After two consecutive seasons of declined growth, high school swimming & diving saw it’s largest participation increase in eight years in 2016-17.
In the post-Olympic year, total participation increased 2.98% to 309,161 from 300,217 in 2015-16. The increase is the largest since 2008-09, when the total number of participants increased a whopping 11.57%, up to 289,060 from 259,093, after watching Michael Phelps win eight gold medals in Beijing.
The post-Olympic increase has become a trend, as the third highest increase over the last eight years came post-London 2012 when numbers went up 2.68%.
All data comes via the NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations), the governing body of high school sports in the United States.
Year-by-Year Growth Rates (Boys & Girls Combined)
| Year | Total Participants |
Participant Growth
|
| 2008-2009 | 289,060 | 11.57% |
| 2009-2010 | 289,795 | 0.25% |
| 2010-2011 | 294,781 | 1.72% |
| 2011-2012 | 294,279 | -0.17% |
| 2012-2013 | 302,169 | 2.68% |
| 2013-2014 | 304,152 | 0.66% |
| 2014-2015 | 303,295 | -0.28% |
| 2015-2016 | 300,217 | -1.02% |
| 2016-2017 | 309,161 | 2.98% |
Year-by-Year Growth Rates (Boys)
| Boys | Schools | Participants | Schools Growth |
Participants Growth
|
| 2009-2010 | 6820 | 131,376 | – | – |
| 2010-2011 | 6899 | 133,900 | 1.16% | 1.92% |
| 2011-2012 | 7001 | 133,823 | 1.48% | -0.06% |
| 2012-2013 | 7001 | 138,177 | 0.00% | 3.25% |
| 2013-2014 | 7101 | 138,373 | 1.43% | 0.14% |
| 2014-2015 | 7156 | 137,087 | 0.77% | -0.93% |
| 2015-2016 | 7220 | 133,470 | 0.89% | -2.64% |
| 2016-2017 | 7342 | 138,364 | 1.69% | 3.67% |
For boys specifically, the increase in number of schools offering high school swimming & diving and the number of athletes participating saw their largest increase since 2008-09, improving from 133,470 in 2015-16 to 138,364. That number just misses the all-time high of 138,373 set in 2013-14.
The number of schools offering boys swimming & diving has seen a steady increase, with last season’s total of 7342 being the highest ever by over 100.
Year-by-Year Growth Rates (Girls)
| Girls | Schools | Participants | Schools Growth |
Participants Growth
|
| 2009-2010 | 7171 | 158,419 | – | – |
| 2010-2011 | 7164 | 160,881 | -0.10% | 1.55% |
| 2011-2012 | 7221 | 160,456 | 0.80% | -0.26% |
| 2012-2013 | 7249 | 163,992 | 0.39% | 2.20% |
| 2013-2014 | 7429 | 165,779 | 2.48% | 1.09% |
| 2014-2015 | 7526 | 166,838 | 1.31% | 0.64% |
| 2015-2016 | 7559 | 166,747 | 0.44% | -0.05% |
| 2016-2017 | 7721 | 170,797 | 2.14% | 2.43% |
Girls’ swimming & diving also had their biggest increases over the last eight years in participants (2.43%), and their second highest in schools (2.14%). Number of participants hit an all-time high by nearly 4000 with 170,797, as did number of schools at 7721.
Total Participation – Boys
| By Schools | By Participants | ||||
| 1 | Basketball | 18,214 | 1 | Football – 11-Player | 1,057,407 |
| 2 | Track & Field – Outdoor | 16,699 | 2 | Track & Field – Outdoor | 600,136 |
| 3 | Baseball | 15,979 | 3 | Basketball | 550,305 |
| 4 | Cross Country | 15,087 | 4 | Baseball | 491,790 |
| 5 | Football – 11 player | 14,099 | 5 | Soccer | 450,234 |
| 6 | Golf | 1h3,223 | 6 | Cross Country | 266,271 |
| 7 | Soccer | 12,188 | 7 | Wrestling | 244,804 |
| 8 | Wrestling | 10,629 | 8 | Tennis | 158,171 |
| 9 | Tennis | 9,725 | 9 | Golf | 141,466 |
| 10 | Swimming & Diving | 7,342 | 10 | Swimming & Diving | 138,364 |
Total Participation – Girls
| By Schools | By Participants | ||||
| 1 | Basketball | 17,934 | 1 | Track and Field – Outdoor | 494,477 |
| 2 | Track & Field – outdoor | 16,658 | 2 | Volleyball | 444,779 |
| 3 | Volleyball | 15,992 | 3 | Basketball | 430,368 |
| 4 | Softball – Fat Pitch | 15,440 | 4 | Soccer | 388,339 |
| 5 | Cross Country | 14,880 | 5 | Softball – Fast PItch | 367,405 |
| 6 | Soccer | 11,823 | 6 | Cross Country | 226,039 |
| 7 | Tennis | 10,121 | 7 | Tennis | 187,519 |
| 8 | Golf | 10,076 | 8 | Swimming & Diving | 170,797 |
| 9 | Swimming & Diving | 7,721 | 9 | Competitive Spirit Squads | 144,243 |
| 10 | Competitive Spirit Squads | 6,541 | 10 | Lacrosse | 93,473 |
Overall, girls’ swimming & diving has the 8th highest number of participants and 9th highest number of schools offering it, while boys sit 10th in both. That is the same position all four categories have been in since the 1991-92 season, when girls were ranked 8th in both.
Basketball is offered in the highest number of schools for both boys and girls, while outdoor track and field (girls) and 11-player football (boys) lead for total participants.
In terms of state participation, California leads with 21,467 male and 29,722 female participants in swimming & diving across 883 and 915 schools respectively. Texas sits 2nd in both, and Pennsylvania was the only other state to crack 10,000 participants for either boys or girls, with 10,110 girls compared to just 4,572 boys.
Note: Tennessee is not included in the data, as it is not sanctioned by the NFHS.
Check out the NFHS Participation Statistics for yourself here.
Meanwhile, colleges are closing swim programs.
Why does the NFHS not sanction the high school swimming in TN? Wondering about that.
Do other TN sports play well with the NFHS?
I can’t believe “Competitive Spirit Squads” are considered sports.. and I’m sad that they have such high representation vs actual sports.
Flip the dolphin – can you give a rational and coherent argument as to why you don’t consider them a sport?
I would caution anybody, especially in a niche sport like ours, from throwing darts at other peoples’ athletic endeavors. Otherwise, you can’t get upset when ESPN doesn’t air swimming, because a significant portion of the country would also say “swimming isn’t a sport.” I hear it on sports talk radio at least once a week.
Where is Florida the third largest state that even has a good community college team. PA is a much smaller state than Florida.
Just removed.
Imagine how many more schools would carry swimming if it didn’t require cost prohibitive aquatics facilities? This is why I’m proposing we switch to air swimming.
I live in Austin,Texas and I’m a swimmer as well and 3/6 schools in our district share a pool at nitro swimming
…and it looks like there’s even one more pool, now that Waterloo has their own tank.
In Tucson, they have 2 high school teams per rec pool which is not bad.
That is for practice only. There is no diving at these private facilities nor are they able to host meets with the limited spectator seating.
Canton McKinley High School – The Hub of the Universe
Guess. Is that Canton McKinley HS in the photo?