OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The gender gap between boys and girls who play sports is getting smaller and smaller each year, with Oklahoma serving as the nation’s leader in the percentage of female participants according to a report collected by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Girls make up more than 49.1 percent of the nearly 87,000 athletes who participated in high school sports in 2011-12 in the state
Overall about one-in-three high school girls play sports, compared with about half of all boys. And participation varies widely by state. Southern states like Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee still have big gender gaps, while Northern states like Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Vermont are closer to parity.
The National Federation of State High School Associations collects participation data on sanctioned varsity sports from its roughly 18,200 member schools. That’s about 90% of the nation’s approximately 20,000 public and private high schools.
“The OSSAA has a proud heritage of leading equitable athletic competition for high schools throughout Oklahoma,” said Executive Director Ed Sheakley. “With it being the 40th anniversary of Title IX it’s only fitting that we see continued growth in girls’ sports participation.”
Across the nation an additional 33,984 girls participated in high school sports last year, pushing the total to 3,207,533. That total has also increased for the 23rd straight year.
The top three female sports are outdoor track and field, basketball and volleyball, with soccer passing softball for the fourth spot. Volleyball had an additional 9,571 participants last year, while soccer saw 9,419 more take the field.
Title IX, which bans sex discrimination at schools receiving federal funds, has been behind the growth of sports for women and girls at all levels since it was signed into law 40 years ago.
|
2011-12 NFHS Summary of Athletics Participation |
|||
| State |
Girls Participants |
Total |
Female Participation Rate % |
|
42,664 |
86,948 |
49.0684 |
|
113,706 |
238,363 |
47.7029 |
|
20,761 |
44,512 |
46.6414 |
|
147,261 |
317,869 |
46.3276 |
|
10,313 |
22,355 |
46.1329 |
|
6,964 |
15,309 |
45.4896 |
|
23,964 |
5,2992 |
45.2219 |
|
49,925 |
111,692 |
44.6988 |
|
174,028 |
389,475 |
44.6827 |
|
19,526 |
43,802 |
44.5779 |
|
42,515 |
95,446 |
44.5435 |
|
48,457 |
110,050 |
44.0318 |
|
56,812 |
129,030 |
44.0301 |
|
95,365 |
21,8932 |
43.5592 |
|
8,236 |
18,917 |
43.5376 |
|
11,769 |
27,091 |
43.4425 |
|
14,029 |
32,497 |
43.1701 |
|
71,018 |
164,858 |
43.0783 |
|
12,250 |
28,442 |
43.0701 |
|
42,372 |
98,590 |
42.9780 |
|
131,346 |
308,080 |
42.6337 |
|
12,126 |
28,575 |
42.4357 |
|
19,006 |
44,951 |
42.2816 |
|
49,235 |
116,657 |
42.2049 |
|
72,885 |
173,853 |
41.9233 |
|
15,226 |
36,322 |
41.9195 |
|
10,646 |
25,499 |
41.7507 |
|
107,288 |
25,7282 |
41.7005 |
|
325,279 |
781,912 |
41.6005 |
|
14,895 |
36,032 |
41.3383 |
|
78,938 |
191,692 |
41.1796 |
|
23,304 |
56,929 |
40.9352 |
|
105,905 |
259,219 |
40.8554 |
|
141,678 |
346,896 |
40.8416 |
|
135,929 |
333,349 |
40.7768 |
|
31,258 |
77,009 |
40.5901 |
|
61,333 |
151,713 |
40.4270 |
|
57,314 |
141,793 |
40.4209 |
|
68,803 |
171,563 |
40.1036 |
|
76,011 |
191,929 |
39.6037 |
|
81,113 |
205,281 |
39.5132 |
|
317,990 |
808,806 |
39.3160 |
|
4,0240 |
102,368 |
39.3092 |
|
39,564 |
10,0900 |
39.2111 |
|
16,225 |
42,378 |
38.2864 |
|
21,556 |
57,523 |
37.4737 |
|
1,262 |
3,440 |
36.6860 |
|
37,000 |
100,886 |
36.6751 |
|
34,193 |
94,305 |
36.2579 |
|
38,650 |
108,448 |
35.6392 |
|
29,400 |
89,760 |
32.7540 |
Justin Tinder is the Director of Public and Media Relations at the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association.