Way Too Many "Players" Warming Up

[BillyMac]

I got a question from a junior varsity official, that I can't answer definitively, so I decided to go to the Forum for help.

The offical steps onto the court and begins observing the junior varsity players warming up before the junior varsity game. He observes that there seems to be way too many players, from one team, warming up. As the referee, he goes to check the book before the ten minute mark, and sure enough, there are a lot more players warming up, than are in the book. He questions the junior varsity coach about this, who replies that the varsity players are also warming up with the junior varsity team, as they "always" do. The referee requests that the varsity players leave the court, after which the varsity coach interjects by saying that the varsity players "always" do this, but he pulls his varsity players off the court.

Other than NFHS 2-3 "The referee shall make decisions on any points not specifically covered in the rules", is there a rule that deals with situation, or is this a situation that doesn't need to be dealt with, in other words, ignore it? What about a liability issue if the official allows this and a varsity player gets injured during the junior varsity warmups? Does the defintion of a "player" impact this situation?