WELLESLEY, Mass., March 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Over the past several years, people have become more aware of the risks of long-term brain damage due to injuries suffered in contact sports, especially football. While the risks of playing football are more widely known, other popular sports must contend with safety risks of their own, which is contributing to overall growth in the sports equipment protection market in North America.
According to a new report by BCC Research Protective Sports Equipment: The North American Market, the U.S. market for sports protective equipment was worth nearly $1.9 billion in 2016. The market is projected to reach nearly $2.2 billion in 2022, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.5%.
This study focuses on the protection equipment that is used in football, baseball/softball, ice hockey, soccer, lacrosse, cycling, fencing, skiing/snowboarding, wrestling, water polo, climbing, equestrian sports and boxing. The report emphasizes commercially available equipment designed to prevent injury, rather than to protect injured tissue and promote healing once injury has occurred.
Research Highlights
- Cycling, football, snow sports, ice hockey and baseball/softball, in that order, are the largest markets for protective equipment in the U.S. Together, these five sports accounted for 94.2% of the market in 2016, a share that is expected to grow to 95.2% in 2022.
- Face/head protection equipment collectively accounted for the majority (65.9%) of the market in 2016.
- The development of sports protection technologies has been greatly facilitated by advanced materials in science, in particular the usage of polymers, carbon fiber, nanomaterials and smart materials.
“There has been a growing awareness of the safety hazards involved in playing a number of popular sports, particularly head injuries to participants in sports such as football and soccer,” said Andrew McWilliams, a BCC Research analyst and author of the report. “Organizations such as the National Football League are devoting large amounts of funding to finding ways to protect players better against such injuries, and equipment manufacturers are continually searching for innovative designs and materials that will increase the protective value of their products.”
About BCC Research
BCC Research is a publisher of market research reports that provide organizations with intelligence to drive smart business decisions. By partnering with industry experts worldwide, BCC Research provides unbiased measurements and assessments of global markets covering major industrial and technology sectors, including emerging markets. For more information about BCC Research, please visit bccresearch.com. Follow BCC Research on Twitter at @BCCResearch.