Thing

Towel

The short version

A towel for wiping moisture from the court surfaces; in tournament play one should be made available.

From the rulebook

Towels In tournament play a towel should be made available for wiping moisture on the court surfaces. Reasonable time should be allowed by the referee for this purpose only. Players should obtain a towel and proceed directly to the surface to be wiped, then directly return the towel. Players are not to interrupt this procedure to wipe any part of their body or eye guards. The respective 10 seconds allowed per Rule 4.1.E.Time and regular time outs are for this purpose. In the event the referee d…

— One-wall · Rule 2.1 Courts

Quick Qs

Is a towel required?

In tournament play a towel should be made available for wiping moisture on the court surfaces. A player may leave the court only at the referee’s direction, to get a towel and return directly to it.

One-wall 2.1(c) (rule)

Who checks that towels are available?

The referee’s pre-match duties include checking on the availability and suitability of all materials necessary for the match, such as handballs, towels, scorecard, pencils and a timepiece.

One-wall 3.4(a) (rule)

What if a player takes too long wiping the court?

The referee may ask for the towel to be returned and restart play, and abuse of the procedure may be a technical.

One-wall 2.1(c) (rule)

Related

Where it shows up

4 rules

Ref questions

Eye protection (proper eyewear) is:

Answer: Required

Approved eyewear is mandatory.

A player is not properly wearing eyeguards during a rally (first offense).

Answer: Technical (stop play)

Missing eyewear in play is a technical; a second is more severe.

Gloves are:

Answer: Required (must be worn)

Players must wear gloves; they must be light/dry and unaltered.

All Equipment questions (7)