We have a question from a fellow NCOA official this week about elbows...well swinging elbows that is.
He writes, " I have a question about excessive arm swinging. If a player is swinging their elbows but haven't made contact with a defender in the area, what do you do? The rules say even without contact it's a penalty."
Let's go to the rulebook. In the very last section of Rule 9 Violations and Penalties we find the relevant rule:
Rule 9 Section 13 Article 1 says, "A player shall not excessively swing a player's arms(s) or elbow(s), even without contacting an opponent." (Did we just find a typo in the Rules Book?! The word "arms(s)" seems excessive in its plurality. Don't worry, we already shot off an e-mail to NFHS Rules Book editorial staff writers. Your crack writing staff at the Rules Gazette is making big waves. This is the only instance of that error in the Rules Book, we checked.)
The difficulty with this rule is that "excessively" seems to be subjective. That is, like with beauty, some folks might disagree on it. Thankfully, the Rules Book clarifies it for us in Article 3 of the same Rule. Rule 9-13-3 says, "Action of arm(s) and elbow(s) resulting from total body movements as in pivoting or movement of the ball incidental to feinting with it, releasing it, or moving it to prevent a held ball or loss of control shall not be considered excessive."
Okay so that doesn't help that much. Feinting means what most people would call a ball fake.
Some real help with defining excessive comes from a different part of the Rule Book Rule 4 Definitions:
Rule 4-24-8
"It is not legal to swing arms and elbows excessively. This occurs when: a. Arms and elbows are swung about while using the shoulders as pivot, and the speed of the extended arms and elbows is in excess of the rest of the body as it rotates on the hips or on the pivot foot. b. The aggressiveness with which the arms and elbows are swung could cause injury to another player if contacted. Using this description as a basis, an official will promptly and unhesitatingly rule such action with arms and elbows a violation."
There it is. If you see a player swinging arm(s) and elbow(s) in excess, call a violation and resume play with the opposing teams throw in at one of the four desginated spots closest to where the violation occured.
Here are a few of NFHS Case Book plays for you to consider regarding these excessively swung elbows:
"9.13.1 SITUATION A: The ball has been released on a try or tap for field goal by A1 towards A's basket: (a) A2, or (b) B1, excessively swings arm(s) or elbow(s) without contacting an opponent. The ball goes through the basket. RULING: In (a), the official will sound the whistle immediately for a violation. The ball is dead, the goal is not scored and Team B is awarded a throw-in at the spot closest to the violation. In (b), the ball is dead when the try ends. The goal is scored and Team A is awarded a throw-in at one of the four designated throw-in spots based on the location of the violation relative to the three-point line. (6-7-9 Exception d, 7-5-3a)
9.13.1 SITUATION B: A1 is trapped in the corner by B1 and B2 in Team A's backcourt, who are in legal guarding position. In an attempt to create space, A1 rapidly swings arms/elbows while using the shoulders as pivots (a) without making contact; (b) making contact with an opponent above the shoulders and elbows are moving faster than the body. RULING: In (a), A1 excessively swinging arms/elbows without contacting the opponent is a violation. Team B is awarded a throw-in at one of the four designated spots based on the location of the violation relative to the three-point line. In (b), this is considered an intentional foul. COMMENT: In (a), Team B will gain possession in its frontcourt and therefore inbound the ball from one of the four designated spots based on the location of the violation relative to the three-point line.
Rules Gazette Staff Writers,
James Frazee
