Lansing Hosts 'Officiate Michigan Day II'
July 30, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
More than 800 sports officials hailing from both peninsulas and all over the state are expected to attend the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s “Officiate Michigan Day II” on August 4 at the Lansing Center to train and learn from clinicians experienced at the high school, college, national and international levels of competition.
The event is designed to benefit officials with any level of experience, veteran to beginner, with opening and closing sessions for the full group and sport-specific sessions for baseball, basketball, competitive cheer, football, lacrosse, soccer, softball, volleyball and wrestling.
Registration and check-in begin at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 4, with the opening general session scheduled for 9 a.m. Two-hour sport-specific sessions will be conducted in the morning and afternoon, and attendees will receive a box lunch and opportunities to attend one of five workshops during the meal period. The general closing session will conclude the event from 3:30-4 p.m.
The morning general session will be presented by newly-appointed MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl, a past NCAA Baseball College World Series umpire and longtime official in both baseball and football. The closing session will feature retired MHSAA wrestling official James C. McCloughan, who received the Medal of Honor in 2017 for his military service in Vietnam as a combat medic with the U.S. Army.
Registration remains open – those interested may sign up on the MHSAA Website. Cost to attend is $25. A full schedule including clinicians also is available at that link.
The first Officiate Michigan Day was held July 27, 2013, in Grand Rapids.
Be the Referee: Held Ball or Traveling?
February 13, 2020
This week, MHSAA officials coordinator Sam Davis offers a basketball "You Make the Call" that comes into play when defensive and offensive players wind up in a stalemate.
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 - Held Ball or Traveling - Listen
Let’s try a basketball “You Make the Call” play today. The offensive player jumps in an effort to either take a shot or make a pass. The defensive player reaches out and is able to place his or her hands on the ball to keep the offensive player from releasing it, and the offensive player returns to the floor with the ball.
You Make the Call? There was no contact, so there is no foul. Is it a traveling violation, or is it a held ball with the ball going to the team with the possession arrow in its favor?
Some old-timers out there might remember that up until about 1990, a traveling violation would have been called on this play. But the rules now call for a held ball in the situation with the possession arrow, which had just been introduced five years earlier in 1985, prevailing.
Past editions
Feb. 6: Hockey Rules Chart - Listen
Jan. 30: Cheer Safety - Listen
Jan. 23: Goaltending - Listen
Jan. 16: Wrestling Tie-Breaker - Listen
Jan. 9: Pregame Meeting - Listen
Dec. 19: Alternating Possession - Listen
Dec. 12: Ratings - Listen
Dec. 5: Video Review Success - Listen
Nov. 28: More Injury Time - Listen
Nov. 21: Football Review - Listen
Nov. 14: Sideline Safety - Listen
Nov. 7: Officials Playlist - Listen
Oct. 31: Most Important Line - Listen
Oct. 24: Automatic 1st Downs - Listen
Oct. 17: Catch Momentum - Listen
Oct. 10: Golf Rules Changes - Listen
Oct. 3: No Tackle Box - Listen
Sept. 26: You Make the Overtime Call - Listen
Sept. 19: Swimming Finishing Touch - Listen
Sept. 12: Curbing Gamesmanship By Substitution - Listen
Sept. 5: Football Safety Rules Changes - Listen
Aug. 29: 40-Second Play Clock - Listen