What is the KSHSAA?
A private/non-profit association of accredited member schools, whose purpose is to administer a program of interscholastic activities, festivals, clinics and contests among member schools. The KSHSAA offers state championships in ten boys and girls' sports, and ten additional championships in music activities, debate, speech and drama, and scholars bowl. Of particular importance are efforts to elevate standards of good sportsmanship and to encourage growth of good citizenship among students and spectators.

Who makes up the KSHSAA?
The Association is comprised of more than 370 senior high and 427 middle/junior high member schools. Member schools must be accredited and are both public and private schools.

How is the KSHSAA structured?
The Association has a three-branch system of governance. The Executive Board (9 - 14 members) meets six times annually and is charged with making policy, conducting hearings and managing the affairs of the organization. Legislative authority to make rules and bylaws changes is vested in the seventy plus member Board of Directors. Members are school administrators, educators and local board of education members from throughout the state. Two members of the Kansas State Board of Education also serve. The Appeal Board acts as an impartial hearing panel in matters pertaining to rule interpretations.

What is the history of the KSHSAA?
The Kansas State High School Activities Association was formed in 1937 and incorporated in 1956. As early as 1910, Kansas schools organized the statewide Debate League and Athletic Association governed by high school principals. The Athletic Association started as a small voluntary group of fewer than 50 schools and grew to more than 500 schools by the 1920s. Out of necessity, the member schools adopted eligibility and participation rules and established authority for a Board of Control to assess penalties against schools for violations. In 1927 the Board of Control employed the first full time Executive Secretary. To date, six individuals have served as Executive Director.

How does the KSHSAA keep schools and communities informed?
A monthly magazine, the KSHSAA Activities Journal, is published August through May. Circulation is to all member schools, local boards of education, and the news media of the state. A website is also maintained at www.kshsaa.org.

What are Classifications?
Each September, the KSHSAA collects student enrollment data from member high schools for students in their sophomore, junior and senior classes. This number is listed in a descending list of all high schools. The largest 32 schools become 6A, the next largest 32 become 5A, the next 64 become 4A, 3A, and 2A respectively and the remaining schools become class 1A. New classifications are established each school year in all activities except for football, which uses a two-year cycle and a different counting method.

Is Kansas different than other states?
Yes and No. Every state has an athletic or activities association. Kansas is unique in the range of activities offered. The KSHSAA oversees Student Council programs and has a service/leadership program unlike any other in the nation. The Kansas Association for Youth (KAY) is active in more than one hundred seventy-five schools. The KSHSAA is only the second state association in the country to establish a student advisory team, comprised from a boy and girl from two schools in each of the six classes. This group gives direct student input to the staff and Executive Board. Through summer leadership camps in KAY, Student Council, and spirit and dance activities, the KSHSAA has more direct contact with students than any other state association in the nation.