Winter Rules Changes Focus on Safety
December 6, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Seasons are underway for teams participating in 12 winter sports for which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors postseason tournaments, with a continuing focus on safety highlighting rules changes taking effect with the first days of competition.
Beginning with ice hockey’s first games Nov. 14, six sports started play during the final weeks of November, while the rest will be underway by the end of this week; Wrestling on Dec. 7 and Boys and Girls Skiing on Dec. 10 will be the final winter sports to begin competition.
Basketball, wrestling and ice hockey are among sports with noticeable changes to enhance safety this winter. In basketball, a change has been made to further protect the free-throw shooter from being displaced immediately after attempting a shot. Players occupying marked free-throw lane spaces may enter the lane on the release of the ball but may not touch or cross the free-throw line extended, into the semicircle, until the ball is released and touches the ring or backboard. Other players not occupying marked lane spaces may not have either foot beyond the vertical plane of the free-throw line extended and the 3-point line which is farther from the basket until the ball touches the ring or until the free throw ends. Both are designed to keep the free-throw shooter free from contact and alone in the semicircle directly following the shot attempt.
Also in basketball, non-playing personnel including cheerleaders, media and school supervisors must remain outside the playing area during a timeout 30 seconds or shorter. Non-playing personnel also must remain throughout the game in the areas between the free-throw lines extended and sidelines, to provide a safer environment free of possible collisions for both playing and non-playing personnel.
Officials will be on the lookout in wrestling for a hold that could lead to a competitor being dropped to the mat after a lift without the ability to use his or her arms to break the fall because they are trapped as part of the hold. If a wrestler, from a standing position, is placed in a body lock with one or both arms trapped, the offensive wrestler is required to safely return that defensive wrestler to the mat through a variety of legal moves. Officials will stop the match if a lift is coming or imminent that would result in the defensive wrestler being unable to break his or her fall because of an arm trap.
Hockey contact to the head or neck area will be penalized with multiple levels of severity in 2016-17, depending on the extent and intent of that contact. If contact to the head or neck area is deemed to be direct – that is, with the initial force of the contact occurring to the neck or head area – that contact will be considered a flagrant foul and result in a major penalty or game disqualification. If the contact is deemed indirect – with the initial force of the contact beginning below the neck and progressing upward to the head or neck area – the result will be a minor penalty unless the indirect contact is deemed by officials to be flagrant, which again will result in a major or game disqualification.
Also of note in hockey, all players (excluding goaltenders) must now take a stationary position on all faceoffs before the puck is dropped. By eliminating motion prior to faceoffs, this rule change is designed to also eliminate any possible advantage gained by players previously working for better position.
The 2016-17 Winter campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls and Boys Swimming & Diving Finals on Feb. 18, and wraps up with the Boys Basketball Finals on March 25. Here is a complete list of winter tournament dates:
Boys Basketball
Districts – March 6, 8 & 10
Regionals – March 13 & 15
Quarterfinals – March 21
Semifinals – March 23-24
Finals – March 25
Girls Basketball
Districts – Feb. 27, March 1 & 3
Regionals – March 7 & 9
Quarterfinals – March 14
Semifinals – March 16-17
Finals – March 18
Girls & Boys Bowling
Team Regionals – Feb. 24
Singles Regionals – Feb. 25
Team Finals – March 3
Singles Finals – March 4
Girls Competitive Cheer
Districts – Feb. 17-18
Regionals – Feb. 25
Finals: March 3-4
Girls Gymnastics
Regionals – March 4
Team Finals – March 10
Individual Finals – March 11
Ice Hockey
Pre-Regionals – Feb. 27-March 3
Regional Finals – March 3-4
Quarterfinals – March 7-8
Semifinals – March 9-10
Finals – March 11
Girls & Boys Skiing
Regionals – Feb. 13-17
Finals – Feb. 27
Girls & Boys Swimming & Diving
U.P. Girls & Boys Finals – Feb. 18
L.P. Boys Diving Regionals – March 2
L.P. Boys Finals – March 10-11
Wrestling
Team Districts – Feb. 8-9
Individual Districts – Feb. 11
Team Regionals – Feb. 15
Individual Regionals – Feb. 18
Team Quarterfinals – Feb. 24
Team Semifinals & Finals – Feb. 25
Individual Finals – March 2-4
Michigan's Ranking for High School Sports Participation Continues to Outpace Population
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 4, 2026
Michigan enjoyed the sixth-highest boys participation in high school sports nationally in 2025-26, moving up one spot in that ranking, and maintained its girls and overall rankings of eighth as well – continuing to outpace where it ranks nationally for population of school-aged children according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Michigan’s overall participation ranking was based on a total of 295,634 participants, data collected as part of the annual national participation study conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) – of which the Michigan High School Athletic Association is a member. That total number of participants counts students once for each sport played, meaning students who are multiple-sport athletes are counted more than once.
A total of 171,573 boys participants moved Michigan up to sixth nationally on that list, after ranking seventh the past two school years and ninth in 2022-23. The girls total of 124,061 participants ranked eighth for the third-straight school year after Michigan was listed ninth for girls participation also in 2022-23.
Meanwhile, Michigan continued to rank 10th for both high school-aged boys and girls populations – and all high school-aged children combined – according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Three sports for which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments moved up on their respective national lists. Michigan counted the fifth-most boys basketball players, the state’s highest ranking in that sport since 2012-13 and two spots ahead of 2024-25. Girls competitive cheer also moved up two spots to ninth nationally, and boys wrestling moved up one spot on its list to seventh.
Participation in several more MHSAA sports continued to outpace the state’s ranking for high school-aged population.
For girls, bowling (third), tennis (third), golf (fourth), cross country (sixth), track & field (sixth), volleyball (sixth), basketball (seventh), softball (eighth), swimming & diving (eighth), and soccer (ninth) joined cheer in ranking higher than their population listing of 10th nationally. Among boys sports, bowling (second), ice hockey (fourth), golf (fifth), track & field (fifth), tennis (sixth), football (all contact formats combined – sixth), cross country (seventh), swimming & diving (eighth), baseball (ninth) and lacrosse (ninth) joined basketball and wrestling in exceeding the boys ranking of 10th for population. Boys soccer participation placed 10th on its national list.
Only 12 states sponsor alpine skiing, but Michigan again ranked third on both the girls and boys lists for that sport.
Nationally, participation in high school sports increased for the fifth consecutive year and set another record, with the total of 8,415,684 participants an increase of 1.8 percent from 2024-25. The total included 4,761,095 boys and 3,654,589 girls – both record highs as well – according to figures obtained from the 51 NFHS member state associations, which include Washington, D.C.
Eleven-player football remained the most popular boys (and overall) sport, totaling 1,043,716 athletes. Next on the boys list were outdoor track & field, basketball, soccer, baseball, wrestling, cross country, golf, tennis, and swimming & diving, respectively, repeating the same top 10 as in 2024-25.
For girls, the top nine sports remained the same from the previous year – outdoor track & field, volleyball and soccer, in that order, followed by basketball, softball, competitive spirit, tennis, cross country and swimming & diving, respectively. Flag football moved ahead of lacrosse into the 10th spot this past school year.
Texas (911,405) and California (859,022) remained atop the list for overall state participation. Ohio (347,994) ranked third, followed by Illinois (326,756), Pennsylvania (315,647), New York (312,563), Florida (311,233), Michigan (295,634), New Jersey (273,711) and Minnesota (241,536).
The NFHS participation survey was started in 1971 and compiled in its current form through the 2018-19 school year, resuming annually with the 2021-22 survey.
The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and performing arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and performing arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS writes playing rules for 18 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and Washington, D.C., the NFHS reaches more than 19,800 high schools and 12 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 8.4 million in high school sports.
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 1.4 million spectators each year.