Virginia High School League
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The Virginia High School League (VHSL) is the arbiter of interscholastic competition among public high schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Unlike many similar organizations in other states, it does not count private or religious schools among its membership. Non-public schools belong to other organizations, the largest of which is the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association. Homeschooled students also are not allowed to participate in VHSL sanctioned events. It was not originally an athletics sanctioning body and continues to sponsor championships in several academic activities.
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[edit] History
The VHSL was established in 1913 by members of the Washington and Jefferson Literary Societies of the University of Virginia and originally served as a debating league for the state's high schools. Over the course of the 1910s, it expanded to over 250 schools and added championships in oral reading, baseball, basketball and track and renamed itself the Virginia High School Literary and Athletic League.
After World War II, it adopted other sports and began standardizing officiating practices for high school sports. In 1969, it merged with the Virginia Interscholastic Association, which was a similar organization that had served black schools around the Commonwealth during segregation. Girls' sports were added around this time. Organized football playoffs began in 1970.
[edit] Organization
The VHSL is headquartered in Charlottesville and has over 300 member schools and conducts championships in 25 different sports. 150,000 students participate in its activities. The VHSL is overseen by an Executive Committee elected from the principals and superintendents of the various Virginia school districts. Day to day affairs are handled by the Executive Director and Assistant Directors.
The VHSL's member schools are organized into three groups based on enrollment: A, AA and AAA. Each of the three groups are split into four geographic regions, which are each split into three or four districts, which have four to eleven teams. The largest group of schools are in Group AAA, the next largest group in Group AA, and the smallest group in Group A. Regional boundaries are different for all three groups as average school sizes vary substantially in different parts of Virginia. Nearly all Group AAA schools are located in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Greater Richmond. Group A schools are typically found in rural areas and the largest concentration is in Southwest Virginia. Group AA schools are somewhat more evenly distributed than the other two and found in rapid growing areas like Loudoun County, in and around cities such as Roanoke, Lynchburg and Charlottesville, and in smaller cities and counties which have a single high school. Unlike many state associations, districts and regions are fixed and the same for every sport with very few exceptions.
Redistricting and regrouping occurs every two years. AAA schools are typically above 1,500 students, AA schools are typically from 700 to about 1,500 students, and A schools are below 700 students. Schools can however choose to play up a group if they wish. Several schools in the Richmond and Hampton Roads areas elect to play in Group AAA instead of Group AA due to a reluctance to travel long distances. In Southwest Virginia, some schools elect to play up a class in Group AA due to traditionally being part of that group. Schools can be granted a special dispensation from the VHSL to play down in Group A or AA due to being so far from the nearest schools in their class and being relatively close to the dividing line (so a school with 800 or 1,600 students might get this dispensation, while a school with 1,000 or 2,000 students would not.)
In football, each region is further split into two divisions based on school size, so statewide champions are determined in Divisions 1 through 6. Divisions 1 and 2 are for Group A with Division 2 being the larger one; 3 and 4, the AA schools; and 5 and 6, the AAA schools. Since the average sizes of schools vary by region, some schools in the lower division of one region would be in the higher division of another region and vice-versa. Most districts contain members in both divisions of its group. Since district champions are usually from the larger division, schools in the lower division playoff brackets often have worse records (frequently 5-5 to 7-3) than schools in the higher division (often at least 8-2).
In many sports other than football, both the regional champion and regional runner-up advance to participate in the state tournament.
[edit] Championships
Offered for boys and girls: Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Lacrosse, Indoor track, Outdoor track, Soccer, Swimming/diving, Tennis, Volleyball
Offered for boys: Baseball, Football, Wrestling
Offered for girls: Cheerleading, Field hockey, Gymnastics, Softball
(Boys' and girls' sports will allow members of the opposite gender to participate in some circumstances.)
Academic activities: Creative Writing, Debate, Drama (one-act plays), Forensics (a variety of individual events), Magazines, Newspapers, Scholastic Bowl (a variety of quizbowl), Yearbooks
Academic activities are coed and not considered varsity athletics by most schools. Academic activities are usually awarded different letters and merits from athletics.
Creative Writing, Magazines, Newspapers and Yearbooks are judged after samples are sent in; the other activities involve one-day competitions of some sort at the District, Regional and State levels. Many Debate and Scholastic Bowl teams will participate in either VHSL District-sponsored regular seasons and/or independent, outside tournaments.
The VHSL also awards the Wachovia Cup for each group to the schools which accumulate the most points across all competitions much like the NACDA Director's Cup for college athletics. There are separate cups for athletic and academic activities.
[edit] List of Regions and Districts
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Group AAA |
Group AA |
Group A |
