Page 63 - 2025-26 By-Laws

Rule 9 - Contests

authority to schedule an athletic Contest, or an athletic practice, rests with the
member School. (rules 9-1, 9-2)
Mixed School Teams
Q. 9-32 May Two (2) or more member Schools combine to form One (1) athletic team?
A. No, this is not permitted, unless the Schools legally consolidate and becomes a
single School. (rule 12-4)
Practice
Q. 9-33 If a student gets injured after the initial Three (3) days of pre-season Practice, and
then misses eight (8) consecutive days, how many days of Practice must a student
participate in before the student is eligible to participate in a Contest?
A. When a student misses Eight (8) to Fourteen (14) consecutive days, the student
must actively participate in Two (2) days of practice to be eligible for participation
in a Contest, however in this instance, where the student failed to complete the
original pre-season Practice requirement of Eight (8) separate days, the student has
to participate in an addition One (1) day of Practice, for a total of Three (3) days of
Practice, to also satisfy the pre-season Practice requirement. (rule 9-14, rule 50)
Q. 9-34 Can a varsity girls basketball player, who must complete Four (4) days of Practices
because she missed too many consecutive days, as required by rule 9-14, complete
these Practices by joining a girls JV basketball team Practice or a boys freshman
basketball team practice?
A. Yes, each required rule 9-14 Practice must be in the student athlete’s sport and be
conducted on a separate day, but can be conducted by any Accredited coach in
the student’s sport.
Q. 9-35 Can a football Practice session required by rule 9-14 be a virtual Practice session
or a special film-review session offered just for the football players who missed too
many Practices and Contests?
A. No, while a school can arrange to have special Practice sessions of normal length for
any student or students who need to complete a number of Practices because of rule
9-14, the Practice sessions must be of normal length and the students must actively
participate in them. The reason for this Rule is to help students get re-acclimated
to the physical participation aspect of the sport through in-person participation, and
while virtual Practice session are more common now and film review sessions are
a component of some regular Practices, they are both unacceptable for purposes
of the re-acclimation Practices required under rule 9-14.
Q. 9-36 Can a make-up Practice session required by rule 9-14 be a special Practice session
offered just for the athlete or the athletes who missed too many consecutive days?
A. Yes, a school can arrange to have special Practice sessions of normal length for
any student or students who need to make up a number of practices because of
rule 9-14.
Q. 9-37 Do Practices attended by a student at a Sending School count with respect to the
student satisfying the Practice requirements for sports participation at the Receiving
School?
A. Yes, Practices a student attended at a Sending School will satisfy the practice
requirements at the Receiving School, provided the Sending School principal
maintains records of those Practices the student attended at the Sending School
and can provide such records, on request, by the Receiving School or the IHSAA.
Withdraw from Contests
Q. 9-38 Can School A withdraw from a basketball Season Contest without penalty after
School B, the opponent, was found to have violated the Undue Influence Rule, rule
20, with respect to a football player?
A. No. Rule 9-16(b)(3) permits a School to withdraw from a Season Contest without
penalty when the opposing School is found to have violated the Undue Influence
Rule, rule 20, but applies only to Season Contests in the sport of the involved
student. Here, School A can only withdraw without penalty from a football Season
Contest, not a basketball Contest.
Q. 9-39 On December 10, 2019, School A was found to have violated the Undue Influence
Rule, rule 20, with respect to a basketball player. Can School B withdraw without
penalty from a basketball Season Contest with School A which was scheduled to
49