Skiing did not do well as a participant sport in 1989, according to data released by two separate organizations, National Sport Goods Association (NSGA) and American Sports Data (ASD). The NSGA study showed a decline of 10.9 percent in alpine skiing in 1989 over 1988, and the ASD study a decline of 8.4 percent. Both studies had shown increases for the previous two years — the NSGA study for the previous four years.
Both studies statistically monitor the participation levels by Americans in many sports and fitness-related activities — some 26 by NSGA and 58 by ASD. Both studies are based on mail questionnaires to substantial numbers of households which have been established in such a way that the results can be projected to the whole U.S. population. (ASD, in fact, uses the same consumer pool, National Family Opinion, that USIA used for measuring the results of the industry’s demand-building programs.)
| 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Participation | 9,426,000 | 9,735,000 | 10,252,000 | 12,390,000 | 11,034,000 |
| Percentage of Change | 3.3 | 5.3 | 20.8 | (10.9) | |
| Percent of U.S. Pop. (%) | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 5.0 |
| Average No. of Days | 7.95 | 7.57 | 7.13 | 8.82 | 8.86 |
| Male (%) | 57.4 | 60.9 | 59.1 | 61.0 | 62.4 |
| Female (%) | 42.6 | 39.1 | 40.9 | 39.0 | 37.6 |
| HH Income of $35,000+(%) | 24.9 | 27.4 | 24.4 | 19.0 | 25.4 |
| HH Income of $50,000+(%) | 23.6 | 26.3 | 34.2 | 41.5 | 44.2 |
| Age 25+ or Older (%) | 46.2 | 47.8 | 49.7 | 54.1 | 56.9 |
| Frequent (20+ Days) (%) | 13.1 | 12.1 | 10.6 | 14.9 | 13.6 |
| Occasional (5-19 Days) (%) | 50.6 | 49.7 | 47.6 | 43.9 | 46.1 |
| Infrequent (2-4 Days) (%) | 36.3 | 38.2 | 41.8 | 41.2 | 40.4 |
For skiing, as well as for most sports, NSGA measures the number of individuals seven years of age or older who participated more than once — that is, two or more times. They count the one-time-only participants but do not include them in the totals.
Both research organizations caution against putting too much emphasis on any one year’s results. Harvey Lauer, of ASD, cites the “wobble” factor in statistical projections — could be a bit more, could be a bit less. It is also interesting to note that ASD’s data show that skiing was in good company in losing ground in 1989: among other decliners were golf, tennis, sailing, surfing and scuba diving.
Why the Decline?
Was skiing’s decline in 1989 weather-related, recession-related or what? (Incidentally, cross-country participation was down even more: about 15 percent.) Is there an economic reason, a societal one? Did it reflect on the “Ski It to Believe It” program? (No to that, anyway, since it didn’t launch until November and could have had virtually no impact.)
Tom Doyle, director of information and research for NSGA, thinks weather may be the major culprit. “I think it’s probably more weather-related than anything else,” he said. “I can’t put my finger on anything else.”
However, like Lauer, Doyle cautions against a too-specific reading of the numbers. “Maybe 1988 wasn’t quite that high, and maybe 1989 was a bit higher or lower. You can’t read the numbers as gospel; you’ve got to look at trends. What you see is roughly 11 million skiers every year.”
Doyle also cited fashion and cycles as factors that must be considered in studying all recreational activities.
“Activities go through cycles,” Doyle explained. “The cycle is not just related to a change in activities. The numbers we’re looking at right now are, from the economic perspective, numbers that are coming out of the recession of the early ’80s. People are satisfying a lot of pent-up demand, especially if you go to sports where there’s some expense involved, as there is in skiing. At a certain point, people just get tired and they switch to travel or video. We don’t track that sort of thing, so I don’t know, for example, whether people are spending a lot more time and money on video equipment, computers, computer games, $2,000 TVs and so forth.
“There is also what is described as the yuppie or ‘boutiquing’ approach to activities — the fact that there is perhaps less commitment to a sporting activity for an extended period of time than there was, say, 10 or 20 years ago. They’ll try it for a few years, get tired of it and then go on to something else. I think part of it is that over the years a lot of activities — not just skiing — have been promoted as “fashionable.” The nice part of a fashion is that people spend money for it; the bad part of a fashion is that it changes. To the extent that many sport activities are promoted as “fashionable,” perhaps there’s growth at one time, but then you have the possibility that you’ll have a lot of people moving in and out of the activity.”
Eying the Inactives
One of the opportunities for growth, Doyle feels, is the huge mass of people who are not yet fitness-conscious, who are totally inactive.
“When you look at the adult population,” says Doyle, “you’re talking about only one in five who is moderately active — people who do anything on a regular basis. That means there’s a huge potential market out there, but so far we haven’t moved it. Those numbers remain fairly consistent over the last 10 years.”
Doyle feels that all sports could benefit from a super campaign to move that group. “The real issue is not whether someone plays baseball or plays tennis or skis; the real issue is, ‘let’s get people doing something, because if they start doing something, all of us will get our share.’”
He cites the Nike campaign “Just Do It,” as being on the right track in this regard.
Doyle thinks the so-called “health kick” is pretty solid and basic for those involved in it. But within the group, “People will move from activity to activity. This year they may be playing some racquet ball, next year they may be riding an exercise bicycle or they may be riding a mountain bike.
“And for people who are active, income and age don’t seem to be factors. There seems to be about the same percentage across all age groups and across all income groups. For totally inactive, though, it’s very different. It’s inversely proportional to income and age. People who are older are more likely to be totally inactive, as are people who have low incomes. And those are the two groups that are the greatest risk in society as far as health is concerned. It’s a real social problem. You want them to be fit because they cost you the most.”
“Ski It to Believe It”
As for the ski industry’s national demand-building promotion, Doyle says it is being watched with interest — and some envy — by other sports groups. He cited the tackle industry, tennis and scuba as examples.
“There’s some questioning as to whether it can really accomplish what it’s setting out to do — some skepticism — because no one has ever really tried anything at this level before. What I’ve heard, though, has been very positive — envious!”
