Will the future of sport be virtual? The debate is open. But one thing is certain: the coronavirus pandemic has forced the sports movement to abandon its rules and practices for a time, to draw without restraint from the digital toolbox.
Last example: FISE. Emerging from the ground in 1997 in Montpellier, in the south-east of France, then becoming international in 2014 with the creation of the FISE World Series, the International Extreme Sports Festival has completely revised its copy.
Initially planned for last spring, then postponed to August, the event was finally canceled for 2020. But its organizers, the company Hurricane Events, did not close the file. They invented a new concept, virtual and connected. Its name: E-FISE. It begins this Thursday, July 9. It will continue throughout the summer. Explanations from Joseph Villeflayoux, the director of communications and marketing at FISE.
The concept. It turns out to be unprecedented, including in the world of extreme sports. The E-FISE is presented as a vast online competition, organized on a global scale, bringing together 46 events. For each of them, athletes are invited to make a 60-second video of their performance, then post it on a dedicated digital platform. The qualification period will run from July 9 to August 30, with two different sports per week. A vote will make it possible to designate the eight finalists in each discipline. Internet users will be able to participate in the vote. They will count for half of the score, the other half being decided by official judges designated by the different international federations. The finals will take place from September 9 to 20. The finalists will have to create and post a second video.
Athletes. The FISE in Montpellier attracts 2, professionals or amateurs. The vast majority of them should be included in the digital version. As a bonus, the E-FISE hopes to attract extreme sports specialists from South America or India, in particular, who were not very present in previous years due to being unable to afford the trip to the south of France. A potential of new talents still little exploited by the event. Same equation for the spectators. There are around 000 for a traditional FISE. The online version of the festival can engage a community estimated at 600.000 million people much more massively.
Money. The cancellation of FISE did not discourage the partners. Around 80% of the usual sponsors, public and private, agreed to join the adventure. At the same time, the cancellation of the “hard” event allowed the organizers to reduce expenses. Result: a prize money up 20%. Last year it amounted to 120.000 dollars, this year it reached 150.000 dollars for the digital version. As a bonus, a crowdfunding campaign was launched to invite fans to support the athletes.
The sports movement. Four international federations of Olympic sports, current or future, are directly concerned by the FISE: the UCI for BMX, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) for parkour, World Skate for roller skating and skateboarding, World Dance for breaking. All four of them joined the movement. The UCI, FIG, World Skate and World Dance are partners of E-FISE, notably providing competition judges and relaying event communication.
The future. In the short term, it could be Asian. Two stages of the FISE World Series were planned this year, in Japan (Hiroshima) and China (Chengdu). They will undoubtedly be canceled very soon. But the Japanese and Chinese organizers also say they are tempted by a digital version of their event. If successful, an E-FISE could be maintained next year, in addition to the traditional FISE in Montpellier. The virtual and the real. The world before and the world after.
