Gold shouldn’t be the end game

Going through the Winter Olympics medals table, it’s been interesting to see how different countries have different ways of creating the overall rankings.

In most European and North American countries, the medals table ranking is based on the total medals a country has won – regardless of ‘colour’. In many countries, being in the ‘top three in the world’ is seen as a great achievement.

Looking at Chinese media, the difference in attitudes couldn’t be greater. In China, listings are based on the total of gold medals won – as if silver or bronze didn’t matter. From the Chinese point of view, they don’t. If you’re not the best, you’re nothing.

The government sees China’s gold medal count as a means to showcase the progress and strength of the country. Coming second or third doesn’t quite cut it. China has something to prove to the world. Whilst this is not a particularly new observation, what is interesting is exploring how this obsession with being the best affects how sports are perceived by the Chinese.

In this context, how are sports viewed?

We need to take a step back and remind ourselves how sports are organized in China. There are no little leagues (well there are, but most are found within the confines of international schools) which creates little scope for kids to get into sports easily.

For the sake of China’s sporting glory, the government hand picks young kids which it nurtures and trains up to become world class athletes. To this end, it tends to monopolize the use of the country’s top sporting facilities. The Yao Ming’s and Liu Xiang’s of China aren’t always kids dreaming of sports; they are told to play sports for the sake of China’s international sporting glory. (To this day, part of Yao Ming’s NBA salary goes back to the government.)

(Adidas/TBWA created award winning Olympic ads heralding the rise of China as a sporting powerhouse. Whilst this ad was incredibly powerful and moved Chinese, did it reinforce how sports are solely for those select few that carry the weight of China’s sporting glory on their shoulders?)

As an example, most Canadian kids dream of going to the NHL as they see how most NHL pros were like them: ordinary suburban kids. Knowing you can make it big if you try creates a much greater incentive for kids to get into sports in the first place.

In China, if you weren’t hand picked, you’re simply not going to make it so ‘why bother?’ And with parents often discouraging kids from playing sports as it’s seen as a distraction to academic success, kids need to ‘make a case’ to parents to go out and play.

Finally, school administrators view sports as something very utilitarian. Sports are there to make the body (and thus mind) healthy. It’s about getting kids energized for a long day of school. It’s never about fun.

So what can sports brands do to get kids playing?

If you build it they will come.

Creating facilities for kids to play is key. If public institutions won’t do it, brand can step in. There are so many vacant rooftops, empty building sites, parking lots, etc that could be put to good sporting use. Creating places (even if temporary ones) where kids can get into sports is a great way for brands to actively make a difference.

Reframe the scale of wining and competition.

So what if you can’t become a national hero. There are other much smaller scale competitions that can inspire people to participate. To bask in the glow of victory.

Beating another city, beating a neighbourhood school, or even pinning genders against one another are all interesting ways to foster a competitive spirit that’s both fun and entertaining.

Sports isn’t always for sports sake.

A soccer pitch, a basketball court is one of those rare setting where Chinese kids can truly show off. Although showing off isn’t a trait most Chinese value, set within the context of competition, one can be flamboyant if it leads to victory.

Besides, with schools and parents frowning on any kind of showboating, surely kids need more platforms to show off and just be themselves. Some may think this is a very Western way of thinking, however, we believe that teens worldwide need to be given platforms in which they can be free to be themselves. Get to know their true selves. Giving them platforms to gain confidence in themselves.

If the ‘Super Girl’ contest is of any indication, then perhaps there’s a sporting version that can be created allowing kids to get their 15 minutes of fame. We can see a great online initiative where kids showcase their best dribbles and dunks in a series of web based contests.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 12:37 am. It is filed under China, Sports and tagged with featured, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.