A couple of weeks ago, we were at a competition where a competitor was in the process of entering the shot put circle and realized that he had not removed the jersey that he was wearing over his jersey. With one foot in the circle and one foot outside the circle, the athlete took off his shirt and threw it to the ground a couple of feet behind the circle. Seeing this, the event official looked at the athlete’s coach who was sitting a few meters away and asked if that action should be called a foul. The coach nodded. The athlete completed the attempt and a foul was called.

Should it have been considered a fault? Let’s take a look at the NCAA rule book.

First of all, in Rule 6, Section 1, Article 1, it states that “an attempt is defined as all the actions of the competitor that occur from the beginning of the time limit until the official has determined through the use of the flag, one or dirty judgment. ” A clarifying note below that statement defines a test as “the intentional action of completing the athletic challenge (jump or throw) requirements of the event.”

Section 8 delves into the details of the shot put. A key statement is found in the second paragraph of Article 1, “A competitor must start from a stationary position within the circle.” (P 100) Article 3 continues to define a free kick. Under statement c, the rule book specifically says that it is a foul if, “after entering the circle and starting the throw, the competitor … touches with any part of the body, before the hit touches the ground: 1 ) Any surface of the metal strip except the inner surface, 2) Any surface of the board except its inner surface, or 3) The area outside the circle; “(p 101)

Therefore, working by these rules, throwing the jersey out of the circle before taking the shot, should not be a foul. Only the body can cause a fault, once a legal suit has been started. That means glasses falling off, tape falling off the hammer toes, headbands falling off, shoelaces touching the footboard, etc., should not be considered fouls. I even saw a foul when a coin fell out of an athlete’s pocket during a toss and bounced out of the circle.

As a coach, what should you do in this situation if you see a call that you know is wrong? First of all, it is always helpful to have a copy of the rule book for your governing body. Then you really need to read it and have a basic understanding of how it is designed and where you can find details when you need them. The vast majority of field event officials are volunteers and have not studied the rule book. Often times the brief description of the rules before the competition is as much a reminder of what they are doing as it is for the competitors. And for the vast majority of attempts, that’s all you need to know. However, for the 1% of calls like this, it is the coach’s responsibility to educate with respect.

In this particular case, the athlete was a decathlete who was getting shot put work. The attempt would have little to do with the competition in general, and the athlete and his coach were not overly concerned with the brand. At the conclusion of the flight, I approached the officer and told him my interpretation of the rule. You don’t need to change anything in this case, just report it for the future. He and the coach nodded.

Would you have done something different? Does your governing body have different rules that would have changed this scenario?