South Dakota Changes – Gymnastics

2026-27 South Dakota Changes, Clarifications & Reminders

Individual Day In-Season Qualifiers – All athletes who achieve an individual day in-season qualifying standard are eligible for Individual Day. If more than six athletes from the same team qualify in a single event during the in-season period, the team is not required to designate which six will compete when submitting the online entry form one week prior to the State Meet.
Entry Forms are mandated for all regular season meets
Require a Meet Referee for Class A Region Meets and Class AA State-Qualifying Meets
Class AA State-Qualifying Meets will be held on Saturday of NFHS Week 31 for teams and individuals to qualify for the State Meet with two sessions (morning and afternoon). A random draw, to be held yearly at the advisory committee meeting, will be used to determine which teams will participate in each session.
- Random draw for Class AA State-Qualifying Meets for the 2026-27 season is as follows:
  - Morning Session = Harrisburg, Huron, Mitchell, Sioux Falls Jefferson, Sioux Falls Roosevelt, Sioux Falls Washington, Yankton
  - Afternoon Session = Aberdeen Central, Brookings, O’Gorman, Pierre T.F. Riggs, Sioux Falls Lincoln, Watertown
Adjust Modified Capital Cup format to remove the dual judging requirement for regular season meets with six or more teams. Pre-meet includes an open stretch and equipment check for 30-45 minutes and remove the “play nice” warm-up time. Move the team warm-up to a minimum of two minutes per athlete and keep the touch warm-up at one-and-a-half minutes.
Region/State-Qualifying Meets will stay with dual judging and will continue with the Modified Capital Cup format.
In-Season qualifying scores remain the same as follows: Class A Vault = 8.7, Class A Floor = 8.8, Class AA Beam = 8.9 and Class AA Floor = 9.2.
No speakers allowed in competition or practice area.
All member schools will use the INSIGHT scoring program when hosting meets.
Team Membership – A high school student becomes a member of a school athletic squad when the student first participates in a practice. A 7th or 8th grade student becomes a member of a school athletic squad once they have suited up for a high school contest, regardless of whether they actually play or not. See In-/Out-of-Season Section of Handbook for more information (p.3).

South Dakota Modifications to NFHS Rules

Coaches have a maximum of 10 minutes (instead of five) to submit an inquiry after all scores for that team are recorded for that individual event.