New rules please

by Richard Elkins

As the curtain closes on Michael McIntyre, staff at the 02 arena in Greenwich, London are ready to transform the venue into a Tennis theatre.

The finale to the Men’s Tennis season, the ATP World Tour Finals, is being held in the capital not only this year but until 2012.

It features the World’s top eight players based on the World Rankings.

Compared to the usual system of Tennis tournaments, this tournament features a round-robin group stage followed by a series of knockout matches; pretty much the same format as the Football World Cup.

The format is perhaps the most intriguing factor as Tennis has always looked to create a season finale similar to that of the FA Cup final or the Superbowl.

But many followers rarely look past the four grand slams as the showpieces of the season.

The different format brings a stronger partisan following to the event as the best eight players come from a diverse range of nationalities: British, Swiss, Spanish, Argentinean, Russian, Serbian and Swedish.

The round-robin format should be enough to enthral crowds at the 02 as it creates more drama over a longer time rather than an instant knockout.

Different formats

Formats have always been a puzzling thing in sport: some sports need different ones to succeed, yet others can simply count on one straightforward format.

Take Cricket for example. The Test match is one of - not only crickets - but sports most traditional formats, yet the introduction of the International One-Day format in 1971 has proved successful: not only does it require more attacking play, it is more convenient for today’s impatient sporting crowds.

But the most groundbreaking format of probably any sport in history has to be Twenty20 Cricket: huge sums of money, cheerleaders and fun. Things that you wouldn’t usually associate with Cricket.

But this format has split opinion. You either love it or hate it.

West Indies Captain, Chris Gayle, loves Twenty20 cricket, saying: "He wouldn’t be sad” if the format overtook the Test format in the future.

Think of the Test format as the smart, intellectual but boring man: he speaks softly, earns an average wage and regards drinking alcohol as “tipple”. Then there is his younger brother, Twenty20, the flash, arrogant yet successful man: he is brash, earns way above average and calls women “birds”.

It seems you can’t like both of these men as you are actually one of them: whether you politely applaud or go crazy and chuck your beer everywhere when a boundary is hit determines this.

Despite controversies, particularly with unbelievably huge Indian Premier League, the Twenty20 format is a hit: sponsors love it, the modern fan loves it but everyone will forever remember the summer of 2005, The Ashes.

If Cricket can find a way to finely balance the old with the new, while still keeping some time for the awkward middle child, the One Day format, then it will truly be a force to be reckoned with worldwide.

 

Changes in rugby

Another sport which has succeeded with a format change is Rugby Union, where a variant form has just been recognised as an Olympic sport.

This is Rugby Sevens where each team fields seven players instead of the usual 15 thus creating a faster and more exciting version of the game. October 2009 saw it voted in as an Olympic sport for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Rob Andrew, the Rugby Football Union's elite rugby director, had this to say after the decision had been made: “The thought of joining with the other home unions to make a Team GB is very exciting and on behalf of the RFU and the elite rugby department I am delighted that sevens rugby for men and women has been included.”

The BBC used to show highlights of Rugby Sevens tournaments which created yet more awareness for this emerging brand of the game.

Now Rugby isn’t the most marketable sport around: hence the reason about a dozen teams are truly recognised as rugby playing nations.

Rugby Union and Rugby Sevens have an understanding, unlike their cricketing counterparts. They both know where they stand, who is bigger, better and more popular. Should any of this change, for example if Rugby Sevens had a higher participation figures than Rugby Union, then Union wouldn’t mind, just as long as it is never forgotten.

A constant in sport: change

Formula 1’s points system has chopped and changed over the years, golf has been trying for so long to appeal to a wider audience, even the Barclays Premier League is not clear.

Rumours flying around about 39th games, the inclusion of Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers and an influx of foreign wealth has made football executives consider a kind of revamp of the league.

A two-tier system has been proposed which may create a bit more excitement but viciously patronises the teams who are considered “second tier”.

Phil Gartside, Bolton Wanderers Chairman, was the one who proposed the system, citing a “fear factor” among certain clubs: “The Premier League is an exciting product for supporters and for television viewers, but there is no doubt that as the years go by, and the same few clubs continue to benefit from the huge additional revenues from the Champions League, the remaining clubs find it enormously difficult to challenge.” He said in an interview conducted earlier this year.

He is right: gaps are emerging between the Premier League and lower tiers in terms of attendance, revenue and even television coverage. It all comes down to one thing, and it is a recurring pattern: boredom.

Bored fans

People get bored, it is human nature. If something happens over and over again for example the ‘Top Four’ in the Premier League, people beg for something different.

Cricket fans got Twenty20, rugby fans got Sevens, even some cynics of tennis love the format being used at the ATP World Tour Finals, myself included. Yet even football, the most played and watched sport in the World, seems to be panicking for ideas.

So as the World’s best tennis players descend on London not for Wimbledon, it is very interesting to see how the very traditionalist fans of Wimbledon and Queen’s Club will view this unique and potentially trend setting event.

I predict they will enjoy it, but hopefully the event will never overshadow the value of Wimbledon or the grassroots emphasis on British tennis.