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GAMMA (Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts) is the global governing body for mixed martial arts (MMA), encompassing men, women, and youth participation and competition. Its mission is to develop, promote, and lead MMA to global recognition as the pinnacle of combat sports.
Chairman of the Mixed Martial Arts Association Netherlands Micha van der Meer is determined to develop an esports version of MMA in an attempt to bring young people back to sport.
Van der Meer, who used to be a video game programmer in the 1980s, is working closely with the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA) here in Amsterdam to deliver the organisation’s second world championships and further his project.
«GAMMA and the Governments are worried about the current health situation among older and younger people,» Van der Meer told insidethegames.
«Even before COVID-19 it was hard to get younger people to play sport and after the pandemic we are seeing that, in some countries, around 50 per cent of sports players have stopped participating.
«How can we lower the hurdle and convince people to come back to sport?
«Many parents are complaining that their kids only play computer games.
«What if we get sport exercises like a kick, punch, takedown or submission technique and add a gamification layer onto it?»
Van der Meer is in talks with the Israeli company Ludus which claims to already have the technology to do that and he says the next step is to roll it out to every national member federation of GAMMA.
The premise is that there is sparring pad with electronic sensors that can register a score for the four moves mentioned and create a total score.
This then allows people to challenge others and keep setting high scores.
«The aim is to connect people who would never imagine that they would do sport in the first place,» he continued.
«Our ultimate dream is that people from all sports backgrounds are connected and that we can definably find out if a football or taekwondo player kicks faster, harder, with more precision, or can follow instructions from their coach.»
With esports being aimed at young people, often children, some have expressed concerns that introducing them to a combat sport like MMA could be dangerous.
«GAMMA is the biggest MMA family and everybody respects the other countries and athletes,» said Van der Meer.
«When I say family, I mean real family.
«MMA is about fighting with your head and making risk assessments.
«If you want to stop for whatever reason, you can ‘tap out’ and everybody will resect that.
«What sport can say that the athlete can decide their own limits?»
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Owen Lloyd is a junior reporter at insidethegames.biz, having joined the team in 2021. Lloyd has previously worked with Badminton England at the All England Open Badminton Championships, covered the 2019 General Election and hosted a radio show on local station Voice FM. He graduated from Solent University in 2021 with a 2:1 in sports journalism, where his final project examined diversity in rowing.
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For nearly 15 years now, insidethegames.biz has been at the forefront of reporting fearlessly on what happens in the Olympic Movement. As the first website not to be placed behind a paywall, we have made news about the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and other major events more accessible than ever to everybody.
insidethegames.biz has established a global reputation for the excellence of its reporting and breadth of its coverage. For many of our readers from more than 200 countries and territories around the world the website is a vital part of their daily lives. The ping of our free daily email alert, sent every morning at 6.30am UK time 365 days a year, landing in their inbox, is as a familiar part of their day as their first cup of coffee.
Even during the worst times of the COVID-19 pandemic, insidethegames.biz maintained its high standard of reporting on all the news from around the globe on a daily basis. We were the first publication in the world to signal the threat that the Olympic Movement faced from the coronavirus and have provided unparalleled coverage of the pandemic since.
As the world begins to emerge from the COVID crisis, insidethegames.biz would like to invite you to help us on our journey by funding our independent journalism. Your vital support would mean we can continue to report so comprehensively on the Olympic Movement and the events that shape it. It would mean we can keep our website open for everyone. Last year, nearly 25 million people read insidethegames.biz, making us by far the biggest source of independent news on what is happening in world sport.
Every contribution, however big or small, will help maintain and improve our worldwide coverage in the year ahead. Our small and dedicated team were extremely busy last year covering the re-arranged Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, an unprecedented logistical challenge that stretched our tight resources to the limit.
2022 is not going to be any less busy, or less challenging. We have the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, where we are sending a team of four reporters, the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Summer World University and Asian Games in China, the World Games in Alabama and multiple World Championships. Plus, of course, there is the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Unlike many others, insidethegames.biz is available for everyone to read, regardless of what they can afford to pay. We do this because we believe that sport belongs to everybody, and everybody should be able to read information regardless of their financial situation. While others try to benefit financially from information, we are committed to sharing it with as many people as possible. The greater the number of people that can keep up to date with global events, and understand their impact, the more sport will be forced to be transparent.
Support insidethegames.biz for as little as £10 – it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you.
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