Why the organizers prefer to have ski races without fans than without any

Why the organizers prefer to have ski races without fans than without any

Next weekend at the Ski World Cup will be the next races: the women will compete in two Super-Gs in St. Moritz. But do competitions without spectators make sense?

Organizing World Cup events is a lot of work. The reward is usually real ski festivals. For example, more than 60,000 spectators attend the Lauberhorn races during the three days of the race. The added value for the entire region is enormous. Destinations do nothing but event marketing with events, they depend on tourism.

However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, viewers are currently not allowed. In this connection, the question of meaning arises. The Sölden races in mid-October will provide the answer. According to Jürg Capol, Swiss director of marketing for the international ski association FIS, the Austrian broadcaster ORF had 25 percent more viewers for the live broadcast. “That shows me that skiing wants to be chased. It’s not just important to the FIS that we can run races. “

There should be races in all circumstances

In this regard, it looks good so far, the protection concepts seem to be working. “We verified very, very quickly with all our stakeholders, the organizers, the FIS, the sponsors, what was feasible,” said Swiss Ski President Urs Lehmann on the occasion of the digitally held “Sport.Forum.Schweiz”.

“It became clear to us relatively quickly that we had to hold the World Cup events in all circumstances, regardless of the facilities, so that the value of the ski sports product was maintained,” Lehmann said. “It was an incredibly challenging and extremely intense moment for all of us. Back in May, we had the first concepts of what a World Cup season could look like, and we were at eye level with the crisis at all times. ”

It helped that summer sports could be learned. Lehmann emphasized the need to expand ideas about the individual event to the entire sport. ‘Everybody has to commit somewhere. We have to come together and help each other. Until we have a vaccine, it’s all about survival. Only then can we talk about impulsive projects again. The Swiss sports scene has understood this across the board. “

The hope that the crisis is also an opportunity

Overall, the Aargau resident sees the sport on the right track: “I think the appreciation for the sport has grown and that despite all the suffering in terms of reputation, it will emerge stronger from the crisis, in Switzerland and perhaps even all over the world. ” In addition, there are federal support packages that allow survival. In this regard, Lehmann used the word privileged.

Furthermore, a crisis is always an opportunity. This is how digital is progressing now. For example, the FIS launched the “Predictor Challenge”, which focuses mainly on ski racing. On the platform, fans can make predictions like: “Who will win? Which nation is most frequently represented in the top ten? What is the time difference between the first and the second? “There are prizes to be won and it is also attractive to potential sponsors or new partners.

In any case, Capol is convinced that digital can give a boost. It also offers the opportunity to integrate more associations, learn from each other and do community projects. There are no limits in the digital world. “Who supports it has opportunities that can be exploited, who does not see that is missing something,” said Capol.

There is a threat of obsolescence

Lehmann, who sees electronic games as “a great story, was heading in the same direction. It is important to make a great effort there. That will not replace folk festivals, but it will help us attract new groups of customers and expand the fan base. “Lehmann is well aware that audiences” tend to get old. ”

With the digital world, a younger and less savvy generation of outdoor activities can now be addressed and the average age of fans lowered. After all, only “three or four percent” of the population (Capol) are members of a ski club. “Winter sport lives from events, but also from the fact that many people practice it.” (ram / sda)