It is no secret obstacle course racing has blasted onto the international sporting scene in the last decade. The most recent push has been to legitimize obstacle course racing into an Olympic sport. While opinions vary, OCR is headed there. Over the last couple of months, an “arms race” for OCR seems to be brewing.
It is no secret that Pentathlon (UIPM) has an interest in OCR. The International Obstacle Sports Federation (OSF), the current federation overseeing OCR has been working closely with the UIPM for over the past year. Events like the UIPM Laser-Run have reinforced this possible relationship to the general public. In January, the UIPM reported their interest in their meeting report.
First, the UIPM's strategy of having the Mixed Relay included in future Olympic Games programs starting with Tokyo 2020 was discussed at length. It was unanimously agreed that this innovative format would include Obstacle Course Racing as part of the Laser-Run discipline. This addition, with strong ties to the historical traditions of the Modern Pentathlon, will add additional value to the Modern Pentathlon event, and the Games itself, and UIPM will campaign strongly for its inclusion.
A look at the OSF social media feeds, and it seems that they are putting some significant weight into the UIPM events. For a while it has seemed like the UIPM could be a golden ticket for the OSF to fast-track OCR into the Olympics.
Over the past weekend with the USAOCR National Championship (Olympic Distance), the greater obstacle racing community got a taste of what the OSF and the USAOCR might have in mind for OCR as an Olympic event. Check out OCRTUBE's in-depth video of the race.
Recently, it seems another federation has OCR in their crosshairs. That would be the powerful sport of Gymnastics, a fan favorite at the Summer Olympics and events which often draw primetime television placements. FIG – the International Gymnastics Federation is currently in Baku for a series of meetings this week. As reported on Tuesday FIG has set their eye on OCR.
The worldwide governing body announced following the meeting that the FIG Executive Committee had been given a presentation on the development of obstacle course competitions, or parcours d'obstacles, and also parkour, which was exhibited at last year's Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer.
However, FIG is not only setting its eyes on OCR but also parkour. Parkour has already responded to this interest with strong words.
Governing bodies within parkour have criticised the proposals, however, with Parkour UK accusing the FIG of “encroachment and misappropriation”.
In an open letter to FIG, Parkour UK called for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which would “formally acknowledge the recognised sovereignty of parkour/freerunning”.
This brings us back to obstacle course racing. Where do we fit in? According to a recent community survey put out by the International Obstacle Course Racing Union, 98% of participants want obstacle course racing to be a sovereign sport. Meaning the general public do not want OCR to be linked to federations like UIPM, FIG or anyone else who ought to usurp the sport, and possibly change what fans know and love about OCR.
The Long Road
It is undeniable that OCR is popular, and still growing globally. Typically for a sport to become an Olympic sport, this is a decade's long process. Sports Illustrated recently reported it takes about 40 years for a sport to become recognized by the Olympics. Well past when most current racers will still be competing.
The associations with federations like the UIPM, FIG or others could drastically decrease that time and that road, but what will obstacle course racing give up in the process. What corners will be cut to fit a square (muddy) peg into a round (polished) hole?
Do we need to push to the Olympics so quickly? OCR at times feels like the young adult looking for validation from its parents. Do we need to go to the Olympics to be considered a “real sport”? That is a question up for debate currently.
For those who watched the recent Spartan Race broadcast from their Spartan U.S. Championship Series, after watching the live broadcast it's hard to argue OCR is not already a sport. Athletes who have attended the OCR World Championships will say, that event, especially in Canada, felt as real as any other sports Word Championship.
While to be a “real sport” in the eyes of the Olympics and such OCR does need to have an international federation to set up a standard set of operating procedures the whole industry can operate from, it does need to have National Governing Bodies (NGB) to operate at the national level, and finally state and regional associations. But is the current push the right one?
The OSF is attempting to put those federations and NGB's into place. The failed USOCR tried to do this from the national level. We have seen several OCR National Associations come and go. At times it appears OCR is like a wild horse that cannot be broken. Too wild, untamable, and still too immature for organization.
We are at a crossroads in the industry. All eyes are on our sport, will we fall in with another sports federation to head to the Olympics or will we continue down the long road like other sports remaining sovereign and figure out who we are as an industry before stepping out into the big world of the Olympics.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and official policies of Mud Run Guide LLC, or their staff. The comments posted on this Website are solely the opinions of the posters.
I think it would have more legitimacy as an Xgames event. I still think the Olympics are so watered down, they, the OCR event, will just get lost in the shuffle along with the Dressage event and the Curling.
Interesting article.
The issue for me is OCR is essentially based on health and fitness principles and as such falls into that industry rather than a particular sport in the sports industry. So I believe that is the bridge they are trying to build and cross.
An example is CrossFit. Known as a health and fitness format, essentially very similar to OCR but totally health and fitness industry with no-one from the IOC knocking on their door. Yet it contains many Olympic elements, many more than OCR in fact!
I think moving it into the olympic sphere might not be a good thing for OCR as it basically sets in stone what it can be…which would be a sport focused on pure elitism. At present we have OCRWC, Spartan WC, WTM, etc and scope for more. All these are run on community input. By making it known as an Olympic event it does become elitist which goes against everything OCR stands for or is about and that is about getting everyday people up off the couch, outside, active and fit and healthy.
It’s also very much a family event where mum dad and the kids can attend events like OCRWC, Spartan WC and WTM. Take that away and it becomes just another corporate deal for basically a select few. It’ll lose that community flavour and feel that has sprung up so quickly around it.
Everywhere you look there are not-for-profit, sideline businesses, hobbie interests, mum and dad small enterprises giving massive input into OCR and making it what it is today. It’s not any major brand or sponsor doing any of this.
In fact what this is now is a group unkowingly usurping all the hard work of grassroots people.
Why do I say unknowingly?
Because an olympic OCR event will have no resemblance to an actual OCR event and that is bad for OCR.
Triathlon is a great example here. Olympic triathlon is the same as every other triathlon – Swim, Bike, Run.
It is not a watered down event where participants run through waist deep water then push a trolley and walk across the finish line so why should OCR get shaved, cut and dissected into something that is not representative of OCR? Every person who does a triathlon knows that if he or she ever made it to the olympics….they would just be doing the same.
So why should OCR have to change to meet the IOC? The IOC should be changing to meet OCR.
OCR is the GOLD standard event. It’s a global phenomenom!!
I mean seriously, what can the IOC do to make OCR bigger and better than it already is? 5.5 million participants in just 6-7 years. Three global events attracting people from over 50 countries. Airtime on major TV networks. Events on every continent on earth. Come on…who does the IOC think they are? It takes them 40+ years to get a sport recognised. By that time everyone currently participating has gone home, had dinner, gone to bed and woke up to baby sit the grand children.
OCR actually does not need the Olympics, the Olympics need OCR. Why is this tue? Because soccer/football is the next best example. Soccer/football is so much bigger than the olympics. People do not go to the olympics to see that one event, they go to the soccer/football world cup, that’s where they see the real deal. And once again they do not see a watered down soccer match. So again….why change OCR?
The way I see it OCR is far better off as a stand alone sport/event in the fitness industry at present. There will be more money in it for participants/athletes as well if that is peoples goal. Social media is absolutely jammed packed with OCR type or related content, probably more than every olympic sport put together.
When was the last time you watched any SM content on golf, fencing, badminton, softball, handball, syncronized swimming etc in great volume or with any real interest? they’re all olympic sports.
Modern pentathlon does not represent what OCR is about. OCR was set up to test peoples mental and physical limits, to challenge them. You crawl through mud and water, run up and over mountains, climb walls, roll under barbed wire, carry heavy things, lift heavy things, traverse difficult things. None of that exists in Olympic pentathlon and it never will, therefore it cannt even be compared and shouldnt be compared.
The reality is that OCR is fast becoming known as the most extreme endurance activity there is which means it has the potential (it already has) to surpass any olympic event.
By including a watered down event that has a couple of 4.5ft walls and a pistol shoot into the olympics does nothing for the any person who currently does OCR. In fact I wouldn’t even consider myself doing an OCR event if I was simply doing the above.
It takes the shine off what is basically the GOLD standard for a strength, endurance, fitness, agility and mental stamina event.
I don’t need to be an olympic champion doing pentathlon when I can be a world champion twice over and one of the toughest people/athletes in the world doing OCR and my wife and kids can do the same just like my neighbour and my friends without having to go through a whole bunch of sport specific red tape to run in an event that has no resemblance to any event I have been in just for the percieved “kudos” of being part of a select group.
Don’t forget… OCR is currently a community of professionals, not a sport for amatuers.
If OCR truly needs the Olympics then why dont we do what OCR does best….make a challenge, challenge the IOC.
Find your best Olympic athlete (any sport) but probably pentathlon as that is what is being touted as the new OCR olympic event and send him or her over to OCR to compete at the very highest level under OCR guidelines.
It’s been done the other way where a couple of OCR athletes went and ran a beefed up pentathlon event but lets get them over to our event now to see how they stack up with the real deal. Then we can compare apples with apples and see how pentathletes go doing OCR. Thats the best first step in my mind otherwise we will end up with Olympic OCR champions who have never done an actual OCR event other than a watered down version.
I heard Spartan announce from their Seattle event last month (22nd April 2017) that they had over 40,000 viewers. Not bad for a event/sport/activity that’s been around for 2 seconds in the grand scheme of things and that was the first televised event of its kind I am led to believe.
But then OCR just seems to keep going over, under, around or through barriers every micro second. One can only imagine the viewing numbers that they will get from this years WC in Tahoe if it is screened or even the OCRWC if they screen thatand the year after and after.