Rule 3-5-3
"Equipment shall not be modified from its' original manufactured state and shall be worn in the manner the manufacturer intended it to be worn."

Headbands have been a topic of discussion here before...but maybe it will be a slow day...so here goes.

Had a District playoff game last night out of my association's normal assigning area.
In other words...I was in someone else's house.
3-whistle crew...I was U1...observing players during warm-ups. I noticed a player had his cloth headband around his neck. I walked over to the R, who BTW is a very good official from his association and has gone to state several times, and said, "Hey, Moses...what's your thoughts on this dude with the headband around his neck?"
He said, "No rule against it, he can wear it anywhere he wants." I said, "OK" and walked back to my spot.
(I didn't see the player wear the headband that way during the game...so it wasn't really an issue)

We will be working another district game tonight...in my neck of the woods.
I'm the R...headbands a pre-game topic? ;)

Man...pretty sad when all I can think of his headbands to talk about. :)

I re-read my post...just to clarify...I will be working with Moses (last night's R) tonight...we get along good from past tournaments...maybe I will have a little fun with him in the pre-game. ;)


[Edited by RookieDude on Feb 18th, 2005 at 09:59 AM]

I'd say, "Around here, it's interpreted that they're not legal, even in warm-ups."

Or is that too pissy of me?

I would approach the coach (or even the kid) and ask him if the kid plans to wear it appropriately during the game, and if so, then I wouldn't bother unless it isn't worn appropriately when he comes on the floor during the game. I had the same situation where girls were wearing prewrap around their neck, and told me they planned to wear them as headbands (to hold their hair in place). My partner and I agreed to let it go unless they stepped on the floor with it still around their necks.

Maybe. I'd just say, "Looks like a fuzzy necklace to me". Headbands are legal. Neckbands aren't.

Prewrap is not legal to wear, even during warm-ups.

It is under NCAAW rules...

I stand corrected for NCAAW rules.

Even around the hair? Well, maybe not, but it's pretty hard to tell the difference between pre-wrap and a bona fide narrow headband. I don't check.

Even around the hair.

The only exceptions to the "headwear" rule in FED rules are actual headbands that meet the written specifications of the exception and rubber/cloth(elastic) bands.

I don't think that it's a biggie, but until the NFHS lists prewrap under the exceptions......

I'm going to use something along the lines of what rainmaker and Chuck said...

"Around here it looks like a fuzzy necklace." yea, I like that.

I'll say it with a smile and go easy with the "pissy" attitude. ;)

May be legal, but dangerous...
 

The headband around the neck may technically be legal, but it's not safe. If someone grabbed that neck band, he could be choked, whiplashed, etc.

Why not use preventive officiating and tell him it has to be around his head or not at all during warm ups...that way you wont have to stop play during the game to tell him, and you will avoid any conflict.

That's how I'd do it anyways.

What is prewrap???

A musical style from the late 80's - after funk, but before P. Diddy.

:D

Good one!

If prewrap rolled is not considered permitted headgear, what can I allow for girls to keep their hair in place? I'm not the only one that allows it. Heck, some of the upper level varsity officials here allow it as well. I'd rather prewrap than a bandana or a sweatband worn around the back part of the head where it could be more dangerous than it's "normal" place.

By the way, for those who don't know what I'm talking about, it's that elastic thing that goes on before athletic tape.

The use of prewrap is illegal under FED rules. The use of bandanas is also illegal under FED rules. The only legal head coverings allowed are the ones detailed in R3-5-2EXCEPTION2.

What you allow is up to you. I'm just telling you what the rules allow.

Re: May be legal, but dangerous...
 

A headband worn around the neck is not technically legal.

Btw, welcome to the forum.

Maybe this has been addressed already, but at the risk of repetition, I proceed. Who and/or how is one to decide that something on a girls hair used to control it in some fashion fits or does not fit into the classification of a "hairband", "rubber band" etc. In other words when does it cease to be a type of "rubber band" and become a headband that would then fall under the purview of the official rules governing headbands.

Is the, in question, prewrap just a large "rubber band" and not a headband? Especially since most of the ones I have seen since our Assoc. started doing both girls and boys game this year, are very narrow in width and just didn't seem to me to qualify as a headband, but more as a large rubber band type of hair restraint.

Just to clarify - we are referring to the use of prewrap as a head covering? Using prewrap to tape up an injury or "reinforce" an ankle is legal, no?

David, pre-wrap is not a continuous, never-ending <b>band</b>. It has ends, same as a bandana. That's one of the reasons it's illegal under FED rules.

Of course. That's what the product was meant for.

JR,
you know those thicker "rubber bands" that they join with some sort of connecting type clasp? Those were not continuous until they were connected. I guess that's how I was considering the wrap. It was now joined to form a "band". But, I do see your point, esp. how it might compare to the bandana--other than it being much thinner in width and looking very much like a large rubber band.

I did about 30% of my games on the girl side this year and I believe in all of those, at least one girl (and in most games, multiple players)wore the--in question--prewrap, and not one of my partners or I even discussed the legallity of it. They played on. Something may have been decided at our assoc. level but I am not aware of it. I'll have to check on it.

David

I did about 30% of my games on the girl side this year and I believe in all of those, at least one girl (and in most games, multiple players)wore the--in question--prewrap, and not one of my partners or I even discussed the legallity of it. They played on. Something may have been decided at our assoc. level but I am not aware of it. I'll have to check on it.

[/B][/QUOTE]David,this is something that our association discussed at the start of the year. It makes it a lot easier on everybody involved if there is a uniform policy set up on things like this for all the officials to follow. It gets rid of the situation where a ballplayer is allowed to wear prewrap one week, and then told that it's illegal the next. Cuts down on a lot of arguing if everybody calls it the same way.

The easiest way is probably just to have your local rules interpreter check on it with the state office. A quick e-mail usually tells you what to do in your particular area.

David,this is something that our association discussed at the start of the year. It makes it a lot easier on everybody involved if there is a uniform policy set up on things like this for all the officials to follow. It gets rid of the situation where a ballplayer is allowed to wear prewrap one week, and then told that it's illegal the next. Cuts down on a lot of arguing if everybody calls it the same way.

The easiest way is probably just to have your local rules interpreter check on it with the state office. A quick e-mail usually tells you what to do in your particular area. [/B][/QUOTE]

JR,
Out of curiosity, did your assoc. policy meld with Federations? If not, what was the decision?




[Edited by davidw on Feb 18th, 2005 at 07:07 PM]

JR,
Out of curiosity, did your assoc. policy meld with Federations? If not, what was the decision?

[/B][/QUOTE]Yup, we asked for and got a FED ruling that prewrap was illegal under R3-5-2. We got it a coupla years ago the first time(we think) that a player tried to wear it in a game. The officials ruled it illegal, and then we later got confirmation of that ruling from our governing body.

I was doing a GJV game a couple weeks ago. A sub for A was coming into the game and I had a throw-in by the B bench. As she was coming onto the court, the B coach said, she's got an illegal anklet. I looked and saw the anklet on the sub. It was a really thin plastic thing that I could hardly see. I had her remove it and then we inbounded the ball. I was amazed that a coach would look for something like that. Makes me wonder about a guy who checks out girls' legs in the middle of a game. ;)