At the meeting of the directors held in Reno in November of 2003, the USBF board adopted a set of guidelines that should be used to handle behavior problems at our national tournaments. A committee that was formed to look into some problems that occurred at a previous tournament prepared these guidelines. Although these occurrences are rare, they sometimes occur. If our players are aware of certain standards that are expected of tournament participants, it will assist the tournament directors in dealing with and hopefully preventing unpleasant incidents. Following is a summary of some of the items in the report.
The decision of a certified referee or tournament committee referee is final. A volunteer referee who is challenged about a decision must call a member of the tournament committee for consultation and a final decision. In the event that there is no referee the offended team must call a member of the tournament committee for consultation and a final decision.
In the event of an infringement of the rules the referee or member of the tournament committee may apply one of the following penalties:
a. Warning or admonishment to the players or team (s) at fault.
b. Annulment of one or more balls.
c. Award to the team that has been fouled the right to re-play the ball.
d. Stop the match temporarily.
e. Temporary exclusion of the guilty player (s). The team may continue playing, less the number of balls the excluded player (s) would have played.
f. Declare the game or match lost by the offending team.
g. Disqualification of the player (s) from the game, match, competition or tournament.
a. Warning or admonishment.
b. Temporary exclusion from the premises.
c. Declare the game or match lost by his or her team.
d. Disqualification of his or her team from the game, match, competition, or tournament.
a. Bad behavior, offensive gestures and words, incorrect attitudes and dress, bad language and bad faith.
b. Irregularly formed teams.
c. Teams not making a proper effort.
d. Teams drawing out a match on purpose in order to tire or influence their opponents, especially with reference to the maximum time allowed to play.
e. Players stopping or displacing a ball or pallino on purpose.
f. Players stopping balls or pallino close to the board or the line but not yet our of play.
g. Players who refuse to accept the referee’s decision.
h. Players who come to agreement among themselves not in accordance with the various regulations in force (i.e.: time of scheduled games, number of points for a match, etc.).
i. Cheating such as using balls that have been tampered with.
j. Non-production of a valid USBF card or the production of a false card or a card not belonging to the player.
k. Players who protest to their opponents over infringements instead of appealing to the referee or tournament committee.
l. Players who leave the court without the permission of the referee.
m. Players who arrange the results of any game or retire from the competition without an acceptable excuse.
A non-member of the USBF disturbing or disrupting a game in progress will be expelled from the premises. A spectator who is a member of the USBF and disturbs or disrupts a game in progress will be expelled from the premises and may be excluded from USBF tournaments for up to one year and / or excluded from the following year’s National Championship tournament.
The committee’s report ended with a request that any future code of conduct that might be adopted by the USBF could include the Olympic Creed or an adaptation the creed. It was first delivered by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 in Paris and is included below:
“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”