illegal alignment

[playr2coach2ref]

I recently had an R2 whistle illegal alignment on the serving team. The player was running towards left back (correct position) and was very close to being there by the contact of the serve. As R1, I was not going to call it, as it was really too close to call at that point. The next thing I knew, my R2 was whistling it. The coach did not complain because he was too busy yelling at the player to be where she was supposed to be.

I waited until after the match and discussed it with the R2. My main issue: if she was watching the serving team all the way until the contact of the serve to see if LB got back to her spot, who was watching the receiving team--no one, of course. My other issue was that she clearly undermined me. I was obviously watching the serving team--did she not think I saw LB running from one side of the court to the other? Did she not think I knew where she was supposed to be? In retrospect, I probably should have overruled her and called a replay, but at the time, I thought it would make us look bad as a team. However, after consulting with higher level officials, they assured me the R1 should take control in issues such as these--especially since the coach could have protested and would likely have won (well, definitely, since I would have had to admit that in my judgment the player was not out of alignment at the contact of the serve).

It was a good learning experience for me!