2023
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS PARTICIPATION CONTINUES REBOUND TOWARD PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS
by NFHS
Participation in high school sports eclipsed 7.8 million in the 2022‑23 school year, reflecting a sharp increase from the previous year as the NFHS completed its High School Athletics Participation Survey for a second time after the pandemic interrupted its collection of data.
A total of 7,857,969 participants competed in high school sports in 2022‑23, an increase of nearly 240,000 and up more than three percent from 2021‑22 totals. The total includes 4,529,789 boys and 3,328,180 girls, according to figures obtained from the 51 NFHS member state associations, which includes the District of Columbia.
This year’s total marks the first upward movement in participation data since the all‑time record of 7,980,886 in 2017‑18, which was followed by the first decline in 30 years in 2018‑19 and the two‑year halt in data collection related to the pandemic.
