GHSA to return to six classifications in 2024

Published 5:00 pm Monday, April 11, 2022

THOMASTON — Tift County will almost assuredly be back in the Georgia High School Association’s largest classification in 2024. Monday, April 11, the association voted to eliminate Class 7A in two years.

The return to six classifications was proposed a month ago. The measure was passed unanimously Monday. Though the classifications will top out at 6A, a split will be retained in Class A.

The March meeting, which set in motion Monday’s vote, cited mileage concerns for wanting to eliminate 7A.

Robin Hines, the GHSA’s executive director, said then, “I would like us now to commit to going back to six classifications the next time we reclassify, which will put more teams in each region and will help with travel.”

Tift was moved to 6A last fall because of its attendance numbers, the first time the Blue Devils had not been in the highest classification since the 1965-66 school year.

With 7A being eliminated, they seem a cinch to stay in 6A and again be in a region with Lowndes and Colquitt County. They may not, however, have to endure the long bus rides to Camden County or Richmond Hill, which was placed in 7A for the next two years. Assuming around 75 schools per each classification beginning in 2024, Effingham County and Brunswick are both in that range, based on GHSA numbers for 2022-24.

Going into the 2022-23 school year, the GHSA will have 457 teams in its ranks. Forty-six are in Class 7A and 58 in 6A. The remainder of the classifications, excepting Class A’s Division II, are similar in numbers. Class 7A was added in 2016. In that year, league membership was 458 schools, 48 in 7A and 58 in 6A.

Eliminating Class 7A is the first time the GHSA has gone down a classification since 1972’s elimination of Class C. At that time, classifications ranged from C to AAA. The classes were shifted in 1978 from B to AAA to A to AAAA. The GHSA remained at four classifications until 2000, which added 5A. The league added 6A in 2012 and 7A four years later.

In other GHSA news Monday, the out-of-district student rule was amended by unanimous vote. Now, if a student enters a feeder school of its zoned high school in grades K-5, he or she is not considered to be out-of-district.

A slight change in basketball state playoffs was passed unanimously. When playoffs are on back-to-back nights, girls must play on the first night and boys on the second. If a school is hosting both boys and girls game, it may request to play both on the second night.

Wrestling will also be permitted more girls match dates in 2002-24 and the amount of girls weight classifications will expand from 10 to 14 next season. According to GHSA minutes this will aid in making girls wrestling “a true dual gender sport by [the] 2023-24 school year.”