Before I begin I just want to say that this isn't a "Let's make Beyblade a sport!" type post. This is just for fun. Yes I think that would be cool, but with the way this game is would make it impossible at this point in time... Wait, what?
This thread is to discuss what we would want to see from Beyblade if it were to become an official sport. What do we think the game needs to reach that point? How would the sport run? Which iteration of Beyblade would be best? Etc etc. I was thinking about this a bit on my own and it's kind of cool in the sense that our little hobby could somebody become an actual sport if the right requirements were met, but at present that just can't happen.
The first thing Beyblade would need is an organization dedicated to the hobby that could work behind the scenes to make sure everything follows though. We already have that, it's this site. Secondly, Beyblade would need corporate sponsorship. Every sport does, it's what pays for advertising. However, I think the fact alone that a children's game from Japan became an official sport would be interesting enough to most that they might give it a look were it ever made a headline. People are curious, people like sports. They would want to know at least what it is. Beyblade would need an official rulebook and judges who can test and maintain those rules (We have that as well, but tweaks would probably be needed).
Next, I think the game itself would need some changes. Beyblade is a combination of two works, Beigoma, after the traditional Japanese game of which the hobby is based on, and Blade, for the crazy designs they gave us what seemed like so long ago. It's a fine name for a toy, but I doubt the public would take a sport of that name seriously, and we would get sued unless we were sponsored by or teamed up with Takara (Definitely possible, but I doubt it).
Basic things in the game would need to be changed as well. There is a traditional sport in Malay that is played every year just after the rice harvest, it's called Gasing Pangkah, and I think Beyblade would need to learn a thing or two form it. Currently, Beyblades are much too small and are too light to ever be used for an official sport. Beyblades weigh only 30~ grams. For anything serious I would imagine that Beyblades would need to be the size of a softball, and would need to weigh 4-to-5 kilos. At that weight it would be more like Gasing Pangkah, where the current record for the longest spin is two hours! At this size using a winder and shooter would likely no longer be possible (Unless we were to get some hi-tech goodness later down the line, but that would take the "sport" out of it, most likely) so the hobby would have to once again go back to winding the top with a string like we used to with Beigoma.
Gasing Pangkah
I think the iteration of the hobby that would likely work best would be Metal Fight Beyblade. I mean, it's metal and the customization options seemed easy enough. HMS would likely be fine as well, but there was more plastic. We want metal for this. Of course, the tops would have to be much bigger like I mentioned above, and there's a possibility that if we launched them with rope, the top would have to be rounded again otherwise the launch might not work properly. I really don't know. So hey, there's a possibility that it would just be Beigoma after all. Of course we could probably keep the customization option, but I don't think we would ever see anything like a Pegasis wheel for example. But hey, I could be wrong.
Lastly, how I imagine the game would be played. You know in the anime when they would do large knock-out matches where they would have like ten stadiums out and dozens of bladers battling at a given time? That's how I imagine Beyblade would have to be played.
What do you guys think?
This thread is to discuss what we would want to see from Beyblade if it were to become an official sport. What do we think the game needs to reach that point? How would the sport run? Which iteration of Beyblade would be best? Etc etc. I was thinking about this a bit on my own and it's kind of cool in the sense that our little hobby could somebody become an actual sport if the right requirements were met, but at present that just can't happen.
The first thing Beyblade would need is an organization dedicated to the hobby that could work behind the scenes to make sure everything follows though. We already have that, it's this site. Secondly, Beyblade would need corporate sponsorship. Every sport does, it's what pays for advertising. However, I think the fact alone that a children's game from Japan became an official sport would be interesting enough to most that they might give it a look were it ever made a headline. People are curious, people like sports. They would want to know at least what it is. Beyblade would need an official rulebook and judges who can test and maintain those rules (We have that as well, but tweaks would probably be needed).
Next, I think the game itself would need some changes. Beyblade is a combination of two works, Beigoma, after the traditional Japanese game of which the hobby is based on, and Blade, for the crazy designs they gave us what seemed like so long ago. It's a fine name for a toy, but I doubt the public would take a sport of that name seriously, and we would get sued unless we were sponsored by or teamed up with Takara (Definitely possible, but I doubt it).
Basic things in the game would need to be changed as well. There is a traditional sport in Malay that is played every year just after the rice harvest, it's called Gasing Pangkah, and I think Beyblade would need to learn a thing or two form it. Currently, Beyblades are much too small and are too light to ever be used for an official sport. Beyblades weigh only 30~ grams. For anything serious I would imagine that Beyblades would need to be the size of a softball, and would need to weigh 4-to-5 kilos. At that weight it would be more like Gasing Pangkah, where the current record for the longest spin is two hours! At this size using a winder and shooter would likely no longer be possible (Unless we were to get some hi-tech goodness later down the line, but that would take the "sport" out of it, most likely) so the hobby would have to once again go back to winding the top with a string like we used to with Beigoma.
Gasing Pangkah
I think the iteration of the hobby that would likely work best would be Metal Fight Beyblade. I mean, it's metal and the customization options seemed easy enough. HMS would likely be fine as well, but there was more plastic. We want metal for this. Of course, the tops would have to be much bigger like I mentioned above, and there's a possibility that if we launched them with rope, the top would have to be rounded again otherwise the launch might not work properly. I really don't know. So hey, there's a possibility that it would just be Beigoma after all. Of course we could probably keep the customization option, but I don't think we would ever see anything like a Pegasis wheel for example. But hey, I could be wrong.
Lastly, how I imagine the game would be played. You know in the anime when they would do large knock-out matches where they would have like ten stadiums out and dozens of bladers battling at a given time? That's how I imagine Beyblade would have to be played.
What do you guys think?