Education-based athletics in California reached a new participation milestone, exceeding last year’s historic record, according to the latest California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) sports participation survey.
Participation increased by 1.6 percent. since the 2025 survey, with 835,088 student-athletes competing in education-based athletic programs during the 2025-26 school year.
Overall, girls participation increased 3.1 percent from the previous year, while boys’ participation rose 0.5 percent. Girls flag football continued its rapid growth, increasing 25.4 percent to 24,979 participants in its third season as a CIF-sanctioned sport and climbing to sixth among girls sports by participation.
Girls wrestling also saw strong gains, increasing 15.6 percent to 10,204 participants, while girls’ beach volleyball grew 11.5 percent to 6,313 participants.
“Education-based athletics continues to thrive in California,” CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti said. “We’re especially encouraged by the continued momentum in girls’ athletics, led by the remarkable growth of girls’ flag football, which demonstrates the impact of expanding opportunities for all students through education-based programs.”
For girls, soccer remains the top sport with 49.708 participants, a 1.6 percent increase. Volleyball came in second (47,514), a 1.7 percent increase, followed by track & field with 47,307 participants, a 1.3 percent increase. Softball (29,639) and basketball (28,147) round out the top five girls sports.
Football (11-player) continues to lead the top 10 boys sports with 87,718 participants. Track & Field (59,768), a 2.2 percent increase, is the second most popular sport, followed by soccer with 57,794 participants, a 1.6 percent increase. Basketball (46,303) and baseball (42,564) round out the top five boys’ sports.
More than 1,600 CIF member schools participated in the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) nationwide survey, which tracks student participation in education-based athletics.
A chart indicating results from the last seven participation surveys follows, including a summary of the top 10 sports by gender, based on participation numbers. Only CIF-approved sports are listed individually.
