Page 39 - 2022-23 By-Laws

Rule 3 - Administrative Responsibility

Crowd Control
Q. 3-12 Is the home/host School exclusively responsible for crowd control?
A. No. While the home/host School must assume a primary responsibility for the
management of the Contest, including providing for crowd control, there is a mutual
responsibility on all participating Schools. The visiting School(s) must also take
such measures as are necessary to ensure proper behavior by the visiting School’s
students and fans. (rule 3-6)
Q. 3-13 What steps must a School take when a fan of the School’s team becomes
unreasonably unruly and/or is ejected from a Contest?
A. For the same reason a School is required to take affirmative steps after the ejection
of a student athlete, coach or administrator, a School is expected to promptly take
remedial action when a fan of the School’s team is unreasonably unruly and/or
ejected. While a complete list of the remedial steps is impossible, it would be
appropriate that the unruly/ejected fan be barred from One (1) or more future
Contests and that, in the future, the unruly/ejected fan’s seating be restricted to
certain locations at the venue.
More Restrictive School rules
Q.3-14 May a member School impose rules that are stricter than those rules and regulations
included in the IHSAA By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation?
A. Yes, a School may narrow the scope of the activities of the students, provided the
School’s rules do not violate or conflict with the IHSAA rules. (rule 3-5).

RULE 4 – AGE
4-1 Maximum Age of Student Athletes
A student who is or shall be Twenty (20) years of age prior to or on the scheduled date of
the IHSAA State Finals in a sport shall be ineligible for interschool athletic competition in that
sport; a student who is nineteen (19) years of age on the scheduled date of the IHSAA State
Finals in a sport shall be eligible for interschool athletic competition in that sport.
Q & A
Age rule - Generally
Q. 4-1 Is a student eligible if the student turns Twenty (20) years of age on the second
day of a multi-day State Finals of a Tournament Series?
A. No, if a student turns 20 years of age on any scheduled date of a State Finals
the student is ineligible to participate during that sport’s Contest Season and
Tournament Series.
Q. 4-2 What time of day of a student’s birth date does a student turn a year older?
A. A Nineteen (19) year-old student is considered to have turned Twenty (20) years
of age at 12:01 a.m. on the student’s birth date. (rule 4-1)
Q. 4-3 What is considered the “State Finals in a sport” and when does it occur for
purposes of the Age Rule?
A. The “State Finals in a sport” means the final championship event in the sport’s
Tournament Series and includes all Contests and all sessions which comprise
the championship event (e.g. in tennis, the State Finals championship event
includes the Contests at each satellite location. (rule 4-1)
Q. 4-4 When does the “State Finals in a sport” occur for purposes of the Age Rule?
A. For purposes of the Age Rule, the “State Finals in a sport” occurs on the date
the finals are scheduled to play, regardless of the date the Contests are actually
played. (rule 4-1)
Q. 4-5 Is a student who turns Twenty (20) years of age on a day of the basketball State
Finals also ineligible in swimming where the State Finals occur several weeks
before?
A. No, the Age Rule is sports specific, and a student may be too old to participate in
One (1) sport during a season and yet eligible in another sport that same season.
(rule 4-1)
Q. 4-6 Is a football player on a Class 1A team, who turns Twenty (20) years of age on
the day after the 1A championship game is scheduled, but on the day the 5A

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