After reaching an all-time high in the 2017-18 school year, participation in high school sports declined for the first time in 30 years during 2018-19.
According to the annual High School Athletics Participation Survey which was conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), there were 7,937,491 participants in 2018-19, a decline of 43,395 from the previous year.
This was the first time participation in high school sports declined since the 1988-89 school year.
The biggest reason for the drop was a decline of 30,829 participants in boys 11-player football to 1,006,013 – the lowest mark since 1,002,734 in the 1999-2000 school year. This was the fifth consecutive year the number of participants in boys 11-player football declined.
Though participation has dropped, the number of schools offering the sport held steady.
“The survey certainly confirms that schools are not dropping the sport of football, which is great news,” NFHS executive director Karissa Niehoff said in a statement. “While we recognize that the decline in football participation is due, in part, to concerns about the risk of injury, we continue to work with our member state associations, the nation’s high schools and other groups to make the sport as safe as possible. Every state has enacted rules that limit the amount of contact before the season and during practices, and every state has concussion protocols and laws in place, so we continue to believe that the sport is as safe as it has ever been.”
Interestingly, participation by girls in 11-player football has doubled over the last decade from 1,249 in the 2009-10 school year to 2,404 last year.
Despite the drop, 11-player football is the No. 1 sports for high school boys by a large margin with 1,006,013 participants. Outdoor track and field is the second-most popular sport with 605,354 participants, followed by basketball (540,769), baseball (482,740), soccer (459,077), cross country (269,295), wrestling (247,441), tennis (159,314), golf (143,200) and swimming/diving (136,638).
Editor’s Note: RealClearLife, a news and lifestyle publisher, is now a part of InsideHook. Together, we’ll be covering current events, pop culture, sports, travel, health and the world. Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter.
Whether you’re looking to get into shape, or just get out of a funk, The Charge has got you covered. Sign up for our new wellness newsletter today.
