Be the Referee: Wrestling Start Position

By Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director

February 24, 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 – Wrestling Start Position - Listen

Today we’re on the mat, ready for the next wrestling match.

We’ve got a wrestler ready to get into the offensive starting position. Which of these should he or she do?

► Place their head on or above the mid-line of the opponent’s back

► Place their arm loosely around the opponent’s body with the palm of the hand placed loosely over the defensive wrestler’s navel

► Not have their legs or feet in contact with the defensive wrestler.

If you said yes to all of these things – you are correct. The wrestler in the offensive position should do all three of those things.

Do that – and you are ready to wrestle.

Previous editions

Feb. 17: Hockey Delayed Offside - Listen
Feb. 10: Basketball Timeout - Listen
Feb. 3: Basketball Video Review - Listen
Jan. 27: Wrestling Inspections - Listen
Dec. 16: Ball Over Backboard - Listen
Dec. 9: Winter Officials Mechanics - Listen
Nov. 26: Instant Replay - Listen
Nov. 11: Tourney Selection - Listen
Nov. 4: Receiver Carried Out of End Zone Listen
Oct. 28: Volleyball Back-Row Block Listen
Oct. 21: Soccer Disallowed Goal Listen
Sept 30: Field Goal Falls Short Listen
Sept. 23: Volleyball Obstruction Listen
Sept. 16: Catch or No Catch  Listen
Sept. 9: Intentional Grounding – Listen 
Sept. 2: Pass Interference – Listen 
Aug. 26: Protocols and Mechanics 
 Listen

Be the Referee: Protocols & Mechanics

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

August 26, 2021

“Be the Referee” is back for 2021-22 with MHSAA assistant director Brent Rice explaining how rules have reverted or been modified due to last year’s COVID-19 adjustments.

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 – Protocols and Mechanics Listen

Other than a few select instances, all MHSAA protocols, procedures and playing rules have returned to what they were pre-COVID.

This means that football team boxes will return to the area between the 25-yard lines, traditional ball-handling and other officials mechanics will return in all sports and postgame handshakes will be permitted as each school sees fit.

Additionally, there will be some rules modifications that were adopted during the pandemic that will likely be kept as part of the normal playing rules moving forward. The one that stands out for this upcoming fall season is that in volleyball, teams will not switch benches or sides of the net unless the referee determines that a team is at a disadvantage due to the layout of the facilities and obstructions.