Around THEPost
LESSONS LEARNED BY AN OPPONENT ’ S OUTBURST
During a recent
USAPA-sanctioned tournament , we were reminded of past lessons learned and we wanted to share them with you . So if you happen to run into a similar scenario , you will be better prepared and educated to keep the game on track .
During a heated doubles rally , our opponent ( not in the featured photo ) hit a backhand volley . The ball ’ s point of contact was possibly either her paddle / hand or her paddle / shoulder . This player was five feet away from the referee who immediately called “ Fault !” which caused us to stop play . ( A fault is any action that stops play because of a rule violation .) The referee stated that the ball had hit the player ’ s upper arm / shoulder . Immediately the opponent voiced strong opposition and had an over 10-minute heated debate with the referee ( who stood by his call ). Throughout this debate the opponent claimed that the play was captured on a video camera and it will show that the referee was wrong . The referee should have turned to the rule book …
Rule # 14 . F . Referee ’ s Officiating Duties : Referee is responsible for all decisions related to procedural and judgment calls during the match … The referee ’ s call will stand … Spectators are not part of the game and , therefore , cannot be consulted on calls .
Lesson Learned : Players looking for evidence of a particular event from spectators or a video camera have no basis to ask for that review . So don ’ t allow time to be used for that request .
All momentum of the 13-13 game had been lost and it was decided that the point would be played over . The opponent requested that a new referee take over and play continued to the end of the match .
Rule # 14 . L . Removal of a Referee or Line Judge : A referee or line judge may be removed when both teams agree to the removal or at the discretion of the Tournament Director .
Lesson Learned : All players need to mutually agree on replacing the ref ( we were never consulted and the tournament director was unavailable ). If all players do not agree , the current
ref stays – so don ’ t allow a ref change if you don ’ t agree to the change .
The interesting thing is that these lessons learned are all scenarios we have experienced before in our 6 + years of pickleball and we know these rules . Yet , in the heat of competition and dealing with fatigue , annoyance , crowd participation , etc ., things happen … We just want to play pickleball , not witness a player ’ s character .
For those of you who may think this scenario through even further , the following could have happened :
Technical Foul ( 14 . M ) – The referee is empowered to add one point to a player ’ s score or a team ’ s score when the opponent violates one of the rules calling for a technical foul or , in the referee ’ s judgment , the opponent is being overly and deliberately abusive .
Match Forfeiture ( 14 . H . 1 ) – A referee may impose a forfeit when a player refuses to abide by the referee ’ s decision or engages in unsportsmanlike conduct .
These rule numbers come from the International Federation of Pickleball Official Tournament Rulebook that the USAPA uses . •
Jennifer Lucore and Alex Hamner started playing pickleball in 2010 , and have competed in numerous tournaments in the USA as well as Jennifer competing internationally . Between them they have 21 national titles , but they are perhaps best known for winning the gold medal in Women ’ s Doubles at Nationals for four consecutive years ( 2011-2014 ). They live with their respective families in North San Diego County .
Photo credit : Patrick Kelley
44 TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 724.942.0940 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG . COM