Apologies in advance for the length. To summarise if you can't be @rsed, I'm moaning about a national sporting body invoking child protection to protect a revenue stream.
Here's the long player....
Young bolletta takes part in something called synchronised skating - think team figure skating. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a healthy, fun and largely good-natured sport (unlike individual figure skating, which is brutal and lonely).
This weekend is the National Synchro Championships, being held at Nottingham, where bolletta is on for two of the Basingstoke teams. I enjoy a bit of photography, so over the years I've become the team photographer. It's quite rewarding, especially when parents and grandparents of the kids send me thank you emails - I've even had the odd offer (always refused) of payment.
Most competitions have a photography policy. I always make sure I know what the policy is and respect it. With the advent of camera phones and tablets, many competitions have just given up trying to control it and just allow free photography and filming. Even then, I only ever take pictures of the Basingstoke kids, not kids on other teams, just to avoid any controversy.
The National competition has always been a bit awkward. Last year I was asked by a steward not to take photos - I usually use a DSLR with a largish fast zoom lens (70-200mm f2.8 Nikon) for the routines so it's quite conspicuous. I then sat there while everyone around either used their phones for pictures or filmed routines on their iPads. Grumble!
Roll on this year. The website for the competition has a photography policy. Great says I - they've got their act together. I'll have to register, but after that will be able to take photos in any public access location within the rink.
I arrive yesterday lugging two cameras and a couple of lenses and ask reception for a photo form. The receptionist apologises and tells me that the policy was changed that morning and no photography is allowed. WTF! The reason is given in the back of the programme - 'child protection'. And boy did they crack down! Several audience members were given a hard time for taking selfies.
Wait a minute, the entry forms required competitors or their guardians allow photography and filming? This was not caveated. The event was being streamed live on the internet if you can be bothered to find it, so anyone in the world could watch and record it. The event is also being filmed for a documentary. The Nottingham team even had their own programme on CBeebies FFS!
There are photographs available from the official photographer to anyone who wants to buy them. And here we have it. The National Ice Skating Association aka NISA, as money-grubbing and incompetent a governing body as you'll come across, has decided that parents need to be gulled out of another couple of quid on top of entry fees, membership fees, insurance fees and the associated (substantial) coaching and ice time costs. It's not a sport that's going to make anyone rich or famous, but the memories are important to the competitors and this families. It appears that NISA feel that desire should be monetised as much as possible.
Ironically, it's my photos of the 'mazingstoke teams that NISA have used in the competition programme and I'm told on their website.
If you've got this far, well done and thanks for reading. Here's a picture of Team Sensation from a competition last year. Bolletta is 5th from the right. (c) Bollo 2015, all rights reserved. Go 'mazingstoke!
Here's the long player....
Young bolletta takes part in something called synchronised skating - think team figure skating. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a healthy, fun and largely good-natured sport (unlike individual figure skating, which is brutal and lonely).
This weekend is the National Synchro Championships, being held at Nottingham, where bolletta is on for two of the Basingstoke teams. I enjoy a bit of photography, so over the years I've become the team photographer. It's quite rewarding, especially when parents and grandparents of the kids send me thank you emails - I've even had the odd offer (always refused) of payment.
Most competitions have a photography policy. I always make sure I know what the policy is and respect it. With the advent of camera phones and tablets, many competitions have just given up trying to control it and just allow free photography and filming. Even then, I only ever take pictures of the Basingstoke kids, not kids on other teams, just to avoid any controversy.
The National competition has always been a bit awkward. Last year I was asked by a steward not to take photos - I usually use a DSLR with a largish fast zoom lens (70-200mm f2.8 Nikon) for the routines so it's quite conspicuous. I then sat there while everyone around either used their phones for pictures or filmed routines on their iPads. Grumble!
Roll on this year. The website for the competition has a photography policy. Great says I - they've got their act together. I'll have to register, but after that will be able to take photos in any public access location within the rink.
I arrive yesterday lugging two cameras and a couple of lenses and ask reception for a photo form. The receptionist apologises and tells me that the policy was changed that morning and no photography is allowed. WTF! The reason is given in the back of the programme - 'child protection'. And boy did they crack down! Several audience members were given a hard time for taking selfies.
Wait a minute, the entry forms required competitors or their guardians allow photography and filming? This was not caveated. The event was being streamed live on the internet if you can be bothered to find it, so anyone in the world could watch and record it. The event is also being filmed for a documentary. The Nottingham team even had their own programme on CBeebies FFS!
There are photographs available from the official photographer to anyone who wants to buy them. And here we have it. The National Ice Skating Association aka NISA, as money-grubbing and incompetent a governing body as you'll come across, has decided that parents need to be gulled out of another couple of quid on top of entry fees, membership fees, insurance fees and the associated (substantial) coaching and ice time costs. It's not a sport that's going to make anyone rich or famous, but the memories are important to the competitors and this families. It appears that NISA feel that desire should be monetised as much as possible.
Ironically, it's my photos of the 'mazingstoke teams that NISA have used in the competition programme and I'm told on their website.
If you've got this far, well done and thanks for reading. Here's a picture of Team Sensation from a competition last year. Bolletta is 5th from the right. (c) Bollo 2015, all rights reserved. Go 'mazingstoke!
