Eligibility Rules

The NVHAA is a member of and follows the Player Eligibility Rules for the Virginia Homeschool Athletic Conference (VHAC) and Eastern Christian Conference (ECC).  These eligibility rules apply to all NVHAA players and teams. Unless otherwise published by NVHAA, if a student meets the below standards, they are eligible to play for NVHAA, in the playoffs, and in tournaments.

1. Player must be a bona fide homeschooler or a homeschool dual-enrolled college student. There are three methods of homeschooling in Virginia: 1. Notice of Intent (NOI), 2. Religious Exemption, 3. Certified Tutor Provision. If in doubt, a player may be asked to provide proof of homeschooling either through a letter from Virginia indicating they are homeschooling or teacher’s Certification. Reference:  https://heav.org/virginia-homeschool-laws/   
2. A player who has received a high school diploma is not eligible.
3. Player must 13 to 18 years of age as of 1 August of the school year. Note: Age 12 athletes may eligible for certain NVHAA sports teams if listed at the teams registration and space is available. For other teams, case-by-case exceptions may be approved by coaches. If a middle school team is not available, then a 12 year old may be a practice player on certain teams after approval from the head coach.
4. Player must be 18 years or younger as of 1 Aug of the school year playing.
5. Player must have played less than four varsity seasons for the high school sport for which they are participating (that includes private or public schools in the past). Middle school and JV do not count.
6. Player meets VHAC eligibility rules as listed below. 

IMPORTANT NOTE TO PARENTS: Age more than academic grade should dictate the competitive sports level for an athlete.  Homeschool parents often confuse the two when selecting the competitive team level for their athlete. Generally, an athlete should compete with other athletes who are at the same physical development. There is a rare occasion where an outstanding athlete needs to compete at higher levels. That would be addressed on a case-by-case basis and is not usually the athletic level of most athletes. The grade listed when registering will determine the number of years the athlete can participate on NVHAA sports teams.

For any questions or further information, please contact the NVHAA Athletic Director at adnvhaa@gmail.com.

IMPORTANT VHAC ELIGIBILITY RULES NOTE:

As a member of the Virginia Homeschool Athletic Conference (VHAC), NVHAA has to abide by certain eligibility rules limiting the movement of players from one home school sports program to another.

The Main Points are as follows:

​1. Multi-sport athletes are required to play all sports with the same program or organization, unless the athlete competes in a sport not offered by that organization, in which case they’re free to play for any organization offering that sport.

2. Players, who wish to change from one sports organization to another, must meet certain requirements and if necessary, follow a process requesting approval from VHAC.

3. The rules apply to all VHAC member programs and are similar to the rules already in place in North Carolina, as well as other states. 

4. The rules provide stability for home school sports programs, allowing them to grow and develop without the unexpected loss of players to competing organizations. 

For any questions or further information, please contact the NVHAA Athletic Director at adnvhaa@gmail.com.

NCAA Homeschool Eligibility Checklist

• Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center
• Fee payment.
• Standardized test score (ACT and/or SAT) must be submitted directly from the testing agency using code 9999 to select the NCAA Eligibility Center as a score recipient. Note that test scores received on a transcript cannot be used by the NCAA Eligibility Center. Also, a Student Score Report or scores taken directly from a Student Score Report cannot be accepted by the NCAA Eligibility Center for initial-eligibility purposes.
• Home School transcript that includes:
  1. Course titles.
  2. Course grades.
  3. Units of credit for each course.
  4. Grading scale (if numeric grades are awarded). See grading scale example at right.
  5. Signature of home school administrator (the parent or other person who organized, taught and evaluated course work).
  6. Ninth grade start date (month/day/year).
  7. Transcript must show year in which courses were taken (e.g., 9th grade or
     Freshman Year 2009-10).
  8.  Graduation date (month/day/year).
• Evidence that home schooling was conducted in accordance with state laws (a signed written statement from the home school administrator verifying compliance with state home school legislation). Please attach any supporting documentation.
• A signed statement of who managed the home school program (e.g., who taught and evaluated the coursework, awarded grades and issued credit).
• Submit the Core-Course Worksheet for the core courses used throughout home
  schooling for English, math, science, social studies, foreign language, comparative
  religion or philosophy courses. No Core-Course Worksheet is required for
  college courses. However, the college must send an official copy of the transcript
  directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center.
• Transcript from any other high school, college or nontraditional program attended (official copy mailed directly from issuing institution).
• Proof of high school graduation, including specific graduation date (month/day/year of graduation) (i.e., standard diploma, GED or graduation date on transcript).

For more detailed information and examples, please see the Home School Resource page by going to the Resources page and Homeschooled students tab at the NCAA Eligibility Center.

Additional information on NCAA eligibility can be found at the Homeschool Success website.

HSLDA is aware of the difficulty homeschoolers are facing in regards to NCAA eligibility and working hard on the behalf of homeschool graduates.