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Officiating - Part 2

Since this problem of ball handling seems to be the major difficulty in refereeing, let us look into some of the points that might help toward better consistency and standardization in calling.

First of all, consider playing the ball with open palms in the underhand position. The rule specifies that "the ball must be clearly hit." "We know that a ball which makes a complete change in direction must physically come to a stop at the point where its forward force is overcome by a stronger force sending it back the way it came. Knowing the ball must come to a stop, it cannot be ruled that it must not stop. What margin of stopping do we allow? The rule says the player commits an error when, in the opinion of the proper official, the ball visibly comes to rest at contact. This means that the open palm play is legal if the ball does not visibly come to rest against that palm. Nothing is said about sound or lack of sound. The rule does not mention senses other than sight. The judgment must be based upon the visual sense only. However, it is commonly known that a player is most likely to allow the ball to come to rest visibly if he plays it with the palms of two hands underhand, from behind the shoulder, from behind his head, or overhead with his back to the net." ²

A competent official should be sure that he sees the ball come to rest. If he is not sure, he should not call an error. Also, he should never anticipate an error or foul. He should wait until it happens and then call it. It should also be kept in mind that in no place in the rules does it state that a ball must be played with the fist, heel of hand, or back of hands, with one or two hands, to be legal. It is realized that if it is played in one of these ways, it will probably be a cleaner played ball.

The set is another one of the problems. If the ball visibly comes to rest while a player is setting, then it is an error. However, an official should not assume, anticipate, or "think" it came to rest. The referee should know by seeing or he should not call it.

The same is true of the spike. A spiker may hit the ball on the palm without throwing it or changing the direction of the ball. When he hits in this fashion, it may make a loud noise. This does not mean it is an error. A player using his palm to spike the ball is more apt to throw it than a player who uses the heel of his hand or his fist. But again, the referee should not anticipate or guess. If he is not sure, he should not call it.

Receiving the serve causes difficulty also. If a server serves a ball that is wobbling, it is quite possible for the receiver to make a double contact; however, the referee should be sure of this before calling it. On the other hand, if the ball does not come out of the receiver's hands in a perfect set, it does not mean the receiver carried, lifted, or double-con­tacted the ball. On many serves a ball is not played properly and comes off the player's fingers or palms "dead." If the player did not hold or lift the ball, it is again a misplayed ball and should not be called. Here again, the referee must know the difference between holding, lifting, carrying, and misplayed balls.

The same is true of a hard-driven spike. On a hard-driven spike the rules state that a player may make successive con­tacts if they constitute one attempt to play the ball. There­fore, if a player gets in front of one of these hard-driven spikes and gets his hand or hands on the ball and his reac­tion time is off because of the impact of the spike, it should not be called a lift or carry. The player should be given credit for judging the ball properly and making one contact.

Related terms include cable beach and volleyball court dimension.