Team Insight

FROM 10-TO-1, A LOOK AT THE MOST IMPORTANT AND IMPACTFUL STORIES IN THE WORLD OF TEAM SPORTS IN 2024. BY TOM RYAN FEATURE STORY THE YEAR IN TEAM SPORTS 10. Pickleball Earns Spot As A Varsity Sport In 2023, Montgomery County in Maryland became the country's first district to include pickleball as a varsity sport when it launched with 11 high schools. is past July, it expanded to all 25 high schools in the district in a partnership with D.C. Pickleball Team, the area's Major League Pickleball team, and Joola, a leading pickleball paddle maker. "Pickleball for all," says Dr. Jeff Sullivan, Montgomery County public school's athletic director. "It is an extremely inclusive sport that spans all ages and demographics. We believe pickleball is not something that will just benefit student athletes while they're here in our program, but most importantly it is going to aid life-long health and well-being." Continuing as the country's fastest-growing sport, pickleball totaled 13.6 million participants in 2023, up 51.8 percent year over year and 223.5 percent over the last three years. Continued rapid growth is expected to be supported by investments in building pickleball courts, the arrival of two professional pickleball leagues and the roll out of pickleball restaurant-entertainment concepts with clever names like Chicken N Pickle and Camp Pickl. While initially seen as a sport strictly for retirees, pickleball is now known for its broad appeal across ages. Ages 18-34 represent the largest age bracket of pickleball players, totaling 28.8 percent of all players, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), with the fastest-growing segment between the ages of 18-24. is is, indeed, not your grandparents' sport alone. Like their elders, kids are attracted to the sports ease of play, low cost of entry and sociability. Editorial comment: Now if only that "thwock, thwock" sound of the ball wasn't so darn annoying. 9. NIL High School Deals Arrive In mid-October, North Carolina became the 41st state to permit high school student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL). Florida was the second big state this year to allow NIL deals at the high school level, joining some smaller states (Delaware, South Dakota). 12 • Team Insight ~ November/December 2024 teaminsightmag.com O nce again it was quite an eventful year in the world of team sports as the industry – and schools, athletes, fans and friends – fully emerged from the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and made participation in everything from basketball to pickleball a way of life. Yes, indeed, the games went on in 2024! It was an Olympics year, for sure, and that brought the regular quadrennial interest to the "other" sports such as track and field, soball and even breakdancing (a sport not covered in these pages). But driving the team sports business at the grassroots level was increased participation, equipment innovations and tech advances that made playing, watching and evaluating team sports easier and more accessible. Team Insight went back into our pages and news items from the past 12 months to pick out the 10 that had the most impact on team dealers across America. So here, from number 10 to the top story of the year, are our team stories of 2024 that will continue to have an impact on business into 2025 and beyond.

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