Rule 3.4 Referee

The principal official for every match shall be the referee. The referee’s authority regarding a match begins once the players are called to the court. Before each match begins, it shall be the duty of the referee to:

1) Time. The assigned referee should be present 15 minutes before match time.

2) Playability. Check on adequacy of preparation of the handball court with respect to playability.

3) Equipment. Check on availability and suitability of all materials necessary for the match, such as handballs, towels, scorecards, pencils and a timepiece.

4) Assisting officials. Check readiness and provide instructions to assisting officials.

5) Two-minute warning. Give a two-minute warning before the match and before each game.

6) Inspect gloves, uniforms and eye protection. Remind players to have an adequate supply of extra gloves and shirts, and access to headbands. Inspect compliance of gloves and hands with rules. Remind players that failure to wear eye protection properly will result in a technical, and a second violation in a forfeit.

7) Court hinders. Explain court hinders, if any, to players. (See Rule 4.3.A and 4.7.A.1).

8) Start game. Introduce players, toss coin to determine order of serve and signal start of game.

9) Scoring. Announce the scores before each rally. (See Rule 4.1.E and 3.8).

The referee shall make all decisions with regard to the rules and the referee has the authority to change his/her call (See Rule 3.7 Appeals). Where line judges are used, the referee shall announce all final judgments. In the absence of line judges, if both players in singles or three out of four in a doubles match disagree with a call made by the referee, the referee should consider reversing his/her call. Any reversal must be completed before the referee announces the score for the next rally. On the final rally of any game such reversal must come in a reasonable time after the rally, consistent with the amount of time that would normally transpire from the end of a rally to the subsequent calling of the score. The Chief of Referees and/or Tournament Director who has witnessed a violation of Rule 4.9 Technicals may enforce the application of the Technical (See Rule. 4.9 Technicals).

1) Spectators. The referee shall have jurisdiction over the spectators, as well as the players, while the match is in progress. (See Rule 5.6)

Any decision involving a rules interpretation may be protested before the referee announces the score for the next rally. It will then be resolved by the chief of referees or tournament director. Judgment calls may not be protested. If the player’s protest is upheld, the proper ruling will be made. If the player’s protest is not upheld, the player shall be charged with a timeout. If the player is out of timeouts, a technical shall be charged against the player.

A match may be forfeited by the referee when:

1) Flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct. Any player refuses to abide by the referee’s decision or engages in flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct.

2) Three technicals. A player or side receives three technicals in a match, or two technicals for failure to properly wear eye protection.

3) Leaving the court. Any player leaves the court at a time not allowed by these rules without permission of the referee.

4) Failure to report.

a. No show. Any player for a singles match, or any team for a doubles match, fails to report to play.

b. Late start penalty. If a player is not ready to play (or resume play) on time, the opponent shall be awarded one point. The opponent will then be awarded one additional point for each full minute of delay of game up to 10 minutes. The match shall then be forfeited. This applies to the start of the match, between-game timeouts, timeouts during a game and glove-change timeouts. Late start penalty points are not cumulative, and the match forfeiture provision shall be applicable only if the full 10-minute delay is consecutive. Players should stay within earshot of the referee to help prevent the delay-of-game penalty. It is the obligation of the players to be ready to resume play on time even if the referee fails to give time warnings. If the matches are on, or ahead of schedule, the players must be in the court warming up at least 10 minutes before the assigned match time to assure a prompt start. If the tournament schedule is running behind, the players must be dressed and ready to enter the court for a maximum 10-minute, in-court warm up. If a player shows up less than 10 minutes before the scheduled starting time, that player’s warm-up time will be reduced accordingly. The tournament director may permit a longer delay if circumstances warrant.

5) Player forfeiture. A match must be played in its entirety with both players/teams on the court (See Rule 3.4.D.4.b). Partial forfeits, such as any player forfeiting the second game and progressing directly to a tiebreaker, are not allowed. A forfeit of any part of a match shall result in the forfeit of the entire match. In round robin format forfeit of one match will not require a forfeit from that event. A forfeit in one event shall not result in a forfeit of any other event.

A player or team may be forfeited by the tournament director or official in charge for failure to comply with the tournament or host facility’s rules while on the tournament premises, for failure to referee or for any other improper conduct on the tournament premises.

The referee shall rule on all matters not covered in the USHA Official Rules. However, the referee may be overruled by the chief of referees or tournament director, the latter of whom shall have final authority.

3.5 Players.

A. Player Code. The USHA rules of handball place a presumptive code of integrity and honesty on each player. It is expected that players will always self-enforce violations not detectable by a referee. Such instances would include, but are not limited to, double bounces, wrist balls, and to fairly represent injuries in the application of Rule 4.10.C. This presumptive Code is also applicable to abiding by the Spirit of Handball and the Code of Conduct as found in the appendix. This would include showing up at appointed times for matches, and abiding by the Rules of Handball.