Regulate market behavior and explore orderly development

  ——Why is the emerging movement so popular (Part 2)

  Our reporter Ji Fang Li Yang

  From sports events that a few people participated in to the new scene of national fitness, the once niche projects ushered in vigorous development.

However, how to strengthen the safety awareness, how to standardize the operation model, and how to improve the industrial chain are still to be explored.

Whether practitioners can turn the rapidly growing popularity into the driving force for orderly development is crucial to the subsequent development of emerging sports.

  --editor

  Hold the paddle pedals, row on the water, or watch the scenery alone, or walk in the water with a group, leisurely.

This sport is paddle boarding, and along with emerging sports such as Frisbee and flag football, it has recently gained popularity among youth groups.

  From sports events that a few people participated in to the new scene of national fitness, the once niche projects ushered in vigorous development.

Others worry: will this craze be just a "gust of wind"?

For practitioners, it is crucial to the follow-up development of emerging sports whether they can turn the rapidly growing popularity into the driving force for orderly development.

  Safety awareness must be firmly established

  Lucy, a Beijing resident who likes outdoor sports, recently purchased a set of paddle board equipment. After get off work, she often invites three or two friends to paddle and watch the sunset.

She belongs to a group of paddle board enthusiasts of more than 400 people, who often get together to organize activities.

"We will exchange technology, share experience, and new people will join in one after another." Lucy said, "Paddleboard can be close to nature, and can also understand the city of life from a different perspective."

  Although the threshold for playing paddle board is not high, generally beginners can stand up from the paddle board and do some simple paddle movements at the first contact.

Lucy said that when paddling, it mainly relies on the strength of the waist and abdomen. "Paddleboard 5 kilometers is more tiring than running 5 kilometers."

  From the perspective of industry insiders, paddle board sports are still in a relatively early stage of development in China, and the opening of waters, supporting facilities and standardization systems need to be improved.

The moats and park lakes of some cities do not support the people to go into the water and exercise here. In the event of safety problems, there is also a lack of relevant rescue equipment and measures.

  Safety is an important prerequisite for any sport, and how to tie the "safety rope" is regarded as a shortcoming of niche projects that needs to be strengthened.

Lin Quanxi, general manager of Fall in Love with Water Sports Club, said for example: "Some experiencers go into the water without wearing life jackets. This is wrong. The relevant safety education must be supplemented first."

  Hubei Paddle Board Alliance, which has been established for more than 5 years, has introduced safety rowing regulations as early as its establishment, requiring enthusiasts to make complete preparations before entering the water, including observing the wind and weather, determining the water environment, and must wear life jackets and safety foot ropes Wait.

Shi Zhengxiang, the head of the alliance, said that most of the experiencers of emerging sports are also beginners in the project. It is very important to do necessary reminders and guidance, and to have a strong sense of safety.

  The operating model still needs to be standardized

  Emerging sports are becoming more and more well-known and accepted by the public, allowing people to see market opportunities for project development.

  Frisbee sports have begun to explore a standardized development model.

According to Xue Zhixing, deputy secretary-general of the National Frisbee Promotion Committee of the Social Sports Guidance Center of the General Administration of Sports, the committee has trained more than 5,000 Frisbee team-building lecturers and 600 coaches in the two years since its establishment, laying the foundation for the teaching and promotion of Frisbee.

On July 28, the Social Sports Guidance Center of the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China announced that the first China Frisbee League Xi'an competition will be held at the Duyi Ruins Park Sports Center in Qujiang New District from August 6 to 7.

  In contrast, flag rugby needs to be standardized.

Fan Jin Xin said that in the past year, there have been more and more golfers around him, and the number of clubs has continued to increase, but due to the lack of uniform rules, games can usually only be played between club members.

"The rules of different clubs are sometimes quite different. Although different rules have different interests, in order to organize larger-scale competitions and increase their influence, it is best to unify them first." Jin Xin said.

  Standing at the crossroads of commercialization and further improving the normalization and specialization of niche sports is regarded as the key to market development.

After 10 years of exploration, the operation of Fall in Love with Water Sports Club is relatively mature, but relative to the market recognition, the cost of venue rental and management expenses, equipment maintenance, coach training and other capital costs and related resources are still relatively high.

"In the past two years, domestic water sports clubs have only begun to increase, and they are generally still in the stage of exploring the operation model." Lin Quanxi said, "Compared with the operational maturity and user acceptance of foreign water clubs, there are opportunities and challenges in the domestic water sports market. coexist."

  In response to the rapid development of emerging sports, Wang Xueli, director of the Sports Industry Development Research Center of Tsinghua University, believes that relevant industry authorities should issue regulations as soon as possible to meet the needs of the public and guide the healthy and sustainable development of the industry.

  The industrial chain needs to be improved

  In this wave of emerging sports, cycling is considered a "renewed look".

In the past years, as a fitness project integrating sports, leisure and travel, cycling is second only to the marathon in terms of public participation.

As more people devote themselves to urban cycling, the market segment of road bicycles is rejuvenated. In Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and other places, the sales of road bicycles have shown a rapid upward trend. " and so on.

  Cycling heats up quickly, bringing fire to sports consumption.

But for practitioners, it is still not easy to do a good job in the "two-wheeler" business.

"This year's orders have shown a blowout growth, and many models are out of stock. It also takes a process for bicycle manufacturers to adapt to this change." Tang Xuezhong, a former Chinese road cyclist and general manager of Wan Hongfei (Beijing) Sports Culture Co., Ltd., said, " More than a decade ago, the sales of road bikes were still up and down, but in recent years, the trend has generally been upward, indicating that the market is becoming mature, and the upgrading and updating of spare parts has become an important part of the bicycle industry chain."

  How to turn the popularity of the project into the driving force for industrial development, so as to achieve a virtuous circle?

This is the most thought-provoking question facing any emerging movement.

Most of the practitioners are working hard in their respective fields in the exploration.

  "Waterskiing in summer and skiing in winter, these two sports have many similarities." Lin Quanxi is actively connecting with the ski circle, "I hope to break the seasonal limitations of project development and achieve 'drainage' between the two projects."

Xue Zhixing hopes to promote the industrialization of frisbee sports by establishing an event system: "Events at different levels will gradually improve the industrial chain. In addition to equipment sales, the training needs of relevant personnel and the commercial value of the event will also increase."

  "The government and relevant institutions should continue to act in terms of innovative supply." Wang Xueli believes that emerging sports have a strong momentum of development, but are still in their infancy, and relevant departments should actively support and guide them, such as actively encouraging competitions and supporting the development of social organizations. Lay the foundation for the orderly and sustainable development of the industry.”