The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, or the WIAA, is a voluntary membership organization that supports and governs competitive school sports in Wisconsin. Over 90,000 student athletes participated last year in WIAA sports.
Rugby at this time would not be considered for inclusion in the WIAA until many more teams formed and became included in schools. Inclusion is another topic for another day. What interested our office staff this morning is the idea of participating in high school athletics in general, regardless of WIAA inclusion.
The article from the WIAA excerpted below, has some compelling information on why being a member of a team has special value for high school participants. Some, maybe all, of the benefits could apply to club teams depending on the program, but the unique relationship of a school team that requires and monitors participants' grades, behavior, and health probably makes the benefits more pronounced.
It is worth noting that the value of participation by student athletes cannot be fully quantified. How does one quantify the gift of memories, personal growth, and lifelong friendships formed?
"The “Case for High School Activities” presents volumes of research and survey data that dispels myths or misconceptions that involvement in school activities may be a diversion to a quality education.
Participation the Key
Students that participate and are engaged in school programs, whether it’s athletics or any other extracurricular activity, have less truancy, lower drop-out rates, fewer disciplinary issues and better grade point averages on average than their peers that have no involvement. In 2007, the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise reported that students who took part in more vigorous sports like soccer or football performed nearly 10 percent better in math, science, English and social studies classes. Similar findings were produced by a survey in Minnesota in 2007.
It may also be undeniable that involvement in high school activities bodes well for participants after high school as well. According to researchers in a 2005 study, participation in extracurricular activities gives all students--including those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those without stellar academic accomplishments in high school--measurable improvements on college admission exam scores. Furthermore, students who compete in sports in high school were more likely than those not participating to be active in volunteering, voting, speaking publicly and being aware of current events.
Similar results were confirmed in a 2003 Journal of Adolescent Research report. It indicates high school extracurricular participation leads to fewer school drop outs, greater community involvement, greater academic achievement and a plethora of other positive outcomes. Perhaps the most important impact of participation in high school activities is the short- and long-term personal and emotional benefits that lead to making appropriate choices. According to a United States Department of Education article published in 2002, those who have no involvement in interscholastic activities are 49 percent more likely to use drugs and 37 percent more likely to become teen parents.
The volume of materials and information supporting the values and life-long lessons learned through interscholastic activities is vast. However, we must be careful not to take extracurricular opportunities for granted or underestimate the impact they have on schools and a school’s community.
Interscholastic events are one of the largest windows into what is being taught and learned in our schools. There is no doubt that great things are being learned in traditional classrooms to prepare students for life beyond school; however, access to these learning environments are far less common for those outside the school. This fact makes school activity programs–proclaimed as extensions of the traditional classroom–even more valuable.
Therefore, it is increasingly important to demonstrate to those that live, work and pay taxes in the community the value of extracurricular activities. Typically, the average cost of extracurricular programs is less than one percent of most school budgets, making them a fantastic bargain and value. "
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