Even Gymnastics Canada is Videoblogging

Video by Gymnastics Canada

It's truly a sign that times have changed when a very traditional Canadian sports federation like Gymnastics Canada Gymnastique (GCG) decides to start blogging. Now, they are even videoblogging!

As a passionate follower of all things having to do with trampoline, I've relied on GCG's website for a long time to provide me with up-to-date trampoline news and results. Over the years though, their website has acquired the reputation of being strictly informative in nature and a little bland.

I'm happy to report that things are a little different now. Last year, GCG hired Ron Scammell, a journalist, to be their communications director. Scammell improved their website and created the Gymnastics Canada blog. The best part of this blog is that it gives fans, athletes, judges, coaches and parents from within the trampoline community the opportunity to learn about up-and-coming athletes and to watch competition news reports in the form of neatly edited video clips.

Clearly, GCG's blog isn't anything extraordinary. It isn't updated as much as it should be, and it isn't very interactive (there aren't any comments because it's so difficult to understand how to post them). However, I think that for a sports federation that is as conservative as GCG tends to be, having a blog is definitely a step in the right direction. I think they've finally realized that in order to attract more sponsors and to properly promote the sports of gymnastics and trampoline, they have to keep up with the times.

Videos Have the Potential to Add Value to a Blog

Without a doubt, GCG's decision to add videos to their blog has increased the overall popularity of their site. In gym's across the country, coaches and athletes are actually talking about the content GCG posts on their blog . About a year ago, this wasn't happening at all. Their visitors are now also offered the opportunity to get to know some of Canada's best gymnasts and trampolinists, which I think is truly what these athletes need (more exposure).

Now that I'm considered a competitor of GCG's due to my creation of the Trampoline Canada blog, I'm currently looking into how I can incorporate more videos to keep things interesting for my visitors.

After reading numerous articles on how to add video to a blog, I've come to realize that videos can add personality to a blog and can most certainly increase readership if done properly. Also, I tend to always find myself being more attracted to blogs that include videos in posts. I think that says a lot about how powerful and effective videos can be compared to print.

Clearly though, I still have a lot to learn about the craft of videoblogging. So far, I've only posted two original videos (the others I embedded from YouTube). As a print major, I unfortunately have no formal training in producing video news clips. To help me out, I've been referring to sites like freevlog that offer useful tutorials and tips on how to videoblog.

I think that adding more engaging videos will definitely add value to my blog, so I'll be working on ways to become a master videoblogger. My hope is that GCG will notice how hard I'm working to keep things fresh and exciting, which will hopefully result in them starting to post better material on their own blog. A little competition never hurts.