Vincent Chaudel is a marketing expert and co-founder of the Sport Business Observatory, the Think Tank of the In&Sport firm whose vocation is to provide analyzes and decryptions on the evolution of sport, both in its economic dimension and social. Article written in collaboration with Lucie Bourdier, Carlota Alonso Alexander, Orane Florinda, Manon Meunier, Amandine Pascal, ISEM students | Kedge BS.
From May 25 to 29, the International Festival of Extreme Sports was held in Montpellier, an international event bringing together amateur athletes and urban sports professionals.
On the program, five days of intense sport, between BMX, Skateboard, Parkour, Roller and other spectacular disciplines, under the eyes of more than 600,000 spectators.
This is an opportunity to look into the structuring of these new urban sports.
While some have recently joined the Olympic program, others are also trying to find their place in the international sports community and to structure their practice.
A real "
parkour
" of the fighter...
Since 1997, the Hérault has been the meeting place for all fans of these sports, long perceived as marginal.
But that was before… a market emerged first of hardware sales, then of audiovisual content, all for an ever-growing audience.
In 2016, the Montpellier edition crossed the bar of 500,000 spectators for the first time.
At the same time, some “ traditional
” sports
are looking for a second wind.
With a view to “
rejuvenating
” the public, we are witnessing everywhere a renewal of the sports offer, whether practical or show.
BMX, 3x3 basketball, 5-a-side football, rock climbing, skateboarding, parkour, breakdance… so many sports favored by young people all over the world who share the common point of being in full expansion and facing the same challenge: structuring their industry.
An opportunity called “
JO
”
The practice of sport, long confined to enclosed spaces, is now becoming part of the urban setting and cities are becoming veritable sports grounds.
Moreover, certain disciplines will very soon make their entry into the great family of Olympism.
Like breakdancing for Paris 2024. Skateboarding and climbing, already present in Tokyo as “additional sports”, have been renewed for the Paris Games.
These choices illustrate the desire of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) "
to update
» its programming by integrating sports that are more appealing to a younger audience.
This translates into the modernization of historical disciplines and the entry of so-called urban practices, which are in essence connected to the new generation.
They have the advantage of being widely followed and their champions benefit from increasingly important media coverage and large communities of fans.
The Olympic program being constrained by time, therefore by the number of competitions hosted, the happiness of some is the misfortune of others.
This is the case of karate which, although practiced all over the world, has not been able to maintain its status as an “additional” sport.
The Steven Da Costa gold medal was therefore not enough to change the COJOP's mind.
go for urban sports like skateboarding and breakdancing, sports that are a hit on social networks and that young people watch a lot
”.
These choices primarily respond to economic considerations.
To finance itself, the Olympic Games must remain attractive to advertisers and broadcasters.
They therefore need disciplines that arouse interest in the quantity and quality of the targets targeted by sponsors and television channels, which represent 70% of the IOC's income.
As these new disciplines have a spectacular side responding to the inspirations of the moment.
This is the bet made by the leaders of RedBull, the leading sponsor of extreme sports.
Thanks to their spectacular dimension, disciplines such as parkour, skateboarding, BMX and breakdance have a playing card and should benefit from ever greater visibility, by offering unique and world-famous events.
And why not Parkour?
Sometimes all it takes is a set of circumstances to change your destiny.
One of the images that will remain sadly attached to the Tokyo Games is perhaps the case of mistreatment of a horse during the modern pentathlon event.
Faced with denunciations from animal protection associations, the international federation has chosen to replace horse riding with an obstacle course on foot.
Parkour could not dream of a better opportunity.
Because let us remember that parkour consists above all of overcoming obstacles with only one's motor skills.
This practice was publicized in the 2000s thanks to the cinema: Yamakasi, Banlieue 13 and even James Bond in Casino Royale.
Since 2016, you have certainly seen him on TV shows like Ninja Warrior (3.
For Cedric Martin, director of the PK 13 association and referent for the development of parkour within the French gymnastics federation, "
what is happening on television, the media and other networks has made it possible over the past 10 years to multiply the number of practitioners, of people who are interested in it
”.
By domino effect, clubs are created here and there responding to a real demand and generating a need for supervision.
As proof, the PK13 association has created training courses for specialized educators with a diploma recognized by Youth and Sport (BPJEPS).
As for skateboarding, it is still difficult today to establish an exact number of practitioners because parkour is not yet structured, often outside the traditional scheme, under license.
However, Cédric estimates the number of followers in France at around ten thousand.
Can we live from Parkour in 2022?
From practice to professionalism, there are still many steps or obstacles to overcome for those who want to make their passion their profession.
First of all, there are not yet enough competitions for an athlete to live on 100% of their earnings.
As competition cannot be the only source of income, an athlete can be remunerated for his practice as a sports educator within a club promoting the discipline, by offering entertainment services to all types of structures: public, private, associations.
Because the event dimension is a real lever for these athletes.
"
Today PK13 is 11 full-time employees and out of the 11 employees, there are indeed educators, performers but also project developers, not to mention the role of trainer since we also live from the transmission our knowledge to enable others to make a living out of it,
" recalls Cédric Martin.
Chase Tag: The Game of Cat and Mouse Like You've Never Seen It
Proof if any of the dynamics initiated by parkour, the appearance of a competitive and very "
telegenic " format
“: the Chase Tag.
This is a new discipline derived from parkour, a real show combining agility, speed and dexterity.
The concept is simple and invites us to dive back into our childhood to play the game of cat and mouse, in a space full of obstacles.
Unlike Parkour, Chase Tag is a private organization that aspires to develop its events by focusing on the spectacular side of the discipline to attract media and sponsors.
Beyond an urban phenomenon, the Chase Tag becomes a marketable and scriptable event in the same way as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was able to do by mixing historical martial arts.
Founded in 2011, World Chase Tag already has many viewers and followers around the world.
There are already more than 700,000 fans on the Youtube channel “World Chase Tag” and 553,000 fans on Instagram, accumulating millions of views on the videos.
Christian Devaux, founder of the Chase Tag, told us that when there are "
good athletes competing against each other, it's the most exciting sport to watch, […] it's easy to understand and it's not limited by culture”.
Damien Devaux, co-founder explains: “Our medium term objective is to develop the sport and we always say that we want to see the best athletes hunting, that is our objective and that is in a way our mission
”.
Parkour or Chase Tag, make your bets!
Beyond the "
modern pentathlon
" track , parkour has triggered the movement towards Olympic recognition: if it is not yet on the program in 2024, it may make its debut at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. The Californian metropolis and the IOC are seriously considering integrating the discipline into its program as a “test” discipline, especially since the urban decor already in place lends itself very well to jumps, overcoming obstacles and urban races.
The question of integrating parkour into the Olympic Games has also gained legitimacy, since the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) integrated two forms of parkour in 2017, called: “Speedrun” and “Fresstyle”.
However, the integration of this new discipline into the Olympic Games is causing debate, including among practitioners who consider their sport to be a hymn to freedom, far from standards and codes.
Admittedly, the Games represent a real challenge for development and promotion… via the FIG and therefore a loss of autonomy or even identity.
For Shane Griffin, parkour enthusiast for more than 15 years and official international tester of many Ninja Warrior shows, "
it's a good thing for the sport and what happens with parkour will not change what parkour is for an athlete as an individual, so everyone can do whatever they want.
»