Washington Interscholastic Activities Association

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The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) is the governing body of athletics and activities for secondary education schools in the state of Washington. As of February 2011, the private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization consists of nearly 800 member high schools and middle/junior high schools, both public and private.^[1]

Purpose

Founded in 1905 to "create equitable playing conditions"^[1] between member teams, the WIAA plans and supervises interscholastic sports and activities approved and delegated by the various school district boards of directors. The organization emphasizes the importance of interscholastic sports and activities in the "total educational process"^[1] while recognizing that education is the primary responsibility of its member schools.

The WIAA creates and governs rules to establish uniformity of standards in sports and activities; to protect the safety and health of students; to shield students from exploitation by special interest groups; to provide fair and equal opportunities to all students participating; and to encourage good sportsmanship. A stated goal of the organization is to promote diversity of its membership at all levels.^[1]

The organization also provides member schools an open channel of communication with other members to organize any events and activities, as well as to resolve any issues. In addition, the WIAA recognizes achievement and excellence of member teams and individuals participating in sports and activities.

Funding

Primary funding for the WIAA is through ticket sales for state championships and other events.^[1] Additional funds are secured through corporate sponsorships, memberships fees, and small percentages of the sales of merchandise related to the organization and its member schools. As a private organization, the WIAA does not receive funding via tax dollars and is not financially supported by the State of Washington.

WIAA-sanctioned sports & activities

The WIAA oversees athletics and fine arts in Washington state. As of February 2011, the organization hosts 83 state championships^[1] for the following sports and activities:

Athletics

Baseball (boys) Basketball Bowling (girls) Cross Country Football (boys) Golf Gymnastics (girls)

Soccer Softball (girls) Swimming & Diving Tennis Track & Field Volleyball (girls) Wrestling

Other activities

• Cheerleading
• Dance & Drill Team
• Drama
• Forensics
• Debate & Student Congress
• Music
• 4H

Classification

The organization places member schools into one of six classification tiers based on enrollment ranges: 1B, 2B, 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A. Classification tiers are based on student body enrollment in grades 9–11 and used by the WIAA to maintain fair and equal competition between its member high schools. The enrollment ranges are evaluated by the WIAA Executive Board biennially and finalized for a two-year period. Enrollments of single-gender schools are doubled for classification purposes.^[2]

Current enrollment classifications (2020–2024)^[3]

Classification	Enrollment (gr. 9–11)	Member schools	Opted -up
4A	1300+	51	15
3A	900-1299	79	16
2A	450–899	62	2
1A	225–449	60	12
2B	105-224	61	1
1B	1-104	87	–
Total			384

Historic classification, by enrollment

Years	Enrollment class
	4A	3A	2A	1A	2B	1B
2008–10[4]	1281+	919–1280	468–918	188–467	88–187	0–87
2010–12[5]	1304+	1086–1303	513–1085	208–512	93–207	0–92
2012–14[6]
2014–16[7]	1252.4+	990.9–1252.3	472-990.8	225-471.9	90-224.9	26-89.9
2016–20[8]	1343.29+	971.72–1343.28	461–971.71	214.50–461.24	31–214.49	26–82.99

Opt-up

Historic classification tiers^[9]

Years	4A	3A	2A	1A	2B	1B
2006–present	4A	3A	2A	1A	2B	1B
1998–2006	4A	3A	2A	1A	B
1969–1997	AAA	AA		A	B
1958–1968	AA		A		B
1945–1957	A				B
1944–1945	single classification
1942–1943	A				B
1934–1941	single classification
1931–1933	A				B
1923–1930	single classification

Member schools may choose to move up to a higher classification tier to compete against schools with larger enrollments. The WIAA gives members two opportunities to "opt-up" for higher classification: 1) prior to the enrollment count that will inform the enrollment ranges for classification when evaluated and finalized by the Executive Board; and 2) a two-week period after the classification enrollment ranges have been finalized.^[10]

Schools that opt-up during the first opportunity are divided into equal classifications after the classification enrollment ranges have been finalized. Schools that elect to opt-up during the second opportunity must be approved by the board of their governing District and the WIAA Executive Board.^[10]

League alignments

The WIAA is divided into nine districts that represent approximate geographical areas.^[11] Each district is presided over by a District Director. Member schools are aligned into geographical conferences or leagues for competition. District membership is determined by these conferences and leagues with the exception of two. The Columbia Basin Big Nine Conference and Central Washington Athletic Conference have member schools in two districts.^[11] Conference and League alignment is determined annually. The following are league alignments as of 2016-2017 school year and are subject to revision to adjust for the 2016-2020 reclassification.

WIAA League alignments^[11]

District		Leagues
No.	Name	4A	3A	2A	1A	2B	1B
1	Northwest	Wesco 4A	Wesco 2A/3A				Northwest 1B
			Northwest 1A/2A/3A			Northwest 1B/2B
2	Sea-King	Kingco 4A	Kingco 3A	Kingco 2A	Emerald Sound 1A	Sea-Tac 1B/2B
			Metro 3A			Independent
3	West Central	South Puget Sound 4A	South Sound 3A	South Puget Sound 2A	Nisqually 1A		North Olympic 1B
		North Puget Sound 3A/4A
			Pierce County 3A
			Olympic 2A/3A				Independent
4	Southwest	Greater St. Helens 4A	Greater St. Helens 3A	Greater St. Helens 2A	Trico 1A	Pacific 2B	Coastal 1B
				Evergreen 2A	Evergreen 1A	Central 2B	Columbia Valley 1B
5	Yakima Valley	Columbia Basin Big 9 4A		Central Washington 2A	South Central 1A	Eastern Washington 2B	Central Washington 1B
6	North Central				Caribou Trail 1A	Central Washington 2B
7	Northeast				Northeast 1A	Northeast 2B	Northeast 1B
8	Greater Spokane	Greater Spokane 2A/3A/4A
		Mid-Columbia 3A/4A
9	Southeast						Southeast 1B East

Northwest District One

The Northwest Interscholastic Activities Association^[12] governs WIAA District 1,^[11] which encompasses the five counties in the northwest section of Washington State: Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan, and Island. As of February 2011, Northwest District 1 includes seven leagues with member schools from all classifications and a single independent member school.^[13] The Western High School Athletic Conference regulates two 4A classification leagues and one 3A classification league. Its membership consists of high schools in the public school districts of Arlington, Edmonds, Everett, Lake Stevens, Marysville, Monroe, Mukilteo, Oak Harbor, Shoreline, Snohomish, and Stanwood.^[14] The North Sound Conference regulates member schools residing in the 1A classification. Its membership consists of high schools in Snohomish, Island and north King counties, in and near Everett.^[15] The Northwest Conference regulates member schools in 3A, 2A and 1A classifications. Its membership consists of high schools in western Whatcom, Skagit and counties, in and near Bellingham and Mount Vernon.^[16] The Northwest 2B/1B League regulates member schools in 2B and 1B classifications. Its membership consists of high schools in San Juan, Skagit, Island and Snohomish counties. The Northwest B League regulates member schools in 1B classification. Its membership consists of small public and private high schools in San Juan, Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties.^[17]

SeaKing District Two

The SeaKing District encompasses mostly schools in King County. The schools are in all classification sizes and separated into five leagues by size and location. A majority of the state's 3A schools are located in this district and the West Central District 3. The Center School, International Community School, International School, and Secondary BOC^[19] are independents in this District.

West Central District Three

The WCD encompasses schools in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, Pierce, Mason, Thurston, and King counties of the northern Peninsula and southern Puget Sound areas of Washington. The district has the most 4A and 3A schools combined in the state, with 26 and 16 respectively. It includes schools from all classification sizes, although most of the 2B schools in the region are members SeaTac league of SeaKing District two.

Southwest Washington District Four

The Southwest District, as its name suggests, includes schools south of the Olympic Mountains and west of the Cascade Range. The Washington School for the Blind (1B), Three Rivers Christian (1B), King's Way Christian (1B), Maple Lane High School (1A), and Vancouver School of Arts and Academics (1A) are independents.^[20]

Yakima Valley District Five

The Yakima Valley District includes schools in south central Washington. The schools are divided into five leagues.

North Central District Six

Northeast District Seven

Greater Spokane/Mid-Columbia District Eight

The Greater Spokane League was formed in 1925 as the Spokane City League and became the GSL in 1976.^[22] District 8 was created to separate the larger schools (then AAA) from the smaller schools in District 7. Schools that dropped to 2A therefore leave the GSL and District 8, to the Great Northern League (GNL, formerly Frontier League) in District 7. Consequently, schools have gone through great lengths to remain in the league and maintain historic rivalries. Gonzaga Prep opts-up to 4A, despite having 2A enrollment numbers.^[23][24] For the 2020–21 school year, Cheney moved up to 3A; with only four teams left in the GNL, that league was folded and absorbed into a new GSL 2A division.^[25]

Southeast District Nine

Neighboring states (and province)

• Oregon School Activities Association
• Idaho High School Activities Association
• British Columbia School Sports (Canada)

References

External links

• Official website
• WIAA History