Leveling the High School Sports Playing Field for Service Members’ Children

Physical fitness is part of Marine Corps Total Force Fitness and an important part of personal development for Marines and their families.

Children who play sports build physical strength and stamina, self-esteem, social-emotional intelligence, and motor skills. The children of service members can experience obstacles participating in sports because of the transient military lifestyle.

A common hurdle to overcome for high school athletes is missing out on tryouts. The Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission, or MIC3, is legislation signed by all 50 states and the District of Columbia, that levels the playing field and addresses common issues for students impacted by a move.

For high school sports, public schools must support the MIC3 by doing the following:

• Facilitate opportunities for an eligible student’s participation regardless of tryout deadlines, summer conditioning, and other coach or district prerequisites.
• Make reasonable efforts to allow a student to participate in any and all extracurricular activities offered to the enrolled student body.
• Provide relevant information about the activities at the school when requested.
• Make reasonable efforts to ensure eligible military children and families have access to communication channels used to distribute information related to extracurricular activities.

Eligible students include children of:

• Active-duty members of the uniformed services, including members of the National Guard and Reserve on active-duty orders (Title 10).
• Members or Veterans who are medically discharged or retired for one year.
• Members who die on active duty, for a period of one year after death.
• Uniformed members of the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and United States Public Health Services (USPHS).

If you have a high school athlete and have questions about MIC3, contact your installation’s School Liaison. You can also get help from the school’s athletic director, the state’s high school athletic association, or Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) athletic director if your child attends or will be attending a DoDEA school. 

For younger children, all installations offer youth sports where kids learn the fundamentals of a sport, good sportsmanship, and the benefits of teamwork and exercise. Contact your installation’s Youth Sports Office to learn more.

Special Olympic Young Athletes is an inclusive sport and play program for all children, ages 2 to 7. The program is offered at specific installations.