NMMM Data Economic impact v2 (1)

THE CONTRIBUTION OF LIFESTYLE SPORTS TOWARDS SOCIO-ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

M E D I A M A R K E T I N G M A N A G E M E N TS I N C E 1 9 8 7

THE GROWTH OF LIFESTYLE SPORTSLifestyle sports such as surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding have now firmly entrenched themselves in the threads of international societies. While participation in mainstream sports has experienced decline in recent years, action sports, or lifestyle sports, have shown to be a high growth sector of the sport industry globally. It is estimated that over 250 million people participate in lifestyle sports worldwide.

Lifestyle sports attract growing numbers of participants who enjoy the adventure-driven excitement that these sports represent. The culture and demographics of the participants, as well as the highly competitive corporate interests in marketing and sponsorship, have contributed to the rapid growth of board sports.

In association, this popularity has largely been driven by the undying interest of hardcore participants, the international popularity of professional action sport athletes, and the inclusion of snowboarding and other action sports disciplines in the Olympics. Furthermore, widespread exposure to events like the X-games and Street League Skateboarding by broadcast channels has helped with the global popularity surge, especially in the younger generations.The following page introduces a few of the most important events to happen in action sports which have contributed to the global interest in the culture.


M E D I A M A R K E T I N G M A N A G E M E N T



THE RISING POPULARITY OF ACTION SPORTS

1995

1997

1999

2000

2001

2002

2005

2006

2008

2010

2013 2020

2014

First X Games held in Rhode Island

Action sports tour created

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game

is released

First Action Sports & Music Awards held

in L.A.

Dew Action Sports Pro Tour is launched

attracting 230K attendees at 5 stops

BMX racing makes Olympics debuting

in Beijing

X-Games activates international stops

including Brazil, Spain and Germany.

Anticipated date for skateboarding to

debut in the official Olympic Games in

Tokyo, Japan

First Winter X Games held in

CaliforniaGravity Tour starts in

California

Tony Hawk’s Gigantic Skatepark

Tour is launched

Touchstone Pictures & ESPN produce Ultimate X Movie

Winter X Games sets attendance record with over 77K fans over 4

days

Street League Skateboarding (SLs)

is launched

Skateboarding debutes at the Youth Olympic

Games in Nanjing, China

Society is undergoing constant change, of which lifestyle choices have become more prevalent than ever. Social science reports suggest that experience-driven opportunities greatly outweigh the sense of elation found in a material purchase. For example, statistics suggest that a healthy majority of people would rather go on a vacation or participate in a unique activity than purchase a new couch or buy a pair of shoes for the equivalent price. Further to the point, reports states that apparently "a $20,000 increase in spending on leisure or lifestyle experiences was roughly equivalent to the happiness boost one gets from marriage, adding that spending on recreational and leisure activities appeared to make people less lonely and increases their interactions with others."

Being as it may, these human behavior patterns based around lifestyle, sport and leisure trends have contributed greatly to the socio-economic growth of those communities who have consistently and strategically offered the greatest value to society in terms of experience-driven privileges, of which the statistics on the following page highlight this reality:



SOCIAL TRENDS, BEHAVIORS AND PREFERENCES EXPERIENTIAL TOURISM

THE STATS AREINCREDIBLE!OVER1000

WATER PARKS IN NORTH AMERICA

97 MILLION

1,400

300

ESTIMATED ATTENDEES IN NORTH AMERICANWATER PARKS IN 2010. AVERAGE GROWTH OF 3-5% PER YEAR.

JUST IN NORTHAMERICA

AND MORE THAN 600 AROUND THE WORLD

321,900,000PEOPLE VISITEDTHEME PARKS IN 2011

121,400,000VISITED

WALT DISNEYPARKS AND RESORTS

IN 2011 ALONE

1,000SKI RESORTSWORLDWIDE

MILLION60PEOPLE VISITEDA SKI RESORT INTHE U.S. IN 2011

UP TO:

$350K MEMBERSHIP FEE

ANNUAL FEESTHAT REACH

$15K

ROUGHLY4,400PRIVATE COUNTRYCLUBS IN THE U.S.(GOLF, TENNIS, SWIMMING)

270,000TENNIS COURTSIN THE U.S.

150,000 of these courts are considereda 'value add' at either a a hotel, an apartment

complex, a residential area, or at a communityactivities complex.

18,514GOLF COURSESIN THE U.S.

$5MILLIONTO BUILD AN

AVERAGE GOLF COURSE(NOT INCLUDING THE PRICEOF THE PROPERTY WHICH ISAPPROXIMATELY 180 ACRES

OF USABLE LAND) 12,000CAMP FACILITIES

HOSTING 8MILLION KIDS PER YEAR

76% OF ‘MIDDLE CLASS’ TRAVEL FOR

LEISURE PURPOSES EACH YEAR

AN AVERAGE U.S. FAMILY OF FOUR WILL SPEND

ON A VACATION AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR$4,000



Accepting the lucrative nature of the leisure industry in general, surfing is one of the fastest growing sports on the planet, contributing billions to the economy. Surf schools and surf camps draw hundreds of thousands of people into surfing each year. The number of surfers has risen from 26 million to 35 million in the last ten years, despite the fact that many surfers do not have the luxury of living near surf breaks, and must travel long distances in order to surf.

However, since natural surf spots are limited, they become overcrowded which is leading to tensions, frustration and high accident risk. Still, many surfers can only casually enjoy the sport since nature rarely delivers good weather and descent wave conditions. . . . and even when conditions are perfect, people are not always able to act on the opportunity due to travel time, inconveniences and other geographical restraints. The solution is the creation of wave pools tailored to surfing in order to free the sport from its coastal constraints and provide a facility that can be enjoyed by kids, beginners, families and surf pros all within the one user-friendly environment. Decades of R&D has been invested into creating the high-performance and sustainable wave pools; and in accordance to the experts, the Webber Wave Pool technology is leading the charge. To service this growing market, the Webber Wave Pool offers:

a. High quality waves all day, every day

b. Many waves at the one facility

c. Control over wave shape (beginner to expert) and ability to supply both types at same time

d. Low energy cost per wave

e. High degree of scaleability in wave size and number to suit many business models (eg water parks, surf stadiums, developments).

f. A new form of competition that the audience will understand (eg. Identical waves on tap negates the gamble of nature and the grey area in the previous criteria).

g. An opportunity for brands to connect with customers on various levels.

h. Ability to accommodate multiple surfers at once

THE FUTURE OF SURFING



Community parks have long been recognized as major contributors to the physical and aesthetic quality of urban neighborhoods. Parks also contribute significantly to the social wealth of the community by providing a facility for the community to socialize and engage. In correlation, a broader view of parks has recently been emerging. This new view goes well beyond the traditional value of parks as just a place of recreation and visual assets to communities, and focuses on how policymakers, practitioners, and the public can begin to think about parks as valuable contributors to larger urban policy objectives, such as job opportunities, youth development, public health, and community building.

The connection between urban parks and neighborhood quality is receiving renewed attention from community developers as they strive to make their neighborhoods more attractive and economically valuable. A recent survey for Community Development Corporations (CDCs)—which were once focused largely on housing and commercial development activities—reveals that about 40% of CDCs now invest in open-space programs, and that this activity area is undergoing the most rapid expansion. This finding should be no surprise. CDCs respond to their communities, and given the shift in lifestyle choices, communities’ priority is often more community space.

An ongoing study by the Trust for Public Land shows that over the past decade, voter approval rates for bond measures to acquire, develop and/or expand parks and mixed-use community facilities exceeds 75%. Clearly, the majority of the public views parks as an essential priority for government and private spending due to the following reasons:

• Parks are a tangible reflection of the quality of life in a community. They provide identity for citizens, and recreation services are often cited as one of the most important factors in surveys of how livable communities are.

• Parks improve the local tax base and increase property values.

• Access to parks and recreation opportunities has been strongly linked to reductions in crime and to reduced juvenile delinquency.

• According to studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, creating, improving and promoting places to be physically active can improve individual and community health and result in a 25% increase of residents who exercise at least three times per week.

• Parks and protected public lands are proven to improve water quality, protect groundwater, prevent flooding, improve the quality of the air we breathe, provide vegetative buffers to development, produce habitat for wildlife, and provide a place for children and families to connect with nature and recreate outdoors together.

• Parks provide gathering places for families and social groups, as well as for individuals of all ages and economic status, regardless of their ability to pay for access.

• Parks and recreation programs provide places for health and well-being that are accessible by persons of all ages and abilities, especially to those with disabilities.

• Research by the Project on Human Development indicates that community involvement in neighborhood parks is associated with lower levels of crime and vandalism

• Parks have a value to communities that transcend the amount of dollars invested or the revenues gained from fees. Parks provide a sense of public pride and cohesion to every community.

Communities developed around the lifestyle sports ethos are destined to attract residents and tourists, enabling a sustainable future!

THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A SAFE AND WELL-MAINTAINED COMMUNITY PARK



YOUTH DEVELOPMENT VIA ACTION SPORTSIn correlation to the commercial value board sports offer, youth development is also a fundamental value proposition of action / lifestyle sports as the culture introduces a prime platform for experiential learning -- a philosophy and methodology in which educators purposefully engage with students in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, and clarify values. Teaching through experience as opposed to "preaching" has proven to be effective across across all races, genders, cultures and socioeconomic districts. As such, stewardships and youth development programs that leverage what kids are most interested in (i.e. board sports) as opposed to trying to teach by preaching has proven to be an exceptional tool to accomplish the following:

1. Increase self-confidence and self-confidence domains such as independence, self-efficacy and self-understanding. 2. Enhance psychological well being.3. Increase ability to overcome challenges4. Positively impact on leadership competencies5. Enhance decision making skills, general problem solving competencies and personal achievements6. Increase personality dimensions such as assertiveness, emotional stability, achievement motivation, internal focus of control, maturity, and reductions in aggression and neurosis.

7. Improve mental strength and interpersonal dimensions such as social competence, co-operation and inter-personal communication skills.

When you move beyond these outdated stereotypes, it becomes clear that facilities like skateparks which are created to support those who have an interest in board sports provide a vital space for people to stay active and be a part of a unique community. In countless cities around the world, well-built skateparks and wave pools have proven to be valuable community assets with tremendous benefits. Instead of viewing skateboarding as a negative problem that needs to be solved, these forward-thinking communities have found ways to embrace skateboarding and the broader action sports culture. Given the participation rates, facilities that accommodate for board-sport enthusiast have become one of the most effective conduits to cultivate youth development due to the high number of people who participate in skateboarding and surfing!

*The following pages introduce a few conceptual developments.























The expectation is that this presentation will lead to questions around the opportunities introduced. It is our wish to establish a committee to discuss strategies in an effort to enable China to capitalize on these opportunities. As a committee, our primary objectives would be:

1. Prepare reports and continue to conduct research to educate respective stakeholders on the value of lifestyle sports and the capacity to boost socio-economic value via the induction of board sport facilities and initiatives;

2. Design programs and engineer activations that responsibly promote youth development, social wealth, environmental awareness, and economic expansion in China, and;

3. Design and build facilities that encourage participation and maturation.

We hope you find value in the presented opportunities. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Notwithstanding, we appreciate your time, attention and interest.

Sincere regards,

John Nielsen from The Action Sports Agency.

GOING FORWARD





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NMMM Data Economic impact v2 (1)