Page 102 - Demo

Classification System, continued
For example, classifications for the 2021-22 school year are based on the average of the actual school enrollments submitted on September 30, 2018 and September 30, 2019.
School Years
Average these
Actual Enrollments
Sept. 30, 2018 & Sept. 30, 2019
Sept. 30, 2020 & Sept. 30, 2021
Enrollments Announced December, 2020
December, 2022
Classifications Announced
2021-22 & 2022-23 2023-24 & 2024-25
Fall sports: December, 2020 Winter sports: April, 2021 Spring sports: June, 2021
1. Classification Cutoffs
Fall sports: December, 2022 Winter sports: April, 2023 Spring sports: June, 2023
At the end of each two-year cycle, classification cutoffs and ranges for the next cycle in all sports and activities conducted in multiple classes will be determined according to the following method:
A list of the schools that entered the IHSA postseason series in that particular sport or activity during the current school term is assembled. “Individual entries” (schools that did not enter as a team) are excluded from the list. In competitive cheerleading, coed entries are also excluded from the list.
The next cycle’s classification enrollments are applied to all schools in the list. For the purposes of this computation, it is assumed that the schools making up each cooperative team will remain the same.
The list is divided into groups based on the following:
• Three and four-class team sports (boys soccer, girls soccer, boys baseball, boys basketball, girls basketball, girls softball, girls volleyball): Fixed enrollment numbers for all the above sports would be created after dividing the four-class team sport with the fewest participating schools by placing the smallest 27.5% of entries in Class 1A, the next smallest 27.5% of entries in Class 2A, the next smallest 22.5% of entries in Class 3A, and the remaining entries in Class 4A. This fixed enrollment number will be calculated prior to the start of each classification cycle.
• Three-class team sports (non-bracketed) (competitive dance): The smallest 1/3 (33.33%) of entries in Class 1A, the next smallest 1/3 (33.33%) in Class 2A, and the remaining 1/3 (33.33%) in Class 3A.
• Three-class individual sports (boys cross country, girls cross country, boys golf, boys track and field, girls track and field, boys wrestling): The smallest 4/10 (40%) of entries in Class 1A, the next smallest 3/10 (30%) in Class 2A, and the remaining 3/10 (30%) in Class 3A.
• Two-class sports and activities (girls golf, Scholastic Bowl): The smallest 1/2 (50%) of entries in Class A and the remaining 1/2 (50%) in Class AA.
• Competitive cheerleading: Of schools that did not compete in the Coed Division, the smallest 1/3 (33.33%) in the Small Division, the next smallest 1/3 (33.33%) in the Medium Division, and the remaining 1/3 (33.33%) in the Large Division.
• Music: Of schools that entered either the Solo & Ensemble or Organization contest (or both), the smallest 1/5 (20%) of entries in Class D, the next smallest 1/5 (20%) in Class C, the next smallest 1/5 (20%) in Class B, the next smallest 1/5 (20%) in Class A, and the remaining 1/5 (20%) in Class AA.
• Boys football: Classifications for boys football are determined at the end of the regular season using the “classification enrollment” in the manner prescribed by the Boys Football Terms & Conditions.
The highest enrollment assigned to each class is considered the cutoff for that class. All entries with enrollments lower than the cutoff are assigned to that class.
After the list is divided into groups, programs affected by the success adjustment and programs that have opted to “play up” are moved up into the proper class.
The classification process does not guarantee that, by the time the tournaments are actually conducted, the classes will be exactly proportional. Between the time the cutoffs are determined and the beginning of the tournaments, some schools may add or drop the sport or activity, or form or dissolve coops.
2. Cooperative Teams
In determining the enrollment of a cooperative team, the classification enrollments of all involved schools are combined to determine the classification enrollment of the coop.
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