Tournament Question
 

Hey all-
Today I was calling lines for a HS varsity coaching friend whose team was on the second of a two day tournament.The host school was using a three court set-up and during this match the far left and far right courts were used for matches while a team was warming up on the main court.

Match 1 Questions-
My match was on the far right court with one official working from the R1 position on the floor.I was calling the tableside line and during play a ball from the middle court rolled by me and onto the court.R1 was screened out and play continued while the ball rolled off the court.Without a flag I attempted to yell and get my R1's attention but to no avail.After the point R1 brings both captains to his position and has a fairly lengthy discussion with them about that play-I imagine about replay vs. accepting the result of the point.He ruled that the point stands as played without even asking for his linesmen's account of what happened.

Questions-
A.With a ball rolling onto your court from another court in a set-up such as this do you automatically whistle for a replay?
B.I worked this match without flags-In a flag scenario if my R1 is screened out of seeing a ball on court can I use the flag to signal an issue and get him to blow play dead?
C.Would you bring the linesperson into the discussion to figure out what happened?

In my second match I had a jump server on my side of the court and couldn't rotate into the play fast enough to get a good look as to whether or not the ball had caught the line.What signal should I have used? I just waved my hands across my eyes to signal that I didn't get a look.

Thanks for the replies-who has started postseason matches already?

ANSWERS:
A. Absolutely not...there is no such thing as an automatic replay. If the ball-on had no effect on the play, it is ignored (which sounds like what happened in your situation.
B. Only if the ball-on affected the play. Otherwise, no.
C. Same answer as A & B...only if it caused a problem during the play.

I take it you were back from the end line extended. If you had followed proper line judge mechanics, you would have been behind the server in line with the side line extended and had no problem. As it was, the proper signal without flags is to cross your wrists at chest level just like if you were using flags (see the LJ signals in the back of the NFHS Rules book).

A): Your role as a line judge is just that; judge the lines. It's the referee's responsibility to deem if a ball interferes with play and/or is a safety hazard.

B): You could, but it would not be appropriate. You aren't the R1, and although you may think he looks screened, he may be fully aware of what's going on. This is why it's best to stick to your responsibilities.

This is a game of judgement and angles, and every one has differences on each. What may look funny or weird to you, may not be the same for the other person.


C): Nope. Whether or not I decide to replay or play on doesn't involve you as a line judge.

The signal for "screened" in collegiate and USAV is to cross your arms across your chest (similar to the "end of set" signal). Whether or not your R1 would've recognized it is another story!

Thanks McBear-
I had never seen situation one before and was ready to give help if asked but just wanted to understand standard procedure for this case.As to my second situation is there ever a situation where it is permissible to start at endline extended with a server-say if server is on your side of the key?

The only time you'd do the above would be in two situations:

1 - The R1 specifically asks you to (sometimes, this may be to get a closer look at the server's foot in case they've come increasingly close to stepping on the line from the R1's view).

2 - If you don't have enough room to step behind the server out of their way.

Thanks for the responses! I have decided to join the club next year and join my area association.

The game will look a lot different with a whistle in your mouth than it did from the score table. Welcome to the wild world of officiating. Have fun and good luck. :cool::)

Yep-I'm definitely going to! I've started to watch matches this year from an official's perspective thinking to myself-"Ok would I call that a double or a lift,would I call that 4 contacts,do I have a net/centerline violation there?" I have a feeling I'm going to have a hard time with overlaps but I think I'll catch onto everything else pretty quickly.