Diving Into HS and Youth Participation Numbers
Diving Into HS and Youth Participation Numbers
USA Youth & High School's announcement last month that registrations are up prompted us at GRR World Headquarters dig a tiny bit deeper.
We had time, after all, as we sit on our underground bullet train from home to the office. The trip takes about 45 minutes so we took the opportunity to think more closely about the numbers.
First off, as USAYHS announced in December that registrations for the 1st quarter of the 2024-25 season were up 11%. Registration among girls players was up 18%.
This is largely considered a bit of the Maher Effect, in which the USA Women's Bronze Medal win in the Paris Olympics, bolstered by Ilona Maher's astonishing social media presence and skill on camera (and on the dance floor) has prompted more young girls to try to sport. While there is no specific survey telling us why more girls are signing up to play, the anecdotal evidence says the Olympics had an effect.
As we were always told—Olympic status helps ... winning helps more.
But is that all of it? As we look ahead to the winter/spring we at GRR have seen the rise of a few new boys teams, specifically some school teams. Teams that have been on hiatus are coming back. We don't have specific statistics, but we're seeing new teams, and we expected to see, in Q2 and Q3, increased registrations.
But back to Q1, which runs into November. Here's how the percentages fall:
Youth registration is up 14%. We think that's in part because more coaches and people involved in the game are working to develop youth programs. How do you do it? We've talked about that with the guy who does the best job in the country: RMA Podcast: The Rookie Rugby Cleveland Phenomenon
High School registration is up 8%. That's pretty good given the fact that HS rugby during the fall is limited. All 15-a-side HS rugby (aside from the odd select-side game) in the fall is girls.
But within the Youth registrations, there's a breakout that might bring the Maher Effect back into play.
Overall girls registration is up 18%, but Youth Girls registration is up 37%. That seems to us to be prompted, in part, by what happened in Paris.
Girls HS registration is up 14%, which is also good news.
So the increase is driven heavily by girls, especially in the youth sector. Still, however, boys participation is up in the fall, when it's not a huge part of their calendar. We'll check into more of this at the end of February, when Q2 wraps up.
