Question Number: 18383

Law 1- The Field 2/16/2008

RE: Rec Adult

Peter Stephens of Kokomo, IN asks...

This question is a follow up to question 18272

Why aren't the poles for the flags required to be 7 ft, or something that might reasonably higher than all the players? Why take a chance that a 6' 3" player stumble into one and get impaled in the throat or eye?

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Why are there any standards in sports? Because you have to start somewhere. A flagpost that is a minimum of 5 feet assures it is tall enough to not cause injury to most, tall enough to be in the field of vision for most as they determine where they are on a field but not so tall as to be required to look up to find.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Peter If you read Law 1 it states the corner flagposts must be not less than 1.5 m [5 ft] high with a non pointed top. There are commercially available flagposts that are made of fiberglass and are approximately one quarter inch in diameter. These are relatively cheap and do constitute some danger to taller players. Few, if any, referees realize this tiny factoid.

Regards,

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 18406