A record 8 million athletes competed in high school sports in 2023-24

NFHS released their participation statistics of high school sports for the season 2023-24 on Wednesday. The full press release is below:The full press release is below: 
 
Competition in high school sports showed a record increased in the 2023-24 school year: for the first time, there were more than eight million participants engaged in high school sports. 
 
According to the 2023-24 NFHS high school athletics participation survey participation figures are up 210, 469 from the previous year with 8,062,302 students participating in high school sports, a record breaking number surpassing the previous record of 7,980, 886, in 2017-18. The totals include 4, 638, 785 boys and 3, 423,517 girls – both records, based on data collected from the 51 organizational NFHS member state associations of which one is District of Columbia. 
 
The 2023-24 total was the second straight rise in enrollment, after it dipped during the pandemic. Participation in high school sports has since risen by 444248 in the two years since the first survey done after the onset of the pandemic and has reversed the spiral that began before the COVID-19 outbreak in early. 
 
‘We are pleased to receive information that eight million students have participated in high school sports for the first time,’ noted Dr. Karissa Niehoff, the chief executive officer of National Federation of State High School Associations. “Return to action from the pause due to school sport during the pandemic has been very fulfilling and of course, points to the timelessness of education-based sports in our nations’ schools We extend a hearty salute to the coaches, the athletic directors, all school abb administrators for making these experiences become a reality for the students/athletes. 
 
From major arcs, the growth of all types of high school football –boys and girls –is another massive theme as is the continued growth of girls and boys wrestling. Football continued at the top of the list as the favored boys sport at the elementary level and also saw another rise in participation for the consecutive years, 1,028,761 to 1031508. There also was an upsurge in the number of persons engaged in the 8-player football from 23,812 to 26,420. 
 
The largest growth in football, nonetheless, occurred in the girls division especially in the novel sport of flag football. Girls flag football saw participation increase by more than double between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. 507 and 159 girls played flag football in 2023-24 and 2022-23 respectively hence a 219 percent upturn. From the 15,716 participants in 2021-22, the number had risen by 173 percent. There also was an increase on the number of girls playing 11-player football from 3,654 to 4,094. 
 
Combining the boys and girls competitors for 6, 8, 9, and 11-man football along with girls and boys participants in the flag football the total football for 2023-24 was 1,118,705, up from 2022-23 by 28,825. 
 
Also noteworthy is the increase in wrestling – boys’ and girls’ – for the second year in a row. Another 32,443 boys were enrolled in wrestling last year, rising from 259,431 to 291,874. The increase varies by sport: Boys wrestling has gained 60,000 participants since the 2021-22 season, though this raw number represents an astounding 25 percent growth rate. As for the girls, the participation rate has also up in the historical movement, with 64,257 students participating in the girls’ teams last year, a hundred-and-two percent more than the previous figures of 31,654 students in 2021-22. 
 
Soccer was up, along with volleyball and outdoor track and field, all remaining the most popular participatory sports for girls. Track and field visitors improved four percent to 506,015, while volleyball registered 479,125 people and soccer 383,895. But overall participation dropped about 6,000 with basketball at 367,284 representing fourth place, fast pitch softball (345,451), tennis (195,766), cross country (192,989) competitive spirit (181,023 up 20%), swimming and diving (138,174) lacrosse (101,204). 
 
Outdoor track/field, and soccer made good increases on the boys side as well. Following the 11-player football and outdoor track & field events (625,333), we have the rest of the ranked boys’ events as follows: basketball (536,668), baseball (471,701), soccer (467,483), wrestling (291,874), cross country (239,381), tennis (157,835), golf (155,174) and swimming & diving (116,799). 
 
Both in Esports and Unified Sports participant counts also reflected similar ascents in 2023-24. In the year ending 2019, 27551 students took part in Esports where 23041 were boys and 4010 girls; 3129 more than the previous year. The survey revealed a total enrolment of 51502 in the 15 Unified Sports, was an increase in 42,010, in the 2022-23 academic year. 
 
Texas continued to be the number one state by participation with 859,301, while the second place was occupied by California with 834,103. New York with 341,454 remained at position 3 while Pennsylvania with 336,946 came at position four, Ohio with 323,117 at position five, Illinois with 320,603 at position six, Florida with 299,398 at position seven, Michigan with 289,740s at position eight, New Jersey with 280,798 at position nine and Minnesota with 224,179 at position ten.