August 7, 2012
Survey says: CIF sports participation up for girls, down for boys

Girls participation in California high school sports continues to grow but boys participation has declined for the first time since 2003 in the latest California Interscholastic Federation Sports Participation Survey released today.

Girls participation climbed by 1.4 percent from 304,696 in 2011 to 308,879 in 2012. Boys participation decreased by 0.9 percent from 453,037 in 2011 to 448,971 in 2012.

Eleven-man football remains the most popular boys sport with 103,088 participants but has seen a steady decline since reaching its high-point of 107,916 in 2007.

Track and field continues to be the top girls sport with 43,727, a decline of 2 percent from 2011 after several years of sizable growth. Soccer is a close second with 43,391 participants, a 1.6 percent increase.

Basketball saw the largest yearly increase for both boys (43,989, up 1.9 percent) and girls (35,133, up 7 percent) among the CIF's most popular sports.

Track saw the biggest yearly decrease for both boys (54,319, down 6.2 percent) and girls (43,727, down 2 percent).

Here is a list of the top 10 boys and girls sports among the CIF's 1,527 member schools.

BOYS - 1. Football, 103,088 (-0.8); 2. Track and field, 54,319 (-6.2), 3. Soccer, 46,753 (+1.4); 4. Basketball, 43,989 (+1.9); 5. Baseball, 43,236 (+0.6); 6. Cross country, 29,130, (-1.5); 7. Wrestling, 27,655, (-0.6); 8. Swimming & Diving, 22,339 (-1.1); 9. Tennis, 19,342 (-0.9); 10. Volleyball, 15,876 (-1.3).

GIRLS - 1. Track & Field, 43,727 (-2.0); 2. Soccer, 43,391 (+1.6); 3. Volleyball, 40,471 (+3.4); 4. Basketball, 35,133 (+7.0); 5. Softball, 32,659 (-0.5); 6. Swimming & Diving, 28,182 (+0.7); 7. Cross Country, 23,758 (+0.5); 8. Tennis, 22,527 (+0.3); 9. Water Polo, 14,239 (+1.4); 10. Golf, 6,918 (-1.5).

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