2011 SIA Report Released

SnowSports Industries America was originally founded under the name National Ski Equipment and Apparel Association in 1954. It is a non-profit organization, member owned national trade association and today it has numerous functions. It not only promotes snow sports in general, but it also serves as a representative for suppliers, from ski resort communities to retailers. They also work with various others in the industry to gather data in regard to skiing participants and services, and assist in marketing all aspects of snow sports by hosting a massive trade show that offers wonderful networking opportunities for industry members.

SnowSports Industries America was originally founded under the name National Ski Equipment and Apparel Association in 1954. It is a non-profit organization, member owned national trade association and today it has numerous functions. It not only promotes snow sports in general, but it also serves as a representative for suppliers, from ski resort communities to retailers. They also work with various others in the industry to gather data in regard to skiing participants and services, and assist in marketing all aspects of snow sports by hosting a massive trade show that offers wonderful networking opportunities for industry members.

The association does not only represent one winter sport discipline, but promotes all sporting activities that take place on the snow covered slopes. Recently, all the data gathered by SnowSports Industries America has enabled them to release their 2011 SIA Snow Sports Participation report that shows a dramatic increase in participants. The report includes disciplines such as snowboarding, skiing, snowshoeing, park and pipe riding, telemark, cross country skiing and Alpine skiing.

The report has revealed that there has been an increase in the snowboarding disciplines as well as freeskiing. There are a few points that have been highlighted by the report, such as the fact that there are more than twenty-one million people who participate in the various six snow sport disciplines within the United States of America. It also showed that over seven percent of people older than six years of age living in the United States participated in one or more disciplines. There are also ten states in the United States that have a concentration of more than sixty percent snowboarding and alpine skiing enthusiasts. The report has also shown that snow sports is growing as an interest amongst ethnic groups such as Asians, African Americans and the Hispanic communities by five percent each year.

The SIA report also indicated that snowboarding is a male dominated discipline, with more than sixty percent of participants being males between the ages of thirteen and thirty-four. The same was confirmed in the report in regard to Alpine skiers, with approximately sixty percent of the participants also being males between the same ages. The report assists the winter sport industry to see how the various disciplines are increasing in popularity, as well as working on target markets and marketing strategies. Over all the report has shown a growth in the industry, which is encouraging, and it is hoped that the numbers will improve even more by the release of next year’s report.