The reality TV show American Ninja Warrior has certainly influenced what you might see today at trampoline parks, CrossFit gyms, playgrounds, and a variety of endurance events for all ages that incorporate obstacle-based challenges. Dedicated “ninja gyms” kick it up a notch, offering a wide range of fun, encouraging, functional athletic training accessible to everyone from beginners to professional competitors.

What many people don’t realize is that Wake County has become a growing hub for some of the best ninja warrior-style obstacle course racing (OCR) gyms in the country. And one reason for this growth is fairly unique to our area. Because Wake County operates both year-round and traditional school calendars, track-out programs and summer camps allow local gyms to operate throughout the day. That daytime activity helps support the cost of specialized equipment and ongoing technical innovation. This in turn attracts top-tier coaches who can devote significant time to developing more advanced training environments. Over the years, people from across the country, and even Canada, have relocated here to be part of this community.

How did we reach that point? The first Spartan Race in the United States is often credited to an event held in Vermont in 2010. From there, many variations of OCR followed. As the sport evolved, some participants from American Ninja Warrior began building training facilities to prepare for increasingly difficult challenges. In North Carolina, early examples included gyms created by athletes like Mike Cook in Rocky Mount and Chad Hohn in Thomasville.

By 2014, roughly two dozen gyms across the country had joined two emerging competitive leagues that hosted show-style adult competitions. More gyms began opening, and the kids who had grown up watching the show soon wanted the opportunity to train, so they too could chase their dreams of hitting that famous buzzer. By 2016, the number of children involved in the sport began to exceed the number of adults. Ninja warrior training had effectively become a sport someone could grow up doing ... if they were fortunate enough to live near one of these facilities.

In 2017, Warrior Tech OCR opened in Morrisville, making it the first such gym in Wake County. Like many others in the area, my son Josh got his first taste of the sport there at age 11. Highly motivated, he quickly immersed himself in training. Within a year, he reached the semifinals of American Ninja Warrior Junior in his age group, earned top-10 finishes in two of the largest national leagues, and won first place in the Athlete Warrior Games.

Through extensive travel and involvement with the broader ninja warrior community, our family realized there was a major gap in southern Wake County. That realization eventually led us to open Rock Solid Warrior in Fuquay-Varina, creating another place for athletes of all ages to train and compete.

As interest in the sport continued to grow, these two gyms prompted others in the Carolinas to form the Ninja Carolina League (NCL) in 2020. Today, NCL has arguably become one of the most successful regional ninja warrior leagues in the country. Since then, Wake County alone has seen several additional gyms open.

NCL includes beginner, advanced, and pro-level divisions so that 9-year-olds who have been training for four months don’t have to compete with 9-year-olds who have been training for four years. Across these gyms, the shared philosophy is simple – meet individuals where they are, regardless of age or athletic ability, and support them as they progress as far as they choose to go.

Though the Hollywood show, with increasingly difficult participation access, may or may not continue, the sport itself, across a variety of event types, has certainly developed a life of its own. It is thriving and open to everyone. It builds character and promotes functional fitness, whether experienced through day camps, open gyms, or competitive environments. Unlike many sports that focus on “beating the enemy,” this one focuses on individuals overcoming obstacles, with competitors cheering each other on.

When parents walk into one of the facilities with their children, they often say, “Wow, I wish there was something like this when I was a kid.” And the truth is, anyone can start training at almost any age. Some athletes may eventually dream of competing in major events like the Ninja Sport Championship or the OCR World Cup. Looking even further ahead, obstacle course racing will debut as a 100-meter OCR event at the 2028 Olympic Games, with potential plans for additional events in the future.

For many kids, though, the goal is simpler. They just want to have fun. Day camps, birthday parties, and open gym sessions allow them to run, climb, swing, and test themselves in ways that build both confidence and resilience. They’ll go home tired, having accomplished something they didn’t know they could do. And they get to do it all in a safe, padded environment where climbing the walls is not only allowed – it’s encouraged.