Athletic Sports Clearance Information for
High School and Modified Sports Grades 7-12
YHS Sports Information 2024-25
YCSD Sports Start dates and Registration
Fall : August 24, 2024 High School Football
August 26, 2024 All other High School sports
September 3, 2024 MESMS Modified Sports Grade 7 and 8
Winter: November 18, 2024 High School Sports
Spring: March 17, 2025 High School Sports
The Athletic schedule and sports offered can be found on the Athletics Homepage.
Please view all the information below including: How to Register Your Child for Sports , Illness/ Injuries and Sports, And Head Injury information.
Info for HIGH SCHOOL Sports Grades 9-12 ( Grade 7 and 8 selected candidates also see below)
Fall Sports Registration opens on July 26, 2024. Parents, please register your child early the first 2 weeks of sports opening on Final Forms.
We recommend that all registrations , required immunizations, and a current non expired physical dated after 8/26/2023 be uploaded to Final Forms no later than a week before sports starts to be cleared to play on time. Parent Registration will close on August 23, 2024 to clear those already registered. Any new registrations after that date will be cleared the first week of sports, students may miss practice and tryouts.
*Please note that the Yorktown Central School District registration and Authorization for Sports Participation on Final Forms MUST be completed by a parent/guardian ONLY. Any form completed by a student will be DENIED. Once correctly re-submitted by the parent/guardian it will be reviewed after the conclusion of the first day of practice/tryouts and placed on the health teams list for medical clearance which will take an additional 48 hours. If all required information is not provided, additional time will elapse before a student is cleared to play.*
Info for Selected HIGH SCHOOL Sports candidates in Grade 7 and 8
To play a YHS sport as a Grade 7 or 8 student the following must occur:
A MESMS student and parent must be asked to play up by athletics . The MESMS nurse will be notified at that time and reach out to parents by email.
A parent then registers the student immediately to play a high school sport on Final Forms when sports registration opens and uploads a current physical that has not expired during the season of play to speed up the process.
The Student will be scheduled to see our school physician and take a fitness test. The student must pass a fitness test and be seen by our physician to complete the Athletic Placement Process (APP ). CURRENTLY the date for MESMS students to see the school physician to start the Fall APP for YHS sports will be August 21 at 9 am in the MESMS Nurse Office. The MESMS nurse will send a reminder email to students and parents of the date and time as it approaches.
After students see the District physician, Middle school students will be cleared by the MESMS or YHS nurse in order to try out for a team
Students cannot tryout until they poass a fitness test and see our physician.
If your child has been selected to play up in Grade 7 or 8 , a parent will be notified by the coach and nurse. Please read info for MESMS potential High School Athletes. The MESMS nurse and coach will send parents and students an email of the date and time of the doctor visit and fitness test. Please note that Grade 7 and 8 cannot sign up for HIGH SCHOOL sports unless they are invited to play up by Athletics. Parents must register the student to play YHS sports AFTER the student is invited by Athletics to play up.
Students should listen for announcements at lunch and view the middle school announcement page during the year to see if there are any high school sports slots open, it is not guaranteed.
Info for MESMS MODIFIED SPORTS Grade 7 and 8 ONLY
All Sports registration opens July 26 and Modified Grade 7 and 8 sports starts September 3, 2024
Please click and view a Modified Sports letter from Rob Barrett , Athletic Director. Students will meet their coaches after school on Sept 3 for a half hour meeting. Contact athletics if any questions.
To play a Modified sport as a Grade 7 or 8 student the following must occur:
Parents must register a student on Final Forms when sports opens and upload a current non expired physical dated after 9/3/2023. Physicals are good for one year and must be updated if it expires during the season of play. The later physical date is due to the later start of the sport.
All students must be up to date with immunizations . A meningitis vaccine is required after the age of 10 and in Grade 7 and 8. Please follow up with your physician to make sure all immunizations are up to date.
Students must be in good academic standing and behavior to play sports. Both guidance and admin will be given students names who are playing sports each season.
To be cleared to start MODIFIED SPORTS on time parents should sign up and register their child on Final Forms no later than August 29 to allow proper clearance.
How to Register Your Child for Sports :
Registration for ALL sports should be done a week prior to sports starting to be able to be cleared by the nurses to start on time. Fall High School Sports start on August 24 for Football and August 26th for all other high school sports. MESMS Modified Sports starts September 3. Parents can sign up on July 26th.
To be cleared to start on the first day of sports the following must occur:
Parents must register their child on Final Forms when online registration opens and it MUST be completed by a parent/guardian ONLY. Any form completed by a student will be DENIED and will not be cleared until after the first day of practice.
To ensure that the student athlete is cleared on time to start their season, parents must upload a current physical for approval after registering.
Physicals dated after 8/26/2023 will be accepted for Fall High School sports and after 9/3/23 for MESMS Modified Sports. If a physical expires during the season of play you must make an appointment with your physician for your child to receive an updated physical , upload it to the site, and send it to the nurse to continue sports play. Physicals are good for 1 year only.
If a student is unable to get an appointment with their physician prior to High School sports starting in August, please reach out to your school nurse by email as soon as registration is opened. A physical appointment will be made with one of our physicians. Prior to the appointment, PARENTS must register on Final Forms , print and fill in the attached Athletic Interval Health History , and then send it to the nurse via email.
Registration and all required medical documentation should be uploaded and completed at least 2 weeks prior to the start of sports to be cleared on time in Final Forms. This allows time to submit further information if needed. Students who are signed up the week before sports starts may not be cleared to participate on time. If ALL required medical documentation is uploaded or on file, this will expedite clearance for your child to participate in a sport. The Medical Director will be consulted as needed. Sports registration will close at the end of the school day on the last Friday before sports starts to clear all students already registered for participation.
MEDICAL CLEARANCE will be necessary if there was a Physical Education/Sports excuse in place, the student has an injury/illness before or during the sports season, or COVID within 4 weeks of sports. The nurse will notify you if it is necessary and not provided.
Students who have had COVID within 1 month of sports starting , must get from their physician a note stating that the student has a normal cardiovascular exam and is cleared for all unrestricted physical activities. If student has been hospitalized with COVID or had high fevers with extreme sickness the student must submit a cardiac clearance form from a cardiologist and be cleared by the athletic trainer. Use this form YCSD Cardiac Clearance post COVID
If a Student has asthma, diabetes, or anaphylactic allergies they must have clearance from their physician to self carry emergency meds and administer it. Please use this self carry form: Self Carry medication form and send it to the nurse dated after July 1 of the new school year.
THE MENINGOCOCCAL VACCINE SCHOOL REQUIREMENT MUST BE COMPLETED TO be cleared. All students entering grades 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 in New York State will be required to be vaccinated against meningococcal disease as recommended by the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices (ACIP). Students in Grade 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 will require 1 dose of MenACWY vaccine (sometimes abbreviated as MCV4; brand names Menactra or Menveo) and students in Grade 12 will require 2 doses of MenACWY with the last dose on or after 16 years of age or 1 dose of MenACWY on or after age 16 years. Please check with your Healthcare Provider for your child’s immunization status. All documentation must be on file in the Health Office PRIOR to approval to participate in sports.
Please check emails regularly for registration status changes and communication from your school nurse regarding any missing documentation . Only a green icon status indicates a student is "Approved" and cleared to participate. Emails are generated through Final Forms to the email address of the registrant.
Please view the YHS Athletics home page for further registration information, athlete expectations, and athletic schedules. You can also access quick links for Final Forms and Weekly Schedules.
Athletics follows The Dominic Murray Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act and Commissioner’s regulation §136.9 effective July 1, 2022. Cardiac questions are asked during registration.
ILLNESS/INJURY and SPORTS:
A student cannot be approved for sports participation if there has been an illness, accident, injury or surgery until a medical clearance report is provided by the treating physician and received by the School Nurse. The District Medical Director will then review this report and, if appropriate, give the final medical clearance for the student to participate in sports.
If a student athlete experiences an injury or illness at any time during the sports season (in school or out of school), the athlete and his/her parent must communicate this immediately to the Coach as well as the School Nurse. Failure to report illness/injury may result in student athlete being disqualified for the remainder of the sports season.
When an athlete is ill or injured during a sports season he/she may not return to sports participation until cleared by the physician who treated the condition. The student must provide the physician’s written medical clearance to the School Nurse for the student to participate in sports.
According to New York State Guidelines, the final decision to approve the athlete’s return to activity is determined by the District Medical Director. The School Nurse will confer with the District Medical Director as needed and will then communicate the final clearance (or decision not to clear) to the physical education teacher, athletic department, and coach.
In the event the School Nurse is unavailable, the District Director of PE, Health, and Athletics or Athletic Trainer may accept an athlete’s clearance note from his/her healthcare provider. However, this clearance note must be immediately sent to the District Medical Director who will confirm or deny the clearance.
The clearance note must be given to the School Nurse on the first available day. It is the student athlete’s responsibility to follow through and bring the medical clearance to the nurse to be recertified.
For Student Athletes with COVID - If your child is a YHS athlete and has/ had COVID , during the season of play, YHS Athletes are asked to bring in a note from their physician stating that : Student has a normal cardiovascular exam and is cleared for all unrestricted physical activities. If a student athlete has COVID within 4 weeks of sports during the sport season then they must also be cleared by our Athletic Trainer who does a return to play. Please call your nurse for further guidance.
Students who are accidentally injured during sports participation must report the injury to the Coach who will fill out a Student Incident Report and give it to the School Nurse. Medical expenses resulting from an accidental injury must be submitted to your own insurance company. Any expenses not covered by your insurance can be submitted to the school district insurance company. Contact the School Nurse if you need a form to submit for reimbursement from the district insurance company.
HEAD INJURIES and CONCUSSIONS
It is our policy that all concussions should be reported to the health office, and any student that sustains a concussion on or off school grounds should see the school nurse upon entering school.
If your child has a concussion please notify your child's school nurse
Students must submit a doctor's note with the diagnosis and any restrictions/ accommodations that must be made to the Health Office.
All students should remain in the health office for lunch, recess and gym. Once the student submits a doctors note that states he/she is cleared to return to full academic activity, the gradual "Return to Play" protocol will be started by the physical education teacher. Upon conclusion of the return to play protocol the PE teacher will notify the nurse.
State Guidelines were changed in 2023. Please read Guidelines for Concussion management in Schools and refer to the YCSD Concussion Care Plan and YCSD Concussion Return to Play Guidelines.
Parents are also encouraged to read about traumatic brain injury and concussions on the CDC Heads Up site. Students are encouraged to view CDC Heads Up Youth Sports during sports sign up season.
Further concussion information can be found here:
Concussion Fact Sheet for Parents
Concussion Fact Sheet for Athletes