Pre-wrap and green, err, black
 

Last night I showed up for a varsity girls game. I noticed during the JV game that both teams had illegal colors of pre-wrap. I sighed. Personally, I'd rather ignore it, but I just can't.

So, when the teams came out, I decided to handle it early. I walked across and talked to the home coach and told him that red prewrap couldn't be worn with white uniforms. Of course I was the first official to enforce that this year. I told him I couldn't control others, but I am giving him plenty of time to fix it. I then went to the other coach and told her what I had been talking about with the other coach and told her to make sure all the kids were wearing black (which was the color of their uniforms, too).

In the end, the visiting team gave the coach a beige roll of prewrap and that's what the kids wore. BTW, it looked worse than the red.

Before the game, the coach said he understood it was the rule and the playoffs were coming so they had to be in compliance and better now than then. So why did it take until their 7th or so home game?

Then we went the whole game with me wanting to say green (the town/team had green in the name and the trim of the uniforms was green). I think I was the only one who was annoyed I kept saying green instead of black, but I just couldn't shake it, alternating between green and black all night.

I don't know the final, but it was 42-13 after 3 quarters and my biggest goal for the night was to get in a good run, and I did. 8 fouls in the first half, 19 in the second.

The headband rule is not liked by many. Honestly, I'm just as much to blame as the official that doesn't enforce it at all. All varsity contests I enforce it but non-varsity I slack some days. That is something I need to work on the final few weeks, I need to consistently enforce it.

-Josh

Thankfully, I haven't had much trouble with this since the first few weeks of the season. I think it's getting better. Yes?

The Head band rule for pre-wrap when used as a hair control devise.

I thought the Head Band rule only applied the bands the go completely around the head and a hair control devises did not fall under that rule.


From PIAA

PRE-WRAP AS A HAIR CONTROL DEVICE:

We have received many questions regarding the use of pro-wrap as a hair control device.

This type of material seems to be trendy, yet suitable for this type of use. However, they are some items to consider. If knots are tied in a series, or sequence, for decorative purposes, this type of hair control device is not legal. If the only knot used is to secure the pre-wrap to the head and is inconspicuous and/or located under the hair to cause no danger to the opponent, it is legal equipment.

The headband must be worn on the forehead and must be a maximum of 2 inches. If girls are wearing rubber bands to hold up their hair and they wear it across the forehead, it must meet the same requirements as a headband. It must be soft material, a single color, either white or the color of the torso of the jersey, unadorned except for a logo, manufacturer’s or school’s and up to a maximum of 2 inches. If it is multicolored, it cannot be on the forehead. It must be pushed back off the forehead to hold down the hair.

SITUATION #4: A player on Team B is wearing a multicolored rubber band or “scrunchie” to control her hair. She also has on a beige headband that goes around the entire head and meets all the requirements.

RULING: Legal. As long as other members of the team are wearing a beige headband if they are wearing one.

COMMENT: Hair control items may be multicolored. Beige is an acceptable color for the headband which goes around the entire head.

Many coaches will make the claim that you're the first to enforce it. I highly doubt that is the case though.

I always get looked at like I have three eyes when I enforce uniform rules, especially the headband rule. They all act like no one else has enforced it. Maybe they haven't, I don't know.

Does anyone else get looks of disbelief for certain rules being enforced? I gave a delay of game warning last Saturday in a BJV game for water on the court after a timeout. The coach kind of laughed like he thought I was joking. The table crew also looked at me like I was nuts. I didn't expect them to know the rule, but the coach is a different story.

Umm, they were using the prewrap as a headband. Not sure where you thought they weren't. Don't care what they use as mere hair control devices (or ponytails as we called them).

that's correct. So, if the player takes a small piece of pre-wrap and ties it around the pony tail (there's nothing "inside" the loop formed except hair), then it's a "hair control device" and can be any color.

Most of the time, though, the player takes a longer piece of prewrap and wraps it from the forehead, across the temples, under the pony tail to the nape of the neck (there is "skull" "inside" the loop). This is a headband and must meet the color requirements.

I also found it somewhat ironic that the red looked much nicer than the beige they switched to. I'm not a fashion consultant, though, just the fashion police.

Had the ol' pre-wrap issue tonight. Neither team had a legal color. Both teams said it was the first time....We told them rules are rules..."We don't have any other color.."

Both came back out of the lockerroom legal colors.

Even better: tonight I was working GJV. Had the home team earlier in the season, and when they came out wearing the pink pre-wrap, I told them it would have to come off. Well tonight, the visiting team comes out wearing pink pre-wrap, which NC just made legal due to the death of Kay Yow. Home coach asks me if I'm going to make them change. I say nope. Coach looks at me like I have five eyes, so I explain to him the change.

Anyways, I guess the fashion police laws are changing.

Home team colors are purple and gold but they are wearing white jerseys. This is JV so when I see purple prewrap, I mention it to the coach who then says, everyone else said it was alright since it's one of the school colors.

I notice the varsity team is the same. I say something to varsity guys during halftime. Yep, everyone else is saying it's alright if it's one of the team colors. I remind them the rule says "predominant color of jersey". They tell me I'm the only one to go letter of the rule.

OOOOKKKK.

Rita

Had this tonight. Home team had on their white jerseys but some had blue headbands on because one of their colors is blue. Sorry, had to come off.

Thanks for sharing, Rich. I had the same issue tonight. Girls in Black uniforms wearing grey/silver pre-wrap. We only have two weeks remaining in our regular season. Same thing from the coach about being the first official all year to say something about the color. :rolleyes:

Our association covered this in some detail, and strongly encouraged everyone to enforce it. I haven't heard "you're the first to enforce that" except once at a middle school game.

"Strongly encouraged" or "required?"

That pre-wrap is (I think) listed as "black" on the package, but looks grey when stretched.

It's allowed here (with any color jersey).

Yes, I had the same thing with the visiting team in the same game.

They said it was black in the package, but grey/silver when stretched. I allowed it and it wasn't a problem (as I anticipated it might be).

It's a terribly thought out rule. The beige looks terrible and home teams essentially have one less choice in color. The red prewrap looked fine, matching the red trim on the home uniforms, but again, I'm not a fashion consultant. :)

Someone else mentioned that on here a few weeks ago. It might have been mick. I had forgotten that point and it didn't occur to me on the floor.

I wish the rule would just say it has to be the same color for everyone on the team and it has to match any wristbands. That makes plenty of sense. I enforce the rule now as it is, but it's overkill.

I had the same thing in a girls reserve or JV game, back in the first week or so of the season. Thought it was grey, but the coach said it was black, and pulled a roll out of the bag, and demonstrated to me. About a week later, had it in a varsity game, and one of my partners was going to have the whole team change, and I told him don't bother because it's black stretched out. He looked at me like I was looney, so I took a piece of the prewrap and showed him.

Well I had an eye rolling experience with my partner last night, she was the referee so all I could do is roll my eyes.

Home team has orange pre-wrap in the hair, I make mention of it to her, as we meet with captains she brings up the color, and say since white is not a color and that because they have orange trim he will let them use the orange head bands as it....

I roll my eyes...
We did work well on the game...

Medical Alert Bracelet ???
 

NFHS 3-5-7: Jewelry is prohibited. Religious and medical-alert medals are not
considered jewelry. A religious medal must be taped and worn under the uniform. A medical-alert medal must be taped and may be visible.

Home team is wearing white jerseys. During the third period, I notice that a home team player is wearing a red wristband. During a dead ball, clock stopped situation, I tell him that he can't play with the red wristband on. He tells me it's a special wristband to cover his medical alert bracelet, and sure enough, he shows me his bracelet, and he shows me the red wristband with a white medical alert logo on it. Using intent and purpose, I decided that if it was taped, as stated by rule, the tape could have been any color, and since this was obviously a special medical alert bracelet wristband, I let him continue to play. Has anyone else seen these special red medical alert bracelet wristbands, which, by the way, I think are a good idea and should be allowed by the NFHS? Anybody have a problem with me allowing the young man to continue to play with this illegal equipment?

Man, I hate being the Fashion Police. It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

BillyMac,

That is a tough SIT, Common sense says you did the right thing, but PURE rule being a Fashion 5-0 is tough

I would consider the entire thing his medical alert bracelet.

It's okay.

Don't forget added colors, NFHS
 

2008-09 High School Basketball Rules Changes
3.5.3
Any item that goes around the entire head (elastic strips/bands, pre-wrap, headbands, etc.) shall
meet the rule requirements regarding color, maximum size, logo restrictions and team
uniformity. Black and beige have also been added to the colors a team is permitted to wear.

BillyMac,
I think you "done good", here.
Per 3-5-2c and d.
c. Knee and ankle braces are permitted but all exposed hinges must be
covered. Most over-sleeves recommended by manufacturers are
acceptable. These braces may be padded or unpadded.
d. Must be worn for medical reasons.

Per 3-5-7.
ART. 7 . . . Jewelry is prohibited. Religious and medical-alert medals are not
considered jewelry. A religious medal must be taped and worn under the uniform. A medical-alert medal must be taped and may be visible.

I would use 3-5-2c indicating that a manufacturers "over-sleeve" (in this case a red sweatband) recommended by the manufacturer (it had the medical alert logo on it) are acceptable. Further, since a medical alert bracelet must be taped, I would say that the red sweatband is now making it visible.

Having the rule behind me makes me feel better about allowing it. The common sense side of me would have allowed it regardless if I could support it by rule. After all, red is a fairly well recognized medical color.

Who's forgetting? A home team is not allowed to wear red.

RichMSN,
For God's sake, it is part of a Medical Bracelet. I am not forgetting anything. You would prefer to have a piece of medal barely covered by by tape (we aren't allowed to do that with ANY other jewelry) as opposed to being completely covered by a sweatband that is red to serve as a reminder to YOU that there is a medical bracelet under THAT sweatband. Come on, really.....

The problem is when you enforce it and then you watch other games where its not enforced. I'm watching the championship game of a big tournament right now and the green jersey team is wearing yellow headbands.

Now I know why I get the rolling of the eyes when I enforce it.

I Hate Being An Overly Officious Member Of The Fashion Police ...
 

I was asked to fill in for a prep school freshman game yesterday. In the middle of the third period, I spotted a young man playing with a white jersey wearing a white undershirt with about a quarter-inch of light blue piping on the end of the short sleeves. I took him over to his head coach and told him that when I officiated his team the next time he better not have this illegal undershirt on or he wouldn't be allowed to play. Why did I allow him to continue playing with the illegal undershirt? Didn't spot it in warmups, they wanted to play as soon as we walked onto the court, and he didn't play in the first half, so it was too late, for me, at least, in the game. Freshman level game. Didn't want to appear overly officious. A few years ago I would have definitely not allowed him to play before he removed the undershirt at the bench, but now he would have to make the trek all the way to the locker room, maybe by himself, due to the recent removing jersey technical foul rule. I came up with lots of excuses not to penalize him.

As I was driving home I replayed the game in my head, as I usually do, and I thought to myself, I should have not allowed him to play with the illegal undershirt. It's almost February, he should be aware of the rule by now, and it shouldn't have mattered that he was only fourteen years old, and it was only a freshman level game. And then I started thinking about all my colleagues who may have allowed him to play for the past two and a half months, and started thinking about blaming them, when it dawned on me, if I'm not part of the solution, I'm part of the problem. No one is to blame except me.

If everyone of us, and I mean every single one of us, at all levels, had RichMSN's attitude (Personally, I'd rather ignore it, but I just can't), back in December, we wouldn't be having this discussion today.

careful...
 

... that 'grey' pre-wrap may actually be black when its on the roll. In the process of getting stretched it 'greys up'.

whoops...
 

...missed this.:eek:

i'm a hard arse.
 

Had this a couple of weeks ago. Coach is emptying the bench near end of game and out comes kid with illegal undershirt. I want to get the kid his playing time, but I walked him back -- and told him the shirt had to come off -- and to not take his jersey off while doing it. Kid did a quick 'deck change' and we got him in at the next stoppage.

Only My Hairdresser Knows For Sure ...
 

So that's why my hair is turning gray. I guess that I'll have to stop stretching my hair.

Fashion Police SWAT: RichMSN, and referee99 ...
 

If more officials, myself included, handled this rule like RichMSN, and referee99, we wouldn't be discussing this on the Forum.

Perfect.
 

Sounds like something EMTs would know all about. If, just if, that kid goes down relating to whatever medical condition he had, or down from whatever reason and EMTs are on scene and aren't aware of that taped medal (covered by a legal wristband) which would give them vital info it would not be good. I think you absolutely did the correct thing.

I would inform partner and both coaches that you have deemed, as bJenks suggests, that they wristband is part of the medal and is legal in this sitch.

Had a V girls game at a large school a couple of weeks ago. Home team is wearing white trimmed in orange and black. Every girl on the team has orange prewrap around their heads. It actually looked really nice.
The R went to the coach and told her the orange was illegal. She said it had been permitted all year... matched the uniform colors... blah, blah.
When we started the game, the coach, players, and home crowd were all mad.

Had the same team on the road yesterday. They were wearing orange (trimmed in white & black), and every player had beige prewrap. During pregame conference, the coach made sure she pointed this out to me. I told her, "Coach, orange would've been legal tonight."
By the look on her face, she still doesn't understand the rule!

Early in the season I adopted the approach of finding one of the girls on the offending team, and making her the 'expert' on the team by explaining the rule in all its variations.

Just like in rec ball when a parent volunteer steps to the table to do the clock, but doesn't know how to operate it I always say, "find a teenager or younger... they'll figure it out for you."