South Carolina High School League

The South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) is the organization that rules and regulates school athletics in the state of South Carolina. Established in 1907 and based out of Columbia, the SCHSL has 414 member schools as of the 2011-2012 school year, of which 206 high schools and 208 junior high/middle schools compete.

Competition

SCHSL sanctions competition in the following sports: softball, baseball, basketball, competitive cheerleading, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and wrestling.

The SCHSL operates four classes of competition dependent on the size of a school's enrollment: AAAA (quad-A or four-A), AAA (triple-A or three-A), AA (double-A or two-A), and A. Each class contains eight regions (defined by Roman numerals) with five to eight similarly-sized schools within proximity of each other. The first four regions in each class (I, II, III, IV) are considered "upper state" regions (Upstate and upper Midlands schools) whereas the last four regions (V, VI, VII, VIII) are considered "lower state" regions (Lowcountry, Pee Dee, and lower Midlands schools). Due to smaller budgets at smaller schools, some sports required AA and A to have combined tournaments and championships. Realignment occurs on a two-year basis.