Rocky mountain’s top 2 runners DQ’d at districts for holding hands across the finish line

That doesn’t really hold water. If they are the two best at state by a good margin they might easily do the same. That way they can both be 1st. The whole agreeing to tie thing is just anti competitive.

Holding hands wouldn't make them both 1st. Standard timing equipment is accurate to the thousandth of a second. Holding hands or not, it would be essentially impossible to intentionally tie.

You moron, that triathlon was part of Olympic team qualifying...

Why not?? B. F. D. "Assistance" in the last meter? Ridiculous. Stupid-a$S rules like that wreck traditional sports and "kids" go to new sports that chill

Those decisions are made in the off season. Not after rules are violated. Officials only enforce the rules...not make them up to react to situations. Criticism these guys are taking are another reason there is a shortage of officials.

Good. Holding hands crossing the finish line is stupid. I like watching races.

>>If you are an official, why in God's name would you enforce this rule?<<

Because the official is supposed to enforce the rules. How is this a question? The fairest thing to do is to enforce all the rules equally at all times. Not doing that causes even worse problems.

>>It's a stupid rule. The rule should be...<

An official should NEVER EVER EVER think like this. It doesn't matter what the official thinks the rule should be, it matters what the rule is. Imagine being a coach in a game thinking you are playing by the written rules, but unbeknownst to you the official has his/her own version of the rules they are actually using. So if an official thinks the NBA 3 second rule is dumb and it should be 10 seconds, the official should call it that way? And not tell anybody first they are "reinterpreting" the rules?

Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers held hands at the finish of many races...

No wounder America does not win in the Olympics anymore...

I suggested changing the rule. That's what my post was about. Re-read what I wrote, and it should be obvious. That's why I called the rule "lame" (and rojo said, "stupid"), and "should remove the second sentence" (and rojo said "should be... (suggesting a change").

Are you saying that once a rule is made, it should never be changed? I don't get your objection to my post (or rojo's).

It’s a free for all now. The head official quit the meet after this. Then Wil Ihmels, the son of the Boise State coach, was able to pressure his way back into the results after being disqualified for running over the line multiple times. I would quit, too. Imagine getting told that all of your decision making doesn’t matter.

3 kids are getting bumped from the state meet after getting told they qualified because kids that were DQ’d, using the NFHS Rulebook, were added back into the results. One of those is absolutely insane that they were added back in.

It’s fine that rules get changed. That happens in the off season. Not on the fly when you don’t like it.

There are ways that all of this happens. That all got followed for the disqualifications. None of it was followed to add them back in.

Protest and petition the rule at the top level, amend it, remove it, whatever. But just don't expect an official to bend because it's a feel good story. I'm sure he'd like to but as soon as they do it once, they'll be asked 100 times after so that it's fair to everyone else to get the same perk. And there will be a situation where a runner is struggling and that hand will be helping and the official will recognize that, but since he bent the rules before, he'll be roasted if he doesn't do it again. That's the slippery slope; the rule that is meant to be clear is now just someone's judgement call. I won't even go into the potential for bias.

I believe Frank Shorter and Kenny Moore did this at the 1972 marathon Olympic Trials. It’s qualifying for the main competition so spare me the dumb and irrelevant society is soft these days comments

It doesn’t matter if a pro did it in whatever race. Idaho follows the NFHS Rulebook. Those races didn’t. The NFHS Rulebook is clear.

The fact is that these two boys were able to go have a secret meeting with a jury of appeals and plead their case without any meet officials, athletic directors, coaches, etc. being aware that this was happening other than their own coaches and athletic director. The entire thing is weird.

Agreed that the DQ is super dumb, and I hope somehow they get reinstated, but the clenched fist graphic and "justice" hashtag is a bit much. No one is getting killed or oppressed here.

One of the problems with our sport is that it is generally so simple that the competitors don't bother to know the rules and the coaches don't teach them what the rules are.

If athletes were taught, from day one, that if you hold hands you are subject to a DQ, then they wouldn't hold hands.

Then nobody else would have to debate whether to enforce a rule or to turn a blind eye.

I'm not an official. I'm also not making the rules. I'm just suggesting or agreeing that the rules would be better if changed. Rules are never changing if no one suggests they need changing.

I don’t disagree that the rule could be changed. What I’m saying is that it happens when rule changes are supposed to happen. After the season, not as a reactionary move.

Old man yelling at clouds? There are no rule changes happening now. What you are complaining about isn't/can't happen. The people who can change the rules are probably not in session.