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I’m pleased to report 2002 was, without a doubt, the best year the ADA has had since the start of the organized darts recession. Certainly this is welcomed relief as dart leagues have suffered severe membership losses since 1995. Many over 50%!
The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) reports a 22% decrease in American’s playing our sport since 1995. According to the latest NSGA “Sports Participation” survey, 16.9 millions Americans play darts a 2.9% decrease over the previous year. Darts is currently ranked 18th on the list.
The 2001 Sports Participation survey is conducted in two parts. “Series I” is based on a sampling of 15,000 U.S. households; “Series II,” which covers activities with lower rates of participation, uses a sampling of 20,000 U.S. households. Response rate for the survey is 67%. Interesting stuff, check it out at: www.nsga.org
Based on my observations, I’d say their survey is right on target. However, the news is not all bad. Even though organized darts has experienced some tough times, it is not a fad or a trend and in spite of this decline it is not going to go away. With a reservoir of over 16 million Americans to draw from our goal is to develop programs that will attract casual players in this large ‘pool’ of darters and convert them into members of the ADA.
In fact, several new programs we have developed last year are already paying dividends. As previously mentioned, last year was a great year here in the land of the ADA. A double-digit increase in individual memberships over 2001 resulted in an increase in the American Dart League. We now set our sights on continuing these increases into 2003 and beyond!
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