[**Badfish**]

Originally Posted by mayandsofiasmommy

And I'm really saddened by all the people who would cut art. Not everyone likes athletic stuff, not everyone is good at it.

Okay, I'm busting out some research (Lauren, you're not going to like my sources, so just skip this post). This is why I would choose to keep sports.

A 2005 study confirmed that since 1975, there had been an 875% increase in sports participation levels in American female high school athletics, and a 435% increase in corresponding college athletics.

Title IX and United States Female Sports Participation - training, exercise - World of Sports Science

Some of these are kinda lame, but pay attention to the effect on body image and risk of teenage pregnancy.

1. Sports are FUN.

2. Girls and women who play sports have a more positive body image than girls and women who don't participate.

3. Girls who participate in sports have higher self-esteem and pride in themselves.

4. Research suggests that physical activity is an effective tool for reducing the symptoms of stress and
depression among girls.

5. Playing sports teaches girls how to take risks and be aggressive.

6. Sport is where girls can learn goal-setting, strategic thinking and the pursuit of excellence in performance and other achievement-oriented behaviors—critical skills necessary for success in the workplace.

7. Playing sports teaches math skills.

8. Sports help girls develop leadership skills.

9. Sports teach girls teamwork.

10. Regular physical activity in adolescence can reduce girls' risk for obesity.

11. Physical activity appears to decrease the initiation of cigarette smoking in adolescent girls.

12. Research suggests that girls who participate in sports are more likely to experience academic success and graduate from high school than those who do not play sports.

13. Teenage female athletes are less than half as likely to get pregnant as female non-athletes (5% and 11%, respectively).

14. Teenage female athletes are more likely to report that they had never had sexual intercourse than non-athletes (54% and 41%).

15. Teenage female athletes are more likely to experience their first sexual intercourse later in adolescence than female non-athletes.

16. High school sports participation may help prevent osteoporosis.

17. Women who exercise report being happier than those who do not exercise.

18. Women who exercise believe they have more energy and felt they were in excellent health more often than non-exercising women.

19. Women who are active in sports and recreational activities as girls feel greater confidence in their physical and social selves than those who were sedentary as kids.

20. Women who exercise miss fewer days of work.

21. Research supports that regular physical activity can reduce hyperlipidemia (high levels of fat in blood).

22. Recreational physical activity may decrease a woman's chance of developing breast cancer.

23. Women who exercise weigh less than non-exercising women.

24. Women who exercise have lower levels of blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides and have lower blood pressure than non-exercising women

25. Regular exercise improves the overall quality of life.

25 Benefits of Girls Playing Sports - Women's Sports Foundation

Kids who play sports (male or female) are more likely to graduate, less likely to join a gang, less likely to experiment with drugs, less likely to become teenage parents... I'd have to do some searching and I don't have time, but I'm reasonably sure that participation in high school athletics is higher than participation in extracurricular arts programs. Personally, I'm not comfortable cutting arts programs because I think everyone benefits from learning how to play an instrument and studying art history, but there has been an increase in performing arts charter schools, so at least the kids who are excelling at an art discipline have an option. Athletes who can't play at a high school varsity level will have a very, very difficult time playing at the college level.