Lesson #20: Illegal contact and multiplayer block penalties =========================================================== *by Stephen Lorimor / Axis of Stevil* Watch `lesson #20a (Illegal contact penalties) `_ and `lesson 20b (Multiplayer block penalties) `_. Last updated: January 9, 2019 Concepts -------- - A skater’s direction is determined by the motion of their skates. - If the skates are moving in opposite directions, use the hips instead. - Blocks initiated while moving perpendicular to the track lines are legal - Illegal contact while a jam is in progress is always a penalty if the block causes... - the target to fall down or go out of bounds, out of play, or back into play - the target to lose position against the initiator or an initiator’s teammate - the initiator or a teammate to gain position on an opponent - Brief and minor gains of position do not warrant a penalty unless earning a pass toward scoring or lead jammer status 4.1.3 - Other illegal contact ----------------------------- - Illegal blocks/assists unrelated to target zones and blocking zones. - Verbal cues - “Illegal contact”, or - “Illegal assist” - “Early hit” - “Late hit” - “Out of play block” - “Direction”, or - “Stop block” - Early hitting - Initiating a block before the jam start whistle - Penalty thresholds - “Stealing” an opponent’s starting position - Forcing the opponent to touch an illegal starting position - Jammers touching the pivot line, behind the pivot line, or ahead of the jammer line - Blockers touching the pivot or jammer lines, ahead of the pivot line, or behind the jammer line - Pivots touching on or behind the jammer line, or ahead of the pivot line - Any skater going down or touching out of bounds - Late hitting - Initiating or continuing a block after the fourth call-off whistle - Penalty thresholds - Forcing an opponent down or significantly off balance - Blocking to or from out of play - Initiating a block while out of play or against an out of play target - Exception: jammer vs. jammer blocking is legal anywhere on the track - Exception: counter-blocking is legal while out of play - Blocking while stopped or moving clockwise - Initiating or maintaining a block while stopped or moving clockwise - Additional penalty threshold - Severely changing an opponent’s speed or trajectory - Exception: if the initiator immediately ceases the block or resumes counterclockwise movement - Illegal assists - Assisting while down, out of play, stopped, skating clockwise, or fully out of bounds - Active assists while straddling are illegal; passive assists are legal - Penalty thresholds - Causing a change of relative position - Helping a downed skater upright in the engagement zone while stopped is considered good sportsmanship, not impact. - Additional illegal contact - Blocking to or from out of bounds - Initiating a block against a fully out of bounds opponent - Initiating or continuing a block while out of bounds (including straddling) - Picking up speed for a block from out of bounds, even if the contact takes place once fully in bounds - Penalty threshold - Significantly delaying a fully out of bounds skater’s return to the track - Blocking while down - Blocking a downed skater - Penalty threshold - Delaying their return to the track - Blocking while airborne - The rules are contradictory whether this is illegal contact or misconduct - Penalty threshold - Forcing an opponent out of their established position 4.1.4 - Multiplayer blocks -------------------------- - Verbal cue: “Multiplayer” - A type of illegal block in which two skaters form a wall (sometimes called a “link”) using one of these three techniques: - Grasping, linking, or impenetrable wall - The multiplayer block must be physically challenged by an opponent - Exception: if the grasp or link that cannot be reached because it is ahead of the “wall” of both participants, and because it strengthens said “wall” - Impact - Preventing the opponent from passing between the skaters - Usually counterclockwise, but can be perpendicular to the track (uncommon) or even clockwise (rare). - Upon being challenged, immediately releasing a multiplayer block such that it prevents the opponent from being impeded is not a penalty. - The penalty should be issued to the most responsible skater. - When in doubt, issue it to the closest skater involved in the block. - (rare) Jammers can get multiplayer block penalties.