I've been seeing a lot of players wearing sweat-band type things on their fingers. My usual partner has told me their an illegal piece of equipment and must be removed, but i don't see any safety concerns with them.

How do u guys handle these finger sweat bands?

The NFHS Basketball Forum had this discussion last November and I made the following post on Nov. 14, 2003:

I first started seeing players wearing the finger sleeves as described in the original post of this thread two years ago. I always have ruled them illegal per NFHS Casebook Play 3.5 SITUATION C(b): May a team member wear gloves? RULING: No, gloves are not needed to play the game and are not considered to be appropriate.

NFHS R3-S5-A3: The referee shall not permit any team member to wear equipment or apparel which, in his/her judgment, is dangerous or confusing to other players or is not appropriate. Example of illegal items include, but are not limited to: Equipment which is unnatural and designed to increase a player's height or reach or to gain an advantage. Equipment shall not be modified from its' manufactured state and shall be worn in the manner the manufacturer intended it to be worn.

Gloves and the finger sleeves we have been discussing do nothing but improve a player's grip on the ball which is to gain an advantage of one's opponent. As far as the poster who stated that as long as a player had a doctor's letter stating the the player needs the glove to protect a bandage, that is not acceptable. The player can use tape to cover the bandage.

The NFHS has made no direct statement regarding these "bands." Our deputy state director issued a reply to the original poster of the thread on the NFHS Discussion Board that Mark refers to and said that they should not be allowed.

Frankly, I haven't seen one, nor have I looked for them.

Make the players take them off. They wear them for no other reason than that they see guys in the NBA like Kevin Garnett doing it. Treat it just like you would treat a rubber band on the wrist. Tell the player to remove it, then remind yourself how stupid the kids are for wearing them, thinking they are cool.

Our state association has made a determination on the legality of the finger sleeves and they say they are legal. Below is their direct reply as posted on their website. I realize they have no bearing on what other states say, however, she is pretty in-tune with NFHS and she states that according to the Fed, they are legal:

Q: In a game last night, I noticed a player wearing something on his hand and finger. Looking at what was on
the hand, it was a soft brace which covered the palm and around the thumb. It had no plastic or metal. Is this
legal?
A: Yes. This is a reoccurrence of the finger sleeve that we saw last year. These have been deemed to be legal
by the National Federation. Just check to make sure there is not any metal or plastic contained within the
sleeve.

Mregor

[Edited by Mregor on Jan 22nd, 2004 at 01:04 PM]

Last years NCAA bulletin
 

NCAA Women say no.

"Finger sweatbands are not permitted because of the ease in which they can fall off and become a hazard to players on court. Have the player remove them."

Here is the website for the bulletin:
http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/baske...3/20030110.pdf


Those nasty hazardous finger sweatbands! Some of you are lucky to be alive. They also say no to the pre-wrap headbands... probably someone could get strangled.

;)

Of course this isn't Federation Rules

the good old days!
 

Back when I was young primadonna's hadn't been invented and the only bands we had played horn's in the stands. High top white canvas Converse all stars were in until black came along and we switched to lows! Those were the good old days!! Oh, and gas was 25 cents a gallon and Old Mil was a $1.10 a six pack. Ah, the good old days!! Life was good if you had a high draft number!!

Re: Last years NCAA bulletin
 

Not any more, they don't.

Finger sleeves
 

Finger sleeves are ostensibly used to protect jammed fingers. They are neither gloves nor sweatbands, nor are they covers for bandages. They should be listed as a neoprene brace similar to that worn on the knee or ankle and should be allowed. They do not give any advantage to those who are not injured, but may be promoted as a preventative brace (although I haven't seen any reported studies as to effectiveness).

Re: Finger sleeves
 

The sleeves I've seen have been terry cloth (or similar) -- not neoprene. I've generally disallowed them.

Re: Last years NCAA bulletin

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by DownTownTonyBrown
They also say no to the pre-wrap headbands...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jenkins wrote:
Not any more, they don't.

Bob Jenkins... GREAT CATCH!!!!!
You are correct as the NCAA women now say that the use of Pre-wrap in a girls hair as use of a headband is now legal.

According to the Wisconsin IAA web site, NFHS has ruled that finger sleeves are legal. Does anyone have a rule book citation or link for that ruling?

"This is a reoccurrence of the finger sleeve that we saw last year. These have been deemed to be legal by the National Federation."

from http://www.wiaawi.org/basketballboys/qa.pdf