As school districts across the country cut their athletic
budgets, many schools are implementing athletic participation fees to
cover the cost of school sports. As a result, nearly one in five lower-income parents reported that their children are participating less in school sports, according to the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. 

Overall, 61 percent of children playing middle or high school sports were charged a pay-to-play fee. The average fee was $93, according to the poll respondents, but 21 percent of children faced a pay-to-play fee of $150 or more.

However, pay-to-play fees are only one component of the school sports costs reported by parents. Including equipment, uniforms and additional team fees, the average cost for a child's sports participation was $381.

Researchers found that 12 percent of parents overall said that the cost of school sports caused a drop in participation for at least one of their children. Responses varied substantially based on income.  Among lower-income families, those earning less than $60,000 per year, 19 percent said their children's participation decreased because of costs.  But among families earning more than $60,000 per year, only 5 percent reported costs had caused their children to participate less.

“As pay-to-play becomes the norm, nearly 1 in 5 lower-income parents reported their kids decreased their sports participation – that's significant,” said Sarah Clark, M.P.H., associate director of the Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit at the University of Michigan and associate director of the National Poll on Children's Health.

The poll found only 6 percent of participants received a waiver of pay-to-play fees. According to Clark, schools could look at their waiver policies and consider options like partial waivers, installment payments, or other means to provide flexibility for families.

“We know that participating in school sports offers many benefits to children and teens: higher school achievement, lower dropout rates, improved health, reduced obesity and the development of skills like teamwork and problem-solving,” explained Clark.

“There's not an athletic director, school administrator or coach out there who doesn't want every kid to have a chance to participate,” continued Clark.  “But there are no easy answers, especially because budgets are expected to get tighter and tighter.”

Each year millions of children and teens play competitive sports through their middle and high schools. Clark said she hoped the data can help spur conversation among school officials about how to make sure children in lower-income families are not left out.

The full report can be found at the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health website.