Obstruction question from the NFHS board

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by BlitzkriegBob

I believe it was Tom who mentioned that there was a spirited debate on the NFHS forum ....

No, it wasn't me who mentioned that thread here, but I did participate in the discussion on the NFHS board.

I was primarily responding to a member over there who was (as I understood his posts) saying that the slide itself in this picture is sufficient evidence of the runner being impeded, because you, as the umpire, cannot be sure that the runner did not slide merely because the defender's foot was (partially) blocking the base.

Here is an exerpt of my response to that notion:

In the picture, there is no obstruction evident from the still picture. Yes, the defender's foot is blocking part of the base, but what is the runner's path? From the position of the ball, she was sliding all the way, regardless of the defender's position. ... From this picture, all you can say is you will be looking for obstruction, but you would need the several frames ahead of this picture, and at least a frame or two after to make the call. In other words, see the complete play.