Is there a rule for mercy (Aka run away scoring) or is that set locally.

thanks.

RTD

FED: By state adoption (and the state can delegate it further)

Mercy rules are stupid. I was never a great player and one of the only times I got to play was when we had a big lead, it was my reward for hard work in practice why should some of my reward be taken away. Also Its high school these kids no if they have been blown away, even if their is a mercy rule, what good does that do. It doesnt allow the loosing team to get some back ups in or get some more experience for young guys.Mercy rules are one of the worst things in many sports

I agree that they are stupid in most cases, one of the reasons I asked was because I have seen a couple of bb mercy rule games and it doesn't seem fair for the reasons you state. In PA if you are up by 40 in the third or 30 in the fourth, it is considered to be a runaway, IIRC. The clock runs except in a time out or quarter change.

Just woundering in what cases would they be good

Wrong...in PA its 40 in the second half. There is no 30 point mercy rule.

GA adopted it this year. If 40 point lead at half, coaches have the option. If 30 point lead at 4th quarter, it is mandatory. We cut the time to 6:00 and play normally. Once the rule is invoked, you cannot rescend it.

I still don't see what they are trying to get accomplished with a mercy rule. All it does is move the game along. The loosing team knows they got blown out and they also know that they would have been blown out worse to. I'd rather play on normally and see if i can have little victories in the game ( clsoing the scoring gap, putting up alot of points ect.) If its a blow out and u cut it short u cut the chances of having these little victories

Are you sure?

GA Mercy Rule
 

It is true once the Mercy rule is in effect it can not be rescinded, however at half time, if there is a 40 point differential, the losing coach is the one that can request it. The winning coach has no standing in the decision.

In the league I coached in it was 40 and 30. I assumed that it was that way because of state rules.

Last year our state implemented the mercy rule for all games. It was considered a disaster by many. The rule in the state's opinion created inconsistent officiating and was demeaning to the players that were getting blown out. Coaches did not like it because there kids that needed playing time could not play. This year they are only using the mercy rule in tournaments before February 1 at the discretion of the tournament director.

I personally started off the season last year with about 5 mercy rule games. Even though they do move along the game, the rule created an atmosphere that was not helpful to the game. I personally do not think it is good for the game of basketball. Mercy rules in other sports are more to help much better teams not get hurt by either a more physical team or to save arms in baseball and softball. Basketball is a game where the clock runs and no one really is any more in jeopardy of being hurt if the game continues like a football game.

Peace

Re: GA Mercy Rule
 

I was actually asking as Mr. Grammar Guy, Jr.