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EAST LANSING, Mich.  – Sept. 10 – While holding its own in total numbers, Michigan slipped nationally in girls high school sports participation according to figures released Wednesday (Sept. 8) by the National Federation of State High School Associations for the 2009-10 school year. 

After falling to seventh in overall participation a year ago, Michigan maintained that standing in spite of a fall to sixth in girls numbers after two years in fifth.  Prior to the 2007-08 school year, girls participation had ranked fourth nationally for five consecutive years; and overall participation was fifth for two straight seasons, ranking as high as fourth in 2004-05.  Overall participation – including sports in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association does not conduct post-season tournaments – for the 2008-09 year was 310,979, with 132,683 girls and 181,135 boys taking part.  The boys figure again ranks sixth.  According to 2009 U.S. Census Bureau figures, Michigan continues to rank eighth in both females and males of ages 14 through 17.

Half of the girls sports maintained their national ranking in 2009-10, while two sports moved up and five sports dropped.  Basketball dropped from fourth to sixth place last year, the first time it had dipped to that point since 1987-88, following a run from 1991-92 to 2004-05 where it had been third, followed by two years of fourth place finishes.  Also dropping were golf from fifth to sixth; gymnastics from 11th to 12th; lacrosse from eighth to 11th; and softball from seventh to eighth.  Cross country rose from sixth to fifth, and swimming and diving was up one place from ninth to eighth.  Unchanged were skiing and tennis in third place; bowling, competitive cheer and volleyball in fourth; track in seventh and soccer in eighth.

Eight boys sports remained in the same spots nationally in 2009-10, with two sports rising in the lists and three sports dropping.  Basketball fell from fifth to seventh place, the first time it had been that low since 2004-05.  Dropping one spot were bowling from second to third and track and field from fifth to sixth.  Swimming and diving rose two slots from ninth to seventh, and lacrosse was up one position over a year ago to seventh.  Continuing to hold onto third place nationally were ice hockey and skiing; football, tennis and wrestling were in fifth again; golf is still sixth; cross country maintained its seventh-place spot; and soccer is still eighth.

National participation in high school sports in 2009-10 set a new record again with 7,628,377 young people taking part.  Nationally, 55.1 percent of high school students participate in sports, down a tenth of a percent from a year ago; and in Michigan, that figure is 60.9 percent, an increase of 1.5 percent from a year ago.

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,600 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition.  No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools.  Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.

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