Team Insight

sales pros doors – to enjoy the benefits of ownership, inclusiveness and the culture of support and family that comes with it." Editorial comment: Love them or hate them – and team dealers certainly fall in both categories – BSN Sports remains the largest team dealer in America and with this even-stronger financial backing promises to remain a factor for many years to come. 3. Flag Football Gains Olympic Boost e decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in October 2023 to include flag football for the first time in the Summer Olympics in time for the Los Angeles games put momentum behind the sport into overdrive. In particular, the prospect of seeing current and former NFL stars compete is driving significant media buzz. e growth continues to be supported by significant investments from the NFL, which has made NFL Flag the largest youth flag football program in the U.S., with more than 600,000 participants. Also fueling participation is more states adding flag football championships and interest from girls. In August, Hawaii became the 12th state in the country to sanction girls' flag football as a high school sport. In that same month, flag football became the 18th sport for which the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) planned to write national playing rules and the first new sport offering since boys' lacrosse (2000) and girls' lacrosse (2016). Editorial comment: Will Patrick Mahomes play or not play in the LA Olympics? at's one of many questions that will pique interest in flag as the Games approach. 2. Momentec Brands Creates Uniform Juggernaut By far the biggest and most impactful financial news in team sports in 2024 was the acquisition by Platinum Equity of both Augusta Sportwear Brands (ASB) and Founder Sport Group (FSG) and the merger of the two former strong competitors to create a team uniform and fan apparel heavyweight. e partnership marries ASB's portfolio (Augusta Sportswear, Holloway, High Five, Pacific Headwear, Russell Athletic and CCM) with FSG's (Under Armour (uniforms), Badger, Alleson, C2, ProSphere, Garb Athletics and Flash.) In merging ASB and FSG, Platinum Equity promised to create a one-stop shop for on-field uniforms and fanwear across price ranges "to make more brands available to more consumers in more communities." It also pledged to further reduce turnaround times, create a more efficient supply chain and bring further advances in sublimation printing and other technologies in the team space. "e core market for youth sports apparel and accessories has grown steadily over the past decade, but the ecosystem is highly fragmented and, in many ways, inefficient," Platinum Equity co-president Louis Samson says in explaining the allure and potential of the two brands. By early April, the merged company had formed a new corporate identity, Momentec Brands, and realigned numerous leadership responsibilities, including installing FSG CEO John Anton as CEO and ASB CEO David Elliott as vice chairman. By June, new recruits arrived with the hires of Mike Moore, ex- Fanatics, as CFO; Joel Bennink, who formerly guided compete/sports apparel at Under Armour, as SVP of product; and David Baxter, formerly Under Armour's Americas chief, as chairman. Editorial comment: e next impact will come in early 2025 when the websites of augustasportswear.com and foundersport.com will combine into momentecbrands.com. at will certainly be a game changer for team dealers used to working through both brands. 1. Team Sports Continued Pandemic Recovery And, finally, the good news! Team sports are back, baby, and showing signs of being stronger than ever. at's because in 2024 almost all team sports continued to robustly recover from the suspension of play during the early stages of the pandemic. NFHS found more than eight million participants competed in high school sports in the 2023-24 school year — an all-time record and the second consecutive increase aer numbers tumbled during the pandemic. Gains were led by outdoor track and field, volleyball and soccer, while eleven-player football participation grew for the second consecutive year and both girls' and boys' wrestling showed gains. SFIA found team sports participants in 2023 grew 11 percent year- over-year, marking the highest number of team sports participants since 2014 and the third straight year of positive gains. Only four of the 24 team sports SFIA tracks showed year-over-year declines. "is growth underscores the resilience and enduring appeal of team sports in our communities," states Alex Kerman, SFIA's senior director, research and business operations at SFIA. "While we celebrate these gains, the industry needs to continue to focus on converting casual players to core players so we can strive towards a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels." Editorial comment: And Team Insight will be here in 2025 to document it all once again. n teaminsightmag.com November/December 2024 ~ Team Insight • 17 Football was again the key sport for team dealers in the past year.

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