Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. Will Love This ...

[BillyMac]

Might as well jump (jump)
Go ahead and jump
Might as well jump (jump)
Go ahead and jump

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

The language in the jump ball rule of a designated jumper is left over from prior to the AP arrow becoming part of the game.

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

Going back to the Ancient (Pre-AP Arrow) Days "New Situation 6" could be described to include any time that A2 and B2 simultaneously caused the Ball to go Out-of-Bounds, whether or not there was Team Control at the time that the Ball went Out-of-Bounds, A2 and B2 would be the Jumpers, and either one could only be replaced because of injury. And it would also apply to "New Situation 5". Meaning that in the Post-Ancient Days "New Situations 5 and 6" would be treated the same way: the two Players who simultaneously caused the Ball to go Out-of-Bounds would be the Jumpers and either one could only be replaced because of injury.

I believe that Nevadaref and Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. have hit the nail right on the head.

In 1985 when the NFHS Rules Committee adopted the alternating possession throw‐in for all jump or held‐ball situations except the start of the game and each extra period they appear to have failed to change all the language to fully cover all situations that could possibly lead to a post-1985 jump ball.

Have we discovered a thirty-five year old careless, incomplete, editing mistake?

Is "designated jumper" another fine mess that the NFHS has gotten us into (with apologies to Oliver Hardy)?

Even if the jump ball language was cleaned up, would it help with my first two situations involving replacement/substitute jumpers where a poor toss by the official, or poor jumps by the jumpers, caused the re-jump (not caused by a held ball or simultaneous touch out of bounds situation before the alternating possession arrow had been established).

Originally Posted by BillyMac

1) Situation: Official tosses the ball to begin the game. Jumpers A1 and B1 are unable to touch the tossed ball and the ball hits the floor. The ball became live with the toss, the game officially starts, but the clock didn't start. Team A coach requests that player A2 jump in the re-tossed jump ball. A1 is not injured nor is A1 bleeding.

2) Similar situation to begin the game, but before the re-tossed jump ball, Team A coach wants to substitute A6 for jumper A1. A6 is waiting on the X in front of the table and is ready to be the new jumper. A1 is not injured nor is A1 bleeding.

As LRZ stated earlier, there are no "entering substitute" restrictions because it's the start of the game (not an overtime period).

These situations are not about restricting "entering substitutes", these situations are about possibly restricting "designated jumpers".

Young'uns can search "fine mess" and Oliver Hardy on the Google.