Hi there, can you fill in the blank?
Tennis participation has
grown
__%
since 2000.
If you work in tennis, cover the game in the media,
or play for fun, this is a number you should know.
Scroll down for the answer, and click here for details.
What does this fact mean to you? Well, if
you:
...work in tennis, present this as evidence
that 'tennis is back' and you need more funding for
your club, program, staff, pro shop and
the tennis division of your company.
...cover tennis in the press, use this fact
to pitch more stories on a local level.
...play tennis, mention this in efforts to
convince local politicians to funnel money into
resurfacing courts at schools and in the
parks.
ANSWER: Tennis participation has grown 10.3%
since 2000.
Keep reading...
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Tennis beats other traditional sports
continued from above
Why is tennis the only traditional sport to
grow in
participation since 2000? Luck has little to do
with it, and collaboration has everything to do with
it.
The 1970s were the golden era for participation in
the U.S., and since then the game has been reaching
for that benchmark. It's been tough-going. The first
attempts to address a post-'70s slump in
participation came as early as the mid-1980s.
Some
gains were made in participation over the years, but
product sales showed mixed results, perhaps because
play was up among infrequent players and down
among frequent players. Racquet sales increased
each year from 1986 to 1992, then dropped in 1993,
according to an article
published by Park & Recreation in 1994.
The
industry's been trying to gain traction ever since in
regard to participation and product sales.
This chart,
based on results from the SGMA 2006 Super Study,
shows the progress. Click here to view "Tennis Industry Quick Facts" by
the TIA and USTA.
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Fast-forward to 2006--A renaissance is under way
continued from above
The Tennis Industry Association's
research shows
that product sales have increased steadily over the
past 12 quarters. That's the equivalent of three
years. It's incredible, and those in the know attribute
it to the unified efforts behind Tennis
Welcome Centers and Cardio
Tennis, which are designed to
attract new players to programs and pull former and
current players into more playing opportunities.
Thanks to organizations like the TIA, USTA, teaching
associations, manufacturers, retailers, facilities and
media--all of whom agreed that 'saving' tennis was
more key to their livelihood that the threat of talking
to the competition--more people are playing, and
they're playing more often.
"Other sports can't grow because they are
fragmented," President Jim Baugh told TIA members
at the annual meeting during the U.S. Open. "If you
start to creep in with your individual brands instead
of the good the game, you will fail, too."
For all the details in plain numbers, click here
for "Tennis Industry Quick Facts," hot off the press
and based on research by the TIA and
USTA. Here is some info, from the TIA
Census, that is included in that report.
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Tennis is more accessible than ever
continued from above
I believe other efforts have contributed to the
growth of
tennis. Specifically, the pro tours' strategies to
make
the game more fan-friendly; breakthrough technology
by racquet and shoe manufacturers that makes
better (and more comfortable) players out of us; as
well as tennis stakeholders' investments in media
platforms like the Internet, television and satellite
radio (and the
convergence of them through live streaming,
Podcasts or on-demand video) to extend the reach
of tennis consumption by fans.
The pop culture status of pro players, the comeback
of senior competition through Jim Courier's
Outback Champions Tour, and charity events
and
exhibitions organized or attended by tennis pros of all
generations also have given tennis a bigger place on
the radar.
The more active tennis people--current and former
stars, teachers, deal-makers, volunteers,
administrators and writers and broadcasters--are in
their respective domains, the more active tennis
players and fans will be. Tennis needs to actively
fight to be top-of-mind in
America.
The onus--rather, the privilege--is on all of us.
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'Til next time,
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