CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS PARTICIPATION AT ALL-TIME HIGH FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Rebecca Brutlag, Media Relations Officer
August 7, 2014 rbrutlag@cifstate.org
CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS PARTICIPATION AT ALL-TIME HIGH
FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR
763,306 Student-Athletes Participating Throughout the State
SACRAMENTO – High school sports participation continues to increase in California and is at an all-time high for the second consecutive year according to the 2014 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Sports Participation Survey. Up by 0.64% since the previous survey in 2013, 763,306 student-athletes are competing in California high school athletic programs.
“With CIF celebrating its 100th anniversary it seems only appropriate that education based athletics participation in California is at an all-time high,” stated CIF Executive Director Roger L. Blake. “The high school athletic experience continues to serve as an extension of the classroom creating additional learning opportunities for all involved.”
Along with the overall participation increase in high school athletics there were a few sports that saw noticeable increases across both genders. Lacrosse saw the largest percentage increase, a combined 3.9% or 580 more participants (5.3% or 303 increase for girls; 3.2% or 277 increase for boys), followed by cross country with a 2.3% increase or 1,234 more participants (3.4% or 830 increase for girls; 1.4% or 404 increase for boys). Soccer also increased participation by 1.4% or 1,241 student-athletes (1.2% or 538 increase for girls; 1.5% or 703 increase for boys).
Football continues to lead the top 10 boys’ sports with 103,464 participants, which increased by 0.93% since 2013. Track and field (54,062) is the second most popular sport followed by soccer (48,564), which increased participation by 1.47% since 2013; basketball (44,097) and baseball (43,482) round out the top five boys’ sports.
For girls, track and field continues reign as the top 10 sport with 44,567 participants, which increased by 0.83% since 2013. Soccer still trails a close second (43,820), which increased participation by 1.24% since 2013, followed by volleyball (40,751), basketball (33,443) and softball (32,238).
The CIF’s 1,540 member schools participated in the survey as part of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) nationwide survey that measures the number of students competing in sports in the country.
A chart indicating results from the last nine participation surveys follows. Only CIF-approved sports are listed individually. Also, a summary of the top 10 sports by gender, based on participation numbers, can be located on subsequent pages.
– more –
Page 2 – 2014 CIF Participation Census
BOYS’ PARTICIPATION BREAKDOWN
Whenever a school provides only a team for boys in a particular sport, girls are permitted to qualify for the “student” team(s).
**Note: As part of the NFHS survey, the CIF measures participation in all sports and activities. The above list does not comprise all sports/activities sponsored by schools and required in the NFHS survey.
– more – Top 10 Boys Sports Participants Increase or Decrease (Since 2013)
1. Football (11-player)
103,464
+0.93%
2. Track & Field
54,062
-2.10%
3. Soccer
48,564
+1.47%
4. Basketball
44,097
+0.76%
5. Baseball
43,482
+0.53%
6. Cross Country
29,987
+1.37%
7. Wrestling
27,461
-0.63%
8. Swimming & Diving
23,075
+0.45%
9. Tennis
18,931
-0.57%
10. Water Polo
16,263
-0.70%
SPORT BOYS 2001 BOYS 2003 BOYS 2005 BOYS 2007 BOYS 2009 BOYS 2011 BOYS 2012 BOYS 2013 BOYS 2014
Badminton
3,572
3,627
3,521
3,512
4,036
3,987
3,924
3,585
3,604
Baseball
42,942
41,392
40,676
42,835
42,064
42,977
43,236
43,253
43,482
Basketball
42,267
41,784
42,061
44,722
42,521
43,176
43,989
43,766
44,097
Cross Country
19,593
20,465
22,782
25,790
26,766
29,580
29,130
29,583
29,987
Field Hockey
36
36
52
193
123
76
67
195
92
Football 11-player
97,236
95,504
99,079
107,916
104,224
103,921
103,088
102,505
103,464
Football 8-player
1,263
1,129
1,623
1,784
2,507
2,241
2,168
2,114
2,247
Golf
11,990
11,764
11,459
11,897
11,295
11,288
11,027
11,062
10,986
Gymnastics
19
91
3
37
79
75
62
36
36
Lacrosse
0
2,240
3,608
5,323
7,365
8,288
8,567
8,813
9,091
Skiing
582
414
617
761
671
707
616
564
595
Soccer
38,053
38,501
39,453
44,730
44,705
47,078
47,753
47,861
48,564
Softball
1,129
963
456
743
311
26
107
226
172
Swimming & Diving
15,685
15,731
17,579
18,852
21,518
22,586
22,339
22,971
23,075
Tennis
15,804
16,716
17,238
19,139
19,266
19,514
19,342
19,039
18,931
Track and Field
40,843
41,349
45,038
49,911
51,689
57,922
54,319
55,221
54,062
Volleyball
13,326
12,156
13,133
14,532
15,638
16,087
15,876
15,926
16,242
Water Polo
11,411
11,500
12,570
14,064
14,852
15,666
15,694
16,377
16,263
Wrestling
24,326
22,007
23,318
25,896
27,469
27,833
27,665
27,634
27,461
Other**
0
1,103
1,663
1,472
1,462
6,368
7,962
7,164
7,412 Total 386,248 382,108 398,684 437,592 438,561 453,037 448,971 450,729 452,452
Page 3 – 2014 CIF Participation Census
GIRLS’ PARTICIPATION BREAKDOWN
SPORT GIRLS 2001 GIRLS 2003 GIRLS 2005 GIRLS 2007 GIRLS 2009 GIRLS 2011 GIRLS 2012 GIRLS 2013 GIRLS 2014
Badminton
4,722
4,929
4,500
4,491
5,219
5,119
4,994
4,806
5,012
Baseball
826
662
417
385
325
83
307
448
323
Basketball
33,831
33,912
33,596
34,991
32,980
32,839
35,133
33,411
33,443
Cross Country
16,060
16,618
18,159
20,873
21,901
23,651
23,758
24,362
25,192
Field Hockey
2,629
2,170
2,952
3,654
3,925
3,255
3,345
3,431
3,329
Football 11-player
313
236
253
149
141
179
273
232
252
Football 8 -player
0
0
1
15
46
73
44
22
48
Golf
4,588
5,547
5,972
6,652
7,017
7,022
6,918
6,985
6,951
Gymnastics
1,260
859
896
732
1,039
1,074
1,018
1,091
1,076
Lacrosse
0
1,834
2,286
3,154
4,956
5,108
5,432
5,736
6,039
Skiing
389
222
432
544
565
626
446
363
371
Soccer
34,663
35,380
37,424
40,895
41,727
42,720
43,391
43,282
43,820
Softball
31,992
30,118
30,055
31,306
31,801
32,816
32,659
32,097
32,238
Swimming & Diving
24,596
23,255
24,508
25,115
26,965
27,983
28,182
28,280
28,496
Tennis
18,812
19,496
19,847
21,818
22,908
22,460
22,527
22,210
22,270
Track and Field
33,153
34,378
36,113
38,817
41,736
44,625
43,727
44,200
44,567
Volleyball
34,194
32,756
34,015
36,499
38,920
39,122
40,471
40,271
40,751
Water Polo
12,257
12,185
13,099
13,482
13,871
14,040
14,239
14,418
14,393
Wrestling
752
957
1,230
1,142
1,493
1,910
2,016
2,099
2,286
Other**
0
726
756
684
631
11,863
32,234
32,052
33,130 Total 271,214 270,225 278,284 297,911 298,166 304,696 308,879 307,745 310,854
Whenever a school provides only a team for boys in a particular sport, girls are permitted to qualify for the “student” team(s).
**Note: As part of the NFHS survey, the CIF measures participation in all sports and activities. The above list does not comprise all sports/activities sponsored by schools and required in the NFHS survey.
– CIF –
Top 10 Girls Sports Participants Increase or Decrease (Since 2013)
1. Track & Field
44,567
+0.83%
2. Soccer
43,820
+1.24%
3. Volleyball
40,751
+1.19%
4. Basketball
33,443
+0.10%
5. Softball
32,238
+0.44%
6. Swimming & Diving
28,496
+0.76%
7. Cross Country
25,190
+3.41%
8. Tennis
22,270
+0.27%
9. Water Polo
14,393
-0.17%
10. Golf
6,951
-0.49