Sports Overview

Overview of Sports at GIS


The Athletics Department at GIS is here to serve your children by providing quality sports programs to as many students as possible. We believe that this adds to the student’s well-roundedness and helps them build good character both on and off the field/court, enhancing their overall experience and education at GIS.

In an effort to help parents guide their children to make informed, wise decisions about their time and involvement in sports, we have compiled a summary of sports at GIS. The GIS Athletics' Vision Statement found in the school handbook gives a full description of GIS sports. GIS offers three means of sports involvement: recreation league for elementary students, travel, and conference competitive play.

Meet our Athletic Department

Office hours:  M-F  9 am - 5:30pm


CONNECT WITH US

Join our Facebook page: Grace Athletics

Follow us on Instagram: @gisathletics

Email us: athletics@gisthailand.org

Definitions

The following table shows the age restrictions/policies for competing in sports at GIS. 

UPDATE: Varsity is now considered U19 and JV is considered U16 for all CMAC teams

"U": The "U" for U12, U14, etc. stands for "under." 

Sports Leadership: A two-tiered PE class that teaches high school students how to teach PE, coach & referee sports. These students will serve as coaches and/or referees for Rec League, U12 and U14.  They will also serve as score keepers at all levels.


CODE OF CONDUCT

STUDENT-ATHLETES will:


GRACE PARENTS & COMMUNITY will:


ALL SPECTATORS will:


COACHES will:


STUDENT-ATHLETES when traveling, will:


Coaches:

All coaches at GIS are volunteers from our school community. All of them undergo the GIS school aide screening and training as well as training specific to the Athletic department. We seek that all of our coaches are invested in pouring into the lives of our athletes and instilling in them Christian values and character. If you are interested in being a GIS coach, please reach out to us at athletics@gisthailand.org. We believe that successful coaching has less to do with wins and losses and more to do with character and team development. 


Helpful Hints from our Department

Games vs. Thai Teams

The Sports culture in Thailand is very different from western countries. Flexibility is vital to success here. Thai teams will often approach about playing with only a few days' notice so be prepared for changes in dates/times/locations of games. We will try to keep you as up to date as possible. Any last minute changes with games and/or weather and cancellations, will be posted under the "Breaking News" category on the home page of our website by 1:30pm. Games vs. Thai schools are often later in the afternoons as Thai schools are not dismissed until 4pm. 


Professional Athletes

Over the years, we have had the privilege of hosting sports clinics taught by professional athletes. These clinics usually occur on short notice and although we try to avoid scheduling conflicts, it sometimes can't be avoided. 


Sports Schedule

You can find the most up to date schedule on our website. Game dates are on the calendar on the home page, practice days are listed in the category of each sports page.


Burning Season

In February, farmers begin burning their fields in preparation for planting season. This greatly affects the air quality in Chiang Mai and affects outside activities. The air quality is consistently monitored by the school and the Athletic Department to ensure the safety of our students. If any changes occur (i.e. game cancellations, change in location of practice, etc.) we will let you know as soon as possible. You can also look at the AQI index on our policies page.


Athletic Conferences

GIS is a part of two conferences: 

Each conference has rules and regulations we must follow. Conference play and tournament dates are dependent upon the availability of facilities to host the events. Tournament dates can be found on the calendar on our website and are as "set in stone" as they possibly can be.


*CMAC and ACSC are leagues designed for competitive sports and playing time is not guaranteed.  Each player must earn his/her playing time based on the coach’s discretion. Students interested in playing on these teams must come to all try-out days.

Traveling

At GIS, our varsity teams have the privilege of traveling throughout their season. The two main times our teams travel are for the ACSC and ISB (International School of Bangkok) Tournaments. Teams will often create fundraisers to help pay their way to the tournament, but it is the student's responsibility to cover the finances of the trip. 

To see varsity travel schedule and approximate costs, please click here. 


Tryouts &  Practice 

Tryout and practice dates, times, and location can be found on each of the sports page of our website.


CMAC

Students cannot participate in two CMAC TEAM sports during the same season (i.e. Soccer and Volleyball). Students are, however, allowed to participate in an individual sport and a team sport during the same season (i.e. Cross Country and Basketball) IF they are able to balance his/her family life, time and grades, and if they have discussed it with the coaches of each sport. We believe that committing to a particular sport will allow the student to focus and excel in what they choose to do. Note that once a student commits to a sport (even Rec League), they are expected to follow through. If a student quits a sport, he/she forfeits the right to try out for another sport, without the approval of the Athletic Director.

Teams will be released early from school at 3:00pm for all games except for APIS and PREM; for these games they are released at 2:20pm because of the distance.

Maximum team sizes (# of players that can dress out and play): 

*However, the coach can limit the size of the team if he/she so desires with AD approval. 

Every effort will be made to have students play at the appropriate age level. This will be determined by the Athletic Director and coaches.

Tournaments:

Each school may enter only one team in tournaments.


*Exception: If there are 5 or 7 teams an additional team may be added to make two even pools allowing an even number of games in the pool play.  The school hosting the tournament has first choice to add a team. If the hosting school does not have an additional team, all schools that wish to add a second team may apply and the winner is selected by a drawing.**If entering two teams the “A” team must consist of the best players; schools are not allowed to make two teams in which the skill level is evenly distributed.  Teams sometimes change from the season games to the tournament based on the coaches recommendation as whom he/she thinks are the best fit for the team.

Team Sports:

JV and Varsity: Teams are determined by tryouts and have cuts for CMAC seasons.

Practices/games are typically Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

Team sports: basketball, soccer, and volleyball.


U14: Teams are determined by tryouts and have cuts for CMAC seasons.

Practices/games are 2-3 days per week

Team Sports: basketball, soccer, and volleyball.


U12:  Teams are determined by tryouts and have cuts for CMAC seasons.

Practices/games are two days per week. 

Team sports: basketball and soccer. 


U8/U10: Everyone is welcomed, there are no tryouts needed. Just sign up using the sign up sheet!

Practices are two days a week with 1-2 tournaments each season. There will be no games throughout the season.

Team sport: soccer.


Individual Sports:


Cross-Country (XC): 


Swimming:


Participation Policy

A Grace student may only play in one age level team of a given sport, if the rosters are full (i.e. a student that made the U14 soccer team cannot tryout for the JV soccer team if there are more than 15 players trying out for the JV team).

A Grace student may play in multiple age level teams of a given sport, if the rosters are not full (i.e. a student that made the U14 soccer team can tryout for the JV soccer team if there are less than 15 people trying out for the JV team). However, they are not guaranteed to make the team. 


Eligibility Policy

(Grades 9th -12th as seen in the GIS Handbook)

Academic: "If at any marking period for eligibility to participate in extra-curricular activities, a student receives below a 70% (i.e. below a C- ) in any course, he or she will be ineligible to participate in extra-curricular activities.” - GIS PSMO

Sickness/Injury: If your child is sick and doesn't come to school, he/she is not allowed to attend practice.  If your child does come to school then he/she needs to be at practice unless the nurse says otherwise.  If your child is injured he/she needs to see our athletic trainer, Mr. Hirschelman, to be evaluated and he will decide if the student can attend practice or not.  If the student has not been evaluated by our trainer then he/she needs to be at practice.

Arriving late/Tardy: Students must miss no more than two class periods (including tutorial/homeroom/advisories), to participate in after school activities. 


Rides and Carpooling to Games: 

Away Games:  GIS does not offer transportation.  Parents are responsible for getting their children to and from games.  

Away games at PTIS and APIS: Students will be let out of class at 2:15 pm and will meet their coach by the guard shack (unless told otherwise) where they can also be picked up by parents carpooling. 

For games at CMIS, NIS, CDSC, LIST etc.:  Students will be let out of class at 3:00 pm and will meet their coach by the guard shack (unless told otherwise) where they can also be picked up by parents carpooling. 

*For elementary students: Athletes will meet with their coaches/guardians in the atrium before proceeding to the cars. Students will not be allowed to leave parents by themselves

**Parents do not need to email the office that your child will be missing school. The Athletic Department will take care of letting the respective offices know. 

Please be sure to look for communication from your coach to facilitate rides.

Direction to each school can be found here.


Jerseys

After making a team, athletes will need to purchase athletic jerseys to compete in conference games. 

U8-U14 athletes will need to purchase the yellow jersey from the Uniform/Tiger Shop.

JV and Varsity athletes will need to purchase one yellow and one blue jersey, per sport, and will be able to keep using them until they graduate. Prices and other information will be made available each season.


Recreational (REC) League

Rec League was created to develop athletic skills in our elementary students. Our vision is for each sport to be played before their CMAC season began in order for our students to have the opportunity to try it first before deciding if they want to pursue playing competitively.

The goal is FUNdamentals and learning how to play sports with a Christ-like attitude! The goal is to let all the kids play and have as much playing time as possible. Sports Leadership students are the coaches and referees for Rec League; please show respect to them as they learn how to coach and referee. 


Special Notes

If your family is arriving after tryouts have ended and you have a student who is interested in trying out for a sport, please let us know by emailing us at athletics@gisthailand.org in advance. We will arrange a separate tryout for your child. Please note that this does NOT guarantee a spot on the team - just a tryout. 


If you have any questions, please email us at: athletics@gisthailand.org.


Blessings, 

GIS Athletic Department