Friday, December 30, 2011
More Fans Can Look Forward to Affordability in 2012
Dennis Janson, veteran sports anchor of ABC affiliate WCPO in Cincinnati, blogged Thursday that he wasn’t sure that the station’s assistant news director fully understood the newsworthiness of the hometown Bengals’ announcement earlier that day that ticket prices would be reduced for more than 14,500 seats in Paul Brown Stadium next season.
“Denise, this has never happened,” he told Denise Eck, who had urged Janson to report the announcement during the 6 p.m. newscast. “It’s big.”
It’s big because the Bengals, who have merely held the pricing line after subpar seasons, are chasing their second playoff berth in three years. Regardless of whether or not the team defeats Baltimore on Sunday, ticket prices will be reduced by as much as $20 on some seats in 2012. More than a quarter of all seats will see a reduction of some kind. All other seat prices will remain unchanged.
The announcement came just days after Bengals officials scrambled to sell 18,000 tickets on Monday and Tuesday as part of a two-for-one promotion, thus producing a sell-out (only the team’s third over its previous 13 home games) and avoiding a local TV blackout of the all-important Ravens game.
“We have a young team trending in the right direction, and we are pleased to share this new price structure with our fans in an attempt to make some seats more affordable,” Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn said in a statement. “We have a great home schedule in 2012 and look forward to it being an exciting season that builds upon this year’s success.”
Fans in several other major-league cities can look forward to greater affordability next season, if not greater fortunes on the playing field.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced in November that prices on 80 percent of the seats in Raymond James Stadium will be reduced next season, while the Chicago White Sox informed the majority of their season-ticket holders that prices were coming down by 18 percent. In October, the New York Mets revealed that they were reducing prices on certain 2012 tickets by as much as 30 percent, while the Los Angeles Dodgers announced they were slashing some seat prices by 60 percent. That month, new Philadelphia Sixers owner Joshua Harris used his introductory press conference to declare price cuts of 50 percent on 9,000 single-game tickets. And a month earlier, the Chicago Cubs, who surpassed the three-million mark in attendance for the eighth straight season, said they planned to lower the price of bleacher seats next year — open spaces visible to TV viewers being given as the reason for the price reduction.
Colleges likewise are reassessing their price structures. On Dec. 16, University of Memphis officials cited dwindling crowds as reason to cut season ticket prices in half in some areas of the Liberty Bowl in 2012, the first season under coach Justin Fuente. “It’s totally contrary to anything you learn in Marketing 101,” Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson said, as reported by the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “But we talked about it and felt it was the right thing to do.
“The rule of thumb is to kick [prices] up when you bring in a new coach, but we have a 62,000-seat stadium, and we haven’t been drawing well lately. We’re trying to get the fans back. It’s a different set of circumstances that called for a different course of action.”
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Blog: 'Braves' in the News, and Not for the Usual Reason
This one is so goofy — I do not mean that as a reference to the beloved Walt Disney character — that I barely know where to start. Okay, the news, courtesy of the Atlanta Journal Constitution by way of unofficial Disney media outlet Stitch Kingdom: The Atlanta Braves are currently in negotiations with Walt Disney Company to clear up a dispute over what the MLB team says is a misuse of its trademark — which it doesn't own.
The Braves are mad about "Brave," coming to movie theaters near you in June 2012. It's a Pixar production about a Scottish princess whose archery skills help her save her kingdom from a beastly curse. The Braves' lawyers claim the movie's title could dilute the team's brand, even though the team doesn't own the trademark on the singular form of the name, which is used in team merchandising and in reference to players.
I'm imagining Mike Myers in the role of the Scottish princess: "Och, awa' an' dinnae talk pish!"
Negotiations between the sides continue in advance of a Jan. 18 deadline for the team to file opposition papers with the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board. According to United States Patent & Trademark Office records, the formidable Disney team of marketers has been registering different uses of "Brave" for the past year.
It all reminds me a bit of the NBA lockout. Is there anyone to root for in this millionaires-vs.-billionaires scenario? The alleged fascist who gave us enough warbling princesses and talking teacups to fill the world's asylums a hundred times over? Or the team that churns out foam tomahawks by the millions?
And is it too late for me to go to law school?
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
Blog: Event Organizers Need to Own Up to Mistakes
Like, oh, 100 percent of the people who read this, I'm a veteran of weekend warrior events. When you do enough of those, you realize no event is without its glitches. Sometimes, it's a little hiccup (there aren't enough safety pins to fasten race numbers to shirts, so some people have to run with their numbers flapping in the breeze), and sometimes it's a big one (a well-intentioned volunteer course marshal points runners in the wrong direction and sends them off-course). Hey, people make mistakes. It's how those mistakes are handled that determines whether participants view the event as a success or a failure.
Case in point: A friend of mine recently competed in a race in the Washington, D.C., area. The race promised high-end technical gear and hot chocolate to all runners. Only it didn't go that way. The race organizers oversold the event. There was no parking to be had, and the race started an hour and a half late — a lot of time to be standing around in minus-30-degree weather wearing shorts.
The technical gear was cheap, according to my friend — she described her jacket as "a garbage bag with a logo on it" — and the crowds were so bad that race personnel stood at the finish, shouting through bullhorns at runners to finish their hot chocolate and get out of the area because there were too many people. ("And that would be whose fault?" my friend asked). When runners complained to organizers, they were brushed off. Eventually, runners formed their own Facebook page that included the title of the race and the words EPIC FAIL. Ouch.
The general feeling among participants was that it wouldn't have been so bad if the organizers had just said, “Hey, we screwed up; we're really sorry.” But they didn't. Instead, according to the runners, they pretended the problems didn't exist.
I couldn't help comparing it with a 5K I ran several summers ago. It was sponsored by a local women's group, had a 'Take back the night' theme, and started at midnight. Unfortunately, organizers had failed to consider that a nearby outdoor music venue was hosting an enormous concert the same night. The area where the race was supposed to be was a sea of parked cars and continued to be impassable when concertgoers returned to their cars in no condition to drive.
Race organizers delayed the start. They apologized profusely over the P.A. system. They did the random drawings for prizes to keep people entertained. They played music, gave frequent updates and thanked us all for sticking around. And when the race went off several hours later, we ran — exhausted and punchy, but in a reasonably good mood.
The difference? The organizers recognized the problem, apologized for it and did everything they could to make things tolerable.
I have no idea whether the ill-fated race my friend attended will be back next year. But with every day the race organizers fail to own up to their event's shortcomings, it becomes a bigger public relations nightmare and a source of more hard feelings.
That one midnight race? It was a local favorite for years, and after that one time, it always started on the stroke of midnight. Instead of being labeled an epic fail, the lone hiccup became affectionately known as "the sunrise midnight rock concert 5K" and was a funny story told by the survivors (as we came to call ourselves). The organizers’ actions made for happy participants and restored people’s confidence in the event for the future. Epic succeed.
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Blog: The Spirit of Christmas Bypasses Phil Martelli
After all the bad press the NCAA and college athletics has received over the past year — recruiting scandals at Miami and Ohio State, sexual abuse scandals at Penn State and Syracuse — the last thing it needs is another black eye. However, it’s got one, courtesy of Saint Joseph's University men's basketball coach Phil Martelli.
Todd O’Brien, a former St. Joe's student-athlete who graduated last year, is trying to use the NCAA's waiver rule so that he can play basketball at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, where he is pursuing a graduate degree in public administration — a degree that is not offered at St. Joe's. St. Joe’s, however, has refused to grant him a release from his scholarship, a condition for the waiver to be granted, and the NCAA, on appeal, has refused to grant the waiver. O’Brien’s open plea to the university and the NCAA ran last week on SI.com.
A legal question: What the heck is going on here?
Are St. Joe’s and Martelli denying the requested waiver because the two schools play in the same conference? No — UAB is in Conference USA, while St. Joe's plays in the Atlantic 10. Is O’Brien a key member of the St. Joe's basketball team? Again, no — O'Brien averaged just 1 point and 1.3 rebounds in 7.2 minutes per game last season for St. Joe's, and Martelli reportedly told him he "didn't see him in the future in the program."
There is, seemingly, no legitimate reason for not releasing him. Martelli (and AD Don Dijulia) rebuffed repeated requests for comment by ESPN after the SI.com story broke. O'Brien's attorney, Donald Jackson, told ESPN.com that he talked with Martelli about O'Brien and was told by the coach that O’Brien “was the most disloyal player he has ever coached." For its part, St. Joe’s released the following statement to SI.com:
"Saint Joseph's University followed all applicable NCAA procedures and applied consistent internal practices in declining to support the requested transfer exception. Upon appeal, the NCAA legislative relief waiver team (initial decision) and the Division I Subcommittee for Legislative Relief (final decision) each reviewed the case and did not grant the requested waiver.
"Institutional policy and federal student records law prohibit Saint Joseph's from releasing additional or confidential information in this matter. As all eligibility determinations rest with the NCAA and not its member institutions, Saint Joseph's University has no further comment and considers the matter closed."
The only conclusion a reasonable person can reach is that St. Joe's and Martelli are denying the request as some punitive measure. If that’s the case, why hasn’t the NCAA done more? During the past year, the NCAA and its president Mark Emmert, have repeatedly claimed that they are working to protect athletes’ rights. With regard to O’Brien, the NCAA and St. Joe’s should do the right thing and allow the waiver.
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Blog: Get a Piece of the Sports Tourism Action
With the new year lurking, I’ve noticed a bump in the number of prospective members taking guided tours of my athletic club. I love that. It just speaks to the whole dynamic of new beginnings and new goals, and it makes me optimistic for our entire industry.
For a lot of prospective club members, getting in shape is only the first step. Ultimately, many want to tackle a marathon, hike the entire Appalachian Trail or check off some other box on the bucket list. It’s one of the reasons sports tourism is a burgeoning market. In fact, it is growing in ways that help round out the other sectors of the hospitality area that have been suffering.
While many people have been cutting back and taking stay-cations, sports tourism is booming. People might hesitate to go out to dinner, but they’ll enter a marathon in another city, or pay for their children to go to a cheerleading competition in Hershey or a wrestling meet in Orlando. They’re also likely to make a vacation of it, bookending the trip with a few days of fun before and after the sports event.
Chambers of commerce, convention and visitors bureaus and other local tourism organizations are recognizing these trends, and marketing their areas harder than ever, promoting the many sports fields, swimming pools, golf courses, tennis courts, lakes for fishing or water sports — all the things that lure organizers of sports events.
Last spring, I spent some time at the Sports Event Symposium of the National Association of Sports Commissions, the annual convention of sports event travel industry professionals. The meeting was attended by NASC members (whose job it is to attract businesses to their home states, cities and more), and by national governing bodies of various sports — those who had events to organize and who were looking for places to host those events in the years to come.
At one point, I wound up talking with a sports commission official, who told me it was her job to know pretty much everything her area had to offer in terms of athletic facilities.
“If someone says they have a youth basketball tournament, we can tell them all the places that have courts,” she said. “Indoor and outdoor, lit and unlit, bleachers, concessions, parking, everything. And we tell them about fun stuff like water parks and things they can do when they're not playing.”
Depending on the sport, group size, level of play and budget of the organization putting on the event, she added, the sports commission will market anything from an area’s municipal facilities to its high-end pro arenas.
Something else sports commissions like to know about are their local health clubs and college wellness facilities. Those are the places they’re going to find competition venues for racquetball and squash, handball, platform tennis and more. (Bulletin: Not all sports events are the Olympics or Wimbledon or the World Cup. Many require more intimate and specialized facilities.) Recently, I spent a weekend watching the Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) Tour when it came to my area. It was held at a local racquet club, one with lots of courts, easy access, great sightlines and tons of parking.
From what I’ve heard, the sports commissions, CVBs and others are always on the lookout for information about facilities they can promote as possible venues for incoming events. Now there’s a great New Year’s resolution — getting a piece of the sports tourism action.
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Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Ohio State Receives One-Year Bowl Ban for NCAA Violations
The NCAA announced sanctions against Ohio State’s football program on Tuesday for violations stemming back to 2008 in which student-athletes received cash in exchange for memorabilia. The penalties include a one-year bowl ban, a reduction in football scholarships from 85 to 82 through the 2014-15 academic year and a three-year probation ending in December 2014. The university had previously volunteered to undergo a two-year probation and to cut five scholarships, as well as vacate their 2010 season and bowl earnings.
Though the university had expected to avoid a bowl ban and was surprised by the NCAA’s decision, athletics director and associate vice president Gene Smith said that the school would not appeal the ruling. “We recognize that this is a challenging time in intercollegiate athletics,” he said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. “Institutions of higher education must move to higher ground, and Ohio State embraces its leadership responsibilities and affirms its long-standing commitment to excellence in education and integrity in all it does.
“My primary concern, as always, is for our students, and this decision punishes future students for the actions of others in the past. Knowing our student-athletes, however, I have no doubt in their capacity to turn this into something positive – for themselves and for the institution. I am grateful to our entire Buckeye community for their continued support.”
New head coach Urban Meyer also affirmed his commitment to the school and athletic program, though the tougher-than-expected penalties could have an effect on recruiting efforts.
The NCAA also issued sanctions against former head coach Jim Tressel, citing his failure to report violations as well as his decision to allow ineligible players to compete during the 2010 season. For his involvement, Tressel received a five-year show-cause penalty, during which time any school interested in hiring him must present a case showing need to hire him and imposing severe penalties for any further violations. Further, he must sit out the first five games and any postseason games during the first year of his next coaching engagement at an NCAA school.
The full findings of the NCAA report can be found here.
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Amid Sluggish Bowl Sales, Bid-Less ECU Goes 'Virtual'
Another college football bowl season is upon us, with three games scheduled for tomorrow. By the time it all ends Jan. 9, 35 games and 35 champions will have been decided. Seventy teams — including one (UCLA) with a losing record — will compete in the 2011-12 postseason, matching last year’s record number.
And like last year, some teams are struggling to sell tickets. As of Wednesday afternoon, Penn State had sold less than half of the 6,500 tickets it was allotted for the, ahem, TicketCity Bowl, to be played Jan. 2 in Dallas. But that shortfall is somewhat understandable in light of the university’s recent PR problems. Michigan State, which came painfully close to winning the inaugural Big Ten Championship game, had sold only about 5,000 of its 11,500-ticket allotment as of Monday for the Jan. 2 Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla. Lingering fan disappointment in a destination other than the Rose Bowl has been cited as a leading reason.
For one program, sluggish ticket sales have become as bankable a concept as the annual bowl bid itself. Virginia Tech didn’t come close to selling its allotment of Orange Bowl tickets the past two seasons, and a change of venue didn’t help this year’s sales effort. As of Monday, the Hokies had sold only 9,337 of their allotted 17,500 tickets to the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Then there’s East Carolina University, which has no destination to sell. But the fact that the Pirates didn’t receive a bowl bid hasn’t stopped the East Carolina Pirates Club from selling tickets anyway. The club recently sent the following e-mail to members:
Our East Carolina University Pirate football team had an exciting season but fell one game short of qualifying for the program’s sixth straight bowl game. The Pirate football team is in goods hands with Coach Ruffin McNeill and his staff. There is a tremendous amount of young talent and our program has a bright future. East Carolina University Athletics wants to show the college football world the passion of the Pirate Nation, even in a “bowless” [sic] year for the university. The Pirate Club is excited to announce the 2011 Virtual Bowl. Our challenge will be to sell more tickets than our bowl-bound Conference USA opponents and bowl-bound teams from the Big East. The Virtual Bowl appeal will go through December 23. Tickets for the Virtual Bowl are $50 apiece and can be purchase by calling the Pirate Club Offices at 252-737-4540 or by going online at ecupirateclub.com. Virtual Bowl tickets purchased will be tax-deductable and donors will receive one priority point for every ticket purchased. All proceeds from the Virtual Bowl will go towards the “Step-Up To The Highest Level Campaign”. Go Pirates!
The larger campaign seeks to fund construction of a basketball practice facility and hall of fame, with a goal of $15 million. Heading into today, more than $6,800 worth of “Virtual” tickets had been sold.
“Pirate fans are so passionate that they’ll do anything, and this is just another way that they can show their passion and support. It’s just an additional fundraising idea that has been very positive,” says Matt Maloney, assistant athletic director for major gifts. “Just a few minutes ago, I took an order from one of our baseball letter-winners, who bought two. I told him I can guarantee him 50-yard-line seats.”
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School's Parental Guidelines Found Constitutional
William Blasi, the father of two members of Pen Argyl, Pa.’s Wind Gap Middle School basketball team, was unhappy with his sons’ playing time. The 17 e-mails that he subsequently sent to various school officials and coaches were pointed enough in their criticism that the barrage prompted the school’s principal to send a letter to Blasi informing him that he would be prohibited from attending one home basketball game for violating the school district’s “Parental/Spectator Guidelines.” Blasi’s “scathing and threatening e-mails,” the principal noted, “berate and harass our coaches and make degrading and deplorable comments about 7th and 8th grade players in a most undignified manner…” The letter also made clear that further criticism of the coaches and players would not be tolerated, and that further violations of the parental rules would lead to a total ban from future games.
Reacting to the one-game ban, Blasi filed a federal lawsuit, Blasi v. Pen Argyl Area School District (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112412), in which he claimed that the school district’s action was in retaliation for his having exercised his First Amendment rights. Blasi also argued that the rules prohibiting the inappropriate or antagonistic manner of confronting coaches was unconstitutional, as the description is vague and overbroad, and could be stretched to encompass almost all criticisms.
In assessing the constitutionality of the school’s guidelines, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held that the policies still permitted individual expressions of dissatisfaction with the coaches. They merely served, the court held, to act as a reasonable restriction on when parents or spectators should express their concerns with coaches in order to avoid disruptions and interfere with the rights of others — and as such, were not overbroad.
The court also held that a careful review of the school principal’s letter revealed that there was no retaliatory action in suspending Blasi from attending one basketball game. The letter, the court held, carefully set forth Blasi’s specific violations of the Parental/Spectator Guidelines, cited the exact provision violated, and described his unacceptable behavior. Therefore, the court held, the school district was well within its rights to impose the sanction it did.
Schools use such guidelines to control some parents’ behaviors — harassment, the use of foul language and other verbal abuse — that are far more common than physical violence against coaches and officials. As this case makes clear, spelling out school policies and parents’ violations of them to the letter will help ensure administrators’ actions will be upheld in court.
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Thursday, December 15, 2011
Blog: It’s Past Time to Get PHIT
Recently, I spent some time at the Technical Meeting of the American Sports Builders Association. It’s the annual convention for those who design, build and supply materials for sports and fitness facilities. Of course, one of the points we kept returning to was this: How do we move the needle? How do we stimulate the fitness industry’s economy so that Americans increase their pursuit of healthy activities and keep up the demand for good facilities?
It was Mike May, spokesperson for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, who spoke up about a piece of legislation everyone should be getting behind: the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT, pronounced “fit”) Act of 2011 (H.R. 2649). The PHIT Act would change current federal tax law to allow for the deduction or use of pre-tax dollars to cover expenses related to sports, fitness and other physical activities. The concept is simple: With the passage of the PHIT Act, Americans could invest up to $2,000 annually to pay for physical activities by investing money in existing pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Medical Savings Accounts (MSA) and/or medical reimbursement arrangements.
Right now, these accounts are set up to provide reimbursement for things like prescriptions and doctor’s appointments when we’re sick — in other words, reactive care. There’s no provision for preventive care. (Is it any wonder that IHRSA reports that more than $76.6 billion on healthcare costs are directly associated with inactivity? There’s no monetary reward system for people who buck the trend.)
PHIT would only expand the expenses eligible for reimbursement to include physical activity costs as a form of prevention; PHIT would not increase contribution limits to these accounts. Once an individual or family spends 7.5 percent of their income on qualified medical expenses, they could deduct physical activity expenses directly. What qualifies as physical activity costs? Things like health club memberships, youth sports programs, home exercise equipment and other fees associated with programs of physical activity.
How simple and brilliant is this? One of the excuses people often give for remaining inactive is “I can’t afford gym dues.” PHIT, if passed, could help people overcome this hurdle.
If you’re cynical, I suppose you’re thinking that it just means those people will develop another excuse, and maybe you’re right. For people who just plain don’t want to exercise or diet, there will always be another obstacle, another excuse, another attempt to justify a sedentary lifestyle. But for those who genuinely want to get on the path to good health, PHIT can be a fantastic first step.
Mike May was urging conference attendees to support the PHIT Act by calling, writing or e-mailing their elected officials. For those who never get around to doing such things because they don’t know how, I direct your attention to USA.Gov: It’s free and it’s (as the site promises) “Government Made Easy.” Find your state, find your elected officials and shoot ‘em your e-mails. There. Another excuse down the drain.
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Sandusky Waives Preliminary Hearing
In a surprise move Tuesday morning, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Sandusky, who faces more than 50 counts related to allegations of sexual molestation of boys, is "totally prepared and committed to proving his innocence" according to his attorney Joe Amendola. "We're ready to defend. We've always been ready to defend," Amendola told reporters outside the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., after the brief court hearing. "Today's waiver has nothing to do with conceding anything. There have been no plea negotiations. There will be no plea negotiations. This is a fight to the death. This is the fight of Jerry Sandusky's life."
CNN reports that prosecutors had prepared to put 11 witnesses on the stand Tuesday, including some of Sandusky's accusers. Sandusky's $250,000 bond on child rape and other charges will remain in place, and he also remains on house arrest and is ordered not to have any contact with minors. His next court date was set for January 11, but Amendola said Sandusky will waive that appearance, too.
Onlookers who packed the courthouse reacted with surprise, but senior deputy attorney General E. Marc Costanzo told reporters that Sandusky's decision to waive the hearing spared his accusers the need to recount their stories on the witness stand twice — although they would still have to testify at trial, according to CNN.
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NBA Issues Concussion Policy
After concussion-like symptoms caused a number of players to miss games last season, the NBA has instituted a concussion policy to evaluate how soon players can return to play. The new requirement puts the NBA on par with the NFL, NHL and MLB, all of which have concussion protocols in place.
As part of the policy, players must undergo baseline testing prior to the opening of preseason games. During the season, players diagnosed with concussions will return to play gradually, undergoing a series of steps at increasing levels of exertion while being monitored for returning symptoms. Final clearance may take days or weeks and will only be granted after consultation with the neurologist in charge of the NBA's concussion program.
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Friday, December 09, 2011
Tired of Concussions? Testing Causes Fatigue
Researchers at Penn State are studying the relationship between concussion tests and fatigue. The concern, according to researchers, is that concussion tests themselves, which can last up to two hours, can cause mental fatigue that is mistaken for a symptom of concussion.
Using a group of healthy and athletic subjects, the researchers first determined an initial baseline for fatigue. They then administered the Stroop Neuropsychological Screening Test, which can be used to measure cognitive processing. After completing the test, researchers again measured the participants’ levels of fatigue.
Semyon Slobnouv, professor of kinesiology and head of the study, hopes to apply the research by testing athletes, specifically those in high contact sports, at the beginning of their season to establish a baseline for fatigue. That baseline can later be used during concussion testing to determine whether fatigue is a symptom of concussion.
Also:
Not content with the public health policies offered by the NHL, a Canadian concussion specialist has collaborated with various research institutions to launch an online resource to encourage parents of children who play contact sports to educate themselves on concussions. The Sport Concussion Library includes a collection of articles, book chapters, research, legislation, video, tests and assessments. Updated monthly, the site offers resources for parents, athletes, coaches, schools, researchers and medical professionals.
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Thursday, December 08, 2011
Blog: We All Have a Stake in Stopping Counterfeiting
I love to shop, no question about that — even now that the starting gun has sounded and people are stampeding for the malls (hopefully not toting their pepper spray). Although I believe in efforts to get people to avoid big chain stores and online retailers and shop at local businesses, I do love using the Internet when something eludes me locally. I'll be the first to admit the problem with shopping locally is the perception (and in many cases, it's warranted) that items purchased in a small store come at a higher price than those you'd find in a big box, or even more likely, than you'd pay online, where cost comparisons are easy. And in this economy, who thinks twice about spending less?
I didn't until this past week, when a press release from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crossed my desk.
Since June 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice and ICE, working together with the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center and the FBI’s Washington field office, have seized the domain names of more than 350 websites accused of selling counterfeit products, including an enormous number of sites where supposedly brand-name sporting goods were being sold. On Cyber Monday alone, the names of 150 sites were announced.
I don't know anyone who jumps up and down with joy at the idea of paying more for an NFL team jersey; in fact, it's probably safe to say a lot of people are willing to look the other way and pay the lower amount, especially when they're using an online retailer. But here's something to think about when you're doing your shopping: it's not just shirts and hats that are being manufactured cheaply and sold by non-license-holders. It's sport shoes. It's golf clubs. It's skis. It's tennis racquets. It's items that we use, and that our customers use, every day. These are the kinds of things they're going to be shopping for, particularly during the next few weeks.
Shoes, racquets, clubs — you name it — are being made cheaply (usually overseas and often in China, where enforcement isn't as much of an issue), painted to look like the real thing, and then sold on online auction sites. In general, it's the more high-end equipment that is being copied and sold illegally; after all, if consumers wants a cheap pair of gym shoes, they'll probably shop close to home rather than ordering online.
The problem here is twofold: a customer is being cheated by buying inferior equipment, and a legitimate retailer is being cheated out of a sale. If the player becomes discouraged as a result of his or her bad purchase, everyone loses.
The Tennis Industry Association has started its own initiative to combat the problem of counterfeit racquet sales. It's asking retailers and consumers to help report names of websites they suspect of selling counterfeit goods, and it's providing updates on what governmental agencies are doing to try to put a stop to it.
I'm not certain whether other sports industries have started their own initiatives, but either way, it's worth it for us to buy from reputable retailers (and in this case, yes, that may mean shopping local brick-and-mortar establishments) and encourage others to do the same this holiday season — and always.
Counterfeiting is unfortunately the dark side of the fitness and recreation industry. We all have a stake in helping to see it doesn't take root here.
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Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Controversial TD Celebration Video: Was Right Call Made?
If the comments on AB's website Wednesday afternoon are any indication, the referees at Saturday's Massachusetts Division IV-A Super Bowl state high school championship game in Boston made the wrong call when they enforced a sportsmanship rule that prohibits players from celebratory or taunting behavior while scoring a touchdown. For those who want to see the actual play, during which Cathedral High School quarterback Matthew Owens raised his left arm in triumph more than 20 yards away from the end zone, the Boston Globe has obtained video footage.
According to the Globe, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association uses the same officiating rules as college football, which state the following: "If the ball is alive when the player makes a taunting gesture, then the penalty is enforced at the spot of the foul — and the key outcome: no touchdown."
A poll posted by the paper asks readers whether they think "the rule is on the books and it had to be called" or "this incident didn't merit a penalty." An overwhelming majority (more than 80 percent) have indicated the touchdown should have stood.
On Wednesday afternoon, the MIAA issued the following statement about the controversy:
"The official involved reported he had determined a violation of NCAA Football Rules and Interpretations of Rule 9, Section 2 covering Unsportsmanlike Conduct Section A. He called the violation and assessed the penalty. There is no provision in MIAA rules (or rules for any other sport at any other level) to overturn an official’s call after a game has been concluded. Once the final whistle is sounded the game is over. (Reference – MIAA Handbook Rule #17, Page 24) The Cathedral coach chose not to protest the call when it was made.
"At the start of the season, the MIAA and football officials took comprehensive measures to ensure that everyone understood this rule. In fact, the officials at this game reminded the captains and coaches that there would be zero tolerance for any unsportsmanlike actions. Likewise, this message was communicated in the pre-playoff game administrative meeting, as well as the MIAA’s Super Bowl Breakfast with coaches and captains.
"Anyone may parse the language of rules and apply them as they see fit. Contest officials must familiarize themselves with the rules, both the letter and the sprit, and bring their judgment to bear in calling the game. Per the Points of Emphasis in the NCAA Rulebook: 'When an official imposes a penalty or makes a decision he is simply doing his duty as he sees it. He is on the field to uphold the integrity of the game of football, and his decisions are final and conclusive and should be accepted by players and coaches.'
"The MIAA Philosophy reflects that high school students who participate in educational athletics learn many things from that experience including lessons that will be helpful as they go forward in life. While we hope and wish they would all be from positive experiences, sometimes that is not the case. Losing a game or having an official’s call go against you or your team are all part of sports. Just like athletes and coaches, officials try hard to do the best job possible. Athletes must learn to put these things behind them and move forward. During their lifetime they will experience similar situations where they feel 'wronged' by a superior or authority figure and they must learn to deal with that situation.
"Finally, we would hope that in peoples’ reaction to this situation they would consider the students and coaches at Blue Hills Regional Vocational Technical School, who feel their properly won championship is being tarnished and discredited."
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1:23 PM
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ABC 2011: Education, Exhibits Keep Attendees Active
Despite continued economic doldrums, the 2011 Athletic Business Conference was bustling with activity last week. “We were very happy with the attendance, especially since so many organizations are experiencing budget cuts,” conference director Sue Searls told SNEWS, the insider trade news source of the fitness industry, which covered the conference, held Dec. 1-3 in Orlando, Fla. “We received nothing but good comments from attendees, both full-conference and those who came just for the trade show.”
Celebrating 30 years, the 2011 event attracted 3,000 attendees, according to early reports (a slight increase over 2010), and exhibitor personnel added another 1,166 to overall attendance numbers.
In contrast to many fitness industry trade events, the Athletic Business Conference enjoyed strong attendance in its 11 tracks of educational seminars, SNEWS reports — from military fitness to leadership to facility design. With those seminars starting early and typically concluding when the trade show floor opens, most attendees headed straight for the show floor.
For the full SNEWS report from ABC, click here.
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12:19 PM
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Tuesday, December 06, 2011
New Sudden Death Prevention Guidelines to be Issued
Members of 65 sports and health organizations met Tuesday in Washington, D.C., at the third annual Youth Sports Safety Summit to review a new position statement issued by the National Athletic Trainers' Association titled "Preventing Sudden Death in Sports." To be published in the February 2012 issue of the Journal of Athletic Training, the statement outlines 10 major health conditions and causes of sudden death among athletes, while also providing updated recommendations to ensure better prevention and treatment of sports injuries. According to NATA, which hosted the summit, this is the first time an association has provided such condensed information in one document to help medical professionals, coaches, parents and others make more effective and efficient return-to-play and care decisions.
While concussion legislation has passed in 36 states, concussions are not the only problem in youth sports. In fact, the leading cause of death from youth sports is sudden cardiac arrest, which is addressed in the statement along with asthma, catastrophic brain injuries, cervical spine injuries, diabetes, exertional heat stroke, exertional hyponatremia, exertional sickling, lightning and head-down contact in football. High school athletes suffer two million injuries every year, NATA says, resulting in 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations. In 2010, 50 young athletes died on the playing field, and 40 have died so far in 2011 — including six athletes and one adult coach in August.
“Young athletes are suffering chronic and sometimes catastrophic injury from sports,” says summit moderator and NATA president Marjorie J. Albohm. “Only 42 percent of high schools have access to an athletic trainer, often the primary health care provider when a young athlete goes down on the playing field."
![12.injuredathletes[1].jpg](/editors/uploads/12.injuredathletes%5B1%5D.jpg)
Here are some of the preliminary recommendations included in the "Preventing Sudden Death in Sports" position statement:
Catastrophic Brain Injuries
The position statement addresses the prevention of more serious brain injuries and the implications of mismanaging a potentially catastrophic brain injury.
· Proper on-field and sideline management involves identifying any deteriorating conditions indicative of intracranial hemorrhage or brain swelling.
· When a serious brain injury is suspected in a non-responsive athlete, the clinician must be prepared to provide adequate ventilation and to administer intravenous diuretics and elevate the head to help decrease intracranial pressure.
· Transportation to a medical facility is paramount under these conditions.
· Proper management of a less serious brain injury, such as a concussion, must still be managed carefully using follow-up assessments of symptoms, neurocognitive function and balance, prior to initiating a gradual return-to-play progression.
· The statement recommends a five-step return-to-play progression following a concussion, allowing the clinician to determine any signs of deterioration that would prevent a premature return to activity.
Exertional Heat Stroke
· Cool first, transport second. Immediate cold water immersion is critical to rapidly reducing body temperature and maximizing odds of survival.
· Determine the core body temperature soon after a collapse to ensure accurate and immediate assessment of a patient with suspected exertional heat stroke. Rectal temperature and gastrointestinal temperature (if available) are the only methods proven valid.
· Follow more detailed return-to-activity recommendations one week after rest, and a gradual return from low- to high-intensity activity in a temperate environment.
Exertional Sickling
· Targeted education and tailored precautions offer a margin of safety for athletes with sickle cell trait.
· Know the signs and symptoms of exertional sickling and be able to differentiate exertional sickling from other causes of collapse.
· Understand that exertional sickling can be brought about through intense, sustained activity. Modifying factors of environmental heat, dehydration, asthma, illness and newness to altitude increase the intensity of the activity.
Asthma
· The sports medicine staff should be properly educated on the signs and symptoms regarding asthma breathing emergencies, how to activate the asthma emergency action plan in such emergencies, how to use asthma inhaler equipment and have supplemental oxygen available.
· A structured warm-up protocol may potentially decrease the risk of an exacerbation or reliance on medications.
· The sports medicine staff should make sure athletes with asthma are properly educated about their condition, including adherence to medications, proper use of inhaler equipment and how to recognize “good or bad” breathing days to prevent asthma exacerbations.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest
· Recognition is key to treatment: Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) should be suspected in any athlete who has collapsed and is unresponsive.
· Advance preparation is critical to survival once SCA has occurred: Public access to automated external defibrillators and established emergency action plans greatly improve the likelihood of survival.
· Access to early defibrillation is essential: A goal of less than three to five minutes from the time of collapse to delivery of the first shock from an AED is strongly recommended.
· The new position statement incorporates the 2010 American Heart Association CPR guideline updates, with an emphasis on chest compressions and AED application as soon as possible.
For information about the position statement, the Youth Sports Safety Summit and the Youth Sports Safety Alliance, click here.
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2:57 PM
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Monday, December 05, 2011
2011 Facility of Merit Winners Feted; 2012 Dates Announced
The 2011 Athletic Business Facility of Merit Awards were officially unveiled Friday, Dec. 2, prior to the keynote speech delivered by basketball great Bill Walton. Later that day, the winners and Athletic Business Conference attendees were feted at a reception held at Orlando's Cuba Libre restaurant. The winners, announced in October in the AB Newswire, have now been posted on their own dedicated page.
It's not too early to begin thinking about the 2012 Facility of Merit awards. Winners will be selected by a panel of sports facility architects from among entries in the June 2012 Architectural Showcase issue. Information on the awards program and online entry forms for 2012 are now available at http://athleticbusiness.com/galleries/.
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9:39 AM
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Friday, December 02, 2011
ABC 2011: Stop Bullying in Youth Sports
Youth sports in 2011 is full of way too much anger, selfishness, win-at-all-costs attitude and poor sportsmanship on the part of players, coaches and parents. So says Andrew Zitoli, principal of Millis (Mass.) Middle School, who was on a mission Friday morning at the Athletic Business Conference in Orlando, Fla., to change the culture of youth sports by addressing bullying. Stopping bullying, he reasoned, would go a long way toward eliminating some of the other problems facing youth sports today.
"Remember the old saying, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me'? " Zitoli, who also is active in coaching, asked a packed room of youth sports administrators. "I'll take the sticks. I'll take the stones. The names are what are killing our kids. I'd rather be punched in the face than get punched on Facebook."
Youth sports is a prime breeding ground for bullying and cyberbullying, and Zitoli has seen first-hand how it can literally destroy young athletes. One of the 90-minute session's most memorable anecdotes was about the time he yelled at a fifth-grade football player in front of other players at a camp, which led to the boy being bullied by older players. They beat up the young player and left him permanently disabled, and the boy eventually killed himself. Zitoli paused to let that chilling story sink in, as attendees wiped their eyes and even excused themselves from the room for a few minutes.
He then explained how he should have been a "beacon of light" for that boy; instead, he spent a long time coming to terms with the player's death. "Talk to your coaches and tell them to be a beacon of light for their own players," Zitoli said, reminding attendees that bullying peaks in grades five through nine. He cited surveys indicating that 15 percent of kids in those grades are "regularly bullied." And any bullying by coaches essentially guarantees a hasty exit from the sport by the victim.
What's more, adults say they only see 20 percent of all bullying behavior – which means they probably aren't doing enough to address it. "If you are the leader of a youth sports organization and you take action against bullying, you'll see results," Zitoli said. "I want you to create an environment in which kids have the courage to interrupt the cycle of bullying. Explain that there will be no repercussions for informing a coach about it. Tell them to tell an adult, and they will."
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10:04 AM
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Study: Medicated Soap Effective in Stemming MRSA
Community-acquired MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) is on the rise in healthy athletic populations. However, according to a new study, greater use of soaps medicated with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) might help stem the spread of this dangerous bacterium.
Published in the December Journal of Athletic Training, a scientific publication of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, “Evaluation of Persistent Antimicrobial Effects of an Antimicrobial Formulation” showed that using a soap product containing 4 percent CHG was far more effective at killing the MRSA bacterium than was a non-medicated soap.
Given that a number of soaps that contain CHG are commercially available, the specific objective of NATA’s study was to determine the antimicrobial properties of a soap containing a 4 percent solution of CHG compared to non-medicated soap. Test and control products were randomly assigned and applied to each forearm of 20 volunteer participants. Each forearm was washed for two minutes with the test or control product and rinsed and dried. At one, two and four hours after application, each forearm was exposed to MRSA for approximately 30 minutes.
Study results concluded that far fewer bacteria were recovered from forearms washed with a medicated soap containing CHG than from those washed with non-medicated soap. In fact, those using the medicated soap showed 95 percent fewer surviving bacteria than those using non-medicated soaps — even up to four hours after the initial use of the product.
“Our study shows that the use of medicated soap products containing CHG will provide persistent protection from infectious MRSA bacteria, while soap products without CHG will not,” stated study co-author Ron Courson, an ATC with the University of Georgia Athletic Association, in a NATA news release. “A comprehensive hygiene plan that includes a soap containing CHG, as well as proper recognition, diagnosis and treatment of MRSA can work together to minimize the transmission and adverse effects of this life-threatening disease.”
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9:36 AM
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ABC 2011: First Day Is a Success
As the opening day of the 2011 Athletic Business Conference & Expo came to a close Thursday night, it was judged a clear success by all accounts — exhibitors, attendees and the ABC staff, including exhibits director Adam O’Brien.
"We're very happy with the attendance,” says O’Brien. "We feel like the numbers are good, though we won’t have official numbers for a few days. The attendees are happy; they’re very happy with the seminars.”
Photos by Brian Ebner/Optic Nerve
Tight budgets may have kept some attendees away from this year’s conference, but for others, the current economy made attending that much more imperative. Attendees packed rooms for seminar tracks related to facility management and marketing, eager to bring home the knowledge they need to create not only a better customer experience but build a strong and successful facility staff.
The trade show features 310 exhibitors, a slight decline from the 320 that attended last year’s expo in San Diego, though conference organizers were heartened to see some new exhibitors along with ABC’s longtime regulars. This representation of both recognized brands on which the industry was built as well as smaller innovators just starting out creates a range of resources and wealth of knowledge that set the ABC Expo apart from other trade shows. “All of the exhibitors are happy,” adds O’Brien. “There’s steady traffic throughout the show floor."
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7:02 AM
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Thursday, December 01, 2011
ABC 2011: Counting Up the Costs of Recreation Programs
Striding up and down the aisle of his packed seminar room, Chris Nunes is talking about "Budgets, Cost Recovery and Pricing in Action" and asking Athletic Business Conference attendees to back up what he's saying by comparing their experiences with his own. Everybody's nodding; they've been there. The director of parks and recreation for The Woodlands Township in Texas, Nunes has in the first 20 minutes committed to memory where various members of his audience work. As he talks, he addresses them as "Nova Scotia," "Dallas" or "Phillips Exeter," as in, "Will that work, Phillips Exeter?" When he asks that last question of an audience member, the answer is bound to be no. Nunes' habit of acquainting himself with his audience helps him drive the point home repeatedly that what's going to fly in his Texas park district, where the property of every home owner abuts one of the master-planned community's 121 parks, might not get airborne in the Canadian Maritimes.
But as more questions are raised, and the discussion around these questions develops, it becomes clear that not everybody has been there. A surprising number of attendees haven't come to Orlando with a solid understanding of their own budgets and what the figures mean with regard to their ability to cover the costs of the programs they want to run. Doesn't everyone contemplating offering a new program start by listing the direct costs, the indirect costs and so forth? "You'd be surprised," Nunes says after the seminar. "I give talks on these topics all over the country, and as I go through the process, one attendee after another will say, 'Awwww, we have to add that?!' "
At one point, Nunes brings up a small tournament that the township wants to run — those 10 youth baseball teams that will come in from elsewhere in the region will mean money in the township's coffers, says the tournament's biggest proponents. Yes, Nunes tells them, there's no doubt that these types of events bring in needed economic activity. As he's begun relating this anecdote, he's walked to the back of the room, and now he stops there, creating a kind of huddle as the attendees surrounding him lean in to hear what he thinks of the plan. "Those 10 teams are coming for the day, and they're all going to stop at McDonald's on the way out of town," Nunes says. "Each kid'll spend $6 on food, so that's about $800. We collect 3 percent sales tax, so we'll get $24."
Nunes starts listing expenses on his fingers as he walks back toward the front of the hall. "And let's see, we've got to pay the guy to stripe the fields, we might have to turn the lights on for the late game, let's make sure we know exactly what this tournament's going to cost us," he says. Turning suddenly arch, Nunes adds, "We get twenty-four dollars? Yeah, we can do that." Everybody nods, and quite a few laugh.
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10:40 AM
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ABC 2011: How to Help Young Employees Succeed
Rob Bishop and Barry Klein have taken some flak lately for writing about the shortcomings of employees between the ages of 18 and 30. So it may have come as a surprise to attendees of the Athletic Business Conference in Orlando, Fla., on Thursday morning that the co-owners of Elevations Health Club in Scotrun, Pa., really do want to see workers between the ages of 18 and 30 succeed.
"We're not ogres," Bishop said during a 90-minute session titled "Your Young Trainers Are Brilliant – For People Who Know Nothing." "We're just trying to give them the skills they need to succeed at our company."
"In fact, nothing makes us happier than watching our young staff members develop," Klein added, after feeling the need to "pre-apologize for what we are about to say. It is a bit odd when you paint an entire generation with one brush, and in a lot of ways, it's not fair."
Drawing on real examples from their two facilities — "We can put an actual employee's name to each of these," Klein said – the duo presented seven ways facility operators can help their young workers be more effective and (dare we say) more likable employees. "You know what you want them to do, so tell them," Klein said, adding in most cases they will welcome such solid and specific information.
1. Aspire to "aggressive friendliness." The first 10 seconds of a conversation determine the rest of that conversation's direction, so make sure employees say the right things first. Bishop and Klein suggest using the Willy Wonka approach when dealing with customers (or potential customers) for the first time: "It's wonderful to meet you."
2. Teach better communication skills. The old adage, "It's not what you say but how you say it," applies. When writing, demand that your employees use correct punctuation, spelling and grammar. Remind them that there is a difference between e-mails written for business purposes and e-mails they send to friends. If employees don't know the answer to a patron's question, they should find out and get back to that person – not shrug it off with an "I don't know." That leads to...
3. Demand accountability. Accept no excuses. If an employee arrives looking like he didn't sleep the night before because he was out celebrating his 21st birthday with friends, inform him that he should have found a replacement for his shift ahead of time. If a personal trainer is 10 minutes late for an appointment because her son's school bus was running behind, suggest she schedule appointments later if she's going to have trouble honoring previously arranged times.
4. Create self-awareness. Holding employees accountable for their actions – and forcing them to take steps to avoid repercussions of those actions – also can help them realize areas in which they may be under-performing. A 22-year-old woman's sarcasm may not seem so clever to a 44-year-old man. In fact, it's more likely to anger customers than amuse them. So call employees out on the kind of behavior that sends the wrong message to customers. Bishop explained that one employee was not even aware of what he considered her constant eye-rolling when asked to perform certain tasks on the job. He pointed it out to her, and her eyeballs now stay focused.
5. Teach responsibility. "If you find a problem, you own it," Bishop said, stressing that staff members must make efforts to fix what is broken. Some younger Elevations employees aspire to own health clubs some day. "If you're not willing to take a plunger to a toilet, you're not ready to run a club," Klein said. "I've plunged plenty of toilets, and Rob plows our parking lot in the winter."
6. Encourage everyone to be a salesperson. The actions of every employee in every department affect membership sales. Have meetings to discuss how front-desk workers should respond to pricing questions and objections, and make sure everyone can explain to a potential new customer what makes your facility tick, such as "We're a large facility with a small-town feel." There's no need to explain why they should join; simply make them want to ask more questions. Once young employees know the club's reason for existence and why they need to promote that, it will be easier to…
7. Ask them to take ownership. Explain the business reasons for doing what you do, so when a new member asks why your facility charges an enrollment fee, the 19-year-old kid behind the desk doesn't say, "Because we can." The success of the facility depends on the actions of everyone – from the part-time students looking for a summer job to the older veterans who rely on the facility's success for their livelihood. Encourage them to make their own decisions, and then help them learn from any resulting mistakes. Said Klein, "Younger people do respond well to more responsibility, so give it to them."
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9:31 AM
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