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Press Release
The Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) will feature a new wrinkle in its boys’ and girls’ basketball games starting in the 2022-23 school year.
In a meeting on Thursday, the UHSAA Board-of-Trustees voted to add a 35-second shot clock for varsity high school basketball games for all classifications in boys’ and girls’ basketball, beginning in the 2022-23 season. The rules regarding the length of the clock, the placement of the clock and other logistical matters will follow the guidelines set by the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee, which voted in the spring of 2021 to make shot clock usage available for state association adoption beginning next season.
As part of the UHSAA Board’s decision, host schools and regions will have the ability to decide on whether the shot clock will be used in sub-varsity games. The NFHS rules stipulate that all rules regarding the shot clock must apply to both boys’ and girls’ basketball.
NFHS Rule 2-14 states that each state association may adopt a shot clock beginning in the 2022-23 season, according to guidelines outlined in the Basketball Rules Book, to encourage standardization among states. Guidelines include displaying two timepieces that are connected to a horn that is distinctive from the game clock horn, and using an alternative timing device, such as a stopwatch at the scorer’s table, for a shot clock malfunction. The guidelines also allow for corrections to the shot clock only during the shot clock period in which an error occurred and the officials have definite information relative to the mistake or malfunction.
More information on the NFHS shot clock parameters can be found at www.nfhs.org/sports-resource-content/shot-clock-guidelines-2021/.