The ISL Bubble

The ISL Bubble‍

On March 11 of this year, the NBA announced that it would suspend its 2019-2020 season after Utah Jazz stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell both tested positive for COVID-19 immediately before a road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After months of no basketball, the league finally resumed in “The Bubble” at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando with strict rules and penalties to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The NBA Bubble was a success, resuming the season with no players testing positive so far. The resumption of the NBA has given fans a slight sense of normal and kept the league afloat amid revenue loss throughout the sports industry.‍

What It Might Look Like‍

The International Swim League is looking to follow in the footsteps of the NBA. The league is planning to host their own version of the Bubble in October and November in Gold Coast, Queensland. The Gold Coast is the best city in Australia for the sport of swimming, as there is no other place in the world with as many 50 m. pools within a 15km radius. This allows all 10 teams to closely practice and compete while minimizing the spread. The ISL plans to host the training camp for around 4 to 5 weeks and will pay participating swimmers monthly. Besides training, the camp will also feature team matches to keep the athletes in racing shape. There are also rumors about the production of a reality show to give viewers an inside look at the training and competition in the ISL. In my opinion, the reality show is a good investment that connects the viewers with the swimmers by giving viewers a behind the scenes look at what happens outside the pool. A good example would be the show Hard Knocks, which gives an inside look at both the personal and professional lives of NFL players, coaches, and staff. The reality show can increase interest in current fans and that of prospective fans as well.‍

How it Can Benefit the ISL‍

One of the main benefits of the NBA Bubble is that it allows the league to test new features for future seasons, like new camera angles and mic placements that give fans a more immersive experience. Experimentation with these new changes has had some positive reactions from fans. Based on a survey, SB Nation reports that 72% of fans like the new camera angles and 56% would like to be a virtual fan. Similarly, the ISL can test new, non-traditional events that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to include in meets. Like the NBA, they can try new camera angles and mic placements closer to the starting blocks so that fans can also have a more immersive experience, possibly letting fans hear some pre-race trash talk or technique and race strategy discussions with coaches.

Besides being able to experiment with new features, ISL can also increase its popularity internationally with this move. Australia is the perfect target audience, with 3.1 million people who actively participate in swimming, making it Australia’s most popular sport. As of right now, however, there are no Australian ISL teams. Current ISL teams are based only in Europe and the United States, with two more coming to Toronto and Tokyo. By hosting the Bubble where swimming is popular and a part of the people’s lives, the ISL can potentially gain more Australian fans and eventually form an Australia-based team.

The ISL bubble will be a good investment for the ISL because it will serve as effective advertising to a potentially massive target audience while experimenting with different ways to improve the fans’ experience for the future.

Data courtesy of: Swimming World Magazine and SB Nation