The Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) is the governing body for sports competitions among all public and some private high schools in the state of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

. It is a member of 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 Ind ...

. The MPA offices are located in Augusta.

History

First established in 1927 as the State Principals' Association, it became the Maine Principals' Association in 1992 as a result of a merger between the Maine Secondary School Principals' Association (est. 1951) and the Maine Elementary Principals' Association (est. 1975).

Athletic Classifications

Schools competing under the MPA are grouped into (at most) four classes, with different enrollment cutoffs for each sport (Broken down by seaso

Fall

Winter

Spring

Schools are reclassified every two years. The classification thresholds are currently being adjusted and would go into effect for the fall 2013 sports season. A school may petition the Association to play in a class above or below its enrollment figure. Currently, most sports are split into "Eastern" and" "Western" regions. Championships are played at several locations around the state including

Fitzpatrick Stadium James J. Fitzpatrick Stadium is a 6,000 seat multi-purpose outdoor stadium in Portland, Maine, United States. It is located between Interstate 295, Hadlock Field baseball stadium, King Middle School, and the Portland Exposition Building. It is l ...

(football) and basketball championships between the Cross Insurance Center, Augusta Civic Center), the

Portland Exposition Building The Portland Exposition Building, also known as The Expo, is a sports and exhibition venue (convention center) building complex in Portland, Maine. The complex includes five inter-connected buildings with 24,000 square feet of exhibition space a ...

and the

Cumberland County Civic Center Cross Insurance Arena (formerly Cumberland County Civic Center) is a multi-purpose arena located in Portland, Maine. Built in 1977, at a cost of US$8 million, it is the home arena for the Maine Mariners of the ECHL. There are 6,206 permanent sea ...

depending on class and geographical region. The MPA using a mathematical system called heal points to determine tournament standings, the latest heal points and an explanation on how to determine the points can be foun
here
Currently basketball, soccer, ice hockey, lacrosse and tennis are the only sports to have separate male and female teams, baseball is male only and softball is female only. Girls ice hockey became a sanctioned sport as of the winter 2008 season

Other programs

Other activities the MPA also sponsors include debate, drama, music,

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

, science fair, speech and Student Council. In addition to interscholastic events, the MPA offers a "Professional Division", which provides opportunities for education and professional advancement for elementary, middle/junior high and high school principals, assistant principals, technical education center directors, assistant directors and other administrators who function primarily as building principals or assistant principals.

External links

Official site
{{NFHS Organizations based in Maine Organizations established in 1927 Sports in Maine High school sports associations in the United States Education in Maine