Beginning this 2013-2014 school year, the Virginia High School League implemented a new six-classification plan completely realigning Virginia’s 313 high schools into 48 conferences, doing away with the original alignment.

“The six-classification plan was designed to provide what is best for the league as a whole and to benefit the membership-at-large, all 313 schools, rather than serving the interests of individual schools or smaller groups,” said Kevin Tilley, VHSL Executive Director since 1994.

This substantial change has been in the making for the past five years, when the executive committee began to discuss a five-classification model. However, the model was not progressed after understandable uncertainty over districts, playoffs, and finances.

Every two years, the League surveys all 313 schools about potential reclassification and redistricting. The most recent “R&R” survey was conducted in November of 2011, where more than 70% of the 313 schools supported a four or more class conference.

Based on the results of the survey, the executive committee voted in December of 2011 26-0 to give the go-ahead to the R&R committee to come up with a classification plan to present at the next meeting.

In February of 2012, the R&R committee proposed a six-classification plan, and the new alignment for the 2013-2014 school year was born.

According to Tilley, the plan was discussed at more than 100 different meetings which involved representatives from member schools. “It is also well worth noting that this was not a ‘rush job.’ Between the first executive committee action in December of 2011 until the current opening of the 2013-2014 school year, preparations have extended over a total of 21 months and have allowed for thorough vetting of concerns,” Tilley said.

Tilley refers to the VHSL By-Laws of classification as the basis for the realignment which states, “to equalize opportunities in competitive activities,” as the three original “group” classes were not equal. Group AAA had 130 schools, Group AA had 86 schools, and Group A had 97 schools.

“Equity, balance, and expanded-playoff opportunities were among the major factors that contributed to changing the classification system,” Tilley said.

In order to preserve this equity and balance, no schools are permitted to play up or down, meaning that schools are not permitted to play schools not in their conference.

The plan intended to promote more playoff opportunities for teams across the state to participate in. “Using a 50% plus one threshold, state championships and competitions have grown from 92 to 153,” Tilley said.

Once playoffs start, schools will compete within their conference, where schools are organized geographically, with at most eight schools in their respective conference. Therefore, only schools that are relatively the same size will compete against each other.

The additional 61 playoff opportunities stated in the “Six Classification Talking Points” are as follows:

• Six championships in baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, football, boys golf, boys soccer, softball, girls tennis, boys and girls outdoor track, girls volleyball, wrestling, scholastic bowl, and forensics.
• Five championships in cheer, girls soccer, boys tennis, and theatre.
  • Four championships in boys and girls swim and dive and boys and girls indoor track.
  • Three championships in field hockey and debate.
  • Two championships in gymnastics and boys and girls lacrosse.
  • One championship in girls golf, boys volleyball and creative writing.

Dominion High School is in group 4A—North, Conference 21, comprising of: Sherando, Woodgrove, Millbrook, James Wood, Loudoun County, Heritage, and Park View.