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Good news for sports builders --
facilities will continue to be
in demand because more kids than
ever are playing sports.
Participation in high school
sports increased for the 22nd
consecutive school year in
2010-11, according to the annual
High School Athletics
Participation Survey conducted
by the National Federation of
State High School Associations (NFHS).
Based on figures from the 50
state high school
athletic/activity associations,
plus the District of Columbia,
that are members of the NFHS,
sports participation for the
2010-11 school year reached
another record-breaking total of
7,667,955 participants.
Boys and girls participation
figures also reached respective
all-time highs with 4,494,406
boys and 3,173,549 girls
participating in 2010-11 – an
overall increase of 39,578
participants from 2009-10.
Cross country and outdoor track
and field gained the most
participants in boys sports last
year, with increases of 7,340
and 7,179, respectively. Other
boys sports with significant
jumps were soccer (6,512),
basketball (5,637) and lacrosse
(5,013). Three sports with lower
overall participation totals
registered large percentage
gains in 2010-11 – fencing (up
38 percent to 2,027
participants), weightlifting (up
12 percent to 22,161
participants) and badminton (up
9.4 percent to 4,693
participants).
Among girls sports, the emerging
sport of lacrosse led the way
with an additional 6,155
participants – an increase of
nine percent from the previous
year. With 74,927 participants
nationwide, lacrosse cracked the
girls Top 10 listing for the
first time as it moved past golf
(71,764). Outdoor track and
field was close behind lacrosse
with an additional 6,088
participants, followed by soccer
(5,440), volleyball (5,347) and
cross country (2,685).
Sports with lower overall girls
participation totals that
registered the largest
percentage gains were wrestling
(up 19.8 percent to 7,351
participants), badminton (up 14
percent to 12,083 participants)
and weightlifting (up 11 percent
to 8,237 participants).
Overall, the number of tennis
programs in schools fell
slightly (this year’s total was
19,570 schools, compared to last
year’s total of 20,082 schools).
The numbers of students
participating in team tennis
also experienced a corresponding
drop (58,725 boys and girls in
academic year 2010-2011 as
compared to 59,722 boys and
girls in academic year
2009-2010). The overall number
of girls participating in sports
generally remained strong,
particularly in tennis (where
girls outnumbered boys 182,074
to 161,367).
The top 10 participatory sports
for boys remained the same from
2009-10: Eleven-player football
led the way with 1,108,441,
followed by outdoor track and
field (579,302), basketball
(545,844), baseball (471,025),
soccer (398,351), wrestling
(273,732), cross country
(246,948), tennis (161,367),
golf (156,866) and swimming and
diving (133,900).
Outdoor track and field was the
top sport for girls again last
year with 475,265 participants,
followed by basketball
(438,933), volleyball (409,332),
fast-pitch softball (373,535),
soccer (361,556), cross country
(204,653), tennis (182,074),
swimming and diving (160,881),
competitive spirit squads
(96,718) and lacrosse (74,927).
Although the rise in girls
participation numbers was not as
large this past year (NFHS says
this is caused in part by
significant drops in competitive
spirit numbers in two states),
the percentage increase rate has
more than doubled the rate for
boys during the past 20 years –
63 percent to 31 percent. Twenty
years ago, girls constituted 36
percent of the total number of
participants; this past year,
that number has climbed to 41
percent. In Oklahoma, the number
of girls participants actually
exceeded the number of boys this
past year – 44,112 to 42,694.
The participation survey has
been compiled since 1971 by the
NFHS through numbers it receives
from its member associations.
The complete 2010-11 High School
Athletics Participation Survey
is by going to
www.nfhs.org and clicking on
"Participation Data" on the
left-hand side of the page. Data
from previous years is also
provided. |
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