MHSA makes several changes for Class C athletics

In their meeting Nov. 20, the Montana High School Association (MHSA) Executive Board made several adjustments to the state's landscape of high school sports. The changes for the upcoming season cover a range of topics from event reviews to strategic realignments.

These changes are pending a two-week notice to affected schools for comments.

One of the focal points of the meeting was realignment of Class C in basketball, track and field, and volleyball. The executive board directed Class C schools to collaborate in finding reasonable solutions for aligning these sports in the same districts/divisions. Several changes were made:

• Approval of the St. Regis High School/Mullan, Idaho, cooperative sponsorship, placing the team in the 8-player Western Division, which includes Mission, Arlee and Charlo.

• Approval of Twin Bridges' move to participate in 8-player football, placing them in the Southern Division.

• Approval of the proposed realignment for 8-player football, reducing divisions from five to four in 2024-25 consisting of the East, West, South and North.

The MHSA also consolidated the 13C and 14C districts for basketball, track and field, and volleyball. The newly formed 13C district, effective 2024-25, includes Alberton, Charlo, Drummond, Granite, Hot Springs, Lincoln, Noxon, St. Regis, Seeley-Swan, Two Eagle River, Valley Christian and Victor.

The MHSA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee mandated that schools must now have an Emergency Action Plan for each venue where they practice or compete, with submission to the MHSA by July 15 each school year.

For more information on the MHSA, go to mhsa.org.