FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2000


FHSAA launches partnership deal with high school internet network

GAINESVILLE – The Florida High School Activities Association announced today that it has entered an exclusive arrangement with iHigh.com, the High School Internet Network, coinciding with the launch of the Florida iHigh web site, Florida.iHigh.com.

The Florida iHigh site will provide high school news, sports statistics, schedules and student feature stories on the Association’s more than 500 member high schools.

High schools in Florida can now work with iHigh.com to design and maintain their school Web page, which will be linked to other high schools across the country. iHigh.com is the only web site exclusively approved by and partnered with the National Federation of State High School Associations. Florida is the 22nd state to connect with iHigh.com.

"The FHSAA is extremely pleased to be entering into this partnership with iHigh.com," Commissioner Robert W. Hughes said. "The FHSAA already has one of the most progressive web sites of any high school association in the country. This partnership, however, will add an exciting new presence in cyberspace for the FHSAA through the Florida.iHigh.com site. We hope our member schools will hop on the bandwagon and establish their own iHigh.com sites to promote their individual athletic programs, even as the FHSAA works to promote Florida high school athletics as a whole."

The iHigh.com network gives the nation’s high school students a school-approved Internet connection through which they can learn about each other, their schools and voice their opinions. More important, students gain technological skills, which are in great demand by employers nationwide. The agreement allows schools to advertise local businesses on their page and use those advertising dollars for school programs.

The arrangement allows Florida high schools to produce world-class web sites through iHigh.com’s SchoolToolz© system. The service is free to high schools and allows them to augment their current web sites with sophisticated and easy-to-use publishing tools through which all stories, schedules and stats tie into a network of sites across the country. In conjunction with the FHSAA’s new Student Sports Information Director program, students in Florida will be able to create and maintain their sites under the direction of an athletic director, coach or teacher to key in information.

"At iHigh.com, we are focused on enriching the high school sports and activities experience. This site is about high school students, for high school students, by high school students," said Rick Ford, iHigh.com’s CEO. "iHigh.com is the only site to include all the features important to students, including online surveys, music reviews and opportunities to e-mail questions to celebrities. In addition, we offer schools a new fundraising opportunity – selling banner ads on their sites to local businesses."

The iHigh.com network, introduced last August in partnership with the National Federation, includes state association members New York, Massachusetts, California, Colorado, Illinois, Tennessee, Texas, Kentucky, Georgia and North Carolina.

The Florida High School Activities Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletics in Florida. It has a membership of 615 middle, junior and senior high schools.

Contact:
Jack Watford
Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org