The Alabama High School Athletic Association’s (AHSAA) Board approved the fall reclassification for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, and Gulf Shores was one of the schools affected in football.

In a press release from the AHSAA, the Central Board of Control unanimously approved the current seven-classification system for championship play for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years. The seven-class system, which began in 2014-15, was approved once again for all sports.

There were several shake-ups in the State of Alabama, but most notably for the coastal region was the upgrade of the Gulf Shores Dolphins Football from 5A to 6A.

Gulf Shores plays in Region 1, and the following are the new teams Gulf Shores will now face in regional competition:

CLASS 6A

Region 1

Baldwin County

Blount

Gulf Shores

McGill-Toolen

Murphy

Saraland

Spanish Fort

St. Paul’s

Theodore

Member schools are reclassified every two years. The high schools are currently divided into seven classifications (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A and 7A) for competition in championship programs.

Classification is based on Average Daily Membership (ADM) figures furnished by the State Department of Education for public schools for grades 9 through 11 plus eighth-grade hold-back students. Member private schools report that same data directly to the AHSAA. An index of 1.35 is used to determine the enrollment figure for classifying private school members. Each private school student counts 1.35 for classification purposes.

Central Bord of Control president Mike Welsh, Superintend of Cherokee County Schools, added, “This new classification and fall sport recommendations came after many hours of study and discussion. Everyone involved gave of their valuable time to evaluate our classification system thoroughly and provided input in ways to improve that system."

“More than 190,000 student-athletes are expected to participate in AHSAA sports activities during the upcoming classification period,” said AHSAA Executive Director Alvin Briggs.