SACRAMENTO, CALIF. – High school sports participation remains constant as education-based athletics has fully resumed in California for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic suspended activity during the final months of the 2019-20 school year. Up by 1.4% since the 2021-22 survey, 763,867 student-athletes competed in education-based athletic programs in California during the 2022-23 school year.

“It’s encouraging to see steady participation after a challenging past few years,” stated CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti. “As we move forward, the CIF looks to continue to expand and provide students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete in education-based experiences.”

Football (11-player) continues to lead the top 10 boys’ sports and increased by 5.4% with 89,178 participants. Soccer (53,368) is the second most popular sport, followed by track & field (52,164), basketball (45,836), and baseball (43,367).

For girls, soccer remains the top sport with 45,544 participants. Volleyball came in second (45,390), followed by track & field with 40,434 participants, a 5.3% increase. Softball (29,483) and basketball (29,007) rounded out the top five girls’ sports. Additionally, for the second consecutive year, traditional competitive cheer saw a notable 16.8% increase (13,119), taking over the ninth most popular sport for girls.

The CIF’s 1,609-member schools participated in the survey as part of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) nationwide survey that measures the number of students competing in sports in the country.

Click Here for the complete release, including a chart indicating results from the previous nine participation surveys. Only CIF-approved sports are listed individually. Also, a summary of the top 10 sports by gender, based on participation numbers, can be located on subsequent pages.

Participation Census Data Files (2012-current)