Be the Referee: Soccer Offside
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
June 4, 2024
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 – Soccer Offside - Listen
We have an offside situation in soccer to talk about today. The offense sends a long pass from their own half of the field to a teammate way down at the defensive team’s 18-yard line … but she’s offside.
The assistant referee raises her flag and the referee blows her whistle for offside, and an indirect free kick is given to the defense. Where do they take the kick from?
- Is it the spot where the offside player was when the assistant referee raised her flag?
- The spot where the ball was when play was stopped?
- The point of the infraction?
- Or the spot from where the ball was originally passed?
If you said “at the point of the infraction” you are correct. In this case, the defense gets an indirect free kick where the offside occurred.
Previous Editions
May 28: Appeal Play - Listen
May 21: Lacrosse Foul in Critical Scoring Area - Listen
May 14: Avoiding the Tag - Listen
May 7: Baseball Pitch Count - Listen
April 30: Boys Lacrosse Helmets - Listen
April 23: Softball Interference - Listen
April 16: Soccer Red Card - Listen
April 9: Batted Baseball Hits Runner - Listen
March 12: Basketball Replay - Listen
March 5: Hockey Officials - Listen
Feb. 27: Less Than 5 - Listen
Feb. 20: Air Ball - Listen
Feb. 13: Hockey Penalties - Listen
Jan. 30: Wrestling Tiebreakers - Listen
Jan. 23: Wrestling Technology - Listen
Jan. 9: 3 Seconds - Listen
Dec. 19: Unsuspecting Hockey Hits - Listen
Dec. 12: No More One-And-Ones - Listen
Nov. 21: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 14: Volleyball Unplayable Areas - Listen
Nov. 7: Pass/Kick Off Crossbar - Listen
Oct. 31: Cross Country Interference - Listen
Oct. 24: Soccer Overtime - Listen
Oct. 17: Tennis Spin - Listen
Oct. 10: Blocked Kick - Listen
Oct. 3: Volleyball Double & Lift - Listen
Sept. 26: Registration Process - Listen
Sept. 20: Animal Interference - Listen
Sept. 13: Feet Rule on Soccer Throw-In - Listen
Sept. 6: Volleyball Jewelry - Listen
Aug. 30: Football Rules Similarities - Listen
Aug. 23: Football Rules Differences - Listen
(Photo by Gary Shook.)
Be the Referee: Cross Country Uniforms
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
September 10, 2024
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 Uniforms - Listen
Today we’re talking roster sizes and uniforms in cross country.
In the regular season, a school can enter a maximum of 12 competitors, and the top seven contribute to the school’s score. In the postseason, schools can enter a max of seven runners, with the top five contributing to the team score.
In the past, all members of a team had to wear identical uniforms. But that’s no longer the case. Now, each runner must wear a uniform that clearly indicates their team through the use of their predominant school colors, school logo, or nickname. They don’t have to be identical – but the school they are representing must be obvious, and it must be clear who your teammates are.
Something to think about the next time you are getting ready to run 3.1 miles.
Previous 2024-25 Editions
Sept. 3: Soccer Handling - Listen
Aug. 24: Football Holding - Listen
PHOTO Newberry's Samantha Taylor (321) and Abby Taylor (320) lead the beginning of the Wildcat Invite last month at Northern Michigan University, with Samantha eventually finishing first and Abby third. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)