Page 32 - 2023-24 By-Laws

Rule 1 - Rule Coverage

Part II: General Eligibility Rules

RULE 1 – RULE COVERAGE; RECOGNIZED & EMERGING SPORTS
1-1 Rule Creation, Amendment and Application
a. Establishing Rules. The General Eligibility Rules are created by and may only be
amended by the Directors.
b. Formality. The General Eligibility Rules shall be created using the same formality
as used in the creation of and the amendment of the By-Laws of the Corporation.
However, the Secretary of the Corporation is authorized, without prior action by the
Board of Directors, to (i) draft and publish interpretations of the General Eligibility Rules
through questions and answers, (ii) draft and publish definitions of terms contained in
General Eligibility Rules and (iii) draft and make corrections to punctuation, grammar,
spelling and typographical errors in the text of the General Eligibility Rules. Such action
taken by the Secretary shall have immediate force and effect but shall be subject to
prompt ratification by the Board of Directors.
c. General Application. THE ASSOCIATION RULES APPLY to all Member School athletic
teams and to all Member School sports contestants enrolled in grades 9, 10, 11 or 12,
participating IN ANY CONTEST in a Recognized Sport or in an Emerging Sport.
1-2 Recognized Sports
a. IHSAA Recognized Sports. The following sports are recognized and regulated: Boys –
Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track and
Field, Wrestling; Girls – Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Soccer, Softball,
Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball; Unified Sports - Track and Field, Flag
Football.
b. Tournament Series. A Tournament Series in a Recognized Sport will be provided at such
time as Fifty percent (50%) of the total, full Membership Schools are participating in that
Recognized Sport.
c. Annual Review. If a Recognized Sport has less than Twenty-five (25%) of the total, full
Membership Schools participating in the Tournament Series in that Sport, that Sport will
be reviewed, annually, for purposes of determining if the Sport should continue to have
a Tournament Series in that Sport and to determine if that Sport should continue to be a
Recognized Sport.
1-3 Recognized Sports Process
a. A Sport may become a Recognized Sport provided a member School has, or a group of
member Schools has, submitted to the Board of Directors, prior to March 1, a Request
that that Sport to be designated a Recognized Sport.
b. The Board of Directors may designate a Sport as a Recognized Sport if these requirements
are satisfied:
(1.) One Hundred (100) or more member Schools have each sponsored a full program in
that Sport and have each participated in that Sport for the Two (2) consecutive years
prior to the submission of the Request,
(2.) The Sport has gone through the Emerging Sport Process and an updated Emerging
Sport Application is submitted to the Board with the Request for recognition,
(3.) It is shown that recognition of the Sport as a Recognized Sport will not be an anathema
to the purposes or goals of the IHSAA and will not result in a violation of any rule, law,
statute or policy; and
(4.) The Commissioner recommends that the Sport be recognized as a Recognized Sport.
c. Provided the prior requirements are satisfied, the Board at its next Annual Meeting may,
by a majority vote, recognize the Sport as a Recognized Sport.
1-4 Emerging Sports Process
a. A Sport may become an Emerging Sport provided a member School has, or a group of
member Schools have, submitted to the Board of Directors, prior to March 1, a Request
for the Sport be designated an Emerging Sport.
b. The Board of Directors may designate a Sport as an Emerging Sport if these requirements
are satisfied:
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