2014-2015 Eligibility Summary, Rules &
Regulations
HONOR YOURSELF
 HONOR YOUR TEAM
 HONOR YOUR COMMUNITY

MAKE GOOD
SPORTSMANSHIP A HABIT!
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Student may not participate if he/she
becomes 19 years of age on or before
August 31, 2014.
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Attendance requirements are set by the LEA
and the 85% rule is no longer an NCHSAA
requirement.
Excused and unexcused absences are the
determination of the LEA.
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Attendance is regulated by local LEA policy
in terms of length of day required to be
counted in attendance.
Local attendance policy may be more
stringent in terms of counting/earning
credit for courses.
Must pass a minimum load of course work the
previous semester to be eligible at any time
during the semester. Any student, including
seniors, must also pass the minimum load
even if they need fewer courses for
graduation.
All students must also meet local promotion
standards, set by the L.E.A. and/or local
school.
Courses must be approved for credit, (i.e.,
audited courses would not count).
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Minimum load is defined as five (5) courses
in the traditional school schedule.
Minimum load is defined as three (3)
courses on the “block” schedule. This
applies to all student athletes, including
seniors.
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If the school is on an A/B form of “block”
scheduling, a student must pass six (6) of
eight (8) courses during what would
traditionally be defined as a semester.
No work previously passed by a student
may be submitted as part of a minimum
load.
A detailed example of the NCHSAA
Academic Requirements, inclusive of
HYBRID formats, can be found in the
NCHSAA Handbook.
Local units may be more restrictive, but
not less restrictive, in regards to the
academic requirements of the
NCHSAA.
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Summer school work used to make up part
of the minimum load must be applied to the
most recent semester.
Credit for summer school work is the
determination of the local unit.
A student not eligible at the beginning of the
semester is not eligible at any time during
the semester.
Exception: a student who receives an
incomplete or is awaiting a final grade due
to EOC re-testing or any other state
mandated testing, which causes him/her to
fail to meet minimum scholastic
requirements is ineligible until the course is
satisfactorily completed. Eligibility is
restored immediately.
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Student must be a regularly enrolled
member of the school’s student body.
Student must participate at the school to
which he/she is assigned by the local board
of education.
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School assignment is based on the
residence of the parent or legal custodian
(court ordered custody, not guardian)
within the administrative unit.
Student must live with the parents or legal
custodian.
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A “legal custodian” is a person or agency
awarded legal, court-ordered custody of a
child.
A student may not have two residences for
eligibility purposes.
In order for a change of residence to be bona fide at
least the following facts must exist:
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The original residence must be abandoned as a
residence; that is sold, rented or disposed of as a
residence and must not be used as residence by
any member of the family.
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The entire family must make the change and take
with them the household goods and furniture
appropriate to the circumstances.
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The change must be made with intent that the
move is permanent.
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A student transferring from a member
school to another member school
within the same local education
agency (LEA) must sit out 365 days for
athletic participation. The LEA may
create criteria for immediate athletic
eligibility for transfers within the LEA.
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A student transferring from a member
school in one LEA to another member
school in another LEA (without a bona fide
change of residence) must sit out 365 days
for athletic participation.
Exceptions for immediate athletic eligibility
for transfers from one LEA to a different
LEA will be heard by a special NCHSAA
Transfer Committee.
A
student is eligible at any school
upon initial entry into the ninth
grade. After initial entry into the
ninth grade, transfer and
boundary criteria shall apply as
follows:
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1. Student shall live in the county where
non-traditional school is located, or student
will live within a 25-mile radius of the nontraditional school as measured by NCHSAA
designated computer program.
2. Student is a member of a parochial
church and submits authorized pastor
verification form.
No student may participate at a second
school in the same sport season except in
the event of a bona fide change of
residence of the parent(s) or legal
custodian. Change of schools must be
contemporaneous with change of residence.
A student is eligible at their assigned
school if he/she attended school within that
administrative unit the previous two (2)
semesters, provided it meets LEA policy.
Falsification of information in terms of
eligibility will result in the student athlete(s)
being declared ineligible for a period of 365
days from the point of notification to the
NCHSAA.
Student athlete will be prohibited from
involvement in all athletic-related activity
for the 180-day school year and any schoolsponsored activity(s) during the summer.
Student must receive a medical examination
once every 365 days by a duly licensed
physician, nurse practitioner, or physicians
assistant.
Students absent from athletic practice for five
(5) or more days due to illness or injury
shall receive a medical release by a
physician licensed to practice medicine
before re-admittance to practice or
contests.
No student may be eligible to
participate at the high school level for
a period lasting longer than eight (8)
consecutive semesters, beginning with
the student’s first entry into ninth
grade or an over-aged seventh or
eight grade student’s participation on
a high school team, whichever occurs
first.
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No student may participate at the high
school level for more than four (4) seasons
in a sport (one season per year, i.e., A
student could not play fall women’s soccer
in one state and then play NCHSAA
women’s soccer in the spring).
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A student must not be convicted of a felony
in this or any other state, or be adjudicated
as a delinquent for an offense that would be
a felony if committed by an adult in this or
any other state.
A student may not play, practice or be on the
roster if ineligible.
This does not apply to summer workouts, but the
student should be enrolled in your
school…students must have a valid physical to be
involved in summer workouts.
Managers, statisticians, etc. do not have to meet
NCHSAA eligibility standards.
There shall be no Sunday practice in any sport.
This includes the assembling of athletic squads
(full teams or selected individuals) for purposes
of viewing films, chalk talks, or other materials
pertaining to the coaching of the team.
A student may not dress for a game or
scrimmage when he/she is not eligible to
participate in the game.
If serving an “ejection”, student may be in the
bench area but may not be in uniform.
If ejected, coach may not be on the premises
during the contest and is not allowed to
communicate with the coaches/team during
the contest.
To maintain amateur status, a student must
not accept money or awards having
utilitarian value (golf balls, clubs, tennis
rackets, etc.) for participation in athletics.
A student may accept an award (gift
certificate/food coupon), each sport
season, that does not exceed a value of
$20.00.
A student must not have signed a
professional contract or played on a junior
college /community college team.
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Each coach must sign off on the eligibility
summary form that is signed by the principal
and/or athletics director.
Master Eligibility sheets are to be shared with
each member school of your conference for
each sport program.
A mandatory parent/guardian meeting must
be held to have the parent sign the parental
permission form to acknowledge eligibility
and sportsmanship policies/expectations
have been reviewed.
All non-faculty (non-teaching certified personnel) and all newly
hired coaches (new to your LEA) must complete the NFHS
“FUNDAMENTALS OF COACHING” certification prior to the first
date of competition. This is for head coaches and assistant
coaches. $500 fine for non-compliance.
Course is an online offering through the National Federation
(NFHS). To access and complete the course, go to
nfhslearn.com . Cost of course is $35 and is a one-time
completion requirement to be nationally certified.
NCHSAA Board of Directors has mandated 100% of coaching
staff(s) complete the NFHS “FUNDAMENTALS OF COACHING”
course by August 1, 2015. $500 per-game fine for noncompliance.
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Head Coaches must attend an NCHSAA State
Rules Clinic (either the NCCA Coaches Clinic
in Greensboro or a regional State Rules Clinic
conducted by the NCHSAA) prior to coaching
in the first contest of the season.
$400 fine if coaches do not attend.
$500 fine per game for non-compliance.
UNPAID FINES – Schools that have unpaid
fines to the NCHSAA are not eligible to
compete in the playoffs for that sport (i.e.
baseball fine would be specific to baseball
playoffs) unless the fine is paid two (2) days
prior to the playoff reporting date for that
sport.
Any fine not paid at the end of the fiscal year
(June 30) will carry over to the following
school year making all teams at said school
ineligible for playoffs until the fine is paid
in full.
 Schools
must pay their catastrophic insurance
fees by October 1. Non-payment of fees by
the deadline makes all teams at that school
ineligible for NCHSAA Playoffs.
 Schools
must pay their membership dues by
November 1. Non-payment of fees by the
deadline makes all teams at that school
ineligible for NCHSAA Playoffs beginning with
winter sports.
Tobacco Products, Alcoholic Beverages and
Controlled Substances at Game Site:
“Participants, coaches, and other team
representatives and game officials,
including chain crew, official scorers and
timers, should not use any tobacco product,
alcoholic beverage or controlled substance
at a game site; violation of the policy will be
ejection from the contest.”
Any head coach who has a student-athlete
ejected for fighting, must take the NFHS
“Teaching & Modeling Behavior” course before
returning to coaching.
Cost of the program is $20.00. Fax copy of
certificate to Mark Dreibelbis @919/240-7396.
FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN FORFEITURE
AND A $500.00 FINE.
This is in addition to the EJECTION POLICY criteria sanctions as stated
in the NCHSAA Handbook.
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Any coach who is ejected from a contest must
take the NFHS “Teaching & Modeling Behavior”
course ($20 fee) before returning to coaching in
addition to serving the game sanctions for the
ejection.
Any student who is disqualified or ejected from a
contest must take the NFHS “Sportsmanship”
course (we no longer utilize the STAR
Sportsmanship program) before returning to play.
There is no fee for this course.
Fax a copy of the NFHS SPORTSMANSHIP
CERTIFICATE to Mark Dreibelbis @ 919/2407396.
FLAGRANT CONTACT added as a provision to the ejection
policy.
Flagrant contact includes, but is not limited to combative acts
such as:
 Maliciously running over the catcher/fielder without attempt to avoid contact
 Excessive contact out-of-bounds or away from playing action that is unwarranted and
extreme in nature
 Tackling/taking down a player dangerously in a malicious manner
 Illegally hitting or cross-checking an opponent in an excessive manner with the Lacrosse
stick (crosse)
Flagrant Contact carries same penalty as all other NCHSAA
Ejection Policy criteria – 1 game in football and 2 games in all
other sports.
When the combative act causes an opponent to retaliate, it is a
fight and carries a double penalty.
Un-sanctioned Sports/Activities
 Schools may sponsor teams in sports not sanctioned
by the NCHSAA (e.g. gymnastics, weightlifting,
women’s field hockey, men’s volleyball).
 Even though such sports are not sanctioned by the
NCHSAA, member schools should work, wherever
possible, to adhere to the ideals and guidelines
established by the NCHSAA for their member
schools in sports which they do sanction. The need
to promote sportsmanship, to protect instructional
time, or the physiological and emotional needs of
maturing teens should not disappear simply because
it is not a sport sanctioned by the NCHSAA.
An online coach education course – “Concussion in
Sports – What You Need to Know “ is now
available from the National Federation of State
High School Association (NFHS) at
www.nfhslearn.com. This course is required (or
more comprehensive concussion program) of all
coaches prior to the start of their sports season!
It is a free course.
$500 fine per-game for non-compliance.
The course provides a guide to understanding,
recognizing, and properly managing concussion
in high school sports. The course is FREE, but
you must register at www.nfhslearn.com.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has
endorsed the course and has provided many
useful resources.
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A concussion is a traumatic injury to the
brain and presents a wide variety of signs
and symptoms
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Headache
Confusion
Amnesia (not remembering events before or after the injury)
Vision changes
Loss of consciousness
Dizziness
Irritability/emotional changes (inappropriate or atypical crying, laughing, etc)
Nausea/vomiting
Fatigue/feeling sluggish/slow/’foggy’
Having “bell rung’
Excessive fatigue/drowsiness
ANY sign/symptom after a blow to the head
is a concussion until proven otherwise
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A high school athlete should NEVER return to play on
the day they suffer a concussion
◦ Returning an athlete to play before complete
resolution of symptoms can lead to recurrent
concussion, prolonged post-concussion
symptoms, OR even ‘Second Impact Syndrome’
(which is often fatal)
An athlete with suspected concussion cannot return
to play until he/she is cleared by a licensed medical
physician
◦ Managing concussions is difficult even for welltrained and experienced medical providers.
Coaches, you do not want this responsibility (or
liability).
THIS IS NOW A STATE LAW!
Take home point: At the end of the day, it’s
not an athlete’s knee, ankle, or elbow… it’s
his or her brain and you cannot get this one
wrong.
 “WHEN
IN DOUBT, SIT THEM OUT.”
Cervical spine injuries are typically caused by
contact with a forward flexed neck
 ‘spearing’ position
Any numbness/tingling in BOTH arms is
suspicious for a cervical spine injury
 a ‘stinger’ never causes burning in both arms
Take Home Point: Any suspected cervical
spine injury should be immobilized and
evaluated by medical personnel
 Sudden
cardiac death occurs in young
athletes for a variety of reasons:
 Most are due to genetic abnormalities of heart
rhythms or heart anatomy
 Drugs can trigger cardiac arrest (cocaine,
stimulants, anabolic steroids, and ephedrine are
common culprits)
 Heat stroke can lead to cardiac arrest
 Viral illnesses can cause ‘myocarditis’ (infection
of the heart muscle) which can cause sudden
cardiac arrest
 Sickle cell trait makes athletes more likely to have
sudden cardiac arrest (more common in AfricanAmericans)
There are red flags which can tip us off to
undiagnosed heart problems
 Chest pain with exertion
 Passing out/fainting from exertion – this is
not normal or due to being ‘out of shape’
 Family history of a sudden cardiac death or
unexplained death before age 50
Take home point: Any athlete who passes
out or has chest pain with exertion needs a
medical evaluation
 Asthma
attacks remain a leading cause of
death among young people
 Be aware of common asthma triggers:
 Respiratory infections
 Both extreme heat/humidity and cold/dry
 Pollen & other allergens
Take home point: Know who your asthmatic
athletes are & make sure they have accessible
inhalers
Death from heat illness is preventable
Hydration is only one part of the solution
Know who is at increased risk
Obese, out of shape athletes
Athletes with fever or recent stomach or
respiratory infections
Athletes with sickle cell trait
Athletes with history of prior heat illness
Athletes on illicit drugs, ADD meds, or
supplements w/ stimulants
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Prevention is key
Be aware of heat index (see handbook)
◦ General Rule for high risk
 70 to 80 F with high humidity (> 70%)
 80 to 90 F with moderate humidity
 90 F with low humidity (< 30%)
Practice at cooler times when feasible
(mornings, evenings)
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Allow athletes/teams to acclimate and
become accustomed to heat over time
Allow regular breaks for cooling and
hydration
Monitor body weight pre/post practice
Recognize early and initiate cooling
immediately
◦ confusion, collapse, nausea/vomiting
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Skin infections are common in contact
sports
Most skin infections are relatively minor and
self-limited
Resistant staph infections (MRSA) have
become quite common and can be severe
Skin infections are spread by skin-to-skin
contact, sharing pads/equipment/work-out
gear, dirty equipment
Any boil or abscess needs medical
evaluation
Take home point: the vast majority of skin
infections can be prevented by good hygiene
 Shower right after every practice & game
 Do not share equipment, pads, work-out clothes,
towels, etc
 Wash hands frequently with soap/water or antibacterial towels/gels
 Wash equipment, mats, clothes, towels, etc
regularly
1. Can you play sports at one school while
enrolled and attending another school?
2. Do students have to have up-to-date
physicals to participate in summer workouts?
3. Can a student participate in 2 sports in
the same season (i.e. football and soccer)?
4. Are home-schoolers eligible to participate in
athletics at a NCHSAA member school?
5. Can open gym and skill development be held
on the same day?
6. What are the eight ejectionable criteria?
7. If I am a coach at a NCHSAA member school,
and also coach a select soccer, AAU basketball,
fall baseball team, etc, are there any restrictions
with working with my high school team
members outside the high school season?
8. What is the maximum number of days a
student can be absent from school and still
be eligible to participate in athletics?
9. What is the minimum number of courses a
student must pass at your school to be
eligible to participate in athletics?
10. What is the minimum number of courses
a student must take at your school to be
eligible to participate in athletics?
11. Are certified athletic trainers required to
attend practices and games? If so, which
sports? How many?
12. What is the age cut-off date (turning 19
years of age) for participation in athletics in
North Carolina?
13. Can you participate in the same sport for
two different schools during the same
season? If so, how?
14. What is the maximum monetary value of an
award, an athlete can receive and retain their
amateur status?
15. Are 8th-graders allowed to participate on
your high school team?
16. What is the NCHSAA minimum GPA?
17. If a senior only needs 3 classes his senior
year to graduate and takes 2 during the fall
semester, is he/she eligible to participate in
athletics during the spring semester?
18. How many days of mandatory summer
practice does an athlete have to participate
to be eligible for the upcoming season?
19. At which school would a student be
eligible, if the parents are separated and
they live part-time with each?
Answers will be sent to Athletic Directors for
discussion with all coaches