View source for False start

{{Short description|Sporting term}}
{{other uses}}
{{redirects here|Jump the gun}}
[[File:Off they go. There had been a false start and the runner was shown a great big red card then marched off. So mean. (7745214550).jpg|thumb|250px|A reduced starting lineup after [[Kamé Ali]] was disqualified due to a false start in heat 3 of the [[Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles|men's 110 metres hurdles]] at the [[2012 London Olympics]]]]
{{Wiktionary}}
In sports, a '''false start''' is a disallowed start, usually due to a movement by a participant before (or in some cases after) being signaled or otherwise permitted by the rules to start. Depending on the sport and the event, a false start can result in a penalty against the athlete's or team's field position, a warning that a subsequent false start will result in disqualification, or immediate disqualification of the athlete from further competition.

False starts are common in racing sports (such as [[swimming (sport)|swimming]], [[Track and field|track]], [[Sprint (running)|sprinting]], and [[motor sports]]), where differences are made by fractions of a second and where anxiety to get the best start plays a role in the athletes' behavior.

A race that is started without a false start is referred to as a ''fair start'' or ''clean start''.

==In sports==

=== Association football (soccer) ===
Football games cannot be restarted unless certain conditions are met. For example, both teams need to be in their own half of the field for the start of the game or restarts from goals or half-time and free kicks require players to be a certain distance from the dead ball position. A referee may call the players back if one or more encroach into the wrong part of the field. There is generally no penalty for this type of encroachment, although if the referee considers it to be delaying the restart of the game they can award a yellow card. One famous example was during the [[1974 World Cup]] when Brazil had a free kick near the Zaire penalty area, however the ball was booted far away by [[Mwepu Ilunga]] before the restart.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/exposing-the-myth-why-zaire-s-infamous-1974-world-cup-free-kick-was-far-from-comical|title = Exposing the Myth: Why Zaire's Infamous 1974 World Cup Free-Kick Was Far from Comical|date = 19 June 2019}}</ref> At a penalty kick, the restart is blown by the referee before the actual kick takes place. In this situation, "encroachment" may take place, where one or more players from either side go into the penalty area or penalty arc before the kick is done. The goalkeeper can also be called for this offence if one foot leaves the goal line before the kick. A variety of punishments exist depending on which sides were involved and the result of the kick, or the result may stand if one team defends the kick or scores it but their opposition infringed.

=== American and Canadian football ===
{{anchor|American football|Canadian football|Gridiron football}}
In [[American football]] and [[Canadian football]], a false start is movement by an offensive player (other than the center) after he has taken a set position. For [[offensive linemen]], this movement might be as minimal as a couple of centimeters, although the rule's intent is to prevent offensive players from unfairly drawing the defense offside. A false start brings a 5-yard [[Penalty (American football)|penalty]]. Unlike an [[Offside (American football)#Offside|offside penalty]], where the play is run as usual, the play after a false start penalty immediately becomes dead. This is done to prevent a defensive player reacting to a false start from hitting the [[quarterback]] while he is going through the snap count, which would make the quarterback more susceptible to injury.

At the end of the [[2005 NFL season]], owners complained regarding false start penalties on players whose flinches have little effect upon the start of the play, such as [[wide receivers]]. In response, the NFL competition committee has said that they plan to inflict fewer false start penalties on players who line up behind the line of scrimmage.<ref name="article">{{cite news
 |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-nflofficiating 
 |publisher=Yahoo Sports 
 |title=NFL Concerned with perception of officiating 
 |date=March 22, 2006 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522040844/http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-nflofficiating 
 |archive-date=2011-05-22 
}}</ref>

In the 2023 season the false start penalty was the most issued penalty in the NFL with 618 penalties being issued for 3,026 penalty yards.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 NFL Penalty Data |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2023/penalties.htm |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Athletics (track and field) ===
[[File:PressureSensitiveStartingBlocks.jpg|thumb|right|Pressure-sensitive starting blocks at the start line of the [[100 metres]] at the [[2007 Pan American Games]] in [[João Havelange Olympic Stadium]]]]

In track and field [[Sprint (running)|sprint]]s, the sport's governing body, the [[IAAF]], has a rule that if the athlete moves within 0.1&nbsp;seconds ''after'' the gun has fired the athlete has false-started.<ref>[http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Document/imported/42192.pdf 2008 IAAF Rule Book] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325001003/http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Document/imported/42192.pdf |date=2009-03-25 }} - Chapter 5, Rule 161 Part 2</ref>  This figure is based on tests that show the human brain cannot hear and process the information from the start sound in under 0.10&nbsp;seconds,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://condellpark.com/kd/reactiontime.htm |title=Reaction times & false starts in sprints |publisher=Condellpark.com |date=2002-09-21 |access-date=2011-04-24}}</ref> even though a IAAF-commissioned study indicated in 2009 that top sprinters are able to sometimes react in 0.08&nbsp;seconds.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/iaaf-sprint-start-research-project-is-the-100|title = IAAF Sprint Start Research Project: Is the 100ms limit still valid? &#124; NEWS &#124; World Athletics}}</ref> This rule is only applied at high-level meets where fully automated force or motion sensor devices are built into the starting blocks that are tied via computer with the starter's gun.  In the vast majority of lower-level meets, false starts are determined visually by the officials.

If there is a false start, it is signaled by firing the starting gun twice, and the race is stopped. Since 2009, the offending athletes risk immediate disqualification.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/6018077/World-Athletics-IAAF-sanctions-immediate-disqualification-for-false-starts-come-January.html | work=The Daily Telegraph | location=London | title=IAAF sanctions immediate disqualification for false starts come January| date=August 12, 2009 | access-date=May 2, 2010}}</ref> Before 2003, an athlete making a false start would be allowed another start and would only risk disqualification after a second false start.<ref>{{cite news|first=Allan |last=Wells |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/2665407.stm |title=New Sprint rule well received |work=BBC News |date=2003-01-16 |access-date=2011-04-24}}</ref> Between 2003 and 2009 (inclusive), if there was a single false start, then the whole field would be warned, and the original offender would be allowed a second start. If anyone made a false start on the second start, that or those athlete(s) risk disqualification (even if they didn't false start the first time).

An analysis of start times by sprinters at the 2008 Beijing Olympics demonstrated that male and female sprinters can achieve reaction times of 0.109&nbsp;seconds and 0.121&nbsp;seconds in one out of 1,000 starts.<ref>Lipps, D.B., Galecki, A.T. and Ashton-Miller, J.A. On the Implications of a Sex Difference in the Reaction Times of Sprinters at the Beijing Olympics. PLoS ONE 6(10): e26141. {{doi|10.1371/journal.pone.0026141}}. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0026141</ref>  The same analysis showed fewer false starts among the women and it suggests that the apparent sex difference is caused by the use of the same starting block force threshold for males and females.  The authors calculated that were the force threshold to be reduced by 22% for females, to take into account their lower rate of developing muscle strength, then males and females would exhibit similar reaction times and numbers of false starts.

=== Horse racing ===
In thoroughbred horse racing, a false start occurs when a horse breaks through the starting gates before they open.  There is usually no penalty, and the horse is simply reloaded into the gate. In some events, a horse who breaks through the starting gates is disqualified. A notable example was the 2006 [[Preakness Stakes]] when Kentucky Derby winner [[Barbaro (horse)|Barbaro]] broke through the gate early; he was reloaded and the race was started properly. The [[1993 Grand National]] was declared void because the recall flag to signal a false start was not unfurled, so that most jockeys continued to race.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/officers-gentlemen-and-a-grand-national-flag-chap-1491789.html|title=Officers, gentlemen and a Grand National flag chap|last=Lister|first=David|date=15 June 1993|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=8 August 2012}}</ref>

=== Ice hockey ===
In [[ice hockey]], a false start occurs when a team commits a [[faceoff]] violation. When this occurs, the player taking the face-off from the offending team is disqualified from the face-off and replaced by a teammate.  A second faceoff violation by the same team results in a minor penalty.

=== Motorsports ===
In motor sports that have a [[standing start]] (e.g. [[Formula One]]), if there is a false start then the offender is subject to a time penalty and the race is normally not restarted. One notable exception was the [[1999 European Grand Prix]], where six drivers, including the top five qualifiers, jumped the start due to the starting lights malfunctioning. No driver was penalized and the race was restarted.  In [[drag racing]], if there is a false start, the driver who jumped worse is provisionally disqualified, pending the result of the run (if a worse violation occurs during the race, that offender instead is disqualified, and the false start is nullified, with that offender declared the winner).  In motorsport with a rolling start (lane violations, passing the leader before the start), the penalty may be positions lost or a pass-through penalty.)

=== Sailing ===
In [[Yacht racing|sailing]], the race committee decides at the preparatory signal (usually 4 minutes before the start) what the rules on false starting will be by display the P, I, Z or Black Flags.

A P Flag means any boat on the course side (OCS) of the start line at the starting signal must return, clear the start line and then restart.  The I Flag means a boat which is OCS must round either end of the start line by coming back to the pre-start side and then restarting (the 'round the ends' rule).  The [[Z flag|Z Flag]] means a boat which is OCS in the minute leading up to the start or at the start itself is given a 20% scoring penalty.  The Black Flag means a boat which is OCS in the minute leading up to the start or at the start itself is disqualified.

Failing to return to start correctly under the P or I Flag rules means the boat is scored O.C.S and receives points equivalent to disqualification.

=== Skiing/Biathlon ===
The sport's governing body, the [[International Ski Federation|FIS]], prohibits any athlete from moving before the gun sounds or within 0.1&nbsp;second after, since 2009. As in track and field, in biathlon or cross country skiing, any false start from any athlete(s) risks immediate disqualification.

=== Speed skating ===
According to the rules set by the [[International Skating Union|ISU]] a false start occurs when one of more competitors are intentionally slow at taking their starting positions, or leave their starting positions before the shot is fired. The first false start by an athlete will be cautioned, and the next, immediate disqualification.

=== Swimming ===
In [[swimming (sport)|swimming]], any swimmer who starts before the starting signal risks immediate  disqualification.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fina.org/project/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=119 |title=FINA rule SW 4.4 |publisher=Fina.org |date=2009-09-23 |access-date=2011-04-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726002347/http://www.fina.org/project/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=119 |archive-date=2013-07-26 }}</ref> If a step-down command is given before the race starts, the swimmer is not disqualified.

A notable example during the [[2008 Olympics]] occurred when [[Pang Jiaying]] was disqualified due to a false start. This allowed [[Libby Trickett]] to advance to the final round, in which she won a silver medal.

At the [[2012 London Olympics]], Chinese swimmer [[Sun Yang]] jumped into the water too early in the 1500{{spaces}}m final, but was not judged to have false started because he misunderstood 'stand please' as the start beep by the article 101.1 0.3 D.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2015 Rulebook |url=http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/d058dc69-ffc9-4e75-9069-fc977a102a33/2015%20Rulebook.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805085539/http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/d058dc69-ffc9-4e75-9069-fc977a102a33/2015%20Rulebook.pdf |archive-date=2016-08-05 |access-date=2024-08-05}}</ref> A similar incident occurred in the women's 100{{spaces}}metre breaststroke final.

=== Triathlon ===
In the [[Triathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's|men's triathlon]] at the [[2020 Summer Olympics]], there was an improper start (commonly reported as a "false start") in the opening 1500{{spaces}}metre swim because a camera boat blocked some of the participants from entering the water,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=Mitch |title=Triathlon-Boat ahoy! Men's race start messed up by floating cameras |url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/triathlon-mens-race-hit-by-rare-false-start-2021-07-25/ |access-date=26 July 2021 |work=Reuters |date=25 July 2021}}</ref> which [[NBC]] termed "bizarre".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gibbs |first1=Simon |title=Men's triathlon kicks off with bizarre false start, first in Olympic history |url=https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/mens-triathlon-kicks-bizarre-false-start-first-olympic-history |access-date=26 July 2021 |work=NBC Olympics |date=25 July 2021}}</ref>

== In entertainment ==
In a live musical performance, a false start is an intro to a song that is quickly cut short to begin another song. One famous example occurred during a musical performance by [[Elvis Costello]] during a 1977 television broadcast of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. He and his band started to play "[[Less than Zero (Elvis Costello song)|Less than Zero]]," but stopped after a few bars and shifted to "[[Radio Radio]]" instead. The incident resulted in Costello being banned from the show until 1989.

False starts, mistakes, or imitations of such, are occasionally included by musicians on finalised albums. [[The Beatles]]' songs  "[[Dig a Pony]]" and the North American version of "[[I'm Looking Through You]]" include them. [[Electric Light Orchestra]]'s "[[Rockaria!]]", [[Green Day]]'s "[[Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)]]", "[[Old Time Rock and Roll]]" by [[Bob Seger]], "[[Better Man (Pearl Jam song)|Better Man]]" by [[Pearl Jam]], "[[Tangerine (Led Zeppelin song)|Tangerine]]" by [[Led Zeppelin]], "[[Wrong 'Em Boyo]]" by [[The Clash]], [[The Monkees|Monkees]] song "Magnolia Simms", [[James Blunt]]'s song "[[You're Beautiful]]," and "[[Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others]]" by [[The Smiths]] are other examples, as well as "[[I Need a Lover|I Need A Lover]]" by [[John Cougar Melloncamp|John Cougar Mellencamp]]. In a [[YouTube]] episode of "Minutes with Murray", [[Murray Cook]] from [[The Wiggles]] played two false starts on the Maton electric guitar while playing "[[Eagle Rock (song)|Eagle Rock]]".

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Gridiron football penalties}}

[[Category:Sports penalties]]
[[Category:Terminology used in multiple sports]]
[[Category:American football terminology]]
[[Category:Sport of athletics terminology]]
[[Category:Metaphors referring to sport]]
[[Category:Ice hockey terminology]]
[[Category:Gridiron football penalties]]