Students interested in participating in high school athletics should familiarize themselves with the following general regulations, academic and attendance requirements, and athletic policies.

Dragonfly

Students must have eligibility paperwork entered into dragonfly prior to workouts/1st day of practice. Instructions for registering can be found here.

Offseason Workout Eligibility

To be eligible for offseason workouts, student athletes must:

• Register on Dragonfly with:

  • Current Physical (395 days or less)

• Live in the Southeast Alamance school district with

  • Parents

  • Sole Parent

  • Parent whom student starts 1st semester with (if parents don’t live together)

  • Legal custodian

• No felony convictions

Eligibility Requirements for Tryouts/Practice/Games

To be eligible for tryouts, practice, or participation in interscholastic athletic contests, a player must meet all North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) and Alamance-Burlington School System (ABSS) eligibility requirements and policies: 

Age

• Must not participate if he/she becomes 19 years of age on or before August 31 of the current school year.

Attendance

• Students must have greater than 85% attendance the previous semester in order to be eligible for athletic participation. Beginning January 1, 2025, all waivers must be submitted to the NCHSAA for approval prior to athletic participation for any student who exceeds absences. Link to NCHSAA Waiver Request Form 

Academics

• A student, upon first entering grade nine (9), is academically eligible for competition on high school teams. All requirements must be met the first semester (fall) in order for this student to be eligible for athletic participation the second semester (spring).

• A student must have passed a minimum load of work during the preceding semester to be eligible at any time during the present semester. The semester is normally considered half of the academic year. All students must also meet local promotion standards, set by the LEA and/or the local school. A minimum load is defined as five courses in the traditional school schedule and three courses for schools on the “block” format. Any student, including seniors, must pass that minimum load, even if they need fewer for graduation.

Residence

• A student is eligible to participate at the school to which he or she is assigned by the local board of education, within the administrative unit of residence. “Residence” as used for athletic eligibility purposes is defined as the equivalent of the term “domicile” as applied by the courts of North Carolina. Under no circumstances can a student have more than one residence for eligibility purposes. It is the obligation of the school to know the residence status of each athlete and to require compliance with these requirements.

• A student who transfers from one NCHSAA member school to another NCHSAA member school in a different LEA (charter schools and private schools are their own LEA) after initial enrollment or participation, must sit 365 days from the date of transfer. Hardships may be granted by NCHSAA.

Medical Examination

• Must receive a medical examination once every 395 days by a duly licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant.

• Must be released by a licensed physician if absent from athletic practice for five or more days due to illness or injury.

• Athlete and Parent/Legal Custodian must read the Concussion Information Sheet and sign the Concussion Statement.

Other NCHSAA Requirements

• Must not participate at the high school level for a period lasting longer than eight consecutive semesters beginning with the student’s first entry into grade nine or participation on a high school team.

• Must not participate at the high school level for more than four seasons in that sport (one season per year).

• Must not be convicted of a felony in this or any other state, or adjudicated as a delinquent for an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult in this or any other state.

• May not play, sit on the bench, or practice if ineligible.

• To maintain amateur status, the athlete must not accept money or awards having utilitarian value (golf balls, clubs, tennis rackets and balls).

• Must not have signed a professional contract, played on a junior college team or be enrolled and attending class in college.

Other ABSS Policy

ISS/OSS

• If a participating student is assigned to in-school suspension, he/she will not be allowed to practice or participate in a game/activity on the day (s) of suspension. Suspensions will be carried out regardless of the game/activity days or events.

• If a participating student is given out of school suspension for any reason, he/she will be subject to the following additional consequences:

  • FIRST OFFENSE: A student participating in athletics will not be allowed to practice or play during the suspension period. If there is not a game during the suspension period, the student will not be permitted to play in the next game after the period of suspension. A student participating in other clubs or activities will not be allowed to practice, participate, or perform during the suspension period. If there is not a performance or major activity during the suspension period, the student will not be allowed to perform or participate in the next major activity immediately following the suspension.

  • SECOND OFFENSE: The student will be removed from extracurricular/co-curricular activities for the remainder of that season or semester or for 30 school days**, whichever is greater.

  • REPEATED OFFENSES: If a student continues to be suspended from school or has consistent disciplinary infractions, the principal may remove that student from extracurricular/co curricular activities for up to the remainder of the school year or 30 school days, whichever is greater.

Use of Illegal Drugs/Alcohol

The possession, use, distribution or sale of illegal or counterfeit drugs/alcohol by participating students is not acceptable at any time, on or off campus, including off season and school breaks. Every effort will be made by the school and the extracurricular departments to make students aware of the detrimental effects of alcohol and drugs through educational programs and opportunities. Students who willfully violate this policy are subject to the following consequences:

• FIRST OFFENSE FOR POSSESSION OR USE Any student in violation of this policy for possession or use will be removed from participation for 60 school days or the remainder of the current season/semester, whichever is longer. The student must also be evaluated by a drug counselor as recommended by the school and must comply with all recommendations and treatment programs and receive a negative drug test result before resuming participation in any extracurricular/co-curricular activity.

• SECOND OFFENSE FOR POSSESSION OR USE DURING HIGH SCHOOL CAREER A student with a second offense of this policy during the student’s high school career for possession or use shall be removed from activities for 120 school days or the remainder of the school year, whichever is greater. The student must also be evaluated by a drug counselor as recommended by the school and must comply with all recommendations and treatment programs and receive a negative drug test result before participating in any extracurricular/co-curricular activity and must submit to periodic, unannounced drug testing for a 12 month period. All costs of such drug testing shall be borne by the student.

  ** For purposes of this policy “school days” includes days that the student is scheduled to participate in school-sponsored activities, including school holidays and summer break.

• THIRD OFFENSE FOR POSSESSION OR USE DURING HIGH SCHOOL CAREER A student with a third offense of this policy in the student’s high school career for possession or use shall be prohibited from participation in all extracurricular/co-curricular activities for the remainder of the student’s high school career. The student and the student’s parent or guardian will also receive information regarding drug-use counseling and prevention.

ANY OFFENSE INVOLVING SALE OR DISTRIBUTION A student with a first violation of this policy for sale or distribution or conspiracy to sell or distribute drugs/alcohol or counterfeit drugs/alcohol shall be prohibited from participation for 180 school days. A second offense shall result in removal from activities for the remainder of the student’s high school career.

VOLUNTARY ADMISSION BY STUDENT If a student who is not under investigation for or currently charged with a violation of this section voluntarily admits that he/she has an alcohol or drug-related problem and voluntarily enters a rehabilitation program, the principal may choose not to impose the consequences outlined in this section.

Criminal Charges

Any participating student charged with a criminal offense may be suspended from extracurricular/cocurricular activities while the principal investigates the underlying circumstances and assesses the impact of the matter on the school environment. Charges involving weapons, drugs, extreme acts of violence and of a sexual nature will result in immediate removal from participation. In all other matters, the principal will review each offense individually and determine what action will be taken.