Clipping Clipped as 2016-17 Begins
August 5, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Clipping has been eliminated in high school football, the biggest playing rules change on the horizon for member schools of the Michigan High School Athletic Association, which formally begin practice for 2016-17 fall sports next week.
Practice in football must begin on Aug. 8 for all schools wishing to begin regular-season games the weekend of Aug. 25-27. Schools must have 12 days of preseason practice at all levels before their first game, and those 12 days of practice may not occur before 16 calendar days.
Practice sessions for all other sports begin Wednesday (Aug. 10). In golf and tennis, competition may commence no earlier than after three separate days of team practice, and not before seven calendar days. The first day competition may take place in golf and tennis is Aug. 17. In all other fall sports, contests can take place after seven days of practice for the team and not before nine calendar days. The first day competition may take place in cross country, tennis, soccer, swimming and diving, and volleyball is Aug. 19.
This fall, two football dates again precede Labor Day, and a number of MHSAA schools will play their first varsity games on Thursday, Aug. 25. In Week 1, 131 varsity games will be played on Thursday, 169 contests will be played on Friday, and 17 games will be played on Saturday. In the second week, 245 games will take place on Thursday, 62 will be played on Friday and 6 contests are on Saturday.
Eliminating clipping from the high school game is the latest step in the national playing rules promulgated by the National Federation of State High School Associations. Clipping previously was permitted in the free-blocking zone when it met three conditions; however, clipping is now illegal anywhere on the field at any time. According to the rule, the free-blocking zone is defined as a rectangular area extending laterally 4 yards either side of the spot of the snap and 3 yards behind each line of scrimmage.
A few notable changes will go into effect for other fall sports:
• In cross country, a participant who assists an injured or ill competitor when the appropriate health care professional is not available no longer will be disqualified from the race; only the runner receiving assistance will be disqualified for not finishing the race unassisted.
• In soccer, changes were made to the offside rule that makes it match offside rules for the NCAA and FIFA/USSF. The most notable change states that a player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately plays the ball (except from a deliberate save) is not considered to have gained an advantage and can move ahead toward attempting to score a goal. A player who does receive the ball while in offside position after a deliberate save remains offside, and the result is an indirect kick for the defending team.
• Also in soccer, eliminating of rough play will be a point of emphasis this school year. Rough play including contact above the shoulder often results in player injury.
• In volleyball, a change to rules on uniforms aims to make the libero more recognizable from all angles. Beginning this fall, the libero, her teammates, or both will be required to wear a solid-colored uniform top; the libero’s top must clearly contract the predominant color(s) of her teammates’ uniform tops. Also related the uniforms, soft hair devices, formerly no more than two inches in width, may now be up to three inches in width.
• Also in volleyball, a service toss that contacts a basketball backboard or its supports in a vertical position over the serving area is a service fault and not eligible for a re-serve. The opponent receives a point and the next serve.
The 2016 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals the week of Sept. 26, and wraps up with the 11-Player Football Playoff Finals on Nov. 25 and 26. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates:
Cross Country:
U.P. Finals – Oct. 22
L.P. Regionals – Oct. 28 or 29
L.P. Finals – Nov. 5
11-Player Football:
Selection Sunday – Oct. 23
Pre-Districts – Oct. 28 or Oct. 29
District Finals – Nov. 4 or 5
Regional Finals – Nov. 11 or 12
Semifinals – Nov. 19
Finals – Nov. 25-26
8-Player Football:
Selection Sunday – Oct. 23
Regional Semifinals – Oct. 28 or Oct. 29
Regional Finals – Nov. 4 or 5
Semifinals – Nov. 12
Final – Nov. 18
L.P. Girls Golf:
Regionals – Oct. 5 or 6 or 7 or 8
Finals – Oct. 14-15
Soccer:
Boys L.P. Districts – Oct. 17-22
Boys L.P. Regionals – Oct. 25-29
Boys L.P. Semifinals – Nov. 2
Boys L.P. Finals – Nov. 5
L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving
Diving Regionals – Nov. 10
Swimming/Diving Finals – Nov. 18-19
Tennis:
U.P. Girls Finals – Sept. 28-Oct. 1
L.P. Boys Regionals – Oct. 6 or 7 or 8
L.P. Finals – Oct. 14-15
Girls Volleyball:
Districts – Oct. 31-Nov. 5
Regionals – Nov. 8 & 10
Quarterfinals – Nov. 15
Semifinals – Nov. 17-18
Finals – Nov. 19
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.
Rep Council Wrap-Up: Winter 2016
March 31, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
An increased effort to ensure student-athletes and their parents or guardians receive concussion education information was among topics that generated the most attention from the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association during its annual Winter Meeting on March 24 in East Lansing.
Most of the Council’s discussion pointed toward possible actions at its Spring Meeting in May, with possible additions to the MHSAA Physical Exam/Clearance/Consent forms among those that may be voted upon when the Council reconvenes. The Council did take a first step, approving a requirement at its Winter Meeting mandating all students and their parent/guardian to sign a post-concussion consent form signifying they have received information on potential risks prior to returning to activity following a concussion.
Continuing its emphasis on the importance of collecting in-depth student-athlete health histories, the Council approved PRIVIT on a two-year trial basis as an electronic-based health history record-keeping tool to serve as an alternative to written communications and forms that accompany pre-participation physical examination of athletes.
The Council also discussed for possible action in May standardizing MHSAA rules/risk management meeting content for assistant and subvarsity coaches and increasing the frequency of in-depth concussion information within those meetings while still giving adequate attention to a variety of other important health and safety topics, including heat illness, sudden cardiac arrest and overuse injuries.
In other ongoing business, the Council reviewed necessary modifications to the MHSAA Membership Resolution and Handbook in advance of a change to the MHSAA Constitution that will permit schools to join the MHSAA at the 6th-grade level beginning in 2016-17. The amendment will allow schools which join the MHSAA at the 6th-grade level to let 6th-graders participate with MHSAA services and support and with and against 7th- and 8th-graders without MHSAA Executive Committee approval. It allows all districts, but requires no districts, to provide athletic opportunities for 6th-graders under the auspices of the MHSAA, either on separate teams or with 7th-and 8th-graders.
The Council considered one sport matter, in track & field, voting to begin this 2016 season to eliminate one preliminary round of the boys 110-meter hurdles, girls 100-meter hurdles and boys and girls 100 and 200-meter dashes at all Lower Peninsula Regionals that use fully automatic time (FAT) to determine race results. The Council also voted to require all Lower Peninsula Regional sites to use FAT beginning in 2017. Both actions were recommended by the MHSAA Cross Country/Track & Field Committee.
The Council also approved an Officials Review Committee recommendation to require all new officials to complete the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) online course “Interscholastic Officiating” in addition to current requirements to complete the MHSAA Officials Guidebook exam and mechanics exams for new officials seeking to work football and basketball games.
The Representative Council is the legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.