Home | Organization | National Federation of State High School Associations
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The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. Most high schools, whether public or private, belong to their state's high school association; in turn, each state association belongs to the NFHS. Over 17,000 high schools belong to associations that are members of the NFHS. NFHS's headquarters are located in White River State Park in Indianapolis, Indiana. However, in states that have separate associations for public and non-public high schools, only the public-school bodies are NFHS members. For example, the Texas University Interscholastic League (public schools, with non-public schools generally not allowed) is a member, while the associations governing non-public schools, the largest of which is the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, are not. Similarly, the Virginia High School League, open only to public schools, is a member, while the state's parallel associations for non-public schools are not. The same is the case in Mississippi, where the body governing public schools is a member, while the body governing private schools is not. Iowa has separate governing associations for boys' and girls' sports - the Iowa High School Athletic Association and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. Only the Iowa High School Athletic Association is a full member of the NFHS; the girls' governing body is an affiliate member. The NFHS publishes rules books for each sport or activity, and most states adopt those rules wholly for state high school competition. The NFHS offered an online Coach Education Program in January 2007. It released a course, Fundamentals of Coaching. The NFHS has announced that it will offer a National Coach Certification in September 2009. This will enable to coaches to become a Level 1 - Accredited Interscholastic Coach issued by the NFHS. |