NFHS emphasis on elbow contact

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Contact above the shoulders. With a continued emphasis on reducing concussions and decreasing excessive contact situations the committee determined that more guidance is needed for penalizing contact above the shoulders.

a. A player shall not swing his/her arm(s) or elbow(s) even without contacting an opponent. Excessive swinging of the elbows occurs when arms and elbows are swung about while using the shoulders as pivots, and the speed of the extended arms and elbows is in excess of the rest of the body as it rotates on the hips or on the pivot foot. Currently it is a violation in Rule 9 Section 13 Article.

b. Examples of illegal contact above the shoulders and resulting penalties.
1. Contact with a stationary elbow may be incidental or a common foul.
2. An elbow in movement but not excessive should be an intentional foul.
3. A moving elbow that is excessive can be either an intentional foul or flagrant personal foul.

So, if a player grabs a rebound, holds the ball in front of him with elbows slightly out, and at shoulder level, and pivots, moving his elbows with a rotational motion no faster than his feet move on the pivot, in other words, the elbow movement is not considered excessive, and accidentally strikes a shorter nearby player in the head, in the rebounder's blind spot, behind him, and to the side, and the official decides that this is illegal contact, then, according to the NFHS, the minimum "level" foul that we can charge here is an intentional foul? Do I have this right? We can't charge a common foul here? Am I reading the point of emphasis correctly?