Re: Lines

[Todd <tdh@vbref.org>]

[Original followup cancelled.  I'm stayin' out of this. ]

Hi John,

This comes up in various forms on this newsgroup periodically.
Actually, it came up in April of 97:
        http://www.dejanews.com/[ST_rn=ps]/getdoc.xp?AN=236253419

And Wally posted this clarification of rules including this issue in
April of 95.
        http://www.dejanews.com/[ST_rn=ps]/getdoc.xp?AN=101350714

So, as it's April of 1999, it seems we're on a 2-year cycle.  :-)

See the thread below (or go to the Wally link above and click "thread"
tab) for more details and iterations on this.

        http://www.dejanews.com/[ST_rn=ps]/viewthread.xp?search=thread&recnum=%3c3neatd$ke7@netope.harvard.edu%3e%231/1&AN=101223358&svcclass=dnserver&frpage=getdoc.xp

Best Regards,
--
                  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...."


John Hunley <john@jrh.com> writes:

> Question for the collective experience of the group:  When calling
> lines, does one attempt to take into account the flattening of the ball
> when it hits the floor?
> 
> One line of reasoning observes that the rule book states (at least in
> USAV) that if *any part* of the ball touches the line, it's in.
> Therefore, the answer would be yes.
> 
> The alternate reasoning says that since the ball does not flatten out
> until *after* it touches the floor, one should simply call based on
> where the center of the ball touches, ignoring flattening.  At the
> instant the ball initially touches the floor, the rally ends, and
> anything that happens subsequent to that (namely flattening) has no
> bearing on the call, just like if a player touches the net after the
> ball is down.
> 
> If you answer yes, then please explain to me how you determine how much
> flattening occurs.  Surely no human eye is fast enough to actually see
> the ball flatten out, and you couldn't just guess, because it would vary
> 
> from play to play, depending on (among other factors) how hard the ball
> was hit, the angle at which it hits the floor, and the air pressure in
> the ball.
> 
> --
> John Hunley
> USAV Provisional, and still learning
> 
> Want long distance for 7.5 cents/minute?
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