Glass half full?

[mally]

I wanted to offer a personal perspective on slalom in Britain, prompted by reading some views that suggest the sport is in decline or serious trouble. First off, let me name a couple of my personal biases. I first encountered slalom in my native Australia, where I lived till 1992, and I still have contacts in the sport there. In Australia, the domestic racing season is limited to couple of events in the summer that require the same logistical expense as traveling across Europe. As a result slalom only exists in one or two small pockets and has a tiny base of paddlers. For a range of reasons the Penrith olympic course doesn't have a thriving paddling scene and is only used by a small number of slalom athletes. I live in London now so it's also easy for me to paddle at Lee Valley and get sight of what's happening.

From where I look, we have a fantastic sport in this country. As a Div 1 paddler I have more races available to me than I have the time or resources to attend (a huge thank-you to all the clubs and volunteers who make this possible). I can find out what I need about entries, results etc. by going on-line (a huge thank you to Nick Penfold). At the top end of the sport there are athletes achieving international success, and these people are friendly, accessible and down to earth (well done all of you). By contrast, how many tennis players can drop down to their local club and expect to hit a few balls with Roger Federer?

There are now four permanent, high quality artificial courses spread across the country. Cycling has only 3 equivalent indoor velodromes.

At Lee Valley I see a whole bunch of youngsters (and their parents) getting enthusiastic about slalom, and I feel the positive vibes of a venue that is a hub for all sorts of paddlers in the south east. In terms of a direct legacy from the London Olympics it looks pretty good to me.

In my ‘day job’ I work as a consultant on occasion for UK Sport and the British Olympic Association, and have seen how many sports operate. Canoe slalom stacks up pretty well as one of the more professional and well-led programs.

I don’t doubt that there are aspects that could be better, or that there are problems that need to be addressed. But let’s keep it in perspective and celebrate what’s working so well about our sport, and acknowledge the hard work of the people who make this possible.

[Sven]

Many thanks for the insight Mally

It would be really interesting to hear your views (given your participation and professional background) on why Canoe slalom does not attract a higher level of media and TV coverage in the UK given it now has really good international venues and as you say far more race events than many other sports or indeed the level of sponsorship that other sports command at grass roots level. Particularly as there is a fantastic track record of Olympic success.

[Happychappy]

Great topic and one close to my heart. I worked for the governing body of Rugby Football League, the coverage we got in the early days was poor to. It took some convincing but the sport managed to get up todate as regards "the viewers experience" and the sport now is exciting to watch both at the ground and TV. For those that were there at the Tees Barrage weekend Div1-2 Prem we introduced music on the Saturday and full race commentary on the Sunday for the Prem. The feedback I got from the paddlers, coaches and parents as well as the Tees Sunday strollers was very encouraging. I would love to see more clubs sharing resources and good practice about what works and what doesn't. It's not rocket science to get it right and we don't need to reinvent the wheel, what we have to do is work closely together at Club/Governing Body level and be clear about the framework of the sport. As pointed out, we have good foundations, now let's build on them, together....

Bit of a ramble but from the heart

[SteveM]

Excellent post, very good points. As an ex-slalom paddler from the 80's the talk has been of decline ever since. Yet we've had paddlers winning top flight medals consistently since then.

Regarding media exposure, does a sport like slalom need it, or is enjoying participation enough?

[Sven]

Greater media exposure usually attracts more sponsorship

[SteveM]

That's only relevant to the elite paddlers, not something that should shape the rest of the sport perhaps?

[Sven]

I would have thought clubs that organise events would appreciate some sponsorship investment.

Why is there this current "down" on performance athletes? They were beginners once and their performance contributes to the success of the sport.

[mally]

So "media exposure' emerges as a theme; I wonder what do people mean by this? Press coverage in the national dailies or regional press, TV broadcasts, online....? Other 'minority' sports, even the most successful like rowing or cycling, achieve only thin coverage in the traditional national sports pages, and is usually linked to a major event or an interesting personality. Football crowds out most of the papers (but don't get me started on that one!). My experience in this may be a little out of date, but at a regional level developing a relationship with local journalists, feeding them regular stories and photos, and educating them about the sport used to work. Press journalists don't go looking for stories (only in the movies) so rely on being fed well written content! This raises the profile of the sport locally, maybe encourages more people to come and watch an event, makes it more attractive for kids to have a go etc etc. This then ties in with the previous comment about the importance of commentary on race day, and an awareness of what a slalom looks like for a first time spectator. I know this puts an additional workload on race organisers...

In terms of what sponsors want I think it's pretty simple - to make their businesses more successful by communicating directly or indirectly with their customers. Being associated with a successful sport sends a message that supports their brand. In the online world, take a look at what companies like Red Bull do with Danny Macaskill (cycling) and Vavra (whitewater and slalom). High quality, 5 - 10 minutes pieces that are great to watch and don't feel like advertising. But they are watched by current and potential consumers of red bull. If slalom isn't attracting sponsors (and I've no idea who is being asked) then it would pay to reflect on the external perception of the sport's brand. There's a whole science to sport sponsorship that could be accessed.

[jjayes]

Is there such a thing as bad publicity when it come to getting a sport noticed?

Most high profile sports reporting is little to do with performance, it is far more about the behind the scenes scandal about rivalry, money, sex and power. Take a look at todays football coverage http://www.football365.co.uk/

Putting out stories that capture people imagination is not the same thing as simply publishing results.

Within slalom, individuals who have somehow stepped outside the squeaky clean image expected by some have often been reprimanded for such actions and rightfully so, but in terms of publicity these actions and there associated stories could capture a large share of publicity for the sport. People make mistakes all the time and it is of public interest to observe these. If slalom want to really get noticed it need to look at how it portrays its self, squeaky clean is boring.

There are many behind the scenes stories within the sport all the time that are of great human interest, if we can not find them we can make them up! The press do it all the time to sell papers.

Over the years we have had it all in slalom, you imagine it and I bet we have had it. The question is do we want it reporting or hushed up.

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.

[davidpbain]

Rightly/Wrongly I would personally love to see more media coverage, hype and excitement, not just from the athletes and participants in canoe slalom but from spectators and the general public.

It was mentioned further up that was sponsorship needed/only relevant for the top athletes. This is completely false. I do not think there is a centre in the UK now that does not charge for water, and the courses that have been around for a while are charging more for events in particular to be run. Without mentioning figures for specific sites it is difficult to comment statistically, however if these prices keep going up I think clubs and even the slalom committee will start struggling to run events.

In my mind this leaves few options bar that of dramatically raising club fees, the one that seems most viable is for more work to be put in to getting events sponsored. Many companies do not sponsor individuals however will support events, especially if some effort was put in to having the local press/evening news teams present. HYPE IT UP we have Olympic/World medalists after all!!!

I also feel that the atmosphere of events would change with this with more music being played, commentary and a cooler place to be in general being created! I have never been to a MotoX event, DH biking or creek racing event where there has not been cool music, sweet commentary and of course cameras and the general public everywhere, and most importantly loving it!!! It might also be worth adding, even though not Olympic, all these sports have increasing participation world wide...

I do not think any of these changes will happing straight away, and also think it needs to be worked on as a sport, not just a couple of clubs or slalom committee however I do believe its possible over time....

Cheers,

Bainer

[Sven]

Spot on David!

Jim - no sorry cant agree. negative publicity actually does nothing but harm - it attracts the wrong kind of attention, often puts people off participating. I am told the FA can actually track downturns in youth participation at club level when big scandals hit the headlines. I am sure nobody wants that

It is difficult at some venues to play music etc because of concerns re residents. Getting local residents on board for some sites is paramount - look at the challenges Dave Bradshaw is having to deal with. However i think there are things that can be done

A thought - would it be of any help to organisers if a press pack/kit could be put in with the organisers materials? Ie pre worded press releases statements, posters etc to go out to local newspapers and radio stations before the event.

I would have thought here is plenty of marketing talent within GB Canoeing etc to be able to help put these together? Not everyone can write etc so would it be a good idea to use the talents already available in this area - ie the guys who do this as their job? Writing this kind of stuff is a science

[BaldockBabe]

In terms of getting exposure at a local level as a club we found it very easy to do and it did not take any imagination etc to write the reports. The papers were generally happy to have free material!

Examples of how easy it is include:

http://hertfordshire.iwitness24.co.uk/e ... rophy.html

http://www.thecomet.net/sport/baldock_i ... t_1_270554

There have been much shorter reports that just give results but I can't track them down right now.

In terms of more national press you can get events put on to the BBC's list of what is going on in the local area very easily too...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo/region/threecounties

and finally we have had info regarding events mentioned by the local radio station

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-be ... s-12424116

It takes a bit of time to make the contacts in your area but once you have them it becomes very easy.

[Neil H]

I totally agree with Mr Bain. I recall previous threads about sponsorship which attracted negative responses.

I like the positive gist of the original post; do I think the sport is broken, as alluded to by a number of previous threads, no I probably don't but I think it might be fractured. I think it's about perspective, if you have a child in the sport it's more emotive, especially if they feel excluded, being treated differently is not something anyone wants for their child, in society or sport. The Lee Valley programme is positive but again, as alluded to by other threads, I believe someone said what about the others who have been giving it all their commitment for years. As adults we can logic this out but the fact is those profoundly affected are not adults, they are children. Do we want to retain them
I think if it has been said for years that the sport is in decline or in trouble, then a investigation as to what that means at grass roots would be useful, there is rarely smoke without fire, and indeed solely to amuse myself, as The Cray World of Arthur Brown said - Fire, to destroy all you've done
Fire, to end all you've become, I'll feel you burn

I wanted to end on a positive

[Niciss]

How about a Blue Peter feature? Childrens bbc is based in Salford now, ideal for a presenter to go to Manchester CC get taught the basics by an enthusiastic youngster and enter a race. May only be a one off but it all counts. Also worth sending a calender to bbc/itv regions, there are plenty of country type shows, which would love an action feature in between country walks.