NSGA Now May/June 2017

Volume 5 | No. 3 | May/June 2017

A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL SPORTING GOODS ASSOCIATION

NSGA and PCA Collaborate To Increase Sports Participation More Interactive Activities at Conference & Summit

Make Data Driven Decisions with NSGA Research

TABLE OF CONTENTS

4 5 6

8 10 14 16 18

CEO NOW

Relationships in the Industry

Association Now

NFHS/NIAAA Meetings Recap

Technology Now

Introducing NSGA’s Technology Education Initiative

Participation Now

NSGA and PCA Collaborate To Increase Sports Participation

Conference Now

More Interactive Opportunities at the 2017 Conference & Summit

Operations Now

Top Five Myths About PCI Compliance

Industry Now

Voit is Back in the Game

Issues Now

Official Business Becoming a Concern for High Schools

20

Insights Now

22

Locker Room Now

Make Data Driven Decisions with NSGA Research

USSSA Baseball, NCAA Football and More

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CEO NOW

NSGA OFFICERS

Relationships are not easy to build. In today’s world, with our faces often hidden behind computer screens and cell phones, it is hard to know if we are making the right business connections, or connecting at all. It is important to develop and strengthen relationships, to be the option consumers and business partners choose.

Chairman of the Board David Labbe

Kittery Trading Post, Kittery, ME

Treasurer/Chairman-Elect Cathy Pryor

Hibbett Sports, Birmingham, AL

Past Chairman Randy Nill

Nill Bros. Sporting Goods, Kansas City, KS

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

John Oehler

Dunham’s Sports, Troy, MI

Rob Summerfield

MC Sports, Grand Rapids, MI

Jerry Williams Schuylkill Valley Sports, Pottstown, PA

NSGA TEAM Matt Carlson

President & CEO

Meghan Beach

Director, Membership & Education

Katie Bruce

Director, Marketing & Communications

Dustin Dobrin

Director, Research & Information

Marty Maciaszek

Director, Team Dealer Division and HDA

Julie Pitts

Director, Business Development

Larry Weindruch

NSGA realizes that a critical business component is the connection retailers and dealers build with manufacturers/suppliers.

In an effort to better understand the current state of these relationships, to maintain a current pulse on industry issues, and to create the environment for advancing these mutual interests, NSGA conducted a brief survey among industry retailers and team dealers. Less than 1 in 5 respondents (17%) agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I think the industry’s manufacturers are concerned about my business and my success.” Ninety-five percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I am concerned with manufacturers selling direct to consumers.”

We seek to bridge the gap between today’s commerce realities and relationships necessary for improved business. More survey results will be presented during the NSGA Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit May 21–24.

Collaborations are important for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they help us succeed with a business goal. Other times they help us achieve in some less tangible way. In this issue, we talk about new relationships that can help not only your business but the industry. Our research shows negative parent involvement creates a hurdle for long-term youth sports participation. NSGA has teamed with the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) to increase youth team sports participation.

PCA provides resources to coaches, parents and administrators focused on a better, more positive athlete. In addition to resources for NSGA members, PCA National Director of Business Development Jason Sacks, will be participating in a conversation at the NSGA Conference & Summit.

Another feature in this issue, Technology Now, introduces a benefit which we believe will be valuable to our members. Specifically, the content will focus on Microsoft tools commonly used in business. This section provides direction and education for members to improve their business.

Over the years, NSGA has worked to protect the interest of retailers and dealers in the sporting goods industry. This continues to be our focus as we build relationships and develop programs and services to benefit our members.

Best regards, Matt Carlson President & CEO

Director, Public Affairs

Dan Wiersma

Chief Financial Officer

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Katie Bruce | Editor/Publisher 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-NSGA (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 2017. Printed in the USA.

ASSOCIATION NOW

NFHS/ NIAAA Meetings

By Marty Maciaszek, NSGA Director, Team Dealer Division

Some of the issues facing team dealers and retailers related to high school sports led to discussions between NSGA representatives, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) in late February in Indianapolis.

NSGA President and CEO Matt Carlson and Team Dealer Director Marty Maciaszek were joined by NSGA Team Dealer Advisory Committee Members Bob Fawley (Capitol Varsity Sports of Oxford, Ohio) and Douglas Martin (Martin Sales, Inc., of Goffstown, New Hampshire). They shared some perspective on issues that affect NSGA members in a meeting with NFHS Executive Director Bob Gardner and NFHS Chief Operating Officer Davis Whitfield.

One of the primary topics of discussion was the NFHS decision to increase the fees in its Authenticating Mark Program from 35 cents to 50 cents on balls and hockey pucks requiring the NFHS stamp. NSGA wanted to clarify how the additional revenue would be used and how the increase would benefit high

school programs and their participants.

Ensuring it is clear to the public that the sporting goods industry did not drive this increase was also emphasized.

The NSGA contingent also discussed other concerns with state ball adoptions and all-school deals. Additionally, they spoke about the impact on the industry and our members. Gardner and Whitfield were interested in learning more about these issues and suggested that NSGA could address them with the leaders of state associations at an NFHS meeting.

Carlson, Maciaszek and Martin had the opportunity to share these issues with NIAAA Executive Director Dr. Mike Blackburn. The NIAAA has more than 10,000 high school and middle school athletic administrator members. Dr. Blackburn’s ideas on how NSGA could inform them about these issues included articles for the NIAAA newsletter and quarterly magazine, a survey to determine the awareness level of athletic administrators and the possibility of making a presentation at one of its conferences.

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TECHNOLOGY NOW

Introducing NSGA’s Technology Education Initiative

By Meghan Beach, NSGA Director, Membership & Education | Adam Gassensmith, Account Manager, Peters & Associates

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This month, NSGA is launching a new educational initiative focused on how our members can take advantage of technology to improve their business. Since most NSGA members use or are familiar with Microsoft technology, the content will have an emphasis on their tools.

What can you expect out of this new program? Content will include sharing educational information through regular articles in NSGA NOW ®, the NSGA Scoreboard electronic newsletter, a digital member-only resource center on the NSGA website and Q & A at the upcoming NSGA Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit in May. To help provide content for this initiative, the NSGA membership and education team has enlisted the help of a technology professional. Adam Gassensmith, account manager at Peters & Associates, will provide content for the articles, presentations and other resources. In this issue, we would like to introduce Peters & Associates, and this new resource.

Who am I?

My name is Adam Gassensmith. I am a Strategy Advisor and Account Manager with Peters & Associates, a consulting firm based in the Chicago suburbs. We are a Microsoft partner focused on helping small- and medium-sized organizations solve business problems with technology.

In addition to my formal role with Peters & Associates, I am also a Partner Seller with Microsoft. This is a special designation that allows me to access information directly from Microsoft’s product teams and allows Microsoft to bring me in as an extension of their team.

It is my job to draw lines between everything that a technology solution can do and what I see in the real world. Due to the diversity of NSGA’s membership, some of the material that I provide could be too simple for some organizations and too advanced for others. It is my responsibility to make distinctions as we go and make sure that I am speaking to the broadest possible group. If there is any point where you are scratching your head and wondering if something applies to your organization, do not hesitate to email me. My contact information is below. I encourage anyone to reach out to me with any questions that you have.

How many hats do you wear?

Anyone who has owned or worked for a small business is probably familiar with the experience of filling multiple roles at once — wearing multiple hats. It is something that I do on a daily basis — account manager, social media manager, webinar presenter, blogger, editor, pre-sales solution specialist and more. This is a shared experience with many of my customers, juggling responsibilities for technology decisions with office management or accounting or marketing. It can be hectic, even stressful, but in many ways there’s never been a better time to have the weight of the “technology hat” on your head.

Over the past five years, “cloud” technology has lowered the barrier of entry for small businesses to take advantage of powerful technology platforms. I want to avoid being too technical in this article, so I will explain cloud technology simply and move on. Let’s say you wanted a new car — I could offer to sell you all the parts and the instructions for building a car (the old model); or I could sell you a finished car (the cloud). The results are the same, a drivable car (if your mechanical skills are like mine, this statement might assume too much), but the time, resources and knowledge required are greatly reduced in the cloud model.

Solutions that used to be cost prohibitive to all but the largest organizations, are now available to everyone.

In addition to cost savings, you do not have to worry about acquiring the expertise to support these systems.

Increasingly, wearing the “technology hat” does not require that you know the deep, technical aspects of a solution.

You are, however, still responsible for understanding and selecting the best solution. That’s where I can help.

Cloud technology will be a major focus of the content that I provide. It is relevant to businesses of all sizes and all industries. There will be differences in what an individual company finds attractive about the cloud, but it is something that all businesses should be exploring.

For some organizations, like those primarily working with paper, this might sound futuristic but as we explore ways that technology can help your business, the cloud will be a common vehicle.

We will cover more specific topics as this series evolves.

If you have questions, comments or topic suggestions please contact adam.gassensmith@peters.com or call (630) 592-6252 to reach Adam directly.

Connect with Peters & Associates in person at the 2017 NSGA Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit!

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PARTICIPATION NOW

NSGA and Positive Coaching Alliance Align Goals and Seek to Increase Team Sports Participation

By Katie Bruce, NSGA Director, Marketing & Communications

NSGA research uncovered a handful of reasons why kids are participating in fewer team sports. The number one was that kids “no longer like the sport(s).” There are underlying drivers to this response, with likely reasons including burnout, potential issues with coaches and parents, and lack of success.

NSGA and Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) — a national non-profit developing “Better Athletes, Better People” through youth and high school sports — are working together to expand their reach in the hopes of increasing and sustaining team sports participation. NSGA and PCA share the common goal of keeping youth active and involved. The organizations plan to share knowledge to further develop tools to generate a larger reach and amplify this mission. As readers, you will find PCA resources in NSGA print and electronic publications.

In addition to nearly 1,500 free multimedia tips and tools at PCADevZone.org for youth and high school sports coaches, parents, student-athletes, administrators, and officials, PCA has partnered with roughly 3,500 schools and youth sports organizations nationwide to deliver more than 20,000-live-group workshops, along with online courses and books by PCA Founder Jim Thompson that help those involved in youth and high school sports create a positive, character-building youth sports culture.

PCA’s partnership program extends throughout the U.S. and beyond, with activity heaviest in the 17 major U.S. metro areas, where PCA has established local chapters headed by an executive director and chapter board. PCA’s expansion plans call for PCA Chapters in 26 cities by 2020. Some of the prospect cities include Atlanta, Kansas City, Washington, D.C. and Detroit. PCA hopes it extends its reach and programming to even more communities.

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As an NSGA member, there are many ways you can support PCA’s launch of a new chapter, ranging from providing seed funding for start up capital in a new city to serving as a local chapter board member. Introductions to other individuals and corporations that have a passion for a positive youth and high school sports experience is another opportunity to get involved with the PCA movement. To learn more about PCA’s existing chapters, as well as new city expansion, you can visit positivecoach.org/pca-locations/ or contact PCA’s National Director of Business Development Jason Sacks, at jason_sacks@positivecoach.org. Jason will also be at the NSGA Management Conference & Team Dealer Summit in May. NSGA members also can distribute PCA’s free multi-media tips and tools within PCA’s Development ZoneTM Resource Center (PCADevZone.org), a free, easily searchable database with 1,500+ shareable resources for everyone involved in youth and high school sports. The site includes resources for all roles: coaches, parents, administrators/leaders, student-athletes and officials/referees. Videos, podcasts, printable resources and more are filled with research-based tips and tools to improve athletic performance while creating an environment in which youth learn life lessons that have great value beyond sports.

Another way that NSGA members can help provide a positive, character building experience for all kids involved in youth sports, is by supporting PCA partnerships in underserved communities. As part of the #PCA4ALL initiative, foundations, professional sports teams, corporations and individuals are providing funding to bring PCA partnerships for schools and youth sports organizations in underserved communities.

NSGA and PCA believe their collaboration can benefit the industry by not only helping drive consumers to the sporting goods business but creating healthier, happier future leaders. It is important that the effects on youth participating in sports are positive.

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CONFERENCE NOW

Structured Product Networking

Instead of traveling across the continent setting up meetings and shaking hands one by one, NSGA has created the platform for you to have all your meetings in one place. Save time, effort and costs by participating in the NSGA Structured Product Networking session on Monday, May 22.

More Interactive Opportunities at the 2017 Conference & Summit

By Meghan Beach, NSGA Director, Membership & Education

NSGA members and conference attendees have requested more opportunities for face-to-face conversations with product suppliers. As a result, NSGA has designed this forum for anyone interested at the 53rd Annual NSGA Management Conference & 19th Annual Team Dealer Summit.

NSGA aims to facilitate business opportunities in one convenient place to help grow business.

Participants both large and small will rotate through the room with non-competing companies — in groups pre-determined by the session RSVPs — scheduled to move from table to table to conduct their discussions. Due to time constraints, each pre-arranged group will have the opportunity to meet with up to ten manufacturers. Each meeting will be about 10 minutes long.

NSGA will provide conversation starters as a helpful tool at each table. The goal of the session is to have every participant walk away feeling they accomplished something positive to help their business.

Please note, given the limited time frame, retailer and dealers may not be able to meet with all manufacturers present.

However, NSGA encourages you to use the attendee contact list given pre-conference to all registrants to set up your own meetings before or after sessions. Take advantage of one of the many Conference & Summit networking breaks or receptions where you can continue your conversations.

Information is an extremely valuable tool. Don’t miss the chance to hear what the industry is saying during Structured Product Networking. All retailers, dealers and manufacturers that register for the Conference & Summit are eligible. Due to interest level, however, participants must RSVP to guarantee a seat at the table.

More information about the Structured Product Networking session and the RSVP process can be found at nsga.org/spn. You can also contact Meghan Beach, Director of Membership & Education, at mbeach@nsga.org or (847) 296-NSGA (6742), ext. 1280. Space and time are limited; however, NSGA will try to accommodate all requests.

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CONFERENCE NOW

The Combine

Do you have questions? NSGA wants you to have the answers.

NSGA has created the opportunity for you to ask the real questions — relevant to your individual business — to the experts themselves. At the Conference & Summit, NSGA presents The Combine: a variety of subject matter experts who will spend one-on-one time with you discussing your business needs.

During The Combine, you will have the chance to speak directly about: The Latest Technology Interact with Adam Gassensmith, Account Manager and Strategy Advisor at Peters & Associates (an approved Microsoft vendor Managed Partner), to ask all your Office 360 questions and more to keep you and your staff running as efficiently as possible.

The Growing Digital Workplace Pick the brain of Steven Kramer, CEO of WorkJam, to explore the future of employee digital management and ways of making your road salesmen and all non-desk workers more efficient through a digital workplace.

Emerging Customer Expectations Discuss new technology your customers are expecting next in the in-store experience with Jeff Zimmerman, Senior Vice President, Product Management and Marketing at Clearent.

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Online Reviews Speak with John Carroll, Manager of Local Business Outreach at Yelp, about the best opportunities to navigate the world of online reviews both good and bad. Visit the Yelp Help Desk: bring your mobile device and work one-on-one to build or improve upon your Yelp business account to ensure you are where customers search.

Omni-Channel Strategies Work toward tangible commerce solutions with Jeff Michaels, Senior Account Executive at KIBO and discuss what’s next with omni-channel marketing possibilities.

Building Your Online Presence Talk to Mark Strella, Director of Business Development at Locally, to explore new ways to build or enhance your online presence, particularly to local shoppers.

And more!

The Combine will be a mixture of presentations, panels, Q & As and individual interactive time Tuesday morning, May 23, at the Conference & Summit. Don’t miss out!

Disclaimer: Participation as a speaker in The Combine does not indicate endorsement or a recommendation from NSGA for any company. Each speaker is represented as one opinion or one possible avenue for attendees among many in the industry. The Combine is intended to serve as a platform for attendees to discuss their needs and concerns directly with the presenters as a learning opportunity.

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OPERATIONS NOW

Top Five Myths about PCI Compliance

By Jeff Zimmerman, Chief Operations Officer at Clearent

NSGA works with service providers to offer the best possible deals to our members. NSGA’s collaborator for credit card processing recently changed ownership, and the result is even more value for you. Payment Alliance International (PAI) is now Clearent — a complete payment processor that helps business owners accept payments just about anywhere.

Clearent will continue to offer the same capped processing rate and free EMV (chip card) terminal for qualifying processing volumes ($1,000 per month minimum).

Your service will also remain the same as most of Payment Alliance’s merchant services employees are now with Clearent.

Clearent’s proprietary processing system gives it more flexibility to deliver products that truly help business owners.

In the coming months, Clearent will offer NSGA members the following additional products and services:

• Quick Chip for EMV — accept chip card transactions • •

in 2 seconds compared to the standard 15 second transaction times.

Next Day Funding with an 11:00 p.m. Eastern cut-off time, which is one of the latest in the industry.

Online reporting with easy to read graphs and charts to help you understand every fee and quickly handle payment-related questions from your customers.

As the payment processor for more than 45,000 businesses, Clearent has heard an earful of misconceptions about PCI compliance. Clearent has provided the five most common myths about PCI exclusively for NSGA members.

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1

MYTH

We only take a small number of credit cards so we don’t need to be PCI compliant.

2

MYTH

I can just answer ‘yes’ to all the criteria on the Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ).

3

MYTH

You can never store cardholder data.

4

MYTH

I use a PCI compliant point-of-sale system, so therefore I am PCI Compliant.

5

MYTH

PCI is the law.

FACT Wouldn’t this be nice? While it doesn’t seem fair on the surface that a business would have to undertake PCI compliance for a relatively small number of transactions, it is required by the major card brands. The good news is that there are fewer PCI requirements for smaller businesses compared to larger ones.

FACT Just like choosing “C” as the answer to every question on a multiple-choice exam won’t get you a good grade, blindly answering “yes” to all SAQ questions won’t get you PCI compliance. Most of the time, the self-assessment questionnaire serves as a guide for you to see what areas need attention in order for you to become compliant and protect your business. If a compromise took place and it was obvious that you were not adhering to PCI standards, the matter would be taken very seriously. In addition to being fined by the card brands, your business’ reputation and sales could take a major hit.

FACT It is actually okay to store cardholder data as long as you encrypt it. The PCI Council advises that you only store it if it’s absolutely necessary though. Cardholder data includes the primary account number (PAN), cardholder name, and expiration date.

Conversely, data that should NEVER be stored is the sensitive data on the magnetic stripe or chip, or the card security codes printed on the front or back of cards.

FACT Compliance cannot be achieved merely by purchasing a single solution or service.

Using PCI compliant devices and applications is a requirement for PCI DSS Compliance, but it is only one component. Think about the other ways hackers or thieves could gain access to cardholder and sensitive authentication data.

In addition to your device and applications, they could attempt to access the data through weak passwords, unaware employees, your corporate network, etc.

That’s why PCI DSS requirements encompass the entire transaction environment.

FACT PCI is only enforceable by law in three states: Minnesota, Nevada and Washington.

However, PCI compliance is mandated by the card brands, and applies to all businesses that want to accept credit and debit cards. When a merchant accepts one card payment, it must abide by PCI and any additional provisions outlined by that card brand. If you don’t follow the standards, you’re increasing your risk of suffering a data breach and the card brands will likely fine you.

Learn more at clearent.com, call (866) 371-2273 or bring your questions to the Conference & Summit.

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INDUSTRY NOW

Voit Is Back in the Game

Voit, a sporting goods company founded in 1922, announced a major brand relaunch in the United States and Canada.

An innovator in sports equipment, Voit developed technologies still used today in fields and gyms worldwide including the first needle air retention ball and the patented molded rubber ball.

Voit’s domestic operations are spearheaded by industry veterans Jeff Chambers, Director of Marketing and Jay Murphy, Director of Sales, who bring a combined 75 years of branding and product distribution experience to the relaunch campaign. Voit’s US offices are based in San Antonio and include 6,300 square feet of warehouse and distribution facilities in Houston.

“ For years, Voit has dominated several categories in Mexico, and has been recognized internationally as a premier brand. Following that success, Voit is introducing high-quality, game-ready products, all at value price points in the USA,” said Chambers. “ Voit USA will begin to roll out its territory-specific social media content, with branding and advertising campaigns focusing on basketball, football, volleyball, soccer, futsal and swimming.”

Voit USA is a platinum sponsor of the 53rd NSGA Annual Management Conference & 19th Annual Team Dealer Summit in Scottsdale, AZ. Connect with them onsite.

For more information, email contactusa@voit.com

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ISSUES NOW

Official Business Becoming a Concern for High Schools

By Marty Maciaszek, NSGA Director, Team Dealer Division

A long-held belief in sports is the officials are doing their job successfully when no one notices them.

But what if there are not enough officials for Friday night football or basketball games or Saturday wrestling and swimming meets? It is a growing problem the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and others associated with high school sports have noticed.

The NFHS launched a National Officials Recruitment Campaign in April. The emphasis is on recruiting new officials and addressing issues that are driving away current officials.

“ It’s significant,” NFHS Executive Director Bob Gardner said of the shortage of officials. “At our fall sectional meetings that was a universal theme, and in certain sports more so than others.” “ There is a problem fielding enough officials to work all games.

Some states have more games and there are not enough officials to man all contests.”

In Utah, a story in the Deseret News, out of Salt Lake City, examined the issue and the decline. The state saw a drop from 2,332 registered officials for basketball, football, baseball, volleyball, soccer, wrestling and volleyball in 2010–11 to 1,905 in 2016–17.

The NFHS Officials Association has approximately 130,000 members at the high school level. Gardner said more than 30 states enroll all their officials in the association.

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“ That sounds like a big number but it really isn’t,” Gardner said. “Not all of those officials are licensed in every sport, and with 19,000 member high schools, that’s a lot of games in a given day. We recognize the numbers have come down and that has created a need.” “ We haven’t done a good job of keeping the pipeline going with enough young officials getting into that pipeline.”

One of the challenges is finding enough officials who can work late-afternoon, after-school events such as baseball, softball and track and field. Gardner said schools and state associations have been working to improve the pay for officials. The difficulty in advancing from the underclass to the varsity levels can also be a deterrent to retention.

But a major issue is related to the expectation of perfection.

Gardner believes there has been a trickle-down effect from the increased use of replay to get calls correct at the professional and collegiate levels.

NFHS wrapped a poster titled “The Final Whistle? — Not So Fast,” around the April edition of its monthly magazine, High School Today, to get athletic directors to hang in their schools.

Gardner hopes it sparks interest among student-athletes to consider becoming officials.

The poster also has the name of the new website created for this project. Individuals can sign up to become officials in their states at HighSchoolOfficials.com.

A year-long social media campaign also started in April.

Gardner said NFHS is going to reach out to college recreational, intramural and athletic departments for potential candidates.

“It’s an opportunity for extra income, but for most officials, the real reason for doing it is they sincerely enjoy the sport,” Gardner said. “If you can become an official it’s a way to give back and ensure the kids coming after them have someone to work their games.”

High Schools need new officials now more than ever.

“ The biggest thing we’ve heard from officials is they try it and drop out quickly within one to two years because of the abuse they take,” Gardner said. “We have to work on sportsmanship messaging with our coaches and athletes. State associations are starting to do that a lot.”

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INSIGHTS NOW

Make Data Driven Decisions with NSGA Research

By Dustin Dobrin, NSGA Director, Research & Information

NSGA is releasing the latest editions of the Sports Participation series and the Sporting Goods Market Retail Purchase Reports. These long-standing, industry-leading studies are essential tools in understanding participation and market trends, drivers of participation and purchases, and category adjacency and cross-promotional opportunities.

Here is a preview of the reports offered: Sports Participation in the U.S.

When it comes to sports participation, no other organization in the industry has tracked this data longer than NSGA. NSGA’s highly successful Sports Participation study has been executed for more than 30 years and is well-respected in the industry. NSGA’s participation data has been sourced in leading media such as U.S. News and World Report, The Wall Street Journal and Reuters.

The newest edition measures the annual number of participants in a variety of sports/recreational activities and the frequency of participation during 2016.

A favorite feature among users, the report offers quick-view snapshots for each sport/activity included in the study. The snapshots include overall participation levels for the last 10 years (where available) along with breakouts by frequency, age, household income, and U.S. region for 2016.

How can the Sports Participation in the U.S. report be used?

Research sport specific data for more than 55 sports/recreational activities Make educated decisions about participants, including market size and composition Ideal for manufacturers, retailers, financial institutions, and academics to determine how organizations should evolve in response to changing participation in sports and recreational activities

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Cross Participation

The Cross Participation report provides detailed data identifying sports/recreational activities participated in by the same individual. The report contains quick-view snapshots for a given sport or activity to give the reader a comprehensive view of cross participation for 2016.

How can the Cross Participation report be used?

Aid in decisions to maximize retail space and determine which product categories should be adjacent to each other Generate impulse purchases by optimizing the position of secondary locations Identify cross promotional opportunities among the various sports/activities tracked Generate new business opportunities from existing products and customers

• • • •

Lifecycle Demographics

The Lifecycle Demographics report classifies households in terms of several demographic characteristics and defines them in 10 broad, socioeconomic terms. The report contains quick-view snapshots for a given sport or activity to give the reader a comprehensive view of participation among the socioeconomic segments for 2016.

How can the Lifecycle Demographics report be used?

Understand consumer behavior Develop analytics and fact-based business planning including a demographic-specific marketing mix

• •

Sporting Goods Market

NSGA’s Sporting Goods Market Report is the most comprehensive original research on consumer-reported retail purchases of sports equipment and footwear. Based on an annual consumer survey, the report tracks retail sales for over 80 types of sporting goods equipment and 20+ styles of athletic footwear, including demographics of these product users.

How can the Sporting Goods Market report be used?

Uncover long-term trends within segments and categories using 10 year history of overall sales (when available) Identify purchase demographics including household income, age and gender of major user, education of household head and region of country for targeted marketing Examine retail sales by channel of purchase Analyze consumer-reported purchases to support sales forecasting, inventory management and market sizing

• • • •

For more information regarding the Sports Participation in the U.S., Cross Participation, Lifecycle Demographics, and Sporting Goods Market reports, please visit nsga.org/research.

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LOCKER ROOM NOW

USSSA Baseball Will Not Follow New USABat Standard in 2018

USABat, the new USA Baseball Standard, goes into effect Jan. 1, 2018. The standard will affect Little League, Pony, Babe Ruth, Dixie Youth Baseball, American Amateur Baseball Congress and the AAU and the new bats — which will have a more wood-like standard but will have no drop-weight limit — are expected to be available for sale to the general public in September.

However, USSSA, which is primarily for travel or tournament players, is not going to change and plans to continue with the 1.15 BPF Standard it has used at the 14U age level and younger for more than 10 years. According to USSSA Executive Director and CEO Don DeDonaitis and USSSA General Counsel David Evaul, the organization intends to stay with the 1.15 BPF Standard for the near future.

The 1.15 BPF allows for diameters of up to 2 3/4 inches on USSSA baseball bats. USSSA also does not plan to change its softball bat standard of 1.20 BPF, which allows for diameters of up to 2 1/4 inches, which has been in place for more than 20 years.

In a statement made by USSSA in October 2016, the organization believes “to lower the current bat performance standards at this time would harm the competitive balance and drive down participation in the American pastimes of softball and baseball now being played under USSSA rules.

In addition, with over 20 years of insurance and playing history under its BPF performance standards, USSSA is in the unique position of having the historical data to determine the actual accident/injury levels of its sports. It is clear from that history that USSSA baseball and softball are among the safest amateur sports that are played in the United States.”

NCAA Football Rules Committee Recommends Safety Changes

The NCAA Football Rules Committee recommended three changes to enhance player health and safety and two of them are related to uniforms.

The committee recommended a requirement for players to wear knee pads and pants which cover the knees. Currently, it is only strongly recommended that pants cover the knees.

The committee also proposed including the nameplate area of the jersey in the current horse-collar tackle rule. Prohibiting defensive players from running toward the line of scrimmage and leaping or hurdling offensive linemen on field goal or point-after-touchdown attempts was also proposed.

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“Our committee’s most significant charge is to enhance the health and safety of our student-athletes when possible,” said Bob Nielson, the chair of the NCAA Football Rules Committee and a coach at South Dakota. “Each of these rules changes address areas that help us accomplish this goal.”

This is a non-rule-change year for football, but changes directly related to health and safety are allowed. The Playing Rules Oversight Panel met April 19 to discuss the football rules recommendations for the 2017 season.

Major League Baseball Considering Stickier Baseballs

Major League Baseball has asked Rawlings to manufacture a stickier baseball that would eliminate the need for pitchers to use foreign substances such as pine tar or sunscreen to improve a pitcher’s grip, according to a Yahoo! Sports report.

The balls would have a natural tack on the leather and would not need a pregame polish with Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud, which comes from New Jersey and has been used for decades to take some of the glare off the ball.

The new baseballs were tested briefly in the Arizona Fall League last year. A common complaint was the tackiness did not last long. Using a pearly white baseball was also unsettling to some players. The earliest the baseball would be used in MLB would be 2018.

Performance Sports Group Completes Sale; Searches for New CEO

Performance Sports Group Ltd., announced the completion of the sale of substantially all of its assets and its North American subsidiaries, including its European and global operations, to an acquisition vehicle co-owned by affiliates of Sagard Holdings Inc. and Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.

The new, privately held company also announced Harlan Kent, who previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of PSG, will continue to lead the business on an interim basis during the search for a permanent CEO. The new company will continue to develop and manufacture ice hockey, roller hockey, lacrosse, baseball and softball equipment and related apparel. The products will be marketed under the Bauer, Mission, Maverik, Cascade and Easton brand names and will be distributed by sales reps and independent distributors worldwide.

The sale completes the bankruptcy proceedings by PSG and its North American subsidiaries that began on Oct. 31, 2016, in the United States and Canada. The sale was approved Feb. 6.

Paul Desmarais III, the Executive Chairman of Sagard Holdings, will serve as chairman of the new company as it transitions to new leadership.

Holloway Wins 2016 Johnny Mac’s Elite Vendor of the Year

Holloway Sportswear won Johnny Mac’s Sporting Goods 2016 Elite Vendor of the Year Award. Holloway has helped Johnny Mac’s maintain its commitment to supporting team sports and the individual athlete.

“Johnny Mac’s couldn’t be more proud to have named Holloway Sportswear as our Elite Vendor of the Year,” said Bob McArthur, President of Johnny Mac’s. “The contribution Holloway consistently makes to our business has allowed Johnny Mac’s and Holloway to forge a true business relationship based on trust and ‘best’ business practices.”

Said Holloway President Dave Elliott: “Holloway is truly honored to be named Johnny Mac’s Elite Vendor of the Year. Johnny Mac’s Sporting Goods epitomizes the type of Team Dealer and Retailer that we strive to build our business around.”

Arizona High Schools Approve Year-Round Practice

Arizona high school coaches can now practice year-round after the Arizona Interscholastic Association legislative council passed a measure which does not put limits on out-of-season practices. The only exception during out of season practices is helmets and shoulder pads are not allowed during football workouts.

One of the reasons the measure passed 39–5 was to try and return out-of-season control to the high schools and their coaches and away from club sports and coaches.

The concerns with the measure, especially in smaller schools, is a continued emphasis on specialization with a feeling that athletes will be pressured to focus on practicing year-round for one sport.

Utah High School Activities Association Could Face Big Changes

A bill that would bring significant changes and more government oversight to the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) passed the state’s House Education committee in late February. The bill would cut the UHSAA board by more than 50 percent, create a new panel for handling appeals and require government standards be followed for open meetings and records.

Study Suggests Youth Flag Football May Not Be Safer Than Tackle

Injury rates in youth football leagues did not show flag football to be safer than tackle, according to a study by University of Iowa Health Care researchers. The researchers studied three large youth football leagues with almost 3,800 total participants and compared the number of injuries, severe injuries and concussions.

The study results, published in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, showed injuries were more likely to occur in youth flag football than youth tackle football. There was no significant difference in the number of severe injuries and concussions between the leagues.

“We hope that this information will help families as they make decisions about a child’s participation in youth football, either in flag or tackle leagues,” said Andrew Peterson, a specialist with Iowa Medicine and the lead author of the study.

NFHS’ Becky Oakes Announces Retirement

Becky Oakes, who has been a director of sports with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) for the past 11 years, announced she will retire this summer.

Oakes is currently the staff liaison, rules interpreter and editor of NFHS publications in track and field, cross country, volleyball and gymnastics. She previously handled similar duties for water polo and swimming and diving.

Marucci Sports Acquires Victus

Rep. Greg Hughes said, “This bill is only about transparency and accountability. All this does is create certainty for the public.”

Marucci Sports has acquired Victus Sports, a custom wood bat manufacturer and Major League Baseball bat supplier.

Marucci, which started 10 years ago to become a player in professional baseball, viewed Victus as a new, disruptive and innovative brand with a player-centric philosophy and obsessive attention to quality.

UHSAA officials view it as an attempt by the State Legislature to take over management of the private, non-profit association. The bill passed 11–2 by the Education committee and now goes to the floor of the House of Representatives.

“Victus will energize Marucci to continue to be a disruptor in our industry,” said Marucci co-founder and CEO Kurt Ainsworth, “and Marucci will accelerate Victus’ growth into all product categories.”

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