Why is an 18 year old who turns 19 prohibited?
The standard policy for all major sports leagues in Texas (TAPPS, UIL, etc.) is that for an 18 year old to be eligible to play he/she must have been held back for academic purposes which is almost always in elementary school.
TAIAO accepts valid petitions whereby it can clearly be shown that an athlete was held back for academic reasons before entering middle school.
Why is the cut off date June 1st and not Sept 1st?
UIL schools use September 1st as the date by which to move an athlete up or down for eligibility.
TAIAO recognized that many private and charter school parents were holding their children back based upon a June 1st criteria.
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So, to level the playing field for homeschoolers in 2021, athletes turning 14 born on or after June 1st could participate in middle school athletics.
Who is responsible for checking the age of athletes?
This responsibility is solely the responsibility of each member organization. If at anytime, an organization finds itself in non-compliance, they should immediately self report.
Failure to self-report has led to prohibition from post season play as well as two-year suspensions from participating in TAIAO.
Why is it necessary to have strict adherence to these eligibility rules?
TAIAO programs compete against UIL and TAPPS schools. Our eligibility rules insure these other organizations that we are not stacking teams with players who would normally be freshmen in college.
Many homeschool organizations have a reputation of being fast and lose with the eligibility rules and field teams with many athletes who turn 19 in their senior year.Â
Teams who do this have often been banned from playing teams in other leagues. Therefore, TAIAO has made a conscious decision to assure other programs that we are on equal footing.Â
Can we enter the league with ineligible players?
No. All athletes must meet the TAIAO eligibility guidelines. For example, f you have a 15 year old high school freshman then they will need to be reclassified as a sophomore.
Furthermore, it is a violation if your athlete plays the season and sits out the post season play. Much or our post season seeding is based upon season play so the use of ineligible players will result in a ban from post season play (and possible suspension from TAIAO).
Has anyone won an appeal for eligibility?
The Steering Committee has yet to grant any appeals to eligibility where there is not a transcript from an accredited school which reflects an athlete being held back before the age of 12.