How To Ref When There Is No Ref



RULE 1 - SAFETY

Safety is the primary and overriding responsibility of every player who enters the court.  At NO time should the physical safety of the participants be compromised.  Players are entitled, and expected to hold up their swing, without penalty, any time they believe there might be a risk of physical contact.  Any time a player says they held up to avoid contact, even if they were over cautious, they are entitled to a hinder (rally, replayed without penalty).

RULE 2 - SCORE

Since there is no referee, or scorekeeper, it is important to see that there is no misunderstanding in this area: so the server is required to announce both the server's and the receiver's score before EVERY first serve.

RULE 3 - DURING RALLIES

During rallies, it is generally the hitter's responsibility to make the call--if there is a possibility of a skip ball, double bounce or illegal hit, play should continue until the hitter makes the call against them self.  If the hitter does not make the call against them self and goes on to win the rally, and the player thought that one of the hitter's shots was not good, they may "appeal" to the hitter by pointing out which shot they thought was bad and request the hitter to reconsider.  If the hitter is sure of their call, and the opponent is still sure the hitter is wrong, the rally is replayed.  As a matter of etiquette, the players are expected to make calls against themselves any time they are not sure.  In other words, if a shot is very close as to whether or not it was a good kill or a skip ball, unless the hitter is sure the shot was good, they should call it a skip.

RULE 4 - SERVICE

Fault Services (Long, Short, Ceiling & 3-Wall):  The receiver has the primary responsibility to make sure these calls, and again, they should give the benefit of the doubt to the opponent whenever it is close.  The receiver must make this call immediately, and not wait until after the ball is hit and has the benefit of seeing how good a shot can be hit.  It is not option play.....the receiver does not have the right to play a short serve just because they think it's a setup.

Screen Serves:  When there is no referee, a screen serve does not become an option play.  When the receiver believes the vision of the ball was sufficiently impaired as to give the server too great an advantage on the serve, the receiver may hold up their swing and call a screen serve, or if they still feel they can make a good shot at the ball, they can say nothing and continue play.  A screen may not be called after an attempt to hit the ball.  Further, the server may not call a screen under any circumstances.  They must simply expect to have to play the rally until they hear a call from the receiver.

Foot faults, 10-second violations, receiving-line violations, service-zone infringement and other "technical" calls really require a referee.  However, if either player believes their opponent is abusing any of these rules, between rallies it should be discussed with the opponent to be sure there is agreement on what the rule is, and to put each other on notice that the rules should be followed.

RULE 5 - HINDERS

Generally, the hinder should work like the screen serve--as an option play for the hindered party.  ONLY the person going for the shot can stop the play by calling a hinder, and they must do so immediately--not wait until they have the benefit of seeing how good a shot can be hit.  If the hindered party believes they can make an effective return in spite of some physical contact or screen that has occurred, they may continue to play.  However, as safety is the overriding factor, either party may call a hinder if it is to prevent contact.

RULE 6 - AVOIDABLE HINDERS

Since avoidable hinders are usually not intentional, they do occur even in the friendliest matches.  When a player turns the wrong way and gets in the way of the opponent's setup, there should be a better way than saying "I'm sorry" to make up for the mistake.  Instead of saying "I'm sorry," the player who realizes such an error was made should simply award the rally to their opponent.  If a player feels the opponent was guilty of an avoidable, and the player did not call it on them self, the "offended" player should appeal to the opponent by pointing out that they thought it was avoidable.  The player may then call it on them self, or disagree, but the call can only be made on yourself.  Often, just pointing out what you think is an avoidable will put the player on notice for future rallies and prevent recurrences.

RULE 7 - DISPUTES

If either player, for any reason, desires to have a referee, it is considered common courtesy for the other player to go along with the request, and a referee suitable to both sides should be found. If there is not a referee and a question about a rule or rules interpretation comes up, seek out the club pro or a more experienced player, then, after the match, contact the League Coordinator.