China's New Reality Show Goes for the Gold
BEIJING -- Wanting to be a millionaire is so turn of the century. Now, a Chinese game show plans to pose an even more exclusive question: Who wants to be an Olympian?
China Central Television, China's normally staid TV monopoly, is launching a new kind of reality show that aims to pluck someone from the nation's 1.3 billion-strong population to become an Olympic athlete.
The position doesn't require brawn, speed or years of training -- just a healthy set of lungs and a good sense of direction. China's Olympics rowing team is searching for coxswains: two diminutive people with big voices who will steer the men's and women's teams of eight rowers in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The nationally televised search to find the lucky winners -- one male, one female -- will draw from parts of "Survivor," "The Apprentice" and "American Idol," as organizers seek to make stars of China's rowers, whose sport doesn't have much of a following in that country.
Called the "China Olympic Coxswain Competition," the show hopes to ride the popularity of reality TV shows in China, sparked by the stunning success of "Super Female Voice," a singing contest produced by provincial TV station Hunan Satellite that drew 400 million viewers to its 2005 finale. By comparison, "American Idol" drew 36 million viewers to its finale this year.
"This is the only sport in the Olympics in which such a competition could be held. The coxswain position is unique because you don't need great physical strength, just mental strength," says Liu Ai Jie, vice president of the China Water Sports Association. Mr. Liu came up with the idea for the program, which is expected to be announced today.
Of course, the new TV reality show could also draw millions in ad sponsorship for broadcasters. "Super Female Voice" proved to be highly lucrative for sponsor Mengniu, one of China's biggest milk producers, whose profile and sales rose after the show.
CCTV isn't disclosing the name of the Olympic coxswain show sponsor but it is likely to be one of the major Chinese sponsors of the 2008 Olympics, such as computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd. or telecom giant China Netcom Group Co., said people familiar with the matter. Taihe Media InvestmentCo., the entertainment company that is producing the show for CCTV, values the exclusive sponsorship of the competition at more than $10 million.
The nationwide search starts in September, with 80 contestants selected based on essays and interviews. The contest will air in prime time in mid-November, when 20 finalists will be voted off by a set of judges and the audience in weekly televised trials that will test their stamina, leadership skills as well as their ability to withstand stress.
Star power is also a must, say organizers. Karaoke and dance segments are being considered.
China's Olympic authorities want the contest to whip up excitement running up to the 2008 Games by emphasizing the theme that sports can be for all -- even the weedy and untrained.
China's Olympic officials are also eager to increase the visibility of the country's less-popular sports, such as baseball, rowing and equestrian events. Ping pong, diving and gymnastics traditionally command top attention in China.
Aside from southern China's dragon-boat races, China doesn't have a strong tradition of water sports. Until fairly recently, rowing and sailing have been viewed as fairly elitist sports and are still expensive for most Chinese. The country's badly polluted waterways don't help, either.
The rowing search is also a way to play down expectations of a medal sweep on home ground by focusing the public's attention on underdogs, say people in the sports industry.
It will be difficult for China to top the last summer Olympics. The country has been steadily increasing its gold-medal tally at the Games, finishing third in Sydney in 2000 with 28 gold medals before jumping to second place in Athens in 2004, just three gold medals short of the U.S., the overall winner with 35.
At a recent conference, Feng Jianzhong, vice president of the State General Administration of Sports, warned "we have almost delivered our full potential in the Athens Games, and it is very difficult to make further breakthrough."
He also said China should take the opportunity to get most of the Chinese people involved in the Olympic Games by regular participation in various sports activities.
Echoing his sentiments, a CCTV official involved with the coxswain program said it would "concentrate more on social benefits, offering the whole of China a chance to get better understanding and close contact with the Olympics."
Another selling point: the words for coxswain in Chinese -- "duo shou" -- can also be translated to mean "helmsman." Mao Zedong was known the Great Helmsman -- not for his skill on a boat, but for leading the Communist Party.
"Chairman Mao is China's Great Helmsman. The position has special meaning. Rowers won't be able to go in the right direction without the leadership and purpose of a good helmsman," said China Water Sports's Mr. Liu, who is married to rowing star Zhang Xiuyun.
To be sure, in English, the term coxswain has a decidedly less glorious connections: it's derived from roots that can be loosely translated as "boat boy."
The position ideally requires a master strategist with the vim of a cheerleader and the ruthlessness of taskmaster. It helps to be light too -- typically rowers tower over coxswains.
Famous coxswain include physicist Stephen Hawking, who coxed for Oxford before he began to suffer from lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, as well as U.S. Olympian Bob Moch, who lived until the age of 90 and rallied his team -- including one sick rower -- to an upset victory during the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Mr. Liu came up with the concept six years ago while idly watching a rowing event in Beijing at Peking University, one of China's top universities.
Authorities were enthusiastic, but nothing really happened until late last year when he met Qian Shimu, the head of Taihe, one of China's largest closely held media companies.
Mr. Qian had a nostalgic love for rowing after almost making the high-school rowing team. (He didn't make it because his arms weren't long enough, he said.)
With Mr. Qian's support, Mr. Liu was able to get the green light from the Chinese Olympic Committee and CCTV. Not surprisingly, authorities were worried that the stunt could affect the team's Olympic performance, said Mr. Liu, so he had to work hard to convince them candidates would have extensive training with the rowing team before the Olympics.
Mr. Liu is also talent-spotting Chinese nationals studying in the U.S. This October he will be at the Head of the Charles regatta in Massachusetts, a major rowing event, on the lookout for possible contest participants. "Lots of coxswains on U.S. teams are Chinese or ethnic Chinese," he says.
In the past, China hasn't done well in the Olympics against rowing powerhouses such as the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Romania. China hasn't won a medal in an Olympics event in rowing since Mr. Liu's wife Ms. Zhang won a silver medal in 1996.
China's Olympics rowing medal drought started about the time several of China's top rowing stars, including Ms. Zhang, were abruptly withdrawn from the 2000 Sydney Olympics. This fueled speculation that the athletes were dropped to prevent the embarrassment of China failing any doping tests right as it was making its bid to host the 2008 Games.
Mr. Liu said these rumors were unfounded. The rowers didn't participate because of health problems, he says.
However, hopes are rising with the Chinese team's surprising performance at the World Rowing Championships, which finished this Sunday. The team won three gold medals, their "best-ever performance," says Matt Smith, executive director of the International Rowing Federation.
"They are definitely looking better than before," says Mr. Smith. He also said that he thought the China Olympic Coxswain Competition was a "great idea" and a "unique and unprecedented way of finding talent."
奥运舵手也选秀？
想成为奥运明星吗？
中国中央电视台为你提供了一个这样的机会。该电视台即将推出一个选秀节目，从13亿的茫茫人海中选出两位代表，成为中国奥运参赛代表团的一员。
候选者并不需要强健的体魄、飞快的速度，也无需经过长期的训练，只要肺活量够大和方向感够好即可。中国奥运赛艇队正在寻找一男一女两个舵手，要求是身材瘦小但嗓门要大。选拔出来的两位舵手将与男女赛艇队一道参加2008年在北京举办的夏季奥运会。
中央电视台将承担起选拔舵手的任务，为此将推出一个融合《生存者》(Survivor)、《学徒》(Apprentice)、《美国偶像》(American Idol)三个节目的风格于一身的节目。组织者希望通过此节目把中国赛艇队的舵手打造成为家喻户晓的明星。而在中国，赛艇还是一项不怎么为人所关注的运动。
这套名为“中国奥运舵手选拔赛”的节目希望能像《超级女声》一样，也在中国刮起一股选秀旋风。2005年总决赛期间，由湖南卫视举办的《超级女声》创下了4亿观众的收视率。相比之下，《美国偶像》今年的总决赛仅吸引了3,600万观众。
中国水上运动中心副主任刘爱杰表示，赛艇是唯一进行这类选拔的奥运参赛项目。舵手的角色很特殊，并不需要出色的身体素质，只需要有良好的心理素质就行。通过电视节目选拔赛艇舵手便是刘爱杰的主意。估计这个节目将于本周二首次亮相。
当然，真人秀节目还可能吸引广大赞助商的热情参与。例如，在赞助了《超级女声》节目后，中国乳品生产商蒙牛(Mengniu)便名利双收。
尽管中央电视台尚未公布节目的赞助商，但知情人士透露，联想集团(Lenovo Group Ltd.)、中国网通(China Netcom Group Co.)等2008年北京奥运会的主要赞助商有望夺魁。据为中央电视台制作此次节目的太合传媒(Taihe Media Investment Co.)估计，此节目独家赞助权的价值将超过1,000万美元。
此节目将从9月开始在全国范围内挑选合适的选手，预计通过问卷和面试将筛选出80名参赛者。9月中旬，选拔赛将在黄金档期播出，届时将有20名最后的入围者在每周的比赛中接受评委和观众的评判。这种选拔形式将考验参赛选手的意志、领导才能和抗压能力。另据组织者透露，明星气质也是不可或缺的。（参赛者可能在比赛过程中进行歌唱和舞蹈表演。）
尽管选拔赛商业气息浓厚，但中国负责奥运事宜的相关部门希望此次活动能够把重点放在营造一个全民参与体育的氛围上，从而在2008年到来之前掀起全国范围内的体育热潮。
中国奥运官员也渴望提高棒球、赛艇、马术等不大受人关注的体育运动的知名度。乒乓球、跳水、体操等运动通常才是中国人关注的焦点。
除了南方的龙舟比赛，中国民间也缺乏水上运动的传统。直到不久之前，赛艇和帆板还一直被视为是贵族运动，对于大多数中国人而言，投身这类运动的成本太高了。另外，水域遭到严重污染也无助于中国推广水上运动。
业内人士称，本次选秀活动也有利于纠正国内体育界一切为奥运夺金让路的倾向。
不过，中国奥运代表团要想取得超越上届的成绩恐非易事。自参加奥运会以来，中国代表团的成绩一直在稳固攀升。2000年悉尼奥运会上，中国以28枚金牌位居金牌榜第三名，到了2004年雅典奥运会，中国的成绩更上一层楼，占据了亚军的位置，仅比霸主美国队少了3枚金牌。
中国国家体育总局副局长冯建中在不久前的一次新闻发布会上已经打了预防针，称中国奥运代表团在雅典奥运会上已几乎释放出了所有潜力，要取得进一步的突破将非常困难。
他还表示，中国应利用北京举办奥运会的契机鼓励国民积极从事各项体育运动，从而让大部分中国人参与到奥运会之中。
中央电视台一位参与选拔活动的官员响应了冯建中的上述观点。此官员表示，这次活动将更为注重社会效益，为全体中国人更好地了解、近距离接触奥运会提供了一个机会。
舵手一词，在中文里还有一层含义，带有领导者的意味。例如，中共开国领袖毛泽东就被誉为指引中国人民前进的伟大舵手。
刘爱杰表示，毛主席是中国的伟大领袖。舵手一词有著特殊的含义。如果没有一位称职的舵手，赛艇选手就会偏离正确的方向。刘爱杰的夫人是中国赛艇女选手张秀云，曾在1996年为中国夺得一枚银牌。
当然，在英文里面，舵手一词并没有这么重要的意义。
称职的舵手必须是一位战略家，需具备拉拉队队长的乐天精神，而且还必须任劳任怨地去执行任务。
6年前在北京大学观看一次赛艇比赛的时候，刘爱杰产生了用选秀方式挑选舵手的想法。
尽管体育管理部门很感兴趣，但直到刘爱杰在去年年末碰到太合传媒总裁钱实穆的时候，这个想法才落到实处。太合传媒是中国最大的民营传媒企业之一。
在钱实穆的支持下，刘爱杰先后得到了中国奥运组委会和中央电视台的许可。刘爱杰说，体育管理部门一度担心这类选秀节目将影响赛艇队的奥运成绩，他费尽口舌才让管理部门相信候选者在参加奥运会之前将接受广泛的训练。
与英国、美国、罗马尼亚这些赛艇强国相比，中国选手在奥运会上的表现乏善可陈。自张秀云在1996年为中国夺得一枚银牌之后，中国从未夺得过奥运会赛艇比赛的金牌。但在上周日结束的世界赛艇锦标赛上，中国队取得了令人刮目相看的出色成绩，人们对中国赛艇队寄予的希望也在上升。国际赛艇联合会(International Rowing Federation,FISA)秘书长麦特?史密斯(Matt Smith)表示，在此次比赛中，中国队一举夺得了3枚金牌，为该国取得了史无前例的好成绩。
自张秀云等一批顶尖赛艇选手突然宣布撤出2000年悉尼奥运会以后，中国赛艇队就与奖牌基本无缘了。有传闻称，这些中国顶尖选手放弃参赛是因为中国当时在争夺2008年奥运会的主办权，在这个关键时刻不希望国内运动员曝出兴奋剂丑闻。
刘爱杰表示，这些传闻纯属无稽之谈。他说，这些选手当时没有参赛完全是因为伤病方面的原因。
Mei Fong
