Be the Referee: Gymnastics Judges
By
Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials
December 8, 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 – Gymnastics Judges - Listen
The gymnastics finals will be held March 10th and 11th where a Team Finals champion and runner-up will be crowned on Friday night and individual event champions in each event and an all-around champion will be crowned in two divisions on Saturday.
At the Finals, 18 gymnastics officials will be on the floor for each championship, and there are many who are already working regular-season events. What are they all doing?
The meet referee is the head official in charge. They handle all inquiries and disputes.
And then each event will have a set of judges. It can be four different sets, one set for each event. Or the same set could judge each of the four events. One of these judges serves as the chief judge, and each will score the performance. The two scores are averaged for a gymnast’s final score.
Previous Editions:
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
MHSAA Officials Awards & Alumni Banquet: Photos, Video & OMD 2026.
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 30, 2026
More than 80 MHSAA-registered game officials were honored Saturday during the annual Officials Awards & Alumni Banquet at Kellogg Center in East Lansing.
Our MHSAA communications director emeritus John Johnson was on site, camera in hand, to capture photos of our award winners and several more attendees and honorees. Check those out by clicking here – MHSAA Officials Banquet photos – to see not only photos from this past weekend but also from 2003-19, 2024-25, and the 2013 and 2018 Officiate Michigan Day events.
Among this year’s honorees was Grand Ledge senior Owen Rottier, who received the Randy Paulson Legacy Award and scholarship. Owen has officiated both cross country and track & field as part of the Legacy Program and will study next at Lansing Community College. He’s pictured above with (from left) MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl, Mary Paulson, Rottier and MHSAA director of officiating Sam Davis.
Receiving the 36th Vern L. Norris Leadership in Officiating Award was Metro Detroit’s Robert Czech, who is in his 44th year as a registered official and also has assigned officials for more than 35 years, including currently for four Detroit-area leagues.
Referee Magazine also created a commemorative cover celebrating Czech and in advance of this summer’s Officiate Michigan Day.
OMD 2026 will be July 25 at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, followed by the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) Summit from July 26-28.
For information on registration and details on both events, check out the Officiate Michigan Day page.