As is the case with any written rule book for any sport, certain rules need clarification or interpretation for specific instances or further explanation. The following interpretations are preceded by the sections of the rules to which they pertain.We hope these interpretations will help clear up any questions you've had about the rules and aid you in Playing by the Rules!
Interpretation No. 1
"Cutthroat" is not an official tournament game. It is a game devised for use in practice with three players. There are a number of ways to play cutthroat, and the rules for singles should apply to the player playing without a partner, just as the rules for doubles should apply to two players playing as a team.
Interpretation No. 2
A player should be allowed to protect a bone bruise on his hand. If some kind of thin bandaging material is not sufficient, he should be allowed to use a coin or some other type of hard material, so long as the referee does not believe it gives him an unfair advantage, in which case the material would be disallowed. Any such protection must be worn under the glove and must be approved by the referee before play begins.
Interpretation No. 3
If the referee is doing a proper job, there should never be a technical called for failure to wear eye protection properly. If the referee sees that a player is about to serve or receive and is not wearing eye protection, the referee should immediately stop the game and inform the player who is about to create the violation. The referee should not let a player play without eye protection in place. If the player refuses to abide by this rule, the match shall be forfeited. Sometimes, however, the referee may not notice the eye protection infraction until after a rally has begun. If this occurs, the referee should stop play immediately and call a technical against the player in violation. The referee should also inform the player that a second violation will result in the match being defaulted.
Interpretation No. 4
After the rally is over, the referee should immediately call "point" or "side out." The receiver then has 10 seconds to assume his ready position, but the server should only have "reasonable time" to get set. The server should not be allowed to stall by slowly retrieving the ball. As soon as the receiver is "ready" and the server has had reasonable time to retrieve the ball, the referee should call the score, at which time the server has 10 seconds in which to make contact with his service attempt.
If the receiver is in his ready position and the referee believes that the server is taking too much time retrieving the ball and assuming his serving position, the referee should call the score. The server will then have 10 seconds in which to serve.
If the receiver is not in his ready position after 10 seconds have elapsed from the time the referee calls point or sideout, the referee should call the score and the server may serve immediately or may take up to 10 seconds, whether or not the receiver is ready.
Interpretation No. 5
This is a difficult call because there will be instances in which the receiver will be hindered, but the ball has been hit so that it is going to result in a setup and the receiver will have time to get into good position to attempt his shot. The hinder serve, like any other hinder, is based on interference affecting the play. In the case just mentioned, there is initial interference, but the receiver still has time to get into good position so that the momentary hinder will not affect the play. In such a case, the referee should not make his call too quickly, but should watch the reaction of the receiver. If the referee feels that the receiver hesitates getting into position, a hinder should be called. If, however, the receiver moves quickly and obviously is going to have time to get into good position for a shot, the hinder should not be called.
The receiver should be given the benefit of any doubt so long as his receiving position is in the center of the court. However, if the receiver positions himself to one side of center or anticipates the serve is going to be hit to one side and moves in that direction too quickly, and the serve is hit to the opposite side, a hinder should not be called.
It is also important that the referee attempt to position himself so that he will have the same angle of view as the receiver. The best answer to this dilemma is: When in doubt, call a hinder.
Interpretation No. 6
Even though the foot fault occurs before the out serve, the out serve penalty takes precedence and shall be enforced. Another example: A server foot faults when contacting the ball and the ball does not hit the wall first. Again, the out serve penalty should be enforced. For this reason, a referee should wait until after the ball is served to call a foot fault.
Interpretation No. 7
If the referee is doing a proper job, there should be no out-of-order serves. The referee should keep the players informed as to which player is the server. If the referee sees that a player is about to serve out of order, the referee should immediately stop the player from serving and inform the team as to which player should be the server.
If, however, a player does serve out of order, the "out-of-order" rule shall apply.
Interpretation No. 8
The ball does not have to be completely broken to have the point replayed. A ball that is starting to crack will often have an erratic bounce. The referee should call for a replay only if he determines that a ball has cracked sufficiently to cause an erratic bounce. If a player suspects a ball has cracked, he should immediately toss it to the referee for inspection. The player should not push or squeeze the ball. This is the referee's responsibility, and he will make the replay call if necessary.
Interpretation No. 9
In most cases, if a foreign object (such as a ball from an adjacent court) enters the court, the referee should immediately stop play and call a hinder because of the distraction and for safety reasons. However, it might happen that a player would lose a shoe, headband or even a glove. In these cases, the referee should allow the opposing player one opportunity to hit a rally-ending shot if all of the following conditions are met:
1) The referee believes the opposing player is in no danger of stepping on the lost object;
2) The opposing player does not appear to be distracted by the lost object;
3) And the opposing player apparently has an opportunity to hit an offensive, rally-ending shot.
If the player is allowed the one offensive shot, one of the following calls should be made immediately afterward: If the player skips the ball in, that player loses the rally. If the player hits a kill shot or pass shot that cannot be retrieved, that player should be awarded the rally. If the player who lost the equipment is able to retrieve the shot, a hinder should be called.
Interpretation No. 10
Balls that skid on a wet floor will always be called hinders, assuming that the player was in position to make a return had the ball bounced truly.
Interpretation No. 11
The referee must remember that if the ball is judged to be unretrievable, a hinder should not be called no matter what kind of interference takes place. However, if the referee is in doubt, the benefit of that doubt should go to the player attempting to retrieve the ball and the hinder should be called.
Interpretation No. 12
The player standing further from the wall must move out of the way of his opponent even though it may mean moving to an undesirable court position. If a player assumes such a position and there is a collision, or there is interference with the stroke of the player trying to strike the ball, the hinder is avoidable.
Interpretation No. 13
This call is just the opposite of the "failure to move" avoidable hinder. When a player "creates" a hinder by his movement, it is also avoidable. Sometimes a player, in his effort to get into a better court position, will cause contact with an opponent who is about to hit the ball, or a player will move in so close to an opponent who is hitting the ball as to cause a possibility of body contact. In either case, an avoidable hinder should be called.
It is also an avoidable hinder if one player, just as his partner is hitting the ball, moves directly in front of an opponent creating a hinder, not to be confused with a "legal" hinder.
Interpretation No. 14
This avoidable hinder may occur almost anywhere on the court. A player has an offensive setup. In his effort to get into a more favorable position, the defensive player moves into the path of the ball and is hit. This is avoidable. In this case, the referee must use his judgment and not call an avoidable if he feels the ball was "mis-hit" and that the defensive player was moving into a non-hindering position in which he would not have been hit if the ball had been hit truly.
Interpretation No. 15
This avoidable hinder may occur when a player pushes an opponent, no matter how slightly, who is about to hit the ball, or when a player forcefully pushes an opponent in his attempt to get into position for his shot. An accidental push of a slight nature by an offensive player should not be called avoidable.
Interpretation No. 16
Generally, this type of avoidable hinder occurs after a player has hit the ball and finds himself out of position. In his effort to move into a better court position, he crosses the eventual path of the ball just before the ball reaches his opponent, thereby obstructing the opponent's view of the ball.
Interpretation No. 17
This avoidable hinder should be called against a player who attempts to verbally intimidate his opponent, or moves in very close to an opponent in an attempt to "catch his eye".
Also, a player can not say anything while an opponent is playing the ball. This is also true in doubles. Teammates may talk to each other when it is their turn to hit the ball, but cannot talk when it is the opponent's turn to hit the ball.
Sometimes a player will verbally reprimand himself after hitting a poor shot while the rally is still in progress. If the referee believes such behavior is distracting enough to the opponent as to affect his play, an avoidable hinder should be called.
Interpretation No. 18
A player hitting the ball is entitled to stroke the ball without being in danger of contacting an opponent during the stroke. The stroke includes the backswing as well as the follow-through of the arm. If a player is contacted by the follow-through motion of the player hitting the ball, an avoidable hinder should be called, assuming the player who was hit could have avoided the interference with
reasonable effort. This interference might not have affected the shot, but it doesn't matter if the ball reaches the wall or not. This avoidable hinder must be called for safety reasons.
Playing too close can cause serious injury, and the referee should forfeit the offending player if this type of positioning continues.
Interpretation No. 19
Improperly worn equipment includes eye protection that requires some type of strap in order to stay on the head. Failure to wear such a strap could be considered improperly worn equipment. Gloves that are not snugly attached might also be improperly worn equipment.
Equipment not required could be items such as a baseball cap or jewelry.
Interpretation No. 20
If the opponent is hit or narrowly missed by the ball, a technical should be called. On the other hand, if it is the first offense, and the opponent was in no danger of being hit, a technical warning should be issued.
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