[john5396]

Had a partner ask me this last night. NFHS rules.

R2 observes a centerline violation at the opposite end of the net, next to the R1 stand. The R1 calls him over and asks him what is the call. He indicates that he had a centerline violation, player X's foot was entirely across the line. R1 asks if the player was in bounds. R2 indicated he couldn't tell from across the court. R1 indicates that the player's toe was outside the sideline, so she was not in bounds, so there was no centerline violation.

Rule 9-5-8 tells us that a player may cross the centerline outside of the court as long as they don't interfere with play. For the purpose of this rule, is the player outside the court when any part of her hand/foot is outside the sideline, or are they only outside the court when their entire foot/hand/other body part is completely outside the sideline?

My interpretation is the friend's R1 was wrong. The 9-5-8 would allow crossing the centerline only when entirely off the court.