Label Networks%uFFFD topline chart from Skateboarding, Snowboarding, Skiing Profile Report

With the X Games ramping up next month and summer officially in full swing, we take a look at fresh data from our annual Skateboarding, Snowboarding, and Skiing Profile Report and specially target what it would take to get more young people involved in skateboarding and why.

For this story, we’ve revealed the topline research results to the question, “Which would influence you most towards getting you to Skateboard?” based on a representative sample of more than 6,200 13-25-year-olds from across North America. This includes both skaters and non-skaters. By taking a look at the greater marketplace, you can see the potential of how a sport may increase in participation numbers based on those interested in the sport, but who may not yet be involved.

Overall, the greatest influence towards getting 13-25-year-olds in North America into skateboarding is If I had someone to teach me at 27%. This indicates great potential for the sport simply through organizing or promoting more clinics, camps, skatepark instruction, and other ways of teaching young people the sport. This is followed by 20.1% that say If it were easier to learn, followed by 12.8% that say I already do skateboard.

12.1% say Nothing would influence me to start, which generally is lower than many other action sports, indicating that skateboarding is one of the more popular action sports that young people are interested in. Another interesting trait is that 10.3% say If I had someone to go with followed by 6.5% that say If I had somewhere to skate. Both of these results, especially by gender and age groups, quantify the need for people interested in skating to “find each other” and for places like skateparks or street skating locations to be made available to youth culture in North America. This information would be very useful for those interested in creating skating programs and skate parks as it quantifies the potential increase in the sport if these aspects were addressed.

By gender, the most notable characteristic is that 31.3% of females say they would skateboard If I had someone to teach me, which is the #1 reason for this demographic and marks an excellent opportunity for increasing participation levels. In comparison 12.1% of males say this. The #1 result for males at 19.4% is I already do it, which indicates a strong marketplace of skaters among 13-25-year-olds males already. However 10.9% of females skate already too, which is also a strong segment of participants. Other traits that are high for both genders are If it were easier to learn and If I had someone to go with. Males also are more influenced by peers with 4.9% saying If there were more people like me skateboarding compared with 2.9% of females.

By age groups, If I had someone to teach me is high across the board, but peaks among 15-17-year-olds at 28.1%. Generally, older demographics are least likely to get started, whereas results such as If I had someone to go with and If I had somewhere to skate are higher among younger demographics.

Overall, the results to this question quantify just how to involve more people to skateboard with many options and marketing, advertising, and branding opportunities. Unlike skiing and snowboarding, the barrier to entry based on costs is relatively low whereas camaraderie, coaching, and location are key factors towards getting more people to skate.

For more information about Label Networks%uFFFD Skateboarding, Snowboarding, and Skiing Profile Report, email info@labelnetworks.com; (323) 630-4000. This report is free to Premium Subscribers.