Anniversary Celebration
May 9, 2017
Mixing work and family obligations is not recommended for marital bliss; and I’ve done pretty well over the years at not taking my work home to the extent that my family felt like the second team. However, once a year I insist that my wife comes to work with me. That was last Saturday night.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Officials Awards & Alumni Banquet occurs each May, just about the time I should be considering a nice night out for my wife as we celebrate our wedding anniversary and Mother’s Day. So, one might think I am asking for trouble by making this event our big night out.
Yet it works. For if there is one thing the Officials Banquet demonstrates, it’s the power of partners and family.
Time after time last Saturday evening, officials thanked spouses for their support. For keeping late dinners hot and uniforms clean, of course; but also for savoring the stories that sports officials have so many of and share so vividly.
Officials know what it means to have a partner, and to have his or her back in good times and bad.
Officials are a part of a big family of people with affinity for one another that often grows into deep and abiding, lifelong affection.
It wasn’t just longevity that was applauded last Saturday; partners and extended families were honored as well. Not a bad way to celebrate a 45th wedding anniversary.
Be the Referee: Protocols & Mechanics
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 26, 2021
“Be the Referee” is back for 2021-22 with MHSAA assistant director Brent Rice explaining how rules have reverted or been modified due to last year’s COVID-19 adjustments.
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 – Protocols and Mechanics – Listen
Other than a few select instances, all MHSAA protocols, procedures and playing rules have returned to what they were pre-COVID.
This means that football team boxes will return to the area between the 25-yard lines, traditional ball-handling and other officials mechanics will return in all sports and postgame handshakes will be permitted as each school sees fit.
Additionally, there will be some rules modifications that were adopted during the pandemic that will likely be kept as part of the normal playing rules moving forward. The one that stands out for this upcoming fall season is that in volleyball, teams will not switch benches or sides of the net unless the referee determines that a team is at a disadvantage due to the layout of the facilities and obstructions.