New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
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- Not to be confused with the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association
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| Abbreviation | NJSIAA |
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| Formation | 1918 |
| Type | Volunteer; NPO |
| Legal status | Association |
| Purpose/focus | Athletic/Educational |
| Headquarters | 1161 Route 130 Robbinsville, NJ 08691 |
| Region served | New Jersey |
| Membership | 425 high schools |
| Official languages | English |
| Executive Director | Steve Timko |
| Affiliations | National Federation of State High School Associations |
| Staff | 16 |
| Website | njsiaa.org |
| Remarks | (609) 259-2776 |
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA), founded in 1918,[1] is a voluntary, non-profit organization made up of 425 accredited public, private and parochial high schools in New Jersey. The daily administration is carried out by the Executive Director, Mr. Steve Timko. NJSIAA headquarters, is located on U.S. Route 130 in Robbinsville, New Jersey. The New Jersey Association, together with other State Associations, constitutes the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).[1]
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[edit] Governance
The NJSIAA is headed by a governing body known as the Executive Committee.[1] Individuals serving on this committee represent public, parochial and private secondary institutions, the Education Committee of the New Jersey Legislature, the New Jersey School Boards Association, the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, the New Jersey Association of Secondary School Principals, the New Jersey Council of Catholic Diocesan Superintendents, the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association, the New Jersey State Officials, the Directors of Athletics Association of New Jersey, and the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools.[1] The Association, through the Executive Committee, establishes the rules and regulations governing high school athletics in order to equalize competition for member schools.
[edit] Classifications
The NJSIAA classifies each school by the total number of sophomores, juniors, and seniors in each school. Based on student population, public schools are split up into four groupings (Group I — Group IV), and non-public schools are split into two groupings (Parochial A or B).[1] Each group is set in different regions across the state for the public schools: North Jersey is split into two sections, while Central Jersey and South Jersey have one section apiece. Non-public schools are separated by north and south.[1]
[edit] State championships
The NJSIAA conducts tournaments and crowns champions in thirty–one sports — the most of any other state association in the nation.[1] Championship competition for girls is sponsored in basketball, bowling, cross country, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, indoor and outdoor track, tennis and volleyball. Boys championships are determined in baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, fencing, football, golf, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball and wrestling.[1]
In order for schools to move on to the state championship, they must achieve a winning percentage of .500 or greater by a preset date (the "cut–off" date).[1] Football and wrestling are the only sports where a school may have a .500 record and not qualify for the postseason. For these two sports it is only the best eight schools in each section that move on. This is determined by power points, where wins you earn are points determined by the score of the game and the size of the school that is defeated. Winning percentage alone, however, is not sufficient to qualify for the playoffs. If a school's team has too many disqualifications then they are disqualified from the state championship.[1]
When teams win their sectional championship, they are awarded a blue trophy indicating the section that they have won and the sport in which they won it. For public schools, the two North Jersey winners face off against one another, while the South and Central teams plays each other in the statewide semi-finals. Ultimately, the two winning teams from the previous round will play each other for the state's Group championship. For non-public schools, the section winner moves on to the state championship where the champions receive a gold trophy.[1]
For some sports, each group's state champion play each other in the Tournament of Champions for the overall state championship and #1 state ranking.[1] For boys, the tournament is offered in basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, tennis, track-indoor, and track-outdoor. For girls, the sports are basketball, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, and volleyball.[1]
Other sports, meanwhile, offer no group championships. All schools, public and non-public alike, compete for the state championship. For boys the sports are bowling, fencing, golf, and volleyball. For girls they are bowling, fencing, golf, and gymnastics.[1]
Student athletes may also be state champions. The sports that offer individual state championships are cross country, gymnastics, tennis (singles and doubles), bowling, fencing, swimming, diving, indoor and outdoor track, wrestling, and golf. All of these sports except for gymnastics (girls only) and wrestling (boys only) produce both male and female individual champions.[1]
[edit] Proposed conference realignment
On August 11, 2008, the NJSIAA released an official proposal for a realignment of athletic conferences located in Central and North Jersey.[2] The proposal, if enacted, would affect over 200 NJSIAA high schools in 31 conference divisions, making it the single largest realignment in state history.[2] The result would be six "super" conferences according to geography. A seventh, football–only conference would also be created for teams from two of the new super conferences.[2] Not affected by this move would be schools located in Mercer, Monmouth, and Middlesex counties as well as all of South Jersey.[2]
[edit] Reasons
Multiple reasons account for the super conferences proposal. First, the plan was triggered by dissatisfaction with competitive balance between schools, particularly in the football programs in public and non-public schools in the northern part of the state. It would allow schools more flexibility with whom they schedule for such events.[2] Second, new enrollment totals and rates have vastly changed since the conferences were set up 27 years ago, and therefore have not adequately met the needs of all the schools.[2] A final catalyst is the economy; the move would create cheaper overall traveling expenses.[2]
[edit] Reaction
The proposed realignment by the NJSIAA has garnered very mixed reactions among the high schools that it would affect.[3] For instance, Eastside High School, which has traditionally been beaten handily in athletic competition, endorses the move.[3] Meanwhile, Summit High School has enjoyed great success in their conference and sees no need to part ways.[3] Other schools generally share one of these two views.
The realignment, which was started for the 2009–10 school year, may only go into effect for 2–3 years, and if it does not work out well, a reversion to the old conferences is still a possibility.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "About The NJSIAA". NJSIAA. http://www.njsiaa.org/NJSIAA/about.aspx. Retrieved on January 6, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g "NJSIAA Proposed Realignment". NJSIAA. September 4, 2008. http://www.njsba.org/sb_notes/20080904/realignment.html. Retrieved on February 17, 2009.
- ^ a b c Moretti, Mike; Reilly, Sean. "A Tale of Two Schools: A Look at the Proposal's Impact". NJ.com. http://blog.nj.com/hssportsextra/2008/08/TWOSCHOOLSweb.pdf. Retrieved on February 17, 2009.
- ^ Moretti, Mike (August 19, 2008). "NJSIAA realignment plan: Six super conferences in North/Central Jersey". NJ.com. http://blog.nj.com/hssportsextra/2008/08/njsiaa_realignment_proposal_si.html. Retrieved on February 17, 2009.
