BLOG: OFF THE MARK

It’s time to start the madness

Jan. 10, 2011     ♦ Photos: Scenes from the wildly popular Moscow and Munich FIS head-to-head slaloms

By Mark Kristofic, S-Media


Based on what I am about to write, I may receive a few death threats from ski racing traditionalists, but it's time I got things off my chest. In short, IT IS TIME TO OVERHAUL THE ALPINE WORLD CUP.

Despite what purists may like to think, FIS alpine needs to be in the entertainment business. Every major league sport views itself as entertainers through sport, and FIS alpine should be no different. I should clarify that I am writing this from a Canadian and North American point of view. I fully understand the World Cup does not need any help in the European powerhouse countries, but I am talking about the World Cup, not the Western Europe Cup. And my interest is seeing the sport grow here at home.

The fact is our sport needs to get younger and compete with the X Games generation to continue to recruit, grow and thrive. I know it’s not what the purists want to hear, but if you don’t get younger, you get older, and your sport will eventually die.

So ladies and gentlemen, without further pre-text and drivel, here is the Kristofic Four-Point Marketing Plan to take the FIS alpine World Cup to the next level:

Point 1. More head-to-head racing in city centers
Anyone who has seen footage from the Moscow and Munich events knows what I am talking about. Head-to-head racing does not need major vertical, can be done on manmade surfaces and can be built in and around major festivals. Let's stop trying to force people out to the events and start to bring the events to the people.

Imagine an event like this in downtown Toronto, Montreal, Chicago or New York City. Heck, 100,000 people come out every year in Quebec City to Crashed Ice. Do you not think they would come out to a World Cup head-to-head race with lights, fireworks, dancing girls and live music?

What would our world look like if Canada were to shift its World Cup event focus to a Munich-like head-to-head event in downtown Montreal (or Vancouver or Calgary or Toronto or Ottawa or Quebec City).  The mainstream boost in popularity to the sport of skiing would be off the charts and likely less of a financial risk than the current World Cup model.

Point 2. The multi-discipline World Championships
We all know how HUGE the Olympics are. No single ski event could ever compare, but perhaps could come close. FINA has brought together all aquatic disciplines including swimming, diving, synchro and water polo to form the World Aquatic Championships.  

Why can’t FIS get the multi disciplines of skiing together for the World Snowsports Championships rather than individual discipline championships? The combined marketing and shear magnitude of the event would make the world stand up and take notice.*

*As I sit here writing this, thinking about how brilliant I am, S-Media’s Chris Robinson is sitting across from me, yelling at me that the Alpine world champs alone has a budget of $18 million and that no one organizing body/venue could ever afford to host a multi-discipline world championships. I yelled back to stop interrupting my fantasy world with reality.

Point 3. Get rid of the Stupid Combined
No explanation needed. Please explain to me how this was a good idea?


Point 4. Incorporate ski cross as an alpine discipline

First off, kudos to the folks on the FIS freestyle side who saw the potential in ski cross and made sure it became a mainstay on the World Cup circuit. This is the kind of forward thinking that is needed.

But the reality is that ski cross racers come from alpine racing, and if you think about it, ski cross is the purest form of racing out there. First one to the bottom wins and elimination format where the last run of the day determines the winner. The entertainment value is incredible. Now imagine if the four alpine disciplines were DH, GS, SL and SX. And just like currently there are some single discipline specialists and some multidiscipline specialists, introducing ski cross into this mix would allow for SX specialists as well as multidiscipline specialists. But think of the race for the overall title!

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Well, I think I’ve offended enough people with my Four-Point plan. I was going to present the 20-point plan, but I figure I’ve made enough enemies with my Four-Pointer. I think the Europeans would look at me like I have two heads. But I do believe  the tools and base is there with our current model to slightly “tweak” what we have and we are on the verge of being a North American big-league sport rather than a third-tier filler. Agree, disagree? Would love to hear your thoughts at mark@s-media.ca. S-Magazine