YOU MAKE THE CALL
he video replay debate has gained momentum, and it starts with this fundamental question: If football and baseball have embraced it, why not volleyball?
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Is it time for video replays in volleyball? Many coaches and
My number-one priority as a referee is to get calls right for the players, coaches and spectators. In certain situations, video could certainly help. In evaluating whether this would be good for the game, we fi rst have to acknowledge that very few college matches or matches at USA Volleyball’s nationals are recorded with technology to allow for suitable video review for most calls, so video review in the short term may only be an option for televised matches that utilize multiple cameras and replay systems. For a few years now, the FIVB has used a separate video challenge system (VCS) at the highest levels of FIVB men’s and women’s competitions. It has up to 16 cam- eras and is manned by a video replay crew. Using TV cameras for video reviews would certainly have limitations. For instance, when evaluating whether a ball is in or out, referees would need an almost perfect camera angle. Many shots wouldn’t offer a clear enough vantage point for a video-review ref to make a defi nitive judg- ment unless we use the FIVB VCS with 16 cameras linked to a portable control
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players are calling for it, especially when the ref’s ruling goes against them by Kathy Ferraraccio
center at the court. With cameras in place, video review could be effective for non-judgment calls, including:
• In or out calls. (This might be tricky, depending on where the cameras are positioned and the number of cameras and resolution.)
• Illegal attacks (as determined by whether a back-row player steps on/over the attack line when hitting). • Center-line violations (as determined by whether a player crosses the center line all the way into the opponent’s court and causes a safety issue or interferes with the play).
• Net violations
Although it would seem that touches should be on the previous list, so far FIVB results have shown that the cameras that are affordable (even by FIVB standards) don’t have the resolution or correct angle for touches in all cases.
In my opinion, some rules should not be subject to review because even video wouldn’t reliably determine if the call was correct or incorrect. An example of this would be rules requiring a determination of a ball’s height on a back-row attack such as whether the ball is above or below the top of the net when a back-row player attacks it in the front zone.
This should not be open to review be- cause it’s unlikely the camera angle would allow for accurate judgments. Obviously, there are many details to discuss and work out before non-FIVB matches in the USA are ready to test replay reviews. One fi nal point I’d like to make is that any movement in this direction should call for rules to be overturned only if there is, to lift wording from the NFL’s replay rule, “irrefutable evidence.” If there is still a question, the call should stand as it was – or was not – whistled on the court.
Kathy Ferraraccio has many years of experience as a ref at the highest levels of the game. She has whistled USA Volleyball’s men’s open championship fi nal, numerous matches in the Big Ten, Big 12 and several other conferences. She worked the lines at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
PHOTO: FIVB
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