NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA Commissioners Urge Congress to Pass PHIT Act

Professional Sports Leagues Join Together to Support Legislation to Reduce Cost of Sports and Activity  

WASHINGTON, DC (June 29, 2022) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) applauds the commissioners from the top four professional sports leagues for their powerful call to Congress to pass the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act in 2022. The letter, sent to Congress in May, addressed declining physical health trends of Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in youth, and urged Congress to take action to reduce the cost barriers associated with sports and activity.

The PHIT Act would lower costs for families and individuals involved with youth sports, outdoor recreation, and fitness activities by expanding the eligibility of pre-tax savings accounts to pay for physical activity expenses such as youth sports fees, training, and health clubs. The letter was signed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

“It is fantastic to see the leaders of our biggest professional sports leagues band together to lead a charge to improve youth health and wellness,” said Tom Cove, President & CEO, SFIA. “The PHIT legislation will make sports and fitness more affordable and accessible, which will encourage participation and is exactly what families need coming out of the pandemic.”

The commissioners expressed concerns around cost barriers to physical activity causing negative impacts on young people – including mental health distress and rising obesity rates. In the letter, the commissioners highlighted the proven connection between physical activity and improved health outcomes and called on Congress to encourage participation in sports, fitness, and recreation by passing the PHIT Act.

“Especially as Americans struggle with rising costs of gas and groceries, we know families are forced to make difficult economic choices every day. We applaud the commissioners for stepping up at this critical time to support legislation that will reduce out-of-pocket costs and get more kids back on the field, court, and rink,” says Cove.

To read a copy of the letter sent to Congress on behalf of the NHL, NBA, NHL, and MLB commissioners, please click here..

For questions regarding the PHIT Act, please contact Bill Sells, SVP Government Relations & 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 sfia.org.

WASHINGTON, DC (June 28, 2022) – The use of forced labor in consumer goods is unacceptable, and the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) is proud to have supported the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) prior to its enactment. SFIA applauds the initiation of Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) seizures of imports shown to use forced labor in the supply chain.

“There is no tolerance of forced labor in supply chains for sports and fitness products,” said Tom Cove, President & CEO, SFIA. “This is an important step in the fight to end the use of forced labor in the manufacturing of products and their inputs.”  

In response to the use of forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, Congress passed the UFLPA and the President signed it into law on December 21, 2021. The new law went into effect on June 21, 2022, to allow time for manufacturers to ensure their products did not have forced labor in the supply chains. CBP will seize imports shown to have violated the new law, and the importer must prove that no forced labor was used in the production of the good or any of its inputs.

SFIA members have taken internal steps to root out forced labor in their supply chains and remain dedicated to ending the use of forced labor. Our members look forward to providing consumers with fair labor, active lifestyle products for improved health, and better quality of life.

“Of course, the current challenges facing our national economy could create headwinds,” Cove added. “The global supply chain is not yet fixed, and we are monitoring how inflation may affect consumer behavior in the future.”

For questions on the new forced labor law, please contact Bill Sells, SVP Government Relations & 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 sfia.org.

Finalists Now Pitch To 100+ Sports and Fitness Executives and Investors

SILVER SPRING, MD (June 9, 2022) – Nine finalists have been selected by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) to present their companies at the 2022 SFIA Start-Up Challenge, taking place virtually on July 26, 2022. The application pool included entrepreneurs from around the world, representing all segments of the industry, including innovative sports tech, fitness equipment, team and racquet sports, health and wellness products, gaming, and more.

All finalists will receive industry exposure, real-time feedback from industry decision-makers and executives, personal introductions, and one year of SFIA membership. Each finalist will create a five-minute pitch video, professionally edited and polished by our digital media partner, Spark Inc., and present to an elite panel of more than 100 judges. Assessments will evaluate each company in terms of relevancy, creativity, and potential. In addition to the prizes listed above, the grand prize winner will be awarded a 2023 SFIA Start-Up Challenge judge’s seat, national media coverage, an SFIA research report spotlight, and an exclusive 2022 Industry Leaders Summit package.

The 2022 finalists are:

“It is exciting and affirming to see the innovative ideas and competitive spirit driving these young sports product companies,” said Tom Cove, President & CEO, SFIA.

“The backbone of the industry’s success is the creative, risk-taking, and entrepreneurial culture of companies like these, who when presented with challenges, continue to find a way to add value to the sports and fitness industry. We host the SFIA Start-Up Challenge annually to provide early businesses the opportunity to propel the industry to new heights, and we are very excited about this year’s innovators.”

For more on the 2022 Start-Up Challenge, visit www.sfiastartupchallenge.org.

If you are interested in an interview with one of our 9 Start-Up Challenge finalists or a member of the SFIA team, 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 sfia.org.

Industry Experiences Largest Single Year Growth in a Decade; 4% Higher Than GDP

SILVER SPRING, MD (June 1, 2022) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) has released its 2022 State of the Industry Report, which features an in-depth analysis of the trends and issues affecting the sports and fitness industry, including participation, economy, and the industry environment in 2021

Despite battling complicated supply chain challenges and the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sports and fitness industry produced unprecedented growth in 2021. The industry grew by a cumulative 15.8%, accounting for athletic footwear, apparel, sports and fitness equipment, accessories, and licensed products. For the second year in a row, the industry outperformed other sectors of the economy, returning 4% higher growth than the current dollar GDP – reflecting further strength of the sports and fitness market.

“The industry had a banner year by delivering products to work out, play sports, enjoy the outdoors, compete, and be a part of a team – the very outcomes Americans needed most as they emerged from pandemic restrictions and altered lifestyles,” said Tom Cove, President & CEO, SFIA. “This report also outlines substantial positive momentum going forward, especially in terms of forecasts for the future health of the industry, inventories, and broadening channels to reach consumers.”

In 2021, the sports and fitness industry showed the largest number of companies increasing profitability since 2015, with just over 59% showing an increase. However, a significant number of companies struggled to see positive trends in profitability in year two of the pandemic, as 30.4% reported a decrease – the second-highest number since 2012, only to be beaten by 2020 (53.8%).

“Of course, the current challenges facing our national economy could create headwinds,” Cove added. “The global supply chain is not yet fixed, and we are monitoring how inflation may affect consumer behavior in the future.”

Despite the continued challenges of the pandemic, the outlook for most companies is still positive due in large part to increased sales due to an online presence. Online sales remained strong as 76% of companies showed increased sales on their own website and 66% saw growth through third-party platforms – with 81.6% of companies predicting increased sales through their websites in 2022. Additionally, brick and mortar sales still showed importance for brands with 56.8% and 55.7% of companies showing increases in their own store and specialty retailers, respectively. As both brick and mortar and online platforms present value for companies, nearly 70% of companies reported planning for an increase in their R&D investment next year – the largest increase in four years. 

Cove states, “The best news is Americans today appreciate even more the value and benefits of an active lifestyle for both physical and mental health, and our industry is providing products and opportunities to make that happen.”

The 2022 State of the Industry Report is free to SFIA Members and is available to the public for purchase by clicking here for $649.

The report is provided free of charge to members of the media. If you are interested in a copy, 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 sfia.org.

Final Batch of In-Depth Sports and Fitness Activity Reports Released

SILVER SPRING, MD (May 18, 2022) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) has released its third and final batch of 2022 Single Sport Reports. All sport-specific, in-depth research reports for sports and fitness activities are now available to the public for purchase. These reports provide a detailed analysis and breakdown of participation by various demographics by individual activity.

As reported in our 2022 Topline Participation Report, the number of active participants was the highest number reported in the last five years at 232.6 million. Since 2016, the inactivity rate has declined an average of 2.6 percent, with remarkable changes in the last two years.

“Our data showed that 6.8 million people transitioned from a sedentary lifestyle to some physical activity during COVID-19,” said Tom Cove, President & CEO, SFIA. “With the inactive population decreasing, the data suggests active lifestyles are important to Americans, and we saw that translate to outdoor sports, such as trail running, and water sports, such as kayaking and stand-up paddling – all activities deemed pandemic-friendly.”

Each report tracks participation as defined by gender, participation frequency, age, geographic region, market size area, income, education level, and cross-sport/activity participation, and new for 2022, ethnicity.

The following research reports have been released in the final batch:

Cove states, “All the research for the activities we track is now available to the public, and these reports really take a deep dive into specific participation data, which can help organizations in our industry better plan for the future.”

You can now access all 2022 SFIA Single Sport and Fitness Participation Reports for the sports and fitness activities tracked by SFIA. All reports are $99 each for SFIA Members, and $295 each for non-members.

These reports are provided free of charge to members of the media. If you are interested in a copy of any of the reports, 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 sfia.org.

24 Individual Fitness Activity Research Reports Now Available for Purchase

SILVER SPRING, MD (May 12, 2022) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) has released its second of three batches of 2022 Single Sport Reports, including 24 new individual reports for fitness activities. These reports provide a detailed analysis and breakdown of participation by various demographics and by the specific fitness activity.

As reported in our 2022 Topline Participation Report, participation in sports and activities continued to grow in 2021, increasing 1.3 percent over 2020. This was a gain of 2.9 million people aged six and over who either started or returned to action.

“The pandemic fundamentally affected the way Americans worked out and stayed active, and these deep-dive reports get into the specifics of how individual sports fared,” said Tom Cove, CEO & President, SFIA. “As folks may have been hesitant to return to health clubs, more people were participating in outdoor activities, and we also saw a major increase in at-home fitness, with Americans participating at higher rates in yoga, Pilates, and working out with kettlebells, to name a few.”

Each report tracks participation as defined by gender, participation frequency, age, geographic region, market size area, income, education level, cross-sport/activity participation, and a new category for 2022, ethnicity.

The following 24 fitness reports are now available:

Cove states, “Our Single Sport Reports provide invaluable number-focused data that is specific to an activity – providing organizations the ability to see unique insights and trends that they can use to better prepare their goals and objectives to improve consumer sales.”

All 2022 SFIA Single Sport and Fitness Participation Reports are $99 each for SFIA Members and $295 per report for non-members. You can now access reports for the team, racquet, and action sports category (first batch), in addition to the newly released fitness activity reports by clicking here.

These reports are provided free of charge to members of the media. If you are interested in a copy of any of the reports, 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 sfia.org.

35 Individual Single Sport Reports Are Now Available for Purchase

SILVER SPRING, MD (April 14, 2022) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) has released its first batch of 2022 Single Sport Reports, including 35 individual sport reports in team sports, racquet sports, and action sports categories. These reports provide a detailed analysis and breakdown of participation by various demographics, and by specific sport or fitness activity.

As reported in our 2022 Topline Participation Report, inactivity levels have declined since 2020 and are currently at their lowest level ever – that is 16.8 million more people participating in sports and fitness since 2016.

“Participation in sports for 2021 continued to see growth for activities deemed pandemic-friendly,” said Tom Cove, CEO & President, SFIA. “While sports that allowed for social distancing had higher participation levels, we are optimistic to see other team sports categories beginning to recover to pre-pandemic participation levels as well.”

Each report tracks participation as defined by gender, participation frequency, age, geographic region, market size area, income, education level, cross-sport/activity participation, and a new category for 2022, ethnicity.

The following 35 sports reports are now available:

All 2022 SFIA Single Sport and Fitness Participation Reports are $99 each for SFIA Members and $295 per report for non-members. For more information, click here.

These reports are provided free of charge to members of the media. If you are interested in a copy of any of the reports, please contact Lisa Futterman at [email protected].

# # #

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 sfia.org.

The sports and fitness products industry grew by 15.8% in 2021

SILVER SPRING, MD (April 8, 2022) – The sporting goods industry experienced record-breaking sales in 2021, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s (SFIA) annual Manufacturers’ Sales by Category Report. The report, released today, tracks U.S. wholesale revenues of sports and fitness goods in over 30 categories, and provides comparisons to revenues from previous years. 

The total market for sports equipment, exercise equipment, athletic footwear, sports apparel, and licensed merchandise saw a 15.8% increase in revenue from 2020 and a 16.4% increase since 2019 pre-pandemic numbers, with a majority of the tracked categories experiencing growth of over 10% in those two years. As a result of these record-breaking numbers, the sporting goods industry is now valued at over $111 billion dollars.

“These numbers are extraordinary – the largest jump SFIA has seen in the history of us tracking this data,” said Tom Cove, President & CEO, SFIA. “Even with the numerous supply chain issues and a myriad of challenges manufacturers have experienced because of the pandemic, these sales figures clearly show the sports and fitness industry is thriving.”

Total sports equipment sales are up 16.8% since 2019. The top five sporting equipment categories with the largest growth over two years are golf (57.1%), camping (33.6%), snow sports (27.2%), tennis (27%), and basketball (26.6%).

Total exercise equipment sales, including both consumer and institutional, have increased 42.2% from pre-pandemic levels, with four consumer equipment categories – home gyms, exercise cycles, free weights, and exercise benches – experiencing over 100% growth since 2019. Fitness product sales showed the most volatility amongst different products within the category, with consumer fitness products showing dramatic growth in the initial stages of the pandemic period. 

“When Americans were restricted from schools, facilities, and group gatherings, they still wanted to be physically active and they purchased our products for this purpose,” says Cove.  “As pandemic restrictions lessened, Americans continued to buy active lifestyle products –  showing how central the sports and fitness industry is to Americans’ well-being. With team sports participation approaching pre-pandemic levels, we are optimistic the positive market indicators will sustain.”

The 2022 Manufacturers’ Sales Report is free to SFIA Members and is available to the public for purchase by clicking here for $245.

Many manufacturing sales increases parallel participation trends reported in SFIA’s 2022 Topline Participation Report, which you can learn more about by clicking here.

The report is provided free of charge to members of the media. If you are interested in a copy, 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 sfia.org.

Team Sports Participation Slowly Recovering, Pickleball Officially Fastest Growing Sport

SILVER SPRING, MD (Feb. 11, 2022) – As the world slowly began to reopen in 2021, Americans got back on the move, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association’s (SFIA) annual Topline Participation Report. The report tracks participation rates of Americans aged six and older, across 120 different sport, fitness, and outdoor activities, including a section dedicated to the impact of COVID-19 on participation rates.

For the second year in a row, inactivity levels declined. Decreasing by 0.7% from 2020, inactivity is the lowest it has ever been. Compared to 2016, activity has increased 7.8% – that is 16.8 million more people participating in sports and fitness in a five-year span. Lower inactivity levels in 2021 were primarily driven by the 18-24 and 25-34 age groups, with youth inactivity – age groups 6-12 and 13-17 – also decreasing for the fifth year in a row. While these activity numbers are encouraging, there is still a lot of work to do as over 72 million people are still inactive.

“2021 showed pandemic-friendly activities like tennis, golf, running, hiking, yoga, skateboarding and surfing continue to be popular, while other categories that declined in 2020 are starting to recover,” said Tom Cove, President & CEO, SFIA.

Across the seven sports categories tracked by SFIA, water sports saw the largest year-over-year increase in participation at 2.3%, followed closely behind by outdoor sports with a 2.2% increase. Team sports saw a year-over-year increase of 1.8%, but participation still remains lower than pre-pandemic levels with approximately 2 million fewer people participating in team sports in 2021 than in 2019.

Pickleball continues its incredible rise, becoming the fastest-growing sport over the last two years, with participation seeing a 39.3% growth. Yoga has grown 12.8% in that same time frame, making it one of the fastest-growing activities during the pandemic.

We continue to see a substantial participation impact through major events. With the summer Olympic games taking place in 2021, participation in gymnastics, fast-pitch softball, swimming on a team, and court volleyball all increased by over 8%. This is almost double the amount of growth the next highest team sport saw.

Cove says, “As we continue to face challenges with an ongoing, unpredictable pandemic, we are encouraged to see folks returning to health clubs and heading back out to the courts and fields, and continuing the active lifestyles they adopted during the pandemic.”

The 2022 Topline Participation Report is free to SFIA Members and is available to the public for purchase by clicking here for $349.

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.

The 6th Annual Event Will Take Place Virtually This July

SILVER SPRING, MD (Feb. 9, 2022) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA)’s annual Start-Up Challenge is back for the sixth time. The Start-Up Challenge, the industry’s premier innovation showcase, brings together young companies and entrepreneurs to pitch groundbreaking concepts in a competitive format. Up to 10 finalists will be selected from the applicant pool and will present virtually to over 100 judges, consisting of executives, investors, and thought leaders in the sports and fitness industry.

To date, SFIA has showcased 31 start-up companies as finalists, providing them with the opportunity to raise awareness, receive investments, initiate partnerships and kickstart their business in front of their target audience. Since participating in the Start-Up Challenge, these finalists have collectively raised over $168 million.

“Our industry is fueled by innovation, with start-ups leading the way,” said Tom Cove, SFIA President & CEO. “As we enter the third year of the pandemic, we need new ideas and bright entrepreneurs who care about making a difference in sports and fitness more than ever. SFIA is committed to supporting new ideas and we’re excited to again host the Start-Up Challenge to highlight the next wave of groundbreaking innovators and judges.”

All 2022 finalists will receive one free year of an SFIA membership, their company logo featured in an SFIA research report, direct leads and instant feedback on their company from all judges, and a personal introduction to five judges of their choice.

The grand prize winner will additionally receive free registration to SFIA’s Industry Leaders Summit (ILS) in October (annual C-level industry conference; $1,700 value), a panel speaking opportunity at ILS and public recognition at the dinner reception, national media coverage, a spotlight in SFIA’s State of the Industry Report, and more prizes to be announced.

The application is now live and open to any entrepreneur with an idea, product, or service in the sporting goods, team sports, sports tech and/or fitness space. All applications submitted before March 25, 2022, will be evaluated and considered for a finalist position.

Potential judges and interested Start-Ups can find additional information and the applications by clicking here or visiting sfiastartupchallenge.org. 

SFIA Start-Up Challenge Digital Media Partner: Spark Inc. 

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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.

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