Be the Referee: Cheer Safety
January 30, 2020
This week, MHSAA officials coordinator Sam Davis explains how competitive cheer rules have been written to keep participants as safe as possible.
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 - Cheer Safety - Listen
Cheerleaders – usually at the college level – get in the sports headlines whenever an accident occurs causing a serious injury. In Michigan, the sport of Competitive Cheer doesn’t make the news in that regard. Why?
Because this sport, created by Michigan schools, has built in safety guidelines for competition – including the proper matting, rules which prohibit dangerous stunts, and safety judges observing the routines whose responsibility is to detect, record and report safety violations when they occur and to penalize those who commit them. Middle school Competitive Cheer is more restrictive, allowing the focus to be on the fundamentals that will provide a safe foundation when these athletes transition into high school and beyond.
This format is exclusive to Michigan and just another way that high school sports take the extra step to make the games our athletes play as safe as they can possibly be.
Past editions
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
The Official View: Winter Wonderland
By
Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director
November 12, 2018
By Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director
In this week’s “Official View” we explain the important of insurance and offer a brief primer on how the MHSAA helps officials stay covered.
We also work through some rule scenarios in football, volleyball and swimming and take a look at a few of the wintery scenes braved not only by teams on the field and fans in the stands but officials in stripes as well.
It’s Official!
Most officials will go their entire lives without needing to utilize insurance coverage for something that occurred while officiating. In the often rough-and-tough world of school sports, though, the need for officials to protect themselves on and off the field has never been greater. While officiating is not considered a dangerous avocation, officials should prepare themselves for those one-in-a-million situations.
There are a variety of coverage options out there for officials, ranging from medical and loss of income coverage due to injuries sustained while officiating to liability coverage and legal fees. Officials, individually and through their associations, can purchase increased coverages that suit their needs.
The MHSAA continues to look out for the best interests of our registered officials in this area and in other ways. When officials annually register with the MHSAA, they are included in both a comprehensive liability plan and catastrophic medical coverage for incidents that occur during MHSAA contests. Major injuries due to officiating are rare, but it is nice to have the security that you’re covered in the event of some tragic event. Though the few lawsuits that officials are a party to are often summarily dismissed, the MHSAA’s liability coverage kicks in at dollar one, including any legal fees or attorney retainers.
We will be seeking your feedback in how we can best serve these interests as they pertain to increased insurance coverage, training and development and providing additional useful resources. We thank you for your input and continued commitment and dedication to the MHSAA and the Officials Program.
Rule of the Week
FOOTBALL It’s 4th-and-8 on Team K’s 35-yard line. R1 signals for a fair catch at Team R’s 40-yard line. R1 muffs the punt, and the ball is picked up by K5 at Team R’s 35. With no one else around, K5 runs into his end zone for an apparent touchdown.
Ruling: The ball is dead at the moment the muffed kick is possessed by Team K. The ball cannot be advanced. It will be 1st-and-10 for Team K on R’s 35.
It’s Your Call
VOLLEYBALL This week’s clip shows a back row player for Team S making a back row attack and then landing on the attack line. What’s the call?
Last Week’s IYC Ruling: Last week’s video shows a swimmer drifting into the lane divider before ultimately finishing first in the meet. This incidental contact with the lane divider is legal since she did not grab ahold or otherwise use the divider to pull herself through the water. (Click to see last week's video.)
Official View: Reffing in a Winter Wonderland
The first day of winter is scheduled for Dec. 21, but you wouldn’t know that by the weather from this past weekend’s football games.
Snow covered most of the state Friday and Saturday, even causing some teams to play in a couple of inches of the falling white stuff. Just like our teams, the officials braved the cold and flurries to ensure another great week of MHSAA football.
The top photo shows Thirlby Field during the Division 6 Regional Final between Traverse City St. Francis and Kingley.
The photo above and to the right is from the 8-Player Semifinal between host Rapid River and Cedarville. The crew, from left: Joel Mitrzyk, Mark Pieniozek, Jan Viliquette, Paul Binder and David Paananen.