2022 Officials Awards Again Honors Hundreds Who Make Our Games Possible

By Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

July 15, 2022

The MHSAA annually honors high school game officials with 20, 30, 40, 45 and 50 years of service as part of its Officials’ Awards & Alumni Banquet.

This year's virtual banquet honored our Vern L. Norris and Randy Paulson Award winners and 395 officials who celebrated a milestone school year.

This year's honorees included two officials with 60 years of service, and eight celebrating 55 years.  Eighteen officials with 50 years of service were honored, along with 44 officials with 45 years. A 40-year award has been presented to 54 officials. In addition, 98 officials with 30 years and 171 officials with 20 years of experience were honored.

Be the Referee: Bowling Ball Rules

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

December 17, 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 – Bowling Ball Rules - Listen

We’re bowling today, and the question is: Can a bowler use a bowling ball with no holes?

The answer is yes – but there are some rules around it.

A ball with no holes would have to follow static balance rules. If the ball weighs more than 10 pounds, it may not have more than three ounces of difference between any two halves of the ball.

Additionally, there needs to be a plus sign (+) engraved on the ball where the bowler will place their dominant hand if the ball has more than a three-quarter ounce imbalance between any two halves of the ball.

If there is no imbalance, the plus sign is not needed, and the bowler can place their dominant hand anywhere on the bowling ball they like.

Previous 2024-25 Editions

Dec. 10: Neck Laceration Protector - Listen
Dec. 3: Basketball Goaltending - Listen
Nov. 26: 11-Player Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 19: 8-Player vs. 11-Player Football - Listen
Nov. 12: Back Row Setter - Listen
Nov. 5: Football OT - Listen
Oct. 29: Officials Registration - Listen
Oct. 22: Volleyball Serve - Listen
Oct. 15: "You Make the Call"
- Soccer Offside - Listen
Oct. 8: Roughing the Passer - Listen
Oct. 1: Abnormal Course Condition - Listen
Sept. 25: Tennis Nets - Listen
Sept. 18:
 Libero - Listen
Sept. 10:
 Cross Country Uniforms - Listen
Sept. 3: Soccer Handling - Listen
Aug. 24: Football Holding - Listen

(MHSAA file photo.)