Disqualification over shorts?

40-something wrote:

I think the reason we get all bent out of shape on the uniform rule in track/xc is because we such bigger issues to deal with. For example, look at the West Region of the DII XC championships. Should officials be more concerned with making sure the lead bicyclist knows which way to go or checking to see if someone's shorts are rolled up?

I don't have a problem with the rules, but there needs to some room for referee discretion.

You make a good point. Again, I'm curious - did the course that was used for the DII West Regional meet the standards/rules in the NCAA Manual - or is "Championship Requirements" only applicable for National "Championships" and not Conference "Championships" or Regional "Championships"? Either way I'm also curious if a/the meet official(s) toured the course before the actual race? Or were they too busy checking for potential logo size violators?

MA Coach made exactly the argument I was planning to. Every sport has rules about uniforms. People go off on football or soccer players, or even 4x100 runners, who "customize" their uniforms--why should xc be any different?

Rules about uniforms are a pain in every HS sport that I know of. They're also *a part* of every HS sport that I know of--so "deal," as my kids would say.

You want to be treated like you're in a "major" sport? ACT like you're in a major sport. And that definitely includes the coach, who should be checking for uniform violations (and educating his/her athletes about them) before they ever become an issue.

I agree the rules should be followed, it's just that there is a huge discrepancy between the rule and the penalty here. Coming in 2nd and getting disquailified over over a uniform infraction? I don't know the resolution because in other sports, there are time-outs or at least down-time. Running is an in-the-moment sport, I don't see how to have a penalty without a problem. The deal here too is that this HS girl's uniform was okay at the start, but not the finish, I can see a warning given at the start. But there's just no equivalent in any other sport to a uniform infraction causing a disqualification.

konro wrote:

I agree the rules should be followed, it's just that there is a huge discrepancy between the rule and the penalty here. Coming in 2nd and getting disquailified over over a uniform infraction? I don't know the resolution because in other sports, there are time-outs or at least down-time. Running is an in-the-moment sport, I don't see how to have a penalty without a problem. The deal here too is that this HS girl's uniform was okay at the start, but not the finish, I can see a warning given at the start. But there's just no equivalent in any other sport to a uniform infraction causing a disqualification.

And SHE was the ONLY ONE who was disqualified when several others(some state as many as 30 can be seen in the photo gallery from that meet) had done the same thing with their shorts... Maybe just trying to make an example out of a high profile competitor?

What was David Wilkey's (the alleged official) MO in all of this ? What is his history with her school, her coaches, etc. Was it a grudge ? or was she lookin to hot for the Mormon Church ? This has got to be researched by someone. Better an authentic trained newspaper journalist with credibility (not some web scribe).

.

The National Federation has uniform rules that apply across sports. Try having your basketball team wear mis-matched t-shirts under the uniform top, or your football team with exposed pads. The rules, which require the uniform top to meet the shorts, preclude the rolling of the shorts so there's no judgement about the coverage of the uniform

Canastota ,NY girls 4x400 (or 800 maybe) - 1996 state meet in NY. Remember hearing it on the news.

Pabst Blue Ribbon Sports wrote:

I don't think matching sports bras is still a rule though. I'm really not sure if it ever was. Is it really true that happened? The worst thing I can think of is this guy in a basketball game got six fouls and they threw him out. Oh yeah and these really good hitters in baseball aren't allowed to bat anymore after three strikes. (even if they actually hit the ball the first two times but it went outside the baseline).

It's interesting that after watchimg the NXN Meet that almost all of the girls and many of the guys rolled their shorts. Seems like fit is a big issue here. I would love to see the rule re-written/re-worded to allow for adjustments by rolling instead of being prohibited. This seems to be a fit issue, modesty doesn't seem to be comprimised by the rolling of the shorts and it certainly has no bearing of the outcome of the race.

Except when these 15-16-17 year old girls roll their waistband down to their pubic bone. Dat ain't no fit issue!!!

Here's what's hilarious. Check out the pics of footlocker west. Shalaya Kipp, who was DQ'd at state, was very modest compared to Dunne in these pics. Crazy stuff.

http://footlockercc.com/2008/regionalphotos/west/girlsfinish/

NXN and Footlocker aren't run under NFHS rules. Neither is NIN or NON.

konro wrote:

Here's what's hilarious. Check out the pics of footlocker west. Shalaya Kipp, who was DQ'd at state, was very modest compared to Dunne in these pics. Crazy stuff.

http://footlockercc.com/2008/regionalphotos/west/girlsfinish/

That girl needs to eat!

Was the disqualification/is the rule in place because of a modesty issue? If so, why allow the buns, bunhggers, half tights, whatever they call them?

Honestly, Dunn looks like a slut. I wouldn't let my daughter where that uniform. It's pretty obvious that she's thin and she flaunts it. I see no problem with that on the beach but it shouldn't be allowed as a hs uniform. The elites don't wear uniforms like that. Hasay has on briefs and she is in no way exposing herself.

I think "slut" is going too far and is also remarkably unkind (and I'm not just saying that because I've revised my opinion and decided she's a total hottie).

Come on!!! I hope your in hs!!!

The point of this thread is not if the girl is a hottie or not. That's probably one of the reasons that the uniform rules are in place. Individuals push the envelope.

If I guy let's his sack bounce around and show through his tights the guys on here go crazy and start screaming foul. When Ryan Deak rolled his shorts there was an uproar. Hilarious!!!

Double standard I assume.

Naw, I was just yankin your chain. I don't think it's appropriate at all for a HS girl to dress like that for a race. And in other pictures and interviews with her that I've seen she's always wearing an extraordinary amount of makeup. FL may not be under the same rules that high school meets are, but they should impose some sort of code--for boys and girls.

A couple issues: first of all, many uniform rules are silly, and have no plausible impact on the competition. A competitor in the discus must exit out the back in order to make it easier to demonstrate that he/she has control of his/her body; otherwise, there's too much discretion. Wearing a bracelet, rolling the shorts, etc., in no way offer a competitive advantage.

The biggest issue, however, is that the penalty for failure to comply with a rule should be in line with the severity of the infraction. In this case, the severity of the infraction is very minimal, and the punishment is extremely harsh.

Because cross country can't really inflict tiny little punishments without being silly, officials should enforce the rule rigorously when they have time to correct it easily: before the race. If a runner is cleared to start the race, their uniform should be determined to be in compliance with the rule.

If an official missed an illegal uniform, well, mistakes happen. They happen in all sports. It's no different than an official missing a traveling call or pass interference.

If a uniform's legality is altered as a result of something that happens during a race, that ought to be ignored.

a journalist wrote:

My nephew was warned heading into the state track meet that he had to dye his hair.

I think it was blue, or polka-dotted at the time. Anyway, an official told his coach and said if he showed up at state with it that color -- apparently it wasn't "natural" -- he'd be DQ'd.

DQing someone for a uniform violation is one thing. DQing someone for their appearance is a whole other thing and should absolutely not be allowed. That's absolute BS right there