Participation in sports by children and adolescents is associated with a range of documented physical, emotional, social, educational, and other benefits that can last into adulthood. But increasingly, many young people opt out of a sustained experience, while others are locked out due to a lack of resources or access to community programs. Health and other needs go unmet.
The U.S. government produces limited data on sport participation and physical activity rates, and none on youth before high school age. In that void, the most robust data is generated through an annual household survey conducted by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). In 2008, 30.2% of youth ages 6 to 12 were active to a healthy level through sports, organized or unstructured; by 2015, that number had dropped to 26.6%, according to SFIA. Among 13- to 17-year-olds, the rate fell from 42.7% to 39.3%.
For the latest data and insights on how well children and communities are being served by youth sports today, see our new Project Play report, State of Play: 2016. It also highlights key developments in the past year in each area of opportunity identified in our 2015 report, Sport for All, Play for Life: A Playbook to Get Every Kid in the Game, along with grades provided by thought leaders at the 2016 Project Play Summit.
