The Future Of Our Sport
Points Fighting League
- 15.50 % funded
- £ 1,240.00 pledged
- 0 Days Left
Our goal is to create a platform for Kickboxers to showcase their talents to the world on an unprecedented scale which will match other mainstream sports like football, basketball and tennis. To do that we aim to raise as much as we can of our £12,000 target through PledgeSport’s amazing funding platform, with several sponsors and supporters already lined up to help us if we fall short of target! Please pledge what you can – every £1 takes us one step closer to a brighter future!
In February 2014, two passionate individuals from the world of Kickboxing sat down for lunch to discuss the direction the sport was taking: David Jenkins – a Founding and Executive Board Member of the British Kickboxing Council (BKC), and Michael Page – arguably one of the greatest and most beloved Freestyle Kickboxers in history (you can see his most recent highlight reel below).
Their conclusion was that although the sport, in the UK at least, was clearly on the rise and was close to achieving the official Sports Council recognition it deserved through the BKC, the athletes within the sport were still not getting the recognition that they deserved. This was because there was no single event that the general public, media or even the athletes themselves could look to as the very pinnacle of Kickboxing – there was no professional circuit for them to aspire to.
From that conclusion came an idea: the Points Fighting League (PFL).
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With the PFL we aim to give our athletes the opportunity they have been crying out for by putting on a team-based professional league consisting of multiple fixtures, transfer windows, media coverage, explosive action and all of the excitement you would expect from a sporting season. We are also already working with British University and College representatives to arrange a Varsity League and hope that this can be further emulated by the thousands of clubs around the country in the form of regional and national Amateur Leagues (managed by the BKC); but all of that is in the future.
This project is all about taking the first step towards that future; running a “demonstration” event to showcase to fans, sponsors, the media and industry specialist what the PFL is all about.
“I strongly believe that Points Fighting (the most popular discipline within Freestyle Kickboxing) is one of the most exciting and dynamic sports in the world, but without a truly professional circuit to follow, very few people outside the Kickboxing industry have even heard of it.”
-PFL President, Michael Page
To do that, we need to put on a show like no other and ensure that we have everything covered:
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Four teams (two men’s and two women’s) made up of some of the country’s top Points Fighting talent. Great Britain is one of the top Kickboxing countries in the world, bringing home over 1,000 medals from various World Championship events in 2013, so we have plenty of world class athletes to choose from!
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If these athletes are going to be putting in the performance of their lives, they deserve something to say thank you, so we’re looking to pay each and every fighter, as well as give out Fight of the Night bonuses, a Move of the Night bonus and win bonuses.
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To create quality footage worthy of television and web-based broadcasting, we will also need a complete media team, with specialist pundits, commentators, journalists, interviewers, camera crew, sound engineers and a project manager
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Every sporting event relies on top quality referees, so we will need five professional officials (to be provided by the British Kickboxing Council’s Professional Referees Association), including for the first time in our sport’s history, a video referee.
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A great venue with VIP boxes and enough seating for several hundred fans, who will also be providing us with extra media exposure, banners outside the venue, posters, fliers and social media promotions.
The event will take place on a single afternoon of jam-packed action pitting two men’s teams consisting of eight fighters (a five man “match-day team” plus three reserves) and two women’s teams, consisting of five fighters (a three woman “match-day team” plus two reserves) against each other in an exciting double-header!
In addition to all of the above being required for our first event, we have some great plans for how to use the footage:
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For fans around the world who are unable to attend this first event (or indeed any of the match-days in coming seasons), we also want to put together a website that will allow you to watch the whole thing, from start to finish, including extra features, interviews and commentary!
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We also want to use the site (and a partner app) to allow people stay up-to-date on all the latest news, statistics, footage, interviews, transfer gossip and results, as well as purchase tickets for future match-days.
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Finally, some of the footage will be edited together as part of a media pack for potential sponsors, while the rest will be used to create a pilot episode for a highlights and analysis show featuring expert pundits and special guests.
+Thank Yous and Updates
Teaser Trailer Coming Shortly!
We are filming tonight for our first teaser trailer, which will explain a little bit more about what the PFL is, how it works and what we're hoping to achieve, as well as showing of some awesome Points Fighting action! Watch this space people - ARE YOU READY??
HandsDown
New sporting athlete's management agency, HandsDown has become our first official sponsor, along with FightTime becoming our official ticket seller. We've also had some interest from several equipment brands and kit providers looking to sponsor our teams. Exciting stuff!
+The Project FAQ's
What difference will my pledge make to the PFL?
It could make all the difference in the world! Our sport is currently completely unfunded, but no less deserving of your support. Everyone involved in the PFL is putting in their own time and money, but the more we can raise through projects like this, the closer we will be to not only achieving our goal, but to making our athletes' dreams come true! All profits from this demonstration event will go into funding the set-up of the League itself, so anything we make over our target will still go a long way towards making the PFL a reality.
You've spoken a lot about the benefits for the athletes. What about the fans?
We are very passionate about making the sport more spectator friendly and producing media that will help inform the general public about our sport, the athletes and their coaches. Points fighting is already a great spectacle, with fast paced action between athletes who are free to add their own flair to each bout, but we hope that the inclusion of special features like interviews, expert analysis, detailed statistics and instant replays will allow more people to better appreciate and understand what's happening both on and off the mats.
Will this be a family friendly event?
We are very keen to keep matches "family friendly", avoiding bolt-ons that are usually associated with high-profile Combat Sports such as ring girls, aggressive music and abusive language. Again, due to the nature of Points and its massive popularity among children in the UK (with well over 10,000 junior competitors as young as six years old taking part in tournaments around the country each year), we believe that we can produce not only a world class sporting event, but also world class role models for young generations of Kickboxers. The focus of the sport is on tactical use of distancing, timing, movement and a variety of correctly applied techniques; although there are no limitations on power, "swinging" will incur warnings and knock-outs caused by wild techniques will result in a disqualification rather than a win. In addition, fighters are required to show respect to one another, each team's coaches and to all officials at all times.
What will my pledge be paying for?
Running such a high-profile event, even as just a demonstration, is expensive! Here is an idea of the rough costs we need to cover Venue (inc. technical/equipment expenses, tickets and promotional media) = ￡1,000 Officials and Medical staff = ￡850 Media team (inc. equipment, crew, commentators, MC etc.) = ￡3,000 Team wages (inc. coaches, managers) = ￡3,000 Prize money (inc. bonuses) = ￡2.000 Website & PR (inc. statistics system, app, advertising) = ￡1,200
What difference will PFL make to the sport of Kickboxing in the UK?
For years we have watched thousands of competitors travel hundreds of miles every weekend throughout the year, attending tournaments and paying for the privilege. While our chests swell with pride at the dedication these men, women and children show to our beloved sport, it saddens us to think that their efforts may never be truly rewarded. Although this does not stop them from working hard every day, and pouring their hearts and souls into training, we do not think that this is fair. With the PFL, we aim to give aspiring young athletes not just a goal to work towards, but the potential for a greater quality of life. As a top quality, professional sportsman or sportswoman from any other mainstream sport, you would expect to at least live comfortably, perusing your dreams. That's what we want for our athletes.