Uniform police
 

In my neck of the woods kids cannot roll their pants to make them fit better. Now I deal with pants sagging, tape around the waste and even belts like we use....the soft ones to keep our shirts tucked. Its a mess to officiate. Some schools work with shoestring budgets,old uniforms, no elastic left.....not kids fault.


Anybody else deal with this? Whats the rationalle?

Somebody higher up than you doesn't have enough shit to stir......

That's about the best reason for most uniform rules I'd say

What is the rationale? I see this all the time with kids and many times it causes their strings to hang out, but as long as they are not dangling, I don't care.

Our memo from Columbia's powers-that-be yesterday...

Please remind coaches in your pre-game conference that player waistbands should not be folded over with the logo showing and drawstrings exposed. This is a federation rule violation as well as a safety issue.
Waistbands may be folded inside since they do not violate the rule and pose no safety risk.
Coaches were made aware again after the New Year then their A.D.'s that undershirts must be similar in color to the torso of the jersey. All teams should be in compliance with this rule change.

It was noted somewhere I've seen that most waistbands have multiple logos, which when displayed would be illegal

Yes, I have seen players--both boys and girls--who fold the waistline of their short up and over--ostensibly to decrease the resistance to leg flexion movement which enables better sprinting, running, movement. For these long long uniform shorts we must blame the Fab5 who pioneered the "uber long" shorts that fell way below the knee. These days players have realized that such shorts restrict the striding motion, add unnecessary extra weight, and have become anachronistic. I just tell the coaches/players in pregame to flip/tuck the waistline in from the exterior side of waistband---that usually works.

Also on another--tangential note---I really truly appreciate the competence of HS level basketball officials because they [we] must make split second adjudications on complex competitive scenarios that have implications for winning or losing [either the game or our own credibility] without the aid of a 'video review monitor'. When I watch a NCAA game on TV I oft se the refs going to video review, putting on headphones, conferencing, gesturing--only to ultimately 99% of the time go with the original call. So often that I think to myself "man, why can't those NCAA guys just make the call and stick with it?" Video review seems to have become a crutch (over-used). HS refs rule in a major way!

The R that I worked with tonight literally printed out this memo and distributed it to the coaches.

It will be the last time I work with him.

Years and years ago (late 1990s, Tony can confirm the time frame) when the NFHS and NCAA Men's/Women's Committees adopted "tucked in jersey" rule, "blousing" the jersey was a big problem, especially with female players at high school level. Jerseys that are "bloused" do NOT stay tucked into the shorts. Dick Knox, of the North CarolinaHSAA, was the Chairman of the NFHS Rules Committee. He issued a directive to North Carolina officials that "blousing" was illegal per rule. Tony can confirm this and I was of the opinion, and I still am, that Dick's directive was a correct interpretation of the rule. It should be noted that Mary Struckhoff was the NFHS Rules Editor at time.

I applied Dick's interpretation in my OhioHSAA and MichiganHSAA games. I had officials from both Ohio and Michigan tell me that we could not appy Dick's directive because he was from North Carolina. I told them that when the Chairman of the Rules Committee speaks one should treat his statement like E.F. Hutton (except when he and the Rules Editor are wrong, as Tony and I well know).

That said, I know of no NFHS ruling that prohibits the rolling of the waist band or prohibits draw string from dangling outside of the shorts.

MTD, Sr.

We have been told this is not a violatiion of any rule.

Thank goodness.

Rich:

You mean the rolling of the waistband?

MTD, Sr.

Yes.

We got an email last month specifically addressing this: DON'T ALLOW IT

And sure enough, in my next pre-game with the captains when I asked if there were any questions, one said: "Can we roll down our waistband?"

I said "Apparently you already know the answer to that or you wouldn't have asked."

He ducked his head, "Yes sir."

When Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. Talks, Nobody Listens ...
 

Listen to Rich, Tony, and me.

MTD, Sr.

It appears this is turning into a state matter, however.

Do what you need to do in your own locale.

Next year: Sockmageddon.