B -- OFFICIATING
B.1 TOURNAMENT MANAGEMENT
All USRA sanctioned tournaments shall be managed by a tournament
director, who shall designate the officials.
B.2 TOURNAMENT RULES COMMITTEE
The tournament director should appoint a tournament rules
committee to resolve any disputes that the referee, tournament desk,
or tournament director cannot resolve. The committee, composed of an
odd number of persons, may include state or national officials, or
other qualified individuals in attendance who are prepared to meet on
short notice. The tournament director should not be a member of this
committee.
B.3 REFEREE APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL
The principal official for every match shall be the referee who
has been designated by the tournament director, or a designated
representative, and who has been agreed upon by all participants in
the match. The referee's authority regarding a match begins once the
players are called to the court. The referee may be removed from a
match upon the agreement of all participants (teams in doubles) or at
the discretion of the tournament director or the designated
representative. In the event that a referee's removal is requested by
one player or team and not agreed to by the other, the tournament
director or the designated representative may accept or reject the
request. It is suggested that the match be observed before determining
what, if any, action is to be taken. In addition, two line judges and
a scorekeeper may also be designated to assist the referee in
officiating the match.
B.4 RULES BRIEFING
Before all tournaments, all officials and players shall be
briefed on rules as well as local court hinders, regulations, and
modifications the tournament director wishes to impose. The briefing
should be reduced to writing. The current USRA rules will apply and be
made available. Any modifications the tournament director wishes to
impose must be stated on the entry form and be available to all
players at registration.
B.5 REFEREES
- (a) Pre-Match Duties. Before each match begins, it shall be the
duty of the referee to:
- 1. Check on adequacy of preparation of court with respect to
cleanliness, lighting and temperature.
- 2. Check on availability and suitability of materials to
include balls, towels, scorecards, pencils and timepiece
necessary for the match.
- 3. Check the readiness and qualifications of the line judges
and scorekeeper. Review appeal procedures and instruct them of
their duties, rules and local regulations.
- 4. Go onto the court to make introductions; brief the players
on court hinders (both designated and undesignated); identify
any out-of-play areas [see rule 2.1(a)];
discuss local regulations and rule modifications for this
tournament; and explain often misinterpreted rules.
- 5. Inspect players' equipment; identify the line judges;
verify selection of a primary and alternate ball.
- 6. Toss coin and offer the winner the choice of serving or
receiving.
- (b) Decisions. During the match, the
referee shall make all decisions with regard to the rules. Where
line judges are used, the referee shall announce all final
judgments. If both players in singles and three out of four in a
doubles match disagree with a call made by the referee, the referee
is overruled, with the exception of technical fouls and forfeitures.
- (c) Protests. Any decision of the referee
will, on protest, be accorded due process
as set forth in the constitution of the USRA. For the purposes of
rendering a prompt decision regarding protests filed during the
course of an ongoing tournament, the stages of due process will be:
first to the tournament desk, then to the tournament director, and
finally to the tournament rules committee. In those instances when
time permits, the protest may be elevated to the state association
or, when appropriate, to the national level as called for in the
USRA constitution.
- (d) Forfeitures. A match may be forfeited
by the referee when:
- 1. Any player refuses to abide by the referee's decision or
engages in unsportsmanlike conduct.
- 2. Any player or team who fails to report to play 10 minutes
after the match has been scheduled to play. (The tournament
director may permit a longer delay if circumstances warrant such
a decision.) A game will be forfeited by the referee for using
an illegal racquet as specified in Rule
2.4(e).
- (e) Defaults. A player or team may be
forfeited by the tournament director or official for failure to
comply with the tournament or host facility's rules while on the
premises between matches, or for abuse of hospitality, locker room,
or other rules and procedures.
- (f) Spectators. The referee shall have
jurisdiction over the spectators, as well as the players, while the
match is in progress.
- (g) Other Rulings. The referee may rule on
all matters not covered in the USRA Official Rules. However, the
referee's ruling is subject to protest as described in
B.5(c).
B.6 LINE JUDGES
- (a) When Utilized. Two line judges should be used for semifinal
and final matches, when requested by a player or team, or when the
referee or tournament director so desires. However, the use of line
judges is subject to availability and the discretion of the
tournament director.
- (b) Replacing Line Judges. If any player objects to a person
serving as a line judge before the match begins, all reasonable
effort shall be made to find a replacement acceptable to the
officials and players. If a player objects after the match begins,
any replacement shall be at the discretion of the referee and/or
tournament director.
- (c) Position of Line Judges. The players and referee shall
designate the court location of the line judges. Any dispute shall
be settled by the tournament director.
- (d) Duties and Responsibilities. Line judges are designated to
help decide appeals. In the event of an appeal, and after a very
brief explanation of the appeal by the referee, the line judges must
indicate their opinion of the referee's call.
- (e) Signals. Line judges should extend their arm and signal as
follows:
- (i) thumb up to show agreement with the referee's call,
- (ii) thumb down to show disagreement, and
- (iii) hand open with palm facing down to indicate "no
opinion" or that the play in question wasn't seen.
- (f) Manner of Response. Line judges should be careful not to
signal until the referee announces the appeal and asks for a ruling.
In responding to the referee's request, line judges should not look
at each other, but indicate their opinions simultaneously in clear
view of the players and referee. If at any time a line judge is
unsure of which call is being appealed or what the referee's call
was, the line judge should ask the referee to repeat the call and
the appeal.
- (g) Result of Response. The referee's call stands if at least one
line judge agrees with the referee or if neither line judge has an
opinion. If both line judges disagree with the referee, the referee
must reverse the call. If one line judge disagrees with the referee
and the other signals no opinion, the rally is replayed. Any
replays, with the exception of appeals on the second serve itself,
will result in two serves.
B.7 APPEALS
- (a) Appealable Calls and Non-Calls. In any match using line
judges, a player may appeal any call or non-call by the referee,
except for a technical foul or forfeiture.
- (b) How to Appeal. A verbal appeal by a player must be made
directly to the referee immediately after the rally has ended. A
player who believes there is an infraction to appeal, should bring
it to the attention of the referee and line judges by raising the
non-racquet hand at the time the perceived infraction occurs. The
player is obligated to continue to play until the rally has ended or
the referee stops play. The referee will recognize a player's appeal
only if it is made before that player leaves the court for any
reason including timeouts and game-ending rallies or, if that player
doesn't leave the court, before the next serve begins.
- (c) Loss of Appeal. A player or team forfeits its right of appeal
for that rally if the appeal is made directly to the line judges or,
if the appeal is made after an excessive demonstration or complaint.
- (d) Limit on Appeals. A player or team can make three appeals per
game. However, if either line judge disagrees (thumb down) with the
referee's call, that appeal will not count against the three-appeal
limit. In addition, a potential game-ending rally may be appealed
without charge against the limit--even if the three-appeal limit has
been reached.
B.8 OUTCOME OF APPEALS
Everything except technical fouls and forfeitures can be
appealed. The following outcomes cover several of the most common
types of appeal, but not all possible appeals could be addressed.
Therefore, referee's discretion and common sense should govern the
outcomes of those appeals that are not covered herein:
- (a) Skip Ball. If the referee makes a call of "skip ball,"
and the call is reversed, the referee then must decide if the shot
in question could have been returned had play continued. If, in the
opinion of the referee, the shot could have been returned, the rally
shall be replayed. However, if the shot was not retrievable, the
side which hit the shot in question is declared the winner of the
rally. If the referee makes no call on a shot (thereby indicating
that the shot did not skip), an appeal may be made that the shot
skipped. If the "no call" is reversed, the side which hit
the shot in question loses the rally.
- (b) Fault Serve. If the referee
makes a call of fault serve and the call is reversed, the serve is
replayed – unless the referee considered the serve to have been
irretrievable, in which case a point is awarded to the server. If an
appeal is made because the referee makes no call on a serve (thereby
indicating that the serve was good) and the "no call" is
reversed, the result will be a fault serve.
- (c) Out Serve. If the referee calls an "out serve", and
the call is reversed, the serve will be replayed, unless the serve
was obviously a fault too, in which case the call becomes fault
serve. However, if the call is reversed and the serve was considered
an ace, a point will be awarded. Also, if the referee makes no call
on a serve--thereby indicating that the serve was good--but the "no
call" is reversed, it results in an immediate loss of serve.
- (d) Double Bounce Pickup. If the referee makes a call of two
bounces, and the call is reversed, the rally is replayed, except if
the player against whom the call was made hit a shot that could not
have been retrieved, then that player wins the rally. (Before
awarding a rally in this situation, the referee must be certain that
the shot would not have been retrieved even if play had not been
halted.) If an appeal is made because the referee makes no call
thereby indicating that the get was not two bounces, and the "no
call" is reversed, the player who made the two bounce pickup is
declared the loser of the rally.
- (e) Receiving Line Violation
(Encroachment). If the referee makes a call of encroachment, but the
call is overturned, the serve shall be replayed unless the return
was deemed irretrievable in which case a sideout (or possibly a
handout in doubles) should be called. When an appeal is made because
the referee made no call, and the appeal is successful, the server
is awarded a point.
- (f) Court Hinder. If the referee
makes a call of court hinder during a rally or return of serve, the
rally is replayed. If the referee makes no call and a player feels
that a court hinder occurred, that player may appeal. If the appeal
is successful, the rally will be replayed. If a court hinder occurs
on a second serve, play resumes at second serve.
B.9 RULE INTERPRETATIONS
If a player feels the referee has interpreted the rules
incorrectly, the player may require the referee or tournament director
to cite the applicable rule in the rulebook. Having discovered a
misapplication or misinterpretation, the official must correct the
error by replaying the rally, awarding the point, calling sideout, or
taking other corrective measures.
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