Women now prime target for snowboarding growth

POWDER GIRLS Women now prime target for snowboarding growth By FLETCHER DOYLE News Sports Reporter 11/29/2006
	Sarah Showalter, modeling Smith goggels and a jacket and hat by Burton, holds a Burton Troop board with Burton Escapade bindings. Eight years ago, Mark Sperling tried to teach his girlfriend how to snowboard and surf, and it didn't go well. Other guys told the marketing director for Transworld Snowboarding Magazine they had the same experience and asked him to organize a clinic for women, who show a preference for group learning experiences. He expected five or 10 participants, but 150 showed up. So he started Girls Learn to Ride http://www.girlslearntoride.com/ which this year will put on 800 female-only, action-sports clinics nationwide. A total of 75 snowsports resorts will host clinics run by his organization as the industry tries to reach its most underserved market, the woman snowboarder. Two of those clinics will be held at Holiday Valley - Feb. 3 and March 3. "Resorts were seeing they hadn't addressed the female market," said Sperling, whose group provides everything women need to learn and even throws in gift bags. Sperling said that at first he was trying to give opportunities to girls ages 12-18, but half of the participants at his clinics were over 21. These were women who didn't want to drop off their kids at the terrain park and ski away. "A lot of women now have the time to learn and want to reconnect with their kids," said Sperling, who is creating a Women Learn to Ride program to meet demand. Women make up 50 percent of all first-time snowboarders but comprise only 33 percent of all riders. That figure is up from 29 percent five years ago, according to the National Ski Areas Association. Industry insiders see that percentage rising because resorts are addressing concerns specific to women."Learning styles are different between men and women," said Sean Cattenaugh of Burton's Learn to Ride program, which has increased its presence in Western New York this year. "The other side is the learning environment. Men have something called ego. They will learn one success and they want to go on. "Women want to dial it in before advancing. They can be intimidated by moving up too fast. Women seem to be more comfortable with other women. The gender of the teacher is not important unless a male teacher doesn't understand women want to go more slowly." Women also aren't as likely to want to jump right in to doing tricks and aren't as accepting of scrapes and bruises. Every resort in the area has responded by creating terrain park features tailored to the inexperienced rider. "Large terrain parks draw the attention - but resorts with smaller parks get more traffic because the intimidation factor and the punishment factor go down," Cattenaugh said. "You have to have an environment to make learning easier so they will come back." Women, despite being in the minority among both skiers and riders, make up half of all lesson takers and 49 percent of all participants who have dropped out of either discipline for at least one year in the past five years. Also, only 15 percent stick with snowboarding. "The lack of proper equipment is the biggest reason they don't come back," Cattenaugh said. "Burton has women-specific products for rental to make the experience easier." Holiday Valley, which has had gender- and age-specific lessons at its Adult Learning Center for several years, spent $100,000 this year on Burton Learn to Ride products for its rental fleet. Bristol has brought in the Learn to Ride program and is cooperating with Burton in setting up a Freestyle Demo Center. Women not only want equipment that fits, they want apparel that looks good, and they are willing to pay for it. According the Colorado-based Leisure Trends Group, women spent $240 million in the last year on equipment and apparel, an increase of 64 percent from five years ago. During the same period, men's spending dropped by 3.4 percent. "I've seen immense growth in the women's market," said Two Four Five Snowboard Co. and Snowflake Ski Shop manager Tim Keller. "The industry in general has switched gears. "In years past, companies would put women's graphics on men's boards. Now the equipment is women's specific." That means boards for women are lightweight with a smaller flex, which makes them easier to manipulate. And they are narrower than men's boards to accommodate women's smaller feet. The boots are also women specific, accounting for differences in the shapes of ankles and calves. "Putting a different color on something doesn't make it a women's boot," Cattenaugh added. "Boots are the most important equipment." Keller said women are more fashion conscious than men, who are more concerned with function. However, he said women's taste has influence the look of all snowboard equipment. "If you're not on top of the women's market, you are going to be hurt," he said. "It's not just for snowboards, it's for the ski industry as well. "Women's sales have increased dramatically the last three years. You have to cater to that market. We feel the mothers are behind the skiing and snowboarding families. They are the ones that drive the kids [to the resorts] and get the equipment." Equipment purchases aren't the only way women are exercising their financial clout. The New York Times recently quoted Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants officer Nike Leondakis as saying women "are making 70 percent of travel decisions." That is one of the reasons Peek'n Peak is adding a Women's Learn to Ride center as part of its $8 million expansion. The resort bought Burton's Learn to Ride equipment and is sending staff to learn how to match beginners with the right equipment and how to teach them. Classes are restricted to females. "Women are making the decisions, we have to let women know you care about them," Chip Day, head of brand management at Peek'n Peak, said of the reasoning behind adding the women's center. "Mom will determine where the family is going to go."

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