Line Judging

Basically, the job is telling the 1st referee when and where the ball hits an object.

The Ball Lands in Court - Signal-in

The ball is in when any part of it makes contact with the court or the surrounding line. The Line Judge should be aware that the ball will flatten slightly on contact.

The Ball is Out

The ball hits the floor, completely outside the court.

Signal-Out

Ball lands on the OTHER side of the net to the player who last touched it

Signal-Touch

Ball lands on the SAME side of the net to the player who last touched it

Other faults including ball hitting the ceiling, posts, referee stand, or just passing outside or over the Antenna - using the Attention signal

Ball hits the aerial or passes outside the aerial before landing IN or touching a player. Point to the Aerial. Equally, if the player touches the aerial during play.

Server touches the base line or is outside the service zone at service. Point to the base line.

Non-Serving Player off court at service. Point to the line.

Line Judge actions

The Line Judge is expected to react quickly to the game.

Line Judges should stay alert and be prepared to move quickly, they should be on their toes with weight forward on the left foot, feet apart with the knees bent and with the flag in the right hand. The right arm should be close to the body line, with the flag held slightly away from the body.

Normally Line Judges stand on the imaginary extension of their line approximately 1m from the end of the line. They should move quickly to get out of the way of a player and/or ball and can move to maintain a clear view of their line.

They should move clear of and behind a server who chooses to serve close to them.

The Line Judge should watch the game intently. When the ball is going towards their line, it is the line that should be in focus. Equally, when an attack is made towards them, they should normally focus on the blockers hands first and then their line.

The "in" signal is performed with the flag pointing at the line inside which the ball landed. This signal is only made by the Line Judge(s) whose line(s) the ball landed close to.

The "out" signal is with the Line Judge standing fully upright with the flag at full height. This signal is given only by the Line Judge(s) whose line(s) the ball passed over.

The "touch" signal is with the flag vertical in front of the body with the hand on top of the flag just below the chin. This signal is given by any or all Line Judges who see a touch of the ball on the way out.

The "attention" signal is 3 sideways movements of the flag high above the head then use the free hand to point to the object concerned.

All movements of the flag should be rapid enough to make the flag give an audible crack.

At the end of every rally, the Line Judges should look towards the 1st referee to allow eye contact.

If the 1st referee does not respond to, or overrules a call by a Line Judge, the Line Judge must stop signaling and continue watching the game.

If the Line Judge could not see a contact that would normally be their call they should signal with arms crossed in front of their chest.

At rest

During time outs the Line Judge should move away from the court to the edge of the free zone around the court.

At intervals between sets the 2 line judges at the ends of the courts should move to a mid point of the edge of the free-zone behind the base line.

The protocol at the end of the match can vary according to the competition. Unless otherwise instructed, Line Judges should move to the Scorers table.

An alternative presentation

The presentation made to the Annual Referee Conference in 2006 is available here.

Charlie Orton
Referee Administrator
London Volleyball Association
www.londonvolleyball.org/referee