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I already mentioned the number "35" refers to the number of people participating in martial arts. However, I feel that "35" doesn't read well. '35 participants' reads better. This is just my feeling. Should I add the word "participants" after "35"?

The number of people participating in martial arts showed very small changes, hovering around the 35 participants mark. (I wrote the sentence.)

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    "... hovering around 35" works for me (no the).
    – Henry
    Commented Jul 29 at 11:59
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    "the 35 participants mark" is needlessly wordy.
    – TimR
    Commented Jul 29 at 12:05
  • @TimR, what do you suggest? hovering around 35 or hovering around the 35 mark?
    – newbie forever
    Commented Jul 29 at 12:06
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    As there is no such mark, "was about 35" or "remained fairly constant over the 20-year period, at around 35 participants".
    – TimR
    Commented Jul 29 at 12:07
  • @TimR - I'm pretty sure that the 'mark' in 'hovering around the XX mark' can be a purely notional one, although if it was in text accompanying an actual chart, I agree it would be potentially confusing.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Jul 29 at 12:49

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Hovering around 35 is fine.

We may also consider this version:

The number of martial arts participants is quite consistent over the years, at (or hovering) around 35.

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Sample: The number of people participating in martial arts showed very small changes, hovering around the 35 participants mark. (I wrote the sentence.)

Generally, we'd use:

The number of people participating in martial arts changed little, hovering around the 35-participant mark. OR hovering around thirty five.

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