The Endurance Sports Industry has been hit the hardest by the Covid19 pandemic. According to the Endurance Sports Coalition, more than 80 per cent of endurance event operators in the US could go out of business by the end of 2020 without further state support.
The coalition, which was formed in April and comprises mass participation event organisers such as Ironman, Spartan Race, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series and Tough Mudder, says widespread cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic have crippled the endurance sports business and pushed many operators to the brink of financial ruin.
Endurance Sports Industry worst hit, 80% will go out of business claims study
As bans on mass gatherings are likely to continue for several months, and consumer comfort around being in large groups may be impaired for some time— according to the report, the industry is likely to be one of the last industries to be fully operational again.
Widespread cancellations, slowdown in future event registrations and contraction in sponsorship has put many organizers, non-profit and for-profit alike, into an immediate crisis. Layoffs, pay reductions and furloughs began almost immediately in many organizations in mid-March, and may be permanent if Congress does not provide incremental, lasting support to the endurance sports industry.
In a letter to congressional leadership in, the ESC urged members of US Congress to include additional financial support for the sector in the next phase of its pandemic relief legislation, and also called for ‘easy access to grant-based funding to help companies sustain jobs and support the long road to returning to live events.’
“Covid-19 is crushing the industry,” said Tough Mudder chief executive Kyle McLaughlin, a founding member of ESC. “From the smallest local 5k to the world’s largest marathons, the threat of the virus has brought our events to an immediate and shocking halt.
“As states see-saw through tenuous reopening, even the most aggressive states are understandably hesitant about permitting mass gatherings to safely occur.”
According to the ESC, which consists of more than 850 member organisations, the US$3 billion endurance sports industry employs 500,000 people in the US and delivers experiences to more than 30 million people each year. It claims 90 per cent of those jobs could be lost without government support.
Among the major US-based mass participation events cancelled for 2020 are the Boston and New York marathons, the Ironman World Championship in Kona, and many Tough Mudder and Spartan events.
A survey of more than 300 endurance sports businesses conducted by the ESC and Running USA found that 92 per recent of respondents have already cancelled or believe they will be forced to cancel their remaining 2020 events.
Nearly 90 per cent of ESC members have already implemented furloughs, layoffs or pay reductions. Additionally, 82 per cent of businesses surveyed that received loans through the US government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was initiated in March, have already depleted those funds.
“Many event operators are not optimistic for their future,” said Jeff Matlow, board president of Running USA and a founding member of ESC. “Without additional support, many are at risk of losing their businesses, and others are fearful they will have to cancel events well into the future, in Q1 and Q2 of 2021.”
In India as well, Endurance sports industry which is still nascent in stage is struggling big time and will continue do so for sometime in future.
Be it companies like Procam (organizers of Mumbai Marathon), Volano Sports (Devil’s circuit promoters) and other big and small entities, their entire existence depends on the mass participation. That being completely stalled, industry which makes people run and hop will take quite sometime to stand on its legs once again.
