What's My Why: Official Clint Abbott
May 18, 2026
Clint Abbott, Newaygo
Abbott is completing his 43rd year as an MHSAA registered official and this school year officiated basketball and volleyball. He's also been registered in baseball, soccer, softball and track & field for a season or more since beginning with the MHSAA in 1975-76.
I really enjoy it. What I love about it is just getting out, working with the crew, teamwork, giving back to the game.
I really enjoy the student-athletes today. It’s a little different world than when I first started out, but I still enjoy it, still enjoy giving back to them. Love to watch them compete and participate, and then just love to see new officials come in – and we hope we can have more that we can train and we can mentor.
So, absolutely love this game. I hope we can keep going for many years.
“What’s My Why” is a weekly feature telling the stories of MHSAA-registered officials in their own words. If you’re an MHSAA official and would like to share your reason why, please submit a 15 to 45-second video, taken horizontally, to director of officials Sam Davis at [email protected].
Don't miss Officiate Michigan Day 2026, July 25 in Grand Rapids! Check out MHSAA.com/OMD to register and learn more.
Be the Referee: Wrestling Inspections
By
Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials
January 27, 2022
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 – Wrestling Inspections - Listen
Before every individual or team wrestling event, each participant must be inspected by the referee or other authorized personnel. They are looking for any skin infections or evidence of a communicable disease.
A typical inspection will check a wrestler’s mouth for braces, fingernails, hairlines, underarms, back/shoulder area, behind the knee and more.
All inspections are done in the same manner for all wrestlers at a tournament site, both male and female wrestlers. Inspections generally should take place in an area not readily visible by the public because of modesty concerns for the wrestlers.
No wrestler is allowed to compete until they have gone through and passed the inspection.
Skin inspections are done with the goal of keeping all participants as safe as possible and preventing the spread of contagious skin conditions.
Previous editions
Dec. 16: Ball Over Backboard - Listen
Dec. 9: Winter Officials Mechanics - Listen
Nov. 26: Instant Replay - Listen
Nov. 11: Tourney Selection - Listen
Nov. 4: Receiver Carried Out of End Zone – Listen
Oct. 28: Volleyball Back-Row Block – Listen
Oct. 21: Soccer Disallowed Goal – Listen
Sept 30: Field Goal Falls Short – Listen
Sept. 23: Volleyball Obstruction – Listen
Sept. 16: Catch or No Catch – Listen
Sept. 9: Intentional Grounding – Listen
Sept. 2: Pass Interference – Listen
Aug. 26: Protocols and Mechanics – Listen