11 minute read
INSIGHTS NOW
by NSGA
Upward Trend in Baseball Participation Takes a Hit During COVID-19 Year
By Nick Rigitano
NSGA Director of Insights and Analysis
One year ago, the wonderful sounds of baseball such as the crack of the bat or the pop of a fastball into the catcher’s mitt were effectively silenced by COVID-19. Major League Baseball did not return to action until late July, youth and travel leagues had delayed starts and high school and college seasons were canceled. The COVID-19 pandemic hit as baseball participation was on the upswing, according to research conducted by the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA). Initial data to NSGA from 2020 shows overall participation at 11.7 million, which was a 4.5 percent decline from nearly 12.3 million in 2019. Overall baseball participation increased 4 percent between 2015 and 2019. During that span, the sport saw slight year-over-year increases in three of those four years. While the increases were small, they were no doubt a welcome sight for those in the sport after it experienced mostly decreases in yearly participation since 2004, which resulted in a net loss of 4.5 million participants during that stretch (2004–2015).
Participation from 2015 to 2019 in the all-important segment of youths (ages 7–17) was down 2 percent, meaning that the growth in overall participation in recent years had been driven by adult participation. While any increase in participation can be viewed as positive, finding ways to increase youth participation is of the utmost importance if the sport is to experience sustainable growth. Looking at frequency, the number of frequent participants, defined for baseball as those who participated in the sport 50 or more days during the given year, increased slightly (2%) from 2015–19. This was a positive, because those who participate more are also more likely to purchase new equipment, footwear and apparel as current products wear out or more technologically advanced ones are developed. Occasional participants, defined as those who participated in baseball between 10 to 49 days during a given year, are also important because they too generally play often enough to need their own equipment/footwear/apparel. From 2015-19, however, the number of occasional baseball participants has decreased by 8 percent. It is possible some players who fell out of the occasional participation category moved to playing infrequently or quit completely. Infrequent participants play only 2 to 9 days during a given year and that number increased by 20 percent between 2015–19. But the decrease in occasional participants suggests the newcomers to the sport and those who used to play regularly are not transitioning to more regular play. One potential hurdle to getting more people playing baseball on a regular basis could be the cost associated with participating. From 2015–19, the number of participants from households with annual incomes of more than $100,000 increased 23 percent. Additionally, these higher-level income households accounted for 39 percent of baseball participation in 2019, up from 33 percent in 2015. Sustained growth will be difficult to achieve if baseball continues to rely on higher-income households for participants. The 2020 decline is not surprising with the amount of team sport cancellations around the country last spring because of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of playing in the summer. However, it is encouraging that Major League Baseball is playing again and expecting to start its season on time and to see college, high school, travel and youth programs either back in action or getting ready to return. This should help the industry start working to bring back participants who lost opportunities to play baseball during the pandemic.
NSGA Sports Participation Study Offers Glimpse of COVID-19 Impact
Early figures from the 2021 edition of the National Sporting Goods Association’s (NSGA) Sports Participation in the U.S. report provide an indication of the impact COVID-19 had on the 10 segments tracked by NSGA in 2020. The industry’s longest-standing and most comprehensive participation study saw five segments increase in participation, three segments decrease and two segments remain relatively flat compared to 2019. Segments showing growth, according to NSGA’s Total Participation Points (TPP) measure, included Wheel Sports (+15.5%), Snow Sports (+4.3%), Shooting Sports (+3.0%), Personal Contact Sports (2.8%) and Open Water Sports (2.5%). Segments declining included Individual Sports (-9.3%), driven by steep declines in bowling, gymnastics and swimming, Team Sports (-6.4%) and Fitness Activities (-2.1%). The Outdoor Activities (+0.4%) and Indoor Games (-0.9%) segments remained relatively flat. Click here to see which sports are in which segments and click here for an explanation of the TPP calculation. “We expected to see some abnormal increases and decreases in participation in 2020 because of the impact of COVID-19,” said Nick Rigitano, NSGA Director of Insights & Analysis. “People still had the ability to take advantage of more socially distant outdoor activities such as bicycling, golf, tennis, skiing and snowboarding. But shutdowns and slowdowns by sports organizations and indoor facilities certainly had an impact on some individual sports played indoors and most team sports due to their lack of social distancing. “It will be interesting to see if some of the gains are sustained or the declines are stopped as the country emerges from the pandemic. We hope some of the lost opportunities for people to do what they enjoy leads to an increased desire to participate even more than in the past.” The 2021 Sports Participation in the U.S. report will be available soon on NSGA’s website and people can inquire at research@nsga.org if they are interested. The report tracks 64 sports and recreational activities and includes easy-to-understand, quick-view snapshots for each, allowing users to easily see a 10-year participation trend (when available), as well as demographic details regarding age, income and U.S. region. NSGA’s participation research also includes Cross Participation, Lifecycle Demographics and Single-Sport report.
The Story of 2020 Sports Participation
Which sports flourished and which ones struggled
Order the newly released NSGA Sports Participation Reports at nsga.org/research
>> The Sand Knit management team in the early 1960s of (left to right), Dick Alban, Hank Derleth, John Sand, Ted Overmyer and Don Edmonds.
A Century of Success for Sand Knit/Ripon Athletic
Two quotes nearly a century apart explain the success of Sand Knit/Ripon Athletic. In 1921, John Sand founded a company whose people would truly care about manufacturing quality products and meeting customer expectations. Seven years later, there was a quote in the Sand Knit catalog which read: “Our continued expansion has been but the positive endorsement of the soundness and merit of the principles behind this organization dedicated to the service of users of athletic knitwear.” The name Sand Knit may have changed to Ripon Athletic but the principles remain the same for the company as Hank Derleth expressed in October 2020. Derleth started with Sand Knit in the early 1960s, the family bought the company in 1993 and his son Pete is currently the CEO. “As long as we can keep making top quality products to meet customer needs and wants here in the USA and as long as we treat our employees, our Ripon family, right, I believe our company will stay relevant,” Hank Derleth said. “I have always felt that at our core we were about the relationships developed between our customers and our company.” The inductions into the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame of John Sand in 1971 and Hank Derleth in 2009 are a testament to the legacy they helped build. To commemorate the 100th anniversary, Ripon is branding and labeling all uniforms produced in 2021 with the Sand Knit name. The following timeline looks back at a century of success for Sand Knit/ Ripon Athletic.
>> John Sand >> Hank Derleth
Sand Kni�ng Mills is established in Chicago by John Sand II in 1921. Some of the first products made were award sweaters using wool yarns, co�on yarns, or combining (plai�ng) both yarns. The sweaters were knit on hand-operated flat bed kni�ng machines. Chenille le�ers were hand made and sewn on. Those wool and co�on yarns were then used to make fabric for Athle�c Uniforms for sports like football, basketball, baseball and so�ball. Le�ering and numbers were designed, cut, and placed on the garments to be sewn on. The sweaters and uniforms were sold by team spor�ng goods dealers to High Schools and Colleges in the Midwest ini�ally, but within a few years sales spread across the United States.
1958
Sand Kni�ng Mills Chicago, IL
Cutting Dept.
Sewing Dept.
Knitting Dept. In 1953, John Sand II moved the company to Berlin, Wisconsin. Its close proximity to his summer home on Green Lake was a key reason in the loca�on choice. Many operators and supervisors were paid to move to Berlin to ensure a smooth transi�on and train the new employees. The photo below is the new 40,000 sq.�. building erected for Sand Knit, later to become Ripon Athle�c, in Berlin.
Continued from Page 13
The 1960s saw numerous innovations all across the sporting goods industry, many developed by Sand Knit. It began with the first NO FLY football pant. In conjunction with DuPont, Sand Knit co-developed a new fabric they called “Ribett.” It had excellent stretch, durability and was lightweight. Due to the fabric’s stretch and recovery properties, pants no longer needed a zipper or lace up fly. 60 years later, “No Fly” football pants are the preferred choice at all levels including the pros.
1966 brought the next revolutionary football pant style. Sand Knit helped develop the first ever, double knit, stretch nylon fabric which was used in the very popular #1211F football pant. This pant was used for both game and practice. Over 130,000 pairs were sold in the first year.
Sand Imprint. In 1970 Sand Knit was among the first to utilize imprint for uniforms. Sand Imprint provided a lightweight and more cost effective for the customers.
The 1970s brought about a whole new revolution in athletic uniform customization. Sand-Knit introduced the Sandmark line of basketball uniform designs. It made the ordering process much less complicated! Early Sandmark designs were based upon Sand Knit’s unique knit striping features and eventually included braid, inserts and imprint. This made ordering easy for dealers, coaches and teams. All they had to do was pick their favorite design and customize the colors, sizes and numbers.
Cutting Dept.
In 1975 Sand Knit used its knitting prowess to significantly impact Major League Baseball’s team Houston Astros and the recreational softball market. Hank Derleth and his team were able to provide the team with the striped “Sunrise” look they had been searching for. The iconic “Astros” look was born and opened the door for Sand Knit in Major League Baseball.
Kni
Sand Knit, designers of the
Pros, presents the 1989 Ladymark Line!
1981: Marque�e University basketball team uniforms in the new Sandmark 30
August 1992 – In the midst of football deliveries Ripon Athle�c moves into original Sand Knit building at 290 Junc�on Street. Hank Derleth, with the help of local investors, acquires building and equipment out of bankruptcy court.
1960-1964 1964-1984 1984-1990
1990s – Ripon Athle�c applies the Sandmark design concept across all product lines. “Ripon Athle�c Concepts” take center stage for uniform design and ordering, such as the M15 “Wisconsin” concept on the stealth wing basketball pullover. In 2006-07 The Sand Knit Collec�on of uniform designs “Sandmark” are reintroduced into the team spor�ng goods market. Using current fabrics and produc�on methods customers could order retro or throwback looks for their teams.
2012-13 Ripon Athle�c introduces Sublimated uniforms across all product lines. Branded as “Dyfuze”, this new method carries on the tradi�on of excellence in uniform manufacturing. 2010 brought about the unveiling of a brand new football jersey called “4061 The Edge.” The edge this jersey had over other styles is its durability, compression, performance, customiza�on and breathability without the use of Lycra side inserts, by using high-performance fabric #51 Pro Stretch Mesh
Cutting Dept. 2015 “Versa” takes the stage. U�lizing Dyfuze methods, Ripon Athle�c introduces a single-ply, reversible basketball, baseball, and so�ball jersey that is sublimated on both sides of the fabric. In conjunc�on with a special fabric, the Versa jersey provides two looks in one piece without the normal “grin-through” associated with other one piece offerings.
2017 – The “4061LZ Lazer Edge” football jersey debuts. Combining the performance features of The Edge Jersey, this new jersey has holes that are lazered into the fabric body panels, with the op�on of four unique lazer pa�erns:
Knitting Dept.
