Following is the press
release on the 2002-03
PARTICIPATION SETS RECORD FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT YEAR
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (September 2, 2003)
- For the 14th consecutive year, the number of students participating in high
school athletics has increased, setting an all-time high for participation.
Based on figures from the 50 state
high school athletic/activity associations, plus the District of Columbia, that
are members of the National Federation of State High School Associations
(NFHS), participation for the 2002-03 school year rose by 77,581 students, to
6,845,096, according to the 2002-03 High School
In addition, the rate of high school
athletic program participation when expressed as a percentage of the total
student enrollment continued to show marked increases over participation rates
from surveys conducted in previous years. For example, this year's
participation rate shows an .8 percent increase over the 1999-2000
participation percentage figure of 54.6 percent, a 3.7 percent increase over
the 1994-95 figure of 51.7 percent, a 7.2 percent increase over the 1989-90
figure of 48.2 percent, and an 8.7 percent increase over the 1984-85 and
1980-81 (the first year for which student enrollment data is available) figures
of 46.7 percent.
"Not only are we pleased that
the survey has shown increasing participation numbers during the past 14 years
and record participation numbers for the fifth consecutive year, but we are
also pleased that the percentage of students participating in athletic programs
continues to be very strong and increasing," said NFHS Executive Director
Robert F. Kanaby. "The fact that a higher percentage of the students in
our nation's high schools is participating in athletic programs reinforces the
notion that they are popular activities, but perhaps more importantly, speaks
to their great value to our nation's youth."
Participation numbers for both boys
and girls increased. Girls athletics experienced the greater increase, going up
49,360 participants, while boys participation increased by 28,221. The boys'
mark of 3,988,738 is the fourth-highest overall, and highest since 1977-78. The
girls' mark of 2,856,358 sets an all-time high for female participation.
For the third consecutive year, the
biggest gain among girls was in competitive spirit squads, which saw an
increase of 16,556 participants. This brought the number of total participants
to 111,191, making it the ninth-most popular girls program. Following spirit
was soccer, which had an increase of 6,185 participants. Lacrosse saw an
increase of 3,699 more participants than last year, followed by an increase of
3,192 in the sport of cross country. Golf, the tenth-most popular female sport,
saw an increase of 2,258 participants, bringing its total participation number
to 62,159.
Competitive spirit also had the
greatest increase in the number of schools, as an additional 399 schools
offered the sport last year. Golf was offered in 352 more schools and fast
pitch softball was picked up by 200 schools.
Soccer registered the largest
increase among boys sports, adding 6,055 participants, while tennis added
5,361. Outdoor track and field (increase of 4,005), swimming and diving
(3,914), lacrosse (3,800) and bowling (3,505) also registered gains in male
participation.
As for sponsorship, bowling enjoyed
the largest increase, with 235 new programs. Soccer was second with an increase
of 200 schools, followed by basketball with 198.
Basketball remained the most popular
sport for girls with 457,165 participants, followed by outdoor track and field
(415,602), volleyball (396,682), fast pitch softball (357,912), soccer
(301,450), cross country (163,360), tennis (162,810), swimming and diving
(141,468), competitive spirit squads (111,191) and golf (62,159).
On the boys' side, 11-player
football again is the most popular sport with 1,023,142 participants, followed
by basketball (540,874), outdoor track and field (498,027), baseball (453,792),
soccer (345,156), wrestling (239,845), cross country (191,833), golf (162,805),
tennis (144,844) and swimming and diving (94,612).
The participation survey has been
compiled since 1971 by the NFHS through numbers it receives from its member
associations. The complete 2002-03 Participation Survey is available on the
NFHS Web site <www.nfhs.org>.
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MEDIA
CONTACT: Bruce Howard or John Gillis,
317-972-6900
Bruce
L. Howard, National Federation of
Director
of Publications and Communications,