In beach volleyball, a question concerning a open handed set shot over the net: I read that shoulders must be squared, feet set and ball must be perpendicular, but how can you judge if the ball is being directed with the fingers? Is there a certain height minimum that the trajectory must have or something of that nature?
Answer: Great question, Irving!
The “overhand set used as an attack to the opponent’s court” is one of the most difficult calls beach officials face. It’s usually a pretty surprising play when it happens, which is a large part of the problem.
You’ve identified all the key elements of the play… so I’ll just try to describe the process a bit more.
The spirit of the rule here is that it would be far too easy for players to win a point if they could hand set deceptively, with finger-action control, to any part of the opponent’s court at any time. There’s alot of sand over there, and only two players to defend it.
To even the odds a bit, a player who attacks “open-handed, with finger action” must do that only “straight ahead, or straight behind.”
This play develops quickly, and it can take a moment to register in the referee’s mind, “Yep… that just happened!” As you realize the decision you’re facing, take a moment to review in your mind a “map” of where everything occurred:
The attacking player moved in from there…
And set the ball from here…
And it went over to exactly there.
With this map in mind, you must judge whether the attacker actually set the ball straight ahead (or straight behind). We commonly call that “being square.”
Another part of your decision will be based on those elements that you mentioned: Did the attacker square up hands, shoulders, and hips with the line of attack? This is where judgement and common sense take over. As a general guideline, if the hips and shoulders and hand are all in line with the angle of attack, the attack is legal. If the player fails in any of that, then you should call an illegal attack. And no, the attacker doesn’t have to set the ball to a certain height; it’s the “square” part that makes the play legal.
You also asked, “How can we judge that the ball is being directed with the fingers?” That’s getting back to the idea I mentioned about finger-tip control. The pads of our fingers (where the finger-prints are) offer a high level of control when contacting the ball. That’s why we judge setting, and also tipping, so critically in beach volleyball. If a player opts to use finger-action in setting, serve receive, defense, or attacks, we pay special attention to the play.
So, as the referee, ask yourself, “Did the player contact the ball with the pads of the fingers, in an attempt to gain greater control?”
Last thought: Below is video clip of an open-hand attack with finger-action that demonstrates all the things we’ve discussed here.
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by Keith Murlless
02 Aug 2012 at 11:43
Thanks Jake… we try!
Ok… now that we’ve got the “square” rule figured out for doubles… let’s look at this rule, as played in Triples and Quads competition.
Background:
The rules are written first by the FIVB, for sand doubles. That’s the formal text that governs our sport.
In our USA version of the rule-book, we add some special modifications that we feel will help US domestic and developmental play. We try to stay very close to the FIVB rules… and we only write modifications where there’s an important reason. (see “Soapbox,” below)
“Quads” is a great example. Since 4′s is not played internationally, the FIVB hasn’t offered a specific rule-set for that game. So here in the US we’ve written some guidelines for quads play. (the same holds true for triples, sixes, coed, reverse, etc)
To save everyone a trip to the rule-book, here’s the text of what we’re discussing:
FORMAL language:
(It is an attack-hit fault when…)
17.2.5 A player completes an attack-hit using an overhand
pass, which has a trajectory not perpendicular to the
line of the shoulders, except when setting his or her
teammate;
GRAY BOX:
The following appears in a gray box, meaning it’s USAV-specific info.
USAV 17.2.5: For Doubles and Triples Competition only:
(It is an attack-hit fault when a player…)
intentionally completes an attack-hit using an overhand
set that gives the ball a trajectory not perpendicular to
the line of the player’s shoulders except when setting
his or her teammate;
Now… to answer your question
Note that the gray-box rule specified doubles and triples only. That means that doubles and triples (but not 4′s) must play by the “hands over must be square” restriction.
In quads (and sixes), there is NOT a restriction that requires “hands over” to be played “square.”
I guess the idea is that with four or more players per side, there’s plenty of opportunity for the defending team to block the dump, or to gobble up that free ball and turn a strong transition!
Having said all that… I encourage your league director to offer a brief “ruling” that makes clear to everyone that your league does (or does not) play by this USA rule. That helps everyone get on the same page, and short-cuts all those on-court arguments.
If for some reason, your league opts out of this (or any other) USA rule, then I encourage you to all “formally” recognize that you’re playing under a LOCAL GROUND RULE. That way, when your teams travel to compete in other parts of the country, they’ll know to expect a different style of play.
I hope this helps!
Keith
MY SOAP BOX
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all just get along? If the rules were the same for you, whether you play at home.. across town… or anywhere?
That’s the idea behind having ONE rule set, nation-wide.
It’s why we keep the USA rules so close to the FIVB rules… and why we hope that local events play under the USAV rules.
Players and league directors should all work hard to distinguish between the “real” rules, and any local ground-rules that might be in use.
Local ground rules should only be used when really necessary. (safety concerns, space or time restraints… that type of thing)
Players should be carefully advised that a LOCAL ruling is in play… and players should recognize that they will have to “change up” when they travel…
Enjoy the game!
by JakeZ
30 Jul 2012 at 18:32
Keith,
First of all, great topic and a very detailed response!
Second, can you explain the differences in this rule – 17.2.5 that you explain above- between doubles/triples and quads? I am in a quads league locally and this has come up multiple times this season.
Jake