Pickleball Magazine 4-5 | Page 20

Q A & with the RULES GURU By Bob Unetich USAPA-Certified Referee We’d Like to Hear From You! Send your questions to [email protected]. Q: Dear Guru, We played a tournament in very windy conditions. Just as I hit a clean put-away smash, the wind knocked over the temporary net. The referee called a “let” and then called for a replay. Was that fair? A: Yes. The referee was justified in classifying this as a valid safety issue and therefore hinder in accordance with Rule 8.C. This topic is specifically discussed in Ruling 4 of the Referee Case Book, which is available on the USAPA website under the Rules and Referee and then Referee Training Tool tabs. Q: Dear Guru, I know a referee calls short serve faults and that players call the centerline in matches with line judges, but who calls the centerline when there are no line judges? A: Players call the centerline with or without line judges. Like any other line call, however, an appeal to the referee is available. 18 TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 888.308.3720 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM Q: Dear Guru, Does the serving area include the imaginary extensions of the sidelines and the centerline or is it the area inside of those imaginary lines? A: I’m glad you asked! I’ve heard players telling other players their feet must not touch these imaginary line extensions when they make ball contact during a serve, but this is not correct. Rule 3.A.34 defines the Service Area as “The area behind the baseline and on or between the imaginary lines extended from the court centerline and each sideline.” This means that a server, for example, who crowds the centerline, can have a foot that touches this imaginary line extension. Note that it’s the server’s foot that determines if he or she is in the service area. This means the server’s paddle may go over and past this line without it being a fault.