Re: What is an "open hand finger pass"?

[Todd <tdh@vbref.org>]

pastaman@my-dejanews.com writes:
> 
> In the AWA's Official Rules of Wallyball, an "open hand finger pass"
> is prohibited but not defined.  Rule 6.11 (Receiving the service with
> an open hand finger pass) states:
> 
> "The service may be received in any form except, with an open hand
> finger pass."
> 
> Would someone please describe this pass?  I am inferring from the
> rule that an open hand finger pass is similar or exactly like a
> set,

Yup...you've got it.

> where both hands are open, the fingers are spread and the
> ball contacts the finger tips.  If this is true, then why is an
> open hand finger pass prohibited when receiving a serve?  Does
> it give the receiving team a competitive advantage by enabling
> them to gain better control of the served ball, compared to
> bumping the serve?

Arguably...yes, and there are some old-timers that just plain don't
like to see anything but a forearm pass to receive serve.  

For instance, USA Volleyball rules _used to_ prohibit multiple
contacts on the first ball if "finger action" was used to play the
ball.   This has since changed.  

Some parochial rulesets I've seen have wrong-headedly gotten around
this complex issue by making this sort of receive illegal by rote.  As
such, it doesn't surprise me to see such a rote prohibition on setting
the serve receive in the rules of Wallyball.

> On soft short serves, I typically will receive the ball with my
> finger tips.  I would appreciate it if an experienced player
> and/or AWA staffer would 1) offer a detailed description of an
> open hand finger pass, and 2) why it is prohibited when receiving
> the serve.

I'm not a Wallyball player, but if AWA wants to keep up with the
changes in Volleyball (USA Volleyball, international FIVB rules, NAGWS
collegiate), they should certainly reconsider this rule.  You are
right in questioning it.  Keep us posted on any responses you receive
from AWA.



--
                  Todd H.   tdh@vbref.org
USAV Regional Referee, Great Lakes Region, Palatine, IL
Todd's Volleyball Referee Page http://www.io.com/~tdh/vball/
"So you're a Ref and an engineer? Oh that explains it...."