BOYS DIVISIONS
GIRLS DIVISIONS
The PEISSAA was organized in 1961 at a meeting held at Central Queens High School.
In November 2005, the PEISSAA returned to the seeding system (which it had used through 1999-2000) in which teams were allowed to play any team they wanted, provided they played 12 games with at least five different schools. Between 1999-2000 and 2005, the association required schools to play in rigid AAA, AA and A divisions. Rankings by a seeding committee at the end of December, January and February determine spots for the provincial AAA tournament in March. Five teams make the tourney; fifth and fourth playoff in a quarter-final then the winner plays the top ranked team in one semifinal while the second and third finishers compete in the other. The bottom six teams play off for the AA title while the A won’t have an official season-ending tournament. PEI basketball commissioner John Dunsford told the Charlottetown Guardian that “our goal is to have the top teams play in the AAA finals and we’re hoping that the stronger AA teams will have a chance to compete at that level and the weaker AAA schools will have the chance now to play teams at the provincials that are more their calibre.”
Commencing in 2006, PEI uses a modified seeding system to determine provincial representation. After the regular season, the top five teams in the province’s high school league are seeded into the AAA draw, the next six are seeding into the AA draw. Essentially, all teams play in the same league but the middle of the pack plays for a separate postseason championship.
In 2009, the playoff structure is as follows. Of the 15 schools in the province, only the last seeded team after the regular season misses the playoffs. In AAA, the top-seed faces the 4th-seed, while the 2nd-seed faces the 3rd-seed in the semis. In AA, there is one quarterfinal, featuring the 8th-seed against the 9th-seed. In the semis, the 5th-seed faces the winner of the quarterfinal, while the 6th-seed faces the 7th-seed. In A play, there is one quarterfinal, between the 13th-seed and the 14th-seed. In the semis, the 10th-seed faces the winner of the quarterfinal, while the 11th-seed faces the 12th-seed. That was later revised so that in the AAA playoffs, a quarterfinal was held between the 4th and 5th-seeds.
In 2013, the format for the PEI School Athletic Association allows teams to create their own respective league schedule against various opponents. A committee then ranks each team on three occasions over the season on such criteria as wins and losses in league games among teams in contention for the tournament championship. Other items considered include strength of schedule, head to head matches, game results against common opponents, and the most recent results against an opponent in which games may have been split. The final rankings determine the match-ups for the Provincial Championships with the top four teams playing for the “AAA” title, teams 5-8 playing for the “AA” title and teams 9-12 playing “A” title. The final two teams are eliminated from the post-season. Teams that lose in a higher division quarterfinal, drop to the lower division semis. For example, the loser of the 4-5 match in the AAA division drops to the AA semis.
PLAYOFF FORMAT:
“AAA”
WINNER #5 at #4 game moves to “AAA” playoffs
#4/#5 winner @ #1
#3 at #2
“AA”
Loser of #4/#5 game and #6 advance to “AA” and
Winners of #10 @ #7 and #9 @ #8 advance to “AA”
loser of #5 @ #4 game above vs lowest seed left
#6 vs highest seed from quarter-finals above
“A” Quarter -finals, #14 @ #11 and #13 @ #12 advance
Losers of 10/7 and 9/8 games move to “A”
Semi-finals are the highest and lowest seeds in one game
Middle two remaining seeds in other semi-final
In 2019-20, the PEISAA torched its convoluted playoff format in favour of a traditional draw featuring teams competing strictly within their divisions.