Can gliding become a TV sport?

On Feb 26, 6:25*am, Jp Stewart wrote:
Just sharing the link of the webinar help this past Sunday on soaring as a TV sport.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKdI5...ature=youtu.be

JP

The author of this video has put his finger on the central problem
with soaring's image: our dorky looking hats! The solution is
brilliant in its simplicity. Who will be the first competitive pilot
to make a fortune off of his personal line of soaring bandanas?

If racing sailboats or racing bicycles can be a televised sport, then
there's no good reason why Soaring can't be too.

Wouldn't live broadcasting risk breaching the rule against team flying?

At 07:20 27 February 2013, Scott Alexander wrote:
If racing sailboats or racing bicycles can be a televised sport, then
there's no good reason why Soaring can't be too.

Imagine the fun and camera's covering a landout...

Like the one story in Soaring magazine where the buuba's on the four wheelers and the babes in tank tops come out with beer to help...

Or Farmer Bill goes off on a rant about his destroyed peanut plants and the thousands of dollars he wants in recompense, swearing at flyboys havin their fun and not caring about the 'merican farmer...

Glider pilots getting into fights back at the field about sharing thermals, circling the wrong way, near misses, etc...


...you know, all the stuff that never happens until a camera crew turns up.

If that aint reality TV nothing is.

On Wednesday, February 27, 2013 8:59:32 AM UTC-7, Squeaky wrote:
Imagine the fun and camera's covering a landout...
Like the one story in Soaring magazine where the buuba's on the four
wheelers and the babes in tank tops come out with beer to help...

Or Farmer Bill goes off on a rant about his destroyed peanut plants and
the thousands of dollars he wants in recompense, swearing at flyboys
havin their fun and not caring about the 'merican farmer...

Glider pilots getting into fights back at the field about sharing

thermals, circling the wrong way, near misses, etc...

..you know, all the stuff that never happens until a camera crew turns

up.
If that aint reality TV nothing is.

Squeaky

Funny post. But the proposed event is nothing like what we now know as a competition. It's a short 1 - 2 hour AST with emergency landing fields already picked out. Someone might land in a farm field but it's unlikely and the farmers would have been warned of the possibility and arrangements made.

On Wednesday, February 27, 2013 2:20:09 AM UTC-5, Scott Alexander wrote:
If racing sailboats or racing bicycles can be a televised sport, then there's no good reason why Soaring can't be too.

How many sailboat races have you watched in the last 5 years?
Some sports get TV support because they are an extension of a sport that the viewer participates, or did participate in, or are a fantasy extension of common activity.
Examples:
Golf- participitory
Tennis- participitory
Sailing- participitory
Cycling- same
Auto racing- fantasy extension
Gliding has the unfortunate position of not falling well into either of these catagories. Also note that the first four are all activities that can be undertaken quite casually and with limited commitment so folks can identify quite easily. Gliding doesn't fall into that catagory.
Skeptical
UH

On Wednesday, February 27, 2013 9:30:56 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Wednesday, February 27, 2013 2:20:09 AM UTC-5, Scott Alexander wrote:

If racing sailboats or racing bicycles can be a televised sport, then there's no good reason why Soaring can't be too.



How many sailboat races have you watched in the last 5 years?

Some sports get TV support because they are an extension of a sport that the viewer participates, or did participate in, or are a fantasy extension of common activity.

Examples:

Golf- participitory

Tennis- participitory

Sailing- participitory

Cycling- same

Auto racing- fantasy extension

Gliding has the unfortunate position of not falling well into either of these catagories. Also note that the first four are all activities that can be undertaken quite casually and with limited commitment so folks can identify quite easily. Gliding doesn't fall into that catagory.

Skeptical

UH

Good points but I think they will be overcome.

Glider racing will never be completely "real-time" and clever video editing can increase the pace and excitement. Biased though I am, I think glider racing is enormously more exciting than boat racing.

The masses of TV viewers will never adopt gliding but they don't adopt many other sports either although do enjoy watching them. At any one time our infrastructure can only accept a few thousand newcomers. If TV coverage of glider races could provide those few, we'd be in great shape.

Glider racing will never be completely "real-time" and clever video editing can increase the pace and excitement. Biased though I am, I think glider racing is enormously more exciting than boat racing.

Bill - Have you watched any of the re-boot of the America's Cup Sailing races. It is pretty spectacular now with immense amounts of data being off-loaded the boats and superimpose don them by the race officuals. It shows what Sailplane GP might become. However, we'll see how the viewership numbers go and if sailing sees any "bump" from the activities this coming summer.

EY

On Wednesday, February 27, 2013 10:37:30 AM UTC-7, wrote:
Glider racing will never be completely "real-time" and clever video editing can increase the pace and excitement. Biased though I am, I think glider racing is enormously more exciting than boat racing.



Bill - Have you watched any of the re-boot of the America's Cup Sailing races. It is pretty spectacular now with immense amounts of data being off-loaded the boats and superimpose don them by the race officuals. It shows what Sailplane GP might become. However, we'll see how the viewership numbers go and if sailing sees any "bump" from the activities this coming summer.



EY

Mario Hytten and his company have cutting edge video technology as good or better than that used with the America's Cup races.

One which caught my eye is "GPS aimed cameras". As I understand it, a system much like FLARM "knows" the relative 3D position of other gliders and uses that information to control glider mounted pan-tilt-zoom video cameras. This automatically and accurately keeps selected gliders in the video frame. That's seriously cool technology. I can't wait to see the videos.

It's far easier to be skeptical about something than to go after something. Fearing failure is my main pet peeve. In this case someone else is doing ALL of the work and massive upside exists even if he/she is only marginally successful.

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Just because those who have tried before have failed is no reason not to try again. We need growth. Growth requires marketing. Grass roots marketing (look around you) only gets you so far.

Here, a guy (Mario Hytten) is trying to build soaring marking against the tide of ourselves. He asks for you to pledge (for example) $50 to kickstarter so he can make our sport ANOTHER amazing soaring video and build awareness. Predictably, many cant find much positive to say about it and spend more effort sighting all the reasons it will fail. Heaven forbid cough up $50 to support it.

Explains a lot really. I donated to this kickstarter project. Why not? How about you?

If you really want to see the sport of soaring truly grow in a meaningful, measurable way, send in some money. If not, please get out of your own way and let those with some vision and guys take over (do the talking) and try and move the ball forward where we have so clearly failed.

Thanks,

Sean