RULES
GURU
We
1
I have been called for an illegal serve in the past because my paddle head occasionally gets above my wrist at the moment of contact . Is that now legal if I first let the ball bounce ?
It sounds like you are asking about the new Provisional Drop Serve of Rule 4 . A . 8 . The answer is yes . If you drop the ball correctly and let it bounce , then there is no restriction on where the paddle head needs to be in relation to the wrist . Please be aware , however , that this new serve option is provisional ; that means it will be reviewed for continued use or modification as part of the 2022 Rulebook revision process . See this month ’ s Rules Guru sidebar for more information about the status of this rule .
2
If a referee can now answer my player position questions , why can ’ t a referee simply tell me that I am in the wrong position before calling the score ?
Referees are instructed to answer the questions asked from players . The key issue here is that players must assume some responsibility for knowing the rules . If one team is out of position and the referee corrects it without a question from that team , the referee has just “ given away ” information that benefits one team at the expense of the opponents . Any additional information provided by a referee tilts the playing field toward the slippery slope of “ coaching ,” as defined in Rule 3 . A . 2 .
Next Issue : USA Pickleball 2021 Sanctioned Tournament Requirements .
By Bob Unetich
USA PICKLEBALL-CERTIFIED REFEREE
STATUS OF THE 2021 PROVISIONAL DROP SERVE
By Jack Feinberg
CHAIRMAN , USA PICKLEBALL DROP SERVE REVIEW COMMITTEE AND CERTIFIED REFEREE
The Drop Serve Committee was created by USA Pickleball to review the implementation of the drop serve and to make a recommendation to the Rules Committee to either retain the rule as is , modify the rule , or delete it from the 2022 Official USA Pickleball / IFP Rulebook .
All members of the pickleball community needed to be represented on the committee . To that end a committee of nine members was appointed , including experienced instructors , certified referees , ambassadors and professional players . Additionally , an ambassador subcommittee was appointed , which includes five ambassadors from diverse geographical regions . This group of talented individuals brings different perspectives to the issue .
The committees developed plans to obtain data pertaining to the utilization and impact of the drop serve . The work included gathering input and observations from referees at local , regional and national tournaments , interviewing a significant number of professional players , receiving data from instructors and clinics , surveying local ambassadors and observing recreational play in various geographical regions . Additionally , a significant number of comments were received from recreational and tournament players .
A substantial amount of data has been received and the analysis of that data has begun .
It is quite interesting to see the many different opinions regarding the drop serve and its future in the game .
Our goal is to have the data analyzed and our recommendations made to the Rules Committee in time for the 2022 Rulebook .