Student-Athlete Eligibility

1. Daily Requirements

   To be eligible to compete in daily athletic events (games, practices, meets, etc.) students must attend every class on his/her schedule on the day of the event. Failure to do so will result in being declared ineligible to participate in that day’s event.

   Students who are unprepared and do not change for Physical Education class will be ineligible for that day’s practices and/or games.

   Students who are not in class, but are properly accounted for, and on the school grounds, by means of a legal pass will be exempt from this policy. Students who need exemptions for other reasons not associated with school events (doctor’s appointment, legal appointments, etc.) must provide a note from a parent/guardian that serves to make the absence from school a legal one. Failure to do so will result in being declared ineligible for that day.

   If you participate in an athletic event and have not attended every class that day, you will be in violation of this policy, and subsequently suspended from the next two regularly scheduled contests.

2. Age and Grade

   A student shall be eligible for interscholastic competition in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 until his/her nineteenth birthday. If the age of nineteen is reached on or after July 1, the student may continue to participate during that school year in all sports.

   Note: Students may be eligible regardless of age or grade if they have been approved through the State Education Department’s Selection/Classification Program.

3. Amateur Status

   A student who represents a school in an interscholastic sport shall be an amateur in that sport. An amateur is one who engages in athletic competition solely for the pleasure of the activity and for the benefits derived from participation. An athlete forfeits amateur status in a sport by:

   1. Competing for money or other compensation (allowable travel, meals, and lodging expenses may be accepted).
   2. Receiving an award or prize of monetary value, which has not been approved by the NYSPHSAA (only awards/prizes having a monetary value of $100 or less will be approved).
   3. Capitalizing on athletic fame by receiving money or gifts of monetary value (scholarships to institutes of higher learning are specifically exempted).
   4. Signing a professional playing contract in that sport.

   Instructing, supervising, or officiating in any organized youth sports program, recreation, playground, or camp activities will not jeopardize amateur standing. Receiving compensation for officiating shall not affect amateur standing.

   A student who violates the above rule may apply to the league or to the designated body within that section for reinstatement one year from the date of the latest violation.

4. Assumed Name

   Participating under an assumed name in any athletic contest shall make the student/athlete ineligible in that sport for a period of one year from the date of the violation.

5. Bona-fide Student

   A contestant must be a bona fide student of the high school represented and must be taking at least four subjects including Physical Education. A foreign exchange student may be considered a bona fide student if all of these eligibility rules are satisfied. A student in an education program in two schools may represent only the home school.

6. Duration of Competition

   A pupil shall be eligible for senior high school athletic competition in a sport during each of four consecutive seasons of such sport (eight consecutive academic semesters) commencing with the pupil’s entry into the ninth grade and prior to graduation, except as otherwise specified by the Commissioner’s Regulations. A pupil enters competition in a given year when the pupil is a member of the team in the sport involved, and that team has completed at least one contest.

   The eligibility for competition of a pupil who has not attained the age of 19 years prior to July first may be extended under the following circumstances:

   1. If sufficient evidence is presented by the chief school officer to the section to show that the pupil’s failure to enter competition during one or more seasons of a sport was caused by illness, accident, or similar circumstances beyond the control of the student, such pupil’s eligibility shall be extended accordingly in that sport.

   If the chief school officer demonstrates to the satisfaction of the section that the pupil’s failure to enter competition during one or more seasons of a sport is caused by such pupil’s enrollment in a national or international student exchange program or foreign study program, that as a result of such enrollment the pupil will be required to attend school for one or more additional semesters in order to graduate, and that the pupil did not enter competition in any sport while enrolled in such program, such pupil’s eligibility shall be extended accordingly in such sport.