Kalamazoo's Winter a Pro in the Fall

July 19, 2012

Kalamazoo's Ron Winter has been part of just about every major event possible on a football field with more than four decades officiating high school, college and now National Football League games.

He can appreciate each level for what makes it special. And he's passed on those experiences and lessons galore to young officials and students at Western Michigan University.

Winter -- and MHSAA registered official the last 42 years -- was appointed earlier this month to serve a two-year term on the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports.

Click to read more about what  he enjoys about each level of the game, and for his advice for young officials looking to join him at the highest level.

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 ZoneListen
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