Be the Referee: Concussions

September 15, 2016

This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl discusses the official's role when an athlete experiences a possible concussion. 

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  Concussions - Listen

In all contact sports, the biggest issue of the day continues to be concussions. Game officials play a vital role in keeping athletes safe on the field, court, ice and mat.

While officials are never placed in the position to diagnose a possible concussion, the officials can often see when a player first becomes injured. When that possible injury is noticed by an official, all game rules require the contest be stopped and the student is evaluated by the school’s health care team.

It then becomes the call of the school to determine if the player has suffered a possible concussion. If yes, the player is out for at least the rest of that day. If no, the player can return to the contest.

Past editions
Sept 8: Equipment Covering the Knees - Listen
Sept. 1: Play Clock Experiment - Listen
Aug. 25: Clipping in the Free Blocking Zone - Listen

Be the Referee: Cross Country Tie-Breaker

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

October 25, 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 – Cross Country Tie-Breaker - Listen

Cross Country Regionals are this weekend, and the top three teams will automatically qualify for the state Finals. If a school finishes fourth in the Regional meet with four or more runners in the top 20 places and eight or more complete teams finishing the race, that school will also qualify as a team for the Final meet. But what happens if there is a tie between two teams? 

When there is a tie in team scoring it shall be resolved by comparing the sixth-place finishers from the tying teams. The team with the best sixth-place finisher shall prevail. If one team does not have a sixth-place finisher, the team with the sixth-place finisher shall prevail.

If only five competitors of tying teams finish, the tie shall be resolved by totaling the scores of the first four finishers, and the team with the lower score breaking the tie and advancing.

Previous Editions:

Oct. 11: 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