Participation Survey Shows More Than 176,000 Students Involved in Sports, Activities in 2025-26

AURORA – The Colorado High School Activities Association’s annual Participation Survey indicated that more than 70 percent of high school students in Colorado participated in a sport or activity throughout the 2025-26 school year, marking the sixth-straight year of strong participation across the state.

According to the survey, 176,586 of the 250,210 students enrolled in CHSAA member high schools participated in sports and/or activities during the 2025-26 school year, representing a participation rate of 70.6 percent. While participation remained high, both enrollment and participation declined slightly from the previous year. In 2024-25, 184,143 of 257,109 students participated, a participation rate of 71.6 percent.

“More than seven out of every 10 high school students continue to participate in sports and activities,” CHSAA Commissioner Mike Krueger said. “That level of engagement speaks to the important role educationally based athletics and activities play in the lives of students. Participation provides young people with opportunities to build meaningful relationships, develop leadership and life skills, strengthen their sense of belonging, and support their overall well-being. These experiences help students grow not only as athletes, performers, and leaders, but as people.”

“As schools face significant budget challenges and difficult decisions regarding limited resources, these numbers reinforce that athletics and activities are an essential investment in students and in school communities. The continued demand for participation opportunities demonstrates their enduring value as part of a well-rounded education. The growth of sports such as girls flag football and girls wrestling, as well as the continued expansion of Unified Sports opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities, reflects our commitment to creating meaningful participation opportunities where every student can find a sense of belonging, build connections, and thrive as part of their school community.”

During the 2025-26 school year, boys accounted for 76,485 sports participants, while girls accounted for 63,538 participants.

The biggest growth continues to be some of CHSAA’s newest sports, with girls flag football – which just completed its second year as a CHSAA-sanctioned fall sport – increasing from 1,972 participants in 2024-25 to 2,447 in 2025-26, a gain of 24.1 percent. The biggest growth came in girls wrestling, which grew from 1,326 to 1,746 participants, an increase of 31.7 percent, while unified bowling increased 7.6 percent (from 722 to 777).

Among boys sports, boys golf increased 2,901 to 3,222 – an 11.1 percent growth – and boys volleyball grew from 2,170 to 2,278 participants (5 percent growth).

Football remains the most popular sport, with 14,897 participants, followed by boys track and field with 10,745 participants. Girls volleyball ranked third overall and remained the most popular girls sport, with 10,600 participants, followed by boys soccer (9,491), boys basketball (9,405), girls soccer (7,817), girls track and field (7,813) and baseball (7,497).