As NSAA comes together at the Broadmoor on the 35th anniversary of its founding there, it may be the right time for a little introspection. In 1962, the founding fathers of NSAA were concerned about managing growth. The insurance market was chaotic, legal landmines were beginning to appear and wise heads were saying there was a need for organization and structure if the dynamic growth of the sport was to translate to business success. There was no shortage of enthusiasm; there was a shortage of business savvy.
What a different world we face today, 35 years later. We have structure, we have a lot of business sophistication, we even have managed to hang on to our enthusiasm. But the big difference is we don’t operate against a backdrop of growth. Natural growth—the sort of growth that happens because there are societal dynamics that are right for it. (An example from today? Horseback riding, which steadily grows across the country without industry promotions, fueled by subtle societal desires.)
The simple fact is that skiing topped out some years back. Snowboarding came along and energized things, but it is looking more and more as though it is not going to cause the skier/boarder pie to grow, because the participants are coming from the same pool that used to produce just skiers.
That pool—the people who are attracted to the idea of skiing, who lean toward active adventure and who enjoy the company of other outdoor enthusiasts, seekers of individual accomplishment—is finite. And it appears not to be very big. Furthermore, we can draw only from those in the pool who can pass the means test our sport requires. (Statistics keep showing skiing as the participant sport with by far the highest median income, but it is not that skiing has a unique appeal to the rich, but that big coin is needed to be a player.)
Meanwhile, from the advertising images that constantly bombard us, we get a false picture of an America that is compulsively active and obsessively athletic—a people who jog, mountain bike, work out, are slim, have hard abs and tight buns. It is our national fantasy. The reality is that as a nation we are mostly flabby and inactive, becoming more so and are perfectly happy to get our athletic and adventure kicks while slouched in virtual reality with a bag of Fritos and barbequed wings at hand. This is not the pool skiers and boarders come from.
The reason we deliver this message now is that our industry is rising to the challenges of stimulating growth, as indeed it should. We are especially targeting kids. Again, right on. And we’ve got exciting images to deliver to that target. But recognizing the endearing way our enthusiastic industry throws itself into the pursuit of market growth, we want to sound a cautionary note. That’s not pessimism; it’s the tug of reality.
Our industry has always believed, and with good reason, in a concept that, “Show me a well-timed snowfall and I’ll show you skiers and riders.” Well, it probably still holds, but we are seeing signs that you can have great conditions and folks are simply not turning out for it. Maybe expectations are too great, maybe there are other region-specific reasons. But we say it would be a mistake to blow away these signs as aberrations.
It’s too early to say definitively, but perhaps the age-related dropout factor we all know is going to hit the baby-boomer generation, may be making itself felt. Otherwise, why wouldn’t Colorado be setting all sorts of records this spring with classically perfect conditions? On the other hand, how to explain the awesome crowds who showed up at Tremblant, Que., in April—over 13,000 on each weekend day?
The key to the future, as NSAA has wisely decided, is to infect the echo boomers with the skiing/boarding bug. NSAA is committing a lot of research and energy to the effort. But, we are not alone in wanting access to kids and their loyalties—to say nothing of a lifetime hook into their pocketbooks.
The sports fan segment alone is spending millions to make sure their brand—NFL, NHL, NBA or an upstart like Major League Soccer—gains loyalty. They are worried by more than a loss of future fan interest and ticket sales: sponsors demand audience.
Don’t be surprised to find the NBA at state fairs this summer, cramming kids into their NBA Jam Session, complete with a Sprite Playground. Project this many hundred-fold and a picture develops of huge franchises protecting their future fan bases against anything that kids spend their leisure time and money on, whether movies, concerts or, heaven forbid, extreme sports like skiing, snowboarding and mountain biking. Yes, we are an enemy; and yes, they have the need, the programs and the deep pockets to compete with us for these little souls.
Let’s be savvy about the task ahead. Let’s have realistic goals; let’s not pursue what should be but what truly can be.
A SAM Editorial
