Is the International Inline Skating Association Being Downsized?

No Plans to Hire a New IISA Director

By Robert "Just the Factoids" Burnson

So is what we are seeing the downsizing of the International Inline Skating Association?

Kinda looks that way. ... Here's what has happened:

Yesterday, a little blurb appears on the Sporting Goods Business website, announcing that Kalinda Mathis is resigning as director of IISA to become director of marketing for the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association (SGMA).

The blurb says IISA will be restructured and fails to mention a replacement for Kalinda.

Today, via email, Rollerblade's Nick Skally provides a few tidbits about the changes at IISA. (Nick's boss is Rollerblade's General Manager Jeremy Stonier, who is president of the board that runs IISA. So he has reason to know what's going on.)

Nick says:

1. IISA is essentially being restructured into an "informational resource" (We'll have to ask him what he means by this.)
2. There are no "immediate plans" to hire a new director
3. IISA is not being absorbed into SGMA

IISA is a trade association that promotes the sport of inline skating. It was the body that certified inline skating instructors. But Nick Skally said certification is now being run by USA Fit, "a larger organization that has deeper pockets and more resources."

Kalinda has been with IISA for 11 years, seven of those as director. It is unclear how the lack of a director will affect IISA. Typically, executive directors run the day-to-day business of their associations and carry out the programs of their boards.

Kalinda, a former (current?) inline instructor, moves into what appears to be a more solid future. SGMA is the "mega" trade association for the sporting goods industry. It is insulated from the mood swings of the market by the large number of sports it represents. If one sport is slumping, there's always another one that is surging.

Of course, one sport that is slumping now is inline skating. And that may be what the changes at IISA are all about.

IISA's members are inline skate makers and other companies involved in the inline industry. Their profits have been down considerably this year. So undoutably they are looking for places to cut. Some have already cut their sponsorships for inline events. Apparently, they've decided another place to cut is at IISA headquarters in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Links

• Kalinda's note to the Inline Instructors group

• Press release from IISA with commentary

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Copyright © 2006 by Robert Burnson