NSGA Now July/August 2015

VOLUME 3 NO. 4 JULY/AUGUST 2015

Recapping the keynotes from the 2015 Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit

More about 2015 Editions of NSGA Research A look into the events and education of the Conference & Summit

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

IRON MEN OF THE 2015 MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE & TEAM DEALER SUMMIT Recaps of the 2015 keynotes by Cal Ripken Jr. and David Feherty

2

CEO CORNER

3

ASSOCIATION NEWS NOW

4

RESEARCH NOW

6

CONFERENCE NOW

20

LOCKER ROOM NOW

21

ADVOCACY NEWS NOW

Thoughts on the 2015 Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit NSGA Launches Next Generation Leadership Program; New NSGA Board Member Appointed A deeper look at the 2015 Editions of NSGA Research and newest addition to the collection Re-caps of keynote speaker presentations, general conference events and education, Team Dealer Summit, NSGA Innovations Arena, All-Star Awards, Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame and Tennis Clinic NFHS baseball standards update; Riddell football initiative; DVD of Team Dealer conference session; New Schuylkill Valley Sports program; IHSA launches safety campaign NSGA focuses on online sales tax, PHIT Act, minimum wage and data breaches/security

NSGA NOW July/August 2015

1

CEO CORNER

Management Conference Shows Change is Good Cal Ripken Jr. was not afraid to change during his illustrious baseball career. In fact, during his keynote speech at the 51st Annual Management Conference and 17th Annual Team Dealer Summit, Ripken joked about how many different batting stances he used.

NSGA OFFICERS CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD Randy Nill Nill Bros. Sports, Kansas City, KS

TREASURER/CHAIRMAN-ELECT David Labbe Kittery Trading Post, Kittery, ME

PAST CHAIRMAN Ken Meehan Dunham’s Sports, Troy, MI

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dale Donaldson Mallard’s Source for Sports, Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada

Pat Donnelley Donnelley Sports, Twin Falls, ID

Rhett Johnson Johnson-Lambe Co., Raleigh, NC

Jeff Miller Scholastic Sports Sales, Ltd, Manlius, NY

Cathy Pryor Hibbett Sports, Birmingham, AL

Pete Schneider Athletic Dealers of America, Viera, FL

Rob Summerfield MC Sports, Grand Rapids, MI

STAFF Matt Carlson President & CEO

Meghan Beach Director, Membership

Dustin Dobrin Director, Research & Information

Marty Maciaszek Director of Team Dealer Divison/HDA Director

Katie Nemec Director of Marketing & Communications

Darlene King Director, Business Development

Nick Rigitano Research and Information Analyst

Chuck Suritz Director, Education & Strategic Planning

Larry Weindruch

Did Ripken really need to tinker so often on his way to playing in a record 2,632 consecutive games for the Baltimore Orioles and making the Hall of Fame? Many others achieved their greatness by rarely deviating from a successful formula. Ripken still may have reached the pinnacle of his profession if he did the same things day after day and game after game.

But sustained success often requires a willingness to change. That philosophy has helped establish the Management Conference and Team Dealer Summit as the longestrunning and premier educational and networking event of its kind in our industry.

One of the highlights of this year’s event in May in Austin, Texas was our inaugural NSGA Innovations Arena. It gave 21 companies the opportunity to showcase new sporting goods or retail technology products to leaders of the industry. Any time you make a significant change there will be some nervousness about how it will work out and how it will be received.

We could not have been happier with how our first Innovations Arena worked out. Our “pioneer” exhibitors made some significant contacts and received valuable product exposure. Attendees got the chance to check out products they may want to put in their stores. Plus, we received some important feedback for us to improve what could be a vital part of the Management Conference for years to come.

The Management Conference was also the perfect venue to introduce our “NSGA Shopper Playbook: Insights into the Sporting Goods Shopper.” This was the first time NSGA took a comprehensive look at the behaviors of those who purchase sporting goods and we are excited with the response we received about this unique study.

Innovative programs by Olympia Sports and Bauer were recognized at the NSGA AllStar Awards Luncheon. The Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame Induction ceremony honored two innovators in David Beckerman, the founder of Starter, and the late Bill Jackson of Bill Jackson’s Shop for Adventure.

We also put a new twist on the Tennis Clinic by inviting kids from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Austin to participate. To see the joy 32 kids had from spending an hour playing on the courts, with new tennis rackets from Wilson they were able to keep, was one of the highlights of this year’s event.

Educational programs and networking events for attendees and team dealers will always be the backbone of the Management Conference. We will always look for ways to make things different and better.

Unfortunately, some things are out of our control such as the weather. Our “NSGA Steps Up to the Plate” community service project for Wednesday was canceled because of heavy rains in Austin. But we may give it a try again, along with other new things, next year from May 22-25 in Hilton Head, South Carolina. We hope to see you there.

Best regards, Matt Carlson President & CEO

Director of Public Affairs

Dan Wiersma Chief Financial Officer

Katie Nemec

Matt Carlson

Editor/Publisher

President & CEO

NSGA NOW (ISSN 1045-2087) is published bi-monthly for members of the National Sporting Goods Association, 1601 Feehanville Dr., Suite 300, Mount Prospect, IL 60056-6035; Phone: (847) 296-6742; Fax: (847) 391-9827. Subscription price of $50 per year is included in membership fee. Non-member subscription information available from publisher. Periodical postage paid at Mount Prospect, IL 60056 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NSGA NOW, 1601 Feehanville Dr., Suite 300, Mount Prospect, IL 60056-6035. © by NSGA 2013. Printed in the USA.

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July/August 2015 NSGA NOW

ASSOCIATION NEWS NOW

NSGA Launches Next Generation Sporting Goods Industry Leadership Program NSGA has launched the Next Generation Leadership Program, a web-based educational program designed to give promising employees the tools they need as they prepare to assume more responsibility within an organization. The NSGA Next Generation Leadership Program is available on-line and successful completion of each course should take no more than one hour. The program is divided into two tracks so individuals can find the ideal level to fit their needs, or better yet complete them both.

Track I (8 courses):

Track II (6 courses):

• Analyzing Financial Statements of Non-Financial Professionals • Planning and Preparing an Operating Budget

• Essentials of Interviewing and Hiring: Conducting an Effective Interview

• Evaluating Supplier Performance and Managing Supplier Relationships

• Management Essentials: Developing Your Direct Reports

• Inventory Management Part 1

• Recognizing and Diagnosing Problem Performance

• Inventory Management Part 2

• Leadership Essentials: Leading Innovation

• Competitive Marketing Strategies: Conducting an Internal Analysis

• Managing Change: Understanding Change

• Marketing Essentials: Marketing and Ethics

• Time Management: Planning and Prioritizing Your Time.

• Competitive Marketing Strategies: Analyzing Competitors

NSGA members will receive a full refund for each track when completing them with an 80% or better score. The value of the refund is $499 per track. For questions about the program please contact Chuck Suritz, Director of Education & Strategic Planning at csuritz@nsga.org or (800) 815-5422, Ext. 1300. You can also find more information at www.nsga.org/nextgen.

NSGA Appoints New Board of Directors Member, Jeff Miller of Scholastic Sports Sales, Ltd. NSGA has appointed Jeff Miller of Scholastic Sports Sales, Ltd to its Board of Directors. Miller will serve a three-year term which began June 1, 2015.

“We are pleased to add a member to the NSGA Board whose organization has such a deep history in the industry,” said Matt Carlson, NSGA President and CEO. “We are excited about Jeff’s enthusiasm to contribute to the Board and the Association.”

NSGA NOW July/August 2015

Jeff Miller is the Owner/President of Scholastic Sports Sales, Ltd., a sporting goods dealer that has been family owned since 1974, and has over 100 years of team sporting goods experience. Scholastic Sports Sales sells sporting goods and athletic uniforms to over 1,000 high schools, colleges, youth organizations and coaches predominantly in upstate New York. In addition to having a rich history, they have been a member of the Athletic Dealers of America for over 30 years.

“Now that Scholastic Sports Sales is transitioning into its’ third generation of ownership, it is humbling to have the opportunity to serve on the NSGA Board of Directors,” said Miller. “I consider this appointment to be a small way for me to give back to an industry that has allowed the Miller family to be a part of it for over 41 years.”

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RESEARCH NOW

Updated Insights into Participation/Purchase Trends, Demographics and Cross Participation Now Available

By Nick Rigitano, Research and Information Analyst

2012-2013. In terms of the number of participants, the segment that saw the highest percentage increase was Open Water (2.7%), driven largely from Boating (Motor/Power), Canoeing and Kayaking.

The Individual sports/activity segment experienced the largest decrease (-2.6%) driven from Bowling, Golf and Tennis.

NSGA recently released the 2015 editions of its Sports Participation and Sporting Goods Market reports – must-have documents for any organization looking for key insights into the Sporting Goods Industry.

For more than 30 years, NSGA has been the Industry’s leader in providing reliable research and information to sporting goods executives.

The Sports Participation in the US report provides participation trends and key demographic/geographic drivers of participation. Additional reports are also available to better understand cross participation between sports/activities and lifecycle demographics.

The Sporting Goods Market report provides sales trends, channels of purchase breakouts and product demographics for more than 130 product categories.

As part of NSGA’s research offerings, an easy-to-understand, quick-view snapshot is provided for each sport/activity.

The Sports Participation report includes snapshots that allow users to easily see a 10-year participation trend (when available) in addition to key demographic and geographic drivers of participation. Likewise, the Sporting Goods Market report includes snapshots for each product category depicting its 10-year sales history (when available) in both units and dollars, along with retail channel of purchase and average price for the largest channels.

Topline insights from the reports include the following:

Sports Participation in the US: This year, NSGA tracked 54 sports/activities. New sports added included Boxing, Ice/Figure Skating, and Martial Arts/MMA/ Tae Kwon Do. For the year 2014, 33 out of the 54 sports/activities tracked by NSGA experienced participation growth vs. 2013.

This is an increase from the one-third of activities that experienced growth from

increased in the equipment and the athletic footwear segments, both up 2%. The apparel segment remained flat. From an outlet perspective, full-line sporting goods stores was yet again the leading channel of purchase for sporting goods equipment and footwear. Within the equipment segment, specialty sport stores and discount stores had the second- and third-largest shares, respectively. As for the footwear segment, on-line sites moved into the No. 2 spot and Discount Stores fell to No. 3.

Sporting Goods Market: Consumer-reported retail sales of sporting goods apparel, equipment and athletic footwear increased 2% in 2014. Sales

For more information on each report and to purchase your copies today, please visit www.nsga.org/research.

% Change in Participants (2014 vs 2013) +0.5%

-2.6%

+0.8%

+2.7%

+0.4%

-0.4%

+1.3%

-1.2%

-2.1%

+2.5%

Fitness

Individual

Indoor Gaming

Open Water

Outdoor

Personal Contact

Shooting

Snow

Team

Wheel

% Change in Retail Dollar Sales (2014 vs 2013) 2% 1% 0 Total Sporting Goods 4

Equipment

Footwear

Apparel

July/August 2015 NSGA NOW

RESEARCH NOW

Introducing NSGA’s Newest Research Offering! The NSGA Shopper Playbook: Insights into the Sporting Goods Shopper

By Nick Rigitano, Research and Information Analyst

NSGA has recognized that its members have shown great desire in better understanding shopper attitudes and behavior specific to the sporting goods industry.

This study brings clarity to the amount and type of research being performed by sporting goods shoppers, the role of planned vs. unplanned purchases, the incidence of showrooming and more.

NSGA’s shopper insight report further explores shopper influences, behaviors and decisions along the purchase journey, leading to recommended actions intended to maximize purchase conversion and satisfaction. The study identifies four stages to the sporting goods shopper’s path to purchase and six key behaviors that occur along the path.

This extensive, multi-phased study examined the attitudes and behaviors of over 5,000 sporting goods shoppers. A variety of methodologies, involving qualitative and quantitative research, were used inside and outside of the retail store to capture the key insights.

Did you know that 9 out of every 10 sporting goods shoppers visit a physical store prior to purchasing a product, even among the technology-savvy Millennial

generation? According to NSGA’s firstever sporting goods shopper insight study, shopping physical stores is still a favorite play call among sporting goods shoppers.

For more information on each report and to purchase your copies today, please visit www.nsga.org/research.

Shopping for Sporting Goods 100%

50% 50%

38% 12%

0 Shop In-Store Only

NSGA NOW July/August 2015

Shop In-Store & Online

Shop Online Only

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CONFERENCE NOW

Ripken Shares How Perseverance Led to Streak of Success

By Marty Maciaszek

Bringing the right attitude to his job and having a strong will to succeed were key components in Ripken’s ability to maintain that edge. If his manager wanted him to play then he played. He channeled his energy and inner drive the right way.

“You have to have passion and love what you do,” Ripken said. “I loved every minute of being a baseball player. It’s a love of what you do that carries you through the bad times.”

Which he experienced not long after playing for a World Series champion in 1983.

Ripken and his brother and teammate Billy saw their father, Cal Sr., fired as Orioles manager just six games into the 1988 season.

Cal Ripken Jr. inspires Conference & Summit attendees.

There were detractors who took a negative view of baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr.’s incredible streak of games played. They believed Ripken would have been better off taking a day off instead of trying to surpass the 2,130 straight games played

by Yankees legend Lou Gehrig.

However, Ripken’s conviction was one of the characteristics for success he discussed during his Monday morning keynote speech at NSGA’s 51st Annual Management Conference and 17th Annual Team Dealer Summit in Austin, Texas.

“I was criticized for my approach a lot,” Ripken said. “People said, ‘He’s being selfish and he just wants to break this unbreakable record.

“When you stand up for what you believe in, people label you as stubborn. My mom would say that’s a good stubborn.”

As a result, Ripken never gave in and played in a Major League Baseball record 2,632 consecutive games with the Baltimore Orioles. And success has continued for Ripken after his Hall of Fame career ended with business ventures into youth and Minor League Baseball.

Ripken drew parallels with what was necessary to put together his streak to what it 6

takes to succeed in business. Ripken said there were close to a half-dozen times where another baseball legend, Orioles manager Frank Robinson, was going to put an end to the streak until he gave it more thought.

“Just to prove it wasn’t his fault we decided to lose another 15 in a row,” Cal Ripken Jr. joked about the Orioles’ 0-21 start to that season. “I learned a lot about myself that I could get through something like that.”

“It’s all of the contributions you can make on a daily basis that will make you irreplaceable,” Ripken said as he cited consistency for one of the key traits a player would need to break his record. “(Frank) realized how many things I did.”

That was evident early in Ripken’s career when legendary Orioles manager Earl Weaver moved Ripken from third base to shortstop. Ripken’s attitude toward the change turned what was initially believed to be a temporary move into a careerchanger.

“Very few people had the courage to practice things they weren’t good at, because they can look sort of foolish,” Ripken said.

“And when you compete against your teammates, you have to be really careful because if you’re competing against your teammates it can be pretty divisive. Every rep was a competition for me.

“When you have success, sometimes you get a little complacent. I always wanted to keep that edge.”

July/August 2015 NSGA NOW

CONFERENCE NOW

David Feherty on Politics, Drinking, Love and Playing Golf.

What More Do You Need?

By Christina Albert and Meghan Beach

the destructions of war introduced Feherty early on to the qualms of politics, a sentiment still demonstrated in his outspoken political beliefs today.

In a true rags to riches story, Feherty became a professional golfer at 17. Believe it or not, he originally wanted to be an opera singer. He played on the European team for the 1991 Ryder Cup and competed in the PGA Tour in both 1994 and 1995.

In 1997, Feherty retired from professional golf, but that did not stop him from influencing the game. He joined CBS Sports as an on-course reporter and golf analyst and premiered his own show, Feherty, on the Golf Channel in 2011. Feherty is also an avid writer, with a column in Golf magazine and four published books. He received a 2014 Emmy nomination for his work in the category of “Best Sports Personality.”

David Feherty brings laughter to the 2015 Conference & Summit.

Calling David Feherty an entertainer is an understatement. On Tuesday morning, May 5, Feherty awoke the crowd with gut-bursting laughter. Between eruptions of tickled merriment were furrowed brows and exclamations: “Did he just say that?”

David Feherty has the most no holds barred approach to his humor. Nothing is off the table. And yet he delivers his quickwitted jabs in the most unapologetic and disarmingly charming way, taking you on a meandering expedition through his mind and, eventually, spitting you out with your head spinning bellowing for more.

Feherty has a vast history of experiences to pull from. Born in Bangor, Northern Ireland in 1958 during the Troubles – a notable conflict between Northern Ireland and Ireland – Feherty spoke of times when bombs would go off down the street and enemies in street clothes would shoot each other with no hesitation. Witnessing NSGA NOW July/August 2015

And what a personality. Feherty opened up to the crowd about the difficulties of maintaining family-friendly reactions while providing commentary during the game.

He spoke of instances where impossible shots would be made out of sand traps and even the golfers beside him would have a hard time not swearing on live TV. Often Feherty would take his eyes off the monitor to watch a play live and burst out exclamations like “that was a real skirt raiser!” and “(bleep) that was a good shot!” even though viewers at home were only witnessing a golfer bending over to collect his ball.

Feherty took a temporary serious turn, and talked about witnessing firsthand how drastically Tiger Woods has changed the game of golf. Woods beat all traditional expectations of what golfers can accomplish as athletes and, as a result, helped to bring more public attention to the sport and doubled prize winnings for existing players. Feherty defended Woods throughout his negative PR and speculated on what would happen to the sport if and when Woods would be back on his “A game” once more.

In 2006, Feherty opened up about his long struggle with alcoholism and depression. “I was drinking vodka and Gatorade because I was still an athlete after all,” he joked with attendees. He talked about his inner demons and personal struggles with love and family, and how he uses humor as a coping mechanism. “My first wife was a very affectionate woman, but only when I was out of town,” he said with a laugh.

But Feherty was also quick to lighten the mood. “I hired caddies purely for their entertainment value,” he stated. One such caddy provided ample entertainment to an uproarious crowd as Feherty described a story of him pooping his pants and showing up to work with simply a sweatshirt used to cover himself.

Feherty also discussed many positive experiences in his life, such as his trip to Iraq to meet with US soldiers. Due to his experience there, he founded “Feherty’s Troops First Foundation.” The Foundation works with veterans who have lost limbs or are otherwise severely disfigured and helps them regain the dignity through mentoring and reintegration. Working with veterans inspired Feherty to become an American citizen, a goal that he achieved in 2010.

He ended his unconventional speech with actionable insights for the sporting goods industry. He charged the industry to help make the game of golf more accessible to everyone of different economic means. He challenged golf courses to make the game more fun for women and children and recommended that we all work together to make the game easier to learn. With changes like these, and superstar athletes like Tiger Woods, we can all take part in increasing participation in the sport.

Today, Feherty lives in Dallas with his second wife and five children. While Dallas is vastly different from the small town of his childhood, Feherty has truly found a home away from home in the United States.

Feherty has influenced his new home immensely: from the golf course to the hospital room, we all admire his commitment, tenacity and spirit.

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CONFERENCE NOW

2015 NSGA 51st Annual Management Conference & 17th Annual Team Dealer Summit A look back at the Conference & Summit held May 3-6 at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas.

2015 Conference & Summit attendees fill the general session room for education.

Attendees network at Sunday evening’s opening reception.

The 2015 Conference & Summit goes global with attendees from Italy networking at Monday night’s reception.

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NSGA, with the help of Wilson, hosted local kids from the Boys and Girls Club of Austin for a tennis clinic.

July/August 2015 NSGA NOW

Mickey Newsome leads his neighborhood walk for the third year.

New connections at the opening reception.

Armadillo races were a hit during the Monday evening, Heart of Texas reception.

The NSGA Official Golf Tournament was held Tuesday afternoon.

Attendees caught up with old friends and made new connections throughout the event.

NSGA NOW July/August 2015

Attendees got to try out products from the NSGA Innovations Arena.

Always something different, NSGA enhanced the Heart of Texas reception with local flair.

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CONFERENCE NOW

Making the Most of Social Media, Improving Your Sales Approach, Attracting Talent and Dealing with Change Highlights 2015 Team Dealer Summit

By Nick Rigitano, Marty Maciaszek and Meghan Beach

audiences including high schools, park districts, and colleges in effort to increase and retain business during the 17th Annual Team Dealer Summit in Austin, Texas. The presentation was done in an interactive and very effective question and answer format. Here is a summary of the question and answer discussion:

What’s the best way to handle negative comments?

Mayer started by saying the easiest and perhaps simplest way would be to just stay off of social media completely.

However, the problem is companies are not able to defend themselves and suitably address customers’ problems and concerns. Instead, Mayer offered 3 tips for handling negative comments: 1. Monitor negative comments on a daily basis – this will allow you to react to situations in a timely manner 2. Do NOT erase negative comments – doing so will cause you to lose credibility 3. Address negative and positive comments – thank your community for sharing your content or recommending your products/services and view negative comments as an opportunity to improve

Eve Mayer, LinkedIn Queen, addresses Team Dealer Summit attendees.

“Social Media is simply people communicating through new technologies.”

Phrased this way, social media doesn’t sound as if it should cause any fear. For a business owner who has never used social media before, however, the inexperience factor mixed with the variety of platforms 10

to choose from can be quite daunting. It can leave business owners venturing into the unknown in an attempt to figure out if he or she should be Tweeting, Facebooking, Instagram-ing, Youtube-ing, LinkedIning, Pinterest-ing or well, you get the idea.

To help navigate the unknown, Eve Mayer, founder and CEO of Social Media Delivered, offered her expertise on leveraging social media platforms to reach target

How do I go about creating content and delegating responsibilities to handle social media?

Mayer acknowledged a common misconception: the amount of time needed to handle social media accounts effectively.

A lot of businesses don’t spend enough time managing social media accounts and only make posts once or twice a week. She stated that, as a general rule of thumb, “it takes 32 hours per month to handle one social media account effectively.” Mayer followed by saying the best thing to do is to first look internally for July/August 2015 NSGA NOW

solutions, then look externally based on your business goals and objectives.

Is it OK to use the same message for multiple purposes and audiences across different channels (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)?

This tactic is referred to as cross-posting and Mayer urged everyone to avoid it. She acknowledged that companies will fall into this trap because it is seen as “easier” and “less time consuming,” but it is dangerous because the message’s effectiveness becomes diluted when posted across multiple channels. Each social media channel has a different audience and purpose, and companies need to tailor each channel’s message to the audience using that channel.

The following are additional tips offered by Mayer: 1. Start Using Video! Short videos can be an effective way to capture an audience and get your message across. Videos should be posted once or twice a week, be less than a minute in length, and should not look overly professional.

2. Pinterest, more than any other social media form, gets people back to your website and buying things. Of course, it is important for businesses to analyze their goals and business objectives to determine if Pinterest is the right platform to reach their target audience.

3. Companies that blog get 67% more sales leads than companies that do not. Blogging is another way to engage your audience and start up a conversation with your customers.

be compelling, personal and yes, even emotional. You can create a more honest immediate need that will lead to better connections with your clients.

the older, more experienced people were in charge. But the old-fashioned seniority system has been breaking down for years.”

“No is not forever,” according to Rister. No is based on the customer’s situation right now which can easily change in the future.

Understanding your clients’ decision process will help you to better close the deal now or in the future.

Tulgan said the new, younger workforce will be the most high-maintenance workforce in the world. He also said the younger people in today’s workforce “will do more and more than anyone ever thought possible if strong, engaged leaders are helping them every step of the way.”

Finally, Rister recommends to handle buyer’s remorse immediately to further ensure repeat customers. He suggests investing in strategic account management and working customers’ referrals early.

Don’t hesitate to jump in the game. Rister warns, if you wait until you are good at anything then you won’t end up doing anything. For instance, “If you wait till you are good at networking, you won’t ever network.”

“There used to be a simple way of sorting out generational differences in the workplace.”

The Tuesday session started with a familiar face for attendees as Bruce Tulgan, the Founder and Chairman of Rainmaker Thinking, Inc., discussed the hot topic “Attracting Younger Talent to the Team Business.” Tulgan discussed the “great generational shift” where less than 20 percent of the North American workforce will be Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) by the year 2020.

“There used to be a simple way of sorting out generational differences in the workplace,” Tulgan said. “It used to be

“Crisis pushes us to change and opportunity pulls us to change and sometimes it’s both.”

The final session, “Make Change Work: Staying Nimble, Relevant and Engaged in a World of Constant Change,” featured author and expert on change Randy Pennington. He cited two reasons for change to occur.

“Crisis pushes us to change and opportunity pulls us to change, and sometimes it’s both,” Pennington said. “A crisis will work but it can’t be just a crisis that leads to change. You have to use an opportunity to get people to change.

“Sometimes entire industries have to change. If we get change right, what’s the opportunity for this industry?”

Pennington said fear is one of the reasons people resist change. He believes one of the ways to lead change is for everyone to see their leaders change as well.

“The changes you are experiencing are only going to get faster,” Pennington said.

“No is not forever.”

Matt Rister, the Vice President of Sandler Training, started this year’s Team Dealer Summit with solutions dealers can utilize every day for closing sales and prospecting new clients during his session: “Generating the Most Sales from Every Contact – A Strategic Approach for Team Dealer Roadmen.”

Rister recommends to get away from the traditional and expected sales process you must take a look at your own approach. “Be disarmingly honest,” said Rister. “Don’t be afraid or too proud to come across a little vulnerable.” Try to

NSGA NOW July/August 2015

Matt Rister gives tips on closing sales and prospecting new clients during the Team Dealer Summit 11

CONFERENCE NOW

The NSGA Innovations Arena Showcased 11 New Sporting Goods Products and 10 New Retail Technology Companies Photo recap of the newest event in the NSGA Conference & Summit lineup.

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July/August 2015 NSGA NOW

ACTS OF CHARITY ON THE SIDE

By Meghan Beach During the NSGA Innovations Arena, Nomad Lacrosse donated practically everything they were exhibiting, including their patented Predator Reflex Automatic Target and lacrosse balls, to the C5 Youth Foundation of Texas. The Foundation provides intensive leadership, education and community development for middle and high school students from underresourced communities in order to help change the odds for high potential youth.

“The Foundation was so excited because a number of their kids expressed an interest in lacrosse and wanted to learn more about the sport,” said Scott Littman, Managing Partner at Nomad Lacrosse. “But most of the kids could not gain access because lacrosse equipment is usually so prohibitively expensive.”

Nomad Lacrosse’s mission is “Get back to the game.”

The company was founded on the ideal of providing fairly priced products in order to help grow the sport.

They started as a community youth group, working together to help give kids playing lacrosse an affordable alternative. From there, Nomad Lacrosse was born, producing equipment at advantageous prices with the benefits of better quality products.

When asked what advice Nomad Lacrosse can give other companies just starting out and trying to get more people engaged, Scott simply said, “Don’t be afraid to think out-of-the-box and try something new.”

He continued, “It is intimidating to present your personal idea to a large group, especially a group during a show where everyone already knows each other.

However, everyone at the NSGA Innovations Arena were very approachable and nice.”

“I would absolutely recommend if you have the opportunity to do shows like the NSGA Innovations Arena or if you are able to submit products for evaluation to do it,” said Scott. Finding new ways to spread the word about your company and to increase your ability to sell your product in more locations is essential.

Nomad Lacrosse continues to expand and enhance their product line in order to find new ways to get people involved in the sport from all learning levels.

Together, with innovative companies like Nomad Lacrosse, we can help lower barriers for more kids to participate and stay engaged in sports.

Are you doing something unique to help increase sports participation? Let us know, we would love to help spread the word if we can. Simply email knemec@nsga.org to get started.

NSGA NOW July/August 2015

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CONFERENCE NOW

Top Trends in Retail and How to Make the Most of It

By Marty Maciaszek and Meghan Beach

of American shoppers saying, ‘I am cutting back on the number of places I am going to go to.’

“The fundamental reality is an awful lot of your shoppers don’t have enough money to shop anymore. When somebody walks into some of your buildings they have enormous choice.”

The fact shoppers have many choices and fewer resources underscores the importance of making sure the proper strategies are in place. Rand said it’s far more destructive to do things wrong than it is constructive to do them right.

“If your people are properly trained and know how to interact with shoppers they will make money,” Rand said. “You will see a lot of bad retail go away but you won’t see good retail go away.

John Rand shares retail trends with attendees.

John Rand has nearly five decades of experience and insight in the retail industry.

The Senior Vice President for Kantar Retail wasted no time sharing some good news with the attendees at his session, “Top Trends in Retailing,” at the 51st Annual Management Conference in Austin, Texas.

“The sporting goods group understands both the opportunities and the threats of on-line commerce,” Rand said. “You are clearly on board with that and further along than a lot of other (retail) channels.”

“Stores are not warehouses of inventory.

Stores are experiences. You can’t stand still. You don’t want to stand still. You need to develop new technologies and capabilities.”

One of the challenges for leaders in retail is finding the time to implement new initiatives and strategies. Following Rand was Harvard Business School Executive Coach Kathryn McKinnon with her presentation, “How to Gain 40 Minutes of Productive Time Each Day Using the Best Time Management Practices of Highly Productive Executives.”

McKinnon used her own experience of surviving a devastating car accident and how that sparked a change. At the time of the accident she was working 14-hour days in a relatively new job.

“I made the commitment that day to do something productive with my time,” McKinnon said. “I love helping people in the depths of despair to get out of that hole and rise to success and triumph.”

McKinnon said the reasons we don’t have enough time include too many things to do, families, not enough resources, too many distractions and technology eating up a lot of time. She said a study showed 60 percent of time on emails is spent on projects not related to priorities. If you are interrupted once an hour that can cause a loss of up to 25 minutes of focused time.

She said making changes to add more time can be difficult but adding five minutes of productivity an hour each day will make a significant difference.

John Moore, Chief of Wahoo at Brains on Fire, helped to shift attendees’ minds on how to use small ideas to create every day innovation.

“Innovation is progress past perceived potential,” said Moore. Bringing forth change that can have an impact is not about predicting the future but about reacting to the present. Often the best ideas are simply ideas that fill an immediate void, respond to individual needs and are based

Rand examined how the retail landscape has changed since the late 1970s and early 1980s when bigger chains such as Wal-Mart and Target started to create growth opportunities and it became tougher for smaller companies to survive that phase.

Now the United States started entering the post-modern marketplace in 200708, which Rand said is not about doing the same thing for everybody, but doing something special for individual people.

“We know the world has changed,” Rand said. “We can see it from the shoppers.

Since the recession they are going to fewer stores. We are seeing a consistent pattern over the last seven or eight years

Conference attendees share thoughts and ideas in between sessions.

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on personal experience. “Your reactions cause you to create something new.”

Moore emphasized how to boil down your big ideas into actionable steps. “An idea without action is imagination. An idea with action is innovation.”

For Moore, ideas can be accomplished in five easy steps: 1) be unique 2) be obvious 3) be obsessive about customers 4) be reactionary and 5) hire great people. “A company’s everyday personality is its best form of marketing.”

“It’s not how BIG your idea is. It’s how interesting your idea is.” You just have to investigate, create, activate and evaluate.

What are you waiting for?

she showed an example used by the NBA champion Golden State Warriors to let fans know about a variety of activities going on within their arena on game day.

The final session of the Management Conference was “Instore Analytics: Tracking Today’s Consumers Through Indoor Location Analytics,” with Anne Marie Stephen, the Strategic Retail Innovation Advisor for AMS Retail Innovation Advisory. Stephen emphasized that beacons can be used to send any message to anyone once they are in your physical environment – and

“The same idea can be used within a store,” Stephen said. “It is important to understand what objectives you are trying to reach and find the technologies that meet this goal. Always keep your customer first and ask, ‘How does it benefit the customer?’”

How Retail and Shopping Will Change in the Future

By Christina Albert and Meghan Beach

take to get something in their hands. How can retailers compete with online giants like Amazon?

Mark Sullivan leads a retail panel with Mike Kercheval, Jeff Rosenthal and Ed Stevens

Mike Kercheval, President & Chief Executive Officer of International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Jeff Rosenthal, President & CEO of Hibbett Sports, and Ed Stevens, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Shopatron participated in a panel discussion on the future of retail, moderated by Mark Sullivan, Executive Editor, Formula4Media. Below please find a summarizing excerpt of their Q & A: Sullivan: What are current trends in the industry and what do you think will continue as a trend vs. become a fad?

Kercheval: In order to stay competitive, stores are now experimenting with “Guide Shopping,” where you display products for customers to interact with to help with their decision process and then offer 24-hour home delivery to complete the sale. It can benefit the store because customers still purchase their products but they don’t have to NSGA NOW July/August 2015

maintain a full inventory on site. Stores then become a guidepost for products.

Stevens: Drone Delivery is a new trend in terms of quick delivery of products.

However, it seems to have better traction for B2B delivery. I would not worry just yet about trying to incorporate this into your delivery options. The economics now are simply too expensive for day-to-day delivery. However, autonomy in delivery is right around the corner.

Rosenthal: It is all about the ease of experience for the customer and how quick they can get the product they need through a great customer service experience. Customers are more in charge than ever. Certainty of delivery is more important than speed.

Sullivan: Amazon is changing the customer perspective on how long it should

Stevens: Retailers often overlook getting associates to use mobile apps that help connect inventories from multiple store locations on one device. It is often an essential part in helping to close the sale right on the spot, especially when a customer comes into your store looking for a product they found online, only to realize that particular store does not have what they want.

You can also better compete for online shoppers by utilizing your warehouses to fulfill orders online. Create an added cost advantage for customers to pick up their orders in-store to increase your chances of repeat customers.

Kercheval: Make returns in the store the optimal choice for customers whether they bought online or not.

Bringing customers into your store even for returns helps to increase incremental sales, especially when customers are confident in your brand and in their purchase experience.

Rosenthal: Put your store where your customers already are when they have a sporting goods need. For example, put your store next to a gym so anyone with last minute workout needs can conveniently go right into your shop.

Lululemon is a great example of this because they always put their stores within close proximity to yoga studios.

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NSGA Presents Fourth Annual All-Star Awards at Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit of sporting goods clothing is brand new.

Since its inception in 2000, the Clothing Bank has helped 30,000 individuals with nearly 138,000 pieces of clothing in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic communities served by Olympia Sports stores.

Meghan Beach, NSGA Membership Director, delivers the 2015 awards.

The National Sporting Goods Association NSGA recognized two companies which made significant contributions to the community and industry during its fourth annual All-Star Awards Luncheon at NSGA’s 51sth Annual Management Conference & 17th Annual Team Dealer Summit on Monday, May 4 in Austin, Texas.

All-Star Award Winners The NSGA All-Star Awards recognize the outstanding accomplishments and contributions made within the sporting goods industry throughout the previous year. They honor companies that exhibit behaviors that should be recognized and repeated throughout the Industry. The 2015 winning companies and categories are:

Community Collaboration The Community Collaboration All-Star Award recognizes businesses that go above and beyond in their support of community activities, organizations and/or events. The winning company has a strong record of financially supporting local causes and events, and/or organizing and participating in activities meant to support a cause that builds community in their area. Their involvement has a measureable impact on the organizations and/or events they have supported.

The 2015 Community Collaboration winner is Olympia Sports for The Olympia Sports Foundation’s Clothing Bank. What makes the program unique is every donated piece 16

“The Olympia Sports Foundation is honored to receive the NSGA Community Collaboration All-Star Award. This has been an exciting and gratifying year for our foundation. We recently reached our goal to provide new footwear and clothing assistance to over 30,000 disadvantaged individuals throughout the states where Olympia Sports stores does business.

This benchmark was reached through the dedication of our employee volunteers and their families, our store managers and their staffs and also the monetary and merchandise contributions from our vendors.” Said Ed Manganello, President of Olympia Sports. “Olympia Sports sincerely thanks NSGA for this esteemed recognition of a program that is near and dear to our hearts. We are proud to be an NSGA member and we are sincerely grateful for the valuable role that the NSGA plays in setting standards of excellence throughout the sporting goods industry.”

“We’re thankful to the National Sporting Goods Association for recognizing Bauer Hockey with its All-Star Award for innovation. We take great pride in product development and driving innovation year after year that elevates protection and performance,” said Bauer Hockey Executive Vice President Rich Wuerthele. “The BAUER OD1N project takes that commitment to new heights with revolutionary advancements that deliver significant and measurable on-ice benefits with faster speeds, enhanced comfort and a 360-degree form-fit. By developing a ‘concept car’ for hockey equipment, we have developed product advancements that are already being utilized in today’s game and will continue to be incorporated into future product.”

The 2015 award winners were chosen by a committee of NSGA members based upon nominations received. To nominate a company for the 2016 All-Star Awards please visit www.nsga.org/allstarawards. Winners will be presented with their awards at next year’s NSGA Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit, May 22-25, 2016 in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Industry Catalyst The Industry Catalyst All-Star Award recognizes companies that implement measures to advance and spark innovation in the sporting goods industry. The recipient of the Industry Catalyst All-Star Award will have a dramatic impact on the industry, raising the standards of excellence through innovation.

The 2015 Industry Catalyst winner is Bauer Hockey for its OD1N program. Garnet Alexander, Bauer’s Director, Research & Development was present to accept the award. The program created revolutionary gear with materials never used before in hockey. The performance benefits of these skates, protective gear and goal pads are measured in pounds and feet instead of the traditional ounces and inches. Some of the world’s best hockey players, including Jonathan Toews and Henrik Lundqvist, provided input into the development process and raved about the benefits they feel when they use OD1N gear.

Garnet Alexander, Bauer Hockey Director, Research and Development, accepts the Industry Catalyst Award.

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CONFERENCE NOW

Two Industry Icons Added to the Iconic Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame List apparel and accessories made famous for its authentic team satin jackets. Beckerman was successful in turning his small business into one of the most successful sports and athletic apparel merchandisers in the world. The business thrived because of the work of Beckerman and his dedication to creating authentic apparel that capitalized on the emotional bond fans have to a sports team/or individual players.

David Beckerman accepts his induction plaque from Cathy Pryor and Ralph Parks.

The Jackson family accepts the late Bill Jackson’s inductee plaque from Jim Chandley.

The contributions of the two 2015 inductees into the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame were apparent during this year’s 60th induction ceremony and dinner. Videos and speeches touting their accomplishments provided more than enough proof that these two men braved new territories in the sporting goods industry and successfully built businesses that impacted the industry as a whole.

The induction took place on Tuesday, May 5 during the annual Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit in Austin, Texas. The night celebrated the accomplishments of David Beckerman, founder of Starter and the late Bill Jackson, founder of Bill Jackson’s Shop for Adventure.

Beckerman, a former basketball player for Southern Connecticut State University, founded Starter in 1971. Based in New Haven, CT, Starter is an American manufacturing company of sporting goods NSGA NOW July/August 2015

As Beckerman addressed the audience, he provided them with a glimpse into his true passion for the industry and his continued support even though his days with Starter have passed. Beckerman recognizes the importance of the sporting goods industry and had this to say in a Q & A prior to the event, “Sports cuts across the entire family and in many cases supports a needed outlet for young and old.”

Beckerman said people can continue to support the industry “by understanding its strength and weakness and looking beyond what many think is just a game and not a real business.” He adds, “The sporting goods industry is part of everyday life now and in the future.”

The late Bill Jackson, the second member of the 2015 class of the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame, started in the sporting goods industry quite accidentally.

Upon Bill Jackson’s return from World War II in 1946, he attended an army surplus auction where he bought tents, sleeping bags and other goods that he would later sell out of his garage. On December 14, 1946, Bill Jackson married the love of his life, Harriet Rogers. Together, they founded the well-known outdoors store, Bill Jackson’s Shop for Adventure in Pinellas Park, Florida.

He is considered a pioneer in Outdoor Specialty Sports, where he was one of the first to teach scuba diving in 1950, long before there were scuba certifications.

“Teaching What We Sell” in the outdoors became part of the Bill Jackson’s experience.

He was a man of great accomplishments.

Most notably, he was also a founder of

the St. Petersburg Underwater Club and was instrumental in turning the military operation of SCUBA diving into a sport.

He passed away in January 2014.

Jackson’s family shared kind words about Bill’s experience in the industry, an industry his sons Darry and Doug are still involved in today, running Bill Jackson’s Shop for Adventure. When asked what Bill’s best experiences in the industry were, his sons recalled, “Bill Jackson (Mr. J.) valued his relationships with vendors, customers and employees, and he believed in showing them his appreciation. Approximately 45 years ago, Mr. J closed the store for 2 days, chartered a DC-3 plane and flew the entire staff of 14 (now we have 52 employees) to the NSGA trade show in Chicago to meet the leading vendors of the industry.”

New this year during the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame induction and dinner was the announcement of the Bob Wood Memorial Scholarship. The 2015 recipient was David Newton of Crown Sport Sales. The scholarship is sponsored by Accusplit, Inc. Ron Sutton, President of Accusplit, was on hand to talk about this brand new memorial scholarship which honors Bob Wood who passed away on February 8, 2015 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Bob started Bob Wood and Associates in Dallas in 1985 and represented many industry brands. He also developed a loyal customer base of retailers and high school and professional teams.

Bob was involved in the industry, served on multiple committees and attended many Management Conference and Team Dealer Summits.

The induction ceremony and dinner were a true display of these individuals commitment to innovation and progress in the sporting goods industry. The inductees to the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame are selected by a diverse committee of individuals in the sporting goods industry.

To nominate someone for the 2017 class please visit www.nsga.org/halloffame.

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Tennis Clinic a Winner for Boys and Girls Clubs of Austin

By Marty Maciaszek

Kids from the Boys and Girls Club of Austin enjoy a tennis clinic at the resort.

NSGA served up a winner with its third annual Tennis Clinic at the 51st Annual Management Conference & 17th Team Dealer Summit at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas.

the efforts of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Austin Area, the tennis pros at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa and Darlene King (NSGA Director of Business Development) to put this event together.”

ment Conference attendees and then presented the donation to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Austin Area. Wilson said he has been on the board of his local Boys and Girls Club for about 15 years.

Following a clinic for conference attendees, NSGA held a separate clinic for 32 kids from the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Austin Area on Sunday, May 3. The youth participants received tennis rackets donated by Wilson, tennis balls donated by the resort and other tennis-related items.

Pro Feet made a donation of $500 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Austin Area.

The Boys and Girls Clubs participants, who were from the third through seventh grades, spent more than an hour on the courts learning more about the sport from the Omni Barton Creek’s tennis club pros.

Some of the kids had never played tennis before the clinic.

“The Boys and Girls Clubs’ mission is health and wellness education and making smart choices,” Wilson said. “This gives them an opportunity to be active and learn something new.”

“This was an excellent addition to this year’s conference and a great way to get it started,” said Matt Carlson, NSGA President & CEO. “To see how happy these kids were to have an opportunity like this was really gratifying. Hopefully it will drive them to keep playing a great sport like tennis or participate in other sports.

“It was nice to see companies such as Wilson and Pro Feet step up and support a worthwhile cause. We really appreciate 18

“You can’t beat a moment like this,” said Leo Santana, who has been a Director of Program Services for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Austin Area for 13 years.

“Not only does it teach them tennis but it exposes them to a beautiful place like this and that sparks a difference.

“They were really excited about it. Opportunities like this are amazing. They’ll remember this forever and ever.”

Taylor Wilson, the President of Pro Feet, took part in the tennis clinic for Manage-

Taylor Wilson presents a donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Austin on behalf of Pro Feet.

July/August 2015 NSGA NOW

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“Things have gone really well. It’s a great opportunity for us to be here and to meet a lot of top retailers – people we haven’t been able to speak to face to face. We’ve seen a lot of interest from people who want to know what we’re all about. It’s nice to be able to walk around and see all of the innovative products in an intimate setting.”

Josh Bonventre Co-Founder – Ramp Shot, NSGA Innovations Arena participant

“We’ve made a lot of good contacts. I’m pretty pumped and pretty stoked. It’s hard having a small company like this.

This way they come to you, you have them for a couple of minutes and they can touch and feel it and understand the concept of the product.”

James Elmore Owner and President – Cool Catcher, NSGA Innovations Arena participant

“The NSGA Management Conference is by far one of the greatest conferences you can attend. You get the opportunity to meet with fellow retailers, with the vendors, with the heads of different companies and it’s a relaxed atmosphere where you can just settle in and get to know each other personally, know their personal lives but also talk business, find out what’s working, what’s not.”

Ralph Parks President - RT Parks, Inc., Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame member, Former NSGA Chairman

“They (NSGA) bring a lot of new dealers, new customers in to this venue, and especially this year the speakers were phenomenal.”

Ginger Mueller Co-owner – Mueller Sports Medicine, Inc.

NSGA NOW July/August 2015

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LOCKER ROOM NOW

Team Rules and News Updates NFHS Baseball Standards Update The findings from testing on NFHSapproved baseballs by the University of Massachusetts-Lowell were revealed during the NFHS baseball rules committee meeting on June 8 in Indianapolis. Based on the test results, the baseballs are considered compliant and there will not be a need for baseballs to meet a new ASTM standard.

Three baseball brands (12 baseballs each) of similar construction were tested for average weight, circumference, seam height, ball compression, ball performance comparison and batted ball speed. All of the baseballs tested were within NOCSAE specifications with the exception of one baseball that was outside of the weight parameters.

There currently is no standard for seam height. ASTM is working on one to standardize seam height and there may be a standard by June, 2016.

The NFHS baseball rules committee said they were not aware of anyone using or interested in using flat-seamed baseballs. The NCAA switched this year to flat-seamed baseballs for its postseason in an effort to boost home run totals and offense.

Riddell Launches Smarter Football Initiative Riddell started the Smarter Football Commitment initiative to get members of the football community at all levels of play to create a better, safer sport by using “smarter” tactics on and off the field.

As part of the Smarter Football Commitment, several deserving football programs will receive Riddell equipment grants. A total of $100,000 in equipment will be donated to programs that best articulate how the new product will strengthen their team or organization’s commitment to smarter football.

Riddell is asking people to show their support by following the prompt at Riddell.com/SmarterFootball and making a commitment or applying for a grant. Grant entries will be accepted today through July 31. Recipients will be announced on a rolling basis after the submission period 20

closes and equipment will be delivered during the upcoming season. Riddell is also encouraging football communities to implement and share best practices that benefit the game via social media using #SmarterFootball.

“The Smarter Football Commitment is Riddell’s way to lead and unite the broader football community around a shared interest in advancing the game,” said Dan Arment, president of Riddell. “It also provides a platform for broader discussion of best practices and gives us another opportunity to contribute to the sport we love.”

Riddell’s best example of smarter football in action is its InSite Impact Response System. InSite is a helmet-based sensor technology that alerts sideline staff when an impact exceeds a certain threshold as it correlates to player position, size and level of play. Backed by years of extensive research and over 2 million on-field head impacts, InSite provides a new level of player monitoring and intelligence for those in the game and on the sidelines.

Information from Riddell’s sensor technologies also helped create its most innovative helmet to date – the SpeedFlex, which reduces impact force transfer to the athlete by incorporating flexibility into key components of the helmet. SpeedFlex was built from the ground up to incorporate InSite, and further accentuates Riddell’s approach to creating products designed for the future of the game.

DVD of Team Dealer Summit Session on Generating Sales From Every Contact Now Available A DVD copy of this year’s Team Dealer Summit presentation, “Generating the Most Sales From Every Contact - A Strategic Approach for Team Dealer Roadmen” is now available through NSGA while supplies last. Matt Rister, the Vice President of Sandler Training, has 16 years of sales and management experience and led the session.

If you could not attend this year’s Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit or Rister’s session, or if you did attend and wanted to receive a DVD to review the presentation, contact Marty Maciaszek at

(800) 815-5422, ext. 1260 or mmaciaszek@nsga.org.

Schuylkill Valley Sports Offers New NFL Jersey Insurance Program to Customers NFL player trades, such as star running back DeMarco Murray going from the Cowboys to the Eagles, cuts and roster changes because of the salary cap have happened more often in recent years.

This has made some fans hesitant when deciding what fan gear to purchase for the upcoming season.

Pennsylvania-based Schuylkill Valley Sports has developed a buyer’s insurance program to make customers feel more secure before purchasing their favorite NFL player’s jersey.

SVS customers can purchase jersey insurance for $10 when purchasing a new jersey. If the player is traded or cut from their team, the insurance will allow the customer to purchase a new jersey at 50% off. The insurance is valid for 18 months after the original purchase date and does not include retired or injured players. Customers do not need to turn in their original jersey to receive the discount.

IHSA Launches “Play Smart. Play Hard.” Safety Campaign The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) launched its “Play Smart. Play Hard.” campaign focused on furthering the IHSA’s commitment to enhancing the safety of Illinois’ student-athletes and working with others who share that mission. The campaign will focus on educating and equipping athletes, parents, coaches and schools on ways to better safeguard the health and welfare of student-athletes, including minimizing the risk of head injuries.

Bob Gardner, the Executive Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), lauded the IHSA for the steps it is taking to enhance studentathlete safety. The IHSA also announced in early June it is limiting full-contact football practices once the regular season starts to three times a week for no more than a total of 90 minutes.

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ADVOCACY NOW

Update on NSGA Advocacy

By By Larry Weindruch, NSGA Director of Public Affairs

and “pay to play” fees for interscholastic sports. Goal is to encourage Americans to be more active.

In an effort to increase Congressional support for these most important issues, NSGA scheduled meetings with members of Congress in July to urge them to vote for RTPA and PHIT. NSGA-member retailers and dealers are participating in these meetings, which include Representatives from their home districts.

“It is important that members of Congress hear from their constituents on these important issues,” NSGA President & CEO Matt Carlson said. “Meetings with NSGA members who have businesses in their district are very effective in creating support for these bills.”

At its recent meeting in Austin, Texas, the NSGA Board of Directors identified issues on which the Association will focus in the next several months.

Online sales tax issues and the PHIT Act remain at the top of the list, and minimum wage and data breaches/security have joined them in NSGA’s advocacy efforts.

The newest development with regard to the online sales tax issue was the recent introduction of H.R. 2775, The Remote Transactions Parity Act of 2015 (RTPA), in June by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) as the House’s answer to the Senate’s Marketplace Fairness Act of 2015.

The bi-partisan RTPA provides states with the authority to require out-of-state online sellers to collect and remit state sales taxes where applicable. It answers some of the objections from House members who say the MFA puts too much of a burden on smaller sellers. The bill does so by meeting the House Judiciary Committee’s Seven Principles on Internet Sales Tax Collection, which was an early requirement of Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte NSGA NOW July/August 2015

(R-VA).

It is based on destination sourcing, which means that the tax rate is based on the location of the consumer. Since the sales tax is a consumption tax and not a tax on the business, it makes sense that the tax rate should be based on the consumer’s state.

The bill drew wide support from most retail groups, including NSGA, the National Governors Association, International Council of Shopping Centers, the National League of Cities and national, state and local chambers of commerce.

The Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act has more than two dozen cosponsors in the House of Representatives, divided evenly among Republicans and Democrats. The Senate bill is expected to be introduced shortly.

The PHIT Act, H.R. 1218, would expand the allowable expenses for which pre-tax health savings account funds may be used, including health club fees, home exercise equipment, youth sports equipment,

Data breaches are rising at an alarming rate, but employing a full-time IT security team to scrutinize every possible risk is costly. In addition to monitoring legislative and regulatory activity related to this issue, NSGA is helping to mitigate the cost of managing your information security through member-only discounted rates with Sword & Shield. Details on this program are available at www.nsga.org.

In addition, NSGA is working toward identifying a solution to meet upcoming compliance deadlines for credit and debit card transactions.

The conversation about minimum wage continues to grow in volume and importance. Many members are concerned not only about a possible national phase-in of a minimum wage but also local and state legislation that would increase the minimum wage over time.

NSGA has posted state-by-state minimum wage information on its website, www. nsga.org, and you can look for the latest updates by clicking on http://www.dol. gov/whd/minwage/america.htm.

If you have any questions about NSGA advocacy, please contact NSGA Director of Public Affairs Larry Weindruch, (800) 815-5422, Ext. 1290, or email: lweindruch@nsga.org.

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