Paintball: The Fastest Growing Sport in America

(ARA) - With summer approaching everyone is looking forward to doing their favorite activities. Whether its softball, riding a bike or even gardening, summer is a time to get out of hibernation, work your body and have a little fun. A new sport craze that is growing in popularity in America is paintball: a fun, safe, strategic, team-building exercise with an adrenaline rush.

What began as a simple game played in country fields and forests has evolved into a sport that involves 10.4 million participants and an estimated 3 million new players each year. Paintball is the fastest growing sport in the country; more Americans played paintball than baseball in 2005, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA).

There are many variations of play, but paintball typically involves two teams trying to accomplish a particular task without getting "marked." Players use markers (air guns) that can fire paintballs at speeds up to 200 miles per hour. The strategy and teamwork aspects of the sport make it an activity well suited for group outings, from birthday or bachelor parties to corporate team building exercises.

Part of the reason for the sport's popularity explosion is that anyone can play. Neither age nor physique excludes someone from getting into the action, and the game is safer than you might think. According to the Comprehensive Study of Sports Injuries in the U.S., per participant, more people are injured while jogging, bowling or golfing than while playing paintball.

From major metros to rural communities, commercial paintball fields attract all levels of participants, and many recreational players continue to play on private land. Professional, semi-professional, recreational leagues draw millions of participants and spectators. The sport is growing leaps and bounds with students: the National Collegiate Paintball Association has more than 330 organized college teams, and this year saw the first-ever high school national championship of paintball.

Industry leader JT Sports is recognized with helping to fuel the growth of the sport by making it available to the masses. Additionally, the company's lineage includes the development of the first paintball marker, originally employed to mark trees and cattle before being used in the first paintball game in 1983, as well as the first electronic loader and the first paintball-specific protective mask.

"Paintball is a great activity for the entire family," says Gary Remensnyder, president of JT Sports. "It's kid-friendly and adult-friendly. It's safe and it's fun."

For more information on paintball, visit www.jtsports.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent