Number of Participants Archives - On One Hand Business... On the Other Hand Sports

Colorado Boys High School Tennis On Solid Footing

January 11, 2016November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

Between the 1999/2000 and 2014/2015 academic years the number of Colorado boys high school tennis programs ranged from 110 to 144, with the peak coming in 2007/2008. Since that time, there has been a decline in the number of programs. The range of the number of boys and girls programs was similar during these 15 years.

For this period, there has been a wide range of participation in boys programs. Interestingly, the number of participants has a low level of correlations with the number of programs. At its peak, there were 3,707 participants, although that number appears to be an aberration. With the exception of this value, the number of participants ranged from 2,059 to 3,061. The number of participants has trended downward since 2010/2011. Over this period the annualized rate of growth in participation is 2.2%.

Between 1999 and 2015 the Colorado population increased from 4.2 million to 5.4 million. This is a gain 1.2 million people, at an annualized rate of 1.7%.

The number of males between the ages of 15 and 19 increased from 156,330 to 185,377. This is a gain of 29,047 males, at an annualized rate of 1.1%.

On average there were 23 participants per team over the past three years.

There are a number of factors that are responsible for Colorado boys high school tennis not growing at a faster rate, including inadequate funding, facilities, and the lack of quality coaches. As well, U.S. tennis is growing at a long-term annualized rate less than the rate of growth in the U.S. population, (less than 1.0%). Probably the most important reason why the sport is not showing stronger growth is stiff competition from other fall sports. Football is the dominant fall sport, but cross country, soccer, golf and lacrosse are popular sports.

Overall, Colorado boys high school tennis is on solid footing, despite recent challenges.

Source: NFHS.

U.S. High School Girls Tennis Shows Modest Growth

January 5, 2016November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

This post summarizes participation in U.S. girls tennis programs based on data from the National Federation of State High School Associations (http://www.nfhs.org).

In 1969-70 there were no tennis high school programs in the United States. Participation in the sport exploded overnight when the President signed Title IX into law in 1972. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in any federally funded education program or activity. In addition, interest in the sport rose precipitously as a result of the Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs match and the subsequent tennis boom. By 1979-80 there were 8,443 high school programs.

For the next decade the number of girls programs remained flat and there were 8,550 programs in 1989-90. Steady growth has occurred since that date. In 1994-95 the data shows there were 10,270 teams, although this number appears to be an anomaly or a glitch in the data.

In 2014-2015 there were 10,099 programs.

As might be expected, the trend for the number of participants is similar to the number of programs. In 1969-70 there were no participants. Between then and 1977-78 the number of participants the number of participants reached 147,365.

As a result of the bust in the tennis industry, participation plummeted to 114,177 in the 1983-84 season. From that point, the number or participants increased gradually to 182,395 in 2009-2010. It has remained flat since then.

In 2014-25 there were 182,876 participants.

Title IX is the primary reason for the growth of the sport. Other factors that have caused participation to rise and fall are the overall popularity of tennis and competition from other girls sports. Other factors impacting the number of participants are the size of school budgets, local feeder programs, and the number of qualified coaches in the school districts.

Between 1999-00 and 2014-15 the number of programs increased at an annualized rate of 0.43% while the number of participants rose by 0.91%.

The average number of participants per program ranged from 13.6 to 18.6 players.

High school girls tennis is a small, but important part of the U.S. tennis population. The number of participants is likely to grow at a rate similar to the growth in the U.S. population.

U.S. High School Boys Tennis Shows Steady Growth

December 30, 2015November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

This post focuses on participation in U.S. high school boys tennis programs. It is based on data from the National Federation of State High School Associations (http://www.nfhs.org).

In 1969-70 there were 6,221 boys high school programs in the U.S. Interest in the sport rose precipitously as a result of the Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs “Battle of the Sexes” match and the subsequent tennis boom. By 1979-80 there were 9,912 high school programs.

The tennis bust happened more quickly than the boom and that downturn was reflected in the data. By 1983-84 the number of boys programs had fallen to 8,644.

From that low point, the number of programs gradually increased. During the 2009-10 season there was a record number of boys teams – 9,916 teams. This was 4 more programs than the previous peak in 1979-1980.

In 2014-2015 there were 9,725 programs.

As might be expected, the trend for the number of participants is similar to the number of programs. In 1969-70 there were 83,717 participants. Between then and 1977-78 the number of participants more than doubled to a peak of 170,653 participants.

By the 1983-84 season, participation had plummeted to 118,539. From that point, the number increased gradually to 162,755 in 2009-2010.

In 2014-25 there were 157,240 participants.

Factors that have caused interest in the sport to rise and fall are the overall popularity of tennis and competition from other sports such as lacrosse and cross country. In some schools Title IX may have reduced court time for boys or caused schools to move boys tennis to a different season. Other factors impacting the number of participants are the size of school budgets, the number of local feeder programs, and the number of qualified coaches in the school districts.

Between 1999-00 and 2014-15 the number of programs increased at an annualized rate of 0.08% while the number of participants rose by 0.8%.

The average number of participants per program ranged from 13.5 to 19.2 players.

High school boys tennis is a small, but important part of the U.S. tennis scene. The number of participants is likely to grow at a rate similar to or slightly less than the growth in the U.S. population.