The skydiving community's focus so far has been on "spreading the gospel" of skydiving and not on creating a universal concept of the sport. With the outspoken goal of entering skydiving in the Olympic Programme, skydiving must change direction; sport is the key element. The only way to Olympic recognition and development in today's competitive world, is with media and television. This is what attracts audiences, sponsors, and eventually money.

We have all come to the understanding that today's events are far from public friendly. The events are wholly for the competitors and not for the public to understand or appreciate. Competitions are long, and the final results are often evident before the competition is completed.

After studying our sport in comparison with other sports, it is obvious that skydiving competitions must change format. Above all, the competitions must be compact and short. By making this change, competitions will be less expensive to organise and attend, and more attractive to media and sponsors.

The IPC has started to adapt the disciplines to a new and media-friendly format. During 1999 and 2000 new proposed formats will be tested and evaluated. Adjustments will be made, and media professionals will evaluate our work. Together we will create the future competition format.

To be televised, sport federations are going to have to adapt to the present and future demands. The federations that adapt the quickest will do the best. Sport has become a product, and most people in sport have no clue about marketing a product and obtaining television exposure, nor how to attract sponsors and how to make their sport entertaining. The future of a successful development of our sport depends on co-operation between federations, sponsors, television, promoters, entrepreneurs and the athletes.

We have to face it; skydiving will probably never be a live sport. However, holding the rights to skydiving competitions, allowing us take control over the production for television is the key. Staying in control and providing the best possible coverage will make the product presentation more interesting, generate bigger audiences and deliver better value for the broadcasters and us.

By achieving this, it will give us exposure we never have had, and at the same time giving us an advantage by being in the best possible position to develop the sport and the way it is presented. By having control over the broadcast output, we will also have control over our financial future. Building bigger audiences will allow us to approach sponsors with a better product. In this process, money will filter through to the athletes.

Top skydiving athletes are highly motivated and dedicated to their sport. They, as athletes in other high profile sports, will have the possibility of more interest, appreciation and in the end have benefits from their achievements.

Among the other development measures we need to take, is the creation of short-term basic courses for coaches. In order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of coaches, it is necessary that the various formats of coaching that have evolved be integrated. Standards of coaches' training should be established, taught and examined through an IPC Coaches' Education and Certification System.

A modern International Federation of Sport must have well-defined and well functioning management and communication. The IPC has been led by - and decisions have been made by honorary leaders and officers. It is past the time when one could find people among the IPC Delegates having the knowledge and expertise to face all of the contemporary internal and external marketing demands. From now on we will have to obtain expert advice and knowledge externally to acquire the necessary expertise. Today the honorary leaders and officers must use experts or groups of experts in various fields.

Eventually, we are in for a hard sell both to our own organisation, to sponsors and the media. We have to be proactive and take charge of our development. It is not easy to see the benefits of change. It is a challenge to communicate the need for change to the athletes who are striving to reach excellence in today's competition format. We need to be open-minded and release ourselves from the past. Not that what we have done in the past has been wrong - it has brought us here. We have to build on the past, and make the necessary changes, to reach our future goals.

Odd Heimstad
Chair IPC Development Working Group
Ipc-development@fai.org