EN GARDE Get ready for a new commercial era in international fencing
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FENCING’S GREATEST STAGE Two-time Olympian Hilary Philbin, fencing manager at LOCOG (the London organising committee of the 2012 Olympic Games), is responsible for delivering fencing events at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre during this summer’s Games. She explains the challenges involved in hosting fencing, a sport that has been on the programme of every modern Olympic Games, at the biggest multi-sports event in the world. How complex is the organisation of one sport at the Olympic Games? The Olympic rationale is that there are not 26 separate world championships, but one integrated event. This requires a highly coordinated approach. You have to understand that an Olympic organising committee comes out of a small bid team and then evolves rather quickly into a huge and complex machine that has its peak during Games time. LOCOG has 104 departments now and when the Paralympic flame expires, the whole organisation just dissolves. So what does your role as LOCOG fencing manager entail? We negotiate with the other 103 departments within LOCOG and we explain to them in what aspects fencing is different from the other 25 sports. Take, for example, the call room. In many sports the call room is not a complicated place. But in fencing it’s not just a place where the athletes assemble and walk out of the door. So many things go on there - it’s where the wireless equipment is installed, electric jackets are inspected by the referees, and where the weapons are re-checked and controlled. 68 SportBusiness International • No.179 • 06.12
In the team events, we will have 32 athletes and their coaches in there at the same time. So when we sit down with the architects and they show us a plan, it is our job to say ‘no, we just need it three times this size,’ and to make sure they understand why. You were a fencer, referee and official and you have experience in competition management. How important is it to have a fencing background? Myself and my two colleagues, Caryl Oliver and Liz Charlton, are all former fencers. It helps a lot to have people who know the competition environment and what the athletes, referees, and coaches want and need. We understand the different perspectives and this helps us to find the best solutions. The test event in November 2011 was the first big step towards London 2012. What lessons did you leann? From the feedback we received, and from my own point-of-view, the test event went very well. It was important to test all aspects of the competition, the technology, the back-up processes and make sure the people were in place and working well.
Now we will start focusing on the show. Having a great show is very important for fencing. We will have more than 100,000 spectators coming to watch fencing during the course of the competition. That’s about 5,500 twice a day, and is the largest live fencing audience in Olympic history. Many of those spectators will be watching fencing for the first time. Therefore we need to concentrate on providing spectator elements, for instance one hour of live entertainment before the start of each session. I can’t reveal everything right now but can say that we will be including a film about the A-Z of fencing that will be shown twice a day before the start of each session to help educate the audience about what they are going to see. How important are volunteers to putting on a successful show? There will be more than 70,000 volunteers supporting London 2012 during Games-time. In fencing, we ensured that all our volunteers are current or former fencers. We did this for two reasons: one, it helps the running of a competition to have people who are knowledgeable and very comfortable in their environment, and two, it gives us the flexibility
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London 2012 will have the largest live fencing audience in Olympic history - Getty Images Sport
A History of Olympic Fencing Fencing has been on every programme of the modern day Olympics. At the first, Athens 1896, 13 fencers represented four countries in the foil and sabre events. In 1900, at the Paris Games, épée became an Olympic discipline and 156 fencers represented seven countries. At the 1908 Games in London, foil was removed from the programme because the organisers considered foil fencing to be a graceful and athletic exercise rather than a sport. The Paris Games of 1924 saw the inclusion of women’s individual foil, and 12 years later in Berlin the épée electronic scoring apparatus, which had been around since 1931, made its first Olympic appearance. Metallic pistes also replaced the old cork pistes at the Berlin Games. In 1956 at the Melbourne Games the electric foil, which had been used at the FIE (International Fencing Federation) World Championships for the first time
in 1955, became an Olympic weapon, and at the next Games in the four-year cycle, Rome 1960, a women’s foil team event was introduced. Seoul 1988 witnessed the introduction of the electric sabre. Eight years later at Atlanta, the first women’s épée events -individual and team - came onto the Olympic programme (women épée fencers had been competing at World Championships since 1989). Athens 2004 introduced the first women’s individual sabre events, meaning fencing was then completely mixed, with all three weapons available to both sexes. However, the team events in women’s foil and sabre were dropped to comply with the International Olympic Commmitee’s regulations whereby only ten fencing events could take place at a Games. In the last Olympic Games to take place, Beijing 2008, 212 fencers participated, twelve more than in Athens.
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to react quickly to a sudden demand or change. The successful running of the test event confirmed that this approach was right. In addition, British Fencing will have a real legacy in terms of people. There will be bettertrained volunteers for competitions and the referees will have had a high-level of exposure. We also intend to get a lot of young fencers and coaches to actually see the competition so they can observe what is going on in such a highlevel environment. What is the biggest challenge in your role as LOCOG fencing manager? One of the biggest challenges is the complexity of the structure within LOCOG. Sport does not necessarily have direct contact with all decisionmakers, so it is important to have good internal relationships. You have to be constantly aware of your priorities and bring them to everybody’s attention. There is a lot going on between all the 104 departments and the matrix of relationships is therefore quite complex. We try to manage all our stakeholders, particularly external ones such as the FIE (International Fencing Federation), with great care.
All volunteers at 2012 fencing events are either current or former fencers - Getty Images Sport
What would you say is the most fascinating part of your job? I really enjoy the exposure to other sports. There is an especially strong bond between all the combat sports that will take place at the ExCeL. We have a common set of challenges and a common goal and we try to help each other as much as we can. It is also fascinating to see how the Olympic machine works. I have been to four Olympics
as an athlete and team manager and I was in Beijing (2008) as an observer. Witnessing the Olympic Games from within and experiencing how this gigantic event is organised and delivered is something I will never regret having done, even though it is a lot of work and can be challenging at times. I am also a Londoner and being part of the Olympic Games in your hometown is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
A NEW COMMERCIAL ERA Alisher Usmanov promised to significantly boost International Fencing Federation (FIE) sponsorship revenues as part of his successful campaign for presidency in 2008. Matt Cutler sees how the federation has gone about improving its product and expanding its commercial portfolio in recent years.
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THE COMMERCIAL HISTORY of the FIE is a real mix of old and new. Until last year, the FIE’s sole sponsor was Swatch-owned luxury watch brand Tissot, the Swiss company acting as the federation’s official partner, official timekeeper and official World Championships watch producer. The partnership, which also sees Tissot provide timing, scoring, statistics and TV graphics for all FIE competitions with the help of its Swatch sister company Swiss Timing, was first signed in 1996 and as the only brand on the FIE scene for around 15 years, has become a symbiotic one. But 2011 was a seminal year for the FIE. As part of Alisher Usmanov’s campaign for presidency in 2008, the passionate fencer and businessman promised to significantly boost sponsorship revenues to between $12.5 million and $15 million a year, up from a figure of around $5 million. To help do this a new in-house department was created to bring together the federation’s communications, marketing and TV strands - a move that has helped boost synergy within the FIE and helped boost the exposure of fencing across the world for the benefit of both current and potential sponsors.
And the results have been a great success. Not only did 2011 see Tissot extend its partnership with the FIE until 2014, extending its rights to cover the Junior World Championships under the terms of the new contract, the federation also entered a new commercial era off the back of an agreement with Russian mobile phone operator MegaFon. MegaFon, a company with an extensive sponsorship portfolio in Russia that includes the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the Russian Olympic teams, became the FIE’s second official partner and a partner of the World Championships in 2011 and 2012. “President Usmanov has fully held his promises,” FIE marketing manager Stéphane Mottaz told SportBusiness International. “The MegaFon agreement has significantly boosted revenues from sponsorship. Beyond facts and figures, the president has set a brand new approach to sponsorship within the FIE.” So what is the value that the old guard, 16-year partner Tissot, and new kid on the block MegaFon see in partnering with fencing at the very highest level? Mottaz says the two have very different sponsorship strategies but nevertheless fencing is the perfect vehicle for both to achieve their aims.
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Tissot has been an FIE partner since 1996 - Serge Timacheff/FIE
“Like fencing, Tissot has always kept a good balance between tradition and modernity,” says Mottaz. “Tissot/Swiss Timing services and fencing have co-operated and co-evolved along the years. “Tissot benefits both tangibly and intangibly from its long-term partnership with the FIE. On the tangible side, Tissot has been broadly perceived as the unique partner of the federation and has experienced excellent brand exposure on TV during World Championships and other main fencing events across the year. Fencing provides sponsors with a great brand visibility on the field of play compared to other sports and Tissot has benefited greatly from this. “In terms of intangible assets, fencing matches extremely well with Tissot’s products based on key elements of positioning such as sporty, elegance, technology, dynamism and precision.” ‘Precision’ and ‘perfection’ were two shared brand elements president Usmanov picked out after signing the deal extension last year. “Tissot is setting the highest international standards in timekeeping and we share the same values of precision and perfection,” he said. “Our partnership builds on trust and
“The FIE sponsorship strategy is based on real partnerships. This means that the federation will give priority to long-term relationships with a partner who shares fencing and Olympic values as well as an international exposure.” reliability. Overall, this is an ideal match as we both complement each other.” For MegaFon, which is co-owned by the FIE president, its fencing sponsorship is largely about capitalising on the popularity of the sport, which has been in the Olympic fold since the foundation of the modern Games in 1896, in its home market of Russia. “MegaFon has massively invested in sport in recent years and mainly in Olympic sports which are popular in Russia,” says Mottaz. “Sports and mobile companies are both targeting the youth demographic. For this agreement, it is our president who convinced MegaFon to become an official partner of the FIE.”
So with marketing and communications now streamlined in-house, what’s the next step in expanding the FIE’s commercial stable? Mottaz says the FIE is “willing to capitalise” on the additional exposure the World Championships is receiving through its agreement with Eurosport - that sees the event broadcast to over 50 territories on the pan-regional sports broadcaster - but resources are currently concentrated on improving the product outside of its flagship World Championships. “At the moment, the FIE is mainly getting revenues from the World Championships,” Mottaz says. “The next step is to raise awareness of our other fantastic products such as continental events, World Cups and Grands Prix where our top athletes are taking part in amazing duels. For this development, a high-standard TV production quality and distribution is essential. As is distribution over digital platforms. “The FIE sponsorship strategy is based on real partnerships. This means that the federation will give priority to long-term relationships with a partner who shares fencing and Olympic values as well as an international exposure.” SportBusiness International • No.179 • 06.12 71
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The FIE signed a two-year deal with Eurosport in 2011 - Serge Timacheff/FIE
FENCING’S EURO VISION Last year’s deal between the International Fencing Federation (FIE) and pan-regional broadcaster Eurosport has helped significantly increase the exposure of top-level fencing to a worldwide audience. Matt Cutler reports. WHEN FIE PRESIDENT Alisher Usmanov and Eurosport CEO and chairman Laurent-Eric Le Lay shook hands on a two-year contract to show FIE events to over 50 territories across the globe, a deal was being agreed that would give unprecedented exposure for international fencing. Starting with Eurosport’s coverage of the 2011 World Championships in Catania, the agreement covered the 2012 World Championships in Kiev, Junior World Championships (Moscow), Team World Championships (Kiev) and European zone Olympic Qualifier (Bratislava). According to FIE marketing manager Stéphane Mottaz, the deal has been particularly successful in raising the awareness of fencing outside the sport’s traditional markets, something that was witnessed by strong TV audiences for the 2011 World Championships in Russia, and more significantly, China. Although the audience of a World Championships is highly correlated to the nations competing for the medals, “the figures from the last World Championships in Italy show a massive TV audience from China, then Italy, France, Germany and Russia,” he says. But the Eurosport tie-up is just the start, adds Mottaz, and with investment being channeled into improving the product, more fencing will be 72 SportBusiness International • No.179 • 06.12
seen on TV in the coming years: “Fencing is seen around the world on TV, but not as extensively as it could be and that’s mainly for two reasons. “Firstly, the FIE has a very limited number of events that are broadcast at the moment. But that offer is going to be expanded with our proposition of high-standard quality events on a regular basis that will help develop fencing’s fanbase. “Secondly, there needs to be a consistent TV production: our sport requires TV directors with experience and a basic knowledge of fencing. The fencers are extremely dynamic and the hits are often too fast for the human eye. However, recent technological advances in TV production can really become a game-changer for fencing namely HD and super slow-motion. Our sport is, by its nature, one of the ones that will benefit most from these technical developments.” The FIE’s TV partnerships are supplemented by online coverage through The Sports Hub. The Sports Hub, an initiative by SportAccord, the body that represents international sports federations, is a multi-sport video platform developed in collaboration with YouTube to help improve the visibility and profile of SportAccord’s member federations. The FIE, which has had a YouTube channel
since August 2009, joined The Sports Hub on its launch in the spring of 2010. The FIE channel on The Sports Hub broadcasts a mix of live coverage and highlights. “The Sports Hub is a very interesting platform for us,” says Mottaz. “From 2008 to 2011, the numbers of views on our videos reached about 1.5 million unique viewers. “In October 2011, the World Championships were streamed live on The Sports Hub for the first time. Consequently, the number of views leapfrogged 1.5 million to 3.5 million in only 10 days. “So the overall coverage of the World Championships was a great success, driven by our partnership with YouTube to promote the event, the live streaming itself and the synergies created between the different social media platforms of the FIE. “The online audience is increasing on our different social media platforms and our fanbase is growing on a daily basis. The FIE is also proud to be launcing two social media platforms dedicated to fencing’s fast-growing Chinese audience, with the aim of raising awareness for the sport and connecting with existing fans through our top ambassadors in the region before the London Olympic Games.”
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Events are split between countries with a strong historical following and ‘growing’ fencing markets - Serge Timacheff/FIE
ON THE OFFENSIVE In an effort to both service fencing aficionados and attract new fans to the sport, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) has adopted a dual strategy of awarding its major events to fencing strongholds whilst spreading its second-tier dates on the calendar to growing markets for the sport. Matt Cutler reports. HAVING BEEN ON the programme of every modern day Olympics, the Summer Olympic Games become the biggest event on the international fencing calendar every four years. And all eyes at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre this July and August will be on Italy’s Valentina Vezzali who, if she wins the top prize in the women’s individual foil competition, will become only the fourth athlete to win individual gold medals at four consecutive Summer Games. But the fencing fraternity doesn’t have to wait every four years to see its sport’s top stars in competition. The FIE World Championships which take place annually with the exception of years in which the Summer Games take place - come a close second to the Olympics and act as the showpiece date on the calendar for three years out of the four-year cycle. The first official World Championships were organised in Paris in 1937, featuring men’s épée, men’s sabre, men’s foil and women’s foil. A women’s épée event was held for the first time in 1989 and women’s sabre in 1999. And in a Summer Olympic year a small-scale World Championships takes place in fencing events not featured at the Games - hence why this
year saw a Championships take place in Kiev, Ukraine, in women’s sabre and men’s épée. FIE marketing manager Stéphane Mottaz picks out the 2010 World Championships, held at the iconic Grand Palais on the ChampsÉlysées in Paris, as an event that “raised a lot of attention for fencing and probably set the quality standard of Championships for the future”. At the 2010 Championships 110 nations and 950 athletes participated, with Italy pipping the hosts to top the medal table in the stunning glass exhibition hall - normally used for events such as fashion shows for couture designer Chanel - something that helped add an extra element of class to the Championships. For major events, including the flagship World Championships, the FIE awards hosting rights through a classic bidding process. Candidacies are put forward by national federations and, after consultation, the FIE General Assembly votes on the successful host. However, Mottaz stresses that the FIE operates a balanced hosting strategy by splitting events between countries with a strong historical following of fencing and ‘growing’ markets for the sport. This is where the FIE individual World
Cup series comes into play, with the sport’s international governing body awarding legs on the series calendar - which consists of three Grand Prix events and five World Cups per year in each discipline - to developing fencing nations. This year World Cup series legs include Qatar (at the Aspire Academy in Doha), Cuba (at the PABEXPO exhibition centre in Havana) and Brazil (at the Escola Naval in Rio de Janeiro). “This is done in order to target new customers and retain the core fanbase,” says Mottaz. “For example, we awarded the World Championships in 2010 to France, in 2011 to Italy and 2013 to Hungary - all well-established countries with a strong following and fanbase for fencing. “However, the Junior World Championships, World Cups and Grands Prix are cautiously distributed among established and ‘growing’ fencing markets such as China, Russia, Korea, Japan and Brazil. “The FIE distributes its World Cups and Grands Prix around the world based on a long list of criteria. One of the most important criteria is to ensure an international repartition of events combined with a guarantee that the local organising committee will be in a position to deliver a high-quality product in the end.” SportBusiness International • No.179 • 06.12 73
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