Non-School Competition (Playing on other teams)
Q - What is the rule on playing other sports?
A - The NHIAA has set rules that all schools must follow. One of those is the non-school competition rule. Basically, it says that if you play on another athletic team, in case of ANY conflict, the school team must come first and you attend the school team event. As an example, a school basketball practice conflicts with an indoor softball league game. If the athlete chooses to attend the non-school event, in this case the softball game, the consequence MUST be enforced. It is a 3-week or 4 game/event suspension (whichever is greater). A second such offense will result in the student losing eligibility for the remainder of the school year.
Q - So I can’t play other sports?
A - You can, but you have to make sure that the school team comes first. This can be difficult when we have rescheduled games or if the other sport you are playing has playoffs where you don’t know what the days are ahead of time. Feel free to play if you like, but the school team must come first and we have no choice but to enforce this NHIAA rule.
Q - What if this is a once-in-a-lifetime event that I need for college?
A - If this truly is a “once-in-a-lifetime” event, you may ask the principal, in writing, to allow you to miss a school event for another sport. The principal has the ability to waive this rule BUT; It must clearly be a “once-in-a-lifetime” event, and it will only be allowed once during your high school career.
Q - What is the rule on playing other sports?
A - The NHIAA has set rules that all schools must follow. One of those is the non-school competition rule. Basically, it says that if you play on another athletic team, in case of ANY conflict, the school team must come first and you attend the school team event. As an example, a school basketball practice conflicts with an indoor softball league game. If the athlete chooses to attend the non-school event, in this case the softball game, the consequence MUST be enforced. It is a 3-week or 4 game/event suspension (whichever is greater). A second such offense will result in the student losing eligibility for the remainder of the school year.
Q - So I can’t play other sports?
A - You can, but you have to make sure that the school team comes first. This can be difficult when we have rescheduled games or if the other sport you are playing has playoffs where you don’t know what the days are ahead of time. Feel free to play if you like, but the school team must come first and we have no choice but to enforce this NHIAA rule.
Q - What if this is a once-in-a-lifetime event that I need for college?
A - If this truly is a “once-in-a-lifetime” event, you may ask the principal, in writing, to allow you to miss a school event for another sport. The principal has the ability to waive this rule BUT; It must clearly be a “once-in-a-lifetime” event, and it will only be allowed once during your high school career.