What has to be turned in before the first day of football practice

Practice opens August 19 under WIAA rules this year. A kid without the right forms on file does not step on the field that first day, no matter how fast he ran his 40 this summer.

Four documents have to be signed before that whistle. Miss one and the kid sits out day one while a parent scrambles to fix it from the parking lot.

The physical exam

WIAA requires a physical exam, cleared by a medical authority, before an athlete’s first practice. It runs 24 months, not one year, which catches first-time football parents who are used to signing off on an annual physical for other sports.

The timing matters. A physical dated April 1 or later covers that school year and the one after it. A physical dated before April 1 only covers the rest of that year plus the following year.

In the off year, when a new physical isn’t due, FinalForms just tracks the expiration date under the athlete’s name. No separate card, no extra signature, just a green checkmark instead of a red one.

The WIAA physical form runs several pages, history questions, exam boxes, a doctor’s signature. Districts running paperwork through FinalForms only want the medical eligibility page uploaded, not the whole packet. Check which page before you scan the wrong one in.

No physical on file, no field. Simple as that.

The concussion and head injury form

Athlete and parent both sign this once a year, before the first practice, not after the first hit. The signature puts the return-to-play rule in writing before anyone needs it: any suspected concussion means immediate removal, and no return without written clearance from a licensed healthcare provider.

A coach can’t waive it. Neither can you, even on the sideline.

The sudden cardiac arrest form

Washington’s Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Act, RCW 28A.600.195, works the same way. One more signature, one more pamphlet, except this one is about the heart instead of the head, filed the same way every single year.

About one in 250 carries an undiagnosed heart condition that raises the risk. Lawmakers passed the law in 2015.

The emergency card and the code of conduct

Every district also wants current emergency contact and medical authorization kept on file. Most also require a signed code of conduct.

Seattle, Kelso, Puyallup, Everett, and Federal Way school districts run all four documents through the same online system, FinalForms. Check your own district’s athletics page instead of assuming a paper folder still handles it.

Most districts also require a 2.0 GPA and no failing grades. That one isn’t signed. It shows up on the transcript instead, and it benches a kid just as fast as a missing form.

Before August 19

Equipment issue and fitness testing can start the same day as practice. None of that leaves cushion in the calendar for paperwork that’s still pending.

WIAA requires at least 12 practice days logged before a team plays its first game, and the season allows a jamboree plus up to 10 regular season contests. Lose three or four days chasing a signature and a kid is already behind on those practice days before the pads come out for real.

Call the athletic office this week if the login hasn’t happened yet. The forms take fifteen minutes. Missing them costs a kid the first days of camp, and coaching staffs remember who showed up ready.