Is kayaking a niche sport??

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tiernan
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Is kayaking a niche sport??

Post by tiernan » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:31 pm

So I've been showing kayaking videos to friends, family, work colleagues and alot of them are very surprised of the nature of whitewater kayaking that it is very different from their preconceived idea of what it involves. While they are very impressed at different videos (Kayak DVD trailers, Rider of the Year submissions, etc), they admit they wouldn't have seen the video unless I showed it to them. In contrast to this many of them have stumbled upon video of surfing big waves, base jumping, bunjy jumping, paragliding, wing suit flying, rock climbing, mountain biking, snowboarding, etc and have been impressed to the point that they would like to take up these sports (or at least try them).

My question is: is kayaking a niche sport and if so why? Do we make it this way or is it just a sport you have to do to appreciate (i.e. the difficulty of a rapid, height of a waterfall, etc.). Also is this just a phenomenon in Ireland or is it international? You always see video/ ads of people surfing or whatever, how come there isn't more WW kayaking?

Discuss -

Tiernan

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Grassey
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Re: Is kayaking a niche sport??

Post by Grassey » Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:47 am

Its prob because the entire sport hasn't had the shit commercialised out of it like all the othersun/snow sports.

I also think accessibility is an issue too. Its a lot easier to buy "a" surfboard, "a" snowboard, "a" bike etc than to get all the kayaking gear, or at least its perceived to be. Anyone can look at a cool surf video and go yeah, I can do that and then give it a shot, while looking at somebody throwing themselves off a 300ft waterfall...might make then pause and go, nah!

I think you are also wrong in that "kayaking" isn't niche as a whole, everyone not involved has ideas of recreational lake paddling or rowing-esque Racing etc, its the disciplines that are niche, WW, polo, slalom, Freestyle etc.

Besides WW Dvds have gone the way of Freestyle Dvds. You once said Tiernan that its no longer entertaining to watch guys flipping about on a wave doing the same BS over and over, WW has gone the same way, its getting boring and repetitive seeing the same guys, doing the same rivers, with the same shots and editing, the same sponsors etc

With the increase in HD cams people have, and decreased prices for them, its much more entertaining seeing people you know doing stuff, than some "young gun". Sean McT's video from last summer was much cooler to watch than most of the DVD releases I've seen over the last while.

Keep it local, keep it elitist :D

canned
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Re: Is kayaking a niche sport??

Post by canned » Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:55 pm

It's not as "out there" as many of the other sports mentioned. And no, it's not as accessible.

People go to Lahinch for a day and see a bunch of surfers having a great day and look at them to see they have a board and a wetsuit. Local shops stock that stuff - and there's surf schools right there. It's a cheap sport to enter into whereas paddling doesn't offer that as much.

Also, people don't often go for a walk along a riverbank during wet and cold weather so don't get exposed to it so much.

There's also the lack of understanding in terms of the comment's we've all heard from time to time.... "going for a row?", "hahahahahah, he fell over!" etc.... People can see that surfers stay on their boards and carve it up. Not so obvious in freestyle for example.

caz
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Re: Is kayaking a niche sport??

Post by caz » Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:44 pm

canned wrote: There's also the lack of understanding in terms of the comment's we've all heard from time to time.... "going for a row?", "hahahahahah, he fell over!" etc.... People can see that surfers stay on their boards and carve it up. Not so obvious in freestyle for example.
Heh, my local playspot is right in the centre of a town, so the locals are exposed to alot of kayaking. However most of the time we're out we get baffled looks from the audience and shouts of 'ha you went upside down' or 'you can't even get up the river' while surfing etc. :oops: So yeah, definately a case of 'what the heck are they at' from non-kayakers; it's hard for people to understand what's the point or what's going on.

Also aside from the cost of gear, it's not a very 'cool' looking get up. Even with the best branded gear all the rescue equipment, the helmet, bouyancy etc look very overkill and just not as slick as a surfer or skater. I definately think that's a factor.

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