Did you hear?… NSGA says: Kayaking/rafting tops growth over five years

Kayaking/rafting led participation growth over the past five years, according to data from NSGA Sports Participation studies. Among the 39 sports and recreational activities surveyed in both 2005 and 2000, kayaking/rafting grew 141 percent from 3.1 million participants in 2000 to 7.6 million in 2005. The only other outdoor activity that boasted growth was hiking, up 22.6 percent. It had 29.2 million participants in 2005 compared to 22.8 million in 2000.

Unfortunately, there were a few losers on the list: participation in camping (vacation/overnight) was down 7.8 percent — 49.9 million in 2000 vs. 46 million in 2005; backpacking/wilderness camping dropped 13.7 percent — 15.4 million in 2000 vs. 13.3 million in 2005; and cross-country skiing fell 19.9 percent — 2.3 million in 2000 vs. 1.9 million in 2005.

Visit the NSGA website by clicking here for a full list of the 39 sports and recreational activities with their changes.