Participation in high school sports was up nearly 6 percent between 2022–23 and 2023–24, according to an August report by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF).
CIF, which serves as the governing body for high school sports in the country and state, found that 806,979 students took part in education-based athletic programs in 2023–24.
Overall participation is still down from pre-pandemic years (814,004 in 2019) but is higher than it was in 2022 when most COVID-related restrictions had lifted (753,606).
Girls’ participation increased by 7 percent year-over-year and totaled 349,169 in 2024; boys’ participation went up 4 percent, totaling 457,810 across sports.
“The CIF is motivated by the continued growth in education-based athletics as we provide more experiences and opportunities through our member schools,” CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti said in a statement. “We are optimistic that students will continue to become further involved in the coming years.”
Football was by far the most played sport by boys totaling 89,667 participants in 2024 followed by track and field at 57,088. Soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, cross country, wrestling, swimming and diving and tennis rounded out the top 10. All sports besides baseball saw increases in participation. Wrestling saw the largest increase in participation year-over-year at 20 percent followed by track and field at 9 percent.
Among girls, soccer was the most popular sport with 47,631 participants (a 4.6 percent increase compared to 2023). Volleyball, track and field, softball, basketball, tennis, swimming and diving, cross country, traditional competitive cheer and water polo were the other top sports. Basketball, swimming and diving and water polo saw decreases in participation year-over-year. Track and field saw the largest increase in participation at 11 percent followed by cheer at 6 percent.
The report is based on a survey of CIF’s 1,615 member schools and is part of an effort by the National Federation of State High School Associations to measure student participation in athletics.
