![Be the Referee](/sites/default/files/2022-10/221025_referee_2H.jpg)
Be the Referee: Cross Country Tie-Breaker
By
Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials
October 25, 2022
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Cross Country Tie-Breaker - Listen
Cross Country Regionals are this weekend, and the top three teams will automatically qualify for the state Finals. If a school finishes fourth in the Regional meet with four or more runners in the top 20 places and eight or more complete teams finishing the race, that school will also qualify as a team for the Final meet. But what happens if there is a tie between two teams?
When there is a tie in team scoring it shall be resolved by comparing the sixth-place finishers from the tying teams. The team with the best sixth-place finisher shall prevail. If one team does not have a sixth-place finisher, the team with the sixth-place finisher shall prevail.
If only five competitors of tying teams finish, the tie shall be resolved by totaling the scores of the first four finishers, and the team with the lower score breaking the tie and advancing.
Previous Editions:
Oct. 11: Soccer Shootouts - Listen
Oct. 11: Safety in End Zone - Listen
Oct. 4: Football Overtime Penalty - Listen
Sept. 27: Kickoff Goal - Listen
Sept. 20: Soccer Timing - Listen
Sept. 13: Volleyball Replays - Listen
Sept. 6: Switching Sides - Listen
Aug. 30: Play Clock - Listen
Aug. 23: Intentional Grounding Change - Listen
![Be the Referee](/sites/default/files/2021-12/211216_referee_2H.jpg)
Be the Referee: Ball Over Backboard
By
Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director
December 16, 2021
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Ball Over Backboard - Listen
A basketball player has the ball in the corner, ready to shoot a 3-pointer, when a lane opens up along the baseline. She starts to drive, only to have that lane closed off.
She puts up a shot that goes over the corner of the backboard and goes in. Two points, right?
Not so fast. Any time the ball passes over the backboard, it’s out of bounds. A shot, a pass, even a rebound that bounces up and over – the play should be whistled dead. The ball is considered out of bounds off the last player to have touched it.
So even though the shot comes from a player in bounds and goes in … wave it off. The ball can’t pass over the backboard. If it does, it’s now the other team’s possession.
Previous editions
Dec. 9: Winter Officials Mechanics - Listen
Nov. 26: Instant Replay - Listen
Nov. 11: Tourney Selection - Listen
Nov. 4: Receiver Carried Out of End Zone – Listen
Oct. 28: Volleyball Back-Row Block – Listen
Oct. 21: Soccer Disallowed Goal – Listen
Sept 30: Field Goal Falls Short – Listen
Sept. 23: Volleyball Obstruction – Listen
Sept. 16: Catch or No Catch – Listen
Sept. 9: Intentional Grounding – Listen
Sept. 2: Pass Interference – Listen
Aug. 26: Protocols and Mechanics – Listen