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 bshark441@gmail.com 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 Age Categories 20% 18% 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% 3% 5% 18% 15% 14% 14% 12% 10% 6% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% Medain Age Range: 35-39 years old(average age not calculated due to categorical nature of question) 8% 1% 1% Marital status (N = 3401) Married sharing household Single (including divorced) 16% 44% Significant other sharing household (not married) Significant other without shared household (not married) 30% Married but separated Other
Female Cyclist Survey 7 Number of Children Mean = 0.4 (N = 3398) % of Respondents 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% 77.0% 10.5% 8.9% 2.5% 0.8% 0.2% 0 1 2 3 4 5 or more Race/Ethnicity of respondents (N = 3398) White/Caucasian 89% Hispanic/Latino 3% Asian 3% American Indian/Native American 1% Black/African American 1% Other 3% Pacific Islander 0%
Female Cyclist Survey 8 PARTICIPATION Club Membership (N = 3398) No 28% Yes, All Female 16% Yes, Mixed Gender 56% Women's Event Participation Type (N= 3435) Racing Only 21% None 10% Recreation and Racing 36% Recreation Only 33%
Female Cyclist Survey 9 Respondents who currently race (N = 2893) Yes 67% No 33% Primary discipline Road, 63.3% Other, 3.2% None of the above, I am a triathlete, 5.0% BMX, 0.3% Cyclo-Cross, 8.8% Track, 3.5% MTB, 15.9%
Female Cyclist Survey 10 How did you begin participating in bicycle RACING/RECRATIONAL Cycling? (N = 3735) 25% 20% 15% 10% 18.6% 18.2% 15.6% 22.8% Racing Recration 5% 0% Started with friends Started on my own 6.1% 6.7% Started with spouse 5.5% 5.5% Started with significant other 5.0% 7.4% Started with family 0.9% 1.1% Started with coworkers 0.0% 2.5% Other (please specify) 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 34.9% Which of the following inspired you to begin participating in recreational/racing EVENTS? (N = 3735) RECREATIONAL 28.5% 7.7% 7.0% 6.7% 6.6% 5.4% RACING 1.8% 1.3% 1.1% 0.3% 10.1%
Female Cyclist Survey 11 PREFERENCES %of Respondents 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% What attracts you to participate in RECREATIONAL bicycling events? (N = 1763) Most attractive Somewhat attractive Not attractive % of Respondents 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% What attracts you to participate in bicycle RACING events? (N = 1822) Most attractive Somewhat attractive Not attractive
Female Cyclist Survey 12 Aspects of my favorite RECREATIONAL event. (N = 1771) Atmosphere Course My friends participate Length of event Proximity to home Safety Charitable cause History of the event The amount of people there overall Family friendly Amount of other women there Race director Registration cost Travel cost Prizes Other 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% Most important reason(s) why it is my favorite Not a factor OR a negative factor Contributes to why it is my favorite
Female Cyclist Survey 13 Aspects of my favorite RACING event. (N = 1691) Atmosphere Course Length of race My friends participate Amount of other women there The amount of people there overall Categories offered Proximity to home Field size Safety Family friendly History of the event Age groups offered Prizes Race director Travel cost Can race twice in one day Registration cost Charitable cause Mentored races Other 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 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 Reasons for NOT participating in RACING events. (N = 948) I only participate in cycling for other purposes Not enough time Do not know how to get started No beginner level races I am not a competitive person Do not know anyone who races Family commitments Cost of registration fees I consider racing too dangerous Cost of racing license Attitudes of other male participants Cost of race travel Attitudes of other female competitors No races close enough to me Lack of female competitors in my age group Lack of female competitors in my category I'm currently injured I was injured racing and don't feel comfortable Other (please specify) 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% The most important reason (s) Important, but not one of the most important
Female Cyclist Survey 15 Reasons for participating in races less than I used to. (N = 619) Job/employment commitments Time 34.4% 28.8% 23.6% 33.4% Injury Family commitments Cost of races Travel Lack of my category offered at races Lack of other women racing in my category Lack of my age group offered at races Lack of other women racing my age group Safety 25.4% 24.6% 21.2% 21.0% 19.7% 18.3% 18.1% 17.6% 11.5% 18.3% 16.2% 22.5% 29.6% 39.3% 20.5% 25.2% 15.7% 18.3% Other women racers Course Length of races Prizes Race director 7.6% 6.6% 6.1% 4.5% 2.4% 20.7% 20.4% 16.3% 12.3% 10.3% Other 15.5% 1.6% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Primary reason Secondary reason
Female Cyclist Survey 16 Top 3 things discouraging you (or other women) from racing? (N = 2511) Cost Job/employment commitments Time Races combined with other ages/categories Family commitments Lack of other women racing in my category Travel Safety Category not offered Lack of other women racing in my age group Injury Age group not offered Other women racers Prizes Length of races Course Race director Other 16.4% 13.5% 13.0% 12.3% 10.6% 8.7% 8.5% 5.1% 4.7% 1.5% 11.6% 28.2% 26.2% 24.9% 24.1% 23.9% 34.4% 33.4% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% % of respondents who selected
Female Cyclist Survey 17 MOTIVATION TO JOIN/RENEW (RACING LICENSES) Respondents (racers) holding a USAC license (N = 1906) No, but I have in the past 10.4% Yes 78.1% No, I never have 11.4% Reasons for not getting first USA Cycling license. (N = 206) Not racing enough to justify buying a license 58.3% 15.0% Cost of license 18.9% 19.9% My area does not have any USA Cycling sanctioned races 16.5% 15.0% Cost of races 9.7% 26.7% job/employment commitments 6.3% 13.1% Injury 3.9% 6.3% Family commitments 2.9% 8.3% Other 19.4% 1.9% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Primary reason Secondary reason
Female Cyclist Survey 18 Reasons for not renewing USAC license. (N = 199) Cost of license Time constraints 21.1% 27.1% 22.1% 22.1% Family commitments 17.6% 12.6% Cost of race entry fees 15.6% 23.1% I was injured Lack of other female racers in my category or age group No races close to where I live Lack of races that include my category Cost of travel to events 14.6% 13.1% 11.6% 10.1% 9.5% 11.6% 12.1% 12.1% 19.1% 26.6% Attitude of other women racers I am more of a recreational rider than racer Lack of races that include my age group 9.0% 8.5% 8.5% 8.5% 12.1% 10.1% Other 23.6% 2.5% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Primary reason Secondary reason
Female Cyclist Survey 19 What factors would enable you to continue bicycle racing in future years? (N = 1740) Course Friendly women to race against Proximity of races Categories offered Race length Safety Cost of races 58.0% 57.9% 49.3% 49.1% 48.5% 41.2% 35.7% 34.4% 28.7% 41.7% 35.7% 42.5% 40.2% 47.3% Age group offered Field size 32.6% 31.0% 32.9% 47.8% Prizes 16.7% 40.8% Family friendly 15.1% 26.0% Child care Mentored races Race director 9.3% 7.4% 6.0% 12.2% 21.3% 32.4% Other 4.2% 2.2% 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0% 100.0% Most important Somewhat important 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)
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.