Rule 7 - CONTINUITY OF PLAY

Explanations & comments

Idea by Clive Pollard

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7. CONTINUITY OF PLAY

This is such a complicated Rule that we have made some comments and given some explanations for clarification.

7.1 It has been known for matches to be stopped because :

a. of rain - because the roof above the court leaked, or because the all-glass court had been set up outside without adequate protection (the "It never rains here at this time of the year" syndrome). It is too dangerous for anyone to play on a court with surface water as the chances of injury are great;

b. a frog fell on the court - this happened once in the Pan-American Games in South America; imagine if a player stepped on a slippery frog and turned their ankle such that they could not continue play - how would you deal with that situation as a referee ?

c. a player was sick on the court - this has happened often;

d. a player started to bleed spontaneously during play - this happened (a spontaneous nosebleed) in a World Junior Men's Final in Germany - the player concerned was allowed to leave the court and was not told by the referee that he should concede the game in progress - slightly against the Rules, we think (see Rule 7.5);

e. too much light coming through the front wall - an all-glass court was set up in a city square in Holland, with movement of customers in and out of bars, and bright sunshine interfering with the vision of the players - play was delayed considerably and the resulting match was much less enjoyable as both players were affected by the court conditions and the long delay;

f. the tin fell down - also an all-glass court with a tin that was not attached properly - it took more than 30 minutes to fix;

g. a player falls over on the court during play and there are wet patches from their sweaty clothes - this is one of the most common occurrences in tournament play. As referee, you must always make sure that appropriate drying materials (towels, etc.) are available to prevent this situation giving one player an advantage by allowing an unnecessary period for their recovery. You should be able to determine whether the player fell purposely to earn this 'required' rest period and apply a penalty if necessary (see Rule 7.7). It is, however, far too dangerous to allow play to continue (see pt. a);

h. the fuses failed on the lighting circuit - no-one could find the caretaker - play had to be abandoned for the day;

  Times

7.2 This also includes Rule 7.4 (and why are the two parts not combined ?).

There is usually no excuse for a player being late back on court and the Referee must apply penalties as necessary.

However, in some top matches, there maybe a problem with spectators and other impediments that should be taken into account when referrring to this 90-second interval. It may simply be impossible, despite every reasonable attempt, for a player to return to court on time. That player should not be penalised for late return to court if the reason(s) have been outside that player's control.

If both players have already returned to the court, the call of "Fifteen seconds" becomes unnecessary, as will the call of "Time" if play has already started.

As a Referee, you should use common sense and not force the players to wait if they both want to continue. However, if one player is not ready to continue before the 90-second interval has finished, then that player may wait until the end of the interval.

Note that, for matches under the PSA tour guidelines, the 90-second intervals mentioned in the Rules are allowed to be up to 2 minutes (120 seconds). The same "Fifteen seconds" call applies after 105 seconds have elapsed.

One or both players often return to court and warm-up the ball before they start to play again. This especially occurs when a white ball (used on exhibition courts) has been cleaned during the interval. The Referee must be tolerant of this situation and only intervene when it is obvious that one or both players is/are not taking an effective part in this warm-up or is/are taking too long to warm-up the ball.

Similarly, if a ball goes out of the court and cannot be located quickly, when it is finally returned to the court, the players will expect to be able to warm-up the ball to playing condition.

There is no set time interval allowed for this process, as it depends entirely on the players and the current court conditions.

Clothing

7.3 It has been known that a woman player's brassiere has broken during play (in a Women's World Championships Final). In such a case, it is most unlikely that the player will have a spare garment handy, and even more unlikely that she (and usually only a 'she' !!) would be prepared to replace that defective item in full view of an audience. The Referee should be aware of this situation and inform the player that they should effect the change as soon as possible.

It would be up to the player whether to continue if the Referee decided that a suitable time interval had elapsed before an appropriate replacement garment could be located, put on and the player ready to recommence the match.

A similar situation occurs when a player breaks one or both of their shoes. If it is not possible for the player to locate a reserve pair within 90 seconds, the player must concede the match.

  Times (again)

7.4 See comments under Explanation 7.2.

Time (again)

7.6 Other events that fall under the Rule of time wasting include: too much wiping of eye protection glasses; 'accidentally' falling over on court so that play is delayed while the wet patch is dried (as explained in point 7.1 above).

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