2026-27 WIAA Multimedia Policies Released; Fall Credentialing Window Opens

RENTON, WA (September 11, 2026) – The WIAA has released its 2026-27 Multimedia Policies and opened the fall seasonal credentialing window for media outlets interested in covering WIAA State Championships.

The launch continues the changes introduced ahead of the 2025-26 school year as part of an annual approach to media policies and credentialing, designed to be consistent and transparent when approving media while also ensuring the WIAA has an accurate and current list of media outlets covering State Championship events. Key updates include…

RENTON, WA (AUGUST 18, 2026) – The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) announces the selection of John Appelgate to the WIAA Executive Board ahead of the 2026-27 school year.

“It’s an honor to serve where education, athletics, activities, and leadership come together to make a positive impact,” Appelgate said. “I am committed to being part of the process to support students, coaches, schools, and communities across the state.”

Appelgate brings extensive experience to the WIAA Executive Board, currently working as the Director of Civil Rights and Extracurricular Programs for the Lake Washington School District. Since 2016, Appelgate has overseen athletics and activities operations at the school district’s four high schools and eight middle schools. 

Over the last decade, Appelgate has served on the WIAA Classification Committee. He’s also held a meaningful role with the Washington Secondary School Athletic Administrators Association (WSSAAA) as a WSSAAA Executive Board member since 2017 and WSSAAA President from 2025-2026.

“I look forward to John’s contributions to the WIAA Executive Board,” Mick Hoffman, WIAA Executive Director, said. “I’m confident that John will continue to be a leader in education-based athletics and activities, advocating for all WIAA member schools”

Appelgate will fill the WIAA District 2 position on the WIAA Executive Board. That seat was previously held by Jeff Lowell. Announced in May, Lowell was hired as WIAA Assistant Executive Director – Compliance & Member Engagement.

The WIAA Executive Board is composed of 13 athletic administrators from WIAA member schools and school districts, including one representative from each of the six WIAA Districts, with an additional seven at-large regional positions.

A graduate of Sunnyside High School, Appelgate began his position with WIAA Executive Board on August 1.

RENTON, WA & ALPHARETTA, GA (MAY 27, 2026) – Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) and PlayOn Sports today announced an official partnership to make MaxPreps Advantage available to high school athletic programs across Washington. The agreement gives Washington coaches and athletic directors access to a coaching analytics platform built specifically for high school sports, with direct integration with the NFHS Network, the official streaming partner of the WIAA.

MaxPreps Advantage works with the NFHS Network cameras already installed in Washington schools. NFHS Network streams are automatically turned into organized film, stats, and breakdowns, giving coaches faster analysis without added state, hardware, or manual video work. 

MaxPreps Advantage supports WIAA sanctioned sports, including basketball, volleyball, soccer, football, flag football, baseball, and softball. Advanced Breakdowns are $600 per team per season, with a free All Access tier for all NFHS Network schools. Stats auto-publish to MaxPreps team pages, giving athletes verified visibility on the platform college coaches already use. 

Through the partnership, WIAA schools will receive locked-in pricing through the 2028-2029 school year, providing cost transparency and budget certainty.  

“Our coaches and athletic directors work incredibly hard,” said Mick Hoffman, Executive Director, WIAA. “This partnership gives them real tools that reduce their workload and connects our student-athletes to a national audience. We’re glad to make this available to every member school in Washington.”

NFHS Network Streaming Integration 

This partnership includes direct integration with the NFHS Network, the premier broadcast destination for high school sports and the official streaming partner of the WIAA. The NFHS Network broadcasts every game at every level, from freshman to varsity, to fans watching on any device. More than 8,500 schools stream with the NFHS Network, with options to use automated AI-powered cameras or student broadcast crews to produce events. Those same streams connect directly to MaxPreps Advantage, where they become game film breakdowns, shareable highlights, and real-time stats that coaches can access as soon as a game ends.

MaxPreps Stats Integration

WIAA is proud to partner with MaxPreps, a leading source for high school sports schedules, scores, statistics, rankings, and more. The same NFHS Network stream that feeds the film library also generates game recaps, highlights, and stats the publish to MaxPreps automatically, visible to over 50 million annual visitors.

 “Washington Interscholastic Activities Association is exactly the kind of partner we built MaxPreps Advantage for,” said Rebecca Stewart, Director of Coaching Tools, PlayOn Sports. “Our goal is simple: make it easier for every Washington program to do their jobs well, from the first practice to the final game.”

About PlayOn Sports 

PlayOn Sports is the nation’s leading technology company powering youth and high school athletics, serving thousands of schools and millions of fans. PlayOn unites the most trusted brands in high school sports: GoFan, NFHS Network, and MaxPreps. Together, every game reaches more fans and generates more community support. With PlayOn, fans and families can experience and celebrate local sports across tickets, broadcasts, highlights, and stats. To learn more, visit playonsports.com.

RENTON, WA (MAY 18, 2026) – The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) is thrilled to announce the hiring of Jeff Lowell as Assistant Executive Director – Compliance and Member Engagement.

“It’s exciting to have the opportunity to further the mission, vision, and core principles through service to member schools,” Lowell said. “I’m eager to learn from and assist the WIAA staff, deepen my understanding of how I can best serve association schools, and help strengthen education-based athletics across the state.”

This new position to the WIAA staff is aimed at strengthening the partnership between the WIAA office and member schools. Lowell will focus on monitoring and enforcing adherence to the WIAA’s rules and requirements, providing guidance to member schools and stakeholders on rules and processes.

“We are very excited to add Jeff Lowell to the WIAA staff,” Executive Director Mick Hoffman said. “Jeff will play a pivotal role in proactively working with our member schools, addressing challenges and opportunities. His experience is invaluable with this position.”

Lowell brings a wealth of experience to the Association, with time spent as a teacher, coach, counselor, and high school administrator. For the past 12 years, he’s worked as the District Athletics and Activities Director and Title IX Coordinator for the Bellevue School District. 

Since 2023, Lowell has additionally served on the WIAA Executive Board for WIAA District 2, while working as the Chair of the Executive Board’s Handbook Subcommittee. Overseeing analysis and recommendations related to student transfer eligibility, Lowell served as Chair of the Transfer Rule Committee.

Lowell offers a background in working directly with WIAA State Championships. Since September 2009, he’s been the Meet Director for the WIAA State Swim & Dive Championships.

A graduate of Kentridge High School, Lowell will begin his position with the WIAA on August 1, 2026.

Introducing 2026-27 WIAA Coaches School; Pre-Registration Available Now

RENTON, Wash. (May 1, 2026) – The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) is excited to launch 2026-27 WIAA Coaches School. Coaches play a critical role in shaping student-athletes, and WIAA Coaches School is designed to support the growth, development, and professional learning of coaches at all levels.

WIAA Coaches School fulfills WIAA Coaching Standards requirements for three years. Registration for the 2026-2027 WIAA Coaches School is now open. The new series of courses will launch on May 15, 2026 and will be available on-demand through April 30, 2027. The registration amount is $65 plus fees, and pricing is subject to change on an annual basis. The registration deadline for 2025-26 WIAA Coaches School is March 31, 2027.

This slate of courses features 20 new, unique presentations focused on sports psychology, DEI, psycho/social foundations, medical aspects of coaching, legal aspects of coaching, and more.

The purpose of the WIAA Coaching Standards program is to enhance the training of student-athletes by assuring that their coaches maintain a certain level of professional development throughout their careers. For full details regarding the WIAA Coaching Standards Requirements, please refer to the following sections of the WIAA Handbook:

• Article 23.5.0: Coaching Requirements
• Appendix 17: Coaches Standards Task-Based Checklist

Learn more and register for WIAA Coaches School at the link below.

WIAA REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY APPROVES 22 AMENDMENTS

RENTON, WA (April 20, 2026) – The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) Representative Assembly voted to support 22 amendments—effective August 1, 2026—the Association announced Monday, April 20.

“We’re grateful for the extensive time, care, and collaboration our member schools brought to this amendment cycle. It’s the opportunity to be part of creating solutions, and the submission of 35 amendments is demonstration of the membership’s desire to be involved,” Executive Director Mick Hoffman said. “This is a result of months of leadership from athletic administrators statewide, and their work has helped shape outcomes that are representative, deliberate, and aligned with the priorities of our schools.”

RENTON, WA (February 3, 2026) – The WIAA is excited to share the finalized proposed amendments to the WIAA Handbook, all of which were submitted by 5+ member schools or the WIAA Executive Board. Discussions around the language and content of each proposed amendment by the WIAA Representative Assembly took place during Winter Coalition on Monday, January 26th. At that point, amendments were be finalized for a vote in April.

VOTING TIMELINE
The WIAA Representative Assembly will vote on the proposed amendments from April 8-17, 2026.

ABOUT REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY
The Representative Assembly is comprised of 53 (35 high school, 18 middle level) school administrators from each of the six WIAA districts. The Representative Assembly votes on the proposed amendments, and the voting delegates are typically proxy voters, aligning their vote with the opinions of their league and WIAA District.

For an amendment to pass, 60 percent approval is needed from voting members of the Assembly. A total of 32 votes are needed for a middle-level/high-school amendment to pass, while 21 votes are needed for a high school amendment to pass and 11 votes are needed for a middle-level amendment to pass.

MARCH 12, 2026 UPDATE: In an effort to maintain transparency and support informed decision-making, the WIAA has removed the following language from HS #5 and HS #26: “*If #5 passes, #26 would be moot.”

WIAA Finalizes Host Site and Format for Inaugural Girls Flag Football State Championships

RENTON, WA (December 4, 2025) – The WIAA Executive Board has approved Federal Way Memorial Stadium as the host site for the final rounds of the inaugural 2026 Girls Flag Football State Championships. The Association extends its appreciation to all schools and facilities that submitted bids. The depth of proposals reflects the strong statewide support for the continued growth of Girls Flag Football.

To accommodate the number of teams expected to qualify in the first championship year, the Executive Board also approved a one-year tournament format that will span two weekends.

FEBRUARY 7 : OPENING ROUNDS & QUARTERFINALS
The State Opening Rounds and Quarterfinals will be hosted at the closest approved site to the No. 1-4 seeds. This model mirrors the format currently used for State Baseball.

FEBRAURY 13-14: SEMIFINALS, CHAMPIONSHIPS, & 3rd/4th PLACE GAMES
Federal Way Memorial Stadium will host all final-round contests.

The WIAA Executive Board is expected to finalize official allocation counts, including State Tournament sizes for each classification, later this month.

For any questions, contact Bryn Langrock, Director of Marketing.

WIAA Announces State Slowpitch Softball Tournament Adjustments

RENTON, WA (October 9, 2025) – The 2025 State Slowpitch Tournament is moving to Kiwanis Fields, located directly across the parking lot from the previous venue, Gateway Sports Complex. This location change is being made due to unforeseen field maintenance issues at Gateway Sports Complex. Kiwanis Fields are the three newer fields located in the northwest corner of Kiwanis Park, closer to Fair Avenue.

With this adjustment, the State Slowpitch Tournament schedule is changing from a four-field format to a three-field format, with corresponding time changes. The full, updated schedules can be found on the State Slowpitch brackets…

• 2025 4A STATE SLOWPITCH BRACKET
• 2025 2A/3A STATE SLOWPITCH BRACKET

To be up to speed on everything State Slowpitch Softball, visit Slowpitch Softball Tournament Central.

For any questions, contact Jeneé James, Assistant Executive Director.