There has recently been some discussion about the term "unattached" in the NCRunners forum, and it is clear that the word is being used by different people to mean different things. This seems to be generating a lot of confusion, so I spoke with Que Tucker of the NCHSAA (twice). I asked her about five specific cases, and got the official NCHSAA position on each of those. So, everybody take a deep breath, and let's get everything cleared up. First, let's make sure we all have a common vocabulary when we discuss the issue, and that everyone understands what the important terms mean; then we can discuss the five scenarios that seems to encompass all of the questions and confusion that have come up.
Definitions
Unattached
An athlete is unattached if the athlete is not representing his/her normal team in that competition. In order to be unattached by the technical definition of the term, the athlete must be a member of a team, but for whatever reason is not representing that team in the specific competition. Competing unattached should be an uncommon occurrence, and could happen for several reasons. Unattached athletes must assume all liability and all expenses for themselves, including transportation, and cannot wear school uniforms in the competition. The NCHSAA (North Carolina High School Athletic Association) does not regulate unattached athletes; it is up to the discretion of the meet director to decide whether to admit them, and many directors do (including me). However, performances while competing unattached cannot be used to qualify for NCHSAA regional or state meets
Unaffiliated
An athlete is unaffiliated if the athlete does not have a team or does not belong to a governing body. This means that there is nobody currently monitoring his/her eligibility. Home-schooled athletes who do not belong to an association of some kind (such as Forsyth Home Educators) are considered unaffiliated by the NCHSAA. Athletes whose schools do not field an official team in a given sport are considered unaffiliated for that season (since their eligibility is not being directly monitored by school officials). Some meet directors may still accept unaffiliated athletes into their meets, but many will not. Unaffiliated athletes might consider joining a club team (one that is registered under the governing bodies of the AAU or USATF) to become affiliated. Unaffiliated athletes cannot compete in any NCHSAA-sanctioned competitions, as they have not had their eligibility verified. Some college meet directors will allow both unattached and unaffiliated athletes to participate in their meets, and directors of open meets (which are not governed by eligibility rules in most cases) will usually accept them.
Governing Body
An organization that monitors its member athletes and ensures that they are eligible to compete, according to its own standard set of rules. The NCHSAA is a governing body, as are the NCISAA (North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association), the NCAA, the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) and USATF (USA Track & Field). A governing body (even the NCHSAA) is a membership-only institution: teams or schools that wish to join a governing body must apply for membership and pay dues. Governing bodies that represent public schools (such as the NCHSAA) are not themselves public institutions; that is to say, nobody is automatically a member of the NCHSAA just because they reside in North Carolina or go to a public school. Governing bodies have the authority to sanction the meets hosted by their members, and governing bodies also sponsor their own championship competitions. Governing bodies typically provide liability insurance for their members, which applies to practice, competitions, and transportation to either of those.
Member
An athlete or team that belongs to a governing body and follows its rules. Schools who are accepted for membership in the NCHSAA and pay their dues are members. Athletes who compete for NCHSAA member schools, and are listed on their eligibility sheets, are also members. Members of any governing body must meet the standards set forth, which range from grades and attendance in school (such as in the NCHSAA and NCAA) to mandatory drug testing (in the NCAA and for professionals in USATF). Only the members of a governing body can participate in the championship events it sponsors.
Sanctioned
A competition is sanctioned if it is approved by a governing body, such as the NCHSAA or USATF. Sanctioned meets are operated by host schools, but are covered under the insurance of the governing body. Sanctioned meets can be open to athletes from other governing bodies, at the discretion of the meet director. If an NCHSAA member school is hosting a competition, it is automatically sanctioned by the NCHSAA. The NCHSAA also recognizes the sanctioned events of neigboring institutions, such as the NCISAA, the SCHSL (South Carolina High School League), or the VHSL (Virginia High School League). Many high school governing bodies are much stricter in their sanctioning guidelines than the NCHSAA, and restrict their members from competing against schools from other governing bodies (especially when one is for public schools and the other is for private schools).
Sponsored
A competition is sponsored if it is directly operated (and supported financially) by the governing body. Only members of that governing body can compete in a sponsored event. The NCHSAA only sponsors those competitions that are considered part of the state playoff series: the indoor state meet, the outdoor regional meets, and the outdoor state meets. These meets are the most restrictive of all in terms of the eligibility requirements, and they do not include unattached runners in any way. Athletes can only qualify for NCHSAA-sponsored championships by representing their school in NCHSAA-sanctioned events.
Representing Your School
You are considered to be representing your school when you are competing in a meet scheduled by your school's team, and the school has financial and legal responsibility for you during that competition. This is the only time you are supposed to wear your team's uniform in competition.
Specific Scenarios
Scenario 1
I am an athlete in the NCISAA, which does not sponsor an indoor track state championship.
In general, the NCHSAA does not mind if its member schools compete against, or host, NCISAA member schools (this also applies to club teams, by the way). If your school is willing to field a team and assigns a coach (and I admit I am not an expert on NCISAA policies, so perhaps Ben Hovis or someone else can chime in), then your team is free to compete in NCHSAA-sanctioned meets, at the discretion of the meet director. If your school does not have a team during the winter, then you can request to compete "unattached" (though really, you are unaffiliated). It will be up to the meet director to decide whether to allow you to compete. Your presence would not endanger the eligibility of any NCHSAA athletes in the meet, or invalidate the results of the meet, in any way. You cannot qualify for, or compete in, the NCHSAA state championship, as you are not a member of that governing body. You might consider joining a club team and competing in AAU or USATF meets until your school's outdoor track season starts.
Scenario 2
I am an athlete at an NCHSAA school that DOES NOT have an indoor track team.
Unfortunately, the NCHSAA considers you to be unaffiliated during the winter season, and you cannot represent your school in competition or qualify for the indoor state meet. You can try to convince your school to field a team, which requires them to have a coach and fill out eligibility sheets. Simply having a parent willing to transport you to meets does not mean you have a team. However, a school CAN field a team even if only one person wants to participate, and a school CAN hire a parent as the coach of the team (and the position can be unpaid). Therefore, it does not necessarily cost a school anything to field an indoor track team, which could be a big selling point. Be persistent but polite, and appeal to your athletic director, your principal, and your superintendent if need be. If they still refuse, you can compete in meets "unattached" (really, unaffiliated) if the meet directors will accept your entry, but those performances will not qualify you for the state meet. You might consider joining a club team and competing in the meets they attend.
Scenario 3
I am a member of an NCHSAA school that DOES have an indoor track team, but my coach will not take the team to any Saturday meets (or the school will not pay for entry or transportation to Saturday meets).
This would apply to outdoor track as well. As a member in good standing of an NCHSAA school, you could compete unattached in any meet that will accept unattached athletes. However, when competing unattached your performances cannot qualify you for the regional or state championship. If you have the permission of your school (through your AD and/or principal) and the meet director, you could still represent your school at a competition the rest of your team does not attend. Most schools will not allow this, however, because the school would be liable for anything that happens in transit to and from the meet. One option taken by many schools is to allow a parent to be hired as an assistant coach for the team (perhaps an unpaid position), and then the parent can transport the athlete to meets and still represent the school. In short, this scenario is entirely between the school, the athlete, and the meet director.
Scenario 4
I am a student at an NCHSAA school that DOES have indoor track, but I compete for a club team instead of my school.
Being a member of a club team entitles you to participate in meets sanctioned by your club's governing body (either AAU or USATF). However, your performances while representing the club will not qualify you for the NCHSAA state championship. Even though you are a student at an NCHSAA school, you are not a member of the team and are not listed on the eligibility sheet; therefore you cannot represent your school in any competition, and you cannot participate in the regional or state championship. This is simply because athletes that are not eligible due to grades or attendance could circumvent the NCHSAA guidelines by joining club teams. You could try to compete unattached in an NCHSAA-sancioned meet, but most meet directors will not accept unattached runners from a school when the school's team is competing in the meet (and the performances still would not qualify you for the state meet). As mentioned above, the only way to qualify for NCHSAA-sponsored championships is to compete for an NCHSAA member school in NCHSAA-sanctioned events. The NCHSAA does allow its member schools to compete against club teams, and meet directors at NCHSAA-sanctioned events can allow club teams to compete in their meet without jeopardizing the eligibility of the other athletes in the competition; however, the club team athletes still cannot use their performances to qualify for the NCHSAA state meet.
Scenario 5
I am a member of an NCHSAA school that DOES have indoor track, and I compete for my school, but I also compete for a club team.
You can compete in NCHSAA-sanctioned meets when you are representing your school, and you can compete in AAU- or USATF-sanctioned meets when you are representing your club. However, you can only use performances when you were representing your school to qualify for the state meet, not the performances when you were representing your club. Participating in club meets does not jeopardize your eligibility in the eyes of the NCHSAA (however, you do have to square everything away with your school's coach, who decides if you are on the school team or not).
Scenario 6
I am an athlete at an NCHSAA school that DOES have indoor track, and my team would like to travel to an out-of-state meet.
If the meet is sanctioned by the governing body of Virginia or Tennessee, then the meet is generally also approved by the NCHSAA. (Note: the SCHSL does not sanction meets because they do not support indoor track.) Meets that are not in neighboring states would need to apply for either NCHSAA sanctioning, or for general National Federation of High Schools sanctioning that would cover all states. You CAN use performances from sanctioned out-of-state meets to qualify for NCHSAA regional or state meets, as long as you are representing your school.
Coaches who still have questions are encouraged to contact the NCHSAA directly. Parents and athletes should contact their coach or athletic director. I will also happily take any questions sent to me, and try to find the answer as best I can.