Georgia High School Association

Georgia High School Association

Abbreviation	GHSA
Formation	1904
Legal status	Association
Purpose	Athletic/Educational
Headquarters	151 S. Bethel St. Thomaston, GA 30286
Region served	Georgia
Membership	402 high schools
Official language	English
Executive Director	Ralph Swearngin
Affiliations	National Federation of State High School Associations
Staff	11
Website	ghsa.net
Remarks	(706) 647-7473

The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) governs athletic and club events for member high schools in Georgia, USA. The GHSA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations. The association comprises 402 public and private high schools. The GHSA organizes all sports and academic competitions as well as overseeing registration, training, and evaluation of officials for member events.

Membership

Membership to the GHSA is voluntary and open to every high school in the state of Georgia, although participating private schools must have at least 150 students in their high school. Many private schools that do not enter the GHSA compete in the interscholastic organization of the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA). Member schools of the GHSA make most decisions by appointing region representatives who vote on proposals in the GHSA Executive Committee. Individual decisions by regions are made by the schools in the region on such issues as region tiebreakers and hosting of region tournaments. Members are divided into five classes by size and then further divided into regions based on geographic locations.

Classification

The GHSA currently has five classes, AAAAA, AAAA, AAA, AA, and A, (called "five-A", "quad-A", "triple-A", "double-A", and "single-A" respectively) based on the schools' student population. Each class has eight regions, numbered 1 through 8, based on the geographic location of the schools involved. Region 1 of each class is usually the southernmost region, with the region numbers generally increasing as one moves north. Regions have been realigned every two years. Starting in 2010 realignment will happen every four years. Regions generally have ten schools, but can range from 4 to 16 teams.

Currently classes are determined with a clear cut off: schools with 1850 and greater enrollment are placed in AAAAA, 525 maximum enrollment for class A, and the remaining schools evenly divided between the other three classes. Prior to 2008 the largest 15% of schools were placed in AAAAA with the smallest 15% in class A and the other schools evenly divided between the other three classes. Schools (but not individual athletic teams) can elect to play up to a higher classification but cannot play down to a lower classification than their enrollment places them.

Competitions

Athletics

Boys athletics governed by the GHSA are: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, riflery (co-ed), soccer, swimming, tennis, track and wrestling. Girls athletics programs overseen by the GHSA include basketball, competition cheerleading (co-ed & non co-ed), cross country, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, riflery, fast pitch softball, slow pitch softball, soccer, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball.

Athletics for the Disabled

In October 2001, GHSA set a national precedent when it named American Association of Adapted Sports Programs (AAASP) its counterpart on behalf of students with physical disabilities. The GHSA recognizes AAASP as the governing and sanctioning body for interscholastic adapted athletics in Georgia.

In 2004 the GHSA and AAASP marked another national precedent when for the first time in the United States, traditional high school championships include a wheelchair championship event when the AAASP Georgia Wheelchair Basketball Championship is held in conjunction with the GHSA State Basketball Championships.

• More than 300,000 viewers watch the Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) broadcast of the three–day tournament.
• The Nielsen polls rate the wheelchair basketball championship as the fifth most–watched game of the series.

Other

Literary activities governed by the GHSA are dramatic interpretation, essay, GHSA Debate, extemporaneous speaking, one act plays, quartet, spelling, trio and vocal solo.

External links

• GHSA official website
• In The Game High School Sports Magazine – Recognizing high school athletes and sports in Georgia