All

I was wondering whether the new pull rules will be used at Junior
Indoor Nationals this year.

There has been a lot of debate on this subject on both the BD & UU
mailing lists so I thought I would raise this subject now so
everyone has the chance to practise the new pull rules if they are
to be used.

If you are unaware to the new rules then I will put them at the end
of this message.

Thanks

Graham Reed
Captian(#8), Team Mongosling

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These addenda make reference to WFDF article IV as available at
<http://www.wfdf.org/index.php?page=rules/wfdf_ultimate_rules.htm>


402.01 Dimensions: The field of play should be as close as possible
to 40m x
20m, including 7m endzones. A 'brick' mark shall be placed in the
centre of
the pitch at a distance of 1/3 of the length of the playing field
proper
from each endzone. For a full size pitch, the brick mark is
therefore at
26m/3, or approximately 8.5 metres from each endzone. (For
reference, the
outdoor ratio is 20m/64m, or approximately 1/3). For smaller
pitches, adjust
all measurements accordingly.

402.02 [Surface: Remove the phrase 'although well trimmed grass is
suggested']

402.06 Restraining line: All pitches should have a minimum of 1m
clearance
from any wall or obstacle which may interefere with play or player
safety on
all sides. Where space allows, a restraining line should be marked
2m from
the playing area to ensure that sidelines remain clear during play.
Where
the clearance is less than 2m, no persons should sit or stand on
that
sideline except the substitutes of the competing teams.

402.07 Line Markings: All lines shall be marked in full - if using
the lines
of, for example, badminton courts which are already marked in the
hall,
clearly visible tape that will not damage the playing surface must
be
applied to fill any gaps in these lines. Lines shall be between 3cm
and 6cm
wide.

403.04 Footwear: All players must wear clean, non-marking, indoor
shoes. The
TD may remove anyone from the pitch, at any time, if their footwear
is
marking or damaging the surface.

404.02 Length of game: shall be at the discretion of the TD, in
accordance
with guidelines from the UKUA Indoor DoC.

****************************NB see 404.05 D 10 before reading the
time-out
section.**********************************

404.03 Time-outs:
A. Non-injury: Each team is permitted one time-out
(possibly more than one, at the discretion of the TD, in longer
games such
as finals.) This is to allow tactical discussion which may not
otherwise
be possible in the short time between points.
1.Time to call: The time-out may be called, by either team, only
after a
point is
scored and before the ensuing throwoff. Time-outs may not be
called in the final 3 minutes of a game.
2. Duration: Time-outs shall not exceed 30 seconds in length.

4. Resumption of play: Play will continue normally with the start of
the
next point.
5. When a timekeeper is available: The time-out increases the time
between
the readiness of one team and the start of play by 30 seconds. The
timekeeper should give warning 10 seconds before play must be
restarted.

404.05 Starting and Restarting Play
C. [Cancelled There will be no half-time in indoor matches.]

D. Throw-off: Play starts at the beginning of the game and
after
each goal with a throw-off.

Glossary: A 'Valid Throw-off' or 'Valid Pull' is a throw-off
made
when the throwing team occupies an onside position, which passes, in
clean
flight, through a 2m high box bounded by the receiving team's
endzone, and
which has not contacted any out-of-bounds object before so passing.
A
throw-off is also automatically rendered valid if it is touched in
flight by
a member of the receiving team before it reaches the endzone and
before it
contacts an out-of-bounds object. All other throw-offs are invalid.

D. 7. Failure to Catch after Touching: Whenever a member of
the
receiving team makes a genuine attempt to catch the disc during its
flight,
whether in or out of bounds, and the receiving team
subsequently
fails to catch the disc prior to its touching the ground, the
RECEIVING team
nevertheless gains possession of the disc where it stops. If
the
receiving team attempts to stop or mac the disc in flight without
attempting
to catch it, then possession will revert to the throwing team where
the disc
stops.

D. 8. Landing Untouched: Whenever the receiving team permits
a
'valid pull' to fall untouched to the ground (whether in or out of
bounds)
the receiving team gains possession of the disc where it stops.
If a
valid pull subsequently touches an out-of-bounds area, the receiving
team
gains possession in the playing field proper, or in the
endzone,
nearest where the disc last went out-of-bounds. Note that the
receiving team
may not bring the disc up to the line - if they have failed to catch
or stop
a valid pull, they must play it from the point at which it
left the
pitch, even if this is the BACK of their endzone.

D. 9. Invalid Pull: The receiving team may make the choice
of
putting the disc into play at the nearest point on the playing field
proper
to where the disc crossed the perimeter line, invoking
the "middle
rule", or invoking the "brick rule".
a) Rethrow: There shall be no rethrows indoors.

D 9 A [additional] - Disputes: If the two sets of players
on the
pitch cannot agree about whether a pull is valid or invalid, then a
compromise will be used. The disc will be played from the front
centre
of the endzone: i.e. it will not be bricked, but nor need it be
played from
the back or side of the endzone.


404.05 D 10. There is no total time limit between the scoring of a
goal and
the ensuing throw-off. Instead, after either side has 5 players in a
correct
onside position and has raised a hand to indicate readiness, the
opposing
side will have only ten seconds to signal their own readiness to
commence
play. The team that is ready first shall give a ten second warning,
and
shall then count down from 5 if necessary. Teams may take a time-out
at any
time before the 10 seconds is up, but not after.
a) If the throwing team is not ready within 10 seconds after the
receiving
team, then the receiving team may immediately claim the disc and put
the
disc into play either at the front centre of the endzone they are
defending, or at the brick mark nearest that endzone, without a
throw-off
being made.
b) if the receiving team is not ready within 10 seconds after the
throwing
team, then the throwing team may throw-off without waiting for a
hand to be
raised.

404.10 D If the disc is on the playing field proper, a member of the
team
becoming offense must put the disc in play within ten seconds.
After ten
seconds have elapsed, a defensive player in position at the spot of
the disc
may restart play by announcing "delay of game" and may initiate and
continue
the stall count. In order to invoke this rule, the marker must give
warnings of ten & five seconds.
This rule should not be taken to suggest that waiting 10 seconds
before
putting the disc into play is reasonable in all circumstances; it
merely
provides an outside limit on how long may be taken. In general, a
player
becoming offence should put the disc into play as soon as is
reasonable,
allowing for the time needed to reach the disc or for the receivers
to form
a stack; but if for example the main handler is at the far end of
the pitch
when a turnover occurs, then the team becoming defence may hereby
enforce a
MAXIMUM period of 10 seconds.

404.11 B ten becomes eight
404.11 C five becomes four
404.11 F ten becomes eight

404.16 C 4 five becomes four

405 Glossary
* Player: One of the 10 persons who are actually participating in
the game
at any one time.
*********************************************************************
*********************************************************************
**********************************************
Notes:

1) The pull rule. The idea is to give the throwing team every
incentive to
throw a catchable pull, and to give the receiving team every
incentive to
catch it, thus speeding the game up. Basically, it's got to pass
through a
2m box around the endzone, and a drop is not a turnover. Everything
else is
technicalities...

Some points are important:

i) The rules make no mention of whether the disc ultimately lands in
or out
of bounds. All that matters is that at some point while over the
endzone, it
is in clean flight and below 2m, and that it hasn't touched anything
out-of-bounds BEFORE then. So, a bounce-pull is not automatically
valid
because it landed in - the rules don't care about that. In fact, a
bounce
pull still needs to follow the same rules of being below 2m and all
the rest
of it. So bouncers are not outlawed, but equally there's no point
throwing
them.

ii) The disc must be in clean flight when reaching the endzone. This
means
that short pulls can be bricked. This is to prevent rollers and
short
knives, which could bend the disc and roll through people's legs;
and to
prevent discs that slide out the side and disappear into another
pitch,
short of the endzone, from being valid also. Both of these have the
potential to be used to deliberately slow the game down, and so are
brickable. In practice, most short pulls will not be bricked, since
it will
be to the advantage of the receiving team to start playing rather
than walk
to the brick mark and allow the defence to become set up.

iii) Knives are perfectly valid, provided they pass through the
endzone
'box' correctly. There will be little advantage in throwing them,
however,
since they reach the receviers quickly, and will be caught and put
into play
before the defence reaches them. The only time they might have a use
is if a
team is heavily reliant on 1 handler who always picks up - it might
be
advisable to throw a knife at their long player to see if he'll run
away and
leave it to roll out the back of the endzone.

iv) If you don't bother to catch a valid pull, then you will be
severely
punished by having to play from the BACK of your endzone. This means
that
pulls will almost always be caught, which will speed up the game,
and also
that a good pull stands a chance of getting a reward.

v) The 2m rule ( about 6' 7" for those imperialists out there ) - it
is
important to notice the rule on disputes. It's very simple. If
there's any
debate about whether a pull is valid, just middle it and get on with
the
game.

vi) The receiver must make a genuine attempt to catch the disc. The
rule
that prevents cheating with regard to this is spirit of the game...
You can
cheat most of the rules of Ultimate if you put your mind to it. Some
have
suggested that folk might layout for every pull, in the hope of
knocking it
well forward if they drop it. There's nothing to prevent this except
it's
inherent pointlessness - you'd be better off catching it high and
starting
play than letting it fall another metre and laying out, then getting
back up
and starting play a second or two later than you would have
otherwise. And
if you do knock it forward 'by accident', the chances are the
throwing team
will stop it before it travels too far, and anyway they'll then have
plenty
of time to set up the defence.

vii) Remember the brick is optional. You can middle it instead, or
play it
where it is, if you want more space for Iso or something like that.

viii) Notice that a pull is only rendered valid by the receivers if
they
touch it IN FLIGHT before it reaches their endzone - they're
perfectly
entitled to stop a slider or roller without rendering it a valid
pull.

ix) Offside: No rethrows. In cases of blatant offside by the
throwing team,
the pull is invalid (see definition of valid pull) and can therefore
be
bricked, alleviating any need for rethrows, which would just waste
time. If
the receiving team are offside, they don't really gain any advantage
anyway,
since they're just closer to their markers. (Unless you throw a fast
flat
pull straight to an offside player, but that would be pretty daft).

2) Time between points. This allows either team to force the pace,
which is
much fairer than the current rules, which in theory allow 75 seconds
just
like outdoors.

3) Delay of game. I'd be amazed if this rule ever resulted in a
turnover -
the 10 second warning ought to be sufficient to gee up the offence.
So I
don't think it'll ever make a big difference, but at least it's
there in
black and white if someone tries to time-waste.

4) New responsibilities for TDs:
a) put brick marks on the pitches
b) Give a 3-minute warning, unless there is a game-clock visible in
the
hall, to help with the calling of time-outs.