Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA)

A. Physical Examination Requirement No student shall be eligible to compete in any HHSAA athletic activities unless the student has an annual physician’s certif icate stating that he/she is physically able to compete in interscholastic athletic competition.

A. Schedules All member leagues shall adhere to all seedi ng deadlines established by the HHSAA Executive Director. B. HHSAA Start Date Policy 4. It is recommended that t he start date for each sport will be a maximum of thirteen (13) weeks prior to the state tournament week (with the exception of wrestling, which may be fourteen (14) ). The star t date policy will apply to all sports in which the HHSAA conducts state championships. Prior to the try -out date, practices cannot be mandatory and team selections cannot be made. 5. The Start Date Policy may be amended by the HHSAA Executive Director at his/her discretion . 6. Coach -Player Contact Restrictions Student -athletes of team sports have no outside participation restrictions except for league rules/by -laws that govern in -season (Green shaded area of the chart) outsi de participation restrictions. The following restrictions apply to all Varsity and Junior Varsity programs: In-season – (Green area) 7 Out of season Conditioning and Weight Training – (White area). Restrictions to be determined by each league. The program shall have a coach or other authorized personnel in supervision. Prior to the start dates, activities cannot be mandated and team selections cannot be made. Member schools bear the responsibility of monitoring facilities and making the determination if adult supervision is adequate for off -season conditioning. Summer Activities - (Yellow Area) No restrictions during this period. No C ontact/Dead period – (Red Area). The no contact/dead period is defined as a specified time span of non- instructional/non -developmental sport specific activity. For the winter and spring sport seasons, the no contact/dead periods coincide with the weeks just prior to the start dates for fall and winter sports, in part to allow student- athletes to try out for other sports in other seasons. Football Spring Practice . To be determined by each league. Exemptions to this policy. Requests for exemptions to this policy must be approved by the member school’s league first. If approved by the league, the league shall then make a request in writing to the HHSAA Executive Director for HHSAA approval . 7. Penalty for Violations If a violation occurs, the Athletic Director shall confirm the violation, notify the coach(es), and inform the league Executive Director in writing. The league Executive Director shall forward the report to the HHSAA office. The HHSAA office shall by written notification penalize the coach(es) as follows: the coach(es) shall be immediately suspended for the same amount of days the start date period was violated; if the season ends before the penalty can be fulfilled, it will carry over to playoffs, the sta te tournament, and/or the next season; game days are included in the penalty. (For example, if a coach holds 4 practices during the dead period, and it was discovered midway through the season, the coach would immediately be suspended for 4 days. If there was a game during that time, he/she would be suspended for that game as well.) If a second violation should occur, the coach will be suspended as stated above for an entire season and the school will be subject to any and all penalties as outlined in Section 6(F) . A coach is defined as any person on the staff, inclusive of volunteer coaches. C. Interstate and International Contests 1. All interstate and international high school athletic contests held during the school year shall be conducted by high sc hool authorities. Contests held out of school season shall be approve d by the HHSAA. Exceptions to this rule shall be granted by HHSAA. 2. All high school athletes shall compete unde r the rules and regulations adopted by the HHSAA. 3. Sanctioning interstate and international contest. 8 a. Member schools will be responsible to make all arrangements. b. When applicable m ember schools are responsible to make sure schools from other states and/or countries are members of and in good standing or thei r respective associations. c. Member schools are responsible to complete the necessary sanctioning form when applicable. See https://hhsaa.org/resources/sanctioning for more information. E. Inter -league play All inter -league athletic contests shall be sanctioned by the HHSAA. All such contests shall be subject to these Administrative Regulations. F. Awards 1. A member school or individual player may not accept an award directly from an outside person or organization wit hout the approval of their league and the HHSAA. Any member school or individual player found guilty of accepting monetary awards shall be ineligible from further competition until reinstated by the HHSAA. Member schools and individual players may accept awards of m inimal intrinsic value for participation in HHSAA sanctioned school or non- school competition. 2. Member schools or individual players may not accept cash awards for any interscholastic competition sponsored and/or approved by the HHSAA.

A. Responsibility of the Member School It shall be the duty and responsibility of the member school to determine that students have met and maintained all eligibility requirements. B. Payments of Dues 1. All dues as authorized by the HHSAA are payable on or before the first of October of each year. Notice of payment of dues shall be sent to each leagu e or school in September of each year . 2. A school shall not be eligible to participate in any state tournament until annual dues have been paid. C. Supervision Requirement No memb er school or individual student may participate in any HHSAA approved activity unless under the direct supervision of a school authorized coach or designee.

6 A. Determining HHSAA Champions Any sport being considered for a state championship event must be sponsored by at least three leagues. HHSAA championship competitions should include representatives from each league that sponsors t hat sport. B. Control of Tournaments All tournaments shall be followed as spec ified in the HHSAA Handbook. HHSAA sanction forms are not required for any contests solely involving member schools at their respective facilities. HHSAA sanction forms are required for all other athletic contests. 1. The athletic directors’ assembly shall approve or disapprove new sport. 2. If approved, the athletic directors’ assembly shall recommend the new sport to the Executive Board for approval. The Executive Board may approve the new sport without the approval of the athletic directors’ assembly i n the event at least three leagues sanction the sport following the athletic directors’ assembly and prior to the sport season. 3. If approved by the Executive Board, the HHSAA shall implemen t the new sport as a State Tournament.

The HHSAA Administrative Regulations may be amended at any meeting of the Execu tive Board which has met the quorum requirements as stated in the HHSAA By -Laws. Action on amendments shall require a majority of the member schools. Each Executive Board member shall have the number of votes equal to the number of member schools in the league he or she represents. The effective date of the amendment(s) shall be established by the Executive Board.

A. Duty to Report I neligibility It shall be the responsibility of the principal/headmaster or coach who has knowledge or information which places in que stion the eligibility of any student -athlete who is likely to participate in any contest, to report such knowledge or information immediately to the pr incipal of the participant’s school. Failure to do so shall be an indication of bad faith and the school officials, by their failure to report suc h knowledge or information immediately, shall forfeit the right to protest the result of the contest(s) in which the ineligible contestant participated . B. Procedure for Protest Protests, or complaints alleging a violation of rules or policies must be submitted to HHSAA in writing. All protests concerning the outcome of a game or contest m ust be made and concluded by appropriate HHSAA officials and/or school officials prio r to the end of the protested game or contest. After a game or contest has been completed, prot est s regarding the outcome are not allowed. No protest shall be considered if the protest is based upon a judgment call of an official. The foregoing is not to be construed as prohibiting HHSAA from initiating action on a rule or policy violation. C. Particular Protests Protests involving sportsmanship, lack of c rowd control, inappropriate actions of players, spectators and/or coa ches may be submitted to the Executive Board, which may delegate the protest for decision by the sports protest committee. Protests must be submitted in writing by the 9 school, with approval by the principal and athletic director, as well as by the League in which the school participates. D. Withdrawal of a Team No member school may withdraw its represe ntatives from a n HHSAA activity prior to the termination of the activity, except by mutual consent of the responsible school representatives from t he participating schools or the Executive Director. E. Authority of HHSAA HHSAA upon having knowledge of an in fraction and/or misinterpretation of a rule or policy may initiate action. F. Penalties In assessing penalties, HHSAA may consider an y of the following: 1. Reprimand : An official letter to the member school or individual coach regarding the offense committed and warning against acts of a detrimental nature which are contrary to t he aims and philosophies of the HHSAA. 2. Probation : An official letter to the member school or individual coach regarding the offense committed clearly stating what the conduct, activity or behavior needs correcting. Offen ding school s or individuals would be advised that their continued parti cipation in the HHSAA would be on a probationary status for period of one year. In additi on, the offending member school or individual would be warned that any failure to correct these specified problems may resu lt in more severe action by HHSAA, including, but not limited to restriction , suspension or combination thereof. 3. Restriction : Action which would restrict par ticipation from state level activities. The restriction may be applied to a member school, team or individual. 4. Suspension : The effect of a suspension shall be to temporarily discontinue the member school from HHSAA membership and prohibit participation in any or all HHSAA sponsored activities. The length of the suspension would be set by the Executive Board. 5. Costs : HHSAA may assess against a member school all or part of the costs of litigation, including attorney ’s fees, if HHSAA is required to defend itself because of the fa ilure of a member school to adhere to HHSAA’s By -Laws or Administrative Regulations. G. Appeal Process All penalties or sanctions imposed by HHSAA may be appealed to the Executive Board. Penalties or sanctio ns arising because of a violation amongst public schools , may be addressed per any applicable Hawaii Department of Education Regulation .

A. List of Championship Sports The HHSAA will conduct championships in the following sports: air riflery, baseball, basketball, bowling, canoe paddling, cheerleading, cross country, flag football, football, golf, judo, soccer, softball, surfing, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field , volleyball, water polo and wrestling. 10 B. Official Rule Books The HHSAA shall follow the rules establishe d by the National Federation of State High School Association for all team sports. The HHSAA may grant an exception to the National Federation rules.

A. A student is eligible to participate in a given sport provided that for fall sports the student is enrolled at the school within fifteen (15) days after the first day of the school or for winter/spring sports the student is enrolled prior to the HHSAA star t date 1 ; and one of the following: (1) the student is enrolled at his/her home public school ; (2) the student is re -enrolled at the first private school where he/she participated in any sport 2 ; or (3) the student did not participate in that same sport at another member school during the previous and/or current school year . 1 Fifteen days after the first day of school means that students have a window of fifteen calendar days from the first day of the school year to enroll and still be eligible to participate in f all sports. For example, if the first day of school is on September 1st, students must be enrolled by September 16th to meet the eligibility requirement. This enrollment deadline does not apply to students enrolling from out -of-state or inter -island who have a valid change of residence as defined in (L)(2)(b) and Sections B -N are met. Inter -island students are immediately eligible to participate in any given sport provided they are not attending a public school on a geographic exception. Out -of- state students are immediately eligible to participate in any given sport provided they are not attending a public school on a geographic exception, or they did not participate in that same sport at another member school during the previous and/or current school year. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to be eligible to participate in the state tournament, a student -athlete needs to be enrolled in a member school for 21 days prior to the first state tournament contest of that sport. 2 The student must have previously attended this private school and participated in a sport at that school during 9 th grade or later . E.g. student attends private school in 9 th grade and participates in a sport. If that student transfers to another school in 10 th grade and plays a sport (s) , he/she would be allowed to return to the same private school in 11 th grade and play that same sport (s) . However, if the student transfers to a different private school from the one he/she attended in 9 th grade, he/she would not be eligible to play the same sport (s) the following school year. Furthermore, if the student participated in fall sport at the current school prior to transferring back to the first private school he/she would be deemed ineligible for participation in that sport for that year. 2 1. Students boarding on location at a public school with a boarding program shall be deemed to be attending a private school on the island. 2. Students residing in an open school district or open geographic area shall have established their home public school with their initial enrollment. 3. The use of undue influence by any person to secure the transfer of a student to a member school for the purpose of participation in HHSAA activities shall cause th e student to be ineligible for HHSAA activities for the period of one year and may result in other penalties for the member school. B. Students of public charter schools which offer a particular HHSAA sport shall be allowed to participate in the HHSAA state tournament of such sport, as long as the public charter school is in good standing with the HHSAA. Also, students of public charter schools that do not offer a particular HHSAA sport shall be allowed to participate in the HHSAA state tournament of such sport with the school in the service area in which the student resides, as long as the public charter school is in good standing with the HHSAA. C. Stu dents of Anuenue School, Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind, and Ke Kula `O Ehunuikaimalino shall be allowed to participate in HHSAA state tournaments with the school that they participate with in their league activities. D. PAC -5 teams are eligible to participate in the following HHSAA state tournaments: baseball, canoe paddling, cheerleading, flag football, football, soccer , softball, and girls water polo . E. All students participating in HHSAA tournaments must have a minimum 2.0 grade point average (GPA) as well as passing courses required for graduation. F. No student shall be eligible to participate in HHSAA activities who have reached nineteen years of age prior to the first day of August of the school year in which such participation is intended. G. No student shall participate in HHSAA activities in more than four seasons in any one activity and not more than three seasons in one a ctivity after entering the 10 th grade. H. No student shall be eligible after the expiration of eight consecutive semesters following his or her entrance into the 9 th grade . I. A student must be an amateur to be eligible to participate in a given sport . A student has forfeited his/ her right to compete as an amateur in a given sport and has therefore become ineligible for further high school competition in th at same sport by any of the following actions: 1. A student may compete in a sport activity with cash prizes if they declare amateur status in advance and ensure any winnings are held in trust until after their high school eligibility ends. 2. Having accepted an award in that sport, which he or she has converted into cash. 3. Having signed a professional athletic contract in that sport. 4. Having entered into a name image likeness contract related to that sport. Should t he student lose their amateur status in a sport, he/she will remain eligible to participate in any other sport where the student retains his or her amateur status. 3 J. No student shall be eligible to represent his/her school in interscholastic competition who has ever participated on the team of an institution higher than that of high school. K. No student shall compete in any high school activity who is a graduate of a high school . A senior student who is eligible in the spring season continues to be eligible for all spring activities even though graduation exercises may precede the completion of those activities. L. Definitions 1. Enrollment . For public schools where acceptance of a student is mandatory, enrollment and the effective date of enrollment shall mean the date that all necessary application and/or registration documents have been completed and submitted to the public school, including “Geographic Exception” documentation where applicable, and the public school is required by law to accept the student. For private schools where acceptance is discretionary, enrollment and the effective date of enrollment shall be the date that the private school approves and accepts t he application and/or registration documents. A private school may impose additional conditions for official enrollment (such as payment of tuition or actual attendance). 2. Home Public School and Residency. The public school located in the geographic district where the student has residency. a. A student’s residence is the place where a student regularly resides with his/her par ent(s) or legal guardian(s), regularly eats and sleeps, and declares as his/her true, fixed, and permanent home. Evidence of residency for the student and/or his/her parent(s) or legal guardian(s) may include, but is not limited to: a sworn statement or declaration of residency by the student and his/her parent(s) or legal guardian(s); a deed, Agreement of Sale, or other similar documentation of ownership recorded in the Bureau of Conveyances of the State of Hawaii; verified documentation from an Escrow or Title Insurance company licensed in the State of Hawaii; a Rental Agreement and/or rent receipt from a landlord; a statement or declaration from the landlord; Real Property Tax Office records; voter registration records; ecclesiastical membership records; and vehicle registration records. A student shall have only one residence. b. A student may change his/her residence, but evidence of such change must be provided. In addition to evidence to establish the new residence as set forth above, the student and/or his parent(s) or legal guardian(s) must provide evidence that the prior residence has been vacated or abandoned. That is, the prior residence was sold or otherwise legally conveyed to person(s) other than the parent(s) or legal guardian(s); the prior residence has been rented to third person(s) under a long- term, bona fide Rental Agreement; and/or all of the personal property of the student and his/her parent(s) or legal guardian(s) have been moved to the new residence. The prior residence must not be used as a residence by the student or any of his/her parent(s), legal guardian(s), or any relative under such circumstances in which it could be reasonably inferred that the change of residence was a sham. 3 c. In the event of a divorce or legal separation of the parents of a student, the residence of the student shall be the residence of the custodial parent, or the parent who is awarded 3 Students participating in a boarding program at a private or public school shall be determined to have a valid change of residence. 4 primary custody under the Decree of Divorce or Decree of Legal Separation. In the event of joint custody where neither parent is named as the custodial or primary custodial parent, the residence of the student shall be the residence of the family residence if either parent continues to reside at the family residence. If neither parent has custody or primary custody, and neither parent resides in the former family residence, but if one of the parents resides in the geographic area or school district of the home public school, then such residence shall be deemed to be th e residence of the student. If none of the foregoing is applicable, then the residence of the student for purposes of this rule shall be the residence of the parent designated in writing and signed by both parents and the student, and such designated parent shall not be changed without a Court Order or Decree. If none of the foregoing is applicable, then the residence issue shall be appealed to and determined in the sound and reasonable discretion of the League’s Executive Board, subject to appeal to the HHSAA Executive Board. d. Residency and/or any change or residence will be determined by the Principal, Athletic Director and/or Registrar at the school where the student is enrolled. The school shall retain a record or file of the evidence of residency for six (6) months after the student is no longer a student at the school (e.g. student graduates, drops out, transfers to another school, etc.) or if the residency of the student is under appeal, whichever is later. e. Any determination of residency shall be subject to appeal by any other school to the League’s Executive Board, and subject to further appeal to the HHSAA Executive Board. 3. Legal Guardianship . Legal guardianship shall mean and refer to a bona fide legal guardian duly appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction in the best interests of the student. The student and/or the legal guardian(s) must provide a court -certified copy of an Order or Decree of guardianship. If the legal guardianship was established by a non- Hawaii Court, the student and/or legal guardian(s) must provide additional evidence, including but not necessarily limited, to powers conferred upon the legal guardian(s), terms of guardianship, if any, an d whether the legal guardian(s) was appointed due to death, incompetence, or unsuitability of the parents. Should it appear that a legal guardian has been appointed or established for the purpose of circumventing rule, the legal guardianship may be ignored , and the student shall be considered as if no legal guardianship exists. A change of legal guardianship will require an appeal. a. A “ward of the court” shall refer to a student who is subject to or under the protection and custody of a court of competent jurisdiction, either directly or through a guardian duly appointed by the court. The student shall be deemed to be a resident of his or her duly appointed guardian, or as otherwise ordered by the court. The student and/or the duly appointed legal guardian shall provide a court -certified copy of an Order or Decree of the court naming the guardian and/or the student’s new place of residence. 4. Participates . A student participates in a sport if the student is enrolled at the school and: a. The student has attended organized practices at the school or with the school’s varsity and/ or junior varsity teams for seven (7) or more days; b. The student has played, entered, or otherwise competed in any games, contests, or events, including pre -season, varsity, and junior varsity events between league and non- league 5 schools and any other schools from other states (not including intramural events) (“athletic event”); c. The student has dressed in the uniform for and as part of the school’s team at an athletic event, whether or not the student actually competed in, played in, or entered the athletic event; OR d. The student is on the most current Eligibility List filed with the League Executive Director. M. If any false, incorrect, or misleading information is submitted or provided concerning a student’s residence, the student shall not be eligible to compete in any athletic events for twelve (12) months from the date of discovery, and the school(s) shall for feit any athletic event in which such student participated . N. This rule shall be subject to the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act (“NCLB”) and the McKinney -Vento Homeless Assistance Act (“MVHA”). If there is any inconsistency between this rule and the NCLB and/or MVHA Acts, the provisions of the NCLB and/or MVHA Acts will apply. O. Special cases to participate in HHSAA sanctioned interleague contests, and/or state tournaments may be appealed to the HHSAA Executive Board. Each appeal must be submitted in writing and include a Waiver of Confidentiality where the student and his parent(s) or guardian(s) waive any confidentiality or privacy rights pertaining to all school records at all schools. Each appeal must be approved by the Principal and Athletic Director of the school where the student is currently enroll ed. Furthermore, the League in which the student participated must approve each appeal. No appeals asking for pre -approvals or conditional approvals will be considered by the Executive Board. The appeal shall be submitted in writing at least 21 days prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting of the HHSAA Executive Board. If an appeal is not made 21 days prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting, the HHSAA Board may decide the matter via Special Meeting by E -Mail or other similar means pursuant to Sections 6.2, 6.3, and 6.5 of the By- Laws. 1. During the appeal period, the student shall not be allowed to participate in the sport(s) for which he/she is seeking to be allowed to participate pursuant to this Rule. 2. The decision rendered by the HHSAA Executive Board will be final. P. No Third -Party Beneficiaries. Nothing in these Administrative Regulations shall constitute or be deemed to constitute an agreement with, or guarantee of particular treatment of, any student or his or her family. No student, family or person other than the member schools of the HHSAA are intended to be beneficiaries of the Administrative Regulations.