Kentucky High School Athletic Association

Lane Players Can Release When Free Throw is Attempted in High School Basketball

Players in marked lane spaces will be able to move into the lane when the ball is released by the free-throw shooter beginning with the 2014-15 high school basketball season. Previously, players could not release until the ball touched the ring or backboard or until the free throw ended.

This change in Rule 9-1-4 was one of four major rules changes recommended by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Basketball Rules Committee at its April 14-16 meeting in Indianapolis. All recommendations were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

The committee noted that the current rule of players in marked lane spaces not releasing until the ball touches the ring or backboard creates two obstacles for officials: 1) attempting to […]

05/21/14 – Officials Licensing for 2014-2015

This is being sent to all previously licensed KHSAA officials:

Registration for all officials is now available by clicking the “Officials Login” button at the top of the main KHSAA website, http://www.khsaa.org/. The total registration fee for officials is unchanged from the rates for 2013-2014.

The initial registration deadline for the 2014-2015 school year (July 1 to June 30) is midnight on June 30. After June 30th, a $25 late fee will be assessed until August 14th. Beginning August 15th, a $50 late fee will be accessed AND officials who miss the initial deadline to register will be prohibited from participating in the postseason in those levels of sports or sport-activities where late licensing officials are specifically prohibited from assignment.

If you choose to mail the information form and include a check to the KHSAA there will again be an additional $10 charge.

To register, choose the Officials Login button at the top right […]

05/23/14 – Volleyball Officials Camp Registration Now Open

Registration for the 2014 KHSAA Volleyball Officials Camps is now open. There will be two camps this year. This camp must be attended once every four years to be eligible for assignment to officiate region or state tournaments beginning in 2014.

July 11-12 – Bowling Green – WKU E.A. Diddle Arena
August 1-2 – Lexington – KHSAA Office w/ Bluegrass State Games

Tentative Agenda – Both Sites/Local Time
Friday’s Schedule
6:00-6:15 p.m. – Registration
6:15-7:00 p.m. – Game/Match Management
7:05-7:50 p.m. – Professionalism in Officiating
(Being a good partner/communicating attributes)
7:50-8:00 p.m. – Break
8:00-8:45 p.m. – Proper Mechanics and Rule Applications
8:50-9:35 p.m. – Advanced Officiating

Saturday’s Schedule
8 a.m. until ?? – Officials on-court evaluations. Officials will work two matches (R1/R2) and be evaluated. There is no guarantee of when you will be […]

05/22/14 – 2014 NFHS Kickoff Coverage

Football Blog Updates

2014 Five Person Free Kick Coverage

Five-Game Official Positions for Kickoff

I. KICKOFF

II. REFEREE

A. Before kick:

1. Position: R’s goal yard line on the head linesman’s side just outside hash marks.

2. Count R players.

3. Check positions of other game officials.

4. After ready signs have been received from other game officials, declare the ball ready for play and sound whistle and verify that at least four K players must be on each side of the kicker until the ball is kicked.

5. If short free kick is anticipated:

a. Take position near R’s 10-yard line.

b. Be alert to assist other game officials.

B. After kick:

1. Kick down the middle:

a. Signal clock to start (S #2) when kick is touched other than first touching by K.

b. Pick up runner and […]

05/07/14 – Soccer Referee’s Advanced Camp

Please take time to mark your calendars for this year’s Referee’s camp! The dates and site for the 2014 KHSAA Soccer Officials Camp have been set. The Advanced Camp for Soccer referees will again be held in conjunction with the Bluegrass State Games. This camp must be attended once every four years to be eligible for assignment to officiate in region or state tournaments. Details and registration information are being finalized, however we wanted to go ahead and alert you of the dates and site.

Camp Dates/Site: July 25-26, 2014 – KHSAA Offices in Lexington, Bluegrass State Games sites in Lexington and Versailles.

– KHSAA –

The KHSAA staff routinely publishes blog posts to better communicate with its various constituencies and the public. For a list of those blogs, go to http://khsaa.org/news-stats-pubs/sports-blogs/

05/07/14 – Volleyball Officials Camp Dates Set

The dates and sites for the 2014 KHSAA Volleyball Officials Camps have been set. This camp must be attended once every four years to be eligible for assignment to officiate in region or state tournaments beginning in 2014. There are two camps scheduled this year. Details and registration information are being finalized, however we wanted to go ahead and alert you of the dates and sites.

Camp Dates/Sites
July 11-12 – Bowling Green, WKU E.A. Diddle Arena (w/ WKU Team Camp)
Aug. 1-2 – Lexington, KHSAA Office & Kentucky Basketball Academy (w/ Bluegrass State Games)

Tentative Agenda
Friday – 6 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Classroom Topics and Review
Saturday – 8 a.m. until TBD – On-court evaluation – two matches (schedules will be passed out Friday night – no guarantee of scheduled evaluation time).

Camp Fees
$60 Advanced Registration (until June 26 for Bowling Green/July 17 for Lexington)
$85 Late Registration (until July 8 for Bowling Green/July […]

04/28/14 – Arbiter Reports Emailing Issue with Assigners who use Yahoo or AOL

http://postmaster-blog.aol.com/2014/04/22/aol-mail-updates-dmarc-policy-to-reject/

Officials and Assigners: The KHSAA received this email from Arbiter. We wanted to make sure that you are aware of the situation.

EMAIL:

We are currently experience higher rates of email delivery failure for assigners using Yahoo or AOL email addresses due to recent policy changes that these two providers have implemented. The policy they have adopted is called DMARC Rejection. Basically, they are no longer letting non-Yahoo or non-AOL servers, send in their clients’ behalves. Unfortunately, this includes our servers and any other website that was sending in behalf of AOL and Yahoo clients. Yahoo began this policy on April 11thand AOL on April 22nd. It is our belief that many others may follow suit. Here are a couple of articles on the policy changes:

http://www.spamresource.com/2014/04/up-in-arms-about-yahoos-dmarc-policy.html

We are working on solutions. The most likely solution is that we will need to have the sender on all emails be More

04/18/14 – Deadline for Free Baseball Clinic Tonight

This is a reminder for Athletic Directors, all baseball coaches and baseball umpires that the deadline to complete the 2014 KHSAA/NFHS online Rules Clinic at no cost is midnight tonight. If you have already completed the clinic, please disregard this reminder.

Below is the information on the clinic that we published in February to assist you in tracking and the remaining schedule.

Athletic Directors – see the information below to assist you in checking on your coaches to make sure they have met the requirement. As a reminder, all coaches (head and assistant) are required to complete the clinic.

The window for the free online clinic is Feb. 3 – April 18.

Rules Clinics

2/1 to 4/18, for 2014, the Baseball Clinic will be online only and may be viewed by coaches and officials at no charge during this period.

4/19 to 5/10 for 2014, the Baseball Clinic will be online only and may be […]

04/10/14 – KHSAA Announces Official of the Year Nominees For 2013-14

2013-2014 News Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 10, 2014

On May 4, the KHSAA will honor the top officials for 2014 at the Association’s 21st Annual Officials Recognition Banquet. The ceremony, conducted at the KHSAA Offices, honors the finalists for each sport in which the KHSAA licenses officials.

Finalists in each sport were selected through a combination of their service to their association and excellence in officiating. One official in each sport will be named “Outstanding Official of the Year” for his/her sport in appreciation for their dedication and service to schools and student-athletes across the state

Outstanding Official Nominees

BASEBALL – Harvey Baxter (Richmond), Jimmy Guerra (Fort Thomas), Chad Hasch (Shepherdsville)

BASKETBALL – Rick Browning (Louisville), Michael Pangallo (Alexandria), David Smithmier (Paducah), Jason Wilkins (Central City)

CHEER – Suzy Edmister (Richmond), Kris Alderman (Morehead)

FOOTBALL – Steve Coleman […]

03/28/14 – Football 8th Region Official Association Interest

Football Blog Updates

TO ALL KHSAA FOOTBALL OFFICIALS –

The 8th Region policy board and a group of regional officials are in the early stages of the possible formation of an 8th Region Football Officials Association, and have communicate such interest to the KHSAA. Interested officials should email your contact information (name, phone, email address) to eighthregion@gmail.com. Submitting this information is not a commitment to join that association nor is it a decision to leave another association, but will gauge interest in creating this association before investing resources. Gathering numbers and contact information of interested officials will give us a better understanding of the viability of such an association.

If formed, the 8th Region Football Officials Association could possibly provide officials for the 8th Region schools listed below that have a football program, at one or more levels. As with all other associations, there would be no mandate for a school in the region to use a […]

03/25/14 – Baseball, Softball, and Track and Field Part 2 exam available

The Baseball, Softball, and Track and Field part 2 exams are available. They were opened yesterday and will remain open until Sunday, April 6th at midnight eastern standard time. It will not be possible to take the exam after the deadline. It is highly recommended that all registered officials take the part 2 exam, which is one of the requirements to be eligible to officiate in any postseason contest. The part 2 exam also allows for officials to obtain a level 2 or level 3 rating with the KHSAA (for details see the KHSAA Officials Guidebook page 8 – khsaa.org/Publications/officialsguidebook/20132014/officialsguidebook.pdf). Please remember that you must login to the officials page of the KHSAA website. If you cannot remember your password, please choose the reset your password (in blue). Good luck on the test and this season!

02/24/14 – Asst. Commissioner’s Comments on Cordia-Perry County Central Incident

2013-2014 News Releases

“On Friday, Feb. 21 an unsporting act took place in a boys’ basketball game between Cordia and Perry County Central. The officials assigned to the game ejected one student-athlete from Cordia who was directly involved in the incident and two student-athletes from Perry County Central for leaving the bench area. While video of the incident is available online, KHSAA Board of Control Policies state that the KHSAA staff is limited in the manner in which the video is used during the disciplinary process, unless the contest officials make a request for review of the specific incident. In this instance, the contest officials made no such request and therefore the KHSAA is not permitted to act upon video evidence, and must abide by the minimum required penalty of a two-game suspension for the Cordia player and a one-game suspension for each player from Perry County Central. Administration from Cordia has reported to the KHSAA […]

02/21/14 – KHSAA Officials Division-Local Associations Give Back

2013-2014 News Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FEBRUARY 21, 2014

Recently, the KHSAA received a notice and some newspaper clippings about a donation the Fifth Region Officials Association made to the Nelson County schools Youth Services Center. Upon receiving the note, the KHSAA contacted the regional officials associations across the state to find out more about the various ways organizations are giving back to their communities. The overwhelming responses received by the KHSAA are detailed below, but this list is in no way a comprehensive account.

1st Region Baseball – Last season, a small boy was killed in a bus wreck in Carlisle County, and the officials of the Western Kentucky Baseball Association each contributed one game fee ($50) to the family at the regional tournament. This year, the association is starting a Joey Fosko Memorial Scholarship to be given every year to a Region 1 baseball player.

12/04/13 – Scorer’s Table Reference Available

khsaa.org/basketball/basketballtimerandscorersinstructions.pdf

Our hope is that your basketball season is off to a good start. We have updated and added a resource for Athletic Directors and Coaches on the general information tab of the basketball page to help with clock keeper guidelines and the nearly new point differential rule. Please take the time to print this document and place it on the scorer’s table to be utilized by your scorer’s table crew.

– KHSAA –

The KHSAA staff routinely publishes blog posts to better communicate with its various constituencies and the public. For a list of those blogs, go to http://khsaa.org/news-stats-pubs/sports-blogs/

12/02/13 – Basketball Part 2 Exam Available

The Basketball part 2 exam is available beginning today until Sunday, December 15th at midnight eastern standard time. There will be no way for anyone to take the test after the deadline. It is highly recommended that all registered officials take the part 2 exam, which is one of the requirements to be able to officiate in any postseason contest. The part 2 also allows for officials to obtain a level 2 or level 3 rating with the KHSAA (for details see the KHSAA Officials Guidebook page 8 – khsaa.org/Publications/officialsguidebook/20132014/officialsguidebook.pdf).

Please remember that you must login to the officials page of the KHSAA website. If you cannot remember your password, please choose the reset your password (in blue).

Good luck on the test and this season!

05/20/13 Officials Registration is Open for 2013-2014 School Year

Registration for all officials is now available at http://khsaa.org/. Please note that there has been an increase in the administrative fee due to increased cost in criminal records checks. The total registration fee for officials in their first sport will be $65.00 ($40 administrative fee and $25 per sport) for the 2013-2014 school year. The fee for each additional sport will be $25. For example to register in two sports the fee will be $90. The fee for college students remains at $30.00 for one sport.

The deadline to be considered ontime for the 2013-2014 season will be midnight on June 30. After June 30 a $25 late fee will be assessed and this will prohibit your participation in post season assignments. If you choose to send in the information and send a check to the KHSAA there will be […]

05/14/13 – Basketball Officials Camp Requirement Postponed

Beginning in 2014, the KHSAA will re-institute a requirement for officials to attend an instructional camp once every four years in order to officiate various levels of postseason play, with a four-year phase-in period. Though we had talked about the requirement beginning in 2013, we are going to postpone the start until 2014. The decision was made with several reasons in mind. With the forming of new officials advisory committee, a directive that came from the KHSAA Strategic Plan adopted this spring, the KHSAA staff realized the it was premature to approve something for this summer without an active review by this group to help standardize officials camps across the sports, and to allow for time to develop training methods and materials.
We want to make it clear that we encourage officials to find, and go to, […]

05/09/13 – NFHS Basketball Rules Changes for 2013-2014

Head coaches in high school basketball will be allowed to come onto the court in an effort to break up a fight or keep a situation from escalating. Previously, the head coach could only enter the court if beckoned by an official.

This revision to Rule 10-4-5 was one of five rules changes approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Basketball Rules Committee at its April 15-17 meeting in Indianapolis. All rules changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

While the head coach and his/her assistants must continue to ensure that players remain on the bench during a fight, the committee agreed that the presence of the head coach on the court could be instrumental in preventing the situation from escalating, and the coach also could assist game officials in controlling the situation.

In other changes, the rules committee approved the use of electronic devices during the game […]

03/25/13 – Clarification on Cold Weather Participation

The office has received several calls from people asking about a “Cold Weather Index” to parallel the existing Heat Index rules and regulations. At the present time, such an index does not exist in terms of a policy to eliminate participation at certain temperature combinations. However, the NFHS Sports Medicine Committee, as part of its 4th edition Sports Medicine Handbook provided to the member schools, has set up best practices documentation and suggestions to dealing with extreme cold. The recommendations are posted on the KHSAA web site at /sportsmedicine/nfhs/coldweatherrecommendations.pdf Please feel free to use this valuable resource document. If you need additional copies of the Sports Medicine Handbook, contact Marilyn Mitchell (mmitchell@khsaa.org) at the KHSAA offices.

03/18/13 – Part II Exam for Spring Officials is Now Open

Officials-Subdomain Updates

For all baseball, softball, and track and field officials, the Part 2 Exam is now available online through midnight Eastern Time on Sunday, March 31.

Login to http://officials.khsaa.org/authorize/ to take the test. A minimum score of 80 on the exam is required to be assigned to officiate postseason play. If you have forgotten your password, click on the blue “click here” in the first line on the login page. This will take you through the steps to reset your password.

Good Luck!

03/18/13 – NFHS Baseball Part 2 Test Now Online

Baseball Blog Updates

This is a reminder to all umpires that the NFHS Part 2 Exam is now open and available online. A reminder, you must score at least 80 on the Part 2 Exam to be eligible for the postseason. The window to take the test will close at midnight on Sunday, March 31, so make plans prior to that time to complete the exam. Log on to the KHSAA website through the officials division to take the test.

02/01/13 Online Rules Clinics Now Available for Track, Baseball, and Softball

The window for the free online clinic ends Feb. 28

Rules Clinics

2/1 to 2/28, for 2013, the Clinic will be online only and may be viewed by coaches and officials at no charge during this period.

3/1 to 3/31 for 2013, the Clinic will be online only and may be viewed by coaches and officials for the makeup fee ($100) during this period.

4/1 to 4/30 for 2013, the Clinic will be online only and may be viewed by coaches and officials for the makeup fee ($300) per the Bylaw 33 schedule during this period. After this time, postseason penalties per Bylaw 33 will apply.

The presentation can be viewed from any computer, and is a web-based flash video product where you can view through any web browser. Once you advanced to the last slide of the presentation, correspondence is automatically generated to the KHSAA so that you […]

01/30/13 Exos Braces Worn on The Forearm or Wrist Ruled are Illegal for Basketball

Our office has been contacted several time regarding the Exos Brace being worn on the forearm or wrist. NFHS Basketball Rule 3-5 article 2a states: A guard, cast or brace made of hard or unyielding substance, such as, but not limited to, leather, plaster, plastic, or metal shall not be worn on the elbow, hand, finger/thumb, wrist or forearm; even though covered in soft padding. Because the dial is plastic this brace cannot be worn during competition. We were able to confirm this ruling in a phone conversation today with the NFHS office.

12/21/12 – Originially posted 10/25/12 – BK Official Scorekeeper Shirts and Running Clock Clarification

http://khsaa.org/httpdocs/baseball/umpirescamp.pdf

We have received many calls asking about the official scorekeeper shirt. The new rule reads that the official scorekeeper must wear a black and white garment to identify themselves at the table for players and officials benefit. The KHSAA supports the rules of the NFHS and ask that schools make every effort to comply.

This garment may be a black and white sweater, t-shirt, etc. We recommend an officials shirt as it is the most easily identifiable. This also allows for an added element of professionalism to your table crew. It will also be very helpful for players as they report in and for officials as they report to the table. There will be no penalty for the lack of compliance at this time, but officials may report the non compliance to their assigners.

Running Clock questions have also risen. To clarify, once the running clock has started it will continue until the games end. We also […]

12/11/12 – Baseball Umpire Camp Information

Baseball Blog Updates

Registration information for the 2013 KHSAA Baseball Umpire Camp has been posted on the KHSAA website. Go to this link for more information.

12/07/12 Part 2 Testing Ends Sunday

The Part 2 testing period will end this Sunday, December 9 at midnight eastern time. There will be no make up period for any reason. If you have not logged in to begin the test we suggest you do that today during business hours. Our office will be open until 4:30 p.m. EST to be able to answer your questions or help you with any issues you may be having.

We hope that your season are off to a good start.

Happy Holidays!

11/26/12 – Basketball and Wrestling Officials Part 2 Test Now Available

The Part 2 Exam is now available online through midnight Eastern Time on Sunday, December 9. Login to http://officials.khsaa.org/authorize/ to take the test. A minimum score of 80 on the exam is required to be assigned to officiate postseason play. If you have forgotten your password, click on the blue “click here” in the first line on the login page. This will take you through the steps to reset your password. Good luck!

09/07/12 – Reminder about Weather Interrupted Football Games

Based on the number of inquiries in the last few hours, it seems prudent to remind schools and officials about the required procedures involving interrupted football games.

Basically, there is no such thing as a no contest. Regardless of how long or short games go due to inclement weather, it cannot be treated as though it never happened. Once it starts, it starts.
Two valuable resources are laid out in the KHSAA policies. First, if you look at the Officials Guidebook, it clearly talks about the officials authority NOT being absolute on whether or not we resume. It says:

SEVERE WEATHER / HEAT ILLNESS POLICY FOR ACTIONS BY OFFICIALS AT OUTDOOR SPORTS
The Referee (Lead Official / Crew Chief) shall stop play in a contest or scrimmage at the first sound of lightning or thunder at the site. The playing site shall be cleared immediately of all persons. The contest or scrimmage may be resumed […]

06/21/12 Registration Deadline and Uniform Update

We wanted to remind you all that the deadline to register “on time” is midnight on June 30, 2012.

If you do not meet the “on time” registration deadline it means a couple of things:
1) you will be charges a $25 late fee to register after June 30
2) you will not be eligible for post season assignments

Uniform transition period has been extended:

Due to issues we had with the transition of our licensing policy, we decided to move our implementation of the uniform requirements back a year.
The following uniform and embroidery requirements are now accurate:

1) Embroidered logo is required for state championship officials in fall of 2012-2013, but optional at all other levels.

2) Embroidered logo is required for all postseason competition in 2013-2014, but optional during the regular season.

3) More

06/11/12 Officials Welcome