By age 14, many girls are dropping out of sports at TWO times the rate of boys. By age 17, more than half of girls will quit playing sports altogether. According to a 2013 study by EY, 96% of female executives (with CEO, CFO, and COO titles) participated in sports as teenagers. – Women's Sports Foundation

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​Why Girls Drop Out:

• Lack of access. Girls have 1.3 million fewer opportunities to play high school sports than boys have.

•  Social stigma. Girls in sports may experience bullying, social isolation, negative performance evaluations, etc.

•  Decreased quality of experience. As girls grow up, the quality level of their sports experience may decline. In short, sports just aren’t “fun” anymore.

•  Cost. School sports budgets are being slashed every day, all across the country. Fewer opportunities within schools mean families must pay to play in private programs.

•  Lack of positive role models. Today’s girls are bombarded with images of external beauty, not those of confident, strong female athletic role models. Peer pressure can be hard for girls at any age.

Why They Need To Stay In:

• Through sports, girls learn important life skills such as teamwork, leadership and confidence.

• Sports are an asset to American families, fostering communication and trust between parents and children.

• More than three-quarters of working women feel that sports participation helps enhance their self-image.

• Girls’ involvement with sports is related to higher levels of family satisfaction, in both single-parent and dual-parent families.

• High school female athletes have more positive body images than non-athletes.

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