Athletic Director Report
“OHSAA General Sport Regulations - 101”
The Ohio High School Athletic Association
Volume 1
Issue 2
August 31, 2015
The “General Sports Regulations”. Rules that govern nearly all of the “day to day” issues coaches and Athletic Directors deal with. Some of these are
‘common sense’ but others are a bit more complicated. I am going to highlight 1 or 2 of these Regulations in the coming weeks. General Sports Regulation
1 is highlighted here.
Jerry Snodgrass
Link to Member School the OHSAA General Sports Regulations:
http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/rglts/GeneralSportsRegulations.pdf
For those that were Athletic Administrators LAST year, you may have
become familiar with many of the OHSAA’s General Sports Regulations.
And, any changes in these are shaded in the OHSAA Handbook (to the
left) But….you can read a separate document that highlights JUST THE
CHANGES in this document:
http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/201516GeneralSportRegulationChanges.pdf
Know Your General Sports Regulations
General Sports Regulation 1 – “Official Contest Rules”
General Sports Regulation 1 defines what “Playing Rules” games
must follow. One of the main functions of the NFHS (National Federation of State
High School Associations) is to write playing rules through a process that utilizes
Representatives from all member states and the District of Columbia. This
regulation requires all sponsored sports to follow NFHS Playing Rules except in
the sports of Golf (USGA), Tennis (USTA), Bowling and Gymnastics (USA
Gymnastics). These rules are all written in the traditional “rule books” you see
below.
Assistant Commissioner
@Jerry_Snodgrass
What ARE The “General Sports
Regulations”?
People often wonder how these “General” Sports
regulations get passed. How did the”10 day rule” in
the summer get approved? How did “Dead Periods”
get approved? Why is there a limit on the number of
players on a basketball team from the same school in
the off-season?
These are a result of recommendations to the elected
Board of Director representatives. The OHSAA’s
Constitution assigns the Board of Directors to approve
the General Sports Regulations while BYLAWS are
approved by member schools who vote on them each
and every May (called “referendum items”….more on
that later!).
Junior High Rules……
Nearly every Sport Regulation and Bylaw
applies to the Junior High level as well as high
school. One exception – the TRANSFER
BYLAW- it does NOT apply at the Junior High.
So…What about SPECIFIC Sport Regulations?
When is the first Basketball Practice? How many quarters can a player play per night/per year? These are examples of
SPECIFIC SPORT REGULATIONS – probably the more ‘day to day’ issues coaches deal with and probably care about
more. Each of these are within the specific sections of the OHSAA Handbook. It is vitally important these are
communicated to coaches and we rely on required Rules Interpretation Meetings and Pre-Season Coaches’ Manuals to
educate coaches on these regulations specific to their sport. These manuals can be found at:
Volleyball: http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/vb/girls/vbmanual.pdf
Boys’/Girls’ Soccer: http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/so/SOCoachesManual.pdf
Golf: http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/go/gomanual.pdf
Tennis: http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/te/girls/gtemanual.pdf
Cross Country: http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/cc/ccmanual.pdf
Football: http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/ft/boys/ftmanual.pdf
A GREAT suggestion…..copy/email the above links to each member of your coaching staff. It details all the ‘can and
cannots’ for them….it will help you (and ME!) in the long run!
Can An Individual Play 2 Sports in the Same Season?
Answer: Yes, as long as YOU permit it. I was always opposed to it as an AD but our school
developed a VERY good policy regarding it. Let me know if you want it!
Can We Play a Game vs a Club or Non-Member School?
Answer: Yes, Ohio is one of the few states that permits members to play against “anyone”.
This has ‘good’ points and ‘bad’ points but it is permitted.
Do “Club Teams” that we sponsor have to follow all OHSAA Rules or just some of them?
Answer: Actually, a condition of OHSAA membership is that any and all teams that a school
sponsors MUST follow ALL OHSAA Rules & Regulations. Stated another way, the OHSAA
does not permit schools to ‘pick and choose’ what teams follow OHSAA rules and which ones
do not. So, in our eyes – a ‘club’ team and a ‘sponsored team’ are all the same. Schools can
merely choose which teams enter the OHSAA Tournament and which ones do not.