With the cycle in rules changes affecting equipment and uniforms in something of a lull, the SFIA’s annual meeting with the NCAA and the NFHS rule making bodies focused on how technology can be used to enhance play and, more importantly, improve safety, as the concussion discussion continues to dominate headlines about sports in the national media.
After years of a somewhat testy relationship between rule makers and manufacturers, there is clear evidence of better communication between the groups. Rule-makers now have a better understanding of the impact their decisions have on sporting goods producers and are communicating changes in advance to mitigate inventory obsolescence. Manufacturers are showing up in much bigger numbers now and most key companies were represented. Attendance from SFIA members and all other groups is now almost four-fold the size at its inception.
As uniform makers try to become more creative in their use of new processes that allow for more customization, rule-making bodies are moving towards loosening some of their previous restrictions as long as certain parameters are followed, such as the ability to tell the teams and players apart. One area that seems most likely to be liberalized is the growing trend by colleges to don special uniforms with a cause. While the Providence basketball team wearing Sandy Hook on their uniforms was technically technically not in compliance, there were no sanctions on the team and the NCAA is likely to review the policy about these situations.
NOCSAE said its main objective remains to identify viable standards for concussion prevention in helmets, but said the task remains very complex because of the state of knowledge about concussions and the variations from sport to sport. NOCSAE said it would not implement any standard until it was sure it could prove that meeting the standard reduced concussions. NOCSAE is studying development of a national database of helmets monitored by RFID technology to enable it and consumers to track individual helmets. This would actually be an extension of a system it developed with the NFL for youth football.
One area where it seems unlikely to change is its stance against third-party add-ons, such as head pads and chin straps that are not part of the original manufacturer’s equipment. It sees these as factors beyond its certification process, which applies only to the original equipment. It also expressed caution about various detection systems, all essentially accelerometers, which it said might not be measuring the correct kinds of hits and has the ability to create a false sense of security because an athlete may actually have a concussion but ignore it because the device didn’t measure it.
NOCSAE also said it was looking at developing a different ball standard for women’s lacrosse rather than pushing for a standard on wearing helmets. Injury data suggests that the biggest risk in women’s lacrosse is not contact with another player but contact with the ball or stick, and a softer ball might address injuries better without risking a change in the way the game is played. Some believe putting helmets on women’s lacrosse players might create a game with more contact.
Injury updates from both the NCAA and NFHS showed that whereas concussions account for 6% of football injuries at the college level, they are 23% of injuries at the high school level. New data suggests to researchers that a critical factor in reducing concussions may actually be neck strength. Concussion rates remain very high at the middle school level as well, where they account for 21% of injuries. The reported rates of concussions are up, perhaps in part to better awareness, but the message on return to play rules has also gotten through to parents, coaches and trainers.
SFIA, in addressing the outlook for the industry, noted that it had shown 2.4% growth in 2012, slightly faster than the 2.2% growth in GDP. Equipment sales rose 2.8% to $20,893 million from $21,478 million; fitness equipment sales rose 4.7% to $4,700 million from $4,490 million; apparel sales gained 1.5% to $31,848 million from $31,379 million; and sneaker sales were up 1.4% to $13,630 million from $13,180 million.
Its survey of members suggests that a higher percentage see sales increasing both domestically and internationally in 2013 and they are more bullish on adding capacity. That additional capacity is more likely to be in the U.S. or nearer the U.S. than Asia due to rising labor rates in Asia as well as the need to be closer to the market.
Written by Nicolas Yang
