Kansas HS basketball team forfeits game over obscure rule

A Kansas high school boys’ basketball team has been forced to forfeit a game due to an obscure rule infraction.

The Segwick High School boys’ team was forced to forfeit a January 7 game against Berean Academy because of an alumni scrimmage held over the school’s holiday break — as first reported by SI High School’s Levi Payton.

According to Rule 30, Article 6, Section A in the Kansas high school activities handbook, “[d]uring a scrimmage there can be no score kept and no clock. Use of officials is permitted.”

A recent article from On3.com detailed the rule infraction by the Segwick High School boys’ basketball team. Below is an excerpt from the On3.com article.

The Kansas State High School Activities Association recently ruled that because the score was kept in the contest between the school’s current team and its alumni, it in fact counts toward the number of games they’re allowed to play during the season.

The rule continues, “Should one or more game elements (score or time) be involved, it would no longer be a scrimmage but must count toward the number of contests allowed during the season. Intrasquad scrimmages, games among teammates, even with score, time, and/or officials used would not be considered a game.”

KHSSAA ruled that the usage of a scoreboard to keep a tally during the alumni contest during the holiday break should count as a game. And thus would mean they have to forfeit their next contest to not go over the number of allowed regular season contests.

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