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Eligibility

2025 – 2026 AHSAA Eligibility 101

Steps for your child to become eligible to participate in athletics

at Dothan Preparatory Academy, Carver 9th Grade and Dothan High School.

 

1.       Students entering the 10th and 11th and 12th grades must have passed during the last two semesters in attendance and summer school, if applicable, at least six new Carnegie units with a minimum composite numerical average of 70 in those six units. Must be a combination of four core classes (English, Math, Science, History) and two electives (P.E., Spanish, Psychology, DTC class).

 

2.       Students entering the 8th and 9th grades must have passed during the last two semesters in attendance and summer school, if applicable, at least five new subjects with a minimum composite numerical average of 70 in those five subjects and must have been promoted.    

 

3.       Home school students will be required to submit four core course grades from their home school program to the school at the end of the school year for academic eligibility beginning with grade 7 through the end of the first semester in grade 12.

 

a.        Electives must be taken through the school. Only core courses may be accepted from the home school program.

b.       Home school students (9-12) must enroll and take two electives through the school.  

 

4.       Create a DragonFly account (www.dragonflymax.com) as a parent and add your child to your account.  This will be an option on the parent’s “Today” page. Once an account is created, select “Tryout Roster” as the sport/team for the athlete.

 

5.       Eligibility paperwork can be taken care of three different ways.  Turn in all hard copies to the head coach, upload all hard copies into DragonFly or sign all forms in DragonFly and not deal with hard copies (except the physical form, must be signed by a M.D. or D.O. and then uploaded along with the athletic permission form). All forms listed must be turned in prior to participating.

 

a.        Updated physical form (rev 2018 form only (yearly)

b.       Participation consent form (yearly and in DragonFly)

c.        Concussion form (yearly and in DragonFly)

d.       Cardiac Awareness form (yearly and in DragonFly)

e.        Eligibility 101 (yearly and in DragonFly)

f.        Athletic permission form (yearly, must turn in hard copy)

g.       Copy of birth certificate (one time only, upload in DragonFly)

h.       Sportsmanship certificate (one time only, upload in DragonFly

 

6.       TRANSFER RULE. A student that enrolls in one school and later transfers to, or enrolls in, another school shall not be eligible immediately to represent the latter school in any varsity athletic contest. Note: For eligibility purposes a student is normally considered enrolled when the student has attended school and class on the third day. Note: A student that transfers to or enrolls in another school may practice and compete at the sub-varsity level (MS, Jr. High, JV) if all other requirements are met. Note: A student is not eligible to compete at varsity level until all transfer rules and other requirements are met. Note: A student is allowed only one (1) transfer per school year under these circumstances. This transfer option is available one time per year at the beginning of any semester. Any additional transfer must meet all applicable transfer rules. To compete at the varsity level, all eligibility requirements, including transfer rules, must be met. A student that transfers from any non-member school to a member school he/she is zoned to attend shall be eligible at the beginning of the next semester (first or second) if they meet all other requirements. A member school is one that has been accepted by the Central Board as a member of the AHSAA.

 

7.       AGE RULE. A student is ineligible to participate in high school interscholastic athletics if he/she reaches his/her 19th birthday prior to August 1 of the current school year. If he/she reaches his/her 19th birthday on or after August 1, he/she shall be eligible for the entire school year as far as the Age Rule is concerned. A student is ineligible to participate in junior high interscholastic athletics if he/she reaches his/her 16th birthday prior to August 1 of the current school year, and in middle school interscholastic athletics if he/she reaches his/her 15th birthday prior to August 1 of the current school year. A student is ineligible to participate on a team, or in a game, composed only of seventh grade students if he/she reaches his/her 14th birthday prior to August 1 of the current school year. 

 

8.       Bona Fide Move. A student whose parents make a bona fide move completely out of one school zone into another may transfer all his/ her rights and privileges to the member school that serves the area where his/her parents reside. If the change of school precedes the bona fide move on the part of the parents, the student is ineligible until the parents make a bona fide move. Determining a Bona Fide Move – Sometimes it is very difficult to determine what constitutes a bona fide move. Family and home conditions differ and must be considered. The following factors are basic guidelines for determining a bona fide move: a. The household furniture of the family must be vacated into an unoccupied house or apartment. b. All principal members of the family must reside in the new place of residence. c. The original residence should be closed, rented or disposed of and not used by the family. d. Nine months at the new residence will be required to make a move bona fide. Note: The Change of Residence Form may be found at http://www.ahsaa. com/Resources-Publications-Forms/AHSAA/Information/FormsPublications-Order-Form If a family moves into a new school zone and remains there for less than nine months, the move will not be considered bona fide and the family’s child who is enrolled in the new school zone becomes ineligible there the day the family leaves the new school zone. (Member school is responsible for checking.) The student remains ineligible for a full calendar year from the date the family moved out of the new zone. However, if the student did not participate in athletics, the period of ineligibility will be 12 months from the date of the student’s initial enrollment. Under unusual circumstances the Executive Director may decide a move to be valid even if all the above conditions have not been met. Each questionable case will be decided on its individual merits. Note: Students entering the seventh grade for the first time are eligible where they enroll. Bylaws — Rule I — Eligibility 36 Bylaws — Eligibility Just as in all other cases, the decision of the Executive Director may be appealed to the District Board and a District Board’s decision may be appealed to the Central Board of Control. In the final analysis, whether a move is bona fide or not will be determined by the Central Board.