The UPA has announced that its official membership total last year exceeded 30,000 for the first time in its history. The final 2009 UPA registration number reached 31,588 individual members, representing an eight percent increase over the 2008 season (29,311). The UPA membership total has grown more than 81% in just six years, rising from 17,419 in 2003. The UPA’s youth category (under 19 years old) experienced the highest percentage of growth among all membership areas in 2009, increasing 17 percent from 6,218 to 7,274. None of the organization’s membership categories experienced a decrease last year.