Alaska School Activities Association

Encyclopedia : A : AL : ALA : Alaska School Activities Association

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The Alaska School Activities Association (abbreviated as ASAA) is the regulating body for Alaska high school interscholastic activities and is Alaska's member to the National Federation of State High School Associations.

History

The Alaska School Activities Association was founded in 1957 by the State Board of Education as the Alaska High School Activities Association when the need arose for a regulating body in local and regional basketball tournaments. By 1973 separate regions were formed for basketball competition and by 1987 ASAA became fully independent from the State of Alaska. Currently ASAA serves as the organizing body for over 190 schools with 35,000 students. The current executive director is Gary Mathews.

The organization is headquartered in Anchorage.

Activities

ASAA regulates the following interscholastic activities:

• All-State Art Festival
• All-State Honor Music Festival
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cheerleading
• Cross-Country
• Drama, Debate, and Forensics (serves as the statewide organizing body for the National Forensic League)
• Football
• Hockey
• Nordic Skiing
• Soccer
• Softball
• Solo and Ensemble Music Festival
• Swimming and Diving
• Track and Field
• Volleyball
• World Language
• Wrestling

ASAA's March Madness state basketball tournament in Anchorage is quite likely the largest prep sports event in Alaska in lieu of basketball's unrivalled popularity in rural and urban areas alike. It is during this event that thousands of people from around the state pour into Anchorage to cheer their respective local teams on, or to simply take in the basketball action. In the years previous to 2006, the tournament took place in three or more different venues over four days with games played from 8AM to late into the evening. However, currently, beginning in 2006, all four tournaments in all four classifications are all played in one facility, Sullivan Arena, over the course of a week.

ASAA sanctioned high school football holds one major claim to fame over other states in the United States with Alaska, annually, playing host to the very first high school game in the nation, held usually around mid August. Because of this, and the fact that the football regular season lasts for about eight games at both 3A and 4A classifications, the ASAA state championship football games tend to take place earlier than everywhere else in the nation as well, with tournament games played in the latter half of October.

ASAA also regulates the statewide student government association, the Alaska Association for Student Government (AASG).

See also

• List of high schools in Alaska
• List of school districts in Alaska

External link

• [Official site]

 

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