Be the Referee: More Lines

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

January 17, 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 – More Lines - Listen

Lines, lines, everywhere lines. But as we learned last week, different lines mean different things.

To recap, on the line in basketball and football is out of bounds. But in soccer, tennis, volleyball, baseball and softball – on the line is in bounds.

But what about other sports?

In hockey – the puck has to be all the way over the line to be considered a goal or to be in the next zone.

In golf, a ball on the line is in play, not out-of-bounds.

Lacrosse is like football – a ball touching the line is out.

How about a track example? In the long jump – if your foot touches the line, it’s a foul.

And in bowling, if you completely cross the line – it’s a foul.

Know the lines and you’ll always know if you are in … or out.

Previous Editions:

Jan. 10: On the Line - Listen
Jan. 3: Basketball Measurements - Listen
Dec. 13: Pregame Dunks - Listen
Dec. 6: Gymnastics Judges - Listen
Nov. 22: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 15: Back Row Illegal Blocker - Listen
Nov. 8: Swim Turn Judges - Listen
Nov. 1: Soccer Referee Jersey Colors - Listen
Oct. 25: Cross Country Tie-Breaker - Listen
Oct. 18: 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

Be the Referee: Wrestling Technology

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

January 24, 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 – Wrestling Technology - Listen

You see the use of technology in football quite frequently. A quarterback throws an incomplete pass on third down and when he comes to the sidelines, coaches are able to show him on a tablet or TV screen what went wrong.

But can that same technology be used in wrestling? It can.

Current National Federation playing rules allow coaches in the wrestler’s corner to use video or still photographs to instruct wrestlers during any timeout or dead clock situations. Just like in the football example, a wrestler could view footage from earlier in their match during a timeout and use that information going forward. However, that video cannot be used to dispute a call.

One thing coaches can’t do is transmit audio to a wrestler through an earpiece.

Previous Editions

Jan. 9: 3 Seconds - Listen
Dec. 19: Unsuspecting Hockey Hits - Listen
Dec. 12: No More One-And-Ones - Listen
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