More high school students are playing more sports in the District, even as sports participation rates stagnate elsewhere in much of the region and nationwide.
Between the 2013-2014 and 2018-2019 school years, the number of high school sports participants in D.C. rose from 10,168 to 14,580 — a spike of 43%.
Over the same five year period in Maryland and Virginia, sports participation totals were nearly flat.
Participation numbers rose 1% in Maryland and fell 1% in Virginia. In the 2018-2019 school year, there were 174,066 sports participants counted in Virginia and 117,137 in Maryland.
The numbers come from survey results by the National Federation of State High School Associations. In the surveys, students who play more than one sport are counted more than once.
The split between D.C. and its neighboring states is also stark when it comes to football.
Over the five year span, Maryland saw a 15% drop in football players and Virginia saw a 10% drop. In D.C., the number of players rose 13%.
Clark Ray, executive director of the D.C. State Athletic Association, which oversees high school sports in the District, credits the city’s changing demographics and an influx of families in recent years for the overall growth.
“When families grow and children get into high school, they’re looking for athletic opportunities, and so they’re participating,” Ray said, adding that the number of athletic offerings in the city has grown as well.
