| Rule Submission Title | Rule 13.E.3. Line Judge Blocked Signal |
|---|---|
| USAP Board Vote | Approved with Amendment |
| USAP Board Vote Reason | This clarifies two things: 1) That the referee can make an immediate “out” call on any shot where a line judge is blocked and the referee clearly saw that the ball was out, whether it was a rally-ending shot or a shot where the players return the ball to continue the rally. 2) That the only time the referee is to canvass other members of the officiating team is on a rally-ending shot where the referee is unable to make the call. In other words, when the players return the ball to continue the rally, the referee can stop play immediately if they saw clearly that the ball was out. If the referee did not see that the ball landed out, they would not stop play to canvass other line judge’s or a second referee simply because the line judge’s view was blocked. |
| Existing Rule # | 13.E.3. |
| Proposed Rule Change (edited) | 2026 Rule: 19.H Immediate Call by Referee. If a line judge shows the “blocked/blinded” signal at any time, the referee must make the call immediately if they clearly saw where the ball landed. If the referee cannot make the call on a rally-ending shot, the referee must canvass other appropriate members of the officiating team to assist in making the call. 2025 Rule: Amend 13.E.3 to read as follows: |
| Proposed Rule Change | 13.E.3. |
| Original Rule Text | 13.E.3. If a line judge shows the “blocked/blinded” signal, the referee can make the call immediately if they clearly saw the ball land. If the referee cannot make the call, the referee shall canvass other appropriate members of the officiating team to assist in making the call. |
| Reasoning Behind Suggested Change | A line judge should be the primary official responsible for line calls during a rally. With line judges the lead referee should be focused on faults other than line calls which should make it difficult for them to "clearly" see and call an out ball. A lead referee stopping a rally because a line judge shows a blocked signal during a rally should not happen. A line judge showing a blocked signal during a rally is distracting to the players and results in the officials' influencing the game. A lead referee should only ask for a line judge's call at the end of a rally, and then if the line judge was blocked, they should show the blocked signal. |
| Scenarios In Which the Rules Applies | Scenario #1: A player observes a Line Judge showing the blocked signal and stops play because they believe a line call was made that they did not hear. The player(s) may be deaf. Scenario #2: A lead referee stops a rally after seeing a blocked signal by a line judge. Why would the lead referee canvass the other line judges if he clearly saw the ball out?
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| Rule Book Year | 2026 |
| Rule Change ID | 2377 |
| Date Created | May 29, 2025 |
| View Comments | View Comments |
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