What is my Primary Sport?

For elementary and secondary students, this is the sport that you play at the highest level, within the community at large.  If you play two high level sports, please choose the one that you would like to continue to pursue at the highest level.

If I'm a HPA student, am I eligible to play high school sports?

Yes, but you may not be able to play your primary sport.  If your son/daughter is accepted as a HPA student, they will need to complete a declaration of Primary Sport to the York Region Athletic Association (YRAA).  The YRAA is our inter school sport association that oversees high school athletics in our region.  

ATHLETES THAT ARE ACCEPTED INTO OUR AM OR PM TRAINING PROGRAM, AND 4 PERIOD STUDENTS THAT ARE OUT OF OUR SCHOOL BOUNDARIES, WILL BE INELIGIBLE TO PLAY THEIR PRIMARY SPORT IN HIGH SCHOOL, FOR THE REMAINDER OF THEIR YEARS AT ST. MAXIMILIAN KOBLE CHS, EVEN IF YOU DECIDE TO CHANGE TRAINING PROGRAMS OR LEAVE THE HPA PROGRAM.  However, you will be allowed to participate and play on all other high school sport teams.  The YRAA declaration of primary sport will not take place until the student has been accepted to St. Maximilian Kolbe CHS and has started school in September.  These are rules that are put in place by our interschool sport organizations (YRAA and OFSAA).  These are NOT policies that are created by St. Maximilian Kolbe CHS or the York Catholic District School Board.  Please be advised that these sporting policies can and do change at any time these sporting organizations see fit.  These sporting policies usually change with very little notice and we would have no choice but to abide by the newest sporting rules, as they come about.

*Students who compete in an individual sport will be allowed to participate and play their primary sport in YRAA, however, they will compete as an individual and will not be able to contribute to any team points that will be collected throughout competitions.

*It is important to factor this information when making your decision to apply to our program, as you may not be able to play for a YRAA sanctioned team in your primary sport for your time in which you are at St. Maximilian Kolbe CHS. 

No.  The HPA Coordinators do not train any of our HPA students.  Our coordinators are there to offer academic and personal support, help students liaise with SMK staff and to give assistance with course selection and post secondary supports. 

How many applicants are accepted each year?

The amount of applicants we accept vary from year to year.  We accept all grades, with the majority of students being incoming grade 9s.  The number of students we accept are based on the number of applicants that are able to meet our requirements and the ability to accomodate students within their chosen timetables/courses.

Is the application digital or is it a hard copy?

The HPA application is completely DIGITAL. It will be submitted digitally and there will be no need to print out hard copies.

Is there a fee that is associated with the HPA application?

Yes.  A non refundable $50 fee is associated with all HPA applications.  The fee will be paid online, via our School-Day Payment platform.  Link and instructions of how to make your payment will be in the HPA digital application.

How are students chosen for the HPA Progam? 

The HPA Committee, which is lead by both HPA coordinators, along with a small number of staff members and administrators discuss each application at length and are responsible for the final selection of students.  The FULL application is taken into account and the committee strongly weighs the following factors:

1) Is your primary sport regulated by a Provincial and/or a National Sporting Organization (PSO, NSO), or some type of organized sporting body? *Various profit organizations that are not regulated by sporting bodies make it difficult to compare the level of performance that athletes are competing at.

2) Is the athlete playing at the highest level of sport for their age group? *Athletes that represent Team Ontario and/or Team Canada (or other country), in their primary sport, are given top priority. Athletes not at that level must be playing at the highest levels, for their age group, within their respective regional/provincial associations.

3) How many training hours (with team personnel/other coaches) is the athlete putting in per week?

4) Does the student have good to excellent learning skills, across all areas, as reported on their recent school report card?

5) Is the student a self learner who will be able to work under limited supervision and prompting in a tutorial and/or e-learn course?

6) Coach reference feedback.

What if I live outside of York Region?

Any student residing outside of York Region is eligible to apply.  

*Due to the large volume of applications we receive, unfortunately we will not be able to have individual follow ups with unsuccessful candidates. 

*Unsuccessful candidates are more than welcome to apply again in future years.

*Some unsuccessful candidates may be placed on a waiting list.  

-If you are unsuccessful and have been placed on a waiting list, that will be communicated within the email we will send out.  

-A candidate can remain on the waiting list for the remainder of the school year.  Once a spot becomes open within the HPA program, we will offer the spot to the next highest priority, student-athlete on our waitlist.

-Our student-athletes are prioritized on the waitlist based on a variety of factors such as training facility availability, training/competition schedules and competition level of the athlete, to mention a few.

-We do not communicate where waitlist candidates are with regards to their priority sequence.  Any waitlist candidates that do not get placed into the HPA Program by the end of the school year that they are applying for, will need to reapply to the program for the following year.

OPTION 1 - AM TRAINING (Automatically ineligible to play primary sport in YRAA)

*There are very limited spots for this training option.

-Students will be training or recovering from training during period 1.  Students will not need to arrive at St. Max until 2nd period begins.

-Students who may want to choose this option are student athletes who:

1) Have early morning training sessions.

2) Athletes who train/compete/travel in the late evening hours, on a regular basis.

-Students will be given a Phys Ed credit (1 in each semester) so that they will not fall behind in credits.  This means that some compulsory courses that students take in Grade 9 (e.g. Art) may have to be taken the following year. 

-For second period classes, HPA athletes would either be in a regular class or in a HPA tutorial class being taught a compulsory credit by one of our HPA Coordinators (eg. Religion, Careers/Civics, Geography, etc.)

-Note:  AM Trainers that are in Grades 9-11 must maintain all 3 scheduled credits, plus their PAI/PAL credit (or alternate course credit) in order to maintain their HPA status, in each semester.  Failure to do so may mean removal from the program.

OPTION 2 - PM TRAINING (Automatically ineligible to play primary sport in YRAA)

*This training schedule has the most limited spots of all three schedules available.

-Students will be training or attending training during period 4.  Students will need to leave the building by 12:20 pm.

-Students who may want to choose this option are student athletes who:

1) Need to leave school early to attend training sessions/competitions.

2) Travel far in the late afternoon/early evening hours.

-Students will be given a Phys Ed credit (1 in each semester) so that they will not fall behind in credits.  This means that some compulsory courses that students take in Grade 9 (e.g. Art) may have to be taken the following year. 

-For third period classes, HPA athletes would be in a HPA tutorial class being taught a compulsory credit by one of our HPA Coordinators (eg. Religion, Careers/Civics, Geography, etc.)

-Note:  PM Trainers that are in Grades 9-11 must maintain all 3 scheduled credits, plus their PAI/PAL credit (or alternate course credit) in order to maintain their HPA status, in each semester.  Failure to do so may mean removal from the program.

OPTION 3 - Regular 4 Period Student (Only students who live outside of St. Maximilian Kolbe school boundaries, will be ineligible to play their primary sport in YRAA)

*There are limited spots for this training schedule.

-Students will have a regular four period schedule (they will not be granted Phys Ed credits as in the other two training schedules).

-Students who may want to choose this option are student athletes who:

1) Don’t need a flexible schedule but will require accommodations when they are absent from school due to competitions and/or special training sessions.

2) Have a heavier competition/training schedule in the spring/summer months.

Yes, you can be an AP or a FI student and still be in the HPA program.  However, STUDENTS THAT ARE IN THE AP OR FI PROGRAM CAN ONLY BE A 4 PERIOD STUDENT AND WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BE AN AM OR PM TRAINER.  There is also no guarantee that St. Maximilian Kolbe CHS can accommodate a HPA student that also takes AP or FI.

If I am an out of boundary student, do I qualify for school transportation?

No. Any students who reside outside of our school boundary map must find their own transportation to and from the school.  If you live within our school boundaries, please refer to the our Board's transportation information, to see if you qualify for school bussing.

Yes, there is a possibility that HPA students can be removed from the program.  The following are some, but not all, the possible reasons to demit a student from our HPA Program:

1) You quit your primary sport.

2) Drop down in playing level, no longer playing at the higher levels of your sport (*Some exceptions within type of sport apply).

3) If the HPA Coordinators and/or school administration believe that being in the program may be more of a detriment to student success.