Chart Our Future City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation Master Plan | Page 98

While many Americans enjoy watching team sports, both in-person and on television, they are increasingly disinterested in participating in them for their fitness needs. Ultimate frisbee and touch football had the largest decrease in participation over the past three years with other team sports including basketball, soccer, softball, wrestling, volleyball, and track and field are also declining. While team sports participation is declining as a whole, a few team sports are growing: rugby, roller hockey, and lacrosse. Racquet sports such as squash, tennis, cardio tennis, and pickleball have maintained popularity over the last three years. Pickleball, in particular, is a trend to watch, as it has been growing in popularity in the recreation industry but was overtaken in 2016 by cardio tennis in growth and had nearly equal participation. The above findings are confirmed by the Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2017 which conducts an annual international survey among practitioners in the commercial, clinical, community and corporate fitness industries. In their predictions for 2017, the majority of activities in the top ten and the top 20 could be described as fitness related, while other trends can be classified as outdoor sports or technology. 17 of the top 20 trends reported remained from the previous year but worksite health promotion, smartphone exercise apps, and outcomes measured all moved out of the top 20 trends for 2018. • High-intensity interval training (HIIT uses short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by short recoveries) • Group training (motivational, instructor lead classes of five or more people) • Wearable technology (activity trackers, smart watches, heart rate monitors, GPS trackers, and smart eyeglasses) 98 • Body weight training (uses minimal equipment for cost savings) • Strength training (common but limited to using weights, strength training is often incorporated into comprehensive exercise routines) • Educated, certified, and experienced fitness professionals (training by third-party accredited exercise professionals) • Yoga (utilizes a series of specific bodily postures for health and relaxation) • Personal training (services provided by professionals with proper education, training, and credentials) • Fitness programs for older adults (older, retired adults are increasingly healthier than previous generations and interested in participating in safe, age-appropriate exercise) • Functional Fitness (uses strength training to improve balance, coordination, force, power, and endurance as applies to one’s daily functions) CITY OF LAKE FOREST PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN OUTDOOR SPORTS & PARTICIPATION According to the Outdoor Foundation 2017 Topline Report, almost half the U.S. population (48.6%) participated in one or more outdoor sport or activity. These 144 million people went on a reported total of 11 billion outings over the course of the year. While these numbers reflect an overall increase in participation, the total number of outings declined as individuals went on fewer outings each. Compared to previous years, outdoor sports participation have increased. The largest increase last year compared to all other outdoor sports has been in BMX biking while Stand up paddling has had the most growth over the last three years. Running, jogging, and trail running has continued to be the most popular activity by participation for several years. Across all age groups, running, jogging and trail running remained the top form of outdoor outings by both participation rates and frequency. Bicycling and fishing were also among the top five activities for all ages. The most popular activities for youth (age 6-24) determined by participation rates were: • Running, jogging, and trail running (25.3% or 20.3M) • Bicycling (road, mountain, and BMX) (22.6% or 18.2M) • Fishing (fresh, salt, and fly)(19.5% or 15.6M) • Camping (car, backyard, and RV) (19.0% or 15.3M) • Hiking (15.5% or 12.5M) The favorite activities for youth, based on the frequency of participation, were running, jogging and trail running, bicycling, fishing, skateboarding, and camping. CHAPTER 4