(I will add more to/change this file as more information & 

	 situations come up.  Please glance at this if you notice the date

	 changes in the pointer.)



Quick Notes:  Todd Haugland, USA Volleyball Provisional (hope to be 

	Regional) Referee

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I'm not going to claim to be an expert.  I obviously am not, but comments 

from individuals like myself are sometimes helpful.

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I've reffed a couple of times at Bluefield College in Bluefield, VA (WV),

(NAIA) so I've had some experience this year.  I am also the official 

scorer for Virginia Tech, so I've observed some good volleyball 

referees also.



The most prominent thing I've noticed so far is the "new" ruling on 

hands.  I've gone along with it somewhat so far this year, but not 

whole-heartedly.  That's mainly because of the level of play that I have

reffed, not because I don't really believe in it.



The new ruling I've noticed at Virginia Tech matches, is this:

*****	The set is legal if "the ball goes in the same direction as

*****	the hands."

This is good and bad, in my opinion.  The rule has been adopted at the

higher levels of play (International, National, USA Volleyball Open), but

I feel it may run into some opposition as it moves down.  It definately did

with the fans at VT during the first home match.  What it appears to be is 

that the officials aren't calling anything during the match.  But it does 

let the play of the teams determine the outcome of the game.  Unfortunately,

the transition period will be bad for teams who end up stopping or 

complaining about the lack of calls by the officials.

So who's to say?  Is this a natural progression of volleyball?  Or is this

a simple way "out" for officiating?  I believe it's giving the setter a 

little more leeway, making it easier for him.  But I thought that we were

trying to give defense more leverage?  Doesn't this go against that theory?

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As for the matches that I have officiated, the level of play is no where 

near NCAA caliber, so I do not adhere strictly to the above rule.  I will 

call hands a little stricter than that in a match.



Other comments:  during a tournament at Bluefield College (2 courts), one 

team that I was officiating would call out "BALL!" upon the other team's 

service.  They claimed it was for the players that may not see the server.

What the server ended up doing was dropping or (even worse) catching the

ball, because she thought there was another ball coming on the court.  The

coach found nothing wrong with this practice!  He used the argument that

there may be a screen set up, so they should use a audible call. 

Fortunately, the coach was smart enough to stop the practice after I issued

a warning, and before I issued a yellow card.