CIF Southern Section

CIF Southern Section

C.I.F. Southern Section (commonly abbreviated as CIFSS) is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). Its membership includes most public and private high schools in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Mono and Inyo counties, as well as a small portion of Kern County. Teams from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) compete in a separate section, and Needles High School, at the far eastern edge of San Bernardino County, and Coleville High School, in the far north of Mono County, are members of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association.

The CIF Southern Section includes over 570 member public and private high schools. The ten CIF sections within the state of California vary from 570 schools to as few as 6. Three of the ten CIF sections are individual public school districts (Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland). The Southern Section's membership includes all private schools located within the service area of the LAUSD, which includes almost all of the city of Los Angeles plus some adjacent areas outside the city limits.

If the CIF Southern Section were a 'state' association, it would be the 10th largest in the United States.

CIFSS's offices are located in Los Alamitos.