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Participation decreases slightly, follows enrollment
June 12, 2013
Participation in high school sports in which postseason tournaments are sponsored by the Michigan High School Athletic Association dropped for the second straight school year in 2012-13. However, the decrease remained in step with a recent decline in member school enrollment.
A total of 293,810 participants took part in the 28 tournament sports offered by the Association during the past year – a 1.2 percent decrease from the 2011-12 figure of 297,317. However, that participation decrease nearly matched the overall drop in member schools’ enrollment of 1.1 percent over the last two years and was smaller than the 1.5-percent dip experienced from 2010-11 to 2011-12. Overall girls participation fell 1.3 percent from 2011-12, slightly less than the 1.4 percent drop in girls enrollment. Boys participation dropped 1.1 percent, while boys enrollment dropped only 0.8 percent.
Participation has fallen slower than enrollment over recent years. Since 2006-07, the enrollment at MHSAA schools is down from 531,903 to 482,391 – a drop of 9.3 percent. But participation during that time has dropped only 6.2 percent. The overall MHSAA totals count students once for each sport in which they participate, meaning students who are multiple-sport athletes are counted more than once.
Records were set in four sports in 2012-13 – boys lacrosse (5,065), girls lacrosse (2,501), boys cross country (8,744) and girls cross country (8,378). Both lacrosse totals have increased annually during their nine years as MHSAA tournament sports. Boys cross country participation increased for the fourth straight season and is up 11.2 percent over the last seven years. Girls cross country participation also increased for the fourth straight year.
But a number of troubling trends continued. Girls basketball participation fell for the seventh straight season to 16,550 participants, the sport’s fewest since records first were kept in 1991-92. The girls basketball total has decreased 13.5 percent since a U.S. District Court decision led to the switching of girls basketball season from fall to winter beginning in 2007-08. Girls enrollment during that time has fallen 9.7 percent.
The sport that swapped seasons with girls basketball and moved to fall, volleyball, saw a 2.5 percent drop in participation this school year to 19,905 athletes, its fewest since 1994-95 and a drop of 7.6 percent since its final season as a winter sport.
Lower Peninsula girls and boys golf and girls and boys tennis seasons were both switched as a result of the Federal Court decision, and those sports continue to experience declines. Girls tennis participation fell 5.6 percent from a year ago and for the second straight season, and boys tennis fell 3.6 percent from 2011-12 and for the fourth straight year; total, boys tennis participation has decreased 22.9 percent since its final spring season in 2007.
Boys golf participation fell less than a percent, 0.9, but for the fourth straight year. Girls golf participation fell a staggering 5.1 percent over the last year to 3,335 participants, its fewest since 1997-98.
Also of note in this year’s survey:
- Total, 11 sports had increases in participation in 2012-13 (seven boys, four girls), while 17 had drops (seven boys, 10 girls).
- Football participation, 11 and 8-player teams combined, dropped 3.7 percent from the 2011 season to 41,507 athletes. That total was the lowest since 1995-96.
- Wrestling saw a drop for the fourth straight year, but a far bigger fall in 2012-13 – 4.8 percent from the year before with 534 fewer participants and only 10,513 total. They made up the fewest in the sport since 1995-96.
- While girls basketball fell again, boys basketball broke a three-year string of drops in participation with an increase of 1.2 percent to 22,223 athletes.
- After slight drops between 2010-11 and 2011-12, both girls and boys bowling rebounded with slight increases of 1.1 and 1.8 percent, respectively. Baseball also reversed a one-year slide with a 0.4 percent increase in 2012-13.
- The boys sport experiencing the most growth was swimming and diving, with an increase of 5.6 percent to 5,612 athletes, its most since 1995-96.
- Girls track and field participation was up one percent in 2012-13, but gymnastics joined those previously mentioned with a much larger percentage decrease than the overall drop in girls enrollment, falling 3.9 percent from 2011-12.
- Boys skiing also dropped significantly, 4.2 percent, from the year before – although the 2011-12 total of 861 athletes was a five-year high.
The participation figures are gathered annually from MHSAA member schools to submit to the National Federation of State High School Associations for compiling its national participation survey. Results of Michigan surveys from the 2000-01 school year to the present may be viewed on the MHSAA Website – www.mhsaa.com – by clicking on Schools > Administrators > Sports Participation Listing.
The following chart shows participation figures for the 2012-13 school year from MHSAA member schools for sports in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament:
BOYS GIRLS
SPORT |
SCHOOLS (A) |
PARTICIPANTS |
SCHOOLS (A) |
PARTICIPANTS (B) |
Baseball |
639/651/2 |
18,092 |
- |
0/3 |
Basketball |
738/742/2 |
22,186 |
683/732 |
16,550/37 |
Bowling |
343/353/5 |
3,693 |
332/352 |
2,983/11 |
Competitive Cheer |
- |
- |
325/335 |
7,374 |
Cross Country |
601/622/0 |
8,744 |
585/618 |
8,378/0 |
Football - 11 player |
637/667/40 |
41,138 |
- |
0/43 |
8-player |
16/32/2 |
323 |
- |
3 |
Golf |
532/549/55 |
6,938 |
319/329 |
3,335/95 |
Gymnastics |
- |
- |
61/71 |
675 |
Ice Hockey |
243/270/16 |
3,791 |
22/0 |
301/17 |
Lacrosse |
124/124/1 |
5,064 |
89/88 |
2,501/1 |
Skiing-Alpine |
94/104/0 |
825 |
94/105 |
682/0 |
Soccer |
485/496/21 |
14,273 |
463/474 |
13,481/107 |
Softball |
- |
- |
622/639 |
14,491 |
Swimming & Diving |
254/269/6 |
5,547 |
267/280 |
5,996/65 |
Tennis |
310/327/10 |
6,504 |
343/355 |
9,211/65 |
Track & Field |
662/684/0 |
23,188 |
650/675 |
16,983/0 |
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Changes Accompany Start of Fall Practice
August 8, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
An assortment of game rules, preseason policy and postseason tournament changes will greet more than 100,000 high school student-athletes as 2019-20 Fall practices begin next week for nine sports for which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments.
The most immediately noticeable adjustment will allow boys soccer, girls and boys cross country, boys tennis and girls golf teams to begin practice Monday, Aug. 12, along with football teams across the state.
Football practice traditionally begins before the rest of fall sports, by rule on the 16th Monday before Thanksgiving. However, a change approved by the MHSAA Representative Council will allow sports with MHSAA Finals tied to a specific weekend every fall – for example, Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals always are the first weekend in November – the opportunity to begin practice on that 16th Monday as well, which will keep those teams from losing about a week of practice and competition during “late” Thanksgiving years when the holiday is during the fourth full week of November. Volleyball and Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving – which, like football, have Finals tied to Thanksgiving – are not affected by the lateness of the holiday and will begin practice Wednesday, Aug. 14, keeping with their traditional starts.
Football teams must have 12 days of preseason practice at all levels before their first game, over a period of 16 calendar days before the first kickoff, with the first games this falls scheduled for the weekend of Aug. 29-31. Competition this fall may begin Aug. 16 for cross country, golf, soccer and tennis and Aug. 23 for volleyball and swimming & diving.
The most publicized change in MHSAA policy this fall likely will be the addition of limited seeding for Lower Peninsula Boys Soccer District play, using a Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) formula that debuted to assist in Boys Lacrosse Regional seeding this past spring and will be utilized as well for Districts in girls and boys basketball this winter and girls soccer beginning in 2020. The MPR formula ranks teams based on success and strength of schedule, with the top two teams in each District then placed on opposite sides of the bracket on the draw date for that sport. For boys soccer this fall, all games reported to the MHSAA through Sept. 28 will be used for MPR, with brackets announced Sept. 29. For more information on MPR and the boys soccer selection process, go to the MHSAA Website’s Boys Soccer page and see the information under “Tracking the Tournament."
Football remains the most played sport among MHSAA member school student-athletes and will introduce this season a series of in-game and practice-related changes. To improve pace of play, all varsity games will be played with a 40-second play clock that begins after the conclusion of the previous play except when there is an exception (penalty, timeout, etc.). In those circumstances, a 25-second clock will start with the referee’s ready-to-play whistle. Also beginning this football season, at the MHSAA Finals level, instant replay will be used to review all scoring plays and turnovers or potential scoring plays and turnovers (that is, when an official’s decision may have prevented or awarded a score or turnover). Replay review will be automatic in these situations.
The other notable rules changes in football continue a focus on safety. Tripping a ball carrier – that is, intentionally using the lower leg or foot to obstruct a runner below the knees – now will result in a 15-yard penalty. The definition of a horse-collar tackle also has been expanded to include grabbing of the name plate area on the back of the jersey (along with the inside of the neck area of the jersey or shoulder pads) to bring a runner to the ground. Horse-collar tackling also is penalized with a 15-yard personal foul.
Also beginning this season, the amount of practice “collision” contact will be defined in minutes instead of allowed days. Teams will be allowed no more than six hours of full-pads collision contact per week during the preseason and no more than 30 minutes of collision contact during a week of in-season (after games begin) practice. “Collision” is defined as contact at game speed, with the execution of full tackles at a competitive pace, taking players to the ground. Although “collision” contact will be limited, “thud” contact will be unlimited. “Thud” is not considered collision contact and defined as full speed but above the waist only, with no player taken to the ground and no winner or loser.
All fall sports face at least minor rules changes this season, and a few of the other most noticeable in-game adjustments will come in girls golf, volleyball, girls swimming & diving and boys soccer.
• In golf, athletes will be allowed to use cell phones in four situations – to call a coach or tournament administrator for a health and safety issue, for use in inputting scores for live scoring or other scoring applications, to contact a rules official with questions, and for use as a distance-measuring device.
• Also in golf, a new rule sets the maximum allowable score per hole at 12 strokes.
• In volleyball, attempted serves that make contact with a backboard or other support device hanging from the ceiling over the serving area now will be illegal serves instead of faults (which previously allowed the server another attempt). Also, when a ball in play strikes the cables or diagonal poles used to retract baskets or similar apparatus to the ceiling, the game official will stop play and determine if the ball was playable -- if it is ruled playable before making contact with the apparatus, there will be a replay; if the ball is deemed to have not been playable, it will be ruled out of bounds.
• Also in volleyball, a change regarding uniforms will make the libero more recognizable. A libero’s uniform top must clearly contrast with those of the rest of her teammates by using another predominant color. The libero’s uniform may be trimmed with the predominant color of her non-libero teammates’ uniforms, and vice versa. Also regarding volleyball uniforms, “00” may no longer be used as a jersey number, only numbers 0-99 to eliminate confusion.
• In swimming, the definition of a legal finish has changed to include a competitor touching any part of the finish end of the lane, not just the touch pad. In diving, the degree of difficulty was adjusted for back and reverse somersaults to provide consistency with difficulty of other dives.
• The game clock will stop in boys soccer beginning this fall when the team leading the game makes a substitution during the final five minutes of the second period of regulation or second part of overtime. This stoppage aims to prevent the team in the lead from using substitutions as a way to run time off the clock.
The 2019 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals during the first week of October and wraps up with the 11-Player Football Finals on Nov. 29 and 30. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates:
Cross Country
U.P. Finals – Oct. 19
L.P. Regionals – Oct. 25 or 26
L.P. Finals – Nov. 2
11-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 27
Pre-Districts – Nov. 1 or 2
District Finals – Nov. 8 or 9
Regional Finals – Nov. 15 or 16
Semifinals – Nov. 23
Finals – Nov. 29-30
8-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 27
Regional Semifinals – Nov. 1 or 2
Regional Finals – Nov. 8 or 9
Semifinals – Nov. 16
Finals – Nov. 23
L.P. Girls Golf
Regionals – Oct. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12
Finals – Oct. 18-19
Soccer
Boys L.P. Districts – Oct. 9-11 & 14-19
Boys L.P. Regionals – Oct. 22-26
Boys L.P. Semifinals – Oct. 30
Boys L.P. Finals – Nov. 2
L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving
Diving Regionals – Nov.14
Swimming/Diving Finals – Nov. 22-23
Tennis
U.P. Girls Finals – Oct. 2, 3, 4 or 5
L.P. Boys Regionals – Oct. 10, 11 or 12
L.P. Finals – Oct. 18-19
Girls Volleyball
Districts – Nov. 4-9
Regionals – Nov. 12 &14
Quarterfinals – Nov. 19
Semifinals – Nov. 21-22
Finals – Nov. 23
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.