SFIA’s Topline Report Shows Americans’ Inactivity Rate Declining

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SILVER SPRING, MD (Feb. 16, 2022) – Because the world slowly started to reopen in 2021, Individuals bought again on the transfer, in accordance with the Sports activities and Health Business Affiliation’s (SFIA) annual Topline Participation Report. The report tracks participation charges of Individuals aged six and older, throughout 120 totally different sport, health, and out of doors actions, together with a piece devoted to the impression of COVID-19 on participation charges.

For the second yr in a row, inactivity ranges declined. Lowering by 0.7% from 2020, inactivity is the bottom it has ever been. In comparison with 2016, exercise has elevated 7.8% – that’s 16.8 million extra folks collaborating in sports activities and health in a five-year span. Decrease inactivity ranges in 2021 have been primarily pushed by the 18-24 and 25-34 age teams, with youth inactivity – age teams 6-12 and 13-17 – additionally lowering for the fifth yr in a row. Whereas these exercise numbers are encouraging, there may be nonetheless a variety of work to do as over 72 million individuals are nonetheless inactive.

“2021 confirmed pandemic-friendly actions like tennis, golf, operating, mountain climbing, yoga, skateboarding and browsing proceed to be fashionable, whereas different classes that declined in 2020 are beginning to recuperate,” stated Tom Cove, President & CEO, SFIA.

Throughout the seven sports activities classes tracked by SFIA, water sports activities noticed the biggest year-over-year enhance in participation at 2.3%, adopted carefully behind by out of doors sports activities with a 2.2% enhance. Workforce sports activities noticed a year-over-year enhance of 1.8%, however participation nonetheless stays decrease than pre-pandemic ranges with roughly 2 million fewer folks collaborating in group sports activities in 2021 than 2019.

Pickleball continues its unimaginable rise, turning into the quickest rising sport over the past two years, with participation seeing a 39.3% progress. Yoga has grown 12.8% in that very same time-frame, making it one of many quickest rising actions through the pandemic.

We proceed to see a considerable participation impression via main occasions. With the summer time Olympic video games happening in 2021, participation in gymnastics, fast-pitch softball, swimming on a group, and court docket volleyball all elevated by over 8%. That is nearly double the quantity of progress the subsequent highest group sport noticed.

Cove says, “As we proceed to face challenges with an ongoing, unpredictable pandemic, we’re inspired to see people returning to well being golf equipment and heading again out to the courts and fields, and persevering with the energetic life they adopted through the pandemic.”

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

The report is offered free-of-charge to members of the media. If you’re focused on a duplicate of this report, please contact Lisa Futterman at lfutterman@sfia.org.