Carmel's boys and girls basketball teams refused to play on a community court that Pacific Collegiate uses for its home games.
According to athletic director Golden Anderson, the floor is tile with pieces missing and was deemed unplayable.
Somehow the court has been used all season. But a coach for Pacific Grove told me it was a huge risk playing on it.
So how will these games be made up? And will Pacific Collegiate be allowed to have anymore home games without switching venues.
John Devine has been writing about high school sports in Monterey County since, well, practically since he was an athlete at King City in the days just after leather helmets. In PrepNation, John has even more in-depth analysis of the latest results and news he's brought to you in The Herald and in his weekly videos.
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2 comments:
Here are some additional questions:
1) Were the MTAL Athletic Directors provided with photographs or taken on a tour of the proposed PCS facility prior to PCS being admitted to the league?
2) Did League Commissioner McCarthy visit the site prior to PCS admittance to the MTAL?
3) Who is responsible for making the determination if a facility is safe to play in? The referees? The on-site administrator? The League Commissioner? Or is it ultimately the coach's responsibility? Is there legal precedent? What is the position of CCS, CIF, NFHS?
Well I answered some of my own questions.
According to the 2012-13 NFHS(National Federation of State High School Associations):
Rule 2: Section 2(Officals' Jurisdiction). Article 2:
"The official' jurisdiction, prior to the game, begins when they arrive on the floor. The officials' arrival on the floor shall be at least 15 minutes before the scheduled starting time of the game."
Rule 2: Section 2. Article 4
"The jurisdiction of the officials is terminated and the final score has been approved when all officials leave the visual confines of the playing area.
"NOTE: The officials retain clerical authority over the contest through the completion of any reports, including those imposing disqualifications, which are responsive to actions occurring while the officials had jurisdiction. State associations may intercede in the event of unusual incidents that occur before, during, or after the officials' jurisdiction has ended or in the event that a contest is terminated prior to the conclusion of regulation play."
Rule 2: Section 3(Referee's Authority):
THE REFEREE SHALL MAKE DECISIONS ON ANY POINTS NOT SPECIFICALLY COVERED IN THE RULES."
Rule 2: Section 4(Referee's Pregame DUTIES). Article 1:
THE REFEREE SHALL INSPECT AND APPROVE ALL EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING COURT, BASKETS, BALL, BACKBOARDS, AND SCORERS AND TIMERS SIGNALS"
Rule 1: Section 17("X" Locates Scorer):
" An 'X' 12 inches long and 2 inches wide shall be placed on the floor out of bounds directly in front of the official scorer to help substitutes with the proper location"
Rule 1: Section 2(Sidelines, End Lines). Article 1:
"The playing court shall be marked with sidelines, endlines and other lines as shown in Figure 1-1. THERE SHALL BE AT LEAST 3 FEET(and preferably 10 feet) of UNOBSTRUCTED SPACE OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES.
Article 2. "If, on an unofficial court, there is less than 3 FEET OF UNOBSTRUCTED SPACE OUTSIDE ANY SIDELINE OR END LINE, a narrow broken line shall be marked ON THE COURT PARALLEL WITH AND 3 FEET INSIDE THAT BOUNDARY. This restraining line becomes the boundary line during a throw-in on that side or end, as in Fig. 7-6. It continues to be the boundary until the ball crosses that line".
Table 1-1(Supplement to Basketball Court):
7. "The court shall be uniformly and adequately lighted".
CONCLUSIONS: The court does not meet the specifications required by the NFSH Rulebook and the officiating crew had the authority and responsibility to cancel the game. The coach, in refusing to play the game, was fulfilling his responsibilities of employment to ensure the safety of his players as a first priority.
By the way, I am one of the coaches who lacked the common sense and/or courage to refuse to subject my players to those unsafe conditions.
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