Dr. Robin Hines was our guest on the latest edition of Next Take Georgia, a weekly podcast brought to you by ITG Next. During the roughly 30-minute session, the GHSA executive director talked about the biggest topics making headlines this offseason. Included was the issue of video instant replay, which Hines said is likely to be approved for use in 2023 GHSA state football championships. That decision would be made during the GHSA executive committee meeting coming up in mid-April of this year.
While use of instant replay in GHSA football games has been talked about for years, it gained momentum following the Georgia High School Class 3A state championship game between Sandy Creek and Cedar Grove. In that contest, a Patriots running back was ruled to have scored a touchdown by the line judge, despite video replays of the back being stopped well short of the goal line. That call was the latest in a line of several controversial on-field decisions during previous state championship games, all of which led to an outcry among high school football fans and coaches for the association to consider using active replay.
The move to begin using replay coincides with the championship games being moved to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, another offseason decision by the GHSA that Hines talks in-depth about on Next Take Georgia. With the state title games moving from Georgia State University’s Center Parc Stadium to the home of the Atlanta Falcons, the equipment in place at the new venue, which is used by the NFL instant replay system, would facilitate instant replay with a high degree of confidence for both the boys tackle football games and girls flag football championship games.
Speaking of flag football, Dr. Hines talked about the growth of the sport being a top priority for him and the GHSA, with the hope that more schools south of Macon will decide to add flag football to their list of varsity sports.
To hear more about these topics and the rest of the discussion with Dr. Hines, listen to the entire podcast right here.
Next Take Georgia is a weekly podcast from ITG Next and is hosted by Phil Jones.
