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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