INDIANAPOLIS, IN (February 9, 2012) - High school football players will
be required to sit out one play if their helmet comes off during play
unless the reason is directly attributable to a foul by an opposing
player under a new NFHS rule for 2012.
The addition to Rule 3-5-10 was one of eight rules changes approved by
the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
Football Rules Committee at its January 20-22 meeting in Indianapolis.
All rules changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of
Directors.
"The committee made this rules change after reviewing data from multiple
states regarding the frequency of helmets coming off during live-ball
play," said Julian Tackett, chair of the Football Rules Committee and
commissioner of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association. "It is
the committee's hope that this serves notice for schools to
properly fit
players with helmets to reduce the incidence of these situations and
remind the players not to take steps that alter the fit." *
In a
press release
on the new rule, Xenith, manufacturer of the X2 football helmet,
expressed "support and gratitude" to the NFHS for the rule change,
noting in its statement that its Fit Seeker® technology utilized in its
helmets adapts to the head creating, it says, an instant custom fit
which keeps the helmet secure during impact, thus reducing the
likelihood of the helmet coming off.
For its part, another football helmet manufacturer, Shutt, said, via a
response by an employee to a blog post about the new NFHS rule, that it
constantly stressed that the most important factor in extracting the
best performance from a helmet is to have it properly fitted.
Other rule changes
- Legal catch: Another significant change next season will be a
new interpretation of a legal catch. A receiver now will be required to
establish possession of the ball and contact the ground inbounds while
maintaining possession - regardless of the opponent's action. "In
previous years, the covering official could have ruled that an airborne
player attempting to catch the ball would have come down inbounds, but
was prevented from doing so because of contact by the opponent," said
Bob Colgate, NFHS director of sports and sports medicine and liaison to
the Football Rules Committee. "Now, the player must establish possession
and contact the ground inbounds for a legal catch."
- More corporate advertising allowed: The Football Rules
Committee also cleared the way for state associations and their member
schools to place corporate advertising and/or commercial markings on the
field of play. These types of markings previously were only allowed in
the end zones and outside the field. Rule 1-2-3l will now state that,
while corporate advertising and/or commercial markings will be allowed,
the markings may not obstruct the yard lines, hash marks or nine-yard
marks.
- Blocking below the waist. A risk-minimization change was
made to Rule 2-3-7 that changes an interpretation for blocking below the
waist. "The previous interpretation was that it was not a foul for a
player to block below the waist if the hand(s) of the opponent was first
contacted below the waist," Colgate said. "This revision changes that
interpretation and stipulates that such action is a foul."
- Kick-offs. After experimentation in Minnesota and Iowa, the
committee also revised Rule 9-3-8 to prohibit members of the kicking
team from initiating contact (blocking) against members of the receiving
team until the ball has broken the plane of the receiving team's
restraining line, or until the kicking team is eligible to recover the
free kick.
- Play cards: The list of illegal equipment has been expanded to include play cards that are not worn on the wrist or arm (Rule 1-5-3c(8));
- Grabbing a player's mouth guard as well as the face mask will now be a foul (Rule 9-4-3h);
- Horse-collar rule clarified: Rule 9-4-3k has been clarified
to provide guidance to game officials by adding the direction in which
the opponent was pulled during a horse-collar; and
- Glove rule postponed: The effective date of the NFHS's new
glove rule was extended from 2012 to 2013. During the 2012 season, both
gloves meeting the current standard and gloves meeting the new standard
will be legal for play.
Game is in "great shape"
"The game of football at the high school level is in great shape, and
the committee continues to review all available data to minimize the
risk to participants," Tackett said. "A hallmark to the NFHS playing
rules is the constant emphasis on risk minimization, as well as historic
tenets regarding the balance between offense and defense and making the
rules appropriate for the levels of the coaches, players and
officials."
Football is the No. 1 participatory sport for boys at the high school
level with 1,134,377 participants in the 2010-11 school year, according
to the High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the NFHS
through its member state associations. In addition, the survey indicated
there were 1,561 girls who played football in 2010-11.
* Announcement of the rule came just days before a
study,
presented to the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
meeting in San Francisco, found that making sure that football helmets
fit properly, and that those with air bladder linings are properly
inflated, may be two of the simplest but most effective ways to minimize
the risk of concussion and catastrophic brain injury in the sport.
Source: National Federation of State High School Associations
Updated February 23, 2012
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