The sport of Ninja
What I feel we need for Ninja as a sport.
I believe, in order to take this sport to scale, some updating and reinventing needs to be done. I personally feel we are too attached to replicating the show for Ninja as a sport. Don’t get me wrong, I think the show is a great way to bring awareness but we must remember, it is essentially a game show.
From a business standpoint, I would love to see more events added to each competition. I think for both viewership and athlete participation this will enhance the overall experience of each episode or stream. Allowing athletes to be seen a few times within an episode gives people a reason to stay and watch. Why is this important? We need athletes building brands. We need athletes gaining fans. If you are only seeing athletes once every time they compete, you are not providing athletes an adequate chance to showcase their skills and show their true potential. As a viewer, if you are allocating time to watch your favorite athlete compete, wouldn’t it be more exciting to see your favorite athlete compete in a few events in one night? We need fans to become more invested in athletes in order to keep growing. Moreover, we need athletes to become more invested in their fans and finally, we need leagues to become more invested in their athletes. I would love to see the leagues promoting their top athletes that are competing. I would love to see athletes getting their fans excited they have an upcoming competition. Most importantly, I would love to see fans getting together to cheer on their favorite athletes. You want this sport to grow, we need to create an overall experience for all parties.
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This leads me to competition format. This sport needs to develop a way to have a “comeback story.” Just about every sport has a way for an athlete or team to get beat down and then pull off the miracle for a win. Current competition format does not allow for this. Therefore, I think each event should include, in some way shape or form, an endurance course, speed course, and some skills events. This way we broaden the spectrum and can score points across multiple events. Now, you have developed a way for athletes to have a comeback, created a better viewing experience for fans, and gave people more of a reason to stay and watch a particular event. As a business, this is what keeps you alive. People want to see more of the athletes they are fans of. Let’s find a way to give it to them.
Finally, I think we should be opened minded to the idea of somewhat standardized obstacles OR allowing competitors to get a feel for an obstacle before competing. People are more likely to go for it all if they know what they are getting into. I think this will allow for some of the most exciting runs we would ever see. You know that link you thought about trying in competition but didn’t because you weren’t 100% sure about it and decided to play it safe? Yeah, those types of moves are what people are looking to see. This would really enhance the athletic ability of the sport as a whole and I feel we would see some amazing courses with even better results and more exciting outcomes.
To be clear, I’m not bashing the current format. I am opening a conversation to hopefully progress this sport further, faster so we all have something to look towards for the future. I don’t want to be tied down to a particular format because “that’s just how it is and how it’s always been.” Its great for a TV Show but just like successful TV shows have qualities that make them great, so do sports. We need to find them within obstacles.
Joe Capo
American Ninja Warrior
