The evolution of modern-day sports and the rise of sport “start-ups
The world of sport, like the world of business, is constantly changing, evolving and expanding as entrepreneurs ideate and create new and innovative sports for participants of all ages and abilities. From the time of the first Olympic Games held at Olympia in the Greek city-state of Elis in 776 B.C., the world of sport has witnessed a steady emergence of new sports.
Many of today’s sports are very similar to those of the first Olympiad and others have no resemblance to those early sports. Sport “start-ups” are not uncommon ventures. As a result of migrating populations, a new sport in one country has often arrived from the shores of another country. Other new sports arise from the imagination and creativity of sport “start-up” entrepreneurs.
Consider Ice Hockey, Baseball, American and Canadian Football, with their origins in other sports and recreational activities. Ice Hockey developed from stick-and-ball games particularly hurling (Ireland), shinty (Scotland), bandy (England) and choule [or soule] à la crosse, (France) a game in which players used curved sticks to move a ball toward a target. Baseball had a common origin with other modern bat, ball, and running games — stool ball, cricket and rounders — which were developed from folk games in early Britain, Ireland and Europe. American and Canadian Football were once considered forms of rugby football and originated in the 19th century out of rugby union football.
Enter the sport of Basketball. A global sport played by millions on every continent. Today’s version of Basketball looks very different from how it first appeared 130 years ago. The sport of Basketball had a modest beginning. Its founder, Dr James Naismith, was born in 1861 and grew up on a farm just outside of Almonte, Ontario. He studied and taught physical education at McGill University in Montreal until 1890 when he moved to Springfield, Massachusetts to be the physical education instructor at the YMCA International Training School. In 1891, at the request of his boss, Dr. Naismith was tasked to create an indoor sports game to help young athletes keep in shape during the cold winter months. Dr. Naismith’s new game of Basketball consisted of peach baskets and a soccer style ball.
Dr. Naismith’s new sport of Basketball, peach baskets and all, quickly caught on across the U.S. and Canada. It wasn’t long before Basketball transcended North America and expanded around the world to become one of the big global sports.
The entrepreneurial spirit pioneered by Dr. Naismith in the creation of Basketball has been adopted by modern day sport entrepreneurs. Many of these entrepreneurs are now tapping into public concerns about the physicality of some sports, the potential for injury, an aging population, less impact on joints and an interest in sport activities which challenge cognitive and sensory motor skills.
Perhaps the most significant force driving change and creating opportunities for sport “start-ups” are the stagnate participation rates associated with some of North America’s body contact-based sports. These sports are under pressure to adjust and apply new rules of play to incorporate higher levels of skill, speed, agility and safety. Left unaddressed these stagnate rates may lead to a decline in participation rates.
The challenge and opportunity for sport “start-up” entrepreneurs is to create new sport experiences, which address market needs. There are five forces driving interest, relevance and opportunities:
1.) The cost to access and play youth sports.
2.) The arrival of new sports from other regions arising from population migration.
3.) The interest in fun, free play sports.
4.) The frequency and severity of catastrophic/life changing injury (brain injury, abuse, muscular/skeletal damage, heat exhaustion, etc.).
5.) The public appetite for legislation and regulations designed to improve sport safety (education; injury management; return to life, play and work protocols).
These forces create tremendous room and space for the creation and adoption of new sports. Often it is a new sport that captures the interest of our youth. A new sport offers something fresh, captivating and challenging. Many of these new sports are also addressing the need and importance of free play. In recent years free play in many sports has been replaced by structured, prescribed and planned systems of practice and play, removing the creativity of the participant and further dampening their interest in a sport. Free play is the foundation to a healthy sport experience. Many sport “start-ups” have seized on the free play deficit. While some of these “start-ups” are viewed as fringe sports others have evolved from fringe status to mass adoption i.e. Cross Fit, Futsal, Hungerball, Sport Climbing (climbing gyms abound everywhere) Spike Ball, Pickleball, Ultimate Frisbee, Flag Football, Dodge Ball and many others
One of these sport “start-ups”, PürInstinct, has been receiving a lot of attention. PürInstinct is a participation skills-based sport that incorporates a number of skills found in basketball, rugby, football, soccer. It is a fast-paced sport based on decision making and no contact between players. The goal is to get a ball to an end zone without getting touched or dropping the ball by running, passing the ball backward, punching, kicking and volleying the ball, always going 3 against 2 on a narrow field.
It creates an environment that allows participants to be creative, using a variety of motor functions, skills and fast movements. PürInstinct doesn’t require a lot of space and only requires a minimum amount of equipment (shoes, ball, shirt and shorts). It promotes fitness, creative movement, decision making, free play, as well as teamwork.
Similar to the enterprising young Dr. Naismith, Dominique Soucy, the Founder of PürInstinct, saw how significant decision-making and critical thinking skills played a role in his performance as a Basketball player and wanted to recreate a new sport that highlighted no-contact athleticism, critical thinking and quick decision-making during game play. As Basketball was created as a means to provide off-season training and conditioning for athletes in their primary sport endeavours, PürInstinct provides an alternative conditioning activity as well as a new form of play to sharpen athletic skills.
Time will tell if and how PürInstinct evolves and pivots and whether the rest of the world embraces Dominic Soucy’s sport, PürInstinct, like it did with Dr Naismith’s sport of Basketball. Regardless, PürInstinct provides sport enthusiasts, communities, families, schools, clubs and youth with a new sport to experience, explore and enjoy.