The Central Region was one of the four AAA regions in the Virginia High School League until 2013. It was made up of four districts: the AAA Capital District, the AAA Central District, the AAA Colonial District, and the

AAA Dominion District The Dominion District includes public schools from the Greater Richmond Region. Dominion District schools compete in the 6A, 5A, 4A, and 3A divisions. The Dominion District schools are located in the central part of the Greater Richmond Region sou ...

. Group AAA was the largest enrollment class for VHSL schools, and typically AAA is the most competitive level as well. In 2013, the three classification format was eliminated in favor of a six classification system. Accordingly, the Central Region was eliminated, while the districts were retained for regular season competition. The Central Region comprises most of the public schools in the Greater Richmond Region, including public schools from Richmond City, Chesterfield County, Henrico County, Hanover County,

Dinwiddie County Dinwiddie County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,947. Its county seat is Dinwiddie. Dinwiddie County is part of the Richmond, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The f ...

and

Prince George County Prince George County is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George, Virginia ...

as well as the independent cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell and

Petersburg Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

Classification Issue

Though AAA schools in Virginia are supposed to be around 1,500 students or larger, a considerable number of schools in the Central Region are below this size and petition to play up in Group AAA. In fact out of the 32 Central Region member schools, 13 are Group AA size, and one is Group A size. Usually, the VHSL accepts petitions from schools that choose to do this. While members that play up to AAA usually have enrollments close to the AA/AAA cutoff, schools such as

Colonial Heights High School Colonial Heights High School (CHHS) is a public high school located in Colonial Heights, Virginia, United States. The school serves about 800 students grades 9 – 12. The high school includes a Technical Center which offers a varie ...

and

Maggie L. Walker Governor's School The Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies (MLWGSGIS) is a public regional magnet high school in Richmond, Virginia. One of the 18 Virginia Governor's Schools, it draws students from 14 jurisdictions: the co ...

in Richmond City enroll under 1,000 students. Indeed, Maggie Walker Governor's School is at around 600 and would be classified in Group A if they did not petition to play up. The main reason why these schools play in AAA is to play with district schools that are nearby, rather than drive out farther away to play similarly sized schools. However, the region has enough AA sized members to create two AA districts (except for Maggie Walker) made up of smaller sized Central Region schools. Though it is not considered a "hot" issue at the moment, some VHSL officials are not particularly pleased with the fact that many schools in the Central Region that are small AA size or smaller continue to play up in AAA. This to some degree has caused Group AA to be the smallest group of the three classes (A schools tend to stay in Group A and not play up), and AAA to be the largest. This has also caused crowding in the

AAA Eastern Region The Virginia High School League (VHSL) is the principal sanctioning organization for interscholastic athletic competition among public high schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VHSL first sponsored debate and also continues to sponsor sta ...

, which currently has 39 schools, only five of which have elected to play up.

Member schools

AAA Capital District * Patrick Henry High School of Ashland, Virginia * Armstrong High School of Richmond, Virginia * Atlee High School of Mechanicsville, Virginia * Hanover High School of Mechanicsville, Virginia *

Henrico High School Henrico High School is a public high school located in Henrico County, Virginia and operated by the Henrico County Public Schools. It has two specialty centers — the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years/ Diploma Program and the Center f ...

of Richmond, Virginia * Highland Springs High School of Highland Springs, Virginia * Mechanicsville High School of Mechanicsville, Virginia * Varina High School of Richmond, Virginia AAA Central District *

of Colonial Heights, Virginia *

Thomas Dale High School Thomas Dale High School is a public high school located in Chester, an unincorporated community in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. It was named for Sir Thomas Dale, a 17th-century leader in the Virginia Colony. The high school is ...

of Chester, Virginia * Dinwiddie County High School of Dinwiddie, Virginia * Hopewell High School of Hopewell, Virginia *

Matoaca High School Matoaca High School is a secondary school in the Matoaca community of unincorporated Chesterfield County, United States. This is the newer campus of the school; the old school campus was converted into a middle school, known currently as Matoa ...

of Chesterfield, Virginia * Meadowbrook High School of Richmond, Virginia * Petersburg High School of Petersburg, Virginia *

Prince George High School Prince George High School is the only public high school in Prince George County, Virginia. The school has 1354 students. Prince George High School offers grades 10-12 rather than the traditional 9-12 high school. Construction on the current faci ...

of Prince George, Virginia AAA Colonial District *

Deep Run High School Deep Run High School is a part magnet high school in Henrico County, Virginia, United States. It is named after Deep Run School, one of Henrico County's first schools which was a two-room schoolhouse that can still be found on the grounds of Short ...

of Glen Allen, Virginia *

Douglas S. Freeman High School Douglas S. Freeman High School is an American educational institution located in the western part of Virginia's Henrico County.

of Richmond, Virginia *

Mills E. Godwin High School Mills Edwin Godwin High School is a public high school located in the West End region of unincorporated Henrico County, Virginia. The school is operated by Henrico County Public Schools. History Godwin High School opened in 1981, named in honor ...

of Richmond, Virginia *

Glen Allen High School Glen Allen High School, established in 2010, is a public school located in Henrico County, Virginia. The mascot of GAHS is the Jaguar, and the school's current principal is Reginald Davenport. Glen Allen is the 16th best high school in Virginia, t ...

of Glen Allen, Virginia * Hermitage High School of Richmond, Virginia * Thomas Jefferson High School of Richmond, Virginia * John Marshall High School of Richmond, Virginia *

John Randolph Tucker High School John Randolph Tucker High School is a public high school in the West End of Henrico County, Virginia, United States. It is named after lawyer and judge John Randolph Tucker. Its students and faculty often refer to themselves as “Tigers," and loc ...

of Richmond, Virginia * Maggie L. Walker High School of Richmond, Virginia

L. C. Bird High School Lloyd C. Bird High School is a public high school in Chesterfield, an unincorporated community in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. It is part of Chesterfield County Public Schools and is located at 10301 Courthouse Road. It is n ...

of Chesterfield, Virginia *

Clover Hill High School Clover Hill High School is a public secondary school located in Midlothian, Virginia, Midlothian, an unincorporated community in Chesterfield County, Virginia, Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. It is part of Chesterfield County Public ...

of Midlothian, Virginia *

Cosby High School Cosby High School is a public high school in Midlothian, Virginia, United States. Cosby opened in 2006 and is one of the newest of eleven high schools administered by Chesterfield County Public Schools. History Cosby High School was named for it ...

of Midlothian, Virginia *

Huguenot High School Huguenot High School, part of the Richmond Public Schools system, is a high school located in Richmond, Virginia, United States, with grades 9–12. Huguenot High School was named in honor of the Huguenots, French Protestants who emigrated to th ...

of Richmond, Virginia * James River High School of Midlothian, Virginia * Manchester High School of Midlothian, Virginia * Midlothian High School of Midlothian, Virginia *

Monacan High School Monacan High School is a public secondary school in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States, near the city of Richmond. The school was founded in 1979, and is a part of Chesterfield County Public Schools. It’s enrollment is roughly 1550 ...

of Richmond, Virginia *

George Wythe High School Richmond Public Schools is a public school district located in the independent city of Richmond, Virginia. It is occasionally described locally as Richmond City Public Schools to emphasize its connection to the independent city rather than the ...

of Richmond, Virginia

External links

VHSL-Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aaa Central Region Virginia High School League