Novel and extreme sports events on the rise in China

China has become a hotspot for novel and extreme sports in recent years, as a new generation of fans develops a taste beyond the likes of boxing, soccer and tennis.

In 2020, China boasted its first world champion in the relatively new combat sport of mixed martial arts, with 32-year-old Zhang Weili winning the UFC strawweight title in what was described as the most vicious and dramatic women's bout ever witnessed.

In 2019, Shanghai hosted the X Games, a competition that has, over the years, paved the way for street disciplines such as BMX and skateboarding to reach the mainstream status of a place in the Olympic Games.

Now, at the end of October, Shanghai will host the World Chase Tag (WCT) championship, an event pitting teams from across China against each other, in an intense game of high-speed tag. A far cry from the game's playground origins, where the aim is to outpace and catch an opponent, athletes hurtle at full speed over bars and solid obstacles to "tag" their evading opponent within 20 seconds. If the evader manages to elude the chaser for the set time, their team wins a point.

Tactics play a huge role in preparation. Link Parkour are one of the team favorites this year, and head coach Kyle Shapiro, who also oversees WCT's China division, offers an insight into the mental warfare.

"As a chaser you should always control the rhythm and pace of the pursuit," he said. "Force your opponent into areas which you want them to go, and you can hold onto bars and use them to swing round to change direction faster. Surprise them. Through good technique you can catch a lot of players naturally faster than you. I used to be a semi-professional fencer, and the same principals carry over: timing, distant management, deception."

WCT events held in Europe and the United States have racked up millions of views through online live streaming, its primal appeal and simple concept rapidly developing global fan bases. Traditional broadcasting platforms are also increasingly eager to showcase the sport.

The event in China, however, revels in the online model. A country where e-sports have commanded an established multi-billion yuan live streaming industry for decades, this year, the China WCT event will follow suit and be broadcast online, by tech giant Tencent.

Streamed on the Tencent Sport main web page, the event will be on offer alongside sports coverage such as English Premier League soccer.

Taking place in Shanghai from Oct 28 to 31, with the grand WCT finale happening at the Oriental Pearl Tower, regional tryouts have been fierce, with only the fastest and bravest athletes making the cut.

Link Parkour will be up against contenders such as FG Parkour and Gorilla Warfare to win cash prizes which often dwarf offerings from similar events held in Europe and the US.

"It is the brand sponsors that the athletes are after, however," Shapiro says. "Cash prizes are nice but the brand recognition and audience attention of the athletes is what will pay dividends to their career in the long run."

The same could be said in itself for WCT and other new sports appearing on the horizon, whose future in a progressive Chinese market will rely upon the same bottom line.