VHSL REGION A HANDBOOK
ORGANIZATION
A. General:
1. The rules and regulations of this handbook are designed to aid the Region A principals, coaches, sponsors, and teachers in their supervision of region
activities and events.
2. The rules and regulations in this handbook are a supplement to the Virginia High School League Handbook and in no way are they intended to override or circumvent the rules and regulations of the Virginia High School League.
3. The rules and regulations of the handbook can be changed or amended at
the annual August regional meeting by a simple majority vote. However, through a 2/3 vote of a quorum of the region council, or a fax vote by 2/3 of the entire regional council, any rule or regulation can be changed or amended.
B. Objective:
The objective of the region is to foster among the schools in the region a
broad program of supervised competitions and desirable school activities
as an aid in the education of pupils. This is in agreement with the
objective of the region’s parent association--the Virginia High School
League.
C. Membership:
Any accredited state public high school in Virginia shall be eligible for
membership in the region as long as they meet or satisfy the regulations
as established by the Virginia High School League.
D. Finances:
1. The region treasurer will reimburse for all necessary expenses, upon proof
of the expense, as directed to do so by the regional council.
2. Any balance in excess of $7,000 on June 30 after all yearly expenses
have been paid will be distributed by determining the total number of schools in a district that participate in a majority of sports. Note: This excludes Chincoteague and Colonial Beach until 2007-2008.
3. Region A’s books will have a yearly audit.
E. Officers:
1. Officers of this region shall consist of chairman, vice-chairman, secretary
and treasurer.
2. Election of officers: The officers shall be elected as prescribed by the
rules and regulations of the Virginia High School League (current edition.)
3. Term office: The term of office of the officers of the region shall be for
two years (July 1 to June 30).
4. Duties of officers: The duties of the officers shall concur with those
outlined in the Virginia High School League Handbook. The chairman
will be in charge of all meetings, with the vice-chairman taking over when
the chairman is not present or does not choose to serve. The secretary
shall make and keep records of all official meetings and send at least one
copy of said minutes to all member schools. The treasurer will maintain
all financial matters and report status at all regular meetings.
F. Voting:
1. In all elections or other business of the region, decisions shall be made by
a majority of the region council of those present and voting.
2. The region council is composed of the principals of the member schools or
their alternates.
3. Each alternate or principal’s representative must have in writing the
principal’s authority to vote at any of the region council meetings.
Alternates are not allowed to hold office. Principals have the option of
submitting the names of alternates on an annual basis at the August
meeting. Voting by letter is prohibited. A proxy letter must be presented
to the Chairman.
4. A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of the total members of the
region council.
G. Regional Executive Committee:
1. The regional executive committee shall consist of the chairman of the
region and the chairman of each district. The regional vice-chairman will
vote only in the case of a tie vote.
2. The regional executive committee shall be established and functions in
accordance with regulations laid down in the current handbook of the
Virginia High School League.
3. The authority of the regional executive committee shall operate within
the framework of the Virginia High School League.
H. Meetings:
The chairman shall call a meeting in August to establish a calendar for
the year. At this meeting all region competition, directors, dates and
business will be completed for the ensuing year. Regular region
meetings will be scheduled for fall, winter, and spring dates. The Athletic
Directors will meet in November and March each school year for the
purpose of scheduling events for the upcoming spring and the fall of the
next school year.
RULES AND REGULATIONS
A. General:
1. Member schools shall honor the following passes: VHSL, VHSCA,
VIAAA, VSBA, press passes.
2. District passes shall be honored at regular season events only.
3. The winner of the tournament will be declared tournament champion
and will receive a trophy. The runner-up in the tournament will also
receive a trophy.
4. Trophy policy for Region A sponsored events: Champion and runner-up
medals will be awarded to teams which advance to state competition.
5. The regional Director of each sport will oversee the selection of a regional
coach of the year selected from among the district coaches of the year
where appropriate.
B. Officials:
1. The director of each activity will be responsible for securing officials
authorized by the VSHL where appropriate.
2. No school division personnel may officiate a varsity contest involving
their own school. This rule affects the following sports: varsity football,
varsity basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, and soccer.
C. Support personnel:
At any home basketball and volleyball contests, no more than six (6)
support persons will be admitted by the home team (managers, trainers,
score keepers, bus drivers, etc.)
RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Responsibilities of the Principals:
1. Assign and delegate to the proper school official the authority for crowd
control responsibility at all contests.
2. Convey to delegated authority the seriousness of crowd control.
3. Design with athletic director procedures for all personnel assigned game
responsibilities.
4. Review with the athletic director the responsibilities of the police which
should include: stands, concession stands, parking lots, and any other
areas where trouble may develop.
5. Make a report to the chairman of the district if there is any serious incident
pertaining to the game.
B. Responsibilities of the Athletic Director:
1. Assume responsibility, along with the principal for crowd control.
2. Provide a master plan for safety of visiting school officials.
a. Arrange for parking of buses (removed wording)
b. Arrange parking and protection for game officials,
c. Arrange protection for team loading and unloading before and after the game.
Removed ‘d’
3. Provide for basic crowd control:
a. Become knowledgeable of crowd control and student discipline.
b. Keep students in their places in the stadium and in the gymnasium.
c. Provide clean locker and stadium facilities.
d. Arrange a special area for game officials to dress away from school personnel.
4. Plan for Police assignments:
a. Secure ample police control.
b. Give directions to police concerning assignments in and around the stadium or gymnasium. These instructions should include information pertaining to action before, during, and after the game.
c. Have police keep fans off the sidelines of the stadium and off the floor in the gym.
C. Guidelines for the Coach:
Coaches influence not only the conduct of the players under their direction, but also that of the student spectators, school faculties, parents of squad members, and interested citizens who attend our athletic contests. Since the coach is influential in setting the tone for conduct, they must visibly show that they value self-restraint, fair play, and sportsmanlike conduct. The coach should stress to the team his own commitment to self-restraint, discipline on the bench, and the necessity for avoiding incidents. Furthermore, it should be understood that they are accountable for their behavior. Coaches must report all sportsmanship violations immediately to school officials. (AD/Principal)
D. Guidelines for the Team:
The Players conduct can influence the actions of the spectators in the stands; therefore, it places a serious responsibility on the high school athlete. The player who concentrates on the games and takes little notice of the audience is more likely to behave properly on the court or playing field, and is less likely to arouse the spectators.
E. Guidelines for the cheerleaders:
1. Cheerleaders’ functions are to make a positive contribution to good
spectator reaction at an athletic contest and to create better relations between opposing supporters.
2. Cheers should be positive, not aimed at antagonizing an opponent.
Care should be taken in making certain that words used in a cheer
are not suggestive and do not have a connotation which would inflame an audience.
3. Cheerleaders should remain silent when the opponents’ cheerleaders are cheering and during free throws at basketball games.
4. Cheerleaders are expected to lead the cheer group in a round of applause for an injured player leaving the game. Cheering is appropriate.
5. When “booing” occurs, the cheerleaders should attempt to stop it with a “waving off” motion of the hands. It is important that any booing is waved off immediately. If the booing becomes louder, the cheerleaders should help to divert the crowd’s attention by starting a popular yell routine. If a band is present, they can be directed to“strike up” a popular tune. Immediate actions are the key to controlling the booing.
6. Cheerleaders, properly trained, can be as important to the spectators’
behavior as the coach is to their team.
7. Student bodies and teams will react as they are instructed, inspired and led by neat, charming and well-poised cheerleaders.
8. At the home basketball and volleyball contests, only eight (8) uniformed cheerleaders may be allowed to be on the floor at any time. At away contests, only sixteen (16) uniformed j.v. and varsity cheerleaders will be admitted free by the home team.
REGIONAL SCHEDULING POLICY
A. Region A schools adopted a regional policy to resolve two problems:
1. To share travel among member schools
2. To ensure that all member schools have sufficient games to complete their schedules
B. Any school which refuses to participate in the regional schedule plan faces two consequences:
1. Forfeiture of the contest in question
2. Ineligibility for post-season play for that sport in that year
3. If there is a conflict regarding make-up games, the regional council will
resolve the conflict.
ACTIVITIES: General guidelines
A. Tournament Play: A minimum of fourteen (14) schools participating in a sport are required for an eight team tournament. Sports which have fewer than fourteen (14) schools participating will have a four (4) team tournament format. Each district will be allowed one entry.
Exceptions are: Wrestling, Cross Country, Track, Golf and Forensics. (See individual sports for additional format guidelines.)
B. Travel: For all regional tournaments and all games required by regional scheduling, up to $50.00 toward the cost of tolls will be paid for travel to and from the Eastern Shore.
C. Tournament Officials: The event director will select the officials from a local association to direct the entire tournament, unless otherwise directed by the regional council.
D. Admission Fees: Admission to Regional football, basketball, volleyball, cheering competition, soccer, wrestling, baseball and softball events will be $6.00 general admission. The finals in Basketball will be $8.00.
E. Football Guidelines:
1. Region A has adopted the regional play-off procedure for regions
composed of four (4) districts. Each district champion or designated
co-champion shall be seeded from one to four according to its rating
on the rating scale. In case of a tie for seeding the procedures as
outlined in Section 68-9-2, of the VHSL Handbook, will be followed
the first seeded team will play the fourth seeded team and the second
seeded team will play the third seeded team on the twelfth football
playing weekend. The winners of these two games will play on the
thirteenth playing weekend for the regional championship. The
Region A Football Committee gave a report on a proposal.
2. Postponement policy: If a game must be rescheduled for any reason other than weather, then the game should be played before the originally scheduled day. A game missed because of weather should be played on the next open day which, in the case of football, shall include Saturday. Any exceptions to this policy must be by mutual consent of the two schools involved. Game time must be mutually
agreed upon. If a school forfeits a game, the forfeiting school will pay their opponent $500.
Deleleted original #3
3. Home teams shall wear dark-colored jerseys unless other circumstances
exist and are resolved by mutual agreement. (This applies to both junior
varsity and varsity contests.)
4. All junior varsity games will consist of ten-minute quarters. Unless
mutual agreement to shorten to eight minutes quarters. In junior varsity
contests, a tie will stand. (Football/Soccer)
5. Band members may be admitted free if they arrive in a group, and are dressed in uniform. Principals will work with each other to make provisions and arrangements for the visiting band. All arrangements must be approved by the host school.
REGION A TOURNAMENT ACTIVITIES:
Tournament Information:
Seeding for boys and girls basketball, volleyball, softball, baseball, and soccer.
There will be eight team tournaments with two teams from each district participating (district representatives to be determined by the district). The highest seeded team will serve as the host school after the first round. The district champions will serve as hosts for the first round.
WILD-CARD ENTRY
Region A will provide a wild-card team in the tournament format if the Eastern Shore has only two teams competing in that sport. The wild-card would be the #3 team from either the Tri-Rivers, Tidewater, or Northern Neck. Criteria for determining the wild-card includes head to head competition, region record, and region winning percentage.
Note: The Wild Card team may not host a tournament game.
All Site Directors $50 Site Director’s Fee
Football
Director’s Fee: $250.00
All-Region Team First and second All-Region Teams will be selected. Coaches will meet the Monday after the first Semi-final game.
Regional Champions: Region A elects to follow the optional play-off series as set forth in the VHSL Handbook.