Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1529031
8 • Team Insight ~ November/December 2024 teaminsightmag.com O nce again there is some positive news – and some not-so-positive – for team dealers, their suppliers and the industry as a whole, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association's (SFIA) recent- ly-released 87-page U.S. Trends in Team Sports participation study. It's fair to say that the findings are a mixture of Good News and Not-So-Good News. Big Picture Perspective. Team sports participa- tion rates in America continued their gradual rebound from pandemic decreases. e total team sports participation rate increased by 10.8 percent in 2023, marking its third consecutive year of improvement. In 2023, 25.7 percent of Americans ages six-and-above participated in a team sport, compared to only 22.1 percent during the COVID-affected year of 2020. Good News: is SFIA study reports that the total number of team sports participants (which counts an individual twice if she/he plays two different team sports) increased by 7.2 million to 136.1 million Americans in 2023, a nearly 10 million participant increase since 2020. Not-So-Good News: Reflecting the ongoing trend of sport specialization at younger ages, the average number of team sports per participant continued to drop in 2023. e big-picture discouraging news is that the average number of team sports played per participant was 1.73 in 2023, down from 1.82 in 2022. Back in 2014, it was as high as 2.02 in 2014. at's not a good long-term trend for team sports. Good News: In 2023, 20 of 24 team sports showed year-over-year increases, with swim- ming on a team (+14 percent) and court volleyball (+13.4 percent) having the largest percentage increases. e three team sports with highest number of participants – basket- ball, baseball and outdoor soccer – all registered mid-to-high single-digit participation growth rates: Basketball (up 5.6 percent to 29.7 million), outdoor soccer (up 8.1 percent to 14.1 million) and baseball (up 7.6 percent to 16.7 million). Not-So-Good News: One of the more alarming statistics is that year-over-year "core" participa- tion declined in 10 of 24 team sports. However, that was a slight improvement between 2019 and 2023, when 21 of 24 team sports suffered declines in core participation. Good News. In 2023, the number of team sports participants between the ages of 18 and 24 rose nearly five percent in 2023 to 10.7 million. Not-So-Good News: In 2023, the gap between casual participants and core team sports par- ticipants increased, as the core number fell by 2.8 percent, or 700,000, to 24.7 million. It marked the lowest number of those all-im- portant core participants during the last six years. Comparing casual participation in team sports versus core participation in team sports reveals that since 2018, casual participation has been trending up and core participation has been trending down. Reality Check. Since those core participants are the heart and soul of the team sports universe, any decline in participation in team sports is a troubling sign. It's worth noting that an in- crease in daily P.E. in schools would not only help with getting more children physically fit, but it would serve as a pathway for more to get exposed to a team sports experience since team sports are oen avenues of participation in P.E. classes. Food for thought. According to SFIA, the top three most pop- ular team sports for people age six-to-17 are basketball, baseball and outdoor soccer; the top three most popular team sports for people ages 18-to-24 are, yet again, basketball, baseball and outdoor soccer; and the top three most popular team sports for people age 25-to-44 are, yes, basketball, baseball and outdoor soccer However, the top three most popular team sports for people ages 45-plus are basketball, baseball and slow-pitch soball. A final note: One of the biggest troubling trends in the team sports universe is the lack of game officials, referees and umpires necessary to officiate team sports games and tournaments. n TEAM SPORTS LOOKING GOOD IN 2024 Insight into SFIA's 'U.S. Trends in Team Sports' report. By Mike May TEAM TRENDS Court volleyball was one of the big winners in participation growth in the past year.