Texas Association Of Private And Parochial Schools Article Index for
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Texas Association Of Private And Parochial Schools





GROUPINGS

Like the UIL, TAPPS separates the state in regions, officially called ''districts'', for various contests. Each type of contest will have different districts and competitors. The districts are mostly decided behind closed doors by TAPPS and are an attempt to keep schools within a certain distance of their home town when attending competitions. However, the system has evolved in such a way that district competitions are often the first step towards further progression; hence, if a school wins their district marching band competition, they may advance to the state level, for instance.

Schools are further broken down with a letter classification to separate them from other schools of varying sizes. The purpose is ensure that schools compete only with others with similar size talent pools and resources. TAPPS' general classifications are 1A, '''2A''', '''3A''', '''4A''', '''5A''', and '''6A'''; unlike the UIL, whose official designations are strictly alphabetic, TAPPS officially uses alphanumeric designations for its classifications. The largest schools are classified as 6A, and the smallest are known as 1A. However, TAPPS uses different classification schemes in some other competitions (also by enrollment; lower numbers indicate lower enrollment unless otherwise indicated):
  • Fine arts and academic competitions: Standard classifications, except that Classes 1A and 2A are split into one subgroup for music and another for other arts and academics

  • ; Divisions I, II, III, and IV for the 11-man game

  • Soccer : Divisions I and II

  • Swimming : Divisions I (Class 6A schools), II (Class 5A and 4A schools), and III (all smaller schools)

  • Wrestling : A single classification, as only 13 TAPPS schools (as of 2005) sponsor that sport


Currently, Home Schoolers are allowed to attach themselves to TAPPS member schools and compete in their events. Starting with the 2006 - 07 academic year, this will no longer be allowed. Instead, a separate division for home schoolers will be created. Groups of home schoolers will be allowed to organize teams in any competition sponsored by TAPPS, and will compete within this new division.


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