Athletic Eligibility for Specialty Programs

Middle school students attending a specialty program that does not offer an interscholastic athletics program may participate at the student’s home school if all other eligibility requirements are met. Your child’s home school is based on TCS residential attendance boundaries.

The middle school student athlete may participate, or play up, at the high school for which they are zoned based on the TCS residential attendance boundaries. 

The student athlete will gain immediate eligibility as a ninth grader after application and acceptance only at the IB school without making a "bona fide move" into the zone of the TCS high school specialty program of their choosing.

The student athlete will gain immediate eligibility in the ninth grade at their residential zoned high school. There will be no interruption in athletic eligibility.

Once a student is accepted into a specialty program and has been added to the school’s roster through the enrollment process, athletic eligibility is attached. Should the student athlete withdraw from the specialty program and return to his or her home school, they will be ineligible for athletic participation for one calendar year.

According to the Alabama High School Athletic Association Handbook: SECTION 12. 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 athletic contest. This means, the student athlete cannot participate in athletics for one calendar year. The only exception is a “bona fide move.”

According to the Alabama High School Athletic Association Handbook: SECTION 12. 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 athletic contest. This means, the student athlete cannot participate in athletics for one calendar year. The only exception is a “bona fide move.”