NAGS becoming Grip Sport International (GSI)

[Bryan Hunsaker]

There are some exciting changes coming to North American Grip Sport (NAGS)!  More details will follow soon, but as a committee we wanted to quickly share the broader strokes:

 

1. NAGS will be transitioning to a new, more encompassing organization – Grip Sport International (GSI)
2. GSI will be adding international members to the committee to assist in direction and decision making for Grip Sport
3. GSI will be an official organization with a membership structure similar to existing Strongman organizations, with State/Provincial/Regional Chairs to assist with local events and expansion of Grip Sport 
4. GSI will operate as a non-for-profit organization.  Membership fees will be utilized to grow Grip Sport, and eventually to support athletes and members, directly, as other sports are able to do.
5. To its members, GSI will provide:

5. 1. A critical framework for the growing sport, including required disciplines for sanctioned events.  GSI will not advocate specific brands of equipment, but will establish baseline categories/events including, but not limited to Pinch, Thick-bar, Gripper, Other, with various options for approved equipment.
   2. This framework will allow for improved event tracking and define Grip as a quantifiable sport
   3. It will also facilitate (for those interested) a ranking system, and progression system which will include:

                                                    i.     Ways to qualify for regional, national or global competitions

                                                   ii.     Pathway to professional status

Grip Sport is growing, and doing so quickly.  GSI recognizes a need to have an official organization to assist this growth, representing global interests and not just those of North America (as NAGS did).  This will legitimize the sport, creating standards that can be implemented anywhere.

 

GSI will continue to foment grassroots competition, as this is the lifeblood to the growth of the sport.  Event sanctioning may exist on different levels to support that type of competition.  GSI will seek to keep the sport as accessible as possible, in particular with weight classes for non-professionals, and grassroots competition.

 

Ultimately, GSI’s goal is for Grip Sport to grow, and remain accessible, while also becoming a recognized and legitimate competitive sport.  We hope to have the support of the Grip Board, and the broader grip community in this endeavor.  We also welcome your feedback and look forward to your thoughts!

 

Sincerely,

GSI (formerly NAGS)

@Jedd Johnson@Bryan Hunsaker@Eric Roussin@Andrew P@Allen Heineck@Biffmaister

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, Bryan Hunsaker said:

There are some exciting changes coming to North American Grip Sport (NAGS)!  More details will follow soon, but as a committee we wanted to quickly share the broader strokes:

 

1. NAGS will be transitioning to a new, more encompassing organization – Grip Sport International (GSI)
2. GSI will be adding international members to the committee to assist in direction and decision making for Grip Sport
3. GSI will be an official organization with a membership structure similar to existing Strongman organizations, with State/Provincial/Regional Chairs to assist with local events and expansion of Grip Sport 
4. GSI will operate as a non-for-profit organization.  Membership fees will be utilized to grow Grip Sport, and eventually to support athletes and members, directly, as other sports are able to do.
5. To its members, GSI will provide:

5. 1. A critical framework for the growing sport, including required disciplines for sanctioned events.  GSI will not advocate specific brands of equipment, but will establish baseline categories/events including, but not limited to Pinch, Thick-bar, Gripper, Other, with various options for approved equipment.
   2. This framework will allow for improved event tracking and define Grip as a quantifiable sport
   3. It will also facilitate (for those interested) a ranking system, and progression system which will include:

                                                    i.     Ways to qualify for regional, national or global competitions

                                                   ii.     Pathway to professional status

Grip Sport is growing, and doing so quickly.  GSI recognizes a need to have an official organization to assist this growth, representing global interests and not just those of North America (as NAGS did).  This will legitimize the sport, creating standards that can be implemented anywhere.

 

GSI will continue to foment grassroots competition, as this is the lifeblood to the growth of the sport.  Event sanctioning may exist on different levels to support that type of competition.  GSI will seek to keep the sport as accessible as possible, in particular with weight classes for non-professionals, and grassroots competition.

 

Ultimately, GSI’s goal is for Grip Sport to grow, and remain accessible, while also becoming a recognized and legitimate competitive sport.  We hope to have the support of the Grip Board, and the broader grip community in this endeavor.  We also welcome your feedback and look forward to your thoughts!

 

Sincerely,

GSI (formerly NAGS)

@Jedd Johnson@Bryan Hunsaker@Eric Roussin@Andrew P@Allen Heineck@Biffmaister

Bryan, 

      This is the best news I heard all day. This is definitely a giant step in the right  direction for this sport we all love. Can’t wait to see what develops with the new changes being implemented. Thank you sir!

Joe

[Climber028]

Keep the weight classes and I'll be happy with any other changes that get made. Definitely would be great to have more competitions and more competitors

[TheVictoryGrip!]

I'm glad to see that the sport will continue to evolve. This definitely sounds like a great opportunity for potential sponsors.

[JHenze646]

This is good news.

How would the average grip enthusiast bring concerns and open dialogue with the committee?

 

[KapMan]

10 hours ago, Tommy J. said:

i guess i should have asked more directly.

how much are membership fees?

who pays them?

and will there also still be comp fees?

 

 

If they do something similar to say strongman. You pay a yearly fee (get a member card) then you pay contest fees. But you need to be a member of the organization to compete. 

 

17 hours ago, Bryan Hunsaker said:

There are some exciting changes coming to North American Grip Sport (NAGS)!  More details will follow soon, but as a committee we wanted to quickly share the broader strokes:

 

1. NAGS will be transitioning to a new, more encompassing organization – Grip Sport International (GSI)
2. GSI will be adding international members to the committee to assist in direction and decision making for Grip Sport
3. GSI will be an official organization with a membership structure similar to existing Strongman organizations, with State/Provincial/Regional Chairs to assist with local events and expansion of Grip Sport 
4. GSI will operate as a non-for-profit organization.  Membership fees will be utilized to grow Grip Sport, and eventually to support athletes and members, directly, as other sports are able to do.
5. To its members, GSI will provide:

5. 1. A critical framework for the growing sport, including required disciplines for sanctioned events.  GSI will not advocate specific brands of equipment, but will establish baseline categories/events including, but not limited to Pinch, Thick-bar, Gripper, Other, with various options for approved equipment.
   2. This framework will allow for improved event tracking and define Grip as a quantifiable sport
   3. It will also facilitate (for those interested) a ranking system, and progression system which will include:

                                                    i.     Ways to qualify for regional, national or global competitions

                                                   ii.     Pathway to professional status

Grip Sport is growing, and doing so quickly.  GSI recognizes a need to have an official organization to assist this growth, representing global interests and not just those of North America (as NAGS did).  This will legitimize the sport, creating standards that can be implemented anywhere.

 

GSI will continue to foment grassroots competition, as this is the lifeblood to the growth of the sport.  Event sanctioning may exist on different levels to support that type of competition.  GSI will seek to keep the sport as accessible as possible, in particular with weight classes for non-professionals, and grassroots competition.

 

Ultimately, GSI’s goal is for Grip Sport to grow, and remain accessible, while also becoming a recognized and legitimate competitive sport.  We hope to have the support of the Grip Board, and the broader grip community in this endeavor.  We also welcome your feedback and look forward to your thoughts!

 

Sincerely,

GSI (formerly NAGS)

@Jedd Johnson@Bryan Hunsaker@Eric Roussin@Andrew P@Allen Heineck@Biffmaister

Sweet deal gents👍🏻

[climber511]

I'm very happy to see this development.  Yes it will cost us all a little more money but the possible benefits should be worth it.  We have needed an actual organization for a long time now.  I guess I'm more interested in the changes from the promoter perspective with Gripmas coming up before too long - but I'm sure all the information will be forthcoming soon. 

[Mike Rinderle]

Has anybody ever done, or commissioned, a study to determine approximately how many people compete in grip sport worldwide (or even in the US)?

I'd be interested to know the number.  Even if it's just an order of magnitude, ie. 10s, hundreds, a couple thousand...

Also, what has been the level of growth?  Honestly, there seemed to be as many comps and competitors when I got involved 10 years ago as there are now.  Is the growth you are citing mainly outside the US?  I may be way off, but it would be nice to know the numbers you are speaking of concerning growth.  

 

Edited March 10, 2018 by Mike Rinderle

[Guest]

25 minutes ago, Mike Rinderle said:

Has anybody ever done, or commissioned, a study to determine approximately how many people compete in grip sport worldwide (or even in the US)?

I'd be interested to know the number.  Even if it's just an order of magnitude, ie. 10s, hundreds, a couple thousand...

Also, what has been the level of growth?  Honestly, there seemed to be as many comps and competitors when I got involved 10 years ago as there are now.  Is the growth you are citing mainly outside the US?  I may be way off, but it would be nice to know the numbers you are speaking of concerning growth.  

 

That’s a great question Rindo. Very inciteful of you.👍🏻

[Eric Roussin]

Based on posted contest results, there appears to be only a couple hundred grip sport competitors in North America right now. I'd estimate another 500 or so in Europe (including Russia). Worldwide, I'd say no more than 1,000. But I expect this number will continue to grow each year.

[Mike Rinderle]

So we are having trouble getting more than a couple hundred people (out of several hundred million) to participate in a contest, and the suggested solution to get more competitors is to make it more expensive to compete?  

[Bryan Hunsaker]

On 3/9/2018 at 5:48 PM, JHenze646 said:

This is good news.

How would the average grip enthusiast bring concerns and open dialogue with the committee?

 

The committee will continue to handle questions and concerns openly as it always has. Day to day won’t really change - this is broader strokes.

21 hours ago, Tommy J. said:

i guess i should have asked more directly.

how much are membership fees?

who pays them?

and will there also still be comp fees?

 

 

All of this is still being decided. It won’t be overencumbering. The hope is that a little bit of support from a lot of people will eventually turn into something.

[Bryan Hunsaker]

4 hours ago, Mike Rinderle said:

So we are having trouble getting more than a couple hundred people (out of several hundred million) to participate in a contest, and the suggested solution to get more competitors is to make it more expensive to compete?  

Mike, we’re talking about a very nominal fee so that there’s some legitimacy and so that the sport has some means to pursue growth opportunities. There are new people competing in the sport regularly. I can name dozens of friends on social media who have picked up grip recently. I have only been competing for about 18 months. Well-known competitor Carl Myerscough has only been competing for a year. Growth may not be astronomical, but it is there, and for the sport to continue to establish itself, there needs to be an official organization with guidelines, rather than just a community of independent events that are loosely affiliated, at best. 

If a small annual fee is going to be the difference between someone being able to compete and not, then we’ll find a way around it. But we need the broader community to get behind an organization so the sport can be more than it is.

[Mike Rinderle]

34 minutes ago, Bryan Hunsaker said:

Mike, we’re talking about a very nominal fee so that there’s some legitimacy and so that the sport has some means to pursue growth opportunities. There are new people competing in the sport regularly. I can name dozens of friends on social media who have picked up grip recently. I have only been competing for about 18 months. Well-known competitor Carl Myerscough has only been competing for a year. Growth may not be astronomical, but it is there, and for the sport to continue to establish itself, there needs to be an official organization with guidelines, rather than just a community of independent events that are loosely affiliated, at best. 

If a small annual fee is going to be the difference between someone being able to compete and not, then we’ll find a way around it. But we need the broader community to get behind an organization so the sport can be more than it is.

Understood.  I can support that. 

As for growth, I have felt retention has always been our biggest problem.  As you point out, we always have new people getting involved in the sport.  It's been that way forever.  The problem seems to be keeping them.  In the last 10 years we've had thousands of people take up grip.  Unfortunately, we have about the same number of people actively involved and competing as we did 10 years ago (~200 in North America).

If the new org can figure out a way to keep people from leaving as fast as they join, then it will be a worthwhile endeavor and we may actually see some tangible growth.  Otherwise we are destined to be what the sport has been for 30 plus years; a very small niche of a niche sport (weightlifting/strongman) with awesome people getting together to grip, make friends, and have a blast.  Either outcome sounds good.

IronMind, the IAWA, the Grip Board and others have all tried to crack the code that grows the sport, yet here we sit.  We tried the same thing with steel bending a few years back and finally realized it was never going to be more than a niche of a niche of a niche of a niche sport.    I'd love to see you guys succeed.  

At the very least, I love what NAGS has done to establish rules and regulations.  This has really allowed us to standardize everything and moved us past the days you could be considered the greatest gripster ever because you closed a blurry gripper on a grainy vhs tape in a dark room in front of a relative.  It has done yeomans work in taking us out of the realm of old time strongman legend and legitimized this as a real sport.  

Best of luck and strength.  I'll  be happy to support in any way I can.

[Shoggoth]

6 minutes ago, Mike Rinderle said:

Understood.  I can support that. 

As for growth, I have felt retention has always been our biggest problem.  As you point out, we always have new people getting involved in the sport.  It's been that way forever.  The problem seems to be keeping them.  In the last 10 years we've had thousands of people take up grip.  Unfortunately, we have about the same number of people actively involved and competing as we did 10 years ago (~200 in North America).

If the new org can figure out a way to keep people from leaving as fast as they join, then it will be a worthwhile endeavor and we may actually see some tangible growth.  Otherwise we are destined to be what the sport has been for 30 plus years; a very small niche of a niche sport (weightlifting/strongman) with awesome people getting together to grip, make friends, and have a blast.  Either outcome sounds good.

IronMind, the IAWA, the Grip Board and others have all tried to crack the code that grows the sport, yet here we sit.  We tried the same thing with steel bending a few years back and finally realized it was never going to be more than a niche of a niche of a niche of a niche sport.    I'd love to see you guys succeed.  

At the very least, I love what NAGS has done to establish rules and regulations.  This has really allowed us to standardize everything and moved us past the days you could be considered the greatest gripster ever because you closed a blurry gripper on a grainy vhs tape in a dark room in front of a relative.  It has done yeomans work in taking us out of the realm of old time strongman legend and legitimized this as a real sport.  

Best of luck and strength.  I'll  be happy to support in any way I can.

As a promoter I go into the hole every competition and I'm guessing a lot of other promoters are like this as well. This is done for love and hopefully a zero balance. Not sure about additional expenses on top of what I already do to try and promote the sport.

[JHenze646]

Gentlemen,

if there is anything I do to help with the organization, please let me know.

[richcottrell]

Was last weekend's NAGS the final running of that event?

[Jedd Johnson]

On 6/4/2018 at 12:18 PM, richcottrell said:

Was last weekend's NAGS the final running of that event?

It was always the NAGS Championship.

Now, I suspect, it will be the North American Championship and be run under GSI standards.  Minor change, I'd say.

[Jedd Johnson]

On 3/10/2018 at 11:40 AM, Mike Rinderle said:

Has anybody ever done, or commissioned, a study to determine approximately how many people compete in grip sport worldwide (or even in the US)?

I'd be interested to know the number.  Even if it's just an order of magnitude, ie. 10s, hundreds, a couple thousand...

Also, what has been the level of growth?  Honestly, there seemed to be as many comps and competitors when I got involved 10 years ago as there are now.  Is the growth you are citing mainly outside the US?  I may be way off, but it would be nice to know the numbers you are speaking of concerning growth.  

 

To a degree, we're looking at somewhat of a vicious circle.  All the money paid to the contest promoter stays with the promoter, except for the small sanctioning fee.  This makes it really tough to go out and actively recruit more competitors, increase awareness of the sport etc.  Thus, you end up with a very slowly growing body of participants.

We decided to institute a membership fee, just to bring in some funds to allow this kind of thing to happen.  The idea isn't to ask for a ton of money, by any means.

 

[Mike Rinderle]

21 minutes ago, Jedd Johnson said:

To a degree, we're looking at somewhat of a vicious circle.  All the money paid to the contest promoter stays with the promoter, except for the small sanctioning fee.  This makes it really tough to go out and actively recruit more competitors, increase awareness of the sport etc.  Thus, you end up with a very slowly growing body of participants.

We decided to institute a membership fee, just to bring in some funds to allow this kind of thing to happen.  The idea isn't to ask for a ton of money, by any means.

 

That makes sense.  

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, Jedd Johnson said:

To a degree, we're looking at somewhat of a vicious circle.  All the money paid to the contest promoter stays with the promoter, except for the small sanctioning fee.  This makes it really tough to go out and actively recruit more competitors, increase awareness of the sport etc.  Thus, you end up with a very slowly growing body of participants.

We decided to institute a membership fee, just to bring in some funds to allow this kind of thing to happen.  The idea isn't to ask for a ton of money, by any means.

 

Makes 100% sense. It’s hard to promote anything without a little money to put some oil in the wheels.

[lder]

The only grip contest I have participated in was Dan's Old School Grip Contest, which was not a sanctioned event.  I did however compete for about 7 years in what used to be the Re/Max world long drive circuit (now owed by the golf channel and called World Long Drive).  There are many similarities between grip sport and long drive, both have trouble getting more participation and both desire to become larger and more popular.  Long Drive was booming in the early 2000s and had more participants than ever before.  Shortly after that Re/Max backed out as the title sponsor there was no money in the sport and long drive almost died all together.  Its back now (owned and run by the Golf Channel) but most events are invite only and based off a rigged ranking scale which makes it almost impossible for a new competitor or former competitor to participate.  Up till about 10 years ago there were 100+ local level qualifiers in 7 different divisions (Women, Open, Senior, Super Senior, Grand Champions, Legends, Junior) every year and anyone could step up to the tee and see if they have what it takes.  This no longer happens and while the sport looks good in the national spotlight it has alienated most of the competitors who helped build the sport.  

You have to have a more formal organization to create an environment where anyone at any level can participate.  

Also it is not apples to apples but here is quick break down on long drive expense and fees.  

-Local Qualifier - $40 per attempt (average 4 attempts per qualifier)  -  $160                                                                                                                                                                                         

-Regional Qualifier - $175 (most participants competed in 2-3 regional qualifiers per year)

-Flight to Nevada and a week in Mesquite NV for the World Championships - $1700

-Independently run events where there is a purse and payout - $600-$750 (per event)

-A specialty long drive club runs anywhere from $250-$400 (most competitors have upwards of 10 drivers)  

-Lots of miscellaneous expense through the year also....

Total including fees, time off work, travel and accommodations and miscellaneous expenses easily totaled over $5,000 a year.  A few extra bucks for a grip sport membership and event fees does not sound too bad.  

Also most of the tournament and qualifier event directors put a lot of their own money and time into the events, but did it because they loved the sport and competition.  

John