I've been thinking. Again. This time it's not about zen. This time it's about the state of minigolf. It's poor. How to develop in smaller minigolf countries? Should we use only one ball in competitions, shorter concentration periods, fashionable clothes etc to get attention from media? Would that totally change the identity of minigolf and do we need attention from media or will it eventually come to us? How is chess so popular? Are international competitions healthy for smaller minigolf countries? Does it take away the opportunity to develop since it takes a lot of resources and money to go abroad playing? What if antimatter is born inside this planet? Who are you? Where?
(-_-) ...... ?!
I got inspired by this French project where two guys from the FFM did some partnership work with some school. Then I was delighted to hear that WMF gives financial support for projects like these. Then I was not so delighted when I heard the number of applications. Why is this? Now I have been planning to do something like these two French gents: get in touch with a local school and make them interested. We have had "minigolf schools" held by Pekka Peltola mainly for juniors in Tampere and it has produced couple of active juniors. What kind of work does the German or Swedish federation do to get juniors or is the sport big enough to feed itself in these countries? Or is it just based on club activity?
The situation in Finland is what it is. The federation is scratching its tummy and waiting for a miracle to happen. You could think that a city of half a million inhabitants like Helsinki would provide some juniors but the fact is that there is NONE. Four active clubs (HRGK, SMGK, ECM, TaRGS) and zero juniors. There just isn't any activity going on. I'm not saying the Finnish minigolf federation is vain, in my opinion it's just focusing on wrong things and building the future in a very short terms. The Finnish minigolf federation makes money for example from competions (held under the rules etc of the federation) and player licences. Now what happens to this money? It's used for supporting financially the national team every year. So in the end of the year the bank account of the federation tells the truth: zero. Wouldn't it be a little bit more sustainable to actually not support the national team every year? For example save some money and make own (or buy old ones and reconstruc) courses to get a own financial source. That would provide more money that could be used on junior activity and providing something to the clubs that actually are a part of the federation. More clubs -> more players -> more visibility -> more players -> success and financial wealth -> good for the sport. Generally making the activity larger on three different areas: financial growth, area growth and more players. In this case, there is quality in quantity. I am applying to the Finnish minigolf federation (when next time elected) and I would also like to hear if anyone has some good visions on sustainable development within minigolf...
I 90% disagree that the future of minigolf is in media. Atleast not yet. I know a lot of people who have never played minigolf, who think there is nothing wrong with the sport. It's intence, you see clearly the lanes and what the players are doing etc. Golf and formula's are boring. They are big because they are provided with major sponsors and there is alot of money involved. Now which way is better, trying to get attention from the sponsors or letting the sponsors eventually give attention to the sport itself? When the sport is big enough, sponsors will notice and give support to make it even bigger. Now... if a average Joe is watching minigolf competion on TV: what is the fact that makes him interested in the sport? Does media provide as much as it takes for a small sport like minigolf? Think about chess. It's not how it looks, it's the game itself that has made it popular. Minigolf offers the same challenges and has a lot more potential in the game instead of how it looks. So what to do? Teach it to the people. Make them realize that this is actually a fantastic sport. This is the reason why I give so much credit to the French gents' project. In the end, is there something that YOU can't do to start a project like that?
What is the situation in your country? Improve it!!! Cheers again from Oskari "all in all a great guy if brains, personality and looks don't count" Vihervaara. I even shaved my very nice moustache as a sign of a new day called sustainable development. Be active, may the force be with you.