Page 6 - 2024 District III Cross Country Program

PIAA DISTRICT III

The state of Pennsylvania is divided in 12 geographic districts for PIAA administrative purposes. Each district has a
district committee elected by member schools from within that District. Every committee elects a chairperson who
becomes that District’s representative on the PIAA Board of Directors. District III has an additional representative on
the State Board based on the number of members schools. District I and District XII also have an additional
representative; District VII has two additional representatives.

District III encompasses the counties of Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon,
Perry and York. Within this 10 county-area are 127 member senior high schools and 116 middle schools. These member
schools elect their District Committee to oversee various interscholastic programs within the District. While the District
Committee must follow all PIAA rules and regulations, each district has autonomy in administering athletic contests
prior to the PIAA interdistrict level.

District III is home to the following leagues Berks County Interscholastic Athletic Association, Christian Commonwealth
Athletic Conference, Lancaster-Lebanon League, Mid-Penn Conference, Tri-Valley League and York-Adams
Interscholastic Athletic Association. A small number of schools retain independent status.

The voting rules of the District mandate that all leagues shall have at least one representative on the Committee as a
voting member. These representatives are elected by the member schools at an Annual Meeting held each April. In
addition, a representative from the Pennsylvania School Board Association, a male officials’ representative, a female
officials’ representative, male and female parents’ representatives and a girls athletics representative stand as voting
members of the District III committee. There are 16 voting members plus 12 non-voting members on the Committee.

With the addition of girls individual wrestling for 2023-24, the District Committee develops, organizes and directs 27
District III championships (13 for boys, 14 for girls) in 16 different sports. Broken down by gender and class, the District
conducts 71 team championships and 31 individual championships. Among the 31 individual championships, District III
crowns 182 champions each year.

These championships are a prerequisite to qualification for PIAA championships. In the fall, these include boys and girls
cross country, field hockey, boys and girls golf, football, boys and girls soccer, girls tennis and girls volleyball. In the
winter, championships conducted are boys and girls basketball, boys and girls swimming & diving, boys teamwrestling,
boys and girls individual wrestling and competitive spirit. While there is no PIAA championship for bowling, District III
does conduct an individual championship for boys and girls bowling. The spring championships are baseball, boys and
girls lacrosse, softball, boys and girls outdoor track and field, boys tennis and boys volleyball.

The cost of funding these championships comes primarily from the spectator ticket admission fees at District III playoff
events. For sports where no admission fee is charged, schools pay a minimal entry fee per participant. Schools do not
pay District dues. In years when the surplus is larger 50% of annual operating costs, the District will reimburse schools,
either directly or by subsidizing their annual PIAA dues.

OUR MISSION
 Organize, develop and direct athletic programs that will promote the health and physical welfare of all
participants, both male and female.
 Foster good sportsmanship and safeguard the educational values of interscholastic athletics.
 Develop and enforce rules adopted by the member schools that regulate interscholastic athletic
competition.
 Organize and conduct a program of District III championship tournaments in various fields of athletic
competition.

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