NORTHERN VIRGINIA INDEPENDENT ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
CONSTITUTION and
PROCEDURE MANUAL
(Revision 24 August, 2025)
Contents
NORTHERN VIRGINIA INDEPENDENT ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
SECTION 1. Name -- The name of this organization shall be the Northern Virginia Independent Athletic Conference (NVIAC).
SECTION 2. Purpose – To bring glory to Jesus Christ. The member schools of the NVIAC, (see NVIAC Procedure Manual), realizing the benefits that occur for our students from uniting in our athletic goals, shall strive to promote and administer athletic competition which will enhance the development of our students and the relationships of the member schools.
SECTION 3. Precedence – The NVIAC is governed by the provisions contained in this Constitution, NVIAC Procedure Manual, and NVIAC minutes approved by the Governing Body. If a conflict arises, the precedence will be the Constitution, Procedure Manual, and NVIAC Minutes, in that order.
SECTION 4. History – See NVIAC Procedure Manual.
SECTION 1. Membership. Membership in this conference shall be limited to the members listed in the NVIAC Current Membership Roster, as specified in the NVIAC Procedure Manual and to other independent schools elected according to the method prescribed in the Constitution. Violation of the constitution or procedure manual may be considered grounds for disciplinary measures that could lead to removal from the NVIAC.
SECTION 2. Membership Representation. A written request from the School's Athletic Director, Headmaster, or Principal is required for membership in the Conference (See NVIAC Procedure Manual). One of these representatives must also appear before the Governing Body to present a case for admission into the Conference.
SECTION 3. Membership Application process. An electronic application for new membership shall be made to the NVIAC President before a scheduled conference meeting (see NVIAC Procedure Manual for an Application for Admission Sample Letter). The approval of 3/4 of the Governing Body is necessary for election to the Conference. Voting for conference membership will be done by secret ballot and the result will be given only as numbers. Upon approval, the Secretary shall update the NVIAC Current Membership Roster in the NVIAC Procedure Manual and publish to all members of the Governing Body.
SECTION 4. Provisional Membership. An approved new member school will be on provisional status for one year, to allow both the school and the league to determine if this is a good fit. During this period, the Provisional Member shall:
If the decision for full-time membership cannot be made, the one-year period may be extended by the approval of 3/4 of the Governing body.
SECTION 5. Annual Dues. Each school shall pay annual dues to aid in conference operating expenses and authorized events. The amount will be determined at the annual spring conference meeting.
SECTION 1. Governing Body. The NVIAC Governing Body shall consist of the athletic director from each member school or that school's designated representative.
SECTION 2. Executive Committee. The NVIAC Executive Committee includes the President, the Vice President, the Treasurer, the Secretary, and the Statistician. The Executive Committee will meet as required and/or when the President calls for an Executive Committee meeting. Only one representative from each school may participate in Executive Committee meetings. The Executive Committee shall review grievances, formulate courses of action, and review and rewrite the constitution as needed. Grievances should first be dealt with at the coach/AD level between the affected parties, prior to being brought before the Executive Committee. For Tournament play the Tournament Director shall review any tournament grievance prior to bringing it to the Executive Committee.
Duties of Executive Committee members include:
SECTION 3. Vacancies. A vacancy on the Executive Committee shall be filled by the action of the President. He/She shall appoint a replacement. At the next Conference meeting, or at his/her discretion, the President shall conduct a vote to decide on a replacement.
SECTION 4. Election of Officers. The President, Vice President, and Treasurer will serve one year terms. The Secretary and Statistician will serve two year terms. All officers will be elected at the spring meeting. Officers appointed by the president or elected by league vote to replace an officer unable to finish a term will be reaffirmed at the next spring meeting.
SECTION 1. Meetings. There shall be at least two meetings of the conference during the school year. The first of the meetings shall be held in early fall. The spring meeting will be held in May or June. A school whose representative misses two consecutive meetings is subject to disciplinary action that could lead to removal from the league.
SECTION 2. One vote per member. Each member school shall have one vote by the member school's representative in the Governing Body.
SECTION 3. Quorum. Two-thirds of the Governing Body members shall constitute a quorum. If a school's representative misses two or more consecutive meetings, that school is excluded from determining a 2/3 quorum for those consecutive meetings missed. For example, if School A missed two consecutive meetings, the second meeting would not depend on School A to establish a quorum. Therefore, if there are 12 member schools in the league, a 2/3 quorum would be determined based on 11 member schools if School A were the only school to miss consecutive meetings. Once School A comes to the next meeting, the number of member schools is restored to 12 at that meeting and the 2/3 quorum is determined based on 12 member schools.
SECTION 4. Majority Vote. Issues other than membership to the NVIAC, removal from the NVIAC, and issues of policy and constitutional bearing, shall be decided by majority vote.
SECTION 1. Game/Match Rules. For NVIAC sanctioned sports and individual sports rules, see the NVIAC Procedure Manual.
SECTION 2. Removed .
SECTION 3. Minimum conference play participation. Every participating school should schedule every other participating school at least once before the start of the season. Every reasonable effort shall be made to play each team in the NVIAC at least twice (Home and Away) during the regular season. All teams must play the other teams in the division at least the minimum number of games, as specified in the NVIAC Procedure Manual.
SECTION 4. Playing Up. Players can play up, but not down. For example an 8th grader and below can play on a JV or Varsity team but a 12th grader can't play on the JV or Middle School team. All play-up decisions need to be consistent with the safety of the player.
SECTION 5. Co-ed Participation. Coeducational teams are not permitted to compete in official conference competitions, with the exception of track and field, cross country, golf, and tennis, which may be offered as coeducational programs.
SECTION 6. Eligibility Based on Biological Sex: All student-athletes must compete on teams that align with the biological sex at birth, as indicated on their original birth certificate. This policy applies to all single-sex team sports governed by the conference, as well as to individual events in sports such as track and field and cross country that are organized by sex.
SECTION 7. Player Eligibility:
SECTION 8. Forfeits. A game is considered a forfeit if one team cancels the game for undue reason or within 48 hours of the game start- time. (Rationale: Officials' associations often require 24-hours advance notice of a cancellation before charging a fee for the officials. Forty-eight hours advance notice provides the other team an opportunity to notify its team and fans ahead of time of the schedule change. In addition, it provides the other team an opportunity to help find a gym or field if the cancellation stems from an inability to arrange facilities.) The forfeiting team will receive 0 points for the game – the winning team will receive 1 point.
SECTION 9. Reporting game results. The home team must upload the following information to the Statistician within 24 hours of when a league game is played: 1) the date of the game, 2) the winning team and score, 3) the losing team and score, and 4) any clarifying comments.
SECTION 10. Team Standings (Seedings). Team Standings will be determined by the rules specified in the NVIAC Procedure Manual
SECTION 11. Pre-Tournament Games Completion. In order to count for tournament seeding purposes, regular-season games/matches must be completed three days prior to the beginning of the tournament. Therefore, if a tournament begins on 9 November, all games/matches must be completed by midnight, 6 November.
SECTION 12. Tournaments.
Trophy sizes:
We as players, coaches, parents, and spectators will strive to observe the following ideals of sportsmanship:
The NVIAC Procedure Manual provides the procedures that are more dynamic than the Policies and Rules defined in the Constitution. As they change regularly, these procedures need to be more easily brought to the Governing Body for review, majority vote and, if approved, publication in this NVIAC Procedure Manual. Any change that has Constitutional implications shall require approval of 3/4 of the Governing Body.
SECTION 1. CURRENT MEMBERS. Changes to the Membership will be in accordance with Article II of the Constitution. The Secretary will update this Article and publish to the Governing Body upon changes to the membership.
Ad Fontes Academy (AFA) (joined 2000)
Calvary Road Christian School (CRCS) (joined 1999)
Chelsea Academy (CHA) (Provisional) (joined 3/8/2022)
Christ Chapel Academy (CCA)
Covenant Christian Academy (COV) (joined 6/7/2016)
Dominion Christian School (DCS) (joined 3/12/2013)
Evergreen Christian School (ECS) (Provisional) (joined 5/25/2022)
Fairfax Christian School (FCS) (joined 2008)
Fairfax Home School (FHS) (joined 2001)
Immanuel Christian School (ICS) (joined June 2019)
Legacy Christian Academy (LCA) joined April 2021)
Providence Academy (PVA) (joined August 2014)
Virginia Academy (VAA) (joined 2006)
Each school shall provide current contact information to the Secretary. As a minimum, this will include:
The Secretary shall publish the contact information to all schools in the NVIAC.
Evergreen Christian School was voted to Provisional Membership in May 2022.
Chelsea Academy was voted to Provisional Membership in March 2022.
Legacy Christian Academy (LCA) was voted into the league in March 2022.
Legacy Christian Academy (LCA) was voted to Provisional Membership beginning in April 2021.
Immanuel Christian School (ICS) was voted into the league in June 2020.
Veritas Collegiate Academy (VCA) withdrew from the league in June 2020.
Providence Christian Academy (PCA) withdrew from the league in November 2019.
Veritas Collegiate Academy (VCS) was voted to Provisional Membership beginning in June 2019.
County Christian School (CCS) withdrew from the league in June 2019.
Immanuel Christian School (ICS) was voted to Provisional Membership beginning in June 2019.
Providence Christian Academy (PCA) joined the league in 2018
Hearts Home School (HHS) withdrew from the league. County Christian School (CCS) added high school sports for the fall with athletes from the HHS program. Effective May 20, 2018.
Covenant Christian Academy (COV) joined the league in 2016
Islamic Saudi Academy withdrew from NVIAC in June 2016, upon closing of the school.
Providence Academy (PVA) joined the league in 2014.
Dominion Christian School (DCS) joined the league in 2013
Trinity Christian School withdrew from the NVIAC effective 15 August 2013.
Word of Life Christian Academy withdrew from the NVIAC effective 5 June 2012. WOL partnered with Extreme Soccer according to their website, they don't see any competitive sports teams this coming year. No athletic director or athletic department.The school is only going to 8th grade in the future.
Christian Faith and Fellowship School (CFFS) changed its name to County Christian School in 2010.
Northern Virginia Christian Academy closed its doors on 30 June 2010, withdrawing from NVIAC at the same time.
Trinity @ Meadow View withdrew from the NVIAC effective 21 June 2010.
Word of Life Christian Academy was elected to the conference on 8 June 2009.
In the fall of 1997 (as best as can be determined so far), the following NVIAC charter members established the league: Aquinas School of Woodbridge (Mr. Shawn McNulty AD), Cary Christian Academy (Woodbridge Christian School), St. John Neumann (SJN), The Islamic Saudi Academy (ISA -- Bob LaChance, AD), Trinity Christian School (TCS – Paula Gossard, AD), and Trinity School at Meadow View (TMV -- Rick Ridenour, AD), Word of Life (provided the league's first president, Johnny Carr). It has not been determined when Aquinas and Word of Life disenrolled. Cary Christian Academy ceased to be a member during the winter of 2000--2001. Trinity Christian Academy (TCA) is estimated to have become a member in 1998. Calvary Road Christian School (CRCS) was elected to the conference prior to the following schools, but the membership date is not known. Ad Fontes Academy (AFA) was elected to the conference on 3 June 2000. HEARTS Homeschoolers (HHS) was elected to the conference on 16 September 2000. Fairfax Home School (FHS) and Faith Christian School (FCS) were elected to the conference on 12 May 2001. Christian Fellowship School (CFS) was declared a member of the conference on 5 June 2001. Bethlehem Baptist Christian Academy (BBCA) (now known as Fair Oaks Academy after changing names in 2003) was elected to the conference on 8 June 2002. The Ark Academy was elected to the conference on 21 August 2003.
REFERENCES:
Bob LaChance (former ISA AD and former president of the NVIAC), 25 Apr 03: "Yes, Aquinas was a charter member. Mr. Shawn McNulty was the AD and representative to the League. Word of Life was a charter member and the AD served as the president at the beginning. The other questions will take a lot of digging and I am very busy with two courses right now. If you send the same email in June, I will have the time to dig for you. Thank you, Bob LaChance"
Paula Gossard (TCS AD and Boys' Secretary), 26 Feb 03: "Seton was never a member, but Aquinas was a strong and valuable founding member of the league. Paula"
Paula Gossard (TCS AD and Boys' Secretary), 26 Feb 03: "Lee [Jorde] -- I am so flattered that you think so much of my organizational talents that I can recall a date from so many years ago! The best I can probably do is to say that I think it was sometime in 1997, maybe in the spring. Rick Ridenhour was also there as the TMV representative...or if not at the first one, certainly at the next one. ISA's rep was Bob LaChance and there was also a man there from Seton in Manassas. St. John Neumann was represented very early on in the planning, along with Aquinas School (in Woodbridge) who was represented by Shawn McNulty (a terrific guy). Any of them might have a better memory than I do. Thanks! Paula"
Paula Gossard (TCS AD and Boys' Secretary), 27 May 03: "Hi Lee! …My basketball says it was from the 1997-1998 season. That means that the league was established in Fall 1997 to the best of my recollection. I'll try and check an old yearbook to see if we had any mention of the league in it. Hope that helps. Paula
The Northern Virginia Independent Athletic Conference
(Address of the NVIAC)
Dear Friend,
Thank you for your interest in becoming a member of the Northern Virginia Independent Athletic Conference (NVIAC). I am enclosing an application for admission, along with a copy of our conference constitution. The NVIAC constitution outlines the guidelines, values, and principles under which our conference operates. Should you be accepted as a member, you will be expected to uphold this constitution at all times. Please take your time and read it carefully. If after reading our constitution you decide you wish to proceed with your application, complete the application and mail it to the address that appears on this letter. Please be sure to answer all questions completely.
It is important to highlight a few important guidelines of our conference. Recruiting is absolutely prohibited. A student should not receive any benefits from the school for athletic participation. There can be no scholarships given for athletics. There can be no special considerations for athletes that are not available for all students in the school. We have enacted this rule so that the level of competition throughout the conference may be fair and even.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely yours,
<Current President>
President
Standings Grid
The Standings Grid provides the immediate standing of each team by showing:
Head-to-Head Wins Against Each Opponent
The Head-to-Head Wins Grid shows each team and the number of games they won against each other opponent.
Total Games Played Against Each Opponent
The Total Games Played Grid shows the total teams played versus total games played. The % Played columns is highlighted in RED for those teams who have yet to play the minimum number of opponents.
List of All Games Played
This list all of the games played during the season. It does not include Tournament Games, which are documented on the Tournament Standings pages. This will also include any additional information about each game. For example, games making up a Volleyball match will be included and notations, such as Forfeit, will also be shown.
a. The following sports are currently sanctioned by NVIAC. While any number of teams may play season games/scrimmages without NVIAC sanction, the league may conduct official NVIAC tournaments (referred to as tournaments in this Constitution) only when four or more NVIAC teams of a particular level of play (middle school or varsity) participate.
1. Baseball
2. Basketball
3. Cross-Country
4. Soccer
5. Softball
6. Volleyball
7. Track
a. GENERAL RULES:
b. SOCCER OVERTIME RULES – FOR TOURNAMENTS ONLY:
a. NVIAC Volleyball is governed by National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rules, except as modified in this Section.
a. Varsity, JV and Middle School basketball is governed by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rules, except as modified in the Section:
a. Varsity, JV and Middle School flag football is governed by the NVIAC Flag Football Rules.
Volleyball
Higher seed is HOME team. Home team will provide game ball and is responsible to provide someone to keep the official book at scorer's table.
Lower seed is VISITING team. Visiting team will provide timekeeper to operate clock/scoreboard at scorer's table.
Warm-ups will begin 15 minutes before the start of the game
Soccer
Higher seed is HOME team, and should wear DARK uniforms. Home team will provide three game balls.
Lower seed is VISITING team, and should wear WHITE uniforms.
Each team is responsible to provide two ball runners each to chase out-of-bounds balls.
Basketball
Higher seed is HOME team, and should wear WHITE uniforms. Home team will provide game ball and is responsible to provide someone to keep the official book at scorer's table.
Lower seed is VISITING team, and should wear darker colored uniforms. Visiting team will provide timekeeper to operate clock/scoreboard at scorer's table.
Warm-ups will begin 15 minutes before the start of the game
For any Division that has ten or more teams participating, the teams will be split into divisions in accordance with the NVIAC Divisions Rules document.
All League players will be selected at the end of each season as specified below. All League games may be scheduled on a case-by-case basis, as approved by the Governing Body for the season.
Declaration Day is the date that schools must declare whether or not they will be having sports teams for the upcoming season. Prior to the start of each season, Declaration Day will be decided upon by the Governing Body at regularly scheduled NVIAC Athletic Directors' Meetings. For schools cancelling teams after Declaration Day, the following rules (under Section 2) apply.
For schools/teams cancelling their teams after the season's Declaration Day:
SECTION 1. ENTRANCE FEES (DONATIONS). The team hosting the tournament may request spectators to donate money as a type of entrance fee. For example, the team might post a sign at the entrance stating "$1.00 Donations Requested." 100% of donations collected at tournaments will be used to offset the cost of the tournament for participating schools.
SECTION 2. CONCESSIONS. The team hosting the tournament has first rights to sell concessions. If the hosting team does not elect to do so, other NVIAC teams may be offered a chance to sell concessions.
SECTION 3. TOURNAMENT HOSTS. A $30 per game fee will be paid to the AD that hosts a tournament game. The fee paid for tournament hosts will come from the general fund.
ii