Monday, June 02, 2014

How Would You Rule? A Player Saying "Bounce-Hit" As She Struck The Ball


In the women's national junior college tournament in May we encountered this unusual situation:

In a singles match, player A would say, "Bounce. Hit" as every ball landed in her court.  Player B complained that her "Bounce-Hit" statement sounded like she was calling the ball out and was disrupting play.  Players on the adjacent court also complained that she was interfering with their play by her constant "Bounce-Hit" outbursts.

How would you rule?

The roving official ruled that a player can say anything they want when a ball is coming toward them and this was backed up by Player A's coach that said, "We are from Florida and our officials told us that she could say anything she wanted to as long as the ball was coming toward her."

I was the referee for the tournament and was not called to the court in this instance to make a ruling; but had I been called, I would have ruled that she could not say "Bounce-Hit" before every ball for the following reasons:

1.  She did not say "Bounce-Hit" before every ball.  Just on most occasions.
2.  Her outbursts were confusing the opponent.
3.  Her outbursts were disrupting play on the adjoining courts.
4.  Finally, there is this ruling in the Friend at Court on page 51:

"34.  Talking when ball is in play.
         *  Singles players should not talk during points."

How would you have ruled?

Be sure to note the following in the FAC on Page 51:

"34.  Talking when ball is in play.
        *  Talking between doubles partners when the ball is moving toward them is allowed.
        *  When talking interferes with an opponent's ability to play a ball, it is a hindrance."

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