Change the Culture of Your Sport - Know Your Role

The Yakima Valley Sports Commission and our partners take youth and amateur sportsmanship seriously. There is a growing problem in communities across the nation of a concerning trend of declining participation in youth sports.

Although sports like gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse and rugby have shown and increase in participation, consider the decline in these sports below:

• KNOW YOUR ROLE™

  75% of youth athletes quit sports by the age of 14. To compound the issue, 80% of rookie referees are quitting after two years. These problems face parents, coaches, athletes and athletic administrators.

  Study after study shows the number one reason youth athletes leave a sport is simply because they are no longer having fun. Plus the number one reason referees are leaving their positions is because of the way they are treated by coaches and parents.

  The Yakima Valley Sports Commission believes these issues can be solved if we commit to changing the culture of youth sports.

• WHAT IS KNOW YOUR ROLE™?

  Over the past decade or so, the steady decline of officials and participants involved in youth sports has increased at a staggering rate. The problem has gotten so bad, that several areas and sports have had to limit the number of teams, games, and sporting events they are able to offer. In 2016, the Southern Oregon Sports Commission decided to take a stand against the problem. With the help of local commissioners, including Matt Sayers (Athletic Director of Southern Oregon University), the phrase Know Your Role™ was coined, and development began on a marketing and media campaign that not only draws attention to the problem of poor participant behavior around athletics, but that also aims to change that culture for the better.

If you are interested in learning more about the Know Your Role program, please contact Rich Austin of the Yakima Valley Sports Commission at 509-594-2742 or rich@yakimasports.org. The KNOW YOUR ROLE marks are trademarks of The Chamber of Medford/Jackson County d/b/a/ Travel Medford and the use of same herein is undertaken pursuant to a license from The Chamber of Medford/Jackson County d/b/a Travel Medford.