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Female Cyclist Survey 3
Executive Summary
In order to fully characterize the current and potential female membership of USA Cycling, this study was commissioned to design and analyze a 2013 survey of that population, and present findings and recommendations in this summary report. The primary data used were generated through an updated survey of female cyclists, both USA Cycling members and non-members that was conducted using a web-based questionnaire. The survey instrument included 55 items in eight categories:
a. socio-demographics (9 items) b. participation history (20 items) c. motivations (11 items) d. participation constraints (6 items) e. event preferences (9 items)
A total of 4046 questionnaires were started and 2872 (71%) were completed and useable for data analyses.
The overall analysis of these surveys’ data focused on three main areas: (I) the level of female participation in recreational and racing activities, (II) the preferences of female participants and favored characteristics and constraints of events, and (III) the reasons for joining/not joining/renewing USA Cycling membership. The following describes some of the notable findings for each area of concern: (I) Participation. The participant related questions yielded the following key findings:
· 72% of the respondents indicated that they were members of a cycling club
· 57% of the respondents indicated that they participate in cycling races and 69% indicated that they participate in recreational events (36% do both, 10% neither).
· In terms of inspiration to begin participating in events, “Friends” was the dominant source cited by respondents for both Recreational (35%), and Racing (29%) participants. However, when considering initial participation in the sport (Recreation), many individuals still reported “starting on their own” (22.8%).
· About 1/3 of the respondents to the questionnaire indicated that they don’t currently race
· Of all the respondents, the most cited primary discipline was Road (63%), followed by MTB (16%) and Cyclo-cross (9%). The most common open response was commuting/transportation (~1.5%)
(II) Preferences/Favorites/Constraints. In terms of event participation preferences, respondents indicated these in several ways. ATTRACTIONS:
· For both racing and recreational events, personal accomplishment was rated highest in attractiveness for participation. Fitness benefits, and social interaction rated highly compared to other factors
· Understandably, in terms of attractiveness, prizes and formal competition were rated as less attractive for recreational events compared to races, and scenery/exploration were rated as more attractive for recreational events. FEATURES OF FAVORITE EVENTS:
· When respondents recalled their favorite events, for both racing and recreational events, atmosphere, course, friends, and length of the event, were rated in the top four reasons for why the event was their favorite.
· In contrast to the favorite recreational events, the favorite racing events also emphasized participation levels in general, i.e. amount of other women there, amount of people there overall, categories offered, and field size all rated highly in terms of importance.
Female Cyclist Survey 4
PARTICIPATION CONSTRAINTS:
· In terms of constraints to participating in racing events, the reasons were relatively dispersed with the most common primary reason being not enough time (21%). The only other reasons exceeding 15% were related to “first timer” constraints, i.e. do not know how to get started, and no beginner level races.
· For participants who indicated that they participate in fewer races than they used to, time was again one of the top constraints, while job/employment commitment, injury, and family obligations also rated highly (25%+) in terms of primary reasons for competing less.
· When choosing the constraints that respondents believe discourage women from participating in general, job/employment commitment, time, and family commitments again reccur at the top of the list, with cost dominating them all. Attendance/access factors were often cited as well, e.g. races combined with other ages/categories, and lack of other women racing in my category.
· One difficulty that has become clear through this constraint analysis is that the female contingent of cycling participation is extremely diverse and complex in terms of participation constraints.
(III) Membership.
· The number of respondents holding a USA Cycling license was 72%, while 10% were
unrenewed members, and 11% had never been a member.
· Of the reasons (primary and secondary) for not renewing their license, they were
dominated by budgetary or leisure time contraints (5), The most common reason cited
outside of this general category was lack of other females in my category or age
group followed by injury, no races close to where I live, and lack of races that
include my category.
· In terms of continued membership and racing participation in future years, many design
elements of the events, i.e. course, proximity, categories, race length, safety ranked
highest in importance, while the disposition of competitors, ‘friendly women to race
against’ was similar or equal rival to these top reasons.
Further description of the data collection, results, and charts follow. An appendix includes complete open responses.
Contact Please direct any questions, concerns or inquiries to: Dr. Daniel Larson [email protected] Phone: (352)262-7601
Female Cyclist Survey 5
Report for 2013 USA Cycling Female Cyclist Analysis
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE USA Cycling membership has enjoyed robust and steady growth in its membership and license holder numbers over several recent years. However, the female contingent of the membership has remained low (~14%) relative to the U.S. population at large. In order to most effectively serve this segment of the population and to develop potential new members, we seek to fully characterize the motivations for participating in cycling events/races, preferences for continued participation, and motivations for joining and renewing USA Cycling membership among this group. This analysis focuses on female cyclist demographic characteristics, their history of cycling participation, their motivations for cycling event participation and/or joining USA Cycling, and their preferences with regard to event experiences.
DATA
The data for this report were obtained from a membership survey conducted in late 2013. Previous overall membership data (2013) are occasionally used for comparison. Internet collection As with any questionnaire that samples using internet collection techniques, there is always the potential for selection bias from two main sources, non-responders, and members of the population of interest (overall membership) being systematically excluded from the sample. The non-responders would be individuals receiving the survey solicitation and choosing not to participate. The individuals excluded from the sample would be those members who may not have internet access, or an email address not included in the member database. If either of these classes of individuals had significant differences in the measured constructs, there would clearly be a bias present in the sample. However, although the data were collected via a web linked questionnaire and these concerns do exist, we feel fairly confident that there will be limited bias in the following examined constructs. It is difficult to argue that many of the variables listed in this questionnaire would be subject to severe bias (or differences) across responders and non-responders. Where this may be a concern, it is discussed in the report. A future inquiry could include a snail-mail version to sample some non-internet users to statistically establish that there are no significant differences or resulting bias. Responses In terms of responses to individual items, this does vary throughout this questionnaire. This can arise either through incomplete/abandoned questionnaires, or through conscious non-response. While several questionnaire items required responses, other items that might be viewed as sensitive information (e.g. race/ethnicity) allowed for non-response. Additionally, some questions were only posed to a subset of the respondents, e.g. cyclists who indicated they currently race, or cyclist who have never been a USA Cycling member.Therefore, the responses to individual questions in this study ranged from just about 200 to 3738 (100%) completion. 4046 questionnaires were started and 2872 (71% completion) questionnaires were fully completed. Wherever possible, variations in the response rates are noted. Further item analysis could be conducted in the future to guard against any individual item bias OR the possibility that respondents abandoned the survey because of its length.
Female Cyclist Survey 6
DEMOGRAPHICS
Medain Age Range: 35-39 years old(Average age not calculated due to categorical nature of question)
3% 5%
18%
15% 14% 14%
12% 10%
6%
2% 1% 0% 0% 0%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
Age Categories
44%
30%
16%
8%
1% 1%
Marital status (N = 3401)
Married sharing household
Single (including divorced)
Significant other sharing
household (not married)
Significant other without shared
household (not married)
Married but separated
Other
Female Cyclist Survey 7
77.0%
10.5% 8.9% 2.5% 0.8% 0.2%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
0 1 2 3 4 5 or more
% o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
Number of Children Mean = 0.4 (N = 3398)
White/Caucasian
89%
Hispanic/Latino
3%
Asian
3%
American
Indian/Native
American
1%
Black/African
American
1%
Pacific Islander
0% Other
3%
Race/Ethnicity of respondents (N = 3398)
Female Cyclist Survey 8
PARTICIPATION
Yes, Mixed Gender
56% Yes, All Female
16%
No
28%
Club Membership
(N = 3398)
None
10%
Recreation Only
33% Recreation and
Racing
36%
Racing Only
21%
Women's Event Participation Type (N= 3435)
Female Cyclist Survey 9
No
33%
Yes
67%
Respondents who currently race (N = 2893)
Road, 63.3%
MTB, 15.9%
Cyclo-Cross,
8.8%
Track, 3.5% BMX, 0.3%
None of the
above, I am a
triathlete, 5.0%
Other, 3.2%
Primary discipline
Female Cyclist Survey 10
18
.6%
15
.6%
6.1
%
5.5
%
5.0
%
0.9
%
0.0
%
18
.2%
22
.8%
6.7
%
5.5
%
7.4
%
1.1
%
2.5
%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Started with
friends
Started on
my own
Started with
spouse
Started with
significant
other
Started with
family
Started with
coworkers
Other (please
specify)
How did you begin participating in bicycle
RACING/RECRATIONAL Cycling? (N = 3735)
Racing
Recration
34.9%
28.5%
7.7% 7.0% 6.7% 6.6% 5.4% 1.8% 1.3% 1.1% 0.3%
10.1%
0% 5%
10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
Which of the following inspired you to begin
participating in recreational/racing EVENTS? (N = 3735)
RECREATIONAL
RACING
Female Cyclist Survey 11
PREFERENCES
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
%o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
What attracts you to participate in
RECREATIONAL bicycling events? (N = 1763)
Most attractive
Somewhat attractive
Not attractive
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
100%
% o
f R
esp
on
de
nts
What attracts you to participate in bicycle
RACING events? (N = 1822)
Most attractive
Somewhat attractive
Not attractive
Female Cyclist Survey 12
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0%
Other
Prizes
Travel cost
Registration cost
Race director
Amount of other women there
Family friendly
The amount of people there overall
History of the event
Charitable cause
Safety
Proximity to home
Length of event
My friends participate
Course
Atmosphere
Aspects of my favorite RECREATIONAL event. (N = 1771)
Most important reason(s) why it is my favorite Contributes to why it is my favorite
Not a factor OR a negative factor
Female Cyclist Survey 13
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Other
Mentored races
Charitable cause
Registration cost
Can race twice in one day
Travel cost
Race director
Prizes
Age groups offered
History of the event
Family friendly
Safety
Field size
Proximity to home
Categories offered
The amount of people there overall
Amount of other women there
My friends participate
Length of race
Course
Atmosphere
Aspects of my favorite RACING event. (N = 1691)
Most important reason(s) why it is my favorite Contributes to why it is my favorite
Not a factor OR a negative factor
Female Cyclist Survey 14
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Other (please specify)
I was injured racing and don't feel comfortable …
I'm currently injured
Lack of female competitors in my category
Lack of female competitors in my age group
No races close enough to me
Attitudes of other female competitors
Cost of race travel
Attitudes of other male participants
Cost of racing license
I consider racing too dangerous
Cost of registration fees
Family commitments
Do not know anyone who races
I am not a competitive person
No beginner level races
Do not know how to get started
Not enough time
I only participate in cycling for other purposes …
Reasons for NOT participating in RACING events. (N = 948)
The most important reason (s) Important, but not one of the most important
Female Cyclist Survey 15
15.5%
2.4%
4.5%
6.1%
6.6%
7.6%
11.5%
17.6%
18.1%
18.3%
19.7%
21.0%
21.2%
24.6%
25.4%
28.8%
34.4%
1.6%
10.3%
12.3%
16.3%
20.4%
20.7%
18.3%
18.3%
15.7%
25.2%
20.5%
39.3%
29.6%
22.5%
16.2%
33.4%
23.6%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Other
Race director
Prizes
Length of races
Course
Other women racers
Safety
Lack of other women racing my age group
Lack of my age group offered at races
Lack of other women racing in my category
Lack of my category offered at races
Travel
Cost of races
Family commitments
Injury
Time
Job/employment commitments
Reasons for participating in races less than I used to. (N = 619)
Primary reason Secondary reason
Female Cyclist Survey 16
11.6%
1.5%
4.7%
5.1%
8.5%
8.7%
10.6%
12.3%
13.0%
13.5%
16.4%
23.9%
24.1%
24.9%
26.2%
28.2%
33.4%
34.4%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
Other
Race director
Course
Length of races
Prizes
Other women racers
Age group not offered
Injury
Lack of other women racing in my age group
Category not offered
Safety
Travel
Lack of other women racing in my category
Family commitments
Races combined with other ages/categories
Time
Job/employment commitments
Cost
% of respondents who selected
Top 3 things discouraging you (or other women)
from racing? (N = 2511)
Female Cyclist Survey 17
MOTIVATION TO JOIN/RENEW (RACING LICENSES)
No, I never have
11.4%
No, but I have in
the past
10.4% Yes
78.1%
Respondents (racers) holding a USAC license (N = 1906)
19.4%
2.9%
3.9%
6.3%
9.7%
16.5%
18.9%
58.3%
1.9%
8.3%
6.3%
13.1%
26.7%
15.0%
19.9%
15.0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Other
Family commitments
Injury
job/employment commitments
Cost of races
My area does not have any USA Cycling sanctioned
races
Cost of license
Not racing enough to justify buying a license
Reasons for not getting first USA Cycling license. (N = 206)
Primary reason Secondary reason
Female Cyclist Survey 18
23.6%
8.5%
8.5%
9.0%
9.5%
10.1%
11.6%
13.1%
14.6%
15.6%
17.6%
21.1%
27.1%
2.5%
10.1%
8.5%
12.1%
26.6%
12.1%
11.6%
19.1%
12.1%
23.1%
12.6%
22.1%
22.1%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Other
Lack of races that include my age group
I am more of a recreational rider than racer
Attitude of other women racers
Cost of travel to events
Lack of races that include my category
No races close to where I live
Lack of other female racers in my category or age
group
I was injured
Cost of race entry fees
Family commitments
Time constraints
Cost of license
Reasons for not renewing USAC license. (N = 199)
Primary reason Secondary reason
Female Cyclist Survey 19
Open responses
When asked to report, “What do you think would encourage more women to participate in
bicycle racing?” respondents returned a broad range of suggestions (N = 2064). These
responses were categorized wherever possible based on the frequency of the subject matter.
Of the top concerns discussed, the top 5 most commonly cited were:
· 29% Category Issues (combining, age ranges, beginners racing against professionals)
· 6% Prizes/Payouts (most often seeking equality to males)
· 6% Programs/Skills/Education (for newest competitors)
· 5% Social elements (Friendly atmosphere, welcoming, attitude)
· 3% Fun (vs. competition)
4.2%
6.0%
7.4%
9.3%
15.1%
16.7%
31.0%
32.6%
35.7%
41.2%
48.5%
49.1%
49.3%
57.9%
58.0%
2.2%
32.4%
21.3%
12.2%
26.0%
40.8%
47.8%
32.9%
47.3%
40.2%
42.5%
35.7%
41.7%
28.7%
34.4%
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0% 100.0%
Other
Race director
Mentored races
Child care
Family friendly
Prizes
Field size
Age group offered
Cost of races
Safety
Race length
Categories offered
Proximity of races
Friendly women to race against
Course
What factors would enable you to continue
bicycle racing in future years? (N = 1740)
Most important Somewhat important
Female Cyclist Survey 20
When asked, “What other things might cause you to race more frequently?”¸similar categories
were constructed from the 1913 responses. The top 4 most cited personal constraints were,
· 9% Distance to races
· 9% Cost
· 5% Family/Job constraints
· 4% Category issues
When asked, “What would add value to bicycle racing for you?”, the respondents (N = 1557)
indicated these 5 most frequent desires,
· 11% Category Issues (combining, age ranges, beginners racing against professionals)
· 10% Social elements (Friendly atmosphere, welcoming, attitude)
· 6% Prizes/Payouts (most often seeking equality to males)
· 6% Events (more and closer)
· 4% Fun (vs. competition)
ABOUT THE RESEARCHER Daniel J. Larson, PhD Dr. Larson currently serves as Lecturer in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Larson’s research focuses on sport economics and specifically the economic issues in the sport of cycling. Dr. Larson functions as the coordinator for the project/report.