TIFTON — The Georgia Independent Athletic Association isn’t known for many shakeups in its reclassification cycles, but there are a few notable ones for the 2024-26 period.

Tiftarea Academy is losing one team from its district. Southland Academy is moving down to Class AA. This is the first time in school history the Raiders have not been in one of the two largest classifications.

Southland began playing sports in SEAIS — the state’s primary private school league until it was absorbed into the new GISA, whose athletics are now known as the GIAA — in 1970 and was immediately in its largest classification of AA. The SEAIS added AAA in 1981 and Southland moved up with it.

When the GISA’s athletics rebranded in 2022 as the GIAA, a new 4A division was added, albeit considered combined with AAA. Southland never played as a 4A team, but was 3A from 1981-2024.

Tiftarea athletic director Chance Benson said Westfield moved down from 4A to 3A this year. Westfield is in District 5, which has three Columbus-based schools as well as Strong Rock Christian.

Moving up to AAA is Piedmont Academy of Monticello. In contrast to Southland, Piedmont has never been in a classification this large. Piedmont will be in District 4 with schools almost all northeast of itself.

Another school going down to AA is Heritage of Newnan. The Cougars were lastly a GISA AA school in 2012.

Calvary Christian and Sherwood Christian return to Georgia’s most visible private school conference this year. When last GISA teams, both were in a region with Tiftarea. Eight schools joined the GIAA, according to its official athletics website. The only other from southern Georgia is Vidalia Heritage.

In football news, Georgia Christian begins eight-man football in 2024 after playing in the league’s Class A division last season. The eight-man division has grown to 17 teams. Sherwood will play football as an eight-man squad, as will Vidalia Heritage and longtime Tiftarea rivals Crisp Academy, Fullington Academy and Westwood.