Re: Outdoor rule question

[Todd <tdh@vbref.org>]

"John C. Dalton" <banditman@juno.com> writes:
> What sometimes get's interesting is if the ball is not hard driven
> and the play isn't considered an 'attack' situation.  Such as
> bumping the ball over your head in desperation just to get the ball
> over.  Strangely enough, you cannot block(talking outdoor now) in
> this situation, because you would be contacting the ball on their
> side in a non attack situation.  This is rarely called in
> recreational play and I probably wouldn't call it either.  I did see
> a big argument on this at the Seal Beach AVP tournament.  In this
> exact situation the bumping team got the point.  Can anyone else
> confirm this one...Does anyone have the AVP rules?  BTW, I am not
> interested in indoor.

To the casual readers:
First, I'll state that few people outside of the AVP use AVP rules.
Attacks are defined very differently by USAV and FIVB.  I'm about to
write things about a rulebook that is probably not used by your
league.  Your mileage may vary.


That being said....The AVP rulebook I have here is Copyright 1996, so
today, YMMV further.

It says:

19.6 Contact over the net
During an attack a player may be in contact with the ball on the
opponent's side of teh net if the attack was inititiated while the
ball was partially:
A. On his side of the net.
B. Above the net.

Rule 20 The Block
...
20.3 Permissible block
A. A  blocker may block any ball that has penetrated the vertical
   plane of the net.
B.  A  blocker may block a ball on the opponent's side of the court
    when:
        1. The attacking team has made its third contact.
        2. Any time the attacking team has, in the referee's opinion,
           intentionally directed the ball into the opponent's court.
        3. Any time the attacking team has made an unsuccessful
           attempt to attack the ball (i.e. a swing and a miss).


Note there's no mention of an attack definition that stipulates the
ball be hard-driven.  


--
                  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...."