Some States Have Stricter Limits on Competition

Southern Section rules limiting the number of high school teammates who may play on the same non-school team during the school year are the most restrictive outside-competition rules in California. But they are only moderately restrictive in comparison to those in other states.

Students in Minnesota and Ohio are not permitted to play on outside teams at any time during the school year, unless they are members of a national team or an Olympic development program.

In Texas, which has a complex set of regulations, students may play on outside basketball and football teams only during the school season. They may play on outside baseball, soccer and volleyball teams only during the season or after its conclusion. Texas also has the most restrictive summer rule of any state--a student who attends a basketball, football or volleyball camp in the summer is ineligible to play on a varsity team the next year.

Texas’ convoluted set of outside competition rules, like the rules of many states, has been repeatedly challenged in court. But Susan Zinn, assistant athletic director of the Texas University Interscholastic League, said no rule has been changed because of litigation.

By contrast, some states--including Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York and Pennsylvania--do not limit outside competition at any time other than during the school sport season. In those states, an entire team may play together in the off-season as long as neither the school coach nor the school name or equipment is involved.

In several states, including Minnesota, New York and Ohio, opponents of outside-competition rules have sought unsuccessfully to have them changed by the state legislature.

In New York, however, legal challenges have affected the rules. The New York Public High School Athletic Assn. had banned outside play during the school sport season since 1923, but made the rule more lenient in 1978 in an effort to avoid a lawsuit eventually brought by the Eastern New York Soccer Assn.

The original restrictive rule was upheld in the New York State Court of Appeal in 1985, reversing an initial ruling in favor of the soccer organization. However, nine of 11 athletic association sections currently do not comply with the rule, by permission of the governing body. Sandra Scott, associate director of the association, said she expects the issue to remain in the forefront.

In Washington, there is no restriction on outside competition. That rule is the result of a successful legal challenge more than 12 years ago of a restrictive rule, according to Ralph Bayard, a Washington Interscholastic Activities Assn. administrator.

The Southern Section is the only one of 10 California Interscholastic Federation sections with limitations on the number of team members who may play together on an outside team before and after the school sport season.

The other nine sections follow the CIF rule prohibiting outside competition only during the particular school sport season. It places no limits on the number of team members who may play together at any other time of the year.

Individual sections are permitted to pass rules more restrictive than the state standard, and the 476-school Southern Section--the state’s largest--has had rules limiting the number of high school team members on outside teams in various sports for at least 10 years, according to Dean Crowley, a Southern Section administrator.

No other CIF section is currently considering any outside competition rules, but section commissioners informally agreed last week at the State Federated Council in Sacramento to canvass their sections on outside competition, including whether the CIF should consider repealing the rule that prohibits play on non-school teams during the school sport season.