8.1 PRSR 02-10-2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Appendix A – Recreation Trends Analysis 2 INACTIVITY RATES / ACTIVITY LEVEL TRENDS SFIA also categorizes participation rates by intensity, dividing activity levels into five categories based on the caloric implication (i.e., high calorie burning, low/med calorie burning, or inactive) and the frequency of participation (i.e., 1-50 times, 50-150 times, or above) for a given activity. Participation rates are expressed as ‘super active’ or ‘active to a healthy level’ (high calorie burning, 151+ times), ‘active’ (high calorie burning, 50-150 times), ‘casual’ (high calorie burning, 1-50 times), ‘low/med calorie burning’, and ‘inactive’. These participation rates are then assessed based on the total population trend over the last five years, as well as breaking down these rates by generation. NATIONAL SPORT AND FITNESS PARTICIPATORY TRENDS NATIONAL TRENDS IN GENERAL SPORTS The sport’s most heavily participated in the United States were Golf (23.8 million in 2016) and Basketball (23.4 million), which have participation figures well in excess of the other activities within the general sports category. The popularity of Golf and Basketball can be attributed to the ability to compete with relatively small number of participants. Even though Golf has experienced a recent decrease in participation, it still continues to benefit from its wide age segment appeal and is considered a life-long sport. Basketball’s success can be attributed to the limited amount of equipment needed to participate and the limited space requirements necessary, which make basketball the only traditional sport that can be played at the majority of American dwellings as a drive-way pickup game. Since 2012, Rugby and other niche sports, like Boxing, Lacrosse, and Roller Hockey have seen strong growth. Rugby has emerged as the overall fastest growing sport, as it has seen participation levels rise by 82.8% over the last five years. Based on the five-year trend, Boxing for Competition (42.6%), Lacrosse (35.1%), and Roller Hockey (34.2%) have also experienced significant growth. In the most recent year, the fastest growing sports were Boxing for Competition (13.1%) and Pickleball (11.3%). During the last five years, the sports that are most rapidly declining include Ultimate Frisbee (- 39.1%), Touch Football (-22.8%), Tackle Football (-16.0%), and Racquetball (-13.4%). For the most recent year, Ultimate Frisbee (-14.9%), Badminton (-12.6%), Gymnastics (-10.7%), and Volleyball- Sand/Beach (-9.9%) experienced the largest declines. In general, the most recent year shares a similar pattern with the five-year trends. This suggests that the increasing participation rates in certain activities have yet to peak in sports like Rugby, Lacrosse, Field Hockey, and Competitive Boxing. However, some sports that increased rapidly over the past five years have experienced recent decreases in participation, including Squash, Ice Hockey, Roller Hockey and Volleyball-Sand/Beach. The reversal of the five-year trends in these sports may be due to a relatively low user base (ranging from 1-5 million) and could suggest that participation in these activities may have peaked.