Up by 0.85% since
the previous survey in 2015, 779,256 student-athletes are competing in
education-based athletic programs in California.
AUHSD
reports the following numbers for participation in Fall 2016 sports:
|
AUHS
Boys
|
AUHS
Girls
|
WVHS
Boys
|
WVHS
Girls
|
Cheerleading
|
0
|
20
|
0
|
27
|
Cross Country
|
2
|
3
|
13
|
9
|
Football
|
84
|
1
|
141
|
0
|
Golf
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
9
|
Swimming
|
3
|
7
|
19
|
25
|
Tennis
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
12
|
Volleyball
|
0
|
18
|
0
|
29
|
The 2016 CIF Participation Census
Release can be found at www.cifstate.org/news. The information below
was also posted on the website.
“Winning and losing in education-based athletics cannot, and must not, be
the defining moment and purpose of CIF,” stated CIF Executive Director Roger L.
Blake “The continued growth in education-based athletic participation means
that more students than before are learning the life-long lessons achieved
through high school sports.”
Along with the overall participation increase in high school athletics
there were a few sports that saw noticeable increases across both genders.
Volleyball saw the largest percentage increase, a combined 5.59% or 3,260 more
participants (3.93% or 1,640 increase for girls; 9.79% or 1,620 for boys),
followed by soccer with a 5.24% increase or 4,928 more participants (4.39% or
1,969 increase for girls; 6.0% or 2,959 increase for boys). Additionally,
girls’ wrestling participation continues to increase, this year by 48.1% as
1,334 more girls are competing in the sport for 4,105 total participants as of
2016.
Football continues to lead the top 10 boys’ sports with 100,205
participants which decreased, by 3.39% (3,520 participants), for the first time
since 2013. Track and field (55,877) is the second most popular sport, which
increased participation by 1.85% since 2015 followed by soccer (52,266);
basketball (45,685) and baseball (44,131) round out the top five boys’
sports. Additionally, for the second consecutive year, boys’ volleyball
finishes out the top 10 boys’ sports with 18,173 participants.
For girls, soccer captured the top spot the first time since 2007 with
46,778 participants, ousting the former top 10 leader track and field (45,974
participants for a 1.19% or 541 increase). Volleyball still trails a close
third (43,423), which increased participation by 3.93% since 2015, followed by
basketball (34,386) and softball (33,366).
Also, the 2016 census gathered information regarding unified teams with 738
student-athletes currently participating in education-based athletics in
California.
The CIF’s 1,581 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.