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: 3-Second Rule
March 5, 2020
This week, MHSAA assistant director Brent Rice explains one of the most misunderstood rules in basketball – the 3-second rule.
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 - Misunderstood Rules: 3 Seconds - Listen
It’s hard to go to a basketball game and not sit near other fans who are yelling about the officials not calling three seconds. The 3-second rule is one of the most misunderstood rules in the game of basketball.
The purpose and philosophy of the rule is to not allow a player who is significantly taller than his or her opponent to camp out in the middle of the lane and create an unfair advantage. The 3-second count is in effect whenever an offensive player has at least one foot in the lane when his or her team is in possession of the ball. That count stops as soon as a try – a shot – is attempted or a try is imminent; and the count cannot start again until there is control of a rebound.
Keep this in mind at the next game you attend.
Past editions
Feb. 27: Clarifying Takedowns - Listen
Feb. 20: Basketball Officials Manual - Listen
Feb. 13: Held Ball or Traveling - Listen
Feb. 6: Hockey Rules Chart - Listen
Jan. 30: Cheer Safety - Listen
Jan. 23: Goaltending - Listen
Jan. 16: Wrestling Tie-Breaker - Listen
Jan. 9: Pregame Meeting - Listen
Dec. 19: Alternating Possession - Listen
Dec. 12: Ratings - Listen
Dec. 5: Video Review Success - Listen
Nov. 28: More Injury Time - Listen
Nov. 21: Football Review - Listen
Nov. 14: Sideline Safety - Listen
Nov. 7: Officials Playlist - Listen
Oct. 31: Most Important Line - Listen
Oct. 24: Automatic 1st Downs - Listen
Oct. 17: Catch Momentum - Listen
Oct. 10: Golf Rules Changes - Listen
Oct. 3: No Tackle Box - Listen
Sept. 26: You Make the Overtime Call - Listen
Sept. 19: Swimming Finishing Touch - Listen
Sept. 12: Curbing Gamesmanship By Substitution - Listen
Sept. 5: Football Safety Rules Changes - Listen
Aug. 29: 40-Second Play Clock - Listen