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1. Back in the 1971-72 school year, there were 294,015 female high school athletes. In 2021-22, there were 3.2 million of them. 2. From a household income perspective, 38.6 percent of all female fast-pitch soball participants live in households with annual incomes of at least $100,000. 3. e most popular team sport for females is basketball. 4. At the high school level in the U.S., the top 10 girls' sports – from the perspective of the number of schools that sponsor teams – are basketball, track and field, volleyball, fast-pitch soball, cross-country, soccer, golf, tennis, swimming and diving and com- petitive spirit. 5. At the high school level, the top 10 girls' sports in terms of participation are track and field, volleyball, soccer, basketball, fast-pitch soball, cross-country, tennis, swimming and diving, competitive spirit and lacrosse. 6. e states with the most female high school athletes are Texas, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. 7. Girls are playing high school football in 40 states. 8. e high school sports where girls out- number boys are competitive spirit, field hockey, flag football, gymnastics, fast-pitch soball, tennis and swimming and diving. 9. ere are more girls playing high school sports in Texas (339,363) and California (328,588) than there are boys and girls, combined, in 48 other state high school associations. 10. Girls are playing high school baseball, alongside boys, in 28 states. n 10 REALLY GOOD REASONS TO SELL GIRLS' SPORTS THERE ARE MORE GIRLS PLAYING SPORTS IN TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA THAN BOYS AND GIRLS TOTAL IN 48 OTHER STATES ... AND OTHER TRIVIA. Source: NFHS and SFIA Team dealers certainly don't need any more convincing on why they should put significant effort into selling to female athletes. After all, they basically make up half of their potential market — and they certainly spend just as much as the boys do on the gear and apparel (maybe even more on their apparel!). But in a service to our readers, here are 10 factoids that should make it even more apparent that when it comes to team sports, Girls Do Rule! 52 • March/April 2023 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com TEAM SPORTS: TRENDS

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