Be the Referee: Gymnastics Judges

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

December 8, 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 – Gymnastics Judges - Listen

The gymnastics finals will be held March 10th and 11th where a Team Finals champion and runner-up will be crowned on Friday night and individual event champions in each event and an all-around champion will be crowned in two divisions on Saturday.

At the Finals, 18 gymnastics officials will be on the floor for each championship, and there are many who are already working regular-season events. What are they all doing?

The meet referee is the head official in charge. They handle all inquiries and disputes.

And then each event will have a set of judges. It can be four different sets, one set for each event. Or the same set could judge each of the four events. One of these judges serves as the chief judge, and each will score the performance. The two scores are averaged for a gymnast’s final score.

Previous Editions:

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 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

Be the Referee: Baseball/Softball Overthrow

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

May 2, 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 – Baseball/Softball Overthrow - Listen

With a runner on first base, the batter hits a ground ball to the third baseman. The third baseman fields it and overthrows the first baseman, with the ball going out of play. What bases are the runner and batter awarded?

Should it be runners on first and second?

Runners on second and third?

Or … a run scored and the batter goes to second base?

If you said runners on second and third, you are correct. With the overthrow going out of the field of play, the runner and batter are awarded two bases each at the time of the pitch. The runner on first goes to third. The batter goes to second.

And now the next batter is up with two runners in scoring position.

Previous Editions:

April 25: Fifth-Quarter/Third-Half Rule - Listen
April 18: Soccer Referee in Play? - Listen
April 11: Softball Strikeout - Listen
March 14: Basketball Instant Replay - Listen
March 7: Hockey Overtime - Listen
Feb. 28: Baker Bowling - Listen
Feb. 21: Ski Finish - Listen
Feb. 14: Swimming Touchpads - Listen
Feb. 7: In or Out-of-Bounds in Wrestling - Listen
Jan. 31: Over the Back - Listen
Jan. 24: Competitive Cheer Judges - Listen
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 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