Be the Referee: We Get Letters
March 15, 2018
In this week's edition, assistant director Mark Uyl tells of a letter that caught our attention, sent by one of our member school superintendents in support of officials and pledging to improve sportsmanship.
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 – We Get Letters - Listen
Over the course of any school year, the MHSAA receives thousands of pieces of correspondence. We recently received a letter from a member school superintendent that really caught our attention.
The letter was addressed to the officials in this superintendent’s local area; and in that was a pledge – it was a pledge by that individual school, along with the entire league – that they were going to improve sportsmanship in their area, and also improve the experience that officials had when working at those schools.
The superintendent promised more accountability for his coaches, his players, and especially his adult spectators in raising the bar for those sportsmanship expectations, to keep those officials in the game.
Past editions
February 22: Block/Charge Calls - Listen
February 15: Dog Days of February - Listen
February 8: National Playing Rules Process - Listen
February 1: Calling Intentional Fouls - Listen
January 25: Points at the Edge of the Mat - Listen
January 18: Behavior Warning - Listen
January 11: Ice Hockey Safe & Sound - Listen
January 4: Why No Shot Clock - Listen
December 21: Coaches Responsible for Equipment - Listen
December 14: Mentoring New Officials - Listen
December 7: Dive on the Floor - Listen
November 30: Wrestling Weight Monitoring - Listen
November 23: Ejections - Listen
November 16: Toughest Call - Listen
November 9: Hurdling - Listen
November 2: The Survey Says - Listen
October 26: Helmet Comes Off - Listen
October 19: Goal Line Rules - Listen
October 12: No 1st-Year Fee - Listen
October 5: Athletic Empty Nesters - Listen
September 28: Misunderstood Football Rules: Kicking - Listen
September 21: Preparation for Officials - Listen
September 14: Always Stay Registered - Listen
September 7: Other Football Rules Changes - Listen
August 31: Pop-Up Onside Kicks - Listen
August 24: Blindside Blocks - Listen
The Official View: The Couple That Officiates Together
By
Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director
October 8, 2018
By Brent Rice
MHSAA Assistant Director
This key to a long and happy marriage is officiating school sports.
Richard and Christine Lee from Brown City are proof. Richard has been officiating with the MHSAA for 42 years, and Christine has been an MHSAA official for 23 years. And this spring they celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary!
Of course, they celebrated in part by working a meet together, as seen in the photo above.
It’s Official!
Rules Meetings: With winter sports just around the corner, many of you already have begun getting into officiating shape and studying up on rules and mechanics in preparation of another great MHSAA season. Don’t forget to tend to the administrative requirements for postseason tournament consideration. The first Winter Online Rules Meetings become available starting today.
Here is the schedule for this year:
Oct. 8 – Basketball, Ice Hockey, Competitive Cheer and Wrestling
Oct. 15 – Gymnastics and Swimming
All Online Rules Meetings will close Dec. 13 at 11:59 pm. Don’t miss out on postseason opportunities because you put off (then forget) these requirements.
Rule of the Week
CROSS COUNTRY As A1 reaches the 3,000-meter mark, the umpire notices that the runner has multi-color compression shorts with a manufacturer’s logo that extends beneath the runner’s shorts but above her knees.
Ruling: There is no violation and no warning should be given. New NFHS cross country rule 4-3-1 provides that any visible garment(s) worn underneath the uniform top and/or bottom are considered a foundation garment. A foundation garment is any item worn under the uniform top and/or bottom and is not subject to logo/trademark/reference or color restrictions.
It’s Your Call
FOOTBALL On this play, the right guard pulls as the running back receives the handoff. The play results in a half-yard loss, but is there more to this play? What’s the call?
Last Week’s IYC Ruling: In order for the first contact to be considered a “block,” some part of the player’s hands must extend higher than the top of the net. This is a very close call as to whether her hands meet this – probably too close to consider them “below.” (Click to see the video from last week.)
The more pertinent aspect that applies to this play is whether she is still a blocker based on her playing action. One thing we should look at to determine whether this is a defensive or offensive play is arm swing. When the player in the clip takes a swing at the ball, this becomes an attack. As a result, the second contact by the front row member of Team R should be called a double hit violation.