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59-709: The Black Diamond District is a high school conference of the Virginia High School League which draws its members from the western part of Southwest Virginia. The schools in the Black Diamond District compete in Region D with the schools of the Cumberland District , and the Hogoheegee District . The district gets its name from the "black diamond", a nickname for the coal whose mining formed

118-413: A Republican. The district alternated between Democratic and Republican representation over the rest of the century. Some of the election results were so close — and questionable — that the district became known as "The Fighting Ninth." The region has close ties with neighboring East Tennessee , Western North Carolina , Southern West Virginia , and Eastern Kentucky , which are all part of Appalachia and

177-549: A few outliers in the Roanoke, Lynchburg, and Danville areas. Group A schools were typically found in rural areas, with the largest concentration in Southwest Virginia . Group AA schools were somewhat more widely distributed than the other two and found in rapidly growing areas like Loudoun County , in and around cities such as Roanoke , Lynchburg , Harrisonburg , and Charlottesville , and in some cities and counties which have

236-616: A group. Several schools in the Richmond and Hampton Roads areas competed in the Central and Eastern Regions of Group AAA instead of Group AA due to a reluctance to travel long distances in the post-season. In Southwest Virginia, some schools with Group A enrollment levels competed in Group AA due to traditionally being part of that group. Lee High School in Jonesville received a special dispensation from

295-555: A lesser extent, some smaller schools from the former Group AA have been assigned to Group 2A, a few larger school from the former Group A to Group 3A, and some larger schools from the former Group AA, particularly in Loudoun County, to Group 5A. The district system largely based on the prior group classifications has been retained for regular season competition and districts may now include schools from different group classifications to maintain local rivalries and minimize travel during

354-464: A long term representative of the region in Congress , spending more than twenty-four years in office as a Democrat . His predecessor was William C. Wampler , a Republican , who had served a nearly equally long term of over eighteen years prior to his political defeat by Boucher. Republican Ben Cline of Rockbridge County represents the 6th Congressional District which also covers Lynchburg and much of

413-525: A school in Group 6A but is required to play against schools in Groups 5A and 4A. In some cases, no district championship is awarded when there is not a full round robin schedule of all district teams. Schools have also been assigned to a conference of schools from the same group classification for the first round of post-season competition. There are a total of 48 conferences, designated by numbers in reverse order of

472-471: A series of journalism education workshops in four cities across the state that is sponsored by Jostens. The VHSL/Jostens Regional Workshops began in 2005 and target both students and advisers of newspaper, magazine, and yearbook publications. The 2007 series included stops in Virginia Beach, Richmond, Roanoke, and Dulles. This event is followed up by what is referred to as the state journalism workshop, or

531-502: A single day in late March/early April and consists of ten individual events: duo interpretation, serious dramatic interpretation, humorous dramatic interpretation, storytelling, poetry interpretation, prose interpretation, foreign extemporaneous speaking, domestic extemporaneous speaking, impromptu speaking, and original oratory. At this tournament, Group A, AA, and AAA competition occur separately, but simultaneously. The top six students in each category and in each group are recognized with

590-399: A single high school. Unlike many state associations, districts and regions were the same for every sport with few exceptions. Redistricting and regrouping occurred every two years. Group AAA schools typically had enrollments above 1,500 students, Group AA schools typically had from 700 to about 1,500 students, and Group A schools had fewer than 700 students. Schools could request to play up

649-541: A team sweepstakes. The team champion and runner-up are also recognized. The VHSL academic activities season culminates with the judging of creative writing entries announced in mid-late May. In March, schools submit a folder containing six works (2 poems, 2 short stories, and 2 essays) written by six different students. These school folders have traditionally been evaluated by judges at the University of Virginia's creative writing department. Judges award individual awards for

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708-630: A three-year average unemployment rate of 5.7%, compared with 3.8% statewide and 5.5% nationwide. In 2002, Appalachian Virginia had a per capita market income of $ 16,901, compared with $ 29,279 statewide and $ 26,420 nationwide. In 2000, Appalachian Virginia had a poverty rate of 15.7%, compared to 9.6% statewide and 12.4% nationwide. Only one Virginia county— Dickenson — was designated "Distressed," while eight— Buchanan , Carroll (includes Galax ), Craig , Grayson , Lee , Montgomery (includes Radford ), Smyth , and Wise (includes Norton )— were designated "at-risk." Botetourt County

767-724: Is Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (better known as "Virginia Tech"), in Blacksburg . Virginia Tech is the largest research university in the state as well as the largest employer in Montgomery County . There are two medical schools in Blacksburg, and efforts are underway to develop a third in Abingdon. Professional schools—including schools of law and pharmacy—have been developed in recent years in Buchanan County, which

826-549: Is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth . Located within the broader region of western Virginia , Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virginia counties on the Appalachian Plateau , all Virginia counties west of the Eastern Continental Divide , or at its greatest expanse, as far east as Blacksburg and Roanoke . Another geographic categorization of

885-456: Is divided into two regions of four conferences each. The two regions are designated North/South in Groups 6A, 5A, and 4A and East/West in Groups 3A, 2A, and 1A. In most team sports, the top two teams from conference playoffs advance to compete in regional playoffs. The top two teams from regional playoffs advance to a final four state playoff competition to determine the state champion. The conferences are not used for football playoffs in ten of

944-514: Is located in Southwest Virginia's coalfield region. There is also an effort within the region to help make higher education more accessible to students graduating from high school, particularly through partnerships between community colleges and other educational institutions. The Appalachian Regional Commission was formed in 1965 to aid economic development in the Appalachian region , which

1003-517: Is more consistent with the wider Appalachian region than with the rest of the state of Virginia. This is due in large part to the geographical diversity of the state, with the Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains dominating the region. Southwest Virginia was among the last parts of the state to be settled by Europeans, in a flow of migrations that consisted mainly of English , German , and Scots-Irish and Irish immigrants. A major route of migration to

1062-465: The Shenandoah Valley . Republican Bob Goodlatte represented the 6th district for 26 years before retiring in 2019. Since most of Southwest Virginia has experienced little to no population growth in recent decades, the 9th district has begun to encroach into areas previously in the 5th and 6th districts. Southwest Virginia is home to several institutions of higher education, the largest of which

1121-623: The Union and the Confederacy and was subject to guerilla warfare . The only major battles to occur in the area were the Smyth County Battle of Saltville and of Marion , while many skirmishes occurred throughout much of the region. In 1864, Union General George Stoneman led a devastating raid into Southwest Virginia, destroying the saltworks in Saltville and burning all that he thought useful to

1180-642: The Upland South . Like the rest of the commonwealth, Southwest Virginia is represented by Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine in the United States Senate . In the House of Representatives , by the narrowest and almost to the largest definition of Southwest Virginia, representation falls largely under Representative Morgan Griffith of the 9th Congressional District . In 2010, Griffith defeated long-time representative Rick Boucher . Boucher had previously been

1239-725: The Virginia General Assembly to mandate that the VHSL allow homeschooled students to compete for the public high school they would otherwise attend have failed to pass. The VHSL was established in 1913 by members of both the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society and the Washington Literary Society and Debating Union at the University of Virginia to serve as a debating league for the state's high schools. During

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1298-607: The 1910s, it expanded to over 250 schools and added championships in oral reading, baseball, basketball, and track and renamed itself the Virginia High School Literary and Athletic League. After World War II , it adopted other sports and began standardizing officiating practices for high school sports. In 1969, it merged with the Virginia Interscholastic Association, which was a similar organization that had served African American schools around

1357-660: The Championship Journalism Workshop in October, which is both an educational and recognition event. Held at Virginia Commonwealth University since 1989, the CJW celebrates the results of the newspaper, magazine, and yearbook evaluations that schools submit each June to the VHSL. The two-day workshop offers about 100 classes that are taught mostly by the state's top advisers, but also by college professors, industry professionals, and recognized out-of-state advisers. Since 2005,

1416-550: The Commonwealth during segregation . Girls' sports were added around this time. Statewide football playoffs also began in 1970. The VHSL is headquartered in Pantops Charlottesville and has 308 member schools and conducts championships in 27 different sports. Nearly 200,000 students participate in its activities annually. The VHSL is overseen by an Executive Committee elected from the principals and superintendents of

1475-481: The Confederates. At the time, the saltworks were considered a very important strategic target. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, extractive industries became important in the region, especially the cutting of timber and coal mining . The coalfield region has experienced a significant loss of population over the last generation, resulting in shrinking political representation and a variety of local issues, including

1534-731: The Student Journalist of the Year to a deserving senior, which comes with the Savedge scholarship. The VHSL academic season continues with the Group A and AA One Act Theatre Festivals, traditionally held the first week of December in Charlottesville. Eight schools representing the top two in both district and regional competition present plays that are 35 or fewer minutes in length. Preferably four, but no fewer than three, judges usually consisting of both high school directors and professionals evaluate

1593-508: The U.S., Virginia draws a sharp distinction between cities and other incorporated communities, all of which are designated as towns . Under state law, all municipalities incorporated as cities are independent of any county. By contrast, places incorporated as towns are included within counties. Independent cities in Southwest Virginia include Bristol , Buena Vista , Covington , Galax , Lexington , Martinsville , Norton , Radford , Roanoke , and Salem . The culture of Southwest Virginia

1652-434: The VHSL intends that the group classifications will remain approximately the same size, and schools will not be allowed to compete for a state championship in a group classification above or below the one determined by their enrollment. Regrouping will occur every two years. Many schools which had competed at the former Group AAA level, particularly in the Central and Eastern Regions, have been assigned to Groups 4A or 3A. To

1711-467: The VHSL to play in Group A despite having Group AA enrollment numbers due to being far away from the nearest schools in Group AA and not having substantially more students than large Group A schools. In football, each region was further split into two divisions based on school enrollment, so statewide champions were determined in Divisions 1 through 6. Divisions 1 and 2 were for Group A with Division 2 being

1770-522: The awards portion of this event has been held in the nearby historic Jefferson Hotel 's ballroom. State champions in newspaper, magazine, and yearbook publications are given an evaluation on their publication known as Trophy Class. Publications that receive five Trophy Class ratings in seven or fewer years are also awarded the Savedge Award for Sustained Excellence, named after renowned yearbook adviser Colonel Charles Savedge. The VHSL also annually awards

1829-434: The backbone of the region's economy until the 1980s. Haysi and Honaker have a larger enrollment than the other schools in the district, sometimes leading to disparities, mostly in football . This is aggravated by Council choosing not to field a football team due to the schools small size and inability to produce enough athletes (typical Council football teams consisted of 15-20 players). In Scholastic Bowl , Honaker has been

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1888-936: The decline in the number of coal jobs and the decline of tobacco as a cash crop , Southwest Virginia is increasingly turning to tourism as a source of economic development. Collectively, Southwest Virginia's craft, music, agritourism and outdoor recreation are referred to as the region's "creative economy." Counties that have been included in the definition of Southwest Virginia include: Alleghany County , Bedford County , Bland County , Botetourt County , Buchanan County , Carroll County , Craig County , Dickenson County , Floyd County , Franklin County , Giles County , Grayson County , Henry County , Lee County , Montgomery County , Patrick County , Pulaski County , Roanoke County , Rockbridge County , Russell County , Scott County , Smyth County , Tazewell County , Washington County , Wise County , and Wythe County . Unlike other states in

1947-409: The different division of another region. Most districts contained members in both divisions of its group, and a single district had two state championship teams on a few occasions. Because of the number of schools choosing to play up, in some years a state championship team from a lower division had a greater enrollment than a state championship team in a higher division. In the 2013-2014 school year,

2006-479: The dominant force, winning either the district regular season and/or district tournament for 12 consecutive years. While Haysi has traditionally been the dominant team in the sports arena winning nearly all of the boys track titles and a majority of the districts football titles. However, all members have proven competitive in basketball and other activities, with Council, Hurley, and Twin Valley all making deep runs into

2065-459: The former three group classification system was replaced by a six group classification system with Group 1A schools having the smallest enrollments and Group 6A schools having the largest enrollments. Generally, schools which had competed in Group A have been assigned to the new Groups 1A and 2A; in Group AA, the new Groups 3A and 4A; and in Group AAA, the new Groups 5A and 6A. Unlike the former system,

2124-449: The fourth round. In Groups 6A, 5A, and 4A, the two regional champions play for the state championship. (i.e. The regional championship game is also the state semi-final.) In Groups 3A, 2A, and 1A, the final four teams are cross-bracketed in the state semi-finals with the higher remaining seed in one region hosting the lower remaining seed in the other region. (i.e. No regional championship is awarded.) This format could allow two teams from

2183-510: The group classification numbers. (i.e. Conference 1 is in Group 6A while Conference 48 is in Group 1A.) Conferences are not uniform in the number of the member schools and almost always include schools in other districts. Only two conferences are composed solely of the members of one district. There are no uniform rules for the seeding of schools in conference competition based on regular season results. The six groups are not divided into four regions as before. Instead, each group classification

2242-471: The largest enrollments were in Group AAA, the group with the next largest enrollments were in Group AA, and the schools with the smallest enrollments were in Group A. Regional boundaries were different for all three groups as average school sizes vary substantially in different parts of Virginia. Nearly all Group AAA schools were located in Northern Virginia , Hampton Roads , and Greater Richmond , with

2301-525: The most direct impact upon the geography of Southwest Virginia and are often credited for isolating its residents from the rest of the commonwealth. Southwest Virginia falls into the ridge and valley and the Blue Ridge portions of the range. Within the mountains, coal fields have been one of the sources of the significant economic booms in the region. The major river of the region is the New River , credited as

2360-457: The most economically endangered and "attainment" counties being the most economically prosperous. These designations are based primarily on three indicators— three-year average unemployment rate, market income per capita, and poverty rate. For data collection purposes, independent cities within the designated region are grouped with an adjacent county. In 2003, Appalachian Virginia— which included most of Southwestern Virginia— had

2419-488: The need for extensive travel during the regular season. Schools begin the post-season with Regional tournaments and then State tournament play. Athletic activities include the following: For boys and girls : Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Lacrosse, Gymnastics, Indoor track, Outdoor track, Soccer, Swimming/diving, Tennis, Volleyball For boys : Baseball, Football, Wrestling For girls : Cheerleading, Field hockey, Softball Boys' and girls' sports will allow members of

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2478-522: The need to consolidate schools. Manufacturing, which did well during part of the 20th century, has also declined in Southwest Virginia despite local officials' efforts to recruit new industry. Tobacco has declined since the buyout of the federal quota program as well. Since the early 2000s, natural gas extraction has grown into an important industry, particularly in the coalfield region. Throughout Southwest Virginia, tourism has also begun to take off as an important industry. The Appalachian Mountains have

2537-650: The oldest river in North America. Flooding has been epidemic in the more mountainous areas, with major floods occurring about once every other decade with great loss of life and property. Such disasters have encouraged local precautions to prevent future problems, such as the Grundy Flood Control and Redevelopment Project, in Grundy, Virginia , a multimillion-dollar effort to protect the town from future flooding. This federally funded project moved an entire town up off of

2596-413: The one for schools with larger enrollments; 3 and 4, the Group AA schools; and 5 and 6, the Group AAA schools. The division format was first adopted in 1986 for football and was expanded in the late 2000s and early 2010s to some other sports in Groups A and AA. Since the average enrollments of schools varied by region in each group, some schools in one region had enrollments which would have placed them in

2655-516: The opposite sex to participate. Academic activities include the following: Creative Writing, Debate, Drama (one-act plays), Forensics (a variety of individual events ), Magazines, Newspapers, Scholastic Bowl , and Yearbooks Academic activities are coed and not considered varsity athletics by most schools. Academic activities are usually awarded different letters and honors from athletics. The VHSL academic activities season begins in September with

2714-933: The performances and recognize both the champion and runner-up school. Also recognized are eight outstanding actors. In February, the top eight schools that have advanced from regional competition in Groups A, AA, and AAA go to the College of William and Mary for Scholastic Bowl competition. Two four-person teams meet head-to-head in this double-elimination tournament, answering questions in mathematics, science/health, social studies, English, and miscellany (including current events, fine arts, music, entertainment and sports). There are three rounds, including two toss-up rounds where either team may answer and one round of directed questioning toward individual schools. Toss-up rounds consist of 15 questions and directed rounds include 10 questions per team. The champion and runner-up are recognized in each grouping. The state forensics tournament occurs on

2773-542: The playoffs during the past 10 years. Twin Valley is the "newest" member, resulting from Buchanan County's decision to consolidate Garden and Whitewood High Schools in 2001. Black Diamond District Online Virginia High School League Private and religious schools and teams of homeschooled students belong to other sanctioning organizations, the largest of which is the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association. Proposals in

2832-649: The populations in the region continued to grow. Southwest Virginia is also the result of parts of Virginia which broke off or revolted, such as Kentucky and West Virginia . During the American Revolution , residents from southwest Virginia were among those who participated in the Battle of King's Mountain , which occurred in South Carolina . In the Civil War , Southwest Virginia was deeply divided between sentiment for

2891-483: The region places it as those counties within the Tennessee River watershed . Regardless of how borders are drawn, Southwest Virginia differs from the rest of the commonwealth in that its culture is more closely associated with Appalachia than the other regions of Virginia. Historically, the region has been and remains a rural area , but in the 20th century, coal mining became an important part of its economy. With

2950-742: The region was the Great Wagon Road through the Great Appalachian Valley . At present-day Roanoke there was an important fork in the wagon road, with one branch passing through the Blue Ridge and into the Piedmont region, and the other branch, called the Wilderness Road , continuing southwest to Tennessee and Kentucky. Much of the area was protected by a series of forts constructed around the time of Lord Dunmore's War , some of which later became

3009-426: The regular season. Some Group AAA and AA districts with few schools and which were geographically isolated from other districts in the same group were dissolved and their member schools assigned to districts of nearby schools with smaller enrollments. Schools are not required to play a district rival which is at least three group classifications higher. For example, a school in Group 3A is not required to play against

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3068-671: The river bank and onto a site blasted out of a mountainside. Independent Cities in Southwest Virginia Towns in Southwest Virginia Southwest Virginia has long been a Republican stronghold, dating back to the Jim Crow era. For twenty years (1903-1923), Virginia's 9th congressional district was the only congressional district in Virginia — and one of the few in the entire former Confederacy — to be represented by

3127-600: The same region to play for the state championship. VHSL member schools are classified based on enrollment into six classifications, 1 through 6, with schools having an enrollment of 475 or less in the smallest (1) classification. The remainder of the League’s member schools are divided equally into fifths, with the largest schools in Class 6. Each Classification is made up of four Regions (A, B, C, D). For regular season play, schools are placed into geographically-based Districts, eliminating

3186-487: The seats of future counties. The first major industry in Southwest Virginia — which laid the foundation for the regionally important town of Abingdon — was salt . In Saltville (a small town now located on the Smyth-Washington county line), salt was (and still is) produced by using water to extract salt from the ground. Many of the present day counties were formed from larger counties which were broken up as

3245-752: The three categories in each group (A, AA, and AAA) as well as an overall school folder winner in each group. The VHSL also awards the Wachovia Cup for each group to the schools which accumulate the most points across all competitions much like the NACDA Director's Cup for college athletics. There are separate cups for athletic and academic activities. Districts are geographically-organized groups and may contain schools in varying classifications. Class 6 Class 5 Class 4 Class 3 Class 2 Class 1 Southwest Virginia Southwest Virginia , often abbreviated as SWVA ,

3304-510: The top four earning points toward a team sweepstakes. The team champion and runner-up are also recognized. Debate is a two-day tournament in April that features four events: Student Congress, Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, and Policy. This competition has taken place at Liberty University since 1999. Public Forum, added in 2011, is the newest VHSL debate event. The top four individuals (or two-person policy and public forum teams) earn points toward

3363-460: The twelve regions. Instead, the sixteen schools with the most VHSL points from each region compete in the regional playoffs. The exception is that the first three rounds of the playoffs in the South regions in Groups 6A and 5A are split into two sections of two conferences each with eight schools qualifying for the playoffs in each section. The two sectional champions meet for the regional championship in

3422-503: The various Virginia school districts. Day-to-day affairs are handled by the Executive Director and Assistant Directors. From 1970, the VHSL's member schools were organized into three group classifications based on enrollment: A, AA, and AAA. Each of the three groups were split into four geographic regions, which usually contained three or four districts. District sizes vary and consist of four to eleven teams. The group of schools with

3481-466: Was lagging far behind the rest of the nation on most economic indicators. The Appalachian region currently defined by the Commission includes 420 counties in 13 states, including the westernmost counties and cities in Virginia. The Commission gives each county one of five possible economic designations— distressed, at-risk, transitional, competitive, or attainment— with "distressed" counties being

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