Spring 2025 Track & Field: Eligibility & Registration

Updated 12/10/2024. Subject to change.

Read the General Information & Schedule page here first!

Mandatory team registration & orientation meeting (registration closes 1/13):
Tuesday, January 14, 2025, 7:00 P.M. @Hanover City Hall.
See Team Calendar details and links.

• The meeting is required for all student-athletes and at least one parent per family.
• All online and paper forms (including sports physicals) and fees/invoices are due at this time.
• Late registrations/paperwork are subject to late fees and not guaranteed participation.
• If you absolutely cannot attend the meeting, you must meet with the NHAC Athletic Director in person to sign the MSHSL group paperwork before the meeting.
• If you are reading this after the team meeting, contact us.

Eligibility

• We are a team of homeschooled student-athletes. "Homeschooled students" in the State of Minnesota are those who submit an Initial Report or annual Letter of Intent to their school district (example here).
  Students enrolled in online public schools (e.g., Harmony Education, MN Connections Academy, etc.) are ineligible.
• PSEO students: If you are age 17+ and enrolled in PSEO but not reporting to your district: contact us for instructions.
  The MSHSL restricts participation in extracurricular activities to the high school level. If you are considering college-level sports, fine arts, or other activities, contact us before registering to determine eligibility. See additional information here.
• New participants must reside within an 18-mile radius (as the crow files) of Hanover City Hall, 11250 5th St. NE, Hanover, MN, 55341.
• We LOVE new athletes! No experience necessary; there's a place on this team for everyone--from beginners to All-State athletes and everything in between.
• Multi-sport athletes participating on more than one team in the same season must communicate with the coaches before registering to determine if track & field is a good fit for their schedules, training loads, and injury risks.

Please report your student's grade based on expected graduation year, regardless of schoolwork level in any subject, as there are participation limits. If you have questions about this, contact us.

Fees & Service Requirements
Your payment holds your place on the team. See limited Refund & Late Fee Policy. Fees are used to offset the costs of uniforms, race fees, league dues, insurance, equipment, supplies, maintenance, incentives and awards, coach training, and other team events. This is an entirely volunteer-run program.

• Annual Family Registration Fee: $50/family. This must be paid before you can login and roster your student-athletes. If you are waitlisted and there is not space, then this fee will be refunded. 2024 cross country participants have already paid this.
• Track & Field Activity Fees
  • All athletes (JV/Varsity; grades 9**/10-12): $250.
    You may reserve your spot with 30% down (balance due at the team meeting), or pay the full fee at the time of registration.
  • **9^th graders: contact us at least one week before the registration deadline to determine MSHSL eligibility.
  • Grade is based on projected graduation year. To maintain MSHSL eligibility, you must declare a grade and advance each year as "progress towards graduation."
• Service Requirement. Each family is expected to share their gifts/talents/services/occupation to support the team community. See information and descriptions here.

Late Registration (after the team meeting)

• Not guaranteed participation due to Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) policies.
• Contact us to ask if there are openings. All late registration forms and fees are subject to a $50 late fee per family and must be completed within 48 hours of approval or will be moved to the waiting list.

Sports Physicals
Due at the team registration meeting. See Refund & Late Fee Policy

• Sports Qualifying Physical Exam Clearance Form must be dated within 3 years of the start of the sport season. Call early to make your appointments. If all else fails, try a Minute Clinic or similar.
• Medical considerations requiring additional paperwork must be dated within 1 year of the start of the sport season. Also due at the meeting. Example: Asthma Action Plan if you will be using an inhaler--must include doctor's signature releasing use of medication.
• Exception: first-time team families may submit their medical paperwork up to 4 weeks after the team meeting. However, at registration, they must provide a sports physical appointment date to avoid late fees. Student-athletes may only participate in pre-season (summer, captain's practices, etc.) team training if they have submitted the required medical forms.
• Medical forms are retained in NHAC files but not sent to the League. You do not have to resubmit unless it is expiring.

Registration is a 3-step process.
All forms and fees are due before the team registration meeting.

1. Complete your general registration forms--there are online (NHAC) and paper (MSHSL) forms.
2. Await membership approval by email (this could take 1-2 days--longer for prospective new families).
3. Login, roster your athletes, and pay your fees.

There are many forms and pages, so please read carefully!
Plan to spend time on these before the meeting. All of this paperwork is the same as if you were to participate in sports at a non-district high school. All MSHSL membership forms & fees will be submitted by the team as a whole--do not send anything directly to the MSHSL.

• Online Forms (Nighthawks) to complete before the Registration meeting: See instructions below.
• Printed Forms (MSHSL) to bring to the Registration meeting: The online system will direct you to these during the Registration process.

We (NHAC) and the MSHSL will do everything we can to alert you to deadlines, but ultimately you are responsible to keep your MSHSL membership and your student-athlete's eligibility in good standing.

As always, let us know if you have any questions. We're looking forward to having you on the team!

REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Because we are partway through the school year, this is a different process than in the summer. You've got this!

Waiting lists are typically expected for some squads (especially boys).
See priority registration order here: https://www.homeschool-life.com/2515/faq/

Rostering opens to current team members on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. (Update your profile before then to speed things along.)
New families may register on Monday, December 9, 2024. (Contact us first.)
Registration closes Monday, January 13, 2025.
The mandatory team meeting will be held Tuesday, January 14, 2025. See team calendar for details.

If your family participated in cross country this fall, you must do the following to register for spring track & field:

1. Update your 2024-2025 Profile (make sure information is current, check some new boxes, submit some new forms, read the updated handbook, print out the track & field paperwork, etc.) so you can log into the system.
   To do this, click here and login to your family account (not student account/email): https://www.homeschool-life.com/2515/profile
2. Add siblings to your Profile for potential (not guaranteed) rostering/waitlisting for T&F.
3. Roster your athletes (go to Team Members' Area-->ROSTER Your Athletes).
4. Pay the activity fees (click "Balance" at the very top of the screen).
5. Doublecheck your Roster status by clicking here: https://www.homeschool-life.com/2515/class/checkout

If your family did *not* register for cross country this fall:

• FIRST: Contact us before going through the registration process! :) We'll be able to tell you if there is space.
• When registration opens (see dates above), you may then create a new 2024-2025 Profile and request family membership.
  Follow the instructions carefully for approval and rostering/waitlisting.
• Note: Membership approval of new families will be delayed until after current team members have had the opportunity to register and roster.
• Family membership does not guarantee a spot for all of your student(s) on the team.
• If your family has not yet participated in Nighthawk programs this school year and all rosters are full, you will receive a refund of your family membership application fee.

Please ask questions if you get lost. Thanks, everyone!