Florida High School Athletic Association

infobox Organization
name = Florida High School Athletic Association


image_border =
size = 180px
caption =


msize =
mcaption =
abbreviation = FHSAA
motto = Building leaders through teamwork, sportsmanship and citizenship.
formation = April 9, 1920
extinction =
type =
status = Association
purpose =
headquarters = Gainesville, Florida
location =
region_served =Florida
membership = 748 schools
language =
leader_title = President
leader_name = Richard Finlayson
main_organ = Executive Committee
budget = $4,550,500 (2007-08 Budget) [http://www.fhsaa.org/gov/board/2007_08/agenda/september/F.pdf]
website = http://www.fhsaa.org/ (administrative) http://www.fhsaasports.com/ (sports)
remarks =

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 comprises 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.

History

The Florida High School Athletic 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 organization was founded as the Florida High School Athletic Association in 1920. The name was changed to Florida High School Activities Association in the 1951. The name was changed back to Florida High School Athletic Association in 2002.

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 name was changed back to Florida High School Athletic Association in 2002. As of August 2007, the FHSAA has a membership of 748 schools. [http://www.fhsaa.org/about/]

ports programs

The FHSAA oversees the following sports:

anctioned 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)
* Water Polo (Boys)
* Water Polo (Girls)
* Weightlifting (Boys)
* Wrestling

Recognized Sports

* Bowling
* Flag Football (Girls)
* Lacrosse
* Volleyball (Boys)
* Weightlifting (Girls)

Emerging Sports

* Competitive Cheer

FHSAA's All-Century Team

*As part of its celebration of “100 Years of Florida High School Football,” the Florida High School Athletic Association is pleased to unveil its list of the “100 Greatest Players of the First 100 Years.”The “100 Greatest Players” list is the first of four special releases to be made by the FHSAA over the last two weeks of the 2007 football season.
*Monday, December 10, 2007 – The 10-member coaching staff for the “All-Century Team” will be announced. One of these 10 coaches were revealed as the “Coach of the Century”.
*Tuesday, December 11, 2007 – The “Teams of the Century,” one from each decade, plus the top small-school team of all time, were announced.
*Wednesday, December 12, 2007 – The 33 players by position comprising the “All-Century Team” were announced. [http://www.fhsaa.org/news/2007/1204.htm]

References

External links

* [http://www.fhsaa.org/ Official web site of the Florida High School Athletic Association]
* [http://www.becomeanofficial.org/ How to become an official, umpire, or referee for the Florida High School Athletic Association]