New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association
Encyclopedia
The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) is the governing body for sports competitions among all public and some private high schools in New Hampshire
. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations
.
Schools are reclassified every two years. The classification thresholds are periodically adjusted so as to result in an approximately equal number of teams in each class. Schools may petition the NHIAA to play in a class higher than that in which they would otherwise be placed.
For some sports (e.g. football
or ice hockey
), competition is not organized based on school class, but based on divisions established by the NHIAA committee governing the individual sport.
Classifications for 2006-2008 are as follows (an asterisk indicates a school that has petitioned up to a higher class):
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations
National Federation of State High School Associations
The National Federation of State High School Associations is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. Most high schools, whether public or private, belong to their state's high school association; in turn, each state association...
.
Classifications
Schools competing under the NHIAA are grouped into four classes:- Class S: up to 350 students
- Class M: 351-670 students
- Class I: 671-1200 students
- Class L: over 1200 students
Schools are reclassified every two years. The classification thresholds are periodically adjusted so as to result in an approximately equal number of teams in each class. Schools may petition the NHIAA to play in a class higher than that in which they would otherwise be placed.
For some sports (e.g. football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
or ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
), competition is not organized based on school class, but based on divisions established by the NHIAA committee governing the individual sport.
Classifications for 2006-2008 are as follows (an asterisk indicates a school that has petitioned up to a higher class):
Class L
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Class I
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Class M
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Class S
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Fall Season
| Sport | Divisions |
|---|---|
| Cross Country Cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road... |
Three dividions (I, II, III) |
| Field Hockey Field hockey Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks... |
Three classes (L, I, M/S) |
| Football NHIAA Football The NHIAA is the governing body for competitions among all public and some private high schools in the state of New Hampshire... |
Divisions I through VI |
| Golf Golf Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes.... |
Boys: three classes (L, I, M/S); Girls: one class |
| Soccer | Four classes (L, I, M, S) |
| Spirit Cheerleading Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate... |
Two classes (L, I/M/S) |
| Volleyball Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive... |
Girls: divisions I through III; Boys: one class |
Winter Season
| Sport | Divisions |
|---|---|
| Basketball Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules... |
Four classes (L, I, M, S) |
| Gymnastics Gymnastics Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body... |
One class |
| Ice Hockey Ice hockey Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take... |
Divisions I through III |
| Indoor Track | Two divisions (I, II) |
| Skiing (Alpine Alpine skiing Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four... and Nordic Nordic skiing Nordic skiing is a winter sport that encompasses all types of skiing where the heel of the boot cannot be fixed to the ski, as opposed to Alpine skiing.... ) |
Divisions I through IV |
| Spirit Cheerleading Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate... |
Girls: four classes (L, I, M, S); Coed: one class |
| Swimming Swimming (sport) Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native... and Diving Diving Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one... |
One class |
| Wrestling Scholastic wrestling Scholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially Collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is currently... |
Divisions I and II |
| Bowling Bowling Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule... |
Co-ed: one class |
Spring Season
| Sport | Divisions |
|---|---|
| Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond... |
Four classes (L, I, M, S) |
| Lacrosse Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh... |
Divisions I through III |
| Softball Softball Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand... |
Four classes (L, I, M, S) |
| Tennis Tennis Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all... |
Three classes (L, I, M/S) |
| Track and Field | Three classes (L, I, M/S) |