Did you know?

Football reigns supreme in the landscape of American professional sports, and that popularity also is prevalent in boys’ scholastic athletics. Data from the National Federation of State High School Associations indicates that football is the most popular boys’ high school sport in the United States, with more than one million participants during the 2018-19 school year, the last full season in which participation was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among high school girls, no sport was more popular than outdoor track and field during the 2018-19 school year. In Canada, one study published in the Journal of Safety Research in September 2021 revealed that the top three sport and recreational activities for boys were basketball, ice hockey and soccer, while girls’ most popular sports were dance, basketball and badminton.