News: VHSL Initial Proposed Plan for 2013-15 Puts 12 of 13 Loudoun Schools in Dulles District

(Feb. 7, 2012)- Are you ready for a Super Size Me Dulles District? It may only be a couple of years away as the initial proposed alignment plan for 2013-15 released by the Virginia High School League Monday puts 12 of Loudoun's 13 high schools in the Dulles District.

The plan, which if approved would signal a radical shift in how the VHSL classifies teams and holds postseason competition, puts the current nine Dulles District schools (Briar Woods, Dominion, Heritage, Loudoun County, Loudoun Valley, Park View, Potomac Falls, Tuscarora, Woodgrove) in a 12-team district along with current Cedar Run District schools Broad Run and Freedom and new school John Champe which opens in 2012.

The only Loudoun school not in the Dulles in the proposal would be Stone Bridge which would remain in the Liberty District.


The proposal would eliminate the current A, AA and AAA classifications and the regional alignments. Schools would be classified according to divisions (1 through 6) and state playoffs would be based upon divisions, the model used currently for football and basketball but not for other sports. So if approved, sports such as soccer, wrestling, tennis, etc. would crown six state champions each year instead of the current three.

Since there would be no more regional alignments, state playoffs would be based on some other model, as yet determined, with the most likely scenario being a Sectional method which is currently being used for Division 1 and Division 2 football in the state. In the sectional method, playoff teams are divided into Sectionals based upon geography and then seeded accordingly.

The current 4-region model for the VHSL was an unhappy fit for some, especially in the larger AAA classification as the Northwest Region was a "catch-all" region with teams from the Potomac River all the way to the western border of the state. Teams for Loudoun, for example, playing in the Cedar Run District had to travel to nearly five hours to Danville for "regional" playoff games.

Also under the new proposal, districts may form with schools of different divisions. Previously Loudoun saw its schools shift from AA to AAA classifications (and back) each two years as population trends changed. The new proposal will maintain long-time rivalries and geographic match-ups for district play even when school sizes change. Broad Run, for example, left the Dulles District this season, just rising above the AAA cutoff, depriving a heated district rivalry with neighbor Briar Woods, just under the AAA numbers. Such changes would not be needed in the future.

The proposed Dulles District, for example, features schools ranging in classification from Division 2 (Champe with a projected first-year enrollment of 650) to Division 6 (Freedom but that number is based on its current enrollment which will be cut down to 1,483 when Champe opens). The majority of the Dulles District is slotted for Division 5 (Briar Woods, Broad Run, Potomac Falls, Tuscarora) and Division 4 (Dominion, Heritage, Park View, Woodgrove) with Loudoun Valley at Division 3.

Those divisional numbers could change as the VHSL has opted to use March enrollment figures for the next 2-year cycle instead of the Sept. numbers, currently used to devise the proposal. Plus schools can also petition to change their division, a case Freedom will likely make as the South Riding schools' true numbers make it a Division 5 or Division 4 school depending on where the cut is made. To devise the divisions, the VHSL is taking all enrollment for members (when March numbers come out) and then dividing the schools into six segments. A school's division will determine its postseason pool but not its regular-season district membership.

The proposed plan will be presented to the Executive Committee on Feb. 22. The plan would be approved later this spring and would take affect starting the 2013-14 school year.

View the proposed alignment.