Winter Rules Additions Focus on Safety
December 5, 2013
Rules promoting greater player safety and improved coach-player communication highlight the playing rules changes for the winter sports season now underway at Michigan High School Athletic Association member schools across the state.
The winter sports season involves eight different sports and approximately 70,000 student-athletes. Practices began as early as late October; and tournaments begin in mid-February, running through the end of March. Competition is already underway in Girls Basketball, Bowling in the Upper Peninsula, Girls Competitive Cheer, Girls Gymnastics, Ice Hockey, and Upper Peninsula Swimming & Diving. On Saturday (Dec. 7), competition begins for Bowling and Swimming in the Lower Peninsula, as well as Wrestling. The Boys Basketball season begins on Monday (Dec. 9), and Skiing events may begin on Dec. 14.
Ice Hockey has several rules changes promoting player safety. “Blind-side” hits, checks to an unsuspecting or vulnerable player, can now be penalized; and the rule prohibiting a player form pushing, charging, cross or body-checking an opponent from behind into the boards or goal frame has reinstated the discretion for the official to issue a game disqualification when flagrant. Another safety change stops play when the goalkeeper’s glove is displaced – expanding a rule where the displacement of the keeper’s mask or helmet stops play.
Additionally, an embellishment rule has been added to discourage players from taking dives to draw penalties and exaggerating the severity of the impact of a play in which a penalty is called. Finally, when the attacking team bats the puck directly on goal, it shall result in an immediate whistle and a resulting faceoff at the defensive zone faceoff spot of the offending team.
In Basketball and Wrestling, electronic devices may now be used on the bench or in the corner for coaching purposes – for example, to show plays or keep statistics. Devices may not be used to dispute officials’ calls.
The head coach in Basketball may enter the court without penalty when a fight may break out or has broken out to prevent the situation from escalating. Players and assistant coaches who leave the bench in such situations will continue to be assessed flagrant technical fouls and be disqualified from the contest.
In keeping with rules book language published a few years ago in football, the basketball rules have added a section which limits public address announcers’ action during play. PA announcers, during game action, are limited to announcing who scores baskets and commits fouls. Any other announcements during play, like time remaining, are inappropriate. General announcements during time outs are still allowed.
In Wrestling, forfeits are no longer considered as matches when considering the five-matches-in-one-day limit for competition.
Winter tournaments begin the first full week of February in wrestling. The first MHSAA Finals of the season are the Upper Peninsula Swimming & Diving Finals on February 15, and tournaments conclude with the Boys Basketball Semifinals & Finals, March 21-22.
Finalists Announced for 2024-25 MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Awards
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 21, 2025
The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2024-25 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.
The program, in its 36th year, has recognized student-athletes since the 1989-90 school year and again this winter will honor 32 individuals from MHSAA member schools who participate in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament.
Farm Bureau Insurance underwrites the Scholar-Athlete Awards and will present a $2,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 960 scholarships have been awarded.
Scholarships will be presented proportionately by school classification, with 12 scholarships to be awarded to Class A student-athletes, six female and six male; eight scholarships awarded to Class B student-athletes, four female and four male; six scholarships awarded to Class C student-athletes, three female and three male; and four scholarships awarded to Class D student-athletes, two female and two male. In addition, two scholarships will be awarded at-large to minority recipients, regardless of school size.
Every MHSAA member high school could submit as many applications as there are scholarships available in its classification and could have more than one finalist. Birmingham Seaholm has six finalists this year, while Munising and Whitehall have four, and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Midland Dow and West Bloomfield each have three finalists. Eight schools have two finalists: Ann Arbor Greenhills, Ann Arbor Huron, Bloomfield Hills, Detroit Catholic Central, Grosse Pointe South, Kingsford, Olivet, and Saline.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.88. There are 75 three-plus sport participants in the finalists field, and all but one of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented.
Of 431 schools which submitted applicants, 25 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,513 applications were received. All applicants will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement. Additional Scholar-Athlete Award information, including a complete list of scholarship nominees, can be found on the Scholar-Athlete page.
The applications were judged by a 65-member committee of school coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools. Selection of the 32 scholarship recipients will take place in early February. Class C and D scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 4, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 11 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 18. All announcements will be made on the MHSAA Website.
To be eligible for the award, students must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale) and previously have won a varsity letter in at least one sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. Students also were asked to respond to a series of short essay questions and submit two letters of recommendation and a 500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan was founded in 1949 by Michigan farmers who wanted an insurance company that worked as hard as they did. Those values still guide the company today and are a big reason why it is known as Michigan’s Insurance Company, dedicated to protecting the farms, families, and businesses of this great state. Farm Bureau Insurance agents across Michigan provide a full range of insurance services—life, home, auto, farm, business, retirement, Lake Estate®, and more—protecting nearly 500,000 Michigan policyholders.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 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 1.3 million spectators each year.
2024-25 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
GIRLS CLASS A
Clara Freeth, Ann Arbor Huron
Katherine Ma, Ann Arbor Huron
Avery Allen, Birmingham Seaholm
Ella Gifford, Birmingham Seaholm
Grace Johnson-Sears, Birmingham Seaholm
Selina Lin, Birmingham Seaholm
Madeline Day, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Sophia Y. Tang, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Sydney Law, Byron Center
Nadine Fayad, Dearborn
Alaa Selman, Dearborn Heights Crestwood
Eleni Michos, Dexter
Grace Tykocki, Grand Blanc
Kylie Pung, Howell
Bomin Koo, Jenison
Kortney Osborn, Mason
Ayesha Middha, Midland Dow
Chikanma Okoisor, Midland Dow
Tara Creekmore, Plymouth
Katherine McLaughlin, Portage Central
Grace Roth, Saline
Madeline Bildeaux, Traverse City West
Carly Lyons, West Bloomfield
Natalie Weissman, West Bloomfield
BOYS CLASS A
Sean Wesolek, Bay City John Glenn
Milan Patel, Birmingham Seaholm
Carson J. Wright, Birmingham Seaholm
Noah Kaplan, Bloomfield Hills
Asher Langwell, Bloomfield Hills
Calvin Meeker, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Nicholas Leiter, Detroit Catholic Central
Peter Sanin, Detroit Catholic Central
Lucas Groulx, Flint Kearsley
Elijah Lipke, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
Gruhith Yerramalli, Grosse Pointe North
Jack J. Lupo, Grosse Pointe South
James Michelotti, Grosse Pointe South
Joseph Spada, Kalamazoo Central
Andrew Creedon, Livonia Churchill
Nimai Patel, Midland Dow
Cameron McVittie, Northville
Nathan Beemer, Okemos
Drew F. Cady, Oxford
Hunter Easton, Saline
Auben Wesley, South Lyon
Owen Przybylski, Temperance Bedford
Asher Paul, Traverse City Central
Brady Scheidt, West Bloomfield
GIRLS CLASS B
Hannah Lee, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Eleana Zhuang, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Madison Cole, Battle Creek Pennfield
Addison Seemann, Freeland
Lauren Sundquist, Gladstone
Sierra Grooters, Hudsonville Unity Christian
Madelynn Kreider, Kingsford
Nadia Marie Grierson, Ludington
Anna Catherine Boggs, Monroe Jefferson
Marlee Plaxco, Negaunee
Hailey Dodd, Parma Western
Alaina Hanson, Reed City
Alexandrea Komarowski, St. Clair
Scarlet Maison, Standish-Sterling
Camille Kraai, Whitehall
Grace McDowell, Whitehall
BOYS CLASS B
Maxwell Volk, Chesaning
Alan Mrva, Corunna
Isaak E. Rubley, Dundee
Brayden Joslin, Durand
Brayden Bryan Lape, Grass Lake
Corbin Allen, Grayling
Oliver Costello, Haslett
Jayse Peterson, Hastings
Caden James VanHuis, Holland Christian
Gavin J. Trevillian, Kingsford
Nicholas Caldwell, North Branch
Benjamin Kelenske, Olivet
Blair Scott, Olivet
Owen T. Feldpausch, Owosso
Ryan Goodrich, Whitehall
Brady Tate, Whitehall
GIRLS CLASS C
Baylee Goddard, Alcona
Kaylee A. Kranz, Clinton
Kelcie Jo Pung, Fowler
Alexyn DuBois, Hanover-Horton
Grace Hayhurst, Harbor Springs
Allie Nowak, Johannesburg-Lewiston
Dayne Behning, Munising
Kate Mattson, Munising
Ashlyn Orr, New Lothrop
Tess Tillman, Royal Oak Shrine Catholic
Makayla Zelinko, St. Charles
BOYS CLASS C
Lucas Hall, Bark River-Harris
Owen Heath, Bridgman
Jason Zarate, Brighton Charyl Stockwell Prep
Matthew Mellendorf, Cass City
Korbyn Russell, East Jordan
Isaiah Kabban, Harbor Beach
Carson Kienitz, Munising
Trevor Nolan, Munising
Ian Weldon, Reese
Ben Denlinger, Roscommon
Wheatley Rodammer, Saginaw Valley Lutheran
Landon Pestrue, St. Louis
GIRLS CLASS D
Keira Jean Graham, Bessemer
Molly Coppens, Chesterfield Austin Catholic
Sarah Bradley, Clarkston Everest Collegiate
Ella Grace Gasperich, Crystal Falls Forest Park
Leah Durfee, Fife Lake Forest Area
Ella Knudsen, Leland
Mallory Rich, Muskegon Catholic Central
Kaitlyn Miros, Saginaw Nouvel
BOYS CLASS D
Seth Davis, Adrian Lenawee Christian
Owen Plum, Britton Deerfield
Joshua Gaunt, Dollar Bay
Dakota Malek, Fulton
Andrew Spiegel, Hillsdale Academy
Carter Kosinski, Kinde North Huron
Alex Tyndall, Mason County Eastern
Grady Pieratt, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart