THE RULES GURU
The
Rules Guru
RULES Q AND A
You can submit your questions to rules @ thepickleballmag . com for consideration in an upcoming column .
BY CHRISTINE BARKSDALE , USAPA MANAGING DIRECTOR OF COMPETITION
Is the “ Erne ” shot legal ? The Erne shot is named after Erne Perry , who popularized this maneuver . It is the act of stepping around the non-volley zone ( NVZ ) to the outside of the court and volleying the ball . Players at all levels use this movement during a straight-ahead dink rally . It not only creates added angle , it surprises the opponent .
The simple answer to this question is that when this move is executed properly , it is legal . For an explanation , we can refer to Rule 9D : “ A fault will be declared if a player violates the intent of the non-volley zone rule . All volleys must be initiated outside of the non-volley zone . A maneuver such as standing within the non-volley zone , jumping up to hit the volley , and then landing outside the non-volley zone is prohibited . If a player has touched the non-volley zone for any reason , that player cannot volley the return until both feet have made contact with the playing surface completely outside the non-volley zone .” Stepping around the NVZ to the outside of the court does not violate any of these statements . However , there are four common mistakes that will generate a fault with this quick movement :
• If the player steps in the NVZ as he / she moves to the outside of the court , the player must be careful to establish contact with both feet outside of the NVZ prior to volleying the ball , as stated in Rule 9D .
• If any part of the player crosses the plane of the net and the player does not strike the ball . Rule 12 . H : “ A player , or anything the player is wearing or carrying , may not cross the plane of the net ( or the extension of the net beyond the post ) except when striking the ball …”
• If the player strikes the ball before it crosses the plane of the net as stated in Rule 7 . K
• If the player touches the net or the post . Rule 7 . E : “ A player , player ’ s clothing , or any part of a player ’ s paddle touches the net or the net post when the ball is in play .”
Was it out or not ?
My partner and I were playing a doubles match the other day , when our opponents called the ball out just before the ball bounced . One opponent returned the shot , but my partner caught the ball and stopped play . It turns out our opponents were not actually calling the ball out but were talking to each other and the ball did land on the line . We requested a replay but were denied . Is this right ?
According to Rule 6 . D . 12 : “ If , while the ball is in the air , a player yells “ out ,” “ no ,” “ bounce it ,” or any other word to communicate to his or her partner that the ball may be out , it shall be considered player communication . If the ball lands in , play will continue . If the out call is made after the ball has hit the playing surface , it shall be considered a line call and play shall stop .”
During the match , it is up to the referee to determine when the out call was made . In this case , you indicated it was prior to the ball bouncing so it would be considered a fault for your team .
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