The California Interscholastic Federation (abbreviated CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. It mirrors similar governing bodies in other states. CIF is a non-profit corporation.

History

The CIF was founded in Los Angeles, California in 1914 by a group of area school principals. It was founded in order to standardize rules and team structures between schools; it was also intended to prevent abuses such as "school shopping" by athletes and teams fielding players over high school age. Other school principals voluntarily entered into the program, and by 1917, the organization was established statewide.

Administration

For CIF administrative purposes, the state is broken up into ten sections. These sections are:

1. CIF Northern Section
2. CIF North Coast Section
3. CIF Sac-Joaquin Section
4. CIF San Francisco Section
5. CIF Oakland Section
6. CIF Central Coast Section
7. CIF Central Section
8. CIF Los Angeles City Section
9. CIF Southern Section
10. CIF San Diego Section

These sections are further sub-divided into leagues. The Southern Section is geographically the largest, covering approximately one-fourth to one-third of the state's total area.

The organization's supreme governing body is the Federated Council. This council consists of one representative from each section, a representative from the California Department of Education , representatives from all bodies recognized as Allied Organizations by the CIF, the Council President, the President-Elect, and the immediate past President. Each representative is elected to a term of two years. The Council meets three times per year.

Allied Organizations

The following groups have "Allied Organization" status within the CIF:

• California Coaches Association
• California State Athletic Directors Association
• California School Boards Association
• Association of California School Administrators
• California Association of Private School Organizations
• California Superintendents Liason Committee
• California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance
• California Association of Directors of Activities

External links

• CIF State Office website