Roughly 75% of the U.S. population is involved in a fitness, sports, recreational, or outdoor activity as a casual, regular or frequent participant.  That’s one of the underlying messages revealed in the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association’s Sports Participation in America (2007 edition) report.  In all, more than 100 fitness, outdoor, recreational and competitive activities are featured inside this annual report on sports participation trends in the United States. 


For each sport listed in this study, there are a series of statistics that reflect gender breakdowns; the average age of the participant; the average annual household income of the participant; average duration of play (in years) per participant; and participation interest at the ‘frequent’ level.  These demographics allow the reader to get a more accurate profile of today’s sports participants.

Listed below are some of the significant news items from this report:



  • Numero Uno.  With more than 100 million overall participants (of which 70 million are core participants), walking for fitness is the #1 fitness activity.
  • Court King.  With nearly 15 million participants, tennis is the top racquet sport and it’s a top-ten activity at the high school level.
  • Women’s Prerogative.  Of the 21 fitness activities listed, women account for at least half of the participants in 14 of them.
  • High Finance. The sport with the highest average annual household income ($95,700) per participant is scuba diving.
  • Workin’ Out.  Nearly 43 million Americans were members of health clubs in 2006 – which is up from nearly 21 million in 1990.
  • One, Two, Three.  The three most popular team sports in the U.S. — based on core participation — are basketball, baseball, and outdoor soccer.
  • Newcomers Welcome.  Lacrosse had the highest percentage of first-time participants as nearly 40% of all participants were new to the sport in 2006.
  • The Home Front.  Wholesale sales of home fitness equipment in the U.S. are strong – growing from $2.44 billion in ’96 to $3.54 billion in ’06.

In addition, there are two “Highlights and Insights” sections in this study that reveal more newsworthy trends for (1) fitness activities; and (2) team sports activities.   Each of these “Highlights and Insights” sections is filled with reader-friendly graphs, bar charts, pie charts, and statistical displays which give the reader an accurate image of today’s fitness and team sports participant.
Sports Participation in America focuses on fitness activities; cycling; team sports; water sports; running; indoor sports and games; skating sports and scooters; racquet and paddle sports; and individual contact sports. 


This report is available free of charge to full and associate members of SGMA.  To order a copy of Sports Participation in America, access www.SGMA.com.