Be the Referee: Cheer Safety

February 17, 2016

This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl explains how rules in competitive cheer keep Michigan's athletes as safe as possible.

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 - Cheer Safety - Listen

Cheerleaders – usually at the college level - get in the sports headlines whenever an accident occurs causing a serious injury. In Michigan, the sport of Competitive Cheer doesn’t make the news in that regard.

Why? Because this sport, created by Michigan schools, has built in safety guidelines for competition, including the proper matting, rules which prohibit dangerous stunts, and safety judges observing the routines whose responsibility is to detect, record and report safety violations when they occur and to penalize those who commit them.

This format is exclusive to Michigan and just another way that high school sports take the extra step to make the games our children play as safe as they can possibly be. 

Past editions:
Feb. 11: Primary Areas - Listen
Feb. 4: Block/Charge Calls - Listen
Jan. 28: Dive on the Floor - Listen
Jan. 21: Hockey Officials' Options - Listen
Jan. 14: Recruiting Officials - Listen
Jan. 7: Wrestling Weight Monitoring - Listen
Dec. 31: Respect for Referees - Listen
Dec. 24: Basketball Instant Replay - Listen
Dec. 17: Basketball Communication - Listen
Dec. 10: Basketball Excessive Contact - Listen
Nov. 26: Pregame Communication - Listen
Nov. 19: Trick Plays - Listen
Nov. 12: 7-Person Football Mechanics - Listen
Nov. 5: Make the Call: Personal Fouls - Listen
Oct. 29: Officials Demographics - Listen
Oct. 15: Make the Call: Intentional Grounding - Listen
Oct. 8: Playoff Selection - Listen
Oct. 1: Kick Returns - Listen
Sept. 24: Concussions - Listen
Sept. 17: Automatic First Downs - Listen
Sept. 10: Correcting a Down - Listen
Sept 3:
Spearing - Listen
Aug. 27: Missed Field Goal - Listen

Be the Referee: No More One-And-Ones

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

December 12, 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 – No More One-And-Ones - Listen

A rule change in high school basketball means there will no longer be one-and-one free throws, and team fouls now reset after each quarter, not at the half. Here’s how it works:

A team will reach the bonus in each quarter once its opponent has committed five fouls. That means teams will shoot two free throws for all common fouls after the fourth team foul in a quarter.

Previously, teams weren’t in the bonus until the seventh team foul and then shot one-and-one free throws until the 10th team foul of a half, or double bonus, was reached.

A foul on a 3-point attempt will still result in three free throws for the shooter and still counts as a team foul.

Previous Editions

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