Rink

September/October 2018

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I n my opening address of Sept/Oct 2017 issue of RINK, I wrote about the net increase of total indoor ice rinks in the United States over the past five years, which I felt was a direct result of the record growth of membership in both USA Hockey and U.S. Figure Skating from 2011-12 to 2016-17. The 2017-2018 season was another record-breaking year for both national governing bodies, which I believe will support the trend of more rinks being built, and fewer closing over the next few years. However, a report that I read recently has me a little concerned about the long-term growth of our industry. This report, created by the Aspen Institute, titled "State of Play 2017: Trends and Developments" is a summary of sport participation and physical activity rates of kids ages 6 to 12 from 2008 to 2016 in the United States. Below are three conclusions from the report that have me the most concerned: 1. The trend of decreasing participation in team sports and individual sports. 2. Fewer than 25 percent of kids ages 6 to 12 were considered active to a healthy level in 2016. 3. Cost of sports participation is a significant barrier to entry for families. In order for our industry to sustain recent growth, we need to take this information seriously and focus on finding new ways to make programs in our rinks more accessible and affordable. I believe one way to do this is by offering more in-house recreational programs. Well before early sport specialization and "elite" teams became the norm, recreational hockey and skating programs were the life-blood of our industry. If we can shift our focus back to building a larger recreational participant base, we will end up with more customers for life. Wishing you great success, — Jeff Theiler, Chief Operating Officer, Serving The American Rinks Opening ADDRESS Welcome from Jeff Theiler 12 / SEPTEMBER.OCTOBER.2018 USICERINKS.COM Let's Go Back To In-House Programs Well before early sport specialization and "elite" teams became the norm, recreational hockey and skating programs were the life- blood of our industry. THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE UNITED STATES ICE RINK ASSOCIATION SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 // VOL. 21, NO. 5 USICERINKS.COM // INFO@USICERINKS.COM C E O Steve Farbman P R E S I D E N T James McEwen S E N I O R V I C E P R E S I D E N T David Jensen C O N T R O L L E R Mike Schwarz C R E AT I V E D I R E C T O R Rob Johnson A RT D I R E C T O R Mike DeArmond S E N I O R D E S I G N E R Brandon Favre D E S I G N E R S Annie Gernes, Kelsey Cherwinka A D S A L E S Bryan Nelson M A R K E T I N G & AC C O U N T M A NAG E R Jessica Disch E D I T O R S : Aaron Paitich, Jessi Pierce M A R K E T I N G C O O R D I NAT O R Elizabeth Boger RINK Magazine is the definitive business publication for professionals in the ice rink industry and is the leading source for information on facility management, operations and programming. PUBLISHING PARTNER 505 North Highway 169, Suite 100, Minneapolis, MN 55441 P H : (763) 595-0808 FA X : (763) 595-0016 E - M A I L : info@touchpointmedia.com W E B S I T E : touchpointmedia.com Mission: "To advance the ice rink industry through membership, world-class education, training, resources and events." C H I E F O P E R AT I N G O F F I C E R Jeff Theiler D I R E C T O R , E D U CAT I O N John Monteleone O F F I C E A S S I S T A N T Tom Wacker P H : ( 719) 538-1149 FA X : (719) 538-7838 E - M A I L : info@usicerinks.com W E B S I T E : usicerinks.com A P R O G R A M O F E D I T O R Aaron Paitich M A NAG I N G E D I T O R Jessi Pierce C O N T R I B U T I N G W R I T E R S Elizabeth Boger, Susi Wehrli McLaughlin, Jessi Pierce, Ben Ruggles, Jeff Theiler, Emily Zak E D I T O R I A L B OA R D Mike Bauer, T.C. Lewis, Craig Petersen, Ben Ruggles, Dave Wescott D E S I G N E R S Mike DeArmond, Brandon Favre, Annie Gernes, Kelsey Cherwinka You can find the report online at: aspeninstitute.org/publications/state- of-play-2017-trends-and-developments

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