After last weekend’s thrilling ITU World Championship action in Hyde Park, the Triathlon Industry Association (TIA) has revealed that expenditure on the sport in the UK is now worth more than £192 million per year. This follows completion of the sport’s most comprehensive survey of active triathletes.
The legacy of the Brownlees’ Olympic medal-winning heroics at London 2012 has been evidenced in the research findings. TIA has noted increased participation in the sport and heightened spend on tri gear – making triathlon one of the fastest-growing segments of the UK recreational sports market.
Last year, 100,000 Brits competed in 160,000 triathlon race starts; 20% of whom were doing so for the first time; 30% bought a new bike (average value £1650); and 25% purchased a new wetsuit (average value £200).
Equipment is an intrinsic part of triathlon’s swim, bike, run make-up – and participants, whether novice or expert, revel in the opportunity to invest in their passion. Beyond their bike and wetsuit, triathletes are prone to more regular upgrades on bike parts, running and cycling shoes, race and training apparel, sunglasses, nutrition products, swim goggles, coaching and an array of other performance accessories.
Encouragingly for the trade, which includes a growing number of sports equipment retailers, triathletes appear to prioritise their sport over other ‘discretionary spends’ as two thirds of respondents indicated that their triathlon spend would stay the same or increase over the next year.
Often referred to as ‘the fastest growing sport in the UK’, with events regularly selling out within hours, the TIA has undertaken the first of what will become an annual survey of UK tri participants alongside in-depth interviews with key stakeholders both to substantiate this claim and also to understand better the key trends within the sport.
Beneath the £192m headline market value figure, which still excludes significant expenditure on tri-related travel and accommodation, tri club and gym memberships, and magazine subscriptions, the survey findings have served to underpin the confidence of the industry, depicting a growing affluent, well-educated and dedicated community who are passionately committed to their sport.
The TIA survey, which was completed by 3,800 respondents, found that the average age of triathletes was 40 and the average salary was £45,000.
The sport’s participant population was found to be biased towards London and the South East (39%), with its 80% ABC1s comprising no less than 21.8% professionals and 8.8% company owners or directors.
Half of ‘triathlon households’ have an income of more than £60,000 and, with 19% over £100,000, the triathlete population appears adept at juggling their sporting passion with domestic and work commitments. Over 60% manage to train between 5-10 hours per week.
Two British women, Non Stanford and Jodie Stimpson, finished first and second in this year’s ITU World Series Grand Final last Saturday, providing a high-profile foundation for more women to take up the sport (currently 26% overall).
Gary Roethenbaugh, Managing Director of MultiSport Research, the author of the report on behalf of TIA commented, “Despite the sport’s ever-increasing popularity, until now its growth has been measured by anecdote and event entry numbers. TIA has set about putting this right with an annual authoritative study. The findings have been very warmly received, enabling us properly to benchmark the industry’s current value, and has been instructive in highlighting areas in which the sport can do more to improve.”
The TIA – which comprises event organisers, equipment manufacturers, tour operators, retailers, distributors, and media – has worked in conjunction with the sport’s governing body, the British Triathlon Federation to compile the findings which extend to all areas of a triathlete’s lifestyle.
www.triathlonindustryassociation.org
