AA Dulles District

The AA Dulles District is a high school conference in the state of Virginia that includes schools exclusively from Loudoun County in Northern Virginia. AA is considered the second largest enrollment class of the Virginia High School League and is typically very competitive in Virginia high school sports.

The Dulles District schools compete in the AA Region II with the schools from the AA Jefferson District, and the AA Northwestern District.

History and Facts about the District

The Dulles District was created in 2001 from all six Loudoun County high schools that were in the AA Northwestern District, which were Broad Run High School, Loudoun County High School, Loudoun Valley High School, Park View High School, and Potomac Falls High School.

The Dulles District's name is derived from the district's proximity to Washington Dulles International Airport, which is located in eastern Loudoun County. The district's member schools compete in Region II with the schools from the AA Jefferson District and the AA Northwestern District.

Membership Changes

Loudoun County's growth has been a factor in creating the Dulles District as more high schools were being built during the 2000s, and there were four new members in the district since 2001. In 2002, Heritage High School opened; in 2003, Dominion High School opened; in 2005, Briar Woods High School and Freedom High School opened. In 2005, Loudoun Valley was moved to the AAA National District and Stone Bridge moved to the AAA Liberty District because their enrollments were considerably above the AA/AAA enrollment cutoffs.

trengths and Notable Facts on the Dulles District

In 2001, the Dulles District was expected to be a football powerhouse, with Park View, the AA Division 4 runner up in 1999 and 2000 leading the way. Former Park View coach and teacher Mickey Thompson went to Stone Bridge to start up the new program there, and the Bulldogs were also expected to be another strong contender for the AA title. Both schools were very competitive in the district's initial years, but Park View's program steadily declined as players who first had Thompson at Park View graduated, and Stone Bridge moved to AAA after winning two AA Region II Division 4 titles. Loudoun Valley also made a playoff appearance in 2003 but is also in AAA. This trend has reversed this year, however, with three of the districts teams making playoff appearances (Briar Woods, Broad Run, and Park View).

Dulles District schools have been among the strongest in Virginia in softball, girls soccer, volleyball, and girls basketball, with multiple members earning AA tournament berths and AA titles since the district's founding. Boys and Girls lacrosse was offered as a varsity sport for the first time in Loudoun County high schools in 2002, and girls' field hockey may be added as well within a few years.

The biggest strength of the Dulles District as a league is not its sports however, but it is because eight out of the ten Loudoun schools routinely play each other in all sports, making the AA Dulles District the mainstay of Loudoun County athletics. In addition, the Dulles District is the only AA (and non-AAA) district with all of its members in Northern Virginia. This has also allowed more exposure on Loudoun County high school sports in the Washington area, because many Northwestern District members are located in the northern Shenandoah Valley and do not receive much exposure due to their distance from the immediate Washington area.

Dulles District members schedule non-district members primarily against schools in the AA Northwestern District and they also regularly play some high schools in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, including Jefferson, Hampshire, and Musselman.

Changes to the 2009-2011 playing cycle

The Dulles District is expected to add Woodgrove High School and Tuscarora High School to the district after the schools' anticipated openings in 2010. The district will lose Heritage to the Group AAA, where it is anticipated to be placed in the Cedar Run District.

tate Champions since 2001-2002

:

2008-2009 District Champions

Fall Sports Regular Season Champions
*Cheerleading:
*Boys Cross Country:
*Girls Cross Country:
*Golf: Loudoun County Raiders
*Football:
*Volleyball: Winter Sports Regular Season Champions
*Boys Basketball:
*Girls Basketball:
*Girls Gymnastics:
*Boys Swimming:
*Girls Swimming:
*Wrestling: Spring Sports Regular Season Champions
*Baseball:
*Boys Lacrosse:
*Girls Lacrosse:
*Boys Soccer:
*Girls Soccer:
*Softball:
*Boys Tennis:
*Girls Tennis:
*Boys Track:
*Girls Track:

Member Schools

*Briar Woods Falcons, Ashburn
*Broad Run Spartans, Ashburn
*Dominion Titans, Sterling
*Freedom Eagles, South Riding
*Heritage Pride, Leesburg
*Loudoun County Raiders, Leesburg
*Park View Patriots, Sterling
*Potomac Falls Panthers, Sterling

Former Dulles Members

*Loudoun Valley High School, played from 2001-2005
*Stone Bridge High School, played from 2001-2005

External links

* [http://www.gamedaymagazine.com Gameday Magazine Covers All Loudoun High Schools and Broadcasts Hundreds of Loudoun County athletic events during the year on the Gameday Radio Network: Covers in depth on all sports in the Dulles District.]
* [http://www.loudounfieldhockey.org Loudoun Field Hockey Association: Youth and adult field hockey league in Loudoun County.]