Be the Referee: Competitive Cheer Judges
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
January 24, 2023
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 – Competitive Cheer Judges - Listen
Ready! Set!
There are a lot of moving parts to a competitive cheer competition, including safety judges.
For each competition there are a minimum of two safety judges and three panel judges. But what does each position do?
Safety judges are there for safety – as simple as that sounds. During competition, they are mobile, circling the mat identifying illegal skills, improper spotting techniques, time infractions, and anything else deemed unsafe. They also are counting the number of competitors and floor formations for each team.
Panel judges – and there are three of them – are scoring the round. Each round is made up of skills, floor formations, transition moves and stunts that all must be evaluated.
Both safety and panel judges can deduct points for errors in the routine.
Previous Editions:
Jan. 17: More Lines - Listen
Jan. 10: On the Line - Listen
Jan. 3: Basketball Measurements - Listen
Dec. 13: Pregame Dunks - Listen
Dec. 6: Gymnastics Judges - Listen
Nov. 22: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 15: Back Row Illegal Blocker - Listen
Nov. 8: Swim Turn Judges - Listen
Nov. 1: Soccer Referee Jersey Colors - Listen
Oct. 25: Cross Country Tie-Breaker - Listen
Oct. 18: 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: Punts & Missed FGs
October 18, 2018
This week, MHSAA assistant director Brent Rice explains how high school rules differ from collegiate and professional when it comes to these kick scenarios.
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 – Punts & Missed Field Goals - Listen
One of the differences between high school football rules and rules at the collegiate and professional levels deals with punts and missed field goals.
Essentially, the place kick is treated like a punt as it relates to team possession from the goal line and out of bounds. If either goes out of bounds from inside the field of play, the defensive team takes possession at that spot. If either goes into the end zone, the defensive team may not return the kick.
And a missed field goal in high school that goes into or through the end zone, resulting in a touchback, has the defense taking over, first and 10, at their own 20, regardless of the previous spot.
Past editions
October 11: What Officials Don't Do - Listen
October 4: Always 1st-and-Goal - Listen
September 27: Unique Kickoff Option - Listen
September 20: Uncatchable Pass - Listen
September 13: Soccer Rules Change - Listen
September 6: You Make the Call: Face Guarding - Listen
August 30: 40-Second Play Clock - Listen
August 23: Football Rules Changes - Listen