GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) welcomes all member schools to participate in the 2025-2026 Sunshine State Spirit Showdown Competition. Entries will begin November 14^th, 2025, and the deadline to submit will be February 4^th, 2026.

The Sunshine State Spirit Showdown is a competition designed to promote good sportsmanship and school spirit. It was created in 2013, with the idea of the school community to come as one to create something exciting and unique. 

Schools must submit a video that is 90-seconds to 3-minutes in length. The video must contain a 30-second part on why your student body is the best cheering section in the state; content must be appropriate; and uploaded onto FHSAA’s YouTube Channel.

Judging will come from FHSAA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and social media fan voting. The videos will be ranked based on the following categories: positive emphasis on sportsmanship, school spirit, originality, creativity and organization, and student body and community participation.

The winners of each category will be announced on March 2, 2026.  A plaque and banner will be presented to each winning school.

Past winners of the contest include two-time champion Fort Walton Beach, two-time champion Lake Howell (Winter Park), Clay High School (Green Cove Springs), River Ridge (New Port Richey), Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach), Atlantic Coast, and Lake Mary. All member schools have the opportunity to showcase videography and creativity when submitting a video.

For more information about the Sunshine State Spirit Showdown Competition and instructions on how to submit a video, visit https://fhsaa.com/sports/2020/3/18/SunshineSpiritShowdown.aspx.

For updates follow @FHSAA on Facebook, X, Instagram and Snapchat. Use #FLSquad, the official hashtag for the Sunshine State Spirit Showdown, to join the conversation.


About the FHSAA
The Florida High School Athletic Association supervises and regulates interscholastic athletic programs for high school students at member public, private and charter schools. The organization also recognizes and honors academic achievement among student-athletes at over 850 middle, junior and senior high schools statewide. Headquartered in Gainesville, it is the official governing body for interscholastic athletics in Florida.


About the SAAC
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will provide a voice in the FHSAA governance structure to the Association’s largest constituency – the more than 300,000 participating student-athletes. The committee will focus on the following areas: current issues facing student-athletes, input regarding rules and regulations, input on FHSAA special initiatives (e.g., sportsmanship program), and promoting a positive image of the student-athlete.