Next week, the Russian roller ski championship will take place at the Demino ski and biathlon complex in the Yaroslavl region. And this is a reason to talk about the development of “second-tier” sports – not Olympic ones.
All of us, skiers of the national team, are well acquainted with “Demino” – training camps of junior teams are traditionally held there, and almost all of them “are born from junior eggs”. The complex has its pros and cons, but overall it is a nice sports facility, which even hosted World Cup stages. And it takes four hours to get to Rybinsk from Moscow – much closer than Malinovka, Raubichi or Kazan.
It seems that all the conditions are in place for popular sports competitions that attract the attention of spectators, sponsors and the media.
Only you, the Olympic cross-country skiing champions, will not see us on the starting line in Demino. As well as anyone from the team in general.
You won’t see live broadcasts or viewership comparable to winter skiing.
But a week later in Sandnes, Norway, the “cream” of the skiing and biathlon world (except the Russians) will gather for a roller skiing festival called BLINK.
Let’s try to understand why BLINK is the biggest competition of the summer with colossal TV ratings. And with a budget comparable not even to the World Cup – to the World Ski Championships. And the competitions in the Yaroslavl region … let’s say, not quite at that level. Roller skis are the same for everyone, right?
To begin with, no, this is not true. There are two types of roller skis: the first – with “slow” wheels and longer platforms. Their task is to imitate skiing in the summer as much as possible. These are the ones we train on, and the longest models, 700 mm for skating, are appreciated in the national team. And there are high-speed roller skis – with fast polyurethane wheels and a short 530 mm platform. I trained on this several times – coach Egor Sorin wanted to observe/check some things at a certain stage of preparation. Look, I never complained about my skating technique, but this is just a completely different sport, closer to roller skating, inline skating! By the way, we no longer train with this – it turned out to be useless in preparing for winter competitions.
So, all BLINKs in Norway run on “slow” wheels, and in Rybinsk, at the Russian championship, there are only two races out of five. The rest are “high-speed rockets”.
I wouldn’t stand a chance against girls who specialize in high-speed roller skating. My friend Sasha Sayutina from the Russian speed skating team could compete with them instead. If only someone had thought to invite her…
The most important BLINK race is Lysebotn Opp. That same crazy climb where I lost to Johaug in 2021 for about eight minutes. There is no live broadcast of the race – not because it is technically impossible, but because the recording is broadcast during prime time on the main local TV channel. And people are watching: the ratings and action are fantastic for this early August. Because it is spectacular. And the names of the winners are engraved on a special plaque at the top of the mountain – for centuries, you could say.
This year, we held an uphill race (on skis) for the first time at the Russian Cup final in Kirovsk. The same one that was brilliantly won by Alina Pekletsova and Savely Korostelev from the new generation of the national team. It was so hard, believe me, you can do such a race only once a season, it takes too much energy. But the ratings are also, again, appropriate – almost the most popular show of the 2023/24 ski season among viewers. Yes, organizing races like Aykuaivenchorr or Lysebotn is more difficult than the traditional “three laps of five kilometers”, but if you want to be noticed, remembered, talked about, it is not optional. It is necessary!
I had the opportunity to ask the management of the company that develops the Kirovsk ski resort and which financed most of the money for organizing the race: did they get a return on their investment?
“Yes, we have gained recognition at the all-Russian level,” they confidently answered me. QED Do you want to arouse the public’s interest? Look for a mountain or at least a hill!
From winter Kirovsk – back to our hot summer. Roller skiing as a form of physical education is booming. Look how many people are on the tracks of Lazutinka and Meshchersky every day, even on weekdays! And at the same time, pay attention to the cars in which they come to train. Is it possible to convince them to go there alone, and even take their families, to rest from the heat and noise of Moscow on the Volga, while watching the competitions of the sport they themselves are engaged in? I think so. In addition, summer roller skaters will always have an advantage over winter skiing: being a spectator in the summer is much more pleasant.
We just need to create the conditions for such fans. Yes, spoiled and sophisticated. And what’s wrong with that? They did it at BLINK – it’s a festival of sports, music and partying. The post-race parties are legendary. And getting an invitation “from outside” is every fan’s dream. Who would refuse the prospect of dancing at the bar counter with a local ski or biathlon star? And there’s no point in pouting indignantly – you need to perceive the world as it is, without moralizing.
…Roller skiing is a wonderful cousin of cross-country skiing, but unfortunately it is very modest today. Very niche and almost amateur – the same people participate and win year after year. Quite their right! But I think it is obvious to everyone that the best skiers have a completely different mentality. We are used to large audiences, to some recognition both among spectators and sponsors. And yes, the prize money is a little different than usual in roller skiing. I see no reason to hide this. Do you want to see us among the participants? Organize competitions at the Kirovsk or Kazan ski level. Need details, what does all this mean? I am ready to advise you.
We need to change the mentality. Start by finding sponsors who need to show your product – a ski resort or just a tourist attraction. Come up with a new cool format – literally. Something like “a race on the banks of the Volga with a steep climb to the finish line in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin”. What difference does it make, a hundred meters? He will be the best on “slow” rollers! Especially if the prize is a new Volga. Agree on a TV slot that suits everyone. Cash prizes have already been mentioned, but it depends on good organization. By the way, on BLINK, cash prizes are very modest – they go there for other people. Appear on TV and go out. We can definitely do better in these areas.
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Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
