Six Days Between The Sectional And The State Block
The Indiana High School Athletic Association publishes the calendar for 2026-27 girls swimming and diving on its sport page at ihsaa.org. First practice falls on October 26. First contest falls on November 9. Sectionals run February 4 and February 6. Diving regionals run February 9. The state finals run February 12 and 13.
The dates set a short clock for a group-room coordinator. A school that qualifies at a February 6 sectional has six days before the February 12 state final. The window carries the qualifying result, the travel decision, the rooming list and the deposit.
The IHSAA names the Indiana University Natatorium at IU Indianapolis, 901 West New York Street, Indianapolis, as the state finals site.
The Weekend Runs Friday Into Saturday
February 12, 2027 is a Friday. February 13 is a Saturday. The sectional format runs swimming preliminaries on the Thursday and diving, consolations and swimming finals on the Saturday. The state final uses the same two-day shape.
A two-night stay built on that calendar checks a team in on Friday, February 12 and out on Sunday, February 14. The Friday night follows the preliminary session. The Saturday night follows the finals. The Saturday session is the one that decides the championship.
Ask the hotel to quote the two nights and to state the Sunday check-out time. Ask for the rate on a Thursday, February 11 arrival as well, because a school that travels the day before the preliminaries needs a third night.
Request both rates in writing and ask whether the Thursday night changes the deposit.
Qualification Decides The Squad Size
The IHSAA advancement rule shapes the block. First-place sectional winners in each event qualify for the state finals. A contestant who equals or betters the state time standard in a sectional championship or consolation final also qualifies, and that standard cannot be reached from the first leg of a relay. The field then fills to thirty-two entrants in each event.
A travel squad follows individual qualifiers. A school can send one relay and a single diver, or a full roster. Ask the hotel to expect a firm room count only after the sectional result, and to hold the block at a stated number until the rooming list lands.
The qualifying field is wide. The IHSAA listed twenty sectional sites for the 2025-26 series, from Munster and Valparaiso in the north to Jasper and Evansville North in the south. Site entries ran from nine to eighteen schools apiece. Every qualifier from those twenty sites lands at the one Indianapolis venue.
The Diving Path Adds A Second Travel Date
Diving does not finish at the sectional. First through fourth place sectional winners qualify for the February 9 diving regional. The first through eighth place regional winners then qualify for the state finals.
A school with a diver faces two trips or one extended stay. Ask the hotel whether it will hold a room across February 8 to 14 for a diving family, and whether it prices that stay as one block or two.
The Deposit Clock Compresses Into Six Days
The IHSAA publishes no deposit rule for group housing. The property sets that term. The deposit cycle lands inside the same six days as the rooming list.
Put three questions to the hotel. What deposit does it require on a February 12 arrival, and when is the deposit due? Does the hotel accept a provisional hold placed before the February 6 sectional result? What happens to the deposit if the school does not advance?
The last question carries the money. Ask the hotel to state in writing whether a school that loses its sectional forfeits the deposit or applies it to a later stay.
The Rooming List Deadline Falls Inside The Same Week
The IHSAA set an entry-list deadline of Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 4 pm Eastern for the 2025-26 state finals. That deadline belongs to the association. A hotel rooming list carries names, and the names follow the sectional result.
Ask the hotel for the latest rooming-list date it will accept for a February 12 arrival. Ask for the fee on a name change after that date.
Attrition Should Follow The Confirmed Roster
An attrition clause prices a shortfall against the contracted room count. Ask the hotel for its attrition percentage in writing and for the penalty formula on a shortfall. Ask whether the hotel will size attrition to the confirmed travel squad. Ask for the release date on unused rooms and the penalty on a release after that date.
What Families Paid In 2025-26
The sectional round and the state finals carried separate ticket ladders. Admission for both rounds ran digitally through Eventlink. The sectional ladder was $8 per person per session or $14 for all sessions, with children age five and younger admitted free. The state finals charged $15 per session for general admission, with children five and younger free in general admission seating. A limited number of reserved tickets sold for $35 for both days, at a maximum of eight per purchase.
Families pay per session, so a two-session weekend carries a ticket cost on top of the room. Put that cost in the block budget.
Terms To Close Before The Sectional
Collect one written confirmation. The nightly rate for February 12 through 14, 2027. The deposit amount and due date. The rooming-list deadline and name-change fee. The attrition percentage and penalty formula. The room release date. The provisional-hold policy. The Thursday-night rate.
Read The 2026 Arrival Sheet For The 2027 Dates
The 2025-26 state finals ran February 13 and 14, 2026 at the same Natatorium. The IHSAA listed Crawfordsville, Plainfield, Decatur Central, Lawrence North and New Palestine as the feeder sectionals for that final. Each sent its qualifiers to the one Indianapolis venue.
A hotel near 901 West New York Street can read its own February 2026 arrival sheet against the 2027 dates. The comparison shows the arrival wave, the checkout wave and the room nights the block needs.
The block decision belongs before the February 6 sectional. Six days is the whole runway.
