SILVER SPRING, MD (October 19, 2021) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Stan Jurga Jr. to fill the open sporting goods industry seat on the Board of Directors of the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE). Mr. Jurga is Vice President of Product Development for All-Star Sporting Goods, a brand specializing in baseball and softball protective hardgoods.
NOCSAE is responsible for setting standards for equipment in football, baseball, softball, equestrian (polo), lacrosse, field hockey, soccer, and ice hockey. SFIA was instrumental in the organization’s formation in 1970, and with that, fills two seats on the Board of Directors, currently at 19 members. Mr. Jurga joins Gregg Hartley, SFIA’s lead consultant on standards, who currently serves as NOCSAE Vice President.
Mr. Jurga’s roll in the sports industry is ideal for this position. With one foot in the test lab and one foot on the field, he splits time between developing new products with his design and engineering team, while also being the main point of contact with the professional athletes who choose to wear All-Star products. Mr. Jurga is often found in All-Star’s in-house NOCSAE impact test lab by morning, and later that afternoon, seen at Fenway Park showing pro players the latest prototype and listening to their insight.
He graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Sciences and was a staff researcher at the Harvard Robotics Lab. He then completed a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. After managing a biotech startup, Mr. Jurga officially joined Allstar in 2005.
“Our responsibility as Board members with NOCSAE is to represent the licensee’s interest in the development, revision or implementation of standards to ensure they meet the highest thresholds of technical expertise and are equitable to licensees, said Tom Cove, President & CEO, SFIA.
“Stan’s experience and expertise as an unparalleled engineer is key to ensuring standards are on target and appropriate, and he has a great rapport with the trendsetters in the industry; bringing innovative, real-play tested experience to the table.”
Mr. Jurga replaces former Board member Shaun Gilday, previously the Senior Manager of Innovation for Wilson Sporting Goods, who served on the Board for four years. SFIA greatly appreciates Shaun’s commitment to the industry and the insights he brought to the NOCSAE Board.
You can learn more about NOCSAE and the Board of Directors at NOCSAE.org.
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ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
Washington, DC, September 24, 2021 – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) today sent a letter to President Biden requesting additional COVID vaccines, tests, and PPE resources be directed to Vietnam and other partners in the region. Vietnam is the second largest foreign source of sports and fitness products to the United States. This letter was released one day after the Biden administration announced this week that 500 million additional vaccines doses are being sent to developing countries worldwide.
“Our industry is facing unprecedented supply chain challenges and getting vaccines to key global partners will help our industry, our consumers, and the US economy, as well as making progress on the global effort to fight the pandemic,” says Tom Cove, President & CEO, SFIA.
Recognizing the United States as the world leader in vaccine production, SFIA urges the United States Government to take care of domestic needs and also make more vaccines available in an effort to eradicate this horrible disease around the world, including in key Asian countries where they are desperately needed.
“The COVID pandemic has illuminated the importance of Americans staying physically active, getting outdoors and having fun with sports and other activities,” states Cove. “As one of America’s primary industries responsible for supporting these aspects of physical and mental health, we respectfully make our request to drive pandemic resources to key partners while emphasizing this connection between supply chains and American health benefits.”
You can find a copy of the letter that was sent to the President here.
For further information please contact Bill Sells, SFIA SVP of Government and Public Affairs, at [email protected].
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ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
Washington, DC, September 20, 2021 – To the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s (SFIA) disappointment, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has officially reported that 16 states now have obesity rates of 35% or more. This staggering and discouraging figure went up from only 12% in 2019, and is a huge increase over the last decade from just zero states reporting rates at the 35% level back in 2012.
The CDC noted that adults with obesity are at an increased risk for serious health conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and poorer mental health, as a result. Obesity has also been found to increase the risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
The CDC recommends improved nutrition and increased physical activity to help prevent obesity and support weight maintenance to help reduce substantial health care costs and early loss of life.
The SFIA applauds the CDC for promoting action at the policy and systems level to ensure obesity prevention and weight management starts in one’s early years, and that everyone has access to quality food and space to be healthy and physically active.
“The obesity problem in the U.S. continues to get worse and will have a negative impact on America’s physical and economic health for generations if we do not enact policies to reverse this trend,” says Tom Cove, President and CEO of SFIA. “Chronic disease is what drives our healthcare spending. The good news is we can reduce both sickness and health care costs by promoting healthy lifestyles.”
The CDC announcement follows a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study on the cognitive benefits of activity. Researchers found that the exercise induced hormone, irisin, improves cognitive performance in mice and could be used to treat disorders such as Alzheimer’s.
The SFIA supports efforts to provide more activity spaces through Land & Water Conservation Grants and CDC’s High Obesity Program. Congress and the Federal Government need to do more to prevent this disease through increased activity, or the U.S. will continue on its current path and healthcare will, in turn, eat up more of our GDP and harm our economy. Lower healthcare spending per person will stretch our healthcare dollars to provide greater coverage for all Americans.
Cove states, “We know the problem, but we also know some solutions. Policies and programs to get Americans to be more active and to make good dietary choices will make a difference, and should be a national priority.”
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ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
For Second Time in Decade, Industry Trends Up As Overall Economy Sees Hit
SILVER SPRING, MD (September 8, 2021) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) has released its 2021 State of the Industry Report, an in-depth analysis of the trends and issues affecting the sports and fitness industry, including participation, economy, and industry environment for 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unique changes to the sports and fitness world. Even in the worst of recessions, the industry has never experienced anything like the unprecedented, immediate global shutdown of retail, operations, workplaces, travel, and sports and fitness facilities. Following the initial shock, the industry pivoted, and in turn, persevered, adapting to focus on ecommerce and responding to the demand for new products, such as home fitness and cycling products.
Since the start of the pandemic, the sports and fitness industry outperformed other sectors of the U.S. economy. Despite COVID-restrictions, sporting goods sales overall were able to recover to post a small, but positive, growth rate of 0.6%. While the sporting goods industry and GDP almost always trend in the same direction, in 2020, the industry grew while the overall economy saw a 3.5% hit. This hit to the GDP was greater than the impact of the stock market crash in 2009, when the sporting goods industry contracted by more than 4%. 2018 was the only year in the last decade besides 2020 where GDP grew faster than sporting goods.
Additionally, almost two-thirds of businesses expect sales to recover to at least pre-COVID predictions by the end of 2021, and 73% of businesses predict a strong future for the sports industry, substantially higher than in 2018 and 2019. While the top industry concerns are product sourcing and material cost/availability, businesses will continue to rely heavily on online sales in 2021, with websites being the fasted growing point of sale in 2020.
“Even during such a unique time, the sports and fitness industry was able to adapt and perserve, with more capabilities to be physically active from our own homes and the use of digital tools to connect, partnered with the ability to participate in socially-distanced outdoor activities,” said Tom Cove, President & CEO, SFIA. “The increase we saw in participation has led to more industry optimism for the rest of 2021 and into 2022 – and the industry is primed to respond.”
Despite the challenges COVID-19 presented, the overall number of sports and fitness participants in the United States still saw an increase, with a participation rate of 75.6% – the highest seen over the last six years, with inactivity dropping by 2.4%, with the trend leaning towards activities that were more favorable to participate in during the pandemic.
Cove states, “The pandemic changed the way of life for so many Americans, and especially the way that we stay mentally and physically healthy – leading a lot of Americans to take up being physically active as a way to cope, adapting to the the pandemic by participating in ‘COVID-acceptable’ activities.”
The 2021 State of the Industry Report report is free to SFIA Members and is available to the public for purchase by clicking here. The report is provided free-of-charge to members of the media. If you are interested in a copy of this report, please contact Lisa Futterman at [email protected].
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ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
Washington, DC, August 25, 2021 – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) supports Congress in recent legislation proposed to ease the challenges that U.S. companies are facing with regards to shipping during the pandemic.
The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021, introduced by Representatives John Garamendi (D-CA) and Dusty Johnson (R-SD) earlier this month would help ease some of the ongoing challenges that importers, exporters and other supply chain stakeholders are facing. The bill includes many recommendations from the U.S. retail and transport industries to address: Service Contracts, Shipping Exchange Registry, Prohibition on Retaliation, Public Disclosure, Additional Common Carrier requirements, Increased Penalties and a Modified Complaint process.
“The disruption to shipping due to the global pandemic has put intense pressure on supply chains and led to a significant increase in shipping costs.” stated Tom Cove, President & CEO, SFIA. “It is our hope that Congressional legislation combined with Administration policies will expedite a return to normal and avoid a spike in costs of getting products to market.”
SFIA signed onto a letter sent to Congress in support of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021 to help improve shipping and avoid similar problems in the future. SFIA is requesting that companies who are interested in supporting the legislation sign the letter by completing this form no later than Wednesday, September 8.
For further information please contact Bill Sells, SFIA SVP of Government and Public Affairs, at [email protected].
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ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
Washington, DC, August 23, 2021 – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Tai and Treasury Secretary Yellen urging the Administration to relaunch trade talks with China and drop some of the Section 301 Tariffs implemented under the previous Administration. SFIA joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The Business Roundtable, The National Retail Federation and almost three dozen other leading business groups on the letter.
“The Tariffs on Chinese imports were restricting commerce prior to COVID-19 and the impact has worsened during the pandemic.” said Tom Cove, President & CEO of SFIA. “The Tariffs have not had the desired effect as China continues to dominate the manufacturing marketplace. Dropping or reducing these tariffs now, will help the industry and the U.S. economy recover faster.”
The business community is concerned that China is not living up to the terms of the “Phase One” trade deal, and many of the remaining trade issues still need to be addressed. The letter identifies the continued imposition of tariffs by both countries as inconsistent with the Biden Administration’s worker-centric philosophy. Additionally, these tariffs are contributing to inflation and price increases. Removal or reduction of the tariffs would ease the inflationary pressure on the U.S. economy and limit price increases.
You can view the letter sent to the administration here: https://www.uschina.org/advocacy/regulatory-comments-on-china/industry-letter-next-steps-after-phase-one
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ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
SILVER SPRING, MD (August 17, 2021) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) has appointed Lisa Futterman to serve as Marketing and Communications Manager, effective immediately.
Ms. Futterman, formerly the Senior Regional Communications Manager for the American Red Cross of the National Capital & Greater Chesapeake Region, will be overseeing SFIA’s marketing and communications strategies including branding, media relations, social media, advocacy communications and digital marketing.
Ms. Futterman spent the last six years with the Red Cross, serving as Events Manager, Marketing Manager and as Interim Director of Communications, prior to her last role. She was tasked with performing communications and marketing functions to drive regional business objectives, helping to publicize the mission of the Red Cross, support revenue generations, and educate the public about Red Cross services.
“Lisa comes into the organization at a pivotal time when Americans are looking to return to sports and fitness,” said Tom Cove, SFIA President and CEO. “Given her professional marketing background, coupled with her personal interest in sports and fitness, Lisa will be a great contributor to our association and its world-class members.”
Prior to working for the American Red Cross, Ms. Futterman spent nearly three years at a marketing, public relations, advertising, and events agency, supporting clients in the IT space.
Ms. Futterman received her Bachelor of Science Degree from James Madison University, majoring in Communications Studies with a minor in Sports Communications. She is also a certified Les Mills BODYCOMBAT Instructor and a competitive volleyball player.
ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
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Washington, DC, July 23, 2021 – The United Stated Trade Representative (USTR) announced Friday that the U.S. will not initiate Section 301 Tariffs of up to 25 percent on Vietnamese imports in response to currency manipulation. A USTR investigation launched in October 2020 found Vietnam intervened in foreign exchange markets using excessive and one-sided policies, and practices that placed an unreasonable burden on U.S. commerce. A subsequent U.S. Department of Treasury investigation did not collaborate the USTR findings and recommended against Section 301 tariffs on Vietnamese imports. SFIA joined other business interests on a July 14 letter to the USTR opposing the use of tariffs in response to Vietnam’s currency issues.
“This is a huge relief for our industry.” Said Tom Cove, President and CEO of the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, “ At a time when almost every one of our member companies is scrambling to address multiple supply chain challenges, it is good news to take cost increases from potential new tariffs off the table. We are grateful to the Administration for listening to our concerns.”
The USTR will now rely on an agreement between the U.S. Department of Treasury and the State Bank of Vietnam to resolve the currency issues. The USTR and Treasury will monitor Vietnam implementation of its commitments under the agreement to ensure compliance and fair valuation. Should Vietnam fail to comply with the agreement, tariffs could be applied to its imports. The Federal Register notice with background on the investigations and plan going forward can be found here.
ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
All 88 Single Sport Reports are Now Available for Download from SFIA.org
SILVER SPRING, MD (June 15, 2021) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) released the complete library of Single Sport & Fitness Reports providing an in-depth analysis and breakdown of participation by various demographics, and by specific sport or fitness activity. The research collection includes 88 individual sports ranging from basketball to barre, wrestling to walking for fitness, racquetball to RV camping. The complete list of available reports can be found HERE.
“The information these reports provide will be invaluable as we enter a post-pandemic world,” said Tom Cove, CEO and President of SFIA. “They offer a data-heavy deep dive into individual sports participation numbers and trends, which allow our members unique insights as to what’s really happening on the courts, fields, clubs and trails.”
Among the highlights the reports provide:
· In 2020, 6.2 million 6-12-year old’s played basketball, an 11.4% increase over 2019.
· In the South Atlantic region, 6.7 million people participated in yoga in 2020, a 10.4% increase over 2019.
· In 2020, 26.7 million treadmill participants were female versus 23.1 million men.
The individual activity reports provide detailed analysis, showing year-over-year trends and a breakdown of participation by a multitude of demographic variables.
Individual reports are available to SFIA members for $99 each or non-members for $295 and can be purchased by clicking HERE.
ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
Agreement will create new consumer Fan Influencer Index and bolster academic market with SFIA Data Sharing Agreement
SILVER SPRING, MD (June 1, 2021) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) has partnered with SBRnet, the academic community’s leading provider of data for sports business and sports marketing students. Under the terms of the agreement, SFIA will provide SBRnet’s Sports Market Analytics platform with sports and activity participation data for more than 88 key sports categories, including team sports, fitness, outdoor and individual sports and activities.
The two groups will also collaborate on creating The Fan Influencer Index, a new measurement which will track fan behavior and its effect on participation and product/brand sales in the post-Pandemic world.
“We’re excited to work with SBRnet and its new owners Mark Sullivan and Neil Schwartz,” said SFIA CEO Tom Cove. “They are two solid industry veterans who know the space and will be great partners for us.”
“SFIA’s comprehensive participation data is the gold standard and we are thrilled to be able to offer it to our clients in the academic world,” said SBRnet president Neil Schwartz.
SBRnet is a one-stop source for all forms of business data related to the sports business including sales of active lifestyle gear, clothing and footwear, fan behavior and college and professional sports attendance. The SBRnet data platform is available at more than 225 colleges and public library systems nationwide, including 75% of the top 150 Business Schools including Stanford, Penn, Northwestern, U of Chicago, Columbia, NYU, University of Michigan, Emory, Ohio University and Cal Berkeley. Students at these and other top schools rely on data from SBRnet and Sports Market Analytics platform to help their students better understand what’s happening across every aspect of the sports business.
Bill Patterson, SFIA’s new Chief Business Officer, commented “we feel that our relationship with SBRnet will make data accessible to every college and university in the nation and will put the SFIA at the forefront to training and developing new talent for our industry.”
The data on the SBRnet platform includes its proprietary Sports Market Analytics Survey of Fan Behavior, which is conducted twice a year. The survey will form the basis of the newly created Fan Influencer Index which will offer new insights into fan behavior in the Post Pandemic world. “Fans are engaging with their teams in dramatically different ways since the Covid-19 virus hit and The Fan Influencer Index, (FII?) will provide new insights on that behavior as it relates to attendance, media consumption and sports betting,” Cove added.
The SFIA Fan Influencer Index powered by SBRnet will be available to all SFIA members as well as SBRnet subscribers.
Under the terms of this new agreement, SFIA and SBRnet will also collaborate in the academic marketplace, promoting SFIA memberships to top schools and professors and building programs to educate students on professional opportunities in the sports business.
ABOUT SBRnet: SBrnet was founded in 1998 to provide a one stop hub for all forms of data for the sports business including sales of active lifestyle gear, clothing and footwear, fan behavior and college and professional sports attendance
The business was purchased in December 2020 by Neil Schwartz and Mark Sullivan. Schwartz has more than two decades of marketing & consumer research experience in the sports, fitness and active lifestyle categories. Sullivan is a former editor and publisher in sports business and one of the founders of The Running Event, the largest B2B conference and trade show in the world. He sold The Running Event in 2018.