Be the Referee: YMTC - Sleeper Play
November 25, 2016
This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl explains why the "Sleeper Play" is an illegal one in high school football.
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 – YMTC - Sleeper Play - Listen
Let’s finish up the football season with this You Make The Call.
It’s 4th down and five at the 30-yard line, and the offense begins to leave the field as the field goal unit comes on. One of those offensive players, however, doesn’t make it all the way to the bench. He stops a step short of the sideline, essentially hiding out there.
The ball is snapped, the holder stands and throws a perfect pass down the sideline to a wide-open player – that player who was hiding out at the sideline. Is this legal?
The answer is no. This is a foul for illegal participation. A team can never use a substitution or pretended substitution to deceive the defense.
Past editions
Nov. 17: Automatic 1st Downs - Listen
Nov. 10: Uncatchable Pass - Listen
Nov. 3: The Goal Line - Listen
Oct. 27: Help Us Retain Officials - Listen
Oct. 20: Point After Touchdown - Listen
Oct. 13: Untimed Down - Listen
Oct. 6: Soccer Penalty Kick Change - Listen
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: Swimming Touchpads
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
February 14, 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 – Swimming Touchpads - Listen
We are in the pool today, nearing the end of our 100-yard freestyle race. To finish a race and record a time, a swimmer can either touch the touchpad or the finish end – i.e., the wall around the touchpad.
If the touchpad is contacted and a time recorded – great! That’s all the officials need.
But what happens if I hit the touchpad and the time doesn’t stop? Or if I touch the wall just above the touchpad? In these instances, the officials go to a backup timer. And the backup time for that swimmer will be used as the race time.
The backup timer operates for all races, but is only used in the event of a touchpad malfunction or a swimmer hitting the finish end. A majority of the time, it’s not even needed. But it’s good to have for instances like these.
Previous Editions:
Feb. 7: In or Out-of-Bounds in Wrestling - Listen
Jan. 31: Over the Back - Listen
Jan. 24: Competitive Cheer Judges - Listen
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 Zone - Listen
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