The Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA) is the regulating body for

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

interscholastic activities in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

and is Alaska's member to the

National Federation of State High School Associations 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. NFHS's headquarters are located in White River State Park in Indi ...

History

The Alaska High School Activities Association was founded in 1957 by the

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

board of education, when the need arose for a regulating body in local and regional basketball tournaments. By 1973, separate regions were formed for basketball competition. By 1987, ASAA became fully independent from state government control or oversight. Currently, ASAA serves as the organizing body for over 190 schools, with a combined enrollment of over 35,000 students. The current executive director is Billy Strickland. The organization is headquartered in the "U-Med District" of

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

ASAA classifications

March Madness - boys and girls basketball tournament

ASAA's ''March Madness'' state basketball tournament is one of the largest yearly prep sports events in Alaska, mainly because of basketball's unrivaled popularity in rural and urban areas alike. The tournament showcases the eight best teams (selected by region-wide divisional tournaments) from 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A classifications in standard, separate, two tiered brackets that accommodate 5th place, 3rd place, and championship games. The tournament, hence the name, takes place usually during the last half of the month of March, and has, at times in the past, taken place during the

Anchorage School District The Anchorage School District (ASD) manages all public schools within the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the 107th largest school district in the United States, serving over 45,000 students in more than 90 schools. ...

’s spring break. During this event, thousands of people from all over the state of Alaska pour into Anchorage to cheer their respective local teams on, or to simply take in the basketball action. Previously, before the 2006 basketball season, the frenzied tournament action spanned across as many as three different venues in Anchorage over the course of four days with games played from as early as 8 a.m.

AKST The Alaska Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting nine hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC−09:00). During daylight saving time its time offset is eight hours (UTC−08:00). The clock time in this zone is based on mean solar ti ...

to late into the evening (sometimes with the final game of the day ending after midnight). However, beginning with the 2006 season and beyond, the tournament format was altered to accommodate week-long, early Monday through late Saturday play with the majority of games at all classifications played at

Sullivan Arena The George M. Sullivan Arena (commonly shortened to the "Sullivan Arena" and often referred to colloquially as "The Sully") is a 6,290 seat arena in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. The arena is named after former Anchorage mayor George M. Sul ...

, primarily a hockey venue, was reconfigured to contain two full-sized basketball courts for the tournament week. Beginning in 2015, the tournament was moved into the Alaska Airlines Center, which is located on the campus of the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

High school football

The ASAA sanctions high school football at the Division I, Division II and Division III levels. Each year Alaska holds the first high school game in the nation, held usually around mid-August during summer vacation. Because of this, and the relatively short eight-game season, ASAA state championship football games are played earlier than elsewhere as well, with tournament games taking place in mid-to-late October. The championship games are entitled the First National Bowl. Currently, 10 teams play at the Division I level in the

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its sou ...

and Chugak conferences, while 8 teams play at the DII classification. There are 10 teams playing in the Division III classification. The Whalers of

Barrow High School Barrow High School is a public high school in Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska, United States, operated by the North Slope Borough School District. As of the 2016–2017 school year, the school had 232 students. Athletics Football A high ...

are the northernmost high school football team in the United States.ESPN.com
"The Real Frozen Tundra"
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First National Bowl

The culminating state tournament football games, sponsored by

First National Bank Alaska First National Bank Alaska () is an American bank founded in 1922 by Winfield Ervin Sr., as The First National Bank of Anchorage. The first branch stood on the corner of 4th and G Streets in Anchorage, Alaska. History The bank was founded in 19 ...

, take place at the

Anchorage Football Stadium The Anchorage Football Stadium is a 3,500-seat stadium in Anchorage, Alaska used for American football, track and field, and soccer. Anchorage Football Stadium is located next to Mulcahy Stadium and Sullivan Arena The George M. Sullivan Are ...

over the course of two weeks.

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 The National Speech and Debate Association is an American student debating society. It was established in 1925 as the National Forensic League; the name was changed in 2014. It is one of four major national organizations that direct high school ...

) * Football * Hockey * Nordic skiing * Soccer * Softball * Solo and Ensemble Music Festival * Swimming and Diving * Tennis * Track and Field * Volleyball * World language * Wrestling ASAA also regulates the statewide student government association, the Alaska Association for Student Government (AASG). This child organization includes about 150 member high schools all across Alaska. Collectively, local AASG programs serve over 25,000 young people in their home schools and statewide. The statewide organization is led by a 17-seat executive board composed of students selected for either one or two-year terms.

References

External links

* {{NFHS 1957 establishments in Alaska High school sports associations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Anchorage, Alaska Organizations based in Anchorage, Alaska Sports organizations established in 1957