.
--editor
On the lake that is as clear as a mirror, the paddle boards make ripples; on the streets illuminated by the sunset, riding figures gallop past; on the court where the night wind blows, Frisbee fans are in groups of three and five, and the flag football players are lined up and running. Passionate about sports.
On social media, several beautiful photos and a video of sports, sweat and smiles hung on the faces of the participants, which also made the viewers eager to try.
This summer, emerging sports have become a bright color in the urban landscape, providing fresh and fun options for the fitness enthusiasts.
From few people interested to the public
Skiing in winter, what to do in summer?
When Mr. Wen, a Beijing citizen, was thinking about this, the Frisbee came into his sight.
Join the WeChat group and play two or three times a week. Every time you sign up, you need to "snatch". More and more people around Mr. Wen fall in love with Frisbee.
Football fields, parks, community squares...you can jump around, pass and catch Frisbees with just an open space.
There are various ways to play Frisbee. Team Frisbee is a common one, and it combines the characteristics of various sports: like basketball, you can't walk on the disc, like football, run and chase the whole court, and hit the score zone like rugby to get points.
In a contest, the team members must cooperate closely to complete the movement and pass and catch the plate, which not only trains the individual's comprehensive sports quality, but also tests the team's ability to cooperate.
When Mr. Wen experienced Frisbee for the first time, he fell to the ground after flying to save the plate, but as the score was scored, the participants in the same field applauded unanimously. The full sense of accomplishment made him fall in love with the sport.
There is no limit to the number of people playing frisbee, and a basic operation is completed after one pass and one catch, which is low in confrontation but highly interesting.
Even if a Frisbee game is organized, there can be no referee, and there is a disputed action. The two sides negotiate and resolve it, and the game can continue when an agreement is reached.
This self-judgment mechanism based on honesty and trustworthiness, mutual respect, and fair competition facilitates the rapid establishment of connections and friendships among participants who were originally unfamiliar.
According to Xue Zhixing, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Frisbee Sports Promotion Committee, it is this strong social and entertainment attribute that greatly enhances the "stickiness" of Frisbee fans. It is not surprising that Frisbee "breaks the circle" due to its cross-border cooperation, as well as the help of variety shows and social platforms.
Xue Zhixing introduced that it has been nearly 20 years since the introduction of Frisbee sports into China, forming three gathering places for fans in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. Currently, about 500,000 people participate. Sports development has played an important role in promoting.”
Not long ago, a novel Frisbee event was held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.
The competition is inspired by the strange stories in traditional culture to set up the rules of the game. The teams are named after the mythical beasts in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas".
"The sport of Frisbee has its own trendy genes, and packaging the game with interesting scenes can inspire the new charm of the sport." said An Chenran, the organizer of the event and deputy general manager of Ningbo Yikun Sporting Goods Co., Ltd.
From casual gathering to industrial extension
"Flying disc is the 'square dance' of today's young people." Wu Qiao, executive director of Shanghai Zhifeng Sports, felt deeply: Over the past three years, more and more people have come to know and understand Frisbee.
He always keeps a few Frisbees in the trunk of the car, and he will send them directly to friends who are interested.
Gathered because of love, Shanghai Super Light Club is a Frisbee club founded by a group of Frisbee enthusiasts and has 3,000 members in 5 months.
A special theme fun competition every month, a weekly popular league with a fixed team... Rich offline activities have kept the club's current momentum of development.
"Participants enjoy the joy of Frisbee in different communities, and those with outstanding personalities may form their own new communities." said Liu Diyang, founder of Shanghai Superlight Club, "There will always be someone who will become a new force in the future. Let the Frisbee team continue to grow." Senior enthusiast Guo Kun founded the first domestic women's Frisbee team in Shanghai. "Girls team up to train and compete more easily to build self-confidence and improve their level, thereby forming 'stickiness'".
The establishment of a large-scale competition system is undoubtedly a good opportunity for niche projects to go to the public.
The reporter learned from the Social Sports Guidance Center of the General Administration of Sports: The first China Frisbee League will be held from August 2022 to May 2023, and grassroots communities, enterprises and institutions, social groups, and schools can form teams to register for the competition.
What people in the industry are looking forward to is that Frisbee is also expected to be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
"If we successfully enter the Olympic Games, it will promote the further growth of the domestic Frisbee sports participants, and at the same time bring opportunities for the extension of the related sports industry chain." Xue Zhixing said.
From each beauty to fusion development
Since the beginning of summer, Beijing citizen Yu Mei's spare time life has been full.
In addition to participating in Frisbee activities, she also follows different fitness groups every week, or rides along Chang'an Avenue, or paddles in Shunyi Olympic Park.
"These sports are not only healthy, but also fresh and fun. They are suitable for all ages." Yu Mei said.
In the outdoor fitness boom in recent years, Frisbee took the lead in "knocking on" the door of the market, and other niche projects also sensed business opportunities and accelerated their expansion.
Low technical threshold, less equipment requirements, and good exercise effect are the common feelings of most people when they start related sports.
The mutual drainage of different projects has also marked a distinctive label for the integrated development of emerging sports.
According to Liu Wei, a veteran Frisbee fan, in a team Frisbee game, the players have to keep running to pass the disc, and after a game, the running distance is usually about 5 kilometers. Physical training, and as a result, I became addicted to playing and playing.”
According to Wang Xueli, director of the Sports Industry Development Research Center of Tsinghua University, since most of the emerging sports have low barriers to entry and are easy to learn, other sports enthusiasts can use their existing skills, and the learning cost is low, which is conducive to "cross-border" attempts.
For example, she said, "For example, lovers of paddleboards and land surfboards are converted from skiing and skateboarding."
Emerging sports are gradually gaining popularity, and creating a good participation experience has become the service direction of many clubs.
In Beijing, you can participate in a two-hour Frisbee basic training and competition course for one or two hundred yuan.
From rookie rounds, advanced rounds to actual competitions, people of different levels can find their own points of interest in it.
In the camping activities that have become popular in the past two years, more and more new sports scenes such as Frisbee, paddle board, and cycling are superimposed, and new ways of leisure and fitness are "mixed and matched".
"The rise of emerging sports is exactly the projection of people's lifestyle changes in the field of fitness. With the development of national fitness increasingly diversified, personalized and fashionable, I believe there will be more niche projects to release vitality." Central University of Finance and Economics Wang Yuxiong, director of the Sports Economics Research Center, said.