Roger Dearing Spirit of Sport Scholarship

The Roger Dearing Spirit of Sport Scholarship is available to students, adults, or groups from an FHSAA member high school associated with athletic activities at high schools in Florida who are in good academic standing and planning to pursue a degree will be considered. The FHSAA has developed the "Roger Dearing Spirit of Sport Award," which will be conferred to one (1) winner at the FHSAA's annual Florida Dairy Farmer's Academic All-State Banquet each June. The recipient must be an individual from an FHSAA member high school. The recipient could be a coach, athletic administrator, administrator, contest official, trainer, student-athlete or any others associated with the school or the school's athletic program. A student-athlete winner will receive a $1,500 scholarship from the Association. If a coach, athletic administrator, administrator, contest official, or trainer win the award, their program will receive a $1,500 donation from the FHSAA. This award seeks to recognize those individuals who exemplify the ideals of the positive spirit of sport that represent the core mission of education-based activities. The award may be given in recognition of a specific act or for an activity of longer duration. The recipient must be an individual from an FHSAA member high school. In the instance of a student, that student must be in good academic standing within his or her respective high school. Among the qualifying criteria that will be used are the student's grade-point average, the activities in which he or she is involved, and community involvement. Other candidates should possess similar positive character traits, such as a high level of integrity and ethics. The nomination must be for something that occurred between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025. Nominated individuals do not necessarily need to still be enrolled in high school at the time of the nomination. Nomination forms will be due to the FHSAA no later than January 15, 2026. The winner of the Roger Dearing Spirit of Sport Award will be submitted to the National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations (NFHS) as the FHSAA's nomination for the NFHS Spirit of Sport Award.