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

Registration for 2016-17 Underway

June 16, 2016

This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl explains how registration works for MHSAA officials and the benefits of signing up.

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 - Registration for 2016-17 Underway - Listen

This week, registration kicks off once again for the 2016-17 school year for all MHSAA officials, referees, umpires and judges in all of our sports.

An official must register annually with the MHSAA. Once registered, that official becomes eligible to accept game assignments in the sports that he or she are registered in.

With an officials registration fee, officials get insurance, both liability insurance as well as catastrophic medical coverage; rule books, officiating manuals, and other tools and resources as the training and preparation process begins for next school year.

Past editions:
June 9: Summer Camps - Listen
June 2: Use of Electronic Devices - Listen
May 26: Slide Rule - Listen
May 19: Wooden Bats - Listen 
May 12: Baseball Pitch Counts - Listen
May 5: Home Run or Not? - Listen
April 28: Norris Award Winner Linda Hoover - Listen
April 21: Legacy Program - Listen
April 14: Baseball/Softball Replay - Listen
March 24: Use of the Monitor - Listen
March 17: Block/Charge - Listen
March 10: Ball Stuck on the Rim - Listen
March 3: Three Seconds - Listen
Feb. 25: Deciding the Game - Listen
Feb. 18 : Cheer Safety - Listen
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