Florida High School Athletic Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Florida High School Athletic Association or FHSAA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), which is based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The National Federation, which is comprised of Associations from all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and several Canadian provinces, is an organization whose purpose is to develop standards for competition, regular interstate competition and write high school contest rules in the majority of sports.
Florida uses National Federation contest rules in its sports.
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[edit] History
The Florida High School Athletic Association, forerunner of the Florida High School Activities Association, was founded on April 9, 1920 by a group of 29 high school principals which met at Peabody Hall on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. Although several preliminary discussions had been held concerning the formation of such an Association, it was not until this meeting that the association was formally organized.
The 29 schools who became charter members were: Summerlin (Bartow), Clearwater, Mainland (Daytona Beach), Seabreeze (Daytona Beach), DeLand, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Gainesville, Duval (Jacksonville), Osceola (Kissimmee), Columbia (Lake City), Lakeland, Leesburg, Suwannee (Live Oak), Miami, Ocala, Orlando, Putnam (Palatka), Pensacola, Plant City, Quincy, Seminole (Sanford), Ketterlinus (St. Augustine), St. Petersburg, Leon (Tallahassee), Hillsborough (Tampa), Wauchula, West Palm Beach and Winter Haven.
The first Constitution limited membership to public schools. However, in 1930, it was amended to open membership to private and parochial schools as well.
In 1951, the member schools voted to change the word "athletic" to "activities" in the organization name so that non-athletic activities such as music and student council programs would also receive proper supervision at the state level.
The Association was incorporated in 1962.
The FHSAA, in 1996, adopted regulations permitting students enrolled in home education programs to participate in interscholastic activities.
In May 1997, the Florida Legislature recognized in statute the FHSAA as the governing body for interscholastic athletics in Florida, provided the Association comply with the provisions of a legislatively mandated revamping of its governmental structure. The FHSAA currently is in the process of making the necessary changes to comply with the new law.
The FHSAA has shown a steady growth throughout its 83-year history. Currently, the FHSAA has a membership of approximately 670 schools.
[edit] Sports programs
The FHSAA oversees the following sports:
[edit] Sanctioned Sports
- Baseball
- Basketball (Boys)
- Basketball (Girls)
- Cross Country
- Football (Boys)
- Golf
- Soccer (Boys)
- Soccer (Fall)
- Soccer (Girls)
- Softball
- Swimming & Diving
- Tennis
- Track & Field
- Volleyball (Girls)
- Weightlifting (Boys)
- Wrestling
[edit] Recognized Sports
- Bowling
- Flag Football (Girls)
- Lacrosse
- Volleyball (Boys)
- Water Polo
- Weightlifting (Girls)
[edit] Emerging Sports
- Competitive Cheer
