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Bellows Free Academy

71 South Main Street, St. Albans, VT 05478 (get directions)

P: (802) 527-6555 • F: (802) 527-6453 (contact info)

VPA

Vermont Principals Association Eligibility

Eligibility rules and activities policies apply to all students, both boys and girls, in grades 7-12. Eligibility rules and activities policies apply to all activities, both athletic and non athletic, sanctioned or sponsored by the VPA. Waiver requests regarding undue hardships must be submitted through the Principal. These waiver requests will not apply in matters of age.

• Contestants or participants must be bona fide studentsin their schools. Students may only compete on schoolteams sponsored by their own school during theseason.

• In an activity season, players who have participated in practice or competition as a member of a school group shall not practice or competes members of a nonschool organized group in the same activity. Students may participate in an event as individuals, but not as members of another team.  Violation of this rule will be handled as follows:
  • for the first infraction, a warning to the students will be given that the choice of participation on one or the other group must be followed.
  • for the second infraction, students will be dropped from the school group.

• Transfer students are eligible at once provided they were bona fide students in the school from which they transferred according to the definition in #1 above. If the transfer is the result of any coercion, recruiting or inducement to move in order to participate in interscholastic activities, students will be ineligible for a period of 365 calendar days from the date of infraction.

• A student who competes in any VPA sanctioned activity must be under nineteen (19) years of age, except that a student whose 19th birthday occurs on or after August 1st is eligible for all activities in the ensuing school year. Students who have attained the age of 19 prior to August 1st shall be ineligible for all sanctioned activities.

• Students are ineligible if they have graduated from a course of study in a secondary school comparable to a Vermont system.

• Students are ineligible if they have attended high school for eight (8) semesters. Attendance of thirty days of any semester shall be regarded as a semester.

• Students are ineligible if they have lost their amateur standing, i.e. they have accepted remuneration, gifts or donations directly or indirectly for participation in an activity. High school students should be advised to exercise great caution in participating in any activity where there are cash prizes. Students who have lost amateur status in one activity do not lose it in other activities. Students who have violated one of the eligibility rules listed above become immediately ineligible.