Outdoor and endurance sports to get greater recognition
The omission of Jasmin Parris from the BBC Sports Personality of the Year nominees highlights just how much work there is left to do to bring some of the extraordinary outdoor / long-distance feats into the public eye in 2025. By any objective sporting standards, Parris should have been nominated and maybe even a favourite, as the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathons, perhaps the world’s toughest endurance event.
Sports businesses to get serious about market intelligence
For an industry that is worth over $400 bn worldwide, it is ironic that the sports industry can often be guilty of thinking too small. Compared to FMCG industries, the sports industry has long been starved of reliable market intelligence data to show what products are selling where and when and at what prices. This data provides commercial advantage to individual subscribers but simultaneously raises all boats across the industry by ensuring that the products consumers want to buy are in-stock at the right price points in the right locations. As we demonstrate the power of the Outdoor MIS and continue to advocate for a running solution, we hope more businesses will be able to move on from relying on ‘guesswork’.
‘Unprecedented’ funding for active travel to materialise as promised
The new(ish) labour government has promised to invest an ‘unprecedented sum’ into active transport, but after the departure of the announcing transport minister, Louise Haigh, pressure must be kept up on the government to see such grand promises come to pass. An economic, climate and public-health winner – funding for active transport must be a national priority.
A turnaround in school sport
Professional golf to hurry up and make peace
In his leaving speech as R&A CEO, Martin Slumbers urged professional golf to resolve its differences and find a way to get the best golfers playing together more often. The ongoing splintering of the men’s professional game is damaging for the sport, and while The Showdown that pitted Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler against Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka is not affiliated to either LIV or the PGA Tour – perhaps it will help the fresh talks on reuniting the men’s game. Speaking of McIlroy, how nice it would be to see him finally end his major drought either with a Green Jacket to complete a career grand slam or with a home win at The Open at Royal Portrush.
The other issue facing the professional game in 2024 has been pace of play. There is some positive momentum on this front too. Prominent players including Nelly Korda, Charley Hull and Max Homa have recently spoken out about the dangers of slow play on tour. It would be great to see persistent offenders warned and punished to make professional golf more watchable again in 2025. Surging amateur participation shows that the many advantages of golf are cutting through – including the direct benefits on physical and mental health – but having a united professional game and a faster game will help ensure those in the sport stay with it for life.
New formats and sports to keep on keeping people active longer
