Middle School Activities and Athletics Eligibility and Participation Guidelines

The Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) middle school interscholastic athletic program is designed to align with and be an extension of the total school program.

The information in these guidelines is representative of the policies, regulations, and rules that govern PWCS student participation in middle school athletic programs, as provided by PWCS policies and regulations and the Middle School Athletic Executive Committee polices and rules.

PWCS follows Virginia High School League (VHSL) rules in all areas and adapts them to fit PWCS middle school athletics, as necessary. By adhering to these standards, PWCS ensures that its athletic programs maintain a high level of integrity, fairness, and competitiveness. The VHSL Handbook provides comprehensive guidelines and regulations that help shape the policies and practices within PWCS athletic programs. For additional information, please refer to the VHSL Handbook.

Introduction

It is the responsibility of PWCS coaches and sponsors to review participation and eligibility information annually with all participants of their teams or groups. Parents and students must acknowledge that they have read and will follow the rules and guidelines governing participation in PWCS athletics and activities.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to participate in athletics in PWCS middle schools, students must meet the following eligibility requirements.

Academic

A student must pass a minimum of five classes and fail no more than one class for the nine-week grading period. The student shall be declared ineligible for the next grading period when not meeting this standard. This rule applies to practices as well as game participation. Ineligible students who become eligible after team selections may not join a team. Students will begin or end academic eligibility or ineligibility on Monday following the end of the grading period teacher workday. Transfer students must comply with this standard, and grades from the transferring school must be reviewed to determine eligibility before participation by the student.

Age

A student may not participate in a sport if the student turns 15 on or before September 1 of the current school year.
A student may not participate on a B (junior varsity) team if the student is 14 years of age on or before September 1 of the current school year.

Enrollment

The student shall be officially enrolled as required by Virginia law and be a regular bona fide student as defined by the Virginia High School League (VHSL). A regular student is regarded as a full-time student who is in regular attendance and is carrying a schedule of subjects that, if successfully completed, will make the student scholastically eligible for the subsequent semester.

Semester Rule

Student eligibility begins on the first day of school and the student's first year as a sixth grade student. Students have six consecutive semesters of eligibility. If a student turns 15 before September 1 of the school year, they are ineligible – regardless of the number of semesters a student has participated in during middle school.

Student Transfers

Enrollment for transfer students who try out for an activity in the previous year for participation in the following year (for example, cheerleader, dance team) is defined as:

Enrollment is determined when a student enters a school and begins classes. Parents/guardians of students who intend to transfer to a school for the next school year and who wish to try out for cheerleading or dance before the school year begins must provide the receiving school with evidence of a family moving into that school’s attendance area. If a family provides the school with the dated sales contract or lease that indicates a move-in date on or before September 30, the student would be eligible to try out in the spring for cheerleading/dance for the following school year.
A student who has an approved transfer from both schools, receiving and previous schools, is eligible for the next school year.

Student-Athlete Participation Requirements

Student-athletes must meet all eligibility requirements and all student-athlete participation requirements before any form of participation in athletic activities, including tryouts or practice.

Student-Athlete Registration

Parents/guardians must complete an online middle school athletic registration for their student. Students must participate in the registration process with their parent/guardian to complete state-mandated student-athlete education and other required acknowledgments and forms.

Learn more about the online athletic registration process for student athletes.

Student-Athlete Education

All student-athletes and a parent/guardian are required to complete concussion, heat-related illness, and sudden cardiac arrest education annually (every 12 months), as required by Virginia law, before the student may participate in any extracurricular athletic activity.

PWCS provides the state-required concussion, heat-related illness, and sudden cardiac arrest education through our student-athlete education.

Student-athlete education is included in the online middle school athletic registration process.

Sports Physical

Student athletes must have a physical examination by a health care provider and have permission from the health care provider and parent/guardian before the participant may engage in any sport.

A PWCS Middle School Athletic Participation/Parental Consent/Evaluation Form (sports physical) must be completely filled in and signed by the student, parent/guardian, and health care provider attesting that the student has been examined and found to be physically fit for athletic competition.

The form must be submitted electronically during the online middle school athletic registration process for the student.

Download the PWCS Middle School Athletic Participation/Parental Consent/Evaluation Form

Student-Athlete Participation Information

Attendance

All students are required to attend school and classes regularly. Any student who is absent on the day of any activity cannot participate in that event. On the day of an event (e.g., game, practice), a student must attend school for at least one-half of the instructional (3 1/2 hours). In the case of an interscholastic event on Saturday or Sunday, the school attendance rule applies to the last school day before the weekend event. In the case of extenuating circumstances, the school administration may waive this rule.

Bullying and Hazing Prohibited

Bullying consists of any words or actions that harm or threaten another person's body, property, self-esteem, or group acceptance. This includes all oral, written, electronic, or non-verbal forms of ridicule, harassment, and intimidation. Bullying and hazing in any form shall not be tolerated and may result in dismissal from the team or group.

Student-Athlete Education

PWCS provides the required concussion, heat-related illness, and sudden cardiac arrest education through our student-athlete education.

Concussion Education

Students and their parent/guardian have two ways to receive the concussion education:

Online Middle School Athletic Registration (required): During the online middle school athletic registration process, a parent/guardian and student must review the current year's required student-athlete education information. After reviewing the student-athlete education information, the student and the student's parent/guardian must provide an electronic signature certifying that they have read and understand the Prince William County Public Schools Student-Athlete Education.
In-person education (optional): Middle and high school students who are trying out for a sport for the first time or are new to PWCS, may attend an in-person student-athlete education session with their parent/guardian. Find dates and times for in-person education.

Concussion Management

PWCS is committed to ensuring that students participating in school-sponsored activities who sustain concussions are properly diagnosed, given adequate time to heal, and are comprehensively supported until they are symptom-free.

View Regulation 759-1 for more information.

Return to Sport After a Concussion Injury

PWCS has established a Return to Sport protocol for all students who have received a concussion or brain trauma injury. The student-athlete shall be removed from play until asymptomatic and neurocognitive testing has been successfully completed. Once the athlete is both physically and cognitively asymptomatic, they can begin a progressive Return to Sport protocol before returning to practice and full contact play.

Energy Drinks

To support safe participation, PWCS does not support the use of energy drinks by student-athletes. Student-athletes are prohibited from the use of energy drinks for any reason, especially for the purpose of rehydration before or after exercise. Fluid replacement drinks, or drinks used to replenish body fluid after exercise, are defined as drinks that replace energy and electrolytes to assist the body in recovering from exercise. Fluid replacement drinks are not considered energy drinks. Some common examples of fluid replacement drinks are Gatorade and Powerade.

The penalty for violation of this rule will be established by the athletic department at each school.

Equipment Responsibility

Equipment responsibility is the responsibility of the student-athlete to maintain and return all equipment and uniforms issued to them. Parents will be financially responsible for any equipment or uniforms that are lost, stolen, or misplaced during the time the student-athlete is responsible for them. The price of replacing these items shall be the actual cost to the school for purchasing new replacement items. Until any charges for lost equipment have been paid, the student shall be placed on the school's obligations list.

Personal Equipment

If a parent/guardian indicates that a student will be using personal equipment during the online high school athletic registration, the parent/guardian will read and complete the Personal Equipment Use and Acknowledgment form online.

Limits of Participation

A student may participate in only one school team during a given sports season.
Sixth and seventh grade students may be freely changed from the A to B team or vice versa; however, a student may not participate in both the A and B matches on the same day.
Students cannot participate with the middle school team and a high school sub-level team in the same year.
Once a student participates with a high school team, they can no longer participate in the same sport with the middle school team.

A student may change from one sports team to another before the first game. A student may not leave one team to join another once the regular season begins without the approval of the sending and receiving coach, athletic coordinator, and principal.

Girls can try out for baseball (softball is considered a different sport). However, if they are not selected for the baseball team, they are not guaranteed an opportunity to try out for softball.

Boys may not participate on girls teams.

Outside Team Membership

Educators generally agree that participants on a school team should not participate during the same sports season in any other organized athletic team. However, this practice is not prohibited. Therefore, student-athletes may participate simultaneously on school and non-school sponsored teams.

Participation in Out-of-Season Activities

Out-of-season activities are available to all students who attend the school, providing the activity. Students must have an online middle school athletic registration complete.

Recruiting Statement

Coach, school personnel, or anyone connected to an athletic program are not to use undue influence to discuss or otherwise promote transfers or changes in residence (or residence arrangements) with any student, parent, or other person of influence with that student. No PWCS staff member (including coaches) should knowingly support or permit such activity for the purpose of facilitating activity participation to take place.

Spectator Sportsmanship

Admission to interscholastic events in PWCS entitles spectators to enjoy a competitive exhibition of skills in an educational setting. We ask that spectators give the student-athletes positive encouragement and support. Inappropriate and unacceptable behavior may lead to the removal of the spectator(s). PWCS encourages an atmosphere of sportsmanship and support for all athletes. (Refer to Regulations 648-7 and 648-7.1)

Student Accident Insurance

Parents are strongly encouraged to have insurance covering possible accidents or injuries in school-sponsored games, practice sessions, and travel to and from contests. Such coverage may be provided through the purchase of Student Accident Insurance, provided through the PWCS Risk, Safety, and Environmental Department, or by providing proof of similar or superior coverage. Schools do not provide insurance for participating students. (The football insurance option available through PWCS, if selected, will cover students participating in football only. Insurance for school time and other sports must be purchased separately.)

Substance Abuse, Tobacco, and Weapons Policy

Students involved in the possession, use or attempted use, receipt or attempted receipt, purchase or attempted purchase, or distribution or attempted distribution of drugs (illegal, prescription, and/or over-the-counter), alcohol, inhalant intoxicants, look-alikes, placebos, or paraphernalia, or who are under the influence of same on school property, or at school-related activities, are subject to suspension and/or expulsion from school and shall be removed from the extracurricular activity for the remainder of the season. Students found in possession or in use of illegal weapons on any school property, going to or from school, or at any school-related activity, regardless of where that activity takes place, shall also face removal from the extracurricular activity for the remainder of the season. The use of tobacco products shall result in disciplinary action ranging from a conference to suspension to dismissal from the organization.

Team Membership

The coach of each sport is responsible for establishing and implementing the criteria for team membership selection.

According to VHSL rules, eighth grade students are permitted to participate in sub-varsity teams. PWCS allows eighth grade students to participate on high school sports teams only when no high school age students (grades 9-12) have been cut from the program. This practice allows programs with low participation numbers to grow and compete effectively. By allowing younger and senior students to participate in these programs, PWCS isre actively working to bolster teams with low participation. At no point should a high school student be cut to make space for an eighth grade student.

Transportation

If a school provides transportation from a game event, the students must use the school-provided transportation. If parents/guardians sign them out, a coach must have a written sign-out process and is required to keep that record on file for a minimum of a year. Parents/guardians may not sign out any student other than their own.

Student Conduct Information

Participation in middle school activities and athletics is a privilege and not a right. With this privilege, it is the responsibility of students to uphold standards of conduct.

Inappropriate Conduct

Inappropriate conduct may include violations of PWCS policies and regulations, the PWCS Code of Behavior, and/or agreements between the students and their coaches, sponsors, or teachers.

Player Ejection

Students ejected from a scheduled contest by an official of the contest may not participate on the next scheduled playing date, including post-season play of that activity. If the timing of the suspension occurs at the last scheduled game, the suspension will include the next scheduled game(s) for the new sports season. If a player is ejected for fighting, biting, aggressive physical contact, or using/directing profanity toward a contest official, the player shall be ineligible for the team's next 2-3 contests in accordance with the VHSL rules.

Conduct Ineligibility

PWCS students can become ineligible to participate in total or in part based on inappropriate conduct, whether or not that conduct occurs during the school day, evenings, or weekends.

If a student is declared ineligible for violations of the rules and regulations governing participation activities and transfers to another PWCS school, the student will remain ineligible for the remainder of that school year.

Disciplinary Actions

The coach/sponsor, in cooperation with school administration, shall be responsible for deciding appropriate disciplinary actions.

Any violations may be accompanied by, but are not restricted to the following disciplinary actions:

A conference
Suspension from the game(s) or practice(s)
Two-game suspension
Suspension from next eligible event
Suspension for a minimum of 30 calendar days from all school activities, including practice
Dismissal from the organization
Dismissal from all activities for a period of one year following the date of the conviction

Disciplinary action will be taken only after the student has had the opportunity to answer charges of the violations, including the right to bring the student’s own witnesses, before the activity sponsor.

Appeal Process

Appeals are submitted to the principal of the student’s school. To appeal the decision of the principal, a final appeal is submitted to the Director of Student Activities Management.

Participation During Appeal

Students who are suspended may not participate in activities or athletics during the appeal process.