The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) governs athletic and club events for member high schools in Georgia, USA

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

. The GHSA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations

National Federation of State High School Associations

The National Federation of State High School Associations is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. Most high schools, whether public or private, belong to their state's high school association; in turn, each state association...

. The association comprises 437 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

Georgia Independent School Association

The Georgia Independent School Association is an association of private independent, and parochial schools throughout the state of Georgia. It was established to provide coordination of and services for the various member schools including athletics and academic competition...

 (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.

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

American Association of Adapted Sports Programs

American Association of Adapted Sports Programs, Inc. works in cooperation and partnership with existing agencies throughout the U.S. to establish program oversight, policies, procedures, and regulations in adapted sports.-History:...

 (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
  Georgia Public Broadcasting
  Georgia Public Broadcasting is the public broadcasting radio and television state network in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is operated by the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission....
  
   (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
  Georgia (U.S. state)
  Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...