BALTIMORE – Lacrosse participation increased 12.8 percent in 2007, up from 11.7 percent in 2006, according to research by US Lacrosse for its annual participation report. There were 480,627 lacrosse players that were members of organized teams across the country in 2007, from the youth level all the way through the professional ranks.

High school participation saw the largest percentage of increase in participation over the past year, at 18.6 percent, with 201,250 total players in 2007. The youth participation, however, continues to make up the largest part of the lacrosse community with 241,581 players in 2007.

"It’s obviously very important to understand how and where the sport is growing so we can evaluate the success of our development initiatives and more effectively market the sport," said Steve Stenersen, President and CEO of US Lacrosse. "Over the past decade, US Lacrosse has invested millions of dollars in human and programmatic resources to support the sport’s continued national expansion, and we’re pleased to see these positive results."

The US Lacrosse Participation Survey is produced annually by US Lacrosse. The survey is used to monitor participation at different levels of the sport across the country. The primary source of data for this report are surveys completed by the 58 US Lacrosse regional chapters that were active in 2007. Data is also used from the US Lacrosse database, National Collegiate Athletic Association, National Federation of State High School Associations, Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association and www.laxpower.com. The survey counts only participation on organized teams and does not include leisure time play of lacrosse.
• Click here to access a copy of the full participation report, available on the US Lacrosse web site. 

US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) corporation, is the national governing body for men's and women's lacrosse and includes more than 250,000 active members. For more information about the organization, please visit www.uslacrosse.org.