Membership/Participation

Membership / Participation

Membership

Membership in the TMSGA shall be open to any school in Tennessee or its bordering counties that has students enrolled in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade, both for boys and girls. Member schools that continue to serve students within the state of Tennessee and its bordering areas may also submit an application for membership.

Schools who are members of the TMSAA are welcome to join the TMSGA, but must complete all requirements of participation for the TMSAA. (ex. submit rosters, complete coaching education, etc)

Participation/School

All students participating on a team registered in the TMSGA must be enrolled in grades 6-8, attend the same school, and be under supervision of the same administrative head, unless permission is granted by the TMSAA or the TMSGA office to allow students from another school to participate (see cooperative teams and home schooled students below).

No student in a grade below the 6^th grade can practice or participate as a member of a team in the TMSGA.

A school with teams in any combination of the Senior High Division, Junior High Division, and Middle School may certify a student for any division in which he or she may participate. A student may participate in only one division at any time. A student who has been certified as a member of the TMSGA may be advanced to a higher division at any time, provided the TMSGA office is advised to remove his or her name from the lower division eligibility report and a new eligibility report is filed to show that the student has advanced to a higher division.

Once an eighth grade student who is enrolled and in regular attendance participates in a high school sport, he/she will be ineligible to participate in the same sport for a member middle school.

No student shall be eligible to compete in the TMSGA during any school year if the student becomes 15 years of age on or before August 1.

Recruiting: All TMSGA recruiting rules mirror the TMSAA recruiting rules. Please see Section 17 in this link to the TMSAA Bylaws.

Transfer Students: All TMSGA transfer rules mirror the TMSAA transfer rules. Please see Sections 11-13 in this link to the TMSAA Bylaws.

Eligible Types of Teams

School Sponsored Team

School is responsible for the coach and players

Club Sport

Team is made up of players from a school but run by a volunteer coach

Community Team

Team is made up of players from a school, but the school and TMSGA are NOT responsible for the coach.

Participation/School - JV Teams

If a member school has enough players to form more than one team, they may field one or multiple JV team(s). There will be no additional cost for fielding a JV team and each school must submit the team roster with the TMSGA office. JV teams are allowed to compete only against other JV teams per TMSAA (Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association) guidelines.

Participation/Cooperative Teams

Two or more schools may petition the TMSGA annually for permission to have a cooperative golf program if each schools does not have enough players to field a full team (five (5) for boys, three (3) for girls). The administration of the TMSGA may approve such cooperative programs subject to approval by the principal of the schools involved. Click here to view Cooperative Team Request Form. This form must be completed by the principal of each school requesting to co-op. In order for schools to co-op with one another they must both be TMSAA member schools or they must both be non-TMSAA member schools. A TMSAA member school cannot co-op with a non-TMSAA member school.

In addition, any co-op program previously approved by the TMSAA is allowed to participate in the TMSGA. Click here for a list of co-ops approved by the TMSAA for the 2022-2023 season.

Participation/Home Schooled Students

Home-schooled students are able to participate as an individual, as a team, or as a member of a member schools’ team.

If competing as an individual, the player will be placed in a district based upon their location.
If competing as a team, all players must be home-schooled students and they will be placed in a district based upon their location.
If competing on another member schools’ team, all TMSAA home school regulations must be met. Full details including “eligibility requirements” and “application for participation” can be found on the TMSAA website. Please see Section 25 in this link to the TMSAA Bylaws.

New in 2022-23, the deadline to notify the Principal of the member school of their intent to tryout or join the golf team must occur before January 30, 2023. Ultimate decisions on team rosters are left to the member schools.

Participation/Individual Participation

Individuals in grades 6-8, in good academic standing, who attend a middle school that does not offer golf can participate in the TMSGA as an individual participant. If competing as an individual, the player is “attached” to a TMSGA member school – meaning they can participate in that school’s practices and matches. Individual participants will compete in TMSGA matches solely as an individual and will not have ties to any TMSGA member school or non-member school. It is the responsibility of the parent(s) of the individual participant to contact and acquire permission from the head coach of the TMSGA member school the individual participant wishes to be “attached” to as well as their own middle school before they can join the TMSGA as an individual.

Individual players must comply with the following to be eligible:

1. Attend the school they are representing.

2. Submit the TMSGA Individual Registration Form.

3. Submit the Parent Consent Form.

4. Submit the TMSGA Schedule Form if different from the school the player is attached to.

5. Submit season payment of $25 upon receipt of a TMSGA invoice.

*Individual players who compete in the District tournament have the opportunity to advance to the Region Championship as an individual.

*Individuals may also pursue the Co-op Team participation as outlined above.