GHSA DIRECTIONS FOR PLANNING A COMPETITION CHEER SEASON (revised 4.17.15) First GHSA deadline: June 1  If you are the coach of a single A team, private or public, you are required to inform the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) of your school’s intent to compete, even if your school/team competed last year. This “Intent to Compete” form can be found on the GHSA website under Forms.  If you are the coach of a Co‐Ed team, you are required to inform the GHSA of your school’s intent to compete as a Co‐Ed team, even if your school/team competed last year as a Co‐Ed team. This “Intent to Compete” form can be found on the GHSA website. On the GHSA home screen (http://www.ghsa.net) look to the far right, click on RESOURCES, scroll down and click on FORMS. Scroll down to CHEERLEADING and click on INTENT TO COMPETE form. Fill out and fax to the GHSA office; the fax number is on the form. Co‐Ed teams, with sufficient cause, are currently allowed to change their Co‐Ed status to all‐ girl upon written request and approval by the GHSA. The request for a change of status should be made in the form of a letter and include the following:  the reason for the request  the region of the school making the request  the signature of the coach making the request with all contact information provided. Coaches will be notified of the acceptance or refusal of the request by the GHSA office. Requests should be faxed to the attention of Pam Carter at the GHSA office. The fax number is on the form and is also provided at the end of this document. The deadline for a request in the change of status is Sept. 15. Planning a Competition Season 1. After May 1, all GHSA sanctioned cheer competitions are listed on the GHSA cheer website (http://ghsa.net/cheerleading) On the left side of the screen of the GHSA cheer page, see QUICK SOURCE. Scroll down to SANCTIONED EVENTS AND CONTRACTS. Click on that link to access all sanctioned events, usually 2‐3 pages, listed alphabetically. You can click on individual contracts to see the registration fee and the starting time for each tournament. 2. Once you have decided upon your schedule, fill out the individual GHSA contract required to compete at each competition. Contracts are on the same web page as the SANCTIONED EVENTS AND CONTRACTS (far right, under contract.) This form requires the coach’s signature as well as the signature of your athletic director/principal. 3. Send a check with each competition contract to the address indicate at the bottom of the contract. The deadline for your competition contract with the check to be in the hands of the tournament director is August 5th. th
4. Tournament Directors have until August 10 to notify coaches who have sent in their contracts and checks that the tournament has “made” or has “not made.” 5. If you registered for a competition that did not “make,” you will need to go back to the SANCTIONED EVENTS AND CONTRACTS web page and look for alternate competition sites on the dates that were cancelled. Contracts and checks should be in the hands of the tournament director by August 15. Other responsibilities of cheer coaches include the following: 6. Eligibility reports on spirit and competition cheerleaders must be filled out and filed with the GHSA office no later than the date set by the GHSA for the first practice in that sport or activity (August 1 for cheerleading). See the GHSA Constitution for specifics regarding eligibility. The GHSA Eligibility form can be found by accessing the GHSA website home page. On the far right of the screen, click on RESOURCES, scroll down and click on FORMS. First access and then read “Eligibility Report Instructions” to complete the eligibility report process. This information should be submitted electronically. Note: The GHSA will return forms incorrectly filled out. 7. All GHSA coaches are now required to share with parents and athletes the “STUDENT / PARENT CONCUSSION AWARENESS FORM” and to keep on file a copy of this form signed by both athlete and parent regarding the dangers of concussions, the common signs of concussions, and the GHSA concussion policy. Parents and athletes should also keep a copy of this important information. This form can be found by accessing the GHSA website home page. On the far right of the screen, click on RESOURCES, scroll down and click on FORMS. Under MISCELLANEOUS FORMS scroll down and click on the STUDENT / PARENT CONCUSSION AWARENESS FORM. 8. GHSA cheer coaches are reminded that all cheer athletes (spirit and competition) must have on file with the school’s athletic department a copy of the pre‐participation physical evaluation indicating fitness to participate. As per Georgia High School Association By‐Law 1.41(c) and the new State of Georgia law, the “Pre‐Participation Physical Evaluation” form may be signed by a licensed Nurse Practitioner or a Physician’s Assistant provided this person has been delegated that task by an M.D. or D.O. Alterations (edits) to this copyrighted document are not permitted. Therefore, the doctor or his/her designee may print and then sign his/her (their) name on the appropriate line(s) found on page 3 and page 4 of the physical form. This form may be found by accessing the GHSA website home page. On the far right of the screen, click on RESOURCES, scroll down and click on FORMS. Under PHYSICAL FORM, click on PRE‐PARTICIPATION FITNESS FORM to access a copy for your physician. 9. Coaches should access the GHSA Calendar of Events for the 2015‐2016 school year from the GHSA website. On the home page, on the far right of the screen, click on RESOURCES, scroll down and click BEGINNING AND ENDING DATES to access this Calendar of Events. This calendar will contain the beginning and ending dates for all GHSA sports, as well as a calendar of events (state championships, etc.) planned by the GHSA. 10. October 1 is the deadline date for all competition cheer coaches to submit (electronically) to the GHSA office and their region secretaries the intent to compete form with a roster of their athletes. Follow the prompts on the ghsa.cheerleading site. GHSA Contact Information PHONE: 706‐647‐7473 FAX: 706‐647‐2638 WEB SITE: www.ghsa.net