Be the Referee: Penalty Kick Change

October 6, 2016

This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl explains how soccer penalty kick rules have been changed this year to dissuade players from hesitating before taking the kick.

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 – Soccer Penalty Kick Change - Listen

In the game of soccer, goals are tough to come by. That’s why in some of the most important games, we see those contests head into overtime and ultimately get decided by penalty kicks – or P-Ks.

The rules dealing with penalty kicks have changed for this year. In years past, whenever a player would hear the referee’s whistle and start to move toward the ball to make a penalty kick, any hesitation, delay or stutter-step would make that kick illegal. In past years, that player always got an opportunity to take a re-kick.

But this year, there is no opportunity for that player to take an additional re-kick.

Past editions
Sept. 29: Preparation for Officials - Listen
Sept 22: You Make the Call: Returning Kickoffs - Listen
Sept. 15: Concussions - Listen
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: Competitive Cheer Judges

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

January 24, 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 – Competitive Cheer Judges - Listen

Ready! Set!

There are a lot of moving parts to a competitive cheer competition, including safety judges.

For each competition there are a minimum of two safety judges and three panel judges. But what does each position do?

Safety judges are there for safety – as simple as that sounds. During competition, they are mobile, circling the mat identifying illegal skills, improper spotting techniques, time infractions, and anything else deemed unsafe. They also are counting the number of competitors and floor formations for each team.

Panel judges – and there are three of them – are scoring the round. Each round is made up of skills, floor formations, transition moves and stunts that all must be evaluated.

Both safety and panel judges can deduct points for errors in the routine.

Previous Editions:

Jan. 17: More Lines - Listen
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