Under the Friday night lights, competition doesn’t always wear cleats or
keep score on a scoreboard. Sometimes it’s stitched into embroidered
mariachi suits, sizzling over a slow smoker, snapping in rhythm against
pavement or gliding across a glassy lake at dawn.
From the
soaring vocals of mariachi ensembles to the smoky showdowns of bar-b-que cookoffs, from the high-flying precision of Double Dutch to the patient
thrill of bass fishing, these non-traditional sports and activities
prove that the spirit of rivalry — and community — thrives far beyond the
usual fields and courts.
MaxPreps takes a look at some of the more unique high school competitions held throughout the country.
Mariachi
State: Texas
Sanctioning body: University Interscholastic League
Nearly
100 teams are expected to compete at the State Mariachi Festival at
Seguin High School next week for the three-day event. Schools will
perform in front of three judges who critique the performers based on
technical proficiency, musicality and presentation. Participants are
looking to achieve a Superior "1" rating.
McAllen is a 10-time state champion of the event.
Barbecue
State: National
Sanctioning body: National High School BBQ Association
Teams
compete in the Students Learning About Barbecue (S.L.A.B.) state
championships to advance to the national event sponsored by the National
High School BBQ Association. It's a live-fire cooking competition with
students producing their best grilled cheese, ribeye steak, ribs,
chicken and dessert. Shawnee Mission school district in Kansas won the national
championship in 2025. The next championship event will be held at
SCHEELS Grandscape in
The Colony (Texas) in June.
Double Dutch
State: New York
Sanctioning body: Public Schools Athletic League
Players
compete in singles or doubles in this jump rope competition with the
key components including speed round, where a performer might execute as
many as 300-400 jumps in two minutes, a compulsory/fusion round and a
freestyle round that includes acrobatics and gymnastics.
Bathgate (Bronx) is the two-time PSAL champion and will defend its crown in March.
World Language
State: Alaska
Sanctioning body: Alaska Schools Activities Association
Participants
compete in four categories at the Alaska World Language Declamation — cultural trivia, poetry, impromptu speech and impromptu dialogue in
seven languages (Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Latin, Russian and
Spanish). This year's state finals are Feb. 21 at
Dimond (Anchorage).
Pickleball
State: California, Virginia, Indiana, Georgia
Sanctioning body: Dynamic Universal Pickleball Ratings (DUPR) and Swish Tournaments
The
growing pickleball trend has hit the high school level with DUPR
scheduled to conduct the first national high school pickleball
championships April 11 at Life Time Lakeville in
Lakeville (Minn.).
Four different states are holding regional tournaments in February and
March. Format includes boys doubles, girls doubles and mixed doubles.
Seal hop
State: Alaska
Sanctioning body: Sealaska Heritage Institute and Central Countil Tlingit and Haida
Part
of the Traditional Games, the seal hop is one of 10 events that focus
on strength, endurance and agility. The seal hop is performed on
knuckles or palms down and on the toes in a plank position. Participants
then hop, mimicking a hunter's movements to sneak up on a seal, for
maximum distance.
Mt. Edgecumbe (Sitka, Alaska) was the overall Traditional Games
champion in 2025. This year's event is April 10-12 at Juneau-Douglas.
Robotics
State: Minnesota
Sanctioning body: Minnesota State High School League
Teams
build robots to compete in various competitions, such as gathering
objects, robot soccer and search and rescue. Minnesota has held the
competition for over a decade and will hold this year's state
championships May 11 in St. Paul.
Becker,
Irondale (New Brighton) and
Pequot Lakes combined to win last year's championship.
Bass fishing
State: Illinois, Georgia
Sanctioning body: IHSA, GHSA
Originating in Illinois, this year's state bass fishing championships will be held in June at Lake Shelbyville. Each
boat has two competitors with a boat captain and teams are judged based
on the weight of their five heaviest fish.
Windsor is the defending
champion.
Drumline
State: Ohio
Sanctioning body: Winter Guard International
Teams
from all over the country compete in Dayton, Ohio, in April in the
Percussion World Championships. The competition includes color guard,
percussion lines and wind instruments. Last year,
Ayala (Chino Hills, Calif.)
won the drumline competition with a near perfect score of 99.50.
Surfing
State: Hawaii
Sanctioning body: Hawaii High School Athletic Association
The
first HHSAA surfing state tournament will be held for boys and girls
shortboard in 2026 in Maui. The state has had interscholastic surfing in
Maui since 2014 but this is the first year for competition at the
state level.
King Kekaulike (Pukalani) is the defending Maui boys and girls
champion.